College football news: Texas AD DeLoss Dodds officialy retiring, Air Force-Navy remains in limbo
Texas is officially seeking a new athletic director. Elsewhere, nobody’s quite sure if Air Force and Navy will play this weekend.
Texas held a monumental press conference Tuesday, with athletic director DeLoss Dodds and president Bill Powers on hand to confirm the former’s retirement will be official Aug. 31, 2014. Neither official held back his emotions, as Dodds’ retirement has been long rumored but just now official. Dodds was hired in 1981 and has since overseen 13 national titles and 103 conference championships.
The Longhorns have faced their fair share of adversity through a 2-2 start this season. A Week 2 loss to BYU and falling to Ole Miss the following week placed head coach Mack Brown firmly on the hot season, and only a steady stream of wins will quell the heat.
“I love The University of Texas, and I love the people. We’ve had a great run,” said Dodds, who is now 76 years old. “I have been contemplating this decision for awhile. Bill Powers and I have talked it over, and this is something I am ready to do at this time.”
Dodds was adamant that the recent struggles of the football program did not have an impact on his decision -- he said that he would have called the press conference to announce his retirement at this time even if the Longhorns were 4-0.
Asked what his greatest accomplishment during a tenure that currently sits at 32 years, Dodds’ response was simple: “Survival.” He later noted, “This place can run without me.”
If Air Force-Navy is to be played this weekend despite the government shutdown, it’ll be a matter of utilizing private funs from conference fees, TV money and ticket revenue. Even with that in consideration, a military source told the Colorado Springs Gazette Tuesday there’s a “50/50” chance of the game being played.
A military source said there’s about a “50/50 chance” that the game will be played with conference fees, conference TV money and ticket revenue making up for a lack of government funding. If that falls through and the government remains shut down by 10 a.m. Thursday, the game will be cancelled or postponed.
The military source said there are concerns about public reaction if the Air Force-Navy game is played. The source said those who are trying to salvage the game are worried there will be public backlash when two service academy teams play a game while the government is shut down.
Army-Boston College is also in doubt.
If the shutdown continues through Oct. 12, Duke is also reportedly considering replacing that day’s Navy game with Fresno State.
USC coaching speculation churns on
As you’d expect, the buzz surrounding USC’s head coaching vacancy isn’t going to slow anytime soon. Tuesday, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and Stanford’s David Shaw each had to deny their interest in the job, despite both being firmly entrenched in solid jobs.
Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin and Oregon State’s Mike Riley have also both denied interest. Vanderbilt’s James Franklin is also dodging the questions. Are we left with Boise State’s Chris Petersen and former Jacksonville Jaguars and USC alum Jack Del Rio as the favorites?
Injury updates
South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw suffered a right shoulder sprain vs. Central Florida last weekend, and head coach Steve Spurrier suggested Shaw could miss a a few weeks. Yet, Tuesday brought word that Shaw will likely be available vs. Kentucky. He still might not start, however.
Less positive injury news came from Oregon, for which running back De'Anthony Thomas will likely be out vs. Colorado. Thomas suffered an ankle injury against Cal last weekend and is officially questionable, though he was wearing a walking boot despite putting his pads on at practice Tuesday.
Elsewhere, and in perhaps the most significant injury news of the week, Northwestern jack-of-all-trades Vernic Mark practiced fully Tuesday, somewhat of a surprise that prompted head coach Pat Fitzgerald to term it “a heck of a free-agent pickup.” Yes, it looks like Marknado’s coming.
Arkansas' offensive line is dirty, says Florida's Damien Jacobs
Your daily dose of silly and probably stupid bulletin-board material: Florida defensive tackle Damien Jacobs said Tuesday that Arkansas' offensive line, specifically center Travis Swanson, is "a little dirty."
Hey, they are Hogs after all. Plus, it’s not really hard to buy a Bret Bielema-coached, run-based offense has “dirty” in the eyes of an opposing defense. Jacobs would probably be better served by keeping these jabs to himself, but hey -- from a fan perspective, we’ll welcome some smack entering a big SEC showdown.
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