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In spite of a horrific record, he got a contract extension just a year ago. From AP-
UNLV has fired football coach Mike Sanford after five losing seasons, a 15-43 record and no bowl appearances.
Sanford’s firing comes after a 45-17 loss to Air Force on Saturday made the Rebels ineligible for a bowl game.
In a joint statement, university president Neal Smatresk and interim athletic director Jerry Koloskie said Sanford will coach the final game of the season at home against San Diego State on the Nov. 28.
“We agree this action is needed at this time,” Smatresk said.
Sanford, 54, will be paid a $225,000 buyout, under terms of a three-year contract extension the coach signed last year.
Yet another case of a University paying for someone not to work. When can I get a job like this?
The Spartans haven’t been particularly successful since he took over in 2005, but Tomey leaves the school as its winningest coach in 20 years. From AP-
Dick Tomey created countless long-term relationships during his 29 years as a head football coach.
The Gold Room in the Simpkins Center was overflowing Monday with his latest friends, colleagues and players when Tomey announced he was retiring from coaching, effective following San Jose State’s game against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 5.
The 71-year-old coach said this was an opportunity for he and his wife, Nanci Kincaid, to “open a new chapter.”
“We have a lot of responsibilities left on the mainland, including six grandchildren to visit, but effectively we will be going back to the place we love the most and that’s Hawaii,” said Tomey, who has 182 wins during stints at Hawaii, Arizona and San Jose State.
Tomey’s first college head coaching job was at Hawaii, which he built into a powerhouse when he took over in 1977. He left for Arizona in 1987 and built the Wildcats into a top 10 power before leaving after the 2000 season.
He took over at San Jose State in 2005 and found a program in turmoil. Academic penalties cost the Spartans 57 scholarships and limited spring practices during his tenure at the school.
Enjoy your retirement coach.
He had been suspended since punching out a Boise State player and brandishing a chair at a spectator on September 3rd. From AP-
Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount, who was suspended for the season after punching a Boise State player in the wake of the season opener, has been allowed to rejoin the Ducks.
The university requested Blount’s reinstatement, which was approved by Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott on Monday.
Blount will be able to play for the Ducks (No. 13 BCS, No. 14 AP) on Saturday night when they host Arizona State. He missed eight games.
Blount issued a statement saying he was grateful to Oregon coach Chip Kelly for giving him a second chance.
“Now it is up to me to prove to people that their lasting impressions of me are not what they saw in Boise,” he said.
Blount punched Byron Hout following the nationally televised opener, bringing the Broncos’ defensive end to his knees. The next day he was suspended for the season by Kelly, but he was allowed to keep his scholarship and practice with the team.
Oregon made the right decision. Give Blount another chance for he did apologize, but warn him that any similar incidents will lead to his being kicked off the football squad.
The last time the Midshipmen won back to back games in South Bend was when I was two years old. From AP-
Navy did it to Notre Dame again — and this loss to the Midshipmen is even more costly.
Craig Schaefer sacked Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left Saturday and Navy held on for a 23-21 victory, its second straight at Notre Dame Stadium.
No. 19 Notre Dame (6-3) scored with 24 seconds left on a 31-yard pass from Jimmy Clausen to Golden Tate to cut the lead to two, but the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds.
The win sends Navy into the Texas Bowl and effectively ends any hope Notre Dame (6-3) had for a Bowl Championship Series berth.
Notre Dame last went to a BCS Bowl game in 2006 and this year’s team I didn’t think was worthy of that high a game before today’s loss. Losing to Navy is nothing to be ashamed of, but a top college football team shouldn’t be defeated by a service academy.
The last time the Boilermakers won in Ann Arbor, I was just five years old. From AP-
Joey Elliott threw for a career-high 367 yards and two touchdowns, ran for a score and Purdue held on for a 38-36 victory against Michigan.
The Boilermakers (4-6, 3-3 Big Ten) trailed by two TDs at halftime and rallied to end their 11-game road losing streak by winning at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1966.
Michigan melted down in the third quarter again, allowing Purdue to score three touchdowns, including one after an onside kick caught the Wolverines by surprise.
In danger of missing a bowl after a 4-0 start, Michigan had a chance to tie after Brandon Minor’s third TD with 2:10 left, but Tate Forcier was sacked on a 2-point conversion that Michigan was forced to attempt because of a missed extra point.
If not for contract considerations, I could see Rodriquez’s tenure at Michigan being over at the end of this season. 3-9 and .500 football isn’t what the University of Michigan is paying for.
Hawkeye starting Quarterback left the game with an injury also. From AP-
Dan Persa threw a touchdown pass and Marshall Thomas recovered a fumble for another touchdown, and Northwestern snapped Iowa’s 13-game winning streak with a 17-10 victory on Saturday.
Iowa had been the masters of the fourth-quarter comeback until Saturday’s loss, rallying to win their previous four contests when trailing to start the final period.
It was the first win over a top-10 opponent for the Wildcats (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) since knocking off then-No. 6 Ohio State 33-27 in overtime in 2004.
Iowa (No. 4 BCS, No. 8 AP) lost quarterback Ricky Stanzi to an apparent ankle injury early in the second quarter. Freshman James Vandenberg was just 9 of 27 for 82 yards filling, and couldn’t lead the Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) to any points after Stanzi left the game.
