College football’s biggest bargain coach, plus the Heisman Trophy race tightens

Until Saturday Newsletter 🏈 | This is The Athletic’s college football newsletter. Sign up here to receive Until Saturday directly in your inbox. We’re one week away from the first Tuesday in November … aka the release date of the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year. Oh, and yes, that’s Election Day too. Today, we’re breaking down college football coach salaries, newly ranked teams and the shrinking Heisman Trophy race. There’s a new top dawg in college football coach salaries. Alabama’s Nick Saban (who ranked No. 1 last year with a salary of more than $11.4 million) retired and left Georgia’s Kirby Smart to take the reins with a more than $13.28 million annual salary, per USA Today’s newly updated database. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney ($11.12 million), Texas’ Steve Sarkisian ($10.6 million), USC’s Lincoln Riley ($10.04 million) and Ohio State’s Ryan Day ($10.02 million) follow Smart in the top five. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways after exploring this year’s list … • Bargain time! Let’s start with the obvious: Indiana’s Curt Cignetti gets paid $4.25 million per year, which ranks 49th nationally and is the third-lowest salary in the Big Ten (excluding Northwestern, which does not disclose salary). Cignetti, 63, has been a head coach since 2011 — with a 127-35 overall record — and makes the same amount as 40-year-old first-year coach Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State (1-7). Cignetti’s Hoosiers are 8-0, ranked 13th and firmly in the Playoff conversation. • Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer got more than an 80 percent increase in salary by taking a new job in Tuscaloosa. For your extra Tuesday motivation, take a look at DeBoer’s five-year head coaching career trajectory, which started at Fresno State. • The buyouts are once again through the roof. Even though it will never happen, it’s worth laughing at Smart’s $118.08 million (!!!) buyout if fired before Dec. 1, as the database states. Using Bruce Feldman’s midseason hot seat check, I identified a few costly coaching changes that look more likely. Florida’s Billy Napier has been feeling the heat all season in a notoriously impatient Gators program. Florida would owe him $26.7 million if it fired him without cause, which more than doubles the $12 million Florida owed Dan Mullen after firing him in 2021. Mike Locksley’s seat at Maryland is only lukewarm, which is probably good as the Terps would owe him $17.34 million if they parted ways, the 32nd highest nationally. • The Power 2 divide. According to the data, SEC coaches average a nation-leading salary of $8.1 million. Twelve of the conference’s 16 head coaches rank in the top 25 nationally, including six in the top 10. Big Ten coaches average $6.8 million in salary, second nationally and still well above the $5.8 million average in the ACC and $4.9 million in the Big 12. Here’s a look at the top-paid coaches by conference. * Yep, that just means Dickert makes more than Oregon State’s Trent Bray. Lincoln Riley??? First in the Big Ten??? USC’s big investment is producing diminishing returns, as The Athletic analyzed today. You can read USA Today’s full database here. More new teams jumped into the AP Top 25 this week even as the top four (Oregon, Georgia, Penn State and Ohio State) remained stagnant. Say hello to … 👋 Washington State (7-1) jumps in at No. 22 after beating San Diego State 29-26. Cougars QB John Mateer ranks fourth among FBS QBs in rushing yards (575) and has scored 10 TDs on the ground. The Cougs’ only loss came against No. 15 Boise State 45-24. And whether you like it or not, Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) is in at No. 23. It’s hard to ignore the Buffs’ stark improvement in Year 2 under Coach Prime. Wazzu and the Buffs replaced Navy and Vanderbilt, both of which fell out of the poll after losses. And now for Chris Vannini’s ranking of all 134 FBS teams. In review … • Team to watch: For all of the talk about Army and Navy in the AAC, it’s probably time we start looking at Tulane (6-2, 4-0 AAC), which jumped from 48th to 34th in Vannini’s rankings this week. The Green Wave have the most balanced attack in the AAC — ranking second in the conference in total offense and third in total defense. They held off North Texas last week 45-37 to remain unscathed in conference play. Tulane can make a major statement, and earn an AAC championship bid, with games at Navy (6-1, 4-0) and vs. Memphis (7-1, 3-1) to close the regular season. • Jump of the week: Old Dominion (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) slammed Georgia Southern 47-19 to move from 102nd to 73rd while opening up the Sun Belt East race. Meanwhile, TCU (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) jumped from No. 71 to 44 by holding on for a one-point win against Texas Tech. Horned Frogs QB Josh Hoover threw for 344 yards (his FIFTH 300-yard game this season). And another congratulations to Kennesaw State, which escaped the 130-and-over club by stunning Liberty. The 1-6 Owls are now No. 127 and left behind Kent State (the only winless team in the FBS) at No. 134. This week’s Heisman straw poll, as voted for by The Athletic staff, is full of familiar candidates. The top three (Dillon Gabriel is the BetMGM favorite): Even though Jeanty is holding down the first-place spot for the third week in a row, Hunter is closing in on No. 1. The Boise State RB lost six first-place votes from last week as Hunter turned heads in Colorado’s 34-23 win over Cincinnati to jump to No. 2. Hunter earned Big 12 offensive player of the week honors on Monday, making him the first player in Big 12 history to win both offensive AND defensive player of the week in the same week. When East Carolina and Southern Miss fired their coaches last week, it marked the latest date for the first midseason coaching change since 2012. Why haven’t we seen a Power 4 head coach fired yet (besides those hefty buyouts)? Changes to the CFP, transfer portal and recruiting calendar all play a role. The average margin of victory in SEC games is 13.3 points per game this year, the smallest margin since 2015. Why are the games closer this year? Seth Emerson tried to answer that today. With bigger conferences and the elimination of divisions, college football could be in for tiebreaker chaos in November. Michigan QB Jack Tuttle announced his retirement from football yesterday due to concussions. You can buy tickets to every college football game here. For streaming info on Fubo, click here. 📫 Love Until Saturday? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters.