Texas fired Tom Herman because it was tired of waiting for him to deliver a Big 12 title and turn the Longhorns back into a national championship contender.
Next up: Steve Sarkisian, the architect of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offense and their tsunami of points this season.
Texas abruptly fired Herman on Saturday after four seasons, then followed it hours later with the announcement it has hired the Alabama offensive coordinator.
Sarkisian has directed an overwhelming Crimson Tide offense this season that has produced two Heisman Trophy finalists in quarterback Mac Jones and receiver DeVonta Smith, and has Alabama rolling into the Jan. 11 College Football Playoff championship game against Ohio State. Sarkisian recently won the Broyles Award given to college football’s top assistant coach.
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Sarkisian, 46, also has previous head coaching experience at Washington and Southern California. He has been Alabama’s offensive coordinator under coach Nick Saban since 2019.
“This is a unique and compelling opportunity to lead this storied program to the next level, competing once again amongst the best in college football,” Sarkisian said in a statement released by Texas.
His new job will require him not just to win — Herman did that with a 32-18 record — but to knock rival Oklahoma off the top of the Big 12, get the Longhorns back among the national elite, and make sure they also don’t get swamped by Texas A&M’s rise in the recruiting battles for homegrown state talent.
He will be Texas’s fourth head coach since the program’s last Big 12 championship in 2009. Since then, Texas has fired Mack Brown — the only coach to lead the program to a national championship (2005) in 50 years — Charlie Strong, and Herman.
Sarkisian was 46-35 overall at Washington and USC but was fired midway through his second season with the Trojans 2015 and went into alcohol rehabilitation treatment. He later lost a $30 million breach of contract and disability discrimination lawsuit against USC that alleged the school fired him instead of allowing him to seek treatment.
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Herman was 32-18 in his four seasons with four bowl victories and still had three years left on a guaranteed contract set to pay him more than $6 million per year.
Texas A&M runs away from North Carolina
Devon Achane had two late touchdown runs, including a 76-yarder with 3:44 left, as fifth-ranked Texas A&M beat No. 14 North Carolina, 41-27, in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens.
Kellen Mond passed for 232 yards and ran for a score for the Aggies (9-1), who were in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1944. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher improved to 3-0 in Orange Bowls, winning two previous ones at Florida State.
Achane’s go-ahead score came on a play where he darted left, nearly tripped over one of his own blockers, broke a tackle, and then got loose down the sideline. The Aggies got a fourth-down stop on the ensuing possession, and Achane sealed the win on a 1-yard run with 1:34 left.
Sam Howell passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Josh Downs, for the Tar Heels (8-4). North Carolina was without leading rushers Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, leading receiver Dyami Brown, and top tackler Chazz Surratt — all of whom opted out of the bowl game.
Howell tied North Carolina’s career TD passing record of 68 with his three scoring throws, all of which gave the Tar Heels leads.
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The first saw Dazz Newsome make a diving 28-yard grab with 4:56 left in the half to put the Tar Heels ahead, 13-10. The next was a 10-yarder to Downs with 8:01 left in the third for a 20-17 lead, a drive extended when Texas A&M had an interception in the end zone waved off by penalty. And the third was a 75-yarder to Downs early in the fourth, when Howell saw him break free, point to him, and let the ball fly.
Every time, though, Texas A&M answered. A 3-yard run by Isaiah Spiller with 20 seconds left in the half sent the Aggies into the locker room up 17-13, and a chip-shot field goal by Seth Small tied the game at 20 with 14:02 remaining. Mond had a 4-yard scoring run with 10:11 left.
The rest was up to Achane, and the Aggies ended their season on an eight-game win streak.
Ole Miss tosses aside No. 7 Indiana
Matt Corral threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, leading Mississippi to a 26-20 upset of seventh-ranked Indiana in the Outback Bowl in Tampa.
Corral’s 3-yard pass to Dontario Drummond put the Rebels (5-5) ahead for good with 4:12 remaining.
Coach Lane Kiffin was rewarded before the game with a new contract, even though he’s just competing his first season with the Rebels.
In a career that has included stops at Florida Atlantic, USC, and Tennessee, Kiffin has a career record of 66-39.
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Drummond finished with six catches for 110 yards. Corral completed 30 of 44 passes without an interception, including a 5-yard TD throw to Casey Kelly that put Ole Miss up, 13-3, midway through the second quarter.
Jack Tuttle was 26 of 45 for 201 yards in his second start in place of Michael Penix Jr. for Indiana (6-2), which lost its star quarterback to a season-ending knee injury in late November.
