Rhule leaves Temple for Baylor job

Navy will be minus key players vs. Army

Matt Rhule is taking on a Texas-sized challenge at Baylor after leading Temple to unprecedented success.

After consecutive 10-win seasons with the Owls and a roster filled by kids from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and a football life spent mostly near those areas, Rhule will be introduced on the Waco campus Wednesday as the new coach of a Big 12 Conference program hit hard by scandal and suddenly struggling on the field.

Rhule heads to the Lone Star State, one of the most highly competitive recruiting areas,

with only days to talk to potential recruits before a month-long quiet period begins Monday.

“I am truly honored and humbled to join the Baylor family,” Rhule said in a statement Tuesday.

ARMY-NAVY: Navy’s triple option will have to rely on spare parts Saturday against Army, a less-than-ideal position for a team seeking to beat its biggest rival for the 15th time in a row.

Record-setting quarterback Will Worth and slot back Toneo Gulley both sustained seasonending foot injuries last week in the American Athletic Conference championship, a 34-10 loss to Temple.

Sophomore Zach Abey will get his first college start at quarterback in the most important game of the year for Navy (9-3) and seldom-used Calvin Cass Jr. will replace Gulley, the team’s co-captain and third-leading rusher.

“You don’t want to make excuses,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said Tuesday, “but it’s not the most ideal situation.”

BROYLES AWARD: Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables has won the Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football. WNMU: Western New Mexico senior wide receiver Xavier Ayers, an Albuquerque High grad, received First-Team American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches’ All-American honors Tuesday. Ayers had 1,025 receiving yards on 80 catches with nine touchdowns.