Colorado fires coach MacIntyre

BOULDER, Colo. — Two years after he was named AP college football coach of the year, Mike MacIntyre’s run at Colorado ended Sunday when he was fired amid a six-game skid in his sixth season.

“It was a difficult decision because Mike is a knowledgeable coach and he has really elevated this football team since 2013,” athletic director Rick George said after asking quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper to serve as interim head coach for Colorado’s final game next weekend.

George lauded MacIntyre’s dogged focus on character, classroom and community service but said, ultimately, his program just wasn’t successful enough on the scoreboard.

MacIntyre was voted AP coach of the year after leading the Buffaloes to a Pac-12 South title and 10 victories in 2016. That was his only winning season at Colorado, going 20-40 overall and 6-38 in the Pac-12 in the other five.

MacIntyre is due about $10 million from the five-year extension he signed after that 2016 season. TEXAS STATE: Texas State has fired coach Everett Withers after he guided the Bobcats to just seven victories in three seasons.

The Bobcats fell to 3-8 on Saturday with a 12-7 loss to Troy. They were 2-10 in each of Withers’ first two seasons at the Sun Belt Conference school that has been playing at the FBS level since 2012.

Athletic director Larry Teis said in a statement Sunday that defensive coordinator Chris Woods will coach the Bobcats in their final game against Arkansas State on Saturday.

Withers was a longtime college and NFL assistant before becoming interim head coach at North Carolina in 2011 following the firing of Butch Davis for NCAA violations. Texas State hired him from FCS James Madison, where in two seasons as coach he was 18-7.