• Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will have surgery.
Alabama quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa will have surgery on his right ankle and recovery is expected to take about two weeks.
Crimson Tide coach
Nick Saban tells ESPN that Tagovailoa has a high ankle sprain and will have it scoped. He says recovery time for most of his players for this procedure has typically been "a two-week deal."
Saban is hoping Tagovailoa will be back by the time No. 1-ranked Alabama starts practice for the Orange Bowl semifinal game against No. 4 Oklahoma on Dec. 29.
Tagovailoa hurt his right ankle when an offensive lineman stepped on it in the fourth quarter of the Southeastern Conference championship game against No. 6 Georgia. The Heisman Trophy candidate was helped off the field and didn't return to the game.
Central Michigan hires McElwain as coach
Michigan receivers coach Jim McElwain has been named head coach at Central Michigan.
Central Michigan announced McElwain's hiring Sunday. He replaces John Bonamego, who went 1-11 in his fourth season after taking the Chippewas to three straight bowls.
The 56-year-old McElwain was at Michigan for one season. He previously coached at Florida, where he was Southeastern Conference coach of the year in his first season (2015) and went 22-12 overall.
The Gators won SEC East titles his first two years. After a 3-4 start in 2017, McElwain said he and his family had received death threats. His claim couldn't be substantiated and he parted ways with Florida, agreeing to a $7.5 million buyout.
Extra points
•UCF: Athletic director Danny White is unhappy again with the College Football Playoff.
A year ago, he spearheaded UCF's "national title" push after the Knights finished an unbeaten season and were left out of the four-team playoff.
After UCF (12-0) was left out of the playoff on Sunday, White tweeted that the CFP is "not a playoff. It's an invitational."
The eighth-ranked Knights will face No. 11 LSU in the New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl.
•AKRON: Coach Terry Bowden has been fired after seven seasons.
Athletic director Larry Williams announced Bowden's dismissal on Sunday, a day after the Zips were beaten 28-3 by South Carolina to finish 4-8. Bowden went 35-52 at Akron, including a 23-33 record in Mid-American Conference play and led the Zips to two bowl appearances.