The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Coaching Pressure Index: 10 Head Coaches under Pressure this Season

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

FOX Sports’ lead College Football analyst Joel Klatt looks at 10 Head Coaches and breaks down how much pressure each is under heading into the upcoming season. He also points out which games in the schedule the temperature could really ratchet up on them. He discusses coaches with big expectations like Penn State’s James Franklin and LSU’s Brian Kelly as well as HC’s like USC’s Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables who are trying to convince their fanbases that they are the right coaches for the jobs. What level of pressure is Kalen DeBoer under to perform in Year 2 at Alabama? How has Nico Iamaleava’s departure affected the need for a big season for Josh Heupel at Tennessee? How comfortable are Billy Napier and Mike Norvell in the battle with Miami for supremacy in the state of Florida? It’s been an eventful start at North Carolina for Bill Belichick – has he brought pressure on himself to perform in Year 1? Klatt also discusses the situation Luke Fickell finds himself in at Wisconsin as he tries to bring the Badgers back to the top half of the Big Ten while staring at one of the toughest schedules in the country. 0:00-1:45 Intro1:46-3:04 Klatt’s coaching pressure index3:05-6:52 Kalen DeBoer6:53-10:16 James Franklin10:17-13:49 Lincoln Riley13:50-17:35 Brent Venables17:36-21:04 Brian Kelly21:05-25:07 Josh Heupel25:08-27:43 Bill Belichick27:44-30:06 Mike Norvell30:07-31:56 Billy Napier31:57-37:17 Luke Fickell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I want to be abundantly clear. This is not a hot seat show. This is a pressure index show. So at this point, the fan base right now, just trying to be patient with Kailin DeBore. There's this moment in the schedule where it's like, if they were to lose this game, everything changes. And maybe the patient swears out.

If Penn State loses that game, all anyone is going to be talking about is that James Franklin can't win these games. We went way outside of the box, and we hired the goat. The greatest NFL coach may be in history. So we're just happy he's here. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. Believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football.

Hey, welcome into the program, everybody. This is the Joel Clatt show. I am Joel Clad, and this show, as always, is brought to you by Hampton, by Hilton. We thank them for their support as always. Welcome into the show. Our off-season content continues to roll along here. One week closer to the college football season, which we can't wait for. I cannot wait for college football.

I know you can't wait for college football. But here's what I wanted to do today. I wanted to take a look at a few coaches throughout the country and kind of gauge where the pressure meter is with them, what the fan bases are thinking of them. This is not a hot seat type of a take type of deal. This is just like, let's check in on a few of these coaches throughout the country. But first, remember, go subscribe to the channel.

You can go out there to YouTube, subscribe to the channel. You can follow along, hit the notification button. You know when our content drops. Then you can jump into the comments down below. can have a discussion about this sport down below. You can also follow us on social media. We're everywhere where you could possibly social media. We're there. At Joel Clashow, you can get all of our content right there. Okay, so here we go. Like I said, I've got coaches that I want to talk about it. And this is not, this is not. I want to be abundantly clear.

This is not a hot seat show. This is a pressure index show. So I wanted to define the categories a little bit differently, rather than just like, hot, see, this or that. I wanted to talk about pressure, and I wanted to pinpoint the spot on the schedule where I think the pressure is going to be at its highest for each one of these coaches I'm going to talk about today. So let's first start by defining these categories that I want to throw out and kind of label with today. Here they are.

just happy you're here. We like you, but trying to be patient. Is this going to work? And it's time. So those are our five categories that we're going to throw some of these coaches in. And then again, I wanted to talk about the specific spot on the schedule where I think that this pressure is going to be at its maximum. And in particular with what a win or a loss in that spot in that game would mean for the rest of the schedule and how we've been.

view these coaches, their programs, their 10 years, what the narrative would be like surrounding them. So this will be a fun little thought experiment as we roll along in the offseason. Let's start down in Tuscaloosa at Alabama with Kalin DeBoer going into his second year at Alabama. And I think where we fall here knowing the impatience of that fan base is that they're trying to be patient. So at this point, the fan base right now, just trying to be patient with Kalin DeBoer. we want to see what this guy has. Year two of DeBoer, year one was, let's face it, a little underwhelming for Kalin DeBoer.

