Ten Takeaways: Week Three

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1. The coaching carousel begins

We're not even a month into the season, but we've already got significant movement on the coaching front. UCLA fired DeShaun Foster Sunday Morning:

And Virginia Tech axed Brent Pry:

The early nature of these firings shows you just how untenable both situations became. Pry was already on the hottest seat in the country before Virginia Tech got blasted 45-26 by Old Dominion at home. I actually watched the majority of this game for Hot Seat column purposes, so I can confidently say that the lopsided score doesn't even do justice to how embarrassing it was for the Hokies. Tech trailed 28-0 at half, receiving some of the loudest non-officiating-related boos I've ever heard as they went to the lockeroom:

Paired with Vanderbilt's 44 points last week, it was just the third time since 1950 that Virginia Tech allowed 40-plus points in back-to-back home games. Tech's decision-makers had no other choice today. Pry had no answers four years into his tenure, leading a team who blatantly quit on him and themselves.

The situation at UCLA is a bit different. I should've at least mentioned DeShaun Foster in the hot seat rankings in hindsight, but I really did think they'd give him at least until midway through this season before things heated up significantly. Them pulling the plug after Foster's 15th game is all you need to know about how ugly things are there. The Bruins got demolished at home by New Mexico to fall to 0-3, so they really didn't have any other choice. When New Mexico's head coach is on record saying things like this? You know it's over:

Both Pry and Foster were first-time head coaches. I'd be shocked if both programs don't hire someone with vastly more experience this time around. Each job comes with significant challenges. Virginia Tech in the NIL era won't ever be the consistent ten-win team they were under Frank Beamer. That's fine, but there's also no reason for them to be this bad - especially in an ACC that's so wide open. Maybe I'm just coping because I've always had a soft spot for VT, though - This just might be what the program is. Meanwhile, I don't think anyone in the world has a good pulse on how UCLA's athletic department operates, so I won't pretend like I have a clue. They're not run well, and don't care about football. My buddy Cyrus put it best the other night:

2. It's time for some interventions in the Big 12

On a similar note, I don't care that we're only three weeks into the season - I'm already hitting the panic button on a few Big 12 teams. Let's go through 'em:

Colorado

The one thought that kept popping into my mind during the Buffs' 36-20 loss at Houston was, "This looks like the 2023 team, just without Shedeur and Travis." There's no way around it: Colorado is terrible and directionless right now. The decision to roll with Ryan Staub at QB didn't pay off, and the offense overall has no identity. The defense is one of the nation's worst. The only thing they can hang their hat on right now is great punting. Deion's postgame comments didn't make me feel any better about where they're at, either. It's going to be a very ugly season in Boulder if things don't get fixed, quick.

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Kansas State

Every year, at least one team people have playoff hopes for has a nightmare season out of the blue. One of those years where nothing goes right from the start, and things just snowball out of control. Florida State and (to a lesser extent) Kansas were those teams last year. Kansas State is the early contender to be 2025's.

In just four weeks, the Wildcats have gone from playoff favorites out of the Big 12 to 1-3 after losing 23-17 to Arizona. There's plenty of blame to go around, but QB Avery Johnson has played far too much football to still be this hit-or-miss. Something to consider: Florida State started last season with a week zero conference loss in Ireland they never recovered from. Maybe there's no correlation! I'd just be wary as hell scheduling one of those games given what's happened to the losing team afterwards lately.

Oklahoma State

They were on a bye, but it's still worth mentioning that they lost 69-3 to Oregon last week. They better take care of Tulsa on Saturday, because it might be the only win left on their schedule.

3. Georgia-Tennessee

Round of applause to Georgia and Tennessee for giving us a vintage "SEC on CBS"-style banger. This game was high-octane from the start, and took so many different twists and turns that I never felt comfortable about either team having it in the bag. Vols fans have to be sick today:

I don't know how you view this as anything other than a "championship teams find a way" cliche win for Georgia. The Dawgs got hit with a couple huge haymakers in the first half, then rallied from down eight in the fourth quarter before winning in overtime. This TD from Gunner Stockton to London Humphreys was as nails a play as we've seen so far this season: