11/26/2019 football Edit

Three-Point Stance: Hot seats, recent commits, more

Mike Farrell • Rivals.com

Rivals National Columnist

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s three point stance is here with a look at an updated hot seat list, some random college football thoughts and five big recent commitments in recruiting right now.

MORE: Tom Herman on hot seat? | Would James Franklin consider USC?

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals100 | Position | Team | State

1. The ever-evolving hot seat

The coaches hot seat is always changing, isn’t it? As we head into the final weeks of the college football season, here are guys that I think are in big trouble this year or will be under serious scrutiny next season.

Tom Herman, Texas – The Longhorns are 6-5 and Herman is squarely at the top of this list. He won’t get fired after this season, but he will need to make coaching changes and a year similar will get him booted next year. Expectations at Texas are 10-2.

Derek Mason, Vanderbilt – Vanderbilt announced Mason will return next season, but that will probably be his last in Nashville. Mason reached two bowl games and is 3-2 against Tennessee, but he also hasn’t had a winning season yet and this year could be one of his worst.

Clay Helton, USC – Many have Helton much lower on the list these days because he went 8-4 this season and 7-2 in the Pac-12 using three quarterbacks. He might have staved off termination this year, but I don’t see him lasting beyond next season. The USC job is too big for a losing season followed by an 8-4 year and recruiting is not going well. He could still be fired this year, you never know, but it will happen after next year unless they compete for the playoff.

Mark Dantonio, Michigan State – Things aren’t going well at Michigan State as Dantonio will now likely have a .500 season a few years after a 3-9 year and they seem far removed from the 2015 and 2013 versions of Michigan State. And there has been some off-field stuff as well, so never helps. Keep an eye on East Lansing for a change in the next year or so.

Barry Odom, Missouri – Odom has an overall losing record and is 12-19 in the SEC. He can bring his team to 6-6 with a win over Arkansas, but more was expected this year with quarterback Kelly Bryant transferring from Clemson. If he loses to Arkansas, that could be massive trouble and the fan base seems ready for a change.

Kevin Sumlin, Arizona – Sumlin is only in year two, but things aren’t going well at all and it’s clearly not a good fit. After being solid but not spectacular at Texas A&M (25-23 SEC record), things are just dismal in Arizona. A loss to Arizona State this weekend will drop them to 4-8 for the season while the Sun Devils seemingly are get stronger.

Will Muschamp, South Carolina – Muschamp got a vote of confidence this year, so he won’t be fired at the end of this season, but can we see him turning around the Gamecocks? I can’t. His best year was 2017 at 9-4 overall and a second-place finish in the SEC East, but Georgia and Florida are better as is Tennessee while Kentucky and Missouri can also beat them.

Gus Malzahn, Auburn – The Gus Bus is always on the hot seat and if Auburn loses to Alabama this weekend and has a four-loss season, the heat will be high again. Should he just jump to Arkansas and deal with lower expectations? He might want to think about it.

Steve Addazio, Boston College – BC has been to a bowl game in three straight seasons under Addazio, but a loss to Pitt this weekend would drop them to 5-7 in a year where many thought they would surprise some people. I doubt anything happens after this year, but another sub .500 year might doom him.

Manny Diaz, Miami – Diaz is only in year one at Miami and is 6-5 and headed to a bowl game, but losses to Georgia Tech and FIU are head-scratchers. Miami was competitive with Florida and beat Florida State, so that bodes well for him and there’s no way he’s going to be dismissed after this season, but everyone will be watching next year.

2. Emptying the desk drawer of the college football mind

The Ohio State-Michigan game is the big rivalry game that everyone talks about, but it has been replaced by the Ohio State-Penn State game when it comes to importance in the Big Ten. The winner of that game has been to the past four Big Ten title games. The Buckeyes will once again drub Michigan and the Wolverines will finish third in their own division. Meanwhile, James Franklin should have received a playoff berth a few years ago when winning the Big Ten and had the Nittany Lions in the hunt until the loss this past weekend. Ohio State’s Big Ten East path goes through State College and not Ann Arbor.

No clue who Rutgers gets as their head coach now, but it’s a shame that Greg Schiano’s demands were so ridiculous. He remains the only coach to make them viable and was the right man to take over. I’m not saying that winning seasons would be coming if he did take the job, but he was the best choice I could see for an overhaul.

The best team in the country is Clemson based on everything I’ve seen. I picked Alabama to win it all this season because of Tua Tagovailoa and the receivers and a Dylan Moses-led defense, but with Moses and the other injuries and Tua done for the year, Alabama has no chance even if it sneaks in. So Clemson is now my pick. The defense is amazing and Trevor Lawrence is now dialed in. I am big on experience and Clemson has been there before.

What happened to Maryland? Remember when it beat Syracuse 63-20 to shoot out to 2-0? Now it is losing to a struggling Nebraska team 54-7? Recruiting at Maryland is hard enough as schools poach the state often, but with a season like this it will be even harder.

No offense to LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, but here’s hoping Chase Young wins the Heisman. That will open the door for other defenders to win the award, which has simply become the best quarterback or running back on one of the best teams. But honestly, Young has no chance.

3. Five notable commitments from last week

It’s still football season so recruiting is still a bit slow but we are approaching the Early Signing Period quickly. Here are five teams that landed huge commitments in the last week or so…

Miami – WR Dazalin Worsham is a nice get from the state of Alabama for Manny Diaz and his staff who could be an elite slot receiver in the ACC before too long.

Oregon – They don’t get much bigger than the commitment of LB Noah Sewell to Oregon as he joins his brother Penei in Eugene. Watch for him to play some offense too.

Texas Tech – WR Loic Fouonji is a stat stuffer who has 22 touchdowns this season and can impact on special teams as well.

TCU – The commitment of offensive lineman Garrett Hayes is he for TCU and he will be an anchor along the line for years to come.

Nebraska – Commitments for 2021 are coming in a bit quicker than they have been and massive offensive guard Henry Lutovsky is a nice get from Iowa, a state known for some nasty big men.

*****

*****