They're nine and four. First time not winning 10 games since 2007. That was obviously Nick Sabin's first year. Like, you know, they're not going to sit around and like wait for these eight win and nine win season. So trying to be patient, but they saw some things. He obviously has been great everywhere that he's been as a head coach, in particular making the national championship game with Washington,

right before he got down to Tuscaloosa. He's in place at a place that is expected to win and not just win, but win big, and win at the highest level of college football. Can't miss the playoff in particular as we have expansion to 12 and we're going to be moving in 20, 26 and beyond to 14, possibly 16 or most likely 16, as we've talked about on this show at length. I think that it could get a little uncomfortable for Kalin DeBore. When you look at that schedule, it's not the Georgia game.

The Georgia game, to me, is like, you know, it's a coin flip game. And as we've seen, Georgia lost Alabama, still won the SEC last year. The same has happened, you know, in reverse. So, like, that game is not where the pressure is really sitting. Everybody, even in Tuscaloosa, knows that that's kind of a coin flip game, and in particular going to Athens. They should beat FSU in the opener. I don't think that that's a game that should be too difficult.

Even if they lose at Georgia, there's no shame in that. But there's this moment in the schedule where it's like, if they were to lose this game, everything changes. Everything changes. And maybe the patient wears out. Now, I don't know what that means necessarily for his future, but I think that the patience wears out. And that's Tennessee at home October 18th.

that's the moment on the schedule. Home losses, first of all, are not good. And then they would be starting really tough. And in a schedule that is more backloaded, you know, obviously you've got Georgia. So let's just say, like, if you're losing to Tennessee, you probably lost to Georgia. So that would be your second loss.

It would be your second loss in the SEC. And then you still have to go to South Carolina and then host LSU. Well, listen now, if you were to just lose to Tennessee, who doesn't have Nico I, Malayava, and now you're about to go play Lenore Sellers and Garrett Nussmeyer, I think South Carolina and LSU are both better teams than Tennessee. John Mateer is better than any option that Tennessee has at quarterback.

You still have to play Oklahoma. You still have the Iron Bowl. So think about that for a moment. Now, let's just throw out there. Like, let's say they lose a close one to Georgia, but then lose a home game to Tennessee. now all of a sudden you would likely have to run the table in order to avoid like a 9 and 3 finish. And we saw what 9 and 3 did last year.

Even in the SEC, we thought for a lot of years that in a 12-team playoff, a 9-and-3 team would go to the playoff. And guess what? That didn't happen. That didn't happen. So the pressure would go through the roof for Kalin DeBore. But that's the spot. That Tennessee game at home, he's got to win that game.

All right. So the pressure index for Kalin-Dibor, they're trying to be patient, but the patients would wear out real fast if they were to lose that game at, or excuse me, at home to Tennessee. All right, let's go to up north. Penn State, James Franklin. For James Franklin, it's time. It's time. And everybody around that program knows it. He knows it. His coordinators know it. Even the new one, Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator coming over from Ohio State. He knows it. this is a program that has built itself on such solid footing over the last few years, making it to the national semifinals a year ago, playing for a big 10 title a year ago.

And yet, and yet, here's the problem. Penn State under James Franklin still doesn't have that win, at least in recent vintage in the last four or five seasons, against a team that maybe they are similar to or matched up with or even an underdog too. I would call it a matchup game. When talent is equated, what has generally happened is that Penn State has fallen short. They have not won those games against Ohio State or Michigan in previous seasons or Oregon last year. Now, I don't want to scoff the fact that Penn State has done something that is incredibly difficult to do, which is they do not lose to teams that they should beat.

So they're incredibly consistent. So credit to James Franklin. You know, but it's time. It's time. So where on the schedule do we feel that pressure ratchet up? Hosting Oregon. They host Oregon Saturday, September 27th. It's been announced as a wideout game.

You don't even have to kick it at noon, Penn State. You get the whiteout. So not only do you have the home game in this first big matchup of the season where our talent is equated, it's a matchup game, but you get the coveted whiteout. one of if not the best environments in college football. You get a team that is bringing in a new quarterback this year. They don't have the veteran Dylan Gabriel, right? Now, as good as Oregon has been,

you would say the like talent is equated in this matchup, in particular with all of these older players that Penn State is bringing back. If Penn State loses that game, all anyone is going to be talking about is that James Franklin can't win these games. because that's the slow-boiling narrative going into the season. However unfair, whatever it is, it's accurate. But again, they've done incredible things, solid footing, great job. I'm going to have them in the top three of the country when we start in the fall.

