To whit:

• One day after Texas Tech gave up 49 points and lost at Oklahoma State, Red Raiders' defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich became the scapegoat when he lost his job.
• Two days after OSU won at Nebraska for the first time in 47 years, overbearing Cornhuskers' athletic director Steve Pederson was fired.
• One day after a loss at Tulsa guaranteed a losing season and no bowl game for Southern Methodist, beleaguered Mustangs' coach Phil Bennett was fired.

Whew. That was just in September and October.

Now comes the month every coach on a hot seat dreads. With the regular season winding down, a lot of coaches realize all the optimism that reigned when camp opened in August was merely false hope.

Much of the focus this first weekend of November will be on Oklahoma. Will OU join the career-killing, in-state trend by helping speed up the inevitable end to Dennis Franchione's tenure at Texas A&M by posting a convincing win over the Aggies?

Franchione has been a dead coach walking ever since an A&M booster leaked word to a San Antonio newspaper about the VIP Connection, a secret, pay-for-insider information newsletter Franchione was sending to some of A&M's Big Cigars.

It seemingly reached the point that the only question remaining is if A&M athletic director Bill Byrne will allow Franchione to finish the season or make angry A&M supporters happy by pulling the plug early.

In his first visit to OU's Memorial Stadium as A&M's coach in 2003, Franchione left town a 77-0 loser. If the Aggies endured a similar beating by the Sooners, those Big A&M Cigars would undoubtedly demand that Byrne fire Coach VIP ASAP.

In the latest newsletter that he posts (for free) each Wednesday on A&M's athletic department Web site, Byrne acknowledged that he received "many" e-mails questioning the football program's future after the Aggies' lost at home last Saturday to Kansas.

"I'm disappointed, like you, our players, coaches and staff, that we did not win the game," Byrne wrote. "But, you have to give Kansas credit. Having said that, we have another big game in Norman this Saturday and I'll be there yelling for my Aggies."

Franchione didn't draw a mention in Byrne's message, which included a plea to A&M fans to continue showing their support to the players.

A veteran in the AD business, Byrne knows the wisdom in not letting a situation like Franchione's continue to linger. The sooner he goes public with a decision about his coach's future, the quicker he can openly launch his search for Franchione's successor.

Texas A&M, 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference, is already bowl eligible. With three games remaining, it's possible that the Aggies could win the league's South Division title and play for the Big 12 title in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 1.

Some wonder if even that would be enough to convince Byrne to keep Franchione around after this season. The Aggies' embarrassed AD angrily admonished Franchione when he found out about the VIP newsletter, and that it possibly violated NCAA rules.

Byrne acknowledged that A&M was checking with attorneys to see if Franchione's failure to report income he made from the $1,200-a-year newsletter had violated his contract.

That sends a rather obvious signal that Byrne is looking for a way to avoid paying Franchione a whopping buyout when he fires him. Franchione's $2-million-a-year contract runs through the 2012 season.

It's highly doubtful that A&M will have a November to remember, not with games against No. 5 OU, No. 9 Missouri and No. 14 Texas. In his fifth season at A&M, Franchione has gone 3-10 the previous four Novembers, including 0-4 mark against OU.

Stoops and the Sooners undoubtedly can see the irony in the joke Franchione made at OU's expense last summer while speaking to a group of A&M boosters.

Talking about OU's quarterback situation at the Aug. 1 dinner in Houston, Franchione referenced the trouble OU ran into with the NCAA a year ago when two former players were found guilty of taking money for work not performed at a Norman automobile dealership.

"That (quarterback) may be the only question mark they have. . .other than what jobs they are going to work this year," Franchione said.

Three months later, OU has found a quarterback in redshirt freshman Sam Bradford, who might play a key role Saturday in helping hasten the end of Franchione's job.

If so, Franchione would join a growing list of folks who have learned this season that it's not wise to fool with teams from Oklahoma.