After firing Lane Kiffin last Saturday, USC athletic director Pat Haden is now tasked with finding his replacement.
Haden has stated that he intends to keep the search private, out of respect for the current senior class, but several candidates to replace Kiffin have already surfaced.
The lead candidate at this point appears to be current Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. The former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach is a Trojan alumnus and understands the culture at USC. With that being said, he has no experience as a college coach.
Other possible replacements include Boise State’s Chris Petersen, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin and Washington’s Steve Sarkisian, among others.
Government shutdown threatens service academy games
The consequences of Congress’ failure to pass the budget have spread to the world of college football.
The Defense Department temporarily shut down sports competition at the service academies – Army, Air Force and Navy – as a result of the government shutdown.
This could have a major impact on one of the greatest rivalries in college football. Air Force is scheduled to take on Navy this weekend and if a resolution can’t be worked out, the game will be cancelled. Army’s contest with Boston College could also be affected by the shutdown. A decision will be made by noon Thursday about whether the academies can play.
South Carolina’s Shaw could play on Saturday
South Carolina’s early-season woes went from bad to worse last Saturday when starting quarterback Connor Shaw went down with a shoulder injury and was expected to miss as many as three weeks. But the Gamecocks got some good news early this week as head coach Steve Spurrier announced his quarterback has recovered much quicker than expected and may be good to go this weekend.
If Shaw does play, it will give South Carolina a huge lift. The senior quarterback has been a rare bright spot for the Gamecocks so far this season, completing 65 percent of his passes for 665 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.
Bearcats to play first game since losing teammate
When Cincinnati takes to the field against South Florida this Saturday, it will be their first time on the gridiron since the passing of redshirt freshman Ben Flick on Sept. 21st.
Flick, along with three other students, got in a traffic accident on their way home from a victory over Miami (OH) in Oxford, Ohio. Flick and one other student were killed in the crash. The other two students in the vehicle, Mark Barr and Javon Harrison, are also on the football team. Barr is still in serious condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
A bye week provided the team with some extra time to recover from the loss but head coach Tommy Tuberville is hoping this week’s game will help his players move past the tragedy.