He's got to win that game. If you don't beat Oregon at home in the whiteout, you're like, oh, no. Like, is this going to work? So again, it's time. You don't want to put that on your shoulders in November at the shoe against Ohio State. Then they would potentially have a Big Ten championship game. If you don't beat Oregon at home, you probably aren't going to beat Ohio State on the road, which means you're probably not going to be in the Big Ten title game,

which means that you're going to have to play as a non-buy team in the college football playoff, maybe even have to go on the road. And the goal here is to get to a place that you haven't been before. They did that in some respects last year, but even in the playoffs. Remember, they beat SMU and Boise before losing to Notre Dame. So it's time. It's time. And that game, September 27th at home against Oregon is the spot.

And it's the moment for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. Let's go to a couple of interesting ones. And these two I put back to back for a reason because they're really in the same spot. Let's go out west in the Big Ten. I know that sounds weird. But USC Lincoln Riley. Lincoln Riley is firmly in the category of, is this going to work? We have seen it work once in the year that they almost went to the college football playoff.

That was his first year. And yet, we look up and it's like, yeah, last year was incredibly underwhelming. Riley's tenure started off gangbusters. But he's coming off these two underwhelming seasons. I will say they had a good finish last year. I do think that there's things to get excited about. They won three of their last four, including the bull win over A&M. When Riley was hired, it was widely viewed as a home run.

I said it. Others said it. And I think that that's still true. This is still an elite coach. You look at what he's done during the course of his career. He's an elite coach. Okay. So you look at the schedule and you're like, all right, well, where's that moment?

Where is the pressure moment? And it's easy to look at the biggest games, but there's this sneaky game on the road in September that is vital for USC because I think it tells you everything that you need to know about what they would potentially be at the top end and what they would potentially be at the bottom end. So where does the pressure really ratchet up for Lincoln Riley? It's the road game in September at Illinois. That's the moment. Because think about it. USC really should be 4 and 0 when they go to Champaign. I think Illinois is going to be a 4 and 0 team at that point, likely in the top 10.

USC might be sniffing the top 10. It's going to be a first tough four-game stretch that's going to go a long way to determine how the season goes and how the fan base feels about Lincoln. Because look at what that four-game stretch is. I'm talking about this four-game stretch that you're looking at at your screen, which is Illinois, then you've got Michigan, October 11th,

then you're at Notre Dame, and then you're at Nebraska. So that's how you kind of like get through from Illinois to November. If you lose to Illinois, well, now I don't have a lot of faith that you're going to beat Nebraska. I don't have a lot of faith that you're going to beat Notre Dame and, like, traveling to Nebraska. I don't, you know, I don't know what that means for USC. Even though I know and believe that Illinois is going to be a really good football team, it puts USC on a path towards like, are they going to be seven and five again?

And they cannot have another seven and five season. So that's why it's like, is this going to work? with Lincoln Riley. I think that we find out in that September matchup against Illinois. And then a win, that provides a huge boost. It provides a huge boost in recruiting, which they've done remarkably well. I believe they're right now, at least for next year, one of if not the top-rated class in the country, depending on the service that you use to rank those. And you look up and that would continue that narrative. And then they can go and they can build on that. And if you win that game at Illinois, knowing what we know about Illinois, bringing back to our quarterback, you know, winning

10 games last year, Brett Bilemon, what he's been able to do. Now you can look at nine wins or 10 wins. And now you can start to think about, wait, are we a playoff team at USC? So that's how that game really takes the season and it makes it a huge fork in the road for Lincoln Riley. And it's the pressure meter game right there. Is this going to work? We find out on September 27. By the way, The guy that replaced him is in the exact same boat. So I'm going to pair these guys up together. Next guy is Brent Venables at Oklahoma. And was Brent Venables at Oklahoma?

It's, is this going to work? Again, viewed as a home run higher. After Lincoln Riley left and went out west, they got there a guy, a guy that in a lot of respects was homegrown, had won national championships as a defensive coordinator for Clemson, and he came back. And here he is. Venables has had two bad and one great season.

Maybe not great, but good. I mean, they won 10 games. So in a lot of ways, it mirrors exactly what Lincoln Riley has had. Two poor seasons, one really good season, and they're three years at their respective locations. Two years ago, he got OU into the top five in the country. They beat Texas, but they've taken a step back since then. Dylan Gabriel left in the transfer portal. And since then, they're 10 and 10 since that win in the Cotton Bowl with Dylan Gabriel over Texas in 2023.