Stevie Scott III rushed for 99 yards and scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards to help Indiana wipe out a 20-6 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss missed the extra point after Drummond’s go-ahead TD catch. Indiana drove to the Rebels’ 33 before stalling and turning the ball over on downs in the final minute.
Indiana makes fashion statement
Indiana created a stir by removing Big Ten logos from their uniforms before the Outback Bowl, sparking speculation of a rift between the Hoosiers and the conference after the team did not receive a berth in a New Year’s Six game.
The Big Ten logo was replaced by an Outback Bowl logo on jerseys, and the letters “LEO” were added to helmets.
Coach Tom Allen issued a statement to clarify “what we are wearing on our uniform and helmet,” noting that ever since he took over as coach at Indiana the program’s mantra has been “LEO, Love Each Other.”
“This season has been the most trying we will ever experience, and we felt it was appropriate to showcase LEO, which has carried us through one of the most historic years in Indiana football history,” Allen said. “We did not intend to show any disrespect to anyone. We are a proud member of the Big Ten and are always representing our conference.”
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Iowa State clocks Oregon in Fiesta Bowl
Breece Hall ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy accounted for two scores, and No. 12 Iowa State grinded out a 34-17 victory over No. 25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.
The Cyclones (9-3) used their ball-control offense to dominate the time of possession and keep Oregon’s offense off the field for long stretches to win their first New Year’s Six bowl.
Hall, an AP All-American, had 34 carries and his ninth 100-yard game this season. Purdy, who went to high school in nearby Gilbert, threw for 156 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-29 passing, adding a touchdown on the ground.
Iowa State had a time of possession advantage of more than 25 minutes.
Oregon (4-3) alternated between Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown at quarterback, but couldn’t sustain anything on offense and was plagued by numerous mistakes.
The Ducks lost two fumbles, an interception, and a pooch kick. They also turned it over when a punt hit a blocker’s helmet and had a touchdown wiped out by a penalty.
Iowa State won three games its first season under Matt Campbell before playing in three straight bowl games. The Cyclones earned their first New Year’s Six bowl with the best regular season in school history.
Iowa State took a methodical offensive approach in the Fiesta Bowl, scoring its first two touchdowns on drives of 14 and 15 plays. Hall scored for the 12th straight game on a 1-yard run and Charlie Kolar caught a 14-yard TD pass from Purdy.
The Cyclones were stuffed on a fourth and goal from the 1 in the second quarter, but went right back to marching on Oregon’s defense. Purdy scored on a 1-yard run and Hall made it 28-14 with a 1-yard run after Iowa State recovered a pooch kick.
Kentucky shows some bite in defeating North Carolina State
A.J. Rose ran for a career-high 148 yards, Chris Rodriguez added 84 yards and two scores, and Kentucky (5-6) held off No. 24 North Carolina State, 23-21, in a chippy TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
Christopher Dunn missed two field goals for the Wolfpack (8-4), who trailed 16-14 late when Bailey Hockman threw his third interception of the game. Rodriguez scored on the ensuing play, going nearly untouched for 26 yards.
NC State got a final chance after Jordan Houston scored with 1:10 remaining. But Allen Dailey recovered Dunn’s onside kick, and the Wildcats ran out the clock.
Penalties were a problem for both teams. There were 11 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and several more instances where a flag could have been thrown.
Kentucky finished with 281 yards on the ground, helping offset one of the nation’s worst passing attacks. A big issue for the Wolfpack was playing without four defensive starters. Safety Tanner Ingle (suspended), defensive tackle Alim McNeil (opt out), and injured linebackers Payton Wilson and Drake Thomas missed the game.
USC’s St. Brown headed for NFL
Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is headed to the NFL Draft after three seasons at Southern California. St. Brown announced his expected decision Saturday.
He is the younger brother of Green Bay receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who played at Notre Dame.
The speedy, sure-handed receiver is the fifth key underclassman in the past week from the 21st-ranked Trojans (5-1) to declare their intention to enter the draft.
St. Brown had 41 catches for 478 yards and seven touchdowns this season, the Orange County native’s third as a key receiver in the USC offense. He racked up 178 receptions for 2,270 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career with the Trojans.
He joins All-American safety Talanoa Hufanga, defensive lineman Marlon Tuipulotu, offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, and cornerback Olaijah Griffin in heading to the NFL after the Trojans won the Pac-12 South this season and lost to Oregon in the conference title game before declining to play in a bowl game.
Defensive lineman Jay Tufele already opted out of the delayed 2020 season to prepare for the draft.