Two B1G coaches among college football's hottest seats
After two weeks of college football action, the sportsbook, SportsLine, has updated their hot seat odds.
The state of Florida occupies the top-two spots on the list with USF’s Charlie Strong at 3/1, and Florida State’s Willie Taggart at 4/1.
At 7/1, Rutgers Scarlet Knights head man Chris Ash is third on the list. 1-1 on the season, Ash’s team opened with a 48-21 victory over UMass, but was shutout in Kinnick Stadium by the Hawkeyes, 30-0. Since taking over in 2016, Ash is 8-30 (.211%) in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights host Boston College on Saturday (12:00PM ET, BTN).
UConn’s Randy Edsall (8/1) and Rice’s Mike Bloomgren (10/1) round out the top-five.
Ninth on the list is Illinois’ Lovie Smith. Beginning their season with victories over Akron and UConn, the Illini have had about as good of a start to the season as they could have hoped for. Redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Peters has completed 65.5% (38-58) of his passes for 390 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception.
Like Ash, Smith took over the reigns in 2016. Posting a career-best 4-8 mark a year ago, many believe Smith and his staff need to reach six wins and qualify for a bowl game in 2019. Hosting the 1-1 Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday, Illinois has a great opportunity to start 3-0 and be halfway to the six-win threshold.
Tennessee’s Jeremy Pruitt was No. 10, just behind Smith at 20/1.