Blown Coverage: Week 5

By Andrew Hill
September 25, 2008

This season has been fairly straightforward with the contenders winning the games they were supposed to win and a few overrated teams being exposed (Clemson, WVU). This week we are going to look at a few coaches that seem to have one foot in the grave when it comes to their current employment.

Greg Robinson (Syracuse) - There is a mountain of stats to make the case that Greg Robinson has been one of the worst coaches in the FBS in the past couple of years. Rumor is that the Raiders' soon-to-be-former head football coach Lane Kiffin is in the mix to be his replacement.

Tyrone Willingham (Washington) - Ty has an overall record of 11-28 since coming to Seattle including last place in the Pac 10 three out of four seasons. You can't really blame the Huskies for starting the season 0-3, after facing three top 20 teams, but unless he gets out of the basement of the garbage Pac 10 this season, Ty's days will be numbered.

Mike Stoops (Arizona) - Stoops is currently in his fifth year of building of Arizona football. He will be able to ride on the success of QB Willie Tuitama, but he will need to have consistent wins against Arizona State and other Pac 10 teams.

Phil Fulmer (Tennessee) - Phil could be gone as early as the end of the season unless he turns things around. The season opening loss coupled with the blowout against Florida does not scream job security.

Tommy Bowden (Clemson) - The Tigers did it again, coming out as flat a possible against Alabama in the season opener.  There was pre-season hype about Clemson in the National Championship, but now even their appearance in the ACC Championship could be in question. Unless the Tigers wear the ACC crown this year, Tommy's job could be in danger.

Ralph Friedgen (Maryland) - A couple weeks ago, there were a lot more questions surrounding Friedgen's position. The offense was stale and he was missing out on too many DC area recruits to outside schools. Since clubbing Cal, the offense is looking relevant and Maryland is looking to contend in the ACC. Ralph needs to prove that he can bring long-term success to College Park.

Bill Stewart (West Virginia) - In the wake of the Rich Rodriguez mess, it looked like WVU jumped too early on Stewart after an emotional Fiesta Bowl win against Oklahoma. The consensus was that it would be a good pick for the 'neers as he is a West Virginia man and the players love him. One of the few dissenters was West Virginia booster Ken Kendrick, a managing partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kendrick said, "He is so overmatched it's not even funny, He's a nice guy and a father figure. But they had a wonderful architect and they hired the painter to build the next house. I want Bill Stewart to win and I want our program to be successful. But I feel bad for our future. I'm very concerned." Each week this statement is starting to look more and more valid. Stewart's time clock management is an embarrassment, and we will have to wait and see if he is able to recruit the same kind of talent (see Noel Devine) as Rodriguez.

«««««- Can't miss game of the week... Usually has BCS implications

««««-Either a tough rivalry game or interesting out of conference matchup

«««- Game contains either an exciting player(s) or a team with a power offense or defense

««-A small step up from a one star game, very tough to get excited about. Usually involves Pac-10 teams

«- About as entertaining as Billy Crystal or Big 10 Basketball. Watchable only for alumni or degenerate gamblers

LAST WEEK'S PICKS: 15-4 YTD: 69-12 (85.2%)

Spread in parentheses provided by sportsbooks.com

1 USC (-25.5) at Oregon State «««

Mark Sanchez is playing his way right into the Heisman conversation. The Trojans are 50-14-1 after a bye week since 1955.

Winner: USC

2 Oklahoma (-17.5) vs. TCU ««««

Oklahoma has won 20 games in a row, dating to the season opener in 2005 against TCU, a 25-point underdog. Guess who visits Norman this weekend? Oklahoma gets its revenge.

Winner: Oklahoma

3 Georgia (-7) vs. Alabama «««««

Georgia has decided to go with the much cooler older brother of the "white-out," the "black-out." This involves the Bulldogs wearing black jerseys and the fans dressing in black clothes. (Why Virginia Tech hasn't done this yet is beyond me. "White-outs" are lame and played out. Only Penn State can pull them off. Orange and Maroon Effects are nice, but there are really no different than any other home games, as the fans already dress in those colors anyways. But if Tech comes out in black jerseys with the maroon helmets for a night game, I don't see how they lose to anyone at home.)

Winner: Georgia

4 Florida (-22.5) vs. Ole Miss ««««

Florida is spreading the ball around more and the defense is playing well. This team is looking like more and more like a National Championship contender every week.

Winner: Florida

5 LSU (-24) vs. Mississippi State «««

LSU may have found a quarterback in Jarrett Lee. LSU won't let down before next week's game at Florida.

Winner: LSU

6 Missouri - Idle

7 Texas (-27.5) vs. Arkansas ««

Texas wins the award for being the most overrated team in the top 10. So far they've only played FAU. UTEP and Rice, but somehow they're supposed to be one of the best teams in the country. I just don't see it.

Winner:  Texas

9 Wisconsin (-6) at Michigan «««

Wisconsin hasn't won in the Big House in 14 years. The streak ends this week.

Winner: Wisconsin

10 Texas Tech - Idle

11 BYU - Idle

12 Penn State (-14.5) vs. Illinois «««««

This game will be one of the very few entertaining games in the Big 10 all year. 14.5 points seems like a lot to give up to Illinois' offense but I still see State taking this one down.

Winner: Penn State

13 South Florida (-8.5) at NC State ««««

Up and coming NC State Quarterback Russell Wilson is injured, along with leading tackler Nate Irving. South Florida will start off sluggish but will pull away in the second half.

Winner: South Florida

14 Ohio State (-17.5) vs. Minnesota  «

Minnesota has started off hot going 4-0. Look for them to end the season 4-8.

Winner: Ohio State

15 Auburn (-6.5) vs. Tennessee  ««««

Tennessee's offense will be able to stand up to Auburn's tough defense. I'm taking the road dog to win in a close one.

Winner:  Tennessee

16 Wake Forest (-16) vs. Navy «««

Navy was able to recently up Rutgers, but Wake Forest's opportunistic defense will be able to contain the midshipmen.

Winner: Wake Forest

17 Utah (N/A) vs. Weber State «

Horribly unwatchable game; Utah wins.

Winner: Utah

18 Kansas - Idle

19 Boise State - Idle

20 Clemson (-11) vs. Maryland ««««

With Maryland's recent surge, this game gets ten times more interesting. I'm going to stick with Clemson at home.

Winner: Clemson

21 Vanderbilt - Idle

23 East Carolina (-10.5) vs. Houston ««

ECU is now out of the BCS chase and must focus on a Conference USA championship. Houston's top 10 pass offense will push the Pirates but ultimately they get the win at home in a close one.

Winner: East Carolina

25 Fresno State (-6.5) at UCLA ««

UCLA's offense has been on life support since beating Tennessee in week one. Fresno is only giving up 6.5 points, leading me to believe that Vegas know something I'm not seeing (Actually I'm positive Vegas knows a ton more than I do on all of these games, but this line in particular is staring me right in the face). I'm cautiously taking the Dogs this week on the road.

Winner: Fresno State