San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Texas fires Herman, hires Sarkisian
Texas fired Tom Herman because it was tired of waiting for him to deliver a Big 12 title and turn the Longhorns back into a national championship contender.
Next up: Steve Sarkisian, the architect of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offense and their tsunami of points this season.
Texas abruptly fired Herman on Saturday after four seasons, then followed it hours later with the announcement it has hired the Alabama offensive coordinator to build the Longhorns back into shape.
Sarkisian has directed an overwhelming Crimson Tide offense this season that has produced two Heisman Trophy finalists in quarterback Mac Jones and receiver DeVonta Smith, and has Alabama rolling into the Jan. 11 College Football Playoff championship game against Ohio State. He recently won the Broyles Award given to college football’s top assistant coach.
Sarkisian, 46, also has previous head coaching experience at Washington and USC. He has been Alabama’s offensive coordinator under head coach Nick Saban since 2019, and will coach in the championship game.
“This is a unique and compelling opportunity to lead this storied program to the next level, competing once again amongst the best in college football,” Sarkisian said in a statement released by Texas.
His new job will require him not just to win — Herman did that with a 3218 record — but to knock rival Oklahoma off the top of the Big 12, get the Longhorns back among the national elite and make sure they also don’t get swamped by Texas A& M’s rise in the recruiting battles for homegrown state talent.
Herman had bowl victories in all four of his seasons and still had three years left on a guaranteed contract set to pay him more than $ 6 million per year.
Sarkisian will be Texas’ fourth head coach since the program’s last Big 12 championship in 2009. Since then,
Texas has fired Mack Brown — the only coach to lead the program to a national championship ( 2005) in 50 years — Charlie Strong and Herman.
Sarkisian was 4635 overall at Washington and USC but was fired midway through his second season with the Trojans 2015 and went into alcohol rehabilitation treatment. He later lost a $ 30 million breach of contract and disability discrimination lawsuit against USC that alleged the school fired him instead of allowing him to seek treatment.
BOWL GAMES
Orange Bowl: # 5 Texas A& M 41, # 14 North Carolina 27: Devon Achane had two late touchdown runs, including a 76- yarder with 3: 44 left that put the Aggies ahead to stay at Miami Gardens, Fla. Kellen Mond passed for 232 yards and ran for the tying score in the fourth quarter for the Aggies ( 9- 1), who were in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1944. Texas A& M coach Jimbo Fisher improved to 3- 0 in Orange Bowls, winning two previous ones at Florida State. Achane’s go- ahead score came on a play where he darted left, nearly tripped over one of his own blockers, broke a tackle and then got loose down the sideline. The Aggies got a fourth- down stop on the ensuing possession, and Achane sealed the win on a 1- yard run with 1: 34 left. Sam Howell passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Josh Downs, for the Tar Heels
( 8- 4). North Carolina was without leading rushers Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, leading receiver Dyami Brown and top tackler Chazz Surratt — all of whom opted out of the bowl game.
Fiesta Bowl: # 12 Iowa State 34, # 25 Oregon 17: At Glendale, Ariz., Breece Hall ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns and Brock Purdy accounted for two scores as the Cyclones ( 9- 3) used their ball- control offense to dominate the time of possession and keep Oregon’s offense off the field for long stretches to win their first New Year’s Six bowl. Hall, an AP All- American, had 34 carries and his ninth 100- yard game this season. Purdy, who went to high school in nearby Gilbert, threw for 156 yards and a touchdown on 20of- 29 passing, adding a touchdown on the ground. “Life has been really hard for our society, really since March,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “Through dark and trying times, this team has been a beacon of hope for a lot. This team has grown and gotten better when things maybe say the other way.” The Ducks ( 4- 3) alternated between Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown at quarterback, but couldn’t sustain anything on offense and was plagued by numerous mistakes. The Ducks were a replacement in the Pac- 12 championship game after Washington pulled out and beat USC for their second straight title. “Obviously, we didn’t play up to our standards,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said. “It’s a game of execution and in critical situations, we didn’t coach well enough or play well enough.”
Outback Bowl: Mississippi 26, # 7 Indiana 20: Matt Corral threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, including a 3- yard pass to Dontario Drummond to put the Rebels ( 5- 5) ahead for good with 4: 12 remaining in Tampa, Fla. Ole Miss came through with one more stop for its first nonlosing record since going 6- 6 in 2017. First- year coach Lane Kiffin, the former Raiders, USC and Tennessee coach, was rewarded before the game with a new contract. Drummond finished with six catches for 110 yards. Corral completed 30 of 44 passes without an interception, including a 5- yard throw to Casey Kelly that put Ole Miss up 13- 3 midway through the second quarter. Jack Tuttle was 26 of 45 for 201 yards in his second start in place Michael Penix Jr. for the Hoosiers ( 6- 2), whose only previous loss had been to CFP championship finalist Ohio State. Stevie Scott III rushed for 99 yards and scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards to help the Hoosiers wipe out a 20- 6 deficit in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss missed the extra point after Drummond’s go- ahead TD catch. Indiana drove to the Rebels 33 before stalling and turning the ball over on downs in the final minute as the Ole Miss defense, which allowed 535.7 yards and 40.3 points per game during the regular season, came through with one more stop to clinch the school’s first bowl win since beating Oklahoma State in the 2016 Sugar Bowl. “We talked about it all week. We’re going to need that,” Kiffin said. “We were not going to go score 60 points. … We knew it was going to be a struggle, and it was great to see the defense play like they did.”
Gator Bowl: Kentucky 23, # 24 North Carolina State 21: A. J. Rose ran for a career- high 148 yards, Chris Rodriguez added 84 yards and two scores and the Wildcats ( 5- 6) held off the Wolfpack ( 8- 4) in a chippy game in Jacksonville, Fla. Christopher Dunn missed two field goals for the Wolfpack, who trailed 16- 14 late when Bailey Hockman threw his third interception of the game. Rodriguez scored on the ensuing play, going nearly untouched for 26 yards. N. C. State got a final chance after Jordan Houston scored with 1: 10 remaining. But Allen Dailey recovered Dunn’s onside kick, and Kentucky ran out the clock. Coach Mark Stoops got a Gatorade bath following the team’s third straight bowl victory, which ended a tumultuous season that included the death of offensive line coach John Schlarman of cancer in November and rehabbing linebacker Chris Oats, who has been battling a significant medical condition since May. “It was extremely emotional, even walking into the locker room we were saying, ‘ That was for ( Oats), that was for Schlarman,’ ” said linebacker Jamin Davis, who finished with 13 tackles and an interception.