So they're a 500 team since then. They've invested in the portal. They've done a really nice job. They brought in a new offensive coordinator in Arbuckle. They brought in a really good quarterback and John Matier. Venables is back to calling the defense. I think that helps them. All hands are on deck.

So where's the point? Where's the pressure point in this season? Early. It is early. And it's not even in the SEC. They host Michigan week two. September 6th. That is a giant moment for Brent Venables.

Again, like I said, if you go back to 2023 and beating Texas, they're 10 and 10 since then. That's a 500 team. Imagine for a moment you go in and take care of business against Michigan. Well, now the SEC schedule doesn't quite look like what it did at the beginning of the year. But if you lose to Michigan, breaking in quite possibly a true freshman quarterback, Now, doesn't that SEC schedule look a lot more difficult from that point forward? Sure, it does.

Look at these six games that they would still have to play after Michigan. Texas, Red River, South Carolina, on the road, Lenore Sellers, welcoming Ole Miss at home. Got to go to Neeland, play Tennessee on the road. You got to go to Tuscaloosa, play Alabama on the road. Welcome Garrett Nussmeyer and LSU, likely a top 10 team. Folks, if they lose to Michigan, week two, they're going to go two and four at best in those games, which means it's a five-loss year in Norman. That's why that game is so important.

The Michigan game is huge. Both programs, really, but more so for Oklahoma. you know, if you're Michigan, you can ride it off a little bit. You know, our coach, we're going to deal with his suspension after that game. We've got a true freshman quarterback. Don't worry, we'll be fine. We've got our national championship. We're going to continue to build and invest into our culture.

But a loss for OU, you look down the barrel of that schedule and you're just like, oh, my goodness, is this going to work? And that's the question that you would pause. By the way, by the way, that's a giant game when it comes to the postseason, not only for OU but for the conferences. If Michigan were to go in there and beat Oklahoma, depending on what happens in the conference, you're talking about a really big swing game

if you're looking at who's sneaking into the playoff here at the end of the year. So Venables, is this going to work? Lincoln Riley, is this going to work? Those are the two games. USC at Illinois, Oklahoma hosting Michigan week two of the season, September 6th. All right, let's stay in the SEC,

and let's talk about Brian Kemp. Kelly. Okay. So for Brian Kelly, it's very similar, at least in my mind, to James Franklin, which means it's time. It's time. Year four for Brian Kelly, rough start to the tenure, right? Like, you remember the accent. You debuted that Southern accent so well. We had the bad recruiting video with him dancing. Yeah, and then you look up and it's a little. It's like, okay, but they've had two 10-win seasons. In most places, 10-win seasons get people off of your back. They've had a nine-win season, but here's the difference.

Expectations are sky-high at LSU. Every coach this century is won a national championship at LSU. It's why Brian Kelly went to LSU. He didn't go down there to build South Bend South. He went specifically because he felt like this program, this location, was going to give him a better chance to win an National Championship. And look at every coach that has coached at LSU this century.

Nick Sabin won a national championship. Les Miles won a national championship. Ed Ogeron won a national championship. It gave him a big, fat contract. Kelly needs a great start to the season, and that's exactly where the pressure point is. It's time. Week 1 at Clemson, the opener at Clemson is the moment for Brian Kelly.

He can't lose that game. And that's an incredibly tough game. I actually think Clemson's a little bit better than LSU, so now we're expecting him to take a team on the road and go beat Davosweeney, who's won a national championship, and Cade Clubnick, who has played a lot of football and just went to the college football playoff, and he's got to win that game.

If he doesn't, look up at the rest of the schedule. The rest of the schedule becomes so much more daunting, okay? The Clemson game is really the crux of the argument because now you look up and you still have Florida, that one at home, you still have to go to Ole Miss. You still have to play Lenora Sellers in South Carolina. You still have to play Texas A&M.

You still have to go on the road and go to Alabama. You still have to go on the road and play in Norman. So the Clemson games becomes massively important. Plus, we all think that Clemson's going to be the class of the ACC. If they're in fact the ACC champion and you could notch a win in their building, what would that do to your playoff resume? it would be pretty good. It would be pretty good.

