NCAA Football News

MIAMI (AP) _ Kyle Wright returned from an injury to throw a game-sealing touchdown pass to DajLeon Farr with 2:15 left, and Miami escaped an upset bid by Duke for the second straight year by beating the Blue Devils 24-14 on Saturday. Wright was 19-of-23 for 230 yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes (4-1, 1-0), who won their Atlantic Coast Conference opener for the first time in three years. Thad Lewis completed 18 of 27 passes ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Remember all those great players Ohio State lost from last season's team? They're not missed as much as everyone thought. The Buckeyes routed Northwestern 58-7 Saturday to go to 4-0, successfully opening their defence of the Big Ten title they've won the last two years. ``It's a good start from a defensive standpoint, but there are always things you can get better at,'' linebacker James Laurinaitis said after Ohio State limited the Wildcats to ...

BATON ROUGE (AP) _ Pallbearers carried the dark wooden casket of longtime Grambling State football coach Eddie Robinson up the granite steps of Louisiana's capitol building as more than 50 of his former players looked on Monday. The ex-players, ranging in age from 30 to 85 and clad in dark suits and white gloves, formed lines on either side as the casket was carried up the steps to the somber ...

Dennis Erickson has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said Saturday night. Erickson, 59, spent one season at Idaho in his second stint at the school, going 4-8. He led Miami to two NCAA titles, also has been a head coach at Wyoming, Washington State and Oregon State and coached Seattle and San Francisco in the NFL. Erickson has a 149-64-1 record in 18 seasons as a U.S. college coach. At ...

The Miami Hurricanes promoted defensive co-ordinator Randy Shannon to head coach Friday to replace Larry Coker. Shannon helped the Hurricanes win three national championships as a linebacker and has overseen the defence since 2001. Miami fired Coker two weeks ago after the team finished the regular season 6-6, its worst record since 1997. ``Randy has the discipline and heart of a champion,'' university president Donna Shalala said in a statement. ...

Bill Cowher is not interested in coaching alma mater North Carolina State, even though the Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers coach has only one season left on his contract. Cowher, a former NC State linebacker, has seen his name mentioned prominently in speculation since Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato was fired last weekend. Asked if he had any interest in going back to his former school, Cowher said: ``No.'' ``I've been getting ...

Alabama has fired coach Mike Shula less than a year after the Crimson Tide finished a 10-2 season, according to Athletic director Mal Moore. The Crimson Tide went 6-6 this season, finishing with three straight losses. Shula, a former Alabama quarterback, was winless in four tries against Auburn, his team's biggest rival. The Tigers beat the Crimson Tide 22-15 on Nov. 18, leaving Shula to answer questions about his job ...

Michigan State has hired Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio as the Spartans head football coach. Dantonio, a former Spartans assistant, succeeds the fired John L. Smith. Dantonio was in his third year as Cincinnati's head coach. He had an 18-17 record, including a 7-5 mark this season. The Spartans finished 4-8 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten, losing eight of their last nine games. Smith had a 22-26 record in four ...

Florida has a lot more at stake against Florida State than bragging rights or recruiting battles. The fourth-ranked Gators still have national championship hopes _ something missing the last four years when facing the Seminoles. ``It's always better to have something extra to play for,'' Florida tight end Tate Casey said. ``It's not that we need any extra motivation against Florida State, but it can't hurt, either.'' The Gators (10-1) ...

Larry Coker won nearly 80 per cent of his games at Miami, got players to graduate, was revered for his classy manner and led the Hurricanes to a national championship. Despite all that, even he acknowledged Miami needed to make a change. Coker's tumultuous and disappointing season got its predictable ending Friday, when he was fired after six years leading the Hurricanes. The move came one day after Miami finished ...

A Confederate heritage group plans to challenge the NCAA's ban on championship events in South Carolina as long as the Confederate flag flies on the grounds of the state capitol. The NCAA in 2001 barred any of its post-season tournaments from South Carolina. The organization is considering a request from the Black Coaches Association to extend the ban to sports where teams earn a chance to host playoff games, like ...

At a practice this week, Miami coach Larry Coker asked if anyone was emotionally drained and didn't want to continue playing this season. He said it would be understandable. He also said anyone feeling that way should step aside. When no one left, the Hurricanes started prepping for Thursday night's game against No. 18 Boston College. The scenario couldn't be simpler for Miami: Win and go to a bowl; lose ...

Bo Schembechler, the winningest coach in Michigan football history, died Friday after collapsing during the taping of a television show, according to three Detroit TV stations. He was 77. Schembechler's death was reported by WXYZ, WDIV and WJBK, which did not cite sources. He died a day before the second-ranked Wolverines were scheduled to meet No. 1 Ohio State in the latest instalment of the century-old rivalry. Schembechler became ill ...

Former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler said he believed he might be on the verge of death when he felt ill while taping a television show and was taken to the hospital. The 77-year-old Schembechler was released from a hospital Oct. 24, one day after a device to help regulate his heartbeat was implanted in his chest. On Friday, he was back in Southfield to tape the latest edition of the show that previews Michigan and Michigan State ...

Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards will miss the rest of his senior season with a broken right foot, dealing the Cardinal their biggest setback yet in an injury-plagued winless campaign. Edwards was injured early in Stanford's 20-7 loss Saturday to Arizona that sent the Cardinal (0-7, 0-4 Pac-10) to their worst start since 1960. ``He has really been a tremendous player and leader for us,'' coach Walt Harris said Tuesday. ``We're ...

