Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg

USA TODAY Sports

The common perception is that Florida's head coaching job, which opened this week when the school announced it would part ways with Will Muschamp at the end of the season, is among the four best in college football alongside Texas, Alabama and Southern California.

The reason most often given is that Florida, as the flagship university in the nation's most fertile talent-producing state, has natural advantages that should allow it to compete for Southeastern Conference and national titles practically every year.

But is Florida really a top-three job, or is the national perception better than the reality?

USA TODAY Sports posed that question to several agents and others tied to the coaching search industry, who agreed to give their opinion on the condition of anonymity to protect any potential dealings with Florida during the search.

The consensus response: Though Florida is an excellent job, there may be some hidden issues that would, as one suggested, put it behind the likes of Texas, Alabama, Ohio State and perhaps a couple others.

"If those elite jobs are a 10, Florida is a 9.5," the person said.

Why is Florida, which won national titles in 1996, 2006 and 2008, considered within the industry to be just a touch less attractive than the best jobs in the country?

Facilities and expectations.

Did you know that Florida doesn't have a standalone football operations building? In an era where practically every major school has a top-of-the-line indoor facility or is building one, Florida is still at the mercy of having practices altered by weather (which is certainly a concern in the spring and late summer when thunderstorms tend to roll through the area).

Though Florida built office space, an expanded weight room and a recruiting reception area onto a side of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in 2008, Florida's facilities have fallen behind the curve nationally and even regionally, with Florida State pouring millions into facility upgrades the last few years. Even Mississippi State and Ole Miss now have more modern, comprehensive football buildings, not to mention Tennessee, Auburn, Clemson and what's being constructed at South Carolina — all schools that try to invade Florida for recruits.

"It's mind-boggling," one person said. "That place should have the best facilities in the country. How was that allowed to happen?"

And it's unclear that athletics director Jeremy Foley is interested in doing anything about it. At the news conference Monday to discuss the coaching change, he practically dismissed the suggestion that Florida's facilities needed to be addressed and cited the fact that the school is working on an expansion of the academic center for athletes.

"We're not into bells and whistles," Foley said. "We're not getting into an arms race, and they're not any issue in my opinion affecting our success."

Expectations are another issue. Though clearly some things didn't work for Muschamp, the fan base extended him very little goodwill for the 2012 season when he went 11-2 and nearly played for a national title. And that's at a program with a moderate track record of success prior to Steve Spurrier's arrival in 1990.

"Spurrier was asked what went wrong at the end of a 10-2 season and he lost his (expletive) and left," one person said. "Now it's become a place where competing and winning isn't enough, you have to be playing for championships, so there's a lot of pressure."

Those same insiders, however, also acknowledged significant positives with the job, including the fact that Florida has talent on the roster and it's in the easier SEC East, so it's not a complete rebuild. Plus, Foley is considered one of the best athletics directors in the business and will do whatever is necessary to help his coach win.

"They have the money to do what they need to do and they're not hesitant to do it," one person said. "Jeremy's operating principle is tell me what you need to win, you'll get it."

So while there may be some debate over whether it's a top-five job, it's certainly considered in the top 10. And though it's still early in the process, the consensus is a sitting head coach who has already been successful at a high level will take it.

— D.W.

A buzzword that is puzzling

Thanks to College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Jeff Long, the buzz phrase of the week in college football was "game control." During his interview on ESPN following the release of the rankings Tuesday night, Long used the concept to justify some of the decisions being made, particularly with regard to unbeaten Florida State being placed at No. 3, behind one-loss teams Alabama and Oregon.

In essence, because Florida State has had to mount frantic comebacks to beat Clemson, Louisville and Miami, it has had less so-called "game control" than other teams in the mix.

Still, the term, its importance and how it will be used seems a little vague. Even Long himself had difficulty explaining it.

"It might be considered somewhat subjective," Long said. "The committee looks at the game, how the game was played, how close the game was played, whether there were lead changes back and forth, or whether a team was in control from the opening kickoff, or whether they gained control say in the second half."

