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LSU isn't playing this weekend, but the Tigers have overshadowed every game and dominated the college sports conversation with a wild five-day spectacle. Since the last time our storylines ran (which was a mere seven days ago), LSU has: Lost, 49-25, to Texas A&M on Saturday which elicited loud "Fire Kelly" chants inside Tiger Stadium and a public rebuke from Louisiana governor Jeff Landry Fired head coach Brian Kelly after a meeting with AD Scott Woodward went poorly. While negotiations are ongoing, LSU is currently on the hook for a nearly $54 million buyout. Notably, Woodward did not consult with LSU's Board of Supervisors until after he had already started the process of firing Kelly. Louisiana Gov. Landry said he'd rather let President Donald Trump make the next LSU football hire than the embattled Woodward. A day after Landry's comments, Woodward was fired. Off just those five days alone, you could write a book. You can read a lot more about the long-standing history of Louisiana governors being involved in LSU football here. LSU has long been considered one of, if not the, top job in college football. It is the only Power Four school in Louisiana, has a rabid fanbase and a fertile recruiting ground from which to pluck players. Before Kelly's failure, the previous three LSU coaches all won a national championship. There is a reason why plenty of top coaches would be very interested in the job. But then there is also this reality: LSU doesn't have a permanent football coach, athletic director or university president. It is clear, despite public comments otherwise, that the Louisiana governor is going to have a say over the process and could continue to exert his political influence in the future to get what he wants. If you're in a good situation currently do you really want to leave for a place that has all that happening? Especially with Landry saying LSU needs to avoid giving another contract like the 10-year, $95 million one it gave Kelly? The Politics of Purple and Gold: How Gov. Jeff Landry's power play took down LSU's AD -- and what comes next John Talty Interim AD Verge Ausberry, who is running point on the coaching search now, was confident Friday the school will still get a top coach. "We're LSU," Ausberry said at a press conference. "My phone is still ringing. Before this happened, a lot of people still want to come to LSU. It's one of the best jobs in the country. It is the best job in the country at this time. And we're going to find the right person, and I don't see any problems getting the right person to be the head coach at LSU." In what is already a fascinating coaching carousel, LSU has emerged as the most interesting storyline. More Week 10 storylines ... Is this Texas' last chance? The calendar hasn't turned to November yet, but Texas' home game against No. 9 Vanderbilt feels like the Longhorns' last stand to keep their dreams alive. Already holding two losses, a third loss here with games against No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M still to come would all but extinguish Texas' playoff chances. For one of the highest-paid rosters in college football, this would be a massive disappointment for Steve Sarkisian and his staff. Rumors are already swirling about possible staff changes after the season, but if Texas loses to Vanderbilt, suddenly a five-loss season looks very possible if not likely. The flip side, of course, is a win over the Commodores could be just what Texas needs to get its mojo back. It's been very ugly the last few weeks -- the whole season, really -- but somehow Texas found ways to win back-to-back overtime games over Kentucky and Mississippi State. Perhaps there's something to a team that keeps stealing games it shouldn't. A big question will be whether quarterback Arch Manning, who suffered a concussion against the Bulldogs, will be good to go against Vandy. Manning was listed as questionable on Texas' initial availability report on Wednesday, and if he's unable to go, the Longhorns will turn to senior QB Matthew Caldwell. Texas is still a 3.5-point favorite over one-loss Vanderbilt, which seems to tell you who Vegas thinks will be suiting up at quarterback. Reasons for optimism for Maryland The 4-3 Maryland Terrapins are almost the inverse of Texas. The Terps have lost their last three games to Washington, Nebraska and UCLA by a combined 10 points. Being that tantalizingly close to a 7-0 record ahead of No. 2 Indiana coming to town this weekend (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ Premium) is frustrating, but there are still reasons for optimism in College Park. For one, Maryland is No. 1 in the country in turnover margin. Freshman quarterback Malik Washington is wise beyond his years and has been smart with the ball, only throwing three interceptions. The defense is much improved from a year ago under first-year defensive coordinator Ted Monachino. The one area that Maryland coach Mike Locksley has identified that has held his young Terps back is explosive plays. In the four games Maryland has won, it is plus-six in explosive plays compared to its opponents. In the three losses, it is minus-three. If three plays go the other way, Maryland could be 6-1 or 7-0, says Locksley. Reminding his program of just how small the margins are and how much progress they've already made from a year ago is how he's kept a young team on board with the mission ahead of a challenging home game against the Hoosiers. "These are metrics that when you show a young team 'OK, don't listen to all the noise in the system outside, here's what we're doing,'" Locksley told CBS Sports this week. "On defense we're getting turnovers, we lead the nation in interceptions, we're stopping the run, we're limiting scoring." The Terps are 21.5-point underdogs in what's expected to be a sellout crowd inside SECU Stadium. SALTY TALTY Each week this space will be my airing of grievances, my opportunity to let the audience know what has been really grinding my gears. Hopefully it'll be mostly college football-related, but it's a good bet travel, family and other day-to-day life annoyances will find a way in. Everyone knew that this was going to be a hectic coaching carousel cycle. With coaches at programs like Florida, Arkansas and Virginia Tech entering win-or-be-fired seasons, you knew there'd be more movement than what we saw a year ago. But when you talked to smart people around the industry before the season started, there was a prevailing belief that in a new revenue share world where athletic departments could be on the hook for up to $20.5 million annually in new expenses, that a more financially prudent mindset could take forth. After all, there were plenty of schools who slashed budgets, cut employees and threatened possibly disbanding Olympic sport teams because of the rising costs. And then those same ADs who consistently complained about having to find ways to pay for the new expenses have already committed to spending $168 million in coaching buyouts. The record high for buyout salaries, according to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, was $120 million in 2024. At the rate we're going -- with multiple high-profile jobs still potentially coming open -- the 2025 number will easily eclipse $200 million and could even surpass $300 million when all is said and done and you add in assistant coach buyouts. Just this year alone we have the second- and third-largest buyouts ever in LSU's Brian Kelly ($54 million though negotiations are ongoing on possibly reducing) and Penn State's James Franklin ($48 million though it could drop if he gets another job elsewhere). My colleague Brandon Marcello had a good look at why all this is happening here. I don't fault any school for deciding it is time to move on from their expensive coach. In fact, I've even said on our College Football Insiders show that Texas A&M has highlighted this year how critical it can be to getting a program back on track. Texas A&M was mocked for the $76 million buyout it gave Jimbo Fisher -- still the highest on record -- but now the Aggies are the No. 3 team in the country and look playoff bound under second-year coach Mike Elko. The money is flowing in College Station and all is right with Texas A&M football again. Texas A&M is proof it can work. And for schools like Florida, Penn State and LSU that expect to compete for national championships, sometimes you need to spend money to make money. If they nail the next hire, the huge buyouts they are paying now will be completely worth it. All I ask is for a moratorium on ADs and others crying poor out of one side of their mouth only to approve tens of millions in buyouts and guaranteed contracts out the other.
