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Looks like Week 8 rushed in like a storm and all the rankings went topsy-turvy. For instance, even though Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are hailed as the No.1 program, they failed to find a spot on the CBS Sports analyst’s specially-curated list. The same goes for No.4 Ohio State Buckeyes’ HC Ryan Day, who too got snubbed from the insider’s list.

Day and Big Ten? Not a match made in heaven. And what about the most talked about college football HC Deion Sanders? Well, even Coach Prime and his boys’ season thus far has slipped into the ‘suspect’ list.    

CBS Sports analyst shakes up Ryan Day and Dan Lanning

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On October 21, walking into a new week, CBS Sports analyst Matt Zenitz came up with his most awaited list, “Head Coaches of the Week.” While he dropped small surprises here and there in the list, what struck the fans was his nomination for the Big Ten category. Well, just when fans expected to see their favorite Day and Lanning in the Big Ten category, the analyst replaced them with two not-so-famous names. Indiana Hoosiers HC Curt Cignetti and Maryland Terrapins HC Mike Locksley. But what might be the reason behind this big snub?

Well, Day has stacked up a big loss this season, that too came from Lanning’s Ducks, and the Buckeyes now stand at 5-1. Despite generating 9 pressures, the most by OSU in any game this season, they failed to register a sack in the loss. This could be passed off as a valid reason for the HC to lose hope.

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On the other hand, with the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, Oregon HC Lanning has already been in a sticky spot after he broke the NCAA rulebook with a 12-men-on-the-field penalty. Now it’s time for Manning to wake up from his goodnight’s sleep now that his name has been struck off from the best HC list even after holding the No.1 spot. Just before the Big 10, the HC duo bumped into the brutal reality check, Deion too bore the blows.

No love for Deion Sanders from Jason Whitlock

The Buffs HC’s biggest critique Jason Whitlock is back at it again. Anyway, the analyst never lets go of any opportunity to be extra hard on Colorado. This time he dished out a brutal reality check for Deion and the Buffs alike. “I believe 28-7 Deion and Colorado are benefiting from playing in a very suspect and weak Big 12,” commented Whitlock. Even after giving Colorado his everything Deion got tagged as ‘fool’s gold.’ Maybe Whitlock is not ready to accept the feat the Buffs have put up this season has got to do something with Coach Prime’s talent.

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Instead, he came up with a stinging comment, “It’s not one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. It’s not that impressive to me given the way college football has changed. This is a fool’s gold this is a reflection of the transfer portal and being able to just buy up talent.” According to Whitlock’s take, Coach Prime doesn’t seem to have any standout coaching skills. Not just this. Jason Whitlock now holds Deion Sanders responsible for Travis Hunter getting hurt. According to him, it’s just Coach Prime and his towering self-confidence thinking of himself as the greatest coach that CFB has ever seen.

But Matt Zenitz’s list ranks him as the top coach in the Big 12, which definitely raises some eyebrows. Looks like Deion is using all that hype to his advantage, pulling in fresh talent and keeping everyone guessing. Doing so, the result is not that bad after all. The Buffs come off 5-2 so far which is much better than their 4-8 in 2023. The other HCs better take notes from the changing dynamics!