The University of Miami extended the suspension of one player and said further disciplinary measures will be taken in the wake of a sideline-clearing brawl with Florida International. Sophomore safety Anthony Reddick was suspended indefinitely following further consultation Monday with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the school said. Reddick charged across the field, helmet raised over his head, and slammed it into an opposing player during the melee. Meanwhile, the Golden ...

After reviewing a sideline-clearing brawl between players from Miami and Florida international, officials from both schools and their conferences on Sunday announced the suspension of 31 players _ 13 from the Hurricanes, and 18 from FIU. Each suspended player must sit out his team's next game for taking part in the ugly melee that marred the team's Saturday matchup. Miami plays at Duke Oct. 21, FIU plays at Alabama Oct. ...

Top-ranked Ohio State has Heisman Trophy contender Troy Smith, the explosive Ted Ginn Jr. and a potent running game. The Buckeyes' defence doesn't get as much publicity, but it can be just as dominant as their offence. The Ohio State defence battered and bruised Michigan State in a 38-7 victory Saturday. The Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) narrowly missed a shutout, giving up a meaningless TD to the reeling Spartans (3-4, 0-3) with just more than a minute ...

Week 3 of Florida's gruelling march through the Southeastern Conference takes the Gators to Auburn on Saturday. Florida replaced the Tigers as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 this week and is the only undefeated team left in the SEC. Auburn is coming off its first loss of the season, and it was a doozy _ 27-10 at home to unranked-at-the-time Arkansas. The Gators have won consecutive conference games ...

All signs point to a mismatch when downtrodden Michigan State welcomes No. 1 Ohio State to town Saturday. The Buckeyes aren't buying into it, even against a team that has lost its last three games. Besides their regular classwork this week, they're getting a heavy dose of history from alumni and former players. Twice before, a top-ranked Ohio State team has been a heavy favourite against a Michigan State squad ...

Michigan wide receiver Mario Manningham will miss the fourth-ranked Wolverines' conference game at Penn State on Saturday after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday. The Big Ten's leading receiver appeared to injure his knee in Michigan's 31-13 win over Michigan State last Saturday. ``We got great news as far the injury,'' Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said during a conference call. ``He'll miss this week, but we're very excited about the news ...

These are good days to be a Gator. Florida is the new No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25, its highest ranking since Steve Spurrier left Gainesville, and by far the best team in the Sunshine State. For the first time in 24 years, neither Miami nor Florida State is ranked. Florida moved up three spots Sunday into second behind No. 1 Ohio State on the strength of a 23-10 victory over LSU on Saturday _ ...

Denis Hopovac's fifth field goal of the game in an NCAA record-tying seventh overtime gave North Texas a 25-22 victory over Florida International on Saturday night. Hopovac connected from 34 yards after he and Florida International counterpart Dustin Rivest each missed four field goals in overtime. Hopovac also tied an NCAA record with nine attempts. North Texas (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) entered the game as the only Division I-A team that hadn't played an overtime game since ...

For Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr., it was just like those autumn days in middle school when they used to play catch at the park. Smith tossed three touchdown passes _ including a 57-yard lightning strike to high school teammate Ginn_ to lead No. 1 Ohio State to a 35-7 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday. ``There's always something special about playing with a childhood friend,'' said Smith, who didn't do anything to hurt his Heisman Trophy ...

Chad Henne threw three touchdown passes _ two to Mario Manningham _ in No. 6 Michigan's 31-13 victory over Michigan State on Saturday, the fifth straight win by the Wolverines in the century-old series. Big Ten rushing leader Mike Hart ran for 122 yards despite sitting out the fourth quarter as the Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) kept their national championship aspirations flourishing and retained the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a four-foot wooden statue of the legendary giant lumberjack. Michigan ...

Not quite a blowout, though far from a scare, No. 12 Notre Dame had a comfortable day against winless Stanford. Brady Quinn threw for three touchdowns, Darius Walker ran for a season-high 153 yards and a touchdown and the Notre Dame defence played its best game of the season in a 31-10 win over the Cardinal on Saturday. ``I'm content with this game,'' Irish coach Charlie Weis said. ``First of all, the defence goes out there and gives ...

No. 3 Southern California held on again and resurgent Washington came up just short of its biggest victory in years. John David Booty threw for 243 yards and a touchdown, Mario Danelo kicked four field goals and the Trojans outlasted underdog Washington 26-20 on Saturday. The Trojans' last loss at the Coliseum was to Stanford in 2001, when current Washington coach Tyrone Willingham was the Cardinal coach. And Willingham, in his second season trying to rebuild a once-great program ...

Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes, Antonio Pittman ran for two scores as Ohio State started its second month as the No. 1 team in the nation with an easy 35-7 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday. The Buckeyes (6-0) toyed with the Falcons (3-3), tacking on two touchdowns in the final quarter to turn a surprisingly close 21-7 game into a rout. Ohio State stretched the nation's longest winning streak to 13 in a row. Smith didn't ...

Steve Slaton ran for 185 yards, Pat White rushed for two touchdowns and the West Virginia defence made two interceptions deep in its own territory to give the Mountaineers a 42-14 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. Slaton helped No. 4 West Virginia extend the nation's second-longest win streak to 12 games and moved into fourth on the West Virginia all-time touchdown list with his 24th score in 15 career games. The sophomore had nine runs of 10 ...

Illinois and Michigan State were fined US$10,000 apiece and coaches Ron Zook and John L. Smith were reprimanded Wednesday by the Big Ten as the result of a post-game altercation between the teams Saturday. Moments after Illinois upset Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., 23-20, Illinois players attempted to plant their school flag at midfield of Spartan Stadium. That led to pushing and shoving between several players on each side ...