SMU hires Dykes
Rumors became a fact Tuesday, when SMU hired Sonny Dykes as its new football coach. Dykes, 48, spent this season as an offensive consultant for TCU. He replaces Chad Morris, who left the Mustangs for the head job at Arkansas.
Sonny Dykes was already back in Texas. Now he's a head coach in his home state for the first time.
Dykes was introduced at SMU on Tuesday, telling a story of cheering for the Mustangs at old Southwest Conference rival Texas Tech in the early 1980s. That was before his late dad, Spike Dykes, started a long tenure leading the Red Raiders.
The 48-year-old is back as a head coach a year after he was fired at Cal, having spent the past season as an offensive consultant under Gary Patterson at TCU.
Dykes will coach SMU (7-5) against one of his former teams, Louisiana Tech, in the Frisco Bowl near Dallas next week.
He turned around the Bulldogs before joining the Golden Bears, coaching 2016 No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Jared Goff. Dykes takes over for Chad Morris, who left the Mustangs for Arkansas after three seasons.
Iowa State would support QB Park's transfer request
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said he will support quarterback Jacob Park if he intends to transfer to another school.
Campbell released a statement Monday night after the Des Moines Register quoted Park as saying he asked for a release from his scholarship.
Park, a junior, was Iowa State's starting quarterback until early October, when he went on an indefinite leave of absence. The Cyclones then turned to senior Kyle Kempt, who is 5-2 as a starter.
Campbell says he and his staff will help Park in the transfer process, which would likely leave Zeb Noland as the favorite to become the starting quarterback in 2018.
Wyoming's Allen plans to play in bowl game if healthy
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen says his injured throwing shoulder is better than 90 percent recovered, but it's still too early to say whether he will be able to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22.
Allen has been mentioned among the top quarterback prospects in next year's NFL draft.
He sprained his right shoulder on Nov. 11 against Air Force and missed Wyoming's final two regular-season games.
Allen said the coaches don't want him playing in the bowl game against Central Michigan unless he's completely recovered.
Allen has said that if he's healthy enough he wants to play in the bowl and not sit it out in order to protect himself from further injury before the NFL draft.
Injured Wisconsin LB Jack Cichy to enter NFL draft
Wisconsin linebacker Jack Cichy has decided to enter the NFL draft, foregoing a chance to ask the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility because of a right knee injury.
Cichy announced his decision in a story posted Tuesday on The Players Tribune website. He was announced as one of the team's departing seniors before the sixth-ranked Badgers' regular-season home finale on Nov. 18 against Michigan.
Arguably Wisconsin's best player, Cichy was on preseason watch lists for postseason awards when he got hurt during a special teams drill in training camp. He was set to anchor a deep linebacker corps on one of the country's top defenses.
Cichy's 2016 season ended after seven games because of a pectoral injury. He took a redshirt season during his second season at Wisconsin in 2014.