Horned Frogs in title mix
FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 12 TCU will get another shot against No. 4 Oklahoma. This one will be closer to home with a chance to win a Big 12 trophy — and maybe even make a case for more.
“I relish the chance to win a championship,” Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said.
Kenny Hill threw three touchdowns and ran 3 yards for another score as the Horned Frogs clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game in nearby Arlington with a 45-22 win over Baylor on Friday.
The Horned Frogs (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) will play No. 4 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title on Dec. 2. That will come three weeks after TCU’s 38-20 loss to the Sooners.
“That’s really what it is, win a Big 12 championship,” linebacker Ty Summers said.
Baylor (1-11, 1-8) led 9-0 less than two minutes into the game. But TCU was ahead for good after Hill’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Jarrison Stewart made it 14-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Moments following a season-ending 48-45 loss to Missouri, Arkansas fired coach Bret Bielema after five disappointing seasons.
The loss left Arkansas with a 4-8 record, capping only the second losing season of Bielema’s 12-year career.
It also left him with a 29-34 record in his five seasons with the Razorbacks, including 11-29 in the SEC.
It was a shockingly poor performance from a coach who led Wisconsin to three Rose Bowl appearances before being hired at Arkansas from Wisconsin after the 2012 season.
Interim athletics director Julie Cromer Peoples informed Bielema of his firing moments after Friday’s loss. Cromer Peoples is serving in an interim role after former athletics director Jeff Long was fired two weeks ago.
“During the course of the past five seasons, we have not been able to sustain the success on the field that is expected and required at the University of Arkansas,” Peoples said.
Bielema was signed with Arkansas through the 2020 season, thanks to an extension he signed following his second season in 2014 when the Razorbacks improved to 7-6 after a 3-9 record in his first year.
His average annual salary over the six-year contract was $4.25 million.
The deal contained a buyout clause that stated Arkansas would have to pay Bielema $15.4 million if he was fired without cause prior to 2018.
The buyout dropped to $11.7 million to start 2018, and it was immediately unclear if the school would be forced to pay the full $15.4 million.
“I definitely want to coach again,” Bielema said after he was fired .
“I don’t know [what’s next]. I’ve never been in this situation.”
A.J. Brown thought the ball was overthrown but kept sprinting and stuck his arms out as far as they would go. The Mississippi receiver was astonished when the ball stuck right in his hands and he ran for a crucial touchdown.
After a year of bad news, things were finally going the way for the Rebels (6-6, 3-5 SEC) in the Egg Bowl.
Ole Miss stunned No. 14 Mississippi State 31-28 on Thursday night, jumping out to a big second-half lead and holding on in the final minutes to win the rivalry game for the fourth time in six seasons.
Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4) was a two-touchdown favorite, but the Buldogs had to play most of the game without starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who suffered an ankle injury during the first quarter.