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USATSI

The 2023 coaching carousel has started spinning now that Texas A&M has moved on from Jimbo Fisher and committed itself to a staggering buyout in one of the most impactful moves of the season. If Week 11 of the 2023 college football season is any indication, the SEC -- which saw just one coach fired for performance last year -- isn't done yet.  

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has been under the microscope. His Razorbacks entered the year with the plenty of hope for a bounce back after a disappointing conference showing in 2022. It didn't take long for things to fall apart, though. Arkansas suffered six straight losses after starting the year 2-0. Pittman's team hit another low Saturday with a 48-10 loss to Auburn. 

Arkansas could wait until the end of the year to make a move, but Mississippi State might do something sooner. It's clear that Zach Arnett isn't the man for the Bulldogs, though he's just 11 games in and inherited an impossible situation in the wake of Mike Leach's sudden death. Mississippi State has one win in SEC play (vs. Arkansas) and just one of its six conference losses has come down to one possession. Barring a miracle, the Bulldogs are set to have their first losing regular season (discounting the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign) since 2016. 

Here are some other overreactions we were able to pull from Week 11 of the 2023 college football season. 

J.J. McCarthy isn't a Heisman contender

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is a good football player. He has helped the Wolverines play as well as any team in the country and could engineer a run to the national championship. But he is not Heisman Trophy material -- certainly not with this year's crop of talent -- despite enjoying frontrunner status at certain points this season. 

Strangely enough, Michigan's 24-15 win against Penn State hammered that point home. McCarthy started the game with seven completions for 60 yards ... and then he didn't attempt a pass for the next 35 minutes of game time. In fact, the Wolverines ran the ball 32 straight times while hammering Penn State along the line of scrimmage. 

The run game was working, so it makes sense that UM's coaching staff would stick with it, especially with offensive line coach and rushing attack maestro Sherrone Moore running the show. Still, Michigan largely took the ball out of McCarthy's hands to secure its biggest win of the year. Whether it was dictated by game flow or not, that's hardly a resounding case for Heisman contention, no matter what numbers McCarthy may have put up against a schedule that ranked No. 112 nationally entering Week 11. 

Penn State will benefit from college football's new look

The future is bright for Penn State, and not necessarily because of anything the Nittany Lions have done on the field this year. In fact, 2023 might be considered another disappointment for coach James Franklin, who will likely reach 10 wins without competing for a conference championship or a spot in the College Football Playoff. Under Franklin, Penn State has played third fiddle behind Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten East. 

But the future of the Big Ten, and college football on a national scale, should give the Nittany Lions faithful plenty of hope. Penn State gets to step out of the Big Ten East's shadow. In fact, it doesn't have any permanent opponents under the new scheduling model, nor does it have to play the Wolverines and the Buckeyes in the same season again for at least a few years. 

That, and the new 12-team College Football Playoff model, means Penn State shouldn't have much trouble hanging around the national conversation past the first couple of months of the regular season moving forward.

Jalen Milroe has the makings of a No. 1 overall pick

Not this season, though Milroe has done his mandatory three years in college and is eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. The budding Alabama star is just starting to hit his stride and -- calling it now -- will work his way into the No. 1 overall conversation if he comes back next season. 

Milroe has been as good as any player in the country over the last couple of weeks. He came alive in the second half against Tennessee, leading Alabama on a 27-0 scoring run to erase a 20-7 first-half deficit and avenge 2022's loss. In the past eight quarters of football, Milroe is responsible for 10 touchdowns.

He had six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) in Saturday's win against Kentucky to secure Alabama's return to the SEC Championship Game. He's also completed at least 65% of his passes with just two interceptions in the past three games. Milroe has a cannon for an arm, an absurd ability to make plays with his legs, and his accuracy and decision-making get better with each passing week. There is no ceiling for what he can do in 2024. 

James Madison deserves better

If the NCAA sticks with its mandate barring the Dukes from competing in the postseason due to their recent transition from the FCS to FBS levels, though, that's not just anti-common sense. It's anti-athlete. 

James Madison's players have worked incredibly hard for this season's 10-0 record. The Dukes -- which are 15-3 against FBS competition over the past two seasons -- should be a fringe top-15 team in the College Football Playoff Rankings with their sights set firmly on a New Year's Six bowl. Instead, they don't even qualify for the Sun Belt Championship Game as things stand. 

Denying one team the opportunity to reach such heights to create a level playing field for reclassifying teams is inherently unfair. The ball is in the NCAA's court now after James Madison recently sent a letter requesting relief from the bylaws that keep it out of the postseason -- for a second time. Anything short of granting the request would be criminal. The players, who didn't have a hand in the decision-making process but have risen to the challenge anyway, deserve better.