Fresno State coach stepping away for health reasons
Nevada fires coach after consecutive 2-win seasons
FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno State football coach Jeff Tedford is stepping away from the program because of health concerns.
The school’s athletic director, Terry Tumey, announced Tedford’s status on Friday. Assistant head coach and linebacker coach Tim Skipper will serve as head coach through the Bulldogs’ bowl game, which will be determined Sunday.
“The entire Fresno State community sends its thoughts and prayers to Coach Tedford and wish him a speedy recover,” Tumey said in a statement.
It’s the second time Tedford had to step away from Fresno State football because of his health. Tedford left the team in 2019 while dealing with heart-related issues.
Tedford, 62, took the Fresno State job in 2017 and guided a 1-11 program to 10 or more wins in each of his first two seasons. The Bulldogs went 10-4 six years ago and followed that by going 12-2 and winning the Mountain West Conference title the next season.
NEVADA: Nevada football coach Ken Wilson, who won two games in each of his two seasons after returning to Reno, was fired Friday.
The Wolf Pack went 4-20 under Wilson, and they averaged 18.8 points in his first season and 17.3 this year. Their defense gave up more than 30 points a game both seasons.
MOUNTAIN WEST: Boise State will play at UNLV in the Mountain West Championship on Saturday. The game starts at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox.
UNLV (9-3) has never played in the Mountain West title game, so a victory would be another step in a history-making season for the program. UNLV’s Barry Odom was named Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading the Rebels to their first winning season in a decade and their most victories since Randall Cunningham quarterbacked the team in 1984.
A win would give Boise State (7-5) its fifth conference championship, the most in the Mountain West. Boise State is playing under an interim coach, Spencer Danielson, who won both games after Andy Avalos was fired despite a 22-14 record.
The winner will play in the LA Bowl on Dec. 16 against a Pac-12 Conference opponent.
FLORIDA STATE: The fourth-ranked Seminoles might have to turn to thirdstring quarterback Brock Glenn to start the ACC championship game against 15th-ranked Louisville on Saturday night.
Tate Rodemaker, who made his second career start in the team’s regular-season finale at Florida, has been limited in practice last week while recovering from a concussion. It’s another potential setback at the QB position for the Seminoles, who appear to be one victory away from making the College Football Playoff.
Rodemaker left the game briefly in the fourth quarter after getting hit in the head while sliding, a targeting call that resulted in an ejection. He returned a few plays later and handed off to Trey Benson for a game-sealing touchdown run in FSU’s 24-15 victory.
Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said Friday at a news conference for the two ACC coaches that Rodemaker initial passed on-field concussion tests Saturday night but had symptoms a day later. Rodemaker has been able to participate in some parts of practice, but Glenn has gotten the bulk of the work leading into the game.
OKLAHOMA STATE: Police say a dead longhorn cow was found on the lawn of an Oklahoma State University fraternity on Friday, the day before the school’s football team plays the University of Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 championship game.
Police were notified just after 6:30 a.m. of the dead animal on the lawn of FarmHouse fraternity, according to Stillwater police Officer TJ Low.
The carcass had an expletive carved into its side and the stomach was cut open, according to the campus newspaper, The O’Colly.
“It’s a very cruel crime to be committed, especially right before the Big 12 Championship,” Low told The Oklahoman. “Nothing is worth doing that kind of crap.”