That's why this is such an important game. Now, imagine for a moment he loses that opener. While it's a really good team and they're on the road and it's early and you can say all the things about like, hey, you know what, it's fine. I just don't know if there's going to be enough margin with those six games that I threw up on the board. The SEC is incredibly deep. They haven't had the national championships in the last couple of years, but that doesn't. doesn't mean that they're any less deep. Those are tough games.

They'd have to go six and two minimum just to be a nine and three team and potentially make the playoff. And those are really tough to go six and two through that. So it's time for Brian Kelly, and that time is going to come right off the bat. Season opener on the road at Clemson. All right, let's go to Tennessee, Josh Heiple. I didn't really want to, like, put Hypo on the pressure index. But then I got to tell you, didn't love the whole Niko Iomaleava saga.

So, like, where do we sit, Tennessee fans with Josh Hypo? I think it's, we like you, but some really good years with Josh Hyple. Some marquee failures under Josh Hypole. it does not help that they lost their quarterback. And I'm sorry, but there's just more to the story than the Tennessee faithful want to throw out there. They ran out there and ran Nico I'maliava under the bus. Now, I'm not saying Iamaleava and his family didn't share in some of the blame for how the relationship went south, but it wasn't all that happened.

And so it's like, hey, we like you, but we don't have a quarterback anymore. and what are we doing? I think that they should be Tennessee fans. I think that they're mostly happy with the Hypo era, especially after coming off their first playoff appearance last year, but then they ran out there with their shirts off, like a whatever, and then they got ran out of the building. They take a stand, which most of the fan base enjoyed, liked, backed,

with Nico and his family, but it comes apart, and now you've got to deliver without him against the schedule that's pretty difficult. I think that that comes to a fruition, Oklahoma on November 1st. So here's how I entered this. I want to also talk about a couple of games before this that I thought about. So let's look at Tennessee at Alabama, October 18th. You could say like, oh, no, that's the pressure game. But is it really, after losing Nico, Tennessee fan base,

do you really think you're just going to roll into Tuscaloosa and win? then I thought to myself like, now Kentucky's the one. Kentucky's the pressure game because Kentucky is the one that you just can't lose to. And it's on the road. That would have been easy.

But you know the game that it's, it really is, it's Oklahoma. That's the game. That's the moment that the pressure comes to fruition for Josh Heiple. I think they really should be five and one.

I'm going to give them the win at Kentucky going into the second half of the year. I think that they're going to lose to Georgia, the 5 and 1 going into this stretch, meaning, second half of the schedule is much tougher. So then, like, let's say they lose to Alabama, then they're 5 and 2. Let's say they win. Now they're 6 and 2. Now you've got OU.

And it's like, you're either a 6 and 3 team or you're a 7 win team moving forward. And you've got this idea that OU wants to take your spot in the conference. Remember now, hierarchy of the conference is going to be so important as we move forward. do not want to lose ground. You don't want to lose ground. In particular in this day and age of narrative and recruiting and transfer portal, you don't want to be seen as the team that's slipping. You want to be seen as the team that's rising.

And OU wants to get where Tennessee is. So this hierarchy of conference, OU is the one that's trying to get there. And you can't lose that game. It's also at home. It's also at home. And if Tennessee fans all of a sudden witness their third loss at home to OU, and they're like, hold on, I thought we were past this OU type of stuff.

Now, what are we going to do at Florida? You know, it becomes much more difficult to look at the rest of that schedule and think to yourself like, okay, what are we doing here? What are we doing here? That game is where the pressure ratchets up for Josh Hypole. So we like you, but you better beat O'Cle. Oklahoma at home. Let's move on. Bill Belichick, North Carolina. This one's an interesting one and an easy one for now. We're just happy you're here. We're just happy you're here. And this is going to be a little

bit different than the rest of the coaches on this one because I think that the pressure index is not actually on Bill Belichick. Let's be honest. Like Bill Belichick is not going to feel a lot of pressure at North Carolina. If this doesn't go his way, he doesn't seem like a guy that is going to lose a lot of sleep over this. but the pressure index is more so on the fan base, because you can tell that the fan base, not all that dissimilar to Colorado, is kind of like invested in this. It's like, oh my gosh,

we went way outside of the box, and we hired the goat. The greatest NFL coach may be in history. And we brought him here to coach college football at North Carolina, so we're just happy he's here. And so guess where the pressure gets ratcheted up? Not in their schedule,

but in the Giants' schedule, the New York Giants. because the Giants very well could be a really bad team. Belichick can absolutely pay the $1 million to get out of his contract. So if he all of a sudden has an opportunity to go back to the NFL and go back and coach the New York Giants where he has a history, no granted, there was some hard feelings here and there. We all watched the 30 for 30 on the bills, the two bills.

