A quiet September didn’t mean the heat was off.
No college football head coaches were fired during the first month of the 2026 regular season, even after a year in which dismissals stretched across all three months of the season. But the opening month still sharpened the spotlight on a few names that were already hovering in the hot-seat conversation, while also dragging others into the mix after ugly starts.
At the top of the list sits Lincoln Riley at USC. The Trojans entered 2026 with College Football Playoff hopes, but those have started to fade fast.
Wins over Louisiana and Rutgers in mid-September didn’t exactly calm the nerves, and a 41-27 home loss to Oregon brought the same old concern back into focus: Riley’s trouble beating elite opponents. USC can still only afford one more slip if it wants a shot at the playoff, and that means beating either Ohio State or Indiana.
There’s also UCLA, which surged in September, and a loss to the Bruins alongside a missed playoff chance could become the final layer on an underwhelming tenure.
Mike Norvell’s situation at Florida State looks even more bleak. The Seminoles’ miserable 2024 season and late collapse in 2025 already left the program in a fog of apathy heading into this year, and the university made leadership changes above Norvell in September.
On the field, Florida State still hasn’t beaten a Power Four opponent and hasn’t shown much to suggest better days are right around the corner. The schedule doesn’t offer much relief either, with Virginia coming to town, followed by trips to Louisville and Miami.
If a mediocre Clemson team wins in Doak Campbell Stadium on Halloween, it’ll be difficult to justify keeping Norvell any longer.
Shane Beamer is fighting his own battle at South Carolina. A 4-8 finish in 2025 already made his seat the hottest in the SEC, and two league games haven’t changed that.
South Carolina blew a third-quarter lead and lost 41-34 at home to Mississippi State in its SEC opener, then got rolled 49-18 at Alabama in a game that never felt close. This week brings what feels like a must-win opportunity against No.
24 Kentucky at home. If Beamer survives that one, Florida is next, and the Gators are bringing momentum in SEC play.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell's Pressure Just Changed But Florida State Still Has Work Left
Mike Norvell no longer sits atop the coaching hot-seat conversation the way he did when Florida State opened the season 2-2, a shift that says as much about the volatility of the national coaching picture as it does about the Seminoles themselves. USA Todays latest list pushed Norvell out of the most uncomfortable spotlight, with other high-profile names drawing the sharper scrutiny after rough starts and mounting pressure elsewhere around the country.
Still, Florida States relief is relative. The Seminoles are not operating from a position of total comfort, and Norvells status has changed more because the landscape around him has worsened for others than because the work in Tallahassee is suddenly done. With the season still taking shape, Florida State has plenty left to prove, even if the conversation has temporarily moved on to bigger storms at places like USC and South Carolina. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State May Already Fear A Costly Coaching Miss
Florida States uneven path in the 2026 season has kept attention fixed on Mike Norvell, and the broader conversation around the program has only gotten sharper as the Seminoles look for stability. What makes the situation sting is not just the pressure of the moment, but the way another ACC job has seemed to find traction with the very kind of coach Florida State might wish it had pursued more aggressively.
James Franklins success at Virginia Tech has given the Hokies real momentum on the recruiting trail, a reminder of how quickly the right hire can alter a programs direction. For Florida State, that creates an uncomfortable backdrop: if the Seminoles do make a change, they will be doing so while watching a rival-turned-comparison point build something that may have been available to them before the present uncertainty took hold. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Gets An Early Gut Check For Luke Loucks New Look Team
Florida States nonconference slate is already offering a clear early test for Luke Loucks and a Seminoles program trying to build on last seasons 18-15 finish. The mens team is set to face Tennessee on Dec. 1 in Knoxville as part of the SEC/ACC Mens Basketball Challenge, and it figures to be one of the first major indicators of how Loucks second-year group stacks up against a physical, veteran opponent.
Rick Barnes has made Tennessee a steady force in his 12th season, and the Volunteers bring a roster that includes Jalen Haralson, Dai Dai Ames, Juke Hurts, Miles Rubin and center DeWayne Brown. For Florida State, the trip is more than just another date on the schedule. It is the kind of road game that can quickly expose where the Seminoles are ahead of schedule and where the new-look team still has work to do. [Read more 🡒]