To add to the confusion, ESPN also has a "game control" stat it is touting as a metric. Florida State is 34th in that ranking, while Alabama is No. 1 followed by Mississippi State. Whatever that means.

"I don't exactly know what it is, but it's cool we're No. 2 in it," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. "I think the people on the committee, there's such a wide of range people on there they're looking at so many different aspects. Sometimes you're comparing apples to oranges, and how do you do that? Hopefully our game control ranking goes up throughout the next two games. I'd be really pleased with that because game control appears to me you're in control of the game and we love being in control of the game."​

— D.W.

Micro celebrations at Western Michigan

Some programs have a 24-hour rule, meaning a team can revel in a victory for one full day before getting back to work to prepare for the next opponent on the schedule. Others cut that in half, giving only 12 hours to celebrate before turning the page.

Western Michigan, on the other hand, has a 12-minute rule — all in the locker room, surrounded by supporters, family and prospective recruits, and with a timer-holding assistant counting down the seconds.

"I want them to enjoy winning," Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck told USA TODAY Sports, "because they know what losing is like."

That the Broncos have only a fraction of an hour to celebrate fits into the bigger picture: Western Michigan has turned things around with equal speed, quickly turning last year's 1-11 finish into a 7-3 mark and a shot at the Mid-American Conference West Division title.

"We were the worst coaches in America last year," Fleck said. "And all of a sudden, people want to know how we're doing it."

Not bad for a team composed largely of freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores — nearly nine in every 10 players are sophomores or younger, Fleck estimated.

"We're not the biggest, strongest or fastest, and we're not the most experienced," he said. "They had to work harder than anyone else in the country."

The Broncos' rapid turnaround fits into Fleck's reputation as a program builder. He played for and began his career under former Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak, who laid the foundation for the Huskies' current success. Fleck then remained at NIU under Jerry Kill, now at Minnesota, and spent two seasons as Greg Schiano's wide receivers coach at Rutgers.

"I was surrounded by incredible men, incredible leaders," Fleck said, "and I got a reputation of being around program turnarounds. I always dreamed of running my own program, and not only running it but taking a program to somewhere it's never been. Making something that always could've been. That's why I took the job."

— P.M.

The AAC's advocate

American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco made some waves late this week when he released a statement expressing "extreme disappointment" that East Carolina's Justin Hardy didn't make the semifinal cut for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the nation's top wide receiver by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club.

Aresco's statement was noteworthy because, well, it's highly unusual for a commissioner to interject into something like an individual award. But ECU athletics director Jeff Compher told USA TODAY Sports the statement does reflect some angst about the plight of schools outside the so-called Power Five conferences and the desire to ensure that exceptional teams and individuals from the five other leagues get recognition for their accomplishments.

"We've got to put that kind of stake in the ground and say, 'Hey, we're still here,' " Compher said. "I think he's trying to make sure when Justin or any student-athlete out of our league who is playing at the kind of national level Justin is gets slighted in that regard, it's something he felt like he needed to react to, and I'm in total support of that. I think Mike was kind of carrying that banner for us."

Hardy, who has 346 career receptions, needs just four more Saturday against Tulane to break the FBS record that Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles set from 2008-11. And though Hardy didn't make the top 10 for the Biletnikoff Award, there's a good chance he'll earn the Burlsworth Trophy as the top college player who began his career as a walk-on.

"You want him to get the respect he deserves," Compher said. "Obviously the other guys on that finalist list are deserving as well, but Mike just wanted to react to that on behalf of our league and behalf of Justin, and I appreciate that."

— D.W.

Always eyeing the carousel

After each of Terry Mohajir's two years as Arkansas State's athletic director, he's had to replace his head coach, including last year when Boise State poached Bryan Harsin. So even though current Red Wolves coach Blake Anderson has a $3 million buyout in his contract, Mohajir's eyes are wide open as the coaching carousel starts spinning.

