The hot seat in college football depends on who’s looking at it.
At some Big 12 schools, it’s all about the coach’s job security. At others, the heat comes from the game sitting right in front of you - the one that suddenly feels like it has to be won.
Each week, there are four Big 12 coaches worth watching for that kind of pressure. Here’s who’s feeling it heading into Week 3.
Texas Tech has a lot riding on Friday night, and that puts Joey McGuire in the spotlight. This isn’t a warning sign about his job.
It’s more about the moment. Houston is the opponent, and there’s plenty at stake for the Red Raiders.
Willie Fritz’s program has its own motivations, but McGuire is the one carrying the bigger burden here. Texas Tech has become a team plenty of people outside Lubbock want to see lose, and that kind of attention brings a different sort of heat. The Red Raiders want to shut that down with a win, especially with the fan base having dragged its heels about playing on Friday night in the first place.
Lance Leipold is in a different kind of pressure cooker at Kansas. The Jayhawks just dropped the Border War game to Missouri, and now they’re headed to London to face Arizona State at Wembley Stadium. That’s a big stage, and it’s the kind of game Leipold needs to win.
He deserves credit for getting Kansas on steadier footing, but the program hasn’t done much since the nine-win 2023 season. There’s momentum around the school thanks to the stadium renovation and the Gateway Project, and that helps raise the profile.
It also raises expectations. If Kansas loses again and starts Big 12 play slowly, the temperature under Leipold only goes up.
Scott Satterfield has pressure of a more familiar kind at Cincinnati. The Bearcats face Miami (OH) in the Victory Bell game, and if you know Cincinnati football, you know that’s not just another date on the schedule. The rivalry has been around for decades, even though they didn’t play it last year.
Miami has plenty to point to, too. The RedHawks reached the MAC championship game last season, and they’ve got a grudge after Cincinnati beat them in the 2024 game, 27-16.
That came after Miami won the 2023 meeting, 31-24, in overtime during Satterfield’s first season. Cincinnati had won the game 17 straight times before he arrived, so dropping this one again would land hard with the fan base.
Kalani Sitake and BYU handled business last week by beating Arizona at home, and now the Cougars head to Fort Collins to face Colorado State. Credit BYU for taking a Group of Six road game - not many programs do that.
Still, this has the feel of a trap. Colorado State has offensive talent, especially quarterback Hauss Hejny, who has thrown nine touchdown passes in two games this season.
BYU is coming off a tough conference opener, and this is the kind of road game that can get messy fast. Sitake and his staff will feel the heat here, because this is not a game BYU wants to lose.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Have Another Reason To Question Big 12 Respect
Even by the standards of conference politics in college football, it was a strange little reminder of where the Big 12 still sits in the national conversation. ESPN recently put together a graphic that got the date wrong for the Texas Tech-Houston game, even though the matchup is airing on FOX, and the mistake landed with the kind of frustration Red Raiders fans know well. It was a small error on paper, but the larger point around it was familiar: the biggest national platforms tend to spend far more time on the SEC, ACC and Big Ten than they do on the Big 12.
For Texas Tech, and for the league as a whole, that kind of coverage gap matters because visibility helps shape perception, and perception often follows teams all the way into playoff discussions. When a conference is treated as an afterthought, even basic attention can feel like a fight, and the ripple effect goes beyond one graphic or one broadcast. Big 12 fans have seen enough to know that getting noticed is part of the battle, and sometimes the fight for respect starts before kickoff even arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Fans Need To Know Whats Different For This Home Opener
Texas Techs home opener against Houston arrives with a few game-day wrinkles that fans will want to sort out before heading to Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock. The Big 12 matchup is set for 7 p.m. CT and will air on FOX, but the schools announcement also folded in parking instructions, new security protocols and a pregame flyover, along with a halftime performance from the Goin Band from Raiderland.
The extra details matter because the Red Raiders are trying to make the experience around home games feel bigger and more intentional this fall. Texas Tech also has rolled out the Every Seat Counts program, an attendance reward initiative tied to home football and mens basketball games, adding another reason for fans to show up early and stay engaged beyond the opening kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Could Force Houston To Prepare For A Very Different Offense
Texas Tech is approaching its matchup with Houston with a little more flexibility at quarterback than usual. The Red Raiders plan to have Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos available alongside starter Will Hammond, giving them another experienced option from a resume that also includes stops at UCF and Boston College.
Hammond is still expected to handle most of the snaps, but Castellanos gives Texas Tech a potential wrinkle if it wants to change pace or lean into a two-quarterback look. Even with limited action this season, his presence adds another layer for Houston to sort through, and the uncertainty around how often he might play could force the Cougars to spend part of the week preparing for more than one version of the Red Raiders offense. [Read more 🡒]