Hot Seat Rankings: This hog is COOKED

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Welcome to the first full 2StripesCPD Hot Seat Rankings of 2024! Things are already getting toasty for a few coaches around the country, so let's break down who should be the most worried about joining the unemployment line. (Or getting that sweet, sweet buyout money.)

1. Sam Pittman - Arkansas (1-1) (Last week: 4)

Oh, Sam Pittman.

Arkansas turned what should've been a dominant win to dramatically cool Pittman's seat into a 39-31 double overtime loss at No. 16 Oklahoma State. The Hogs outgained the Cowboys 648-385, had twelve more first downs, were 11-19 on third downs, and held star RB Ollie Gordon to just 49 yards rushing. So how did they find a way to lose?

They led 14-0 with nine minutes to play in the second quarter and had the ball on the Oklahoma State 29 - they threw a pick six:

They led 21-10 with 3:30 left in the third and had the ball on the Oklahoma State 49 - RB Ja'Quinden Jackson fumbled a simple toss:

They didn't score on this possession:

Their defense forced a punt on the ensuing Oklahoma State drive, but they fumbled it:

They had the ball inside the Oklahoma State 30 the next drive and once again came away with nothing:

After both teams traded player and coaching miscues for the rest of regulation, each missed field goals in the first overtime. Arkansas looked poised to hold Oklahoma State to another field goal attempt, but took an unnecessary roughness personal foul on a nothing play that should've resulted in a third-and-nine:

The Cowboys scored on the next play, then got the two-point conversion. It was only fitting that the game ended with the Hogs failing to get a single yard:

I said this in the 10 takeaways column, but I'll repeat it here: There's almost nothing worse –short of a blowout– that a coach on the hot seat can do than completely bungling an upset attempt. Any goodwill you might get from your fanbase for keeping it close is replaced by frustration at not closing the deal, and in Pittman's case, showcasing the repeated errors plaguing the program. It's not like this was a case of Oklahoma State turning it on in the second half, either. They made a handful of their own bone-headed mistakes, and tried to throw the game right back to Arkansas whenever they had a chance:

What's odd is that there are legitimate things to like about Arkansas moving forward. Green and Jackson each played great –outside of two big mistakes– and both are dynamic. The offense is fun, and will keep them in games. Unfortunately, there are five sure-fire losses left on their schedule (Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas, @ Missouri) while matchups with Auburn and Texas A&M are tossups, at best. Getting to a bowl might be enough to save Pittman, but that looks out of the question after blowing this one.

Offensive Coordinator Bobby Petrino will be named Arkansas Interim Head Coach at some point this season –what a press conference that'll be– it's just a matter of when.

2. Billy Napier - Florida (1-1) (Last week: 1)

Florida's 45-7 beatdown of Samford mixed with Arkansas' failures means Billy Napier gets a break from the top spot, at least for a week. The good news for Napier is that Gators fans finally have something to be excited about. Much-hyped freshman QB DJ Lagway filled in for the injured Graham Mertz, threw for 456 yards and made some spectacular plays along the way. The bad news is that his fanbase is even more pissed at him now because he's still rolling with Mertz as the starter against Texas A&M on Saturday:

I'll shoot Napier some bail and guess what I think he's trying to accomplish here:

He knows Lagway has the much higher upside, and that's who everyone wants to see. He also knows Lagway is still raw, and naming him the outright starter against A&M is risky. If Lagway struggles, do you pull him and potentially ruin his confidence –or worse– by going back to Mertz? Making Mertz the starter allows him to not only bring Lagway in at certain times, but also make a switch without worrying about the future if he needs to (and he'll definitely need to.) I don't agree with it, but I get the logic. (If that's what he's thinking.)

Florida can beat A&M, but will still have a hell of a time winning enough to keep Napier around, regardless of who his starting QB is.

3. Scott Satterfield - Cincinnati (Last week: 5)

I had Cincinnati-Pitt as one of the four YouTubeTV games on my second TV right until the Bearcats went up 27-6 with 4:50 left in the third quarter. I switched it to something else and didn't think twice about it. You can imagine my surprise when I found out a couple hours later that that Pitt scored 22 points over the next 21 minutes and won 28-27.