"I think we have a really good coach, and I also know if we're having a really good year or have a lot of success there's going to be some other schools that look at him, which is fine," Mohajir told USA TODAY Sports. "That means we're hiring the right people. But we're cautious. I'm not like, 'Hey it's a done deal because I'd have never thought in a million years that Boise could pay $1.75 million (for Harsin's buyout) like they did. But there's all kinds of ways to structure it. The dollars are there. It's always a possibility."

At this point, it seems more likely than not that Arkansas State will have the same coach for two consecutive seasons for the first time since Steve Roberts, who went 4-8 in 2009 and 2010.

That's when Arkansas State promoted Hugh Freeze, who had been the offensive coordinator for one season after a two-year stint at NAIA member Lambuth University. Freeze had instant success, going 10-2, and left one year later for Ole Miss. Gus Malzahn followed him as a one-and-done, parlaying his 9-3 record into the Auburn job. Mohajir then hired Harsin, who seemed a likely bet to stick around for at least a little while.

But the carousel can provide unforeseen challenges for schools such as Arkansas State. The only job Harsin would have likely gotten last year after going 7-5 was at Boise State, which became available only because Steve Sarkisian went from Washington to Southern Cal, creating one of the few job openings that could have lured Chris Petersen.

If the dominoes fell in such a way that Anderson was an obvious candidate somewhere else — he's worked at New Mexico, Louisiana-Lafayette and North Carolina — he's certainly done a good enough job to merit consideration. Despite losing several starters to season-ending injuries and dealing with depth issues stemming from the constant coaching changes, Arkansas State is bowl eligible for a fourth straight season.

"We've had five coaches in five years, and there's a lot of attrition," Mohajir said. "But we have a good staff they're doing a really good job in recruiting and we've had more early commits than any other time in the history of our program, bar none."

If, of course, Mohajir can keep them. ​

— D.W.

Costs and benefits of Ohio State's one loss

There are two ways to view Ohio State's 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech on Sept. 6 — a defeat that didn't derail the Buckeyes' quest for the College Football Playoff, as many projected two months ago, but one that continues to linger as the team battles for position among other one-loss teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

It could end up as the Ohio State's Achilles heel: Virginia Tech has since fallen off the map, meaning that defeat likely stands as the worst by any team in the top seven of this week's Playoff poll. If push comes to shove, that could keep the Buckeyes out of the top four.

Or, according to redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett, it could end up being the turning point for a team and program that needed that taste of adversity to propel an eight-game winning streak.

"I think it was good for us as a team, honestly," Barrett said. "Being that we learned so much from that game.

"I think at that point in the season we needed to lose. It was almost like we walked around here as like we couldn't lose. We hadn't lost in the regular season. I don't think we had the big heads but it was almost like a step backwards."

In the Buckeyes' past eight games, Barrett has thrown for 1,911 yards and 26 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He's added 651 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, gaining at least 71 yards rushing in five of Ohio State's six conference games.

"After Virginia Tech, it was just, well, let's focus on getting better each week and winning games," he said. "Trying to live that lifestyle of well, you playing well right now but there are things you can get better at. So whatever those things are, that Sunday practice, that Tuesday practice, we're going to go out there and focus on this."

— P.M.

Melvin Gordon's growth

It's not as if Melvin Gordon had much area for improvement: Wisconsin's Heisman Trophy contender averaged more than 10 yards per carry as a redshirt freshman, when he was the third cog in the Badgers' three-headed backfield monster, and finished second in the Big Ten Conference in rushing and first in yards per carry a season ago.

Yet with last Saturday's performance as evidence — his record-setting 408-yard performance against Nebraska — Gordon has clearly taken another step forward, helping build a near-flawless Heisman résumé while helping to carry Wisconsin to the top of the Big Ten West Division.

Gordon has improved in three areas, Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen told reporters this week.

Gordon's taking better angles, Andersen said. He's doing a better job identifying defenses before the snap – likely a result of increased experienced. He's more powerful.

More than anything, however, Gordon's banner season is a result of hard work, according to Andersen.

"I think it's a combination of a lot of things," he said, "but it's a combination of one thing, after it's all said and done. It's hard work for himself to get himself in tremendous shape like he always was, but he's a notch above where he was before this season."

— P.M.

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