FanHouse FanHouse Gut Feeling

Because college football is what it is, because we have bowl games and unclear resolutions of conference championships, there is much to discuss with every passing week. Things seem so unclear, so hazy. Outside of the ACC, no conference has more uncertainty than the Big 12.

Oklahoma's submarining of S.S. Texas Tech last weekend adds to the mess. If the Red Raiders had won they were all but assured a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game. Now, there's a three-way tie between them, Texas and Oklahoma for a spot in the title game and a showing against early season darling Missouri, champions of the Big 12 North.

We'll take a stab at sorting out the mess and relaying the state of the conference after the jump.

Rumors are swirling, swirling everywhere, and you can't take a single one of them to the bank.

FanHouse has already shared with you the story we've gotten from 3rd Saturday in Blogtober, a well-respected Tennessee/Alabama CFB blog, which quotes anonymous sources saying that Fulmer is essentially already out. We here at FanHouse are not normally wont to report rumors in such a fashion, but like Pete Holiday, I'll also vouch for the normally spot-on reporting found at 3rd Saturday. It's just an unsubstantiated rumor (not a tumor!) but the FanHouse Gut Feeling^TM rumbling through our belly says that this is the end of the line for Coach Fulmer.

And here's another data point. GoVolsXtra.com, a subsidiary of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, published the following on Monday evening:

No formal decision has been made regarding Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer's future, an anonymous source who would be involved in such a decision told the News Sentinel on Monday, two days after the Vols lost to No. 2 Alabama in Neyland Stadium and fell to 3-5 overall.

However, the source said that big losses to SEC rivals and an upset loss in overtime at UCLA in the season-opener could prove too much for Fulmer, regardless of what happens in UT's four remaining games.

The source goes on to state that a 6-6 record would 'result in a coaching change' and that a 7-5 record 'would not guarantee' Fulmer's job would be waiting for him in '09.