USC fires coach Helton after bad home defeat
USC fired football coach Clay Helton two games into his seventh season in charge. Athletic director Mike Bohn made the move two days after an embarrassing 42-28 home loss to Stanford that dropped the Trojans (1-1, 0-1 Pac-12) out of the AP Top 25.
“As I committed to upon my arrival at USC, during the past two offseasons we provided every resource necessary for our football program to compete for championships,” Bohn said in a statement. “The added resources carried significantly increased expectations for our team’s performance, and it is already evident that, despite the enhancements, those expectations would not be met without a change in leadership.”
Donte Williams, the Trojans’ cornerbacks coach and associate head coach, will serve as the interim head coach.
Including two stints as the interim coach, Helton went 46-24 as the Trojans’ coach, including a Rose Bowl win to cap the 2016 season.
Purdue running back Zander Horvath will miss four to eight weeks with a broken fibula. Horvath was expected to be a key for the Boilermakers after leading the team in rushing last season. He had 23 carries for 92 yards and one touchdown this season.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said that Casey Thompson will replace Hudson Card as the starting quarterback. Card, who started the first two games, struggled in the loss against Arkansas, going 8-for-15 for 61 yards and was sacked three times.
† Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec underwent surgery for a hand injury suffered against UMass and could miss the remainder of the year.
† Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King is out indefinitely after having surgery to repair his broken right leg.
† LSU running back John Emery Jr. is expected to miss the remainder of the season for academic reasons.
† The SEC fined Arkansas $100,000 after fans rushed the field following the 40-21 win over Texas on Saturday.
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