Call me a prophet if you want, but I had a feeling after their close call against Indiana that Iowa would lose a game prior to bowl season.
Some mediocre college football teams want Santa Claus to come early this year. From AP-
Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe wants the NCAA to treat teams with 6-6 records the same as teams with winning records when it comes to bowl games.
Under current rules, teams with .500 records can receive a bowl bid only if the school’s conference already has a deal with a bowl and all other teams with winning records have been invited to postseason games.
A winning Division I team should receive a bowl bid before any 6-6 teams. I’ve lived long enough to remember Florida State(8-3 in 1978) and the University of Miami(7-4 in 1982) being locked out of the post season in spite of their having better records than teams that did get bids. The Independence Bowl passed on the Hurricanes to invite schools, Kansas State(6-4-1) and Wisconsin(6-5). Who then played a real snoozer of a 14-3 game.
That said, I strongly believe there are too many bowl games played these days. Nothing would be lost if about six of them went away IMHO.
For the tenth time in ten meetings between the schools, the Broncos came out on top. From AP-
Kirby Moore caught his first college touchdown pass from big brother Kellen and the Broncos (No. 7 BCS, No. 6 AP) were sharp once again, rolling over San Jose State 45-7 Saturday for their eighth straight win.
“I think everybody on our sideline had a smile on their face after that play because to get a chance to play Division I football with your brother when not that many guys get to play Division I football — and then your brother is good enough to play and you can then hook up for touchdowns, I think that’s really awesome,” Broncos coach Chris Petersen said. “I think that’s why Kirby came here for those exact situations.”
Kellen Moore finished with three TD passes and ran for another one, and the Broncos stayed perfect at 8-0 and in the hunt for a BCS bid with TCU, the other undefeated team from a conference that doesn’t automatically qualify for the prized postseason games.
“This is what I think: When you get caught up in those numbers and get caught up in the scores of games and get caught up in how bad you should be beating people, it works against you,” Petersen said. “I think sometimes in the first half when it’s not 24-0 in our favor, guys are looking around and fans are looking around and asking, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s not realistic football.”
Moore, who came into the game the nation’s most efficient passer, was 21 of 33 for 278 yards. He now has 24 touchdown passes this season, and the Broncos rolled up 430 yards in beating San Jose State (1-6, 0-3) for the 10th straight time.
The Broncos held San Jose State to less than 225 yards total offense. So where’s the good news for the Spartans.
If there was a bright spot for the Spartans, it was their ability to tighten up their run defense. Coming into the game, the Spartans had been allowing 259 rushing yards per game. But they held the Broncos to 140 yards, most of those coming late with the game out of reach.
Do you think Coach Dick Tomey was impressed by this improvement today?
I didn’t think so either.
Boise State is trying to earn a BCS bowl appearance. They have a weak schedule for the rest of the year and I’m not sure the Broncos can achieve their goal.
He led Iowa to two winning Rose Bowl appearances and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. RIP.
Forest Evashevski, the former Michigan football star coached Iowa to two Rose Bowl victories in the 1950s, has died. He was 91.
Evashevski’s son, Forest Evashevski Jr., said Saturday that his father died Friday night from cancer at his home in Petoskey, Mich.
Evashevski said his father’s seven children, including five sons and two daughters, and wife Ruth, were at his bedside when he died.
Evashevski, the captain of Michigan’s 1940 team, was hired at Iowa in 1952, seven years after Iowa’s last winning season. He inherited a program that had languished in the bottom of the Big Ten.
But by 1956 the Hawkeyes were in the Rose Bowl, defeating Oregon State 35-19. They went again in the 1958 season, beating California 38-12. Evashevski won 52 games at Iowa, where he coached until 1960. He also led the team to three Big Ten championships.
For the 4th time this college football season, the Hawkeyes launched a successful late comeback. From AP-
Of all the holes Iowa has dug itself, this was the deepest.
Indiana was leading by 14 in the third quarter and just two yards away from the Hawkeyes’ end zone. Given how poorly quarterback Ricky Stanzi was playing, one more touchdown might have brought their charmed season crashing down.
It was the second straight week and fourth time this season that Iowa has won a game after trailing entering the fourth quarter.
Tyler Sash instead returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown, and Stanzi bounced back from a career-high five interceptions to rally the Hawkeyes (No. 4 BCS, No. 7 AP) to a 42-24 victory, yet another improbable finish in a season full of them.
Brandon Wegher had a career-high 118 yards rushing and three TDs for the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten), who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to stun the shell-shocked Hoosiers.
“No matter what happens, we know there’s still time left on the clock,” Stanzi said. “There’s a chance to win, so you can’t give up.”
Iowa is off to the best start in school history, thanks to four wins by three points or less. And after needing two blocked field goals to beat FCS school Northern Iowa in its opener, the Hawks control their own destiny in the Big Ten — with a chance to play for the BCS title.
Iowa controls its own destiny but can they continue spotting teams the lead every week? I got a feeling they are in for a tumble before the Bowl games are all worked out.
The Hawkeyes still have games left with Northwestern(5-3), Ohio State(7-2), and Minnesota(4-4). Only the game against the Buckeyes isn’t being played at Iowa.
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OTB Sports linked with Out of luck- Northwestern beats Iowa 17-10...
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