The despair being felt at Texas, Michigan and Nebraska is different in some ways, but aligned in others.
Texas and Michigan both are facing decisions on their coaches after seasons that fell short of expectations (in Michigan's case, well short). Michigan and Nebraska are coached by decorated former quarterbacks deemed as home-run hires when they arrived. Both programs have cycled through several coaches since they last competed at a national level. The struggles of Jim Harbaugh and Scott Frost raise the question: If they can't get it right at Michigan and Nebraska, who can?
All three programs have one thing in common: They all made can't-miss coaching hires that are, at least for the moment, missing.
While Michigan (2-4) and Nebraska (1-4) are headed for losing records -- Michigan's first since Brady Hoke's final year in 2014, Nebraska's fourth straight and third under Frost -- Texas hopes to salvage a 7-3 ledger by beating Kansas State this week and winless Kansas on Dec. 12. Texas has had single-digit losses to No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 9 Iowa State and TCU, but the Longhorns don't resemble a College Football Playoff contender.
Nebraska and Michigan, which shared a national title 23 years ago, seem even farther away.
Here's a deeper look at the issues at Texas, especially Herman's future and the feasibility and reality of moving on from him, as well as the latest at both Michigan and Nebraska.