Off the wire

FOOTBALL Heisman winner dies

Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn who went on to coach TCU and Samford, has died. He was 69. Sullivan’s family released a statement saying he “died peacefully at home” Sunday morning, surrounded by relatives. The former quarterback was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2003, and the statement said he “fought a long and difficult battle as a result of his treatments.” Sullivan was a College Football Hall of Famer who played four seasons with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, wrapping up his playing career in 1976 with the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers. He was on the search committee when Auburn hired Coach Gus Malzahn. Sullivan led the nation in total offense as a junior in 1970, teaming up with wide receiver Terry Beasley to pass for 2,586 yards. He passed for 2,012 yards and a career-best 20 touchdowns as a senior, securing the Heisman with a 248-yard, 4-touchdown performance against Georgia.

Franks to leave Gators

Injured quarterback Feleipe Franks is leaving Florida to explore other options. Franks announced his decision on social media Sunday, a day after the Gators beat rival Florida State 40-17 in the

Swamp. The 6-6 Franks dislocated and fractured his right ankle in a victory at Kentucky in September. He is expected to be sidelined for at least six months. The recovery time and the emergence of backup Kyle Trask made Franks’ chances of regaining the starting job in 2020 a long shot. A fourth-year junior, Franks completed 59% of his passes for 4,593 yards. He had 38 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. He also ran for eight scores.

BC parts with Addazio

Boston College fired Coach Steve Addazio on Sunday after seven seasons in which the Eagles never surpassed seven wins. Wide receivers coach Rich Gunnell will serve as interim coach. Addazio was 44-44 since taking over in 2013, reaching bowl eligibility for the sixth time in seven years after beating Pittsburgh 26-19 on Saturday. Boston College won seven games in five of his first six seasons, but he could never get the Eagles back to the level they reached in the early 2000s.

Schiano, Rutgers reunite

Greg Schiano is going back to Rutgers. Athletic director Pat Hobbs announced Sunday that the university and Schiano reached a contract agreement a week after talks to bring back the 53-year-old former coach fell apart. “The next great chapter for Rutgers Football is about to begin,” Hobbs said in a statement. The contract still must be approved by the school’s board of governors. It is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the hiring. Both sides walked away from negotiations and declared the possibility of a reunion dead a week ago. Schiano was coach at Rutgers from 2001-11. He built a program that was one of the worst in major college football into a consistent winner. The Scarlet Knights went to a bowl game in six of Schiano’s final seven seasons.

Larrazabal avoids collapse

Pablo Larrazabal won the European Tour’s season-opening Alfred Dunhill Championship on Sunday after losing a three-shot overnight lead, then making three birdies on his last four holes for a dramatic one-stroke victory in Malelane, South Africa. Larrazabal birdied the par-5 No. 18 as the Spaniard finished 8 under overall and just ahead of Sweden’s Joel Sj0holm. The 36-year-old Larrazabal’s victory at Leopard Creek Country Club came at the event where he started his professional career 12 years ago. Sjoholm’s final-round 69 almost saw him through to his first European Tour victory. Charl

Schwartzel (70) finished tied for third at 6 under. Branden Grace (73) and Wil Besseling (74) were also in that tie for third. Besseling led or held a share of the lead through much of the final round, but he made bogey on the last hole after his approach flew too far and landed among some rocks behind the green.

Hamilton seven wins from top

World champion Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory from pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, capping another stellar season with an 11th victory and 84th overall. The six-time Formula One champion is now seven wins behind seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher’s record of 91, which he could realistically overtake next season. After he made a clean start from a record-extending 88th career pole, Hamilton was untroubled as he won on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for the fifth time — four with Mercedes and once when driving for McLaren in 2011. He finished about 17 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a race bereft of overtaking, except for Verstappen’s move on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari on Lap 33.