Support for Orgeron flooding USC AD Pat Haden

By Kevin McGuireNov 20, 2013, 5:34 PM EDT
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The search for USC’s next coach is officially underway with athletics director Pat Haden already having an interview with Denver Broncos assistant (and interim head) coach Jack Del Rio, but with the Trojans turning their season around and coming off an upset of Stanford, the support for the removal of the interim tag on Ed Orgeron is growing.

“I had 136 pro-Coach O emails today,” Haden said in a radio interview on KFWB-AM Tuesday night, according to ESPN LA. “Those were just emails. That doesn’t count the tweets, letters and phone calls.”

Orgeron has changed the attitude of the football program in a pretty short period of time since taking over as interim head coach following the dismissal of former head coach Lane Kiffin. USC is 5-1 since Orgeron took over and the Trojans still have an outside chance to play for a Pac 12 championship, although this puts USC fans in the awkward situation of having to root for crosstown rival UCLA this weekend against Arizona State. USC has held four of their opponents to fewer than 20 points under Orgeron after giving up 61 in Kiffin’s final game. Orgeron was just named a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Football Club’s Coach of the Year Award and there could be more coaching honor considerations headed his way.

“What Ed has done has been absolutely remarkable,” Haden said in the same radio interview. “He is clearly in our eyesight. We understand. It’s not just the fans. We’re sophisticated enough and know enough about this to understand the attributes that he has, and he’s a known quantity.”

There are some pros and cons to Orgeron as a head coach at USC, and if USC keeps winning he will continue to gain support from USC fans and alums, but will he be the best candidate for the job out there?

LSU says au revoir to safety Ed Paris for the season

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By Zach BarnettSep 26, 2017, 5:16 PM EDT
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LSU will be without safety Ed Paris for the rest of the season, head coach Ed Orgeron said Monday. Paris suffered a “significant” knee injury during practice last week, for which he has already undergone surgery.

“He’s always around here and smiling and making sure everybody knows he’s good,” cornerback Donte Jackson told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “He wants us to know that he’s all right and that we should just keep playing. He’s always in (the film room). He gets treatment and then he’s right in there and tries to watch practice a little before he has to get his next treatment.”

Paris is a senior, which means it’s possible he has played his final game as a Tiger. However, Oregeron believes he could seek and receive a medical redshirt to return in 2018.

“Ed’s going to be out for the season,” Orgeron said. “Just went through an operation, and hopefully we can redshirt him and get him back for next year.”

A native of Arlington, Texas, Paris split at safety with Grant Deplit.

Paris has played in 40 career games, with two starts.

2018 LSU-Miami opener to be played Sunday night Labor Day weekend

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By John TaylorSep 26, 2017, 3:55 PM EDT
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In October of 2014, it was confirmed that LSU and Miami would open the 2018 college football season against each other.  Nearly three years later, we have a date and time to go along with it.

It was announced Tuesday that the Tigers and Hurricanes will meet Sunday, Sept. 2, of next year at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET.  It was originally scheduled to be played the day before.

That matchup will be broadcast on ABC.

The opener will mark just the 12th meeting ever between the football programs, and the first since 2013.  This will also serve as the third-ever regular-season meeting between the ACC and SEC squads, with the last one coming way back in 1988.

The Tigers will be playing just their second game ever on a Sunday.  They last did so in 2002 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

Maryland loses yet another QB to ACL injury, this one Kasim Hill

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By John TaylorSep 26, 2017, 2:52 PM EDT
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I don’t even know if bubble-wrapping Maryland quarterbacks would help at this point.

This past Saturday afternoon, Kasim Hill went down with what appeared to be a very serious-looking injury to his right leg in the first quarter of the loss to UCF.  Three days later, it was confirmed that the true freshman has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2017 season.

Hill is the second Terrapins quarterback to suffer such a fate the first four weeks of the season.  In the second half of Maryland’s season-opening 51-41 upset of Texas, Tyrrell Pigrome went down with what was later diagnosed as a torn ACL, ending his 2017 season as well.

Unfortunately for the Terps, the injuries, ACLs in particular, haven’t been limited to just those two of late.

Hill will be replaced in the starting lineup by No. 3 quarterback Max Bortenschlager, who started one game last season for the Terps.  After replacing Hill, Bortenschlager completed 15-of-26 passes for 132 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the 38-10 loss to the Knights.  Prior to that, he had attempted just two passes this season, completing one of them for four yards.

Cornhuskers legend Dave Rimington tapped as interim Nebraska AD

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By John TaylorSep 26, 2017, 1:48 PM EDT
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There were many who thought Nebraska’s now-former athletic director was disconnected from the university’s deep football history.  With today’s move, the athletic department has made a 180-degree turn.

NU announced Tuesday afternoon that Dave Rimington has been named as the interim athletic director.  Rimington replaces Shawn Eichorst, who was dismissed late last week after nearly five years on the job.

Rimington was one of the greatest college football centers in history, and, in 1981 and 1982 for the Cornhuskers, became the only player to win back-to-back Outland Trophy Awards.  In 2000, the Rimington Trophy was established to honor the most outstanding center in college football.

In 1997, he was named to the College Football Hall of Fame.

“I’m so pleased that we could count on Dave Rimington, who is a Husker through and through, to answer our call to lend his administrative expertise and unwavering support for Nebraska Athletics during this key time of transition,” chancellor Ronnie Green said in a statement. “I am confident that Dave will provide exceptional leadership as we move forward in our search for a new, permanent director of athletics.”

“I am humbled and grateful to accept this responsibility,” Rimington, one of 17 former ‘Huskers with their jerseys retired, said. “I look forward to working with the coaches, staff and student-athletes at Nebraska, which is a truly special place that has had a profound impact on my life and the lives of countless others.”

Rimington is currently the president of the New York-based Boomer Esiason Foundation, but will be taking a sabbatical from those duties.