I'm going to go with December 1st, the Giants at Patriots, last game before the Giants buy, it's against the Patriots. So here's their last five, or excuse me, here's the five before the buy week. Sorry. So you've got San Francisco, Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit, and then New England. So let's just say sake of argument, what if the Giants are like 2 and 11 at that point? Do you think dayball is getting fired? Probably. Right at the end of the college football season, right in a bye week for the Giants,

that's where the pressure is ratcheted up. So we're happy you're here. But guess what? The fan base is going to feel an immense amount of pressure in that by week after potentially a Monday night victory for the New England Patriots over the New York Giants. that's the one. That's the pressure game.

So we're happy you're here, but we hope you're here after December 1st. Let's go with Mike Norville, Florida State. I think he's in the Josh Hypo category. We like you, but obviously, I think that they're happy Mike Norvel is there. Norvel in his two years since the 13-0 start in 2023. It's coming off of that two-and-10 season,

where they became the first preseason top 10 team to lose 10 games. He got a massive contract extension. So, like, I don't think that they're moving off of Mike Norvell. You know, I don't think that they want to spend that type of money. But, like, from going from the 13 and 0 team that missed the playoff to 2 in 10 is just like, that is a wild margin. So I think that the game October 4th against Miami is a really big one for them. FSU fans are going to want to make sure that last year wasn't a one-season anomaly.

They were blown out by Miami last year. Can't happen again. If they lose, they need to show that the gap isn't widening between those two programs. And then here's the other part is like I talked about the hierarchy within the conference for OU and Tennessee. But how about the hierarchy within the state for Florida State and Miami? I think that's a big issue here and maybe even Florida. So Florida State, they've got some tough games. This is not an easy schedule, but the Miami one in particular, Miami's got some juice in this state right now.

And they've got to prove that they can play at that level or even beat Miami because if it goes to the way that it did last year, that's when it's going to get, like, ratcheted up to a thousand. I don't think that they can go out there and get blown out by Miami. I don't think that they will, but that's the one because you would. still have a game at Clemson. You would still have a game at Florida. So now you're talking about like a minimum nine and three, but remember, you still have Bama to start the year. So now we're talking about a minimum of like eight and four. Now, they're likely to go eight and four anyways, but you can't do that and get blown out by Miami without your fan base thinking that we've lost ground.

This was an undefeated program that felt like they got absolutely job out of the 14th playoff two years ago, and now two years later, you're going to have a two in ten season and get blown out by Miami two years in a row. That can't happen. So we like you, but you better play well against Miami. And that's the situation that Mike Norville finds himself in at Florida State. Let's stay in Florida and talk about Billy Napier. Billy Napier is in the same exact category as Mike Norvel. We like you, but is this going to work? I know that that's two different categories, but like that's Billy Napier. Hotest seat in the country last year,

performed well. I think that bringing them back is the right move. The lagway relationship has clearly worked. They finished really strong, winning their last four, including wins against Ole Miss and LSU. Those were big wins.

This year, the expectations are much higher. The schedule is just as difficult, but they're much higher. And they have an incredibly tough four-game stretch early in the year. I think that they need to go at a minimum two and two in these games. This four game stretches at LSU, at Miami, Texas, at Texas A&M. So then we talk about like, well, where is that pressure game? The pressure game is the same pressure game as Florida

State, which is Miami. So it's one thing to lose some of these conference games and understand that the conference schedule is going to be incredibly tough, including, you know, at LSU, at Texas A&M. Texas, we think is going to be a lot. Texas, Texas, we think is going to be a top two team, maybe the top team in the country. You have got to prove that you're not the third-tier team in the state of Florida or the second-tier team in the state of Florida. So the game at Miami is actually the one where the pressure gets ratcheted up. Again, tough four-game stretch. I think they need two-and-two.

