College football news: USC, Florida reeling from injuries, Texas-Texas A&M is a no-go
Elsewhere, Nick Saban denies interest in Texas again, Luke Fickell may or may not have interviewed for the Florida Atlantic Job, and MACtion again turned into MACrifice.
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Ball State 44, Central Michigan 24
The Cardinals jumped to a 21-0 lead one minute into the second quarter, then cruised to a 20-point win over the Chippewas in Wednesday night's only FBS game. Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning went 20 for 29 for 299 yards and four touchdowns, while the impeccably-named Horactio Banks ran 11 times for 143 yards. CMU quarterback Cooper Rush threw for 284 yards, and his late touchdown pass to Titus Davis gave the Chips a backdoor cover of the 21-point spread.
INJURIES
USC linebacker/defensive end Morgan Breslin, who has sat out three of the Trojans' last four games with a hip injury, could miss the rest of the season due to surgery. Breslin has eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in limited action this season, just one year after recording 19.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks.
Florida offensive tackle Tyler Moore will also miss the remainder of the 2013 season after breaking his elbow in a scooter accident. Moore reportedly lost control of his scooter on a wet sidewalk. Florida is woefully short of offensive tackles: Chaz Green, the usual starter at right tackle, has missed the entire season due to injury, and starting left tackle D.J. Humphries has been hampered by injury in the last few weeks.
The main event weekend
No. 3 Oregon at No. 5 Stanford No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 6 Baylor No. 13 LSU at No. 1 Alabama SCHEDULING
Oklahoma and UCLA announced a home-and-home series, slated for later this decade. The Sooners will host the Bruins in 2018 and travel to the Rose Bowl in 2019. Oklahoma will have to reschedule a previously-announced series with LSU that was to take place in the same seasons. The Sooners also announced that Akron will visit Norman in 2015.
One series that will not be restarting anytime soon: Texas-Texas A&M. Despite chatter that incoming Texas athletic director Steve Patterson might want to schedule the Aggies, Texas A&M poured cold water on the idea Wednesday. Texas fans are calling A&M “scared and arrogant,” which is ironically what A&M called Texas for approximately 100 years before joining the SEC.
COACHES
In other Texas news, Nick Saban has denied a Tuesday report that he would only leave Alabama to coach the Longhorns. Saban told reporters he is “totally committed to the University of Alabama.” The downside of saying you’re committed to a job, then leaving that job for a different job, is that nobody believes you when you say you’re committed to the second job.
On the topic of coach denials, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer denied that defensive coordinator Luke Fickell interviewed for the vacant position at Florida Atlantic. This contradicts reports earlier this week that indicated Fickell had been interviewed by FAU athletic director -- and former Ohio State associate AD -- Patrick Chun.
Also, Wednesday was Christmas morning for coaching contract enthusiasts: The USA Today coach contract database was released to much fanfare. The most shocking figure: The $5.1 million Arkansas paid for Bret Bielema. The total included the amount paid to Bielema’s previous employer, Wisconsin, to buy out his contract, however. Bielema is scheduled to make approximately $3.2 million in his first season in Fayetteville.
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