Every day in every sport there is a story about a coach on the verge of losing his job due to his team’s poor performance, AKA “The Hot Seat.” There are certain jobs that a coach starts on the hot seat before ever coaching a game. The manager of the Yankees, head basketball coach at Kentucky and whoever is coaching the Cowboys for Jerry Jones feel the pressure before, during and after each season. That’s the pressure every sports fan knows about.
There is a different kind of hot seat for a select few college football coaches in the country. Their jobs are not in jeopardy and there is no way an athletic director would fire them without something terrible happening. The pressure these coaches feel is one that most fans never consider, it’s the pressure to cover spreads while playing the cupcake portion of the schedule. Boosters not only give big money to schools but they also do some wagering and they expect the home team to beat the big spread against the weak opponent scheduled for the purpose of getting an easy win.
Here’s a look at a few of the coaches willing to run up the score on an inferior opponent.
Urban Meyer – Since he’s been at Florida the Gators have been money early in the season against lesser opposition. If there was any doubt about Meyer wanting to cover that was erased last season when he sent in his special teams unit to kick a meaningless field goal at the end of the Miami game. There is a reason that linesmakers have made Florida a 73 point favorite in Week 1 against Charleston Southern. It might finally be a number Urban can’t get to but I wouldn’t bet against it for anything.
Jim Tressel – Don’t let the sweater vest and tie lull you into thinking he is Mr. Nice Guy. Given the opportunity to crush an opponent the Buckeyes will shift into another gear and blow away the competition. Remember Cincinnati in 2006? The Ohio State University was winning by 27 points as time was expiring. The problem was the Buckeyes were 29 point favorites. Tressel called timeout, sent out his field goal unit and won by 30 to get the cover. His reasoning after the game? “I just wanted to get our kicker some game experience.” Sure he did!
Bob Stoops – It’s obvious that Stoops learned about how to be successful as OU head coach from Barry Switzer. Barry hasn’t bought a meal in Oklahoma during his tenure or since because he made boosters a lot of money by hanging big numbers on the scoreboard. The new coach does the same and that’s why you don’t see many spreads less than 20 for the Sooners. It’s never wise to bet against Oklahoma just because the spread is big because scoring points without a conscience is the norm in Norman.
There you have the “Big Three” who like to cover the number no matter how large. Don’t blindly wager on these coaches but it’s not smart to go against them early in the season either. Let Cary Bonnell at www.CBWins.com guide you through this upcoming college football season with his analysis and information.