If you don't beat Miami, which other two teams are you beating? No, I don't know. I don't know. So that's the stretch. We like you, but you better play well at Miami. on September 20th if you're Billy Napier in Florida. How about Luke Fickle in Wisconsin? I think Wisconsin's just trying to be patient with Luke Fickle.

Fickle is 500 so far in his tenure at Wisconsin. And his first two seasons coming off a disappointing year last year. He received a one year weird extension this offseason, part of their kind of like annual review as a program. Wisconsin may have the toughest schedule in the country, folks, which makes the building process really, really difficult. You know, they've got Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon.

Those losses, I don't think, are going to be, like, huge fodder for the fan base. So this fan base is trying to be patient with Luke Fickle, but you look up and there's a clear game where the pressure gets thrown right on the shoulders of the head coach. and that's the home game against Iowa. That's the game. October 11th, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Here's the reason. Iowa is such a great measuring stick for Wisconsin

because they come from the same place, meaning they come from the old Big Ten West. In a lot of ways, both programs were allowed to define themselves as successful because of the division format in the Big Ten. These two teams constantly represented the Big Ten West and the Big Ten champions. championship game. They would win nine and ten games and playing big bowl games in part because of that easy side of the conference.

So now we do away with divisions and you've got to prove to your fan base that you're going to be the team that rises out and puts itself on the level of the great teams from the former Big Ten East and now include Oregon in that. Okay. So this is a hierarchy game, just like Tennessee and Oklahoma. Iowa at home, it's one thing to lose Alabama. It's one thing to lose to Michigan. It's one thing to lose to Ohio State. It's one thing to lose to Oregon. But you cannot lose to Iowa at home. If you lose to Iowa at home, you start looking around this schedule and you start thinking to yourself like,

are they going to be three and nine? So they're trying to be patient, but like, hey, three and nine is not something that they signed up for. And rightly so. This is a program that feels like they need to. to be putting themselves back onto that echelon where they are the team pushing the top tier of the conference. That was Iowa last year, not Wisconsin. So even with the tough schedule, again, they might be eight and four, but if you're eight and four and you lose to Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, and Oregon, then that patience is going to be rewarded from the fan base.

But if you go three and nine and you lose to Iowa and you lose to Indiana and Illinois and Minnesota, everyone's going to be looking around and being like, hey, what in the world is going on. So these are tough battles for a Luke Fickle. So it starts in October, a game against Iowa. If he does not win that game, now look at their November. This is after, you know, Bama and Ohio State and Michigan and Oregon, then their November, if they lose to Iowa is Washington, Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota. That becomes so much tougher. So much tougher. Brutal, brutal schedule. schedule that I could actually, you know, see a potential three and nine. But it hinges on that Iowa game.

That Iowa game is the one. So Luke Fickle, we're trying to be patient, but that's the game. Iowa. So let's take one more look at all of our coaches. We got 10 coaches up there and the categories we put them in. Bill Belichick, just happy you're here. We like you, but Josh Hypo, Mike Norvell, Billy Napier, you got to win those specific games that we had targeted.

You know, Tennessee, it's the Oklahoma game for both Florida schools. Florida and Florida State. It's the Miami game. Kalin DeBore and Luke Fickle, fan base is trying to be patient. They understand that it might take some time, but listen, for Alabama, you cannot lose to a Nico Iomaleava less Tennessee team at home.

In the same vein, if you're Luke Fickle, you can't lose to Iowa at home. So those fan base is trying to be patient, but we'll see about those two games. Is this going to work for Lincoln, Riley, and Brent Vinnables? Obviously going to be tied together forever. But you look at USC, that road game at Illinois.

For Oklahoma, hosting Michigan, those are the big pressure moments. And then it's time. It is time for two teams that we think could be in the top six, top seven in the country to begin the year. Here we go, Brian Kelly. Here we go, James Franklin. Brian Kelly, the opener against Clemson that's going to tell us everything we need to know about your team, your program and what they can potentially do with that schedule. And then for James Franklin, matchup game.

When's his first matchup game? October, or excuse me, September. late September, Oregon comes to town. It's going to be a wide out. Got to win that game. And that is the pressure index college football coaching episode here for the Joel Clash. We really appreciate you being a part of this and listening to this. Please subscribe to the show on the YouTube channel, get in the comments below.

Leave us a comment on social media. We're at Joel Clash show wherever you like to social media. And I cannot wait for the college football season. Thank you again for listening, watching to everything that we've got going on. We'll see you next week with more content.