Texas Tech

SEATTLE — Mike Leach had just gotten the Texas Tech coaching job in 1999 when he and an assistant coach flew from Lubbock down to Odessa to recruit a decorated receiver named Roy Williams. "Amazing-looking kid," said Manny Matsakis, the former assistant. They told him they'd throw the ball all over the place at Texas Tech, and at the end, they told him, "Before we're done, we're going to beat Texas. " Of course, Williams went on to a prolific career at Texas. But on a November night in 2002, Tech beat the Longhorns 42-38, and afterward, Williams met Matsakis at midfield and shook his hand.

No love lost in Texas David Teel Daily Press A democracy that has given us Sen. Al Franken and Gov. Terminator surely is capable of producing Sen. Craig James. But I'd sooner vote for Lee "Don't forget the 7-second delay" Corso. The beauty of James' folly is he's running in his native Texas. Sure, he starred there at SMU, but that outlaw era earned the program the NCAA's only death penalty. More than two decades later, James' ESPN-enabled crusade helped take down Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.

Texas Tech suspended Mike Leach on Monday while the school investigated complaints from receiver Adam James and his family about how the coach treated the player after he suffered a concussion during a Dec. 16 scrimmage. The school named defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill as coach for the Jan. 2 Alamo Bowl against Michigan State. Tech officials declined to identify the player, but James' family released a statement to the Associated Press identifying Adam, the son of ex-NFL player and current TV analyst Craig James . ESPN later said James would not work the Alamo Bowl as scheduled.

SEATTLE — Mike Leach had just gotten the Texas Tech coaching job in 1999 when he and an assistant coach flew from Lubbock down to Odessa to recruit a decorated receiver named Roy Williams. "Amazing-looking kid," said Manny Matsakis, the former assistant. They told him they'd throw the ball all over the place at Texas Tech, and at the end, they told him, "Before we're done, we're going to beat Texas. " Of course, Williams went on to a prolific career at Texas. But on a November night in 2002, Tech beat the Longhorns 42-38, and afterward, Williams met Matsakis at midfield and shook his hand.

Tommy Tuberville was hired on Saturday by Texas Tech to replace Mike Leach as the Red Raiders' coach. The school announced the decision in a release and said that Tuberville will be introduced on Sunday. Leach was fired last month amid allegations he mistreated a player who suffered a concussion. Tuberville stepped down at Auburn in December 2008, ending a 10-year tenure that included a perfect season and a string of teams that contended for Southeastern Conference championships.

Texas Tech fired Mike Leach on Wednesday after the coach took the school to court to try to overturn his suspension for alleged mistreatment of an injured player. "I'm very sad to say there's only one person to blame for this and it's Mike Leach," Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance told The Associated Press. Jerry Turner , vice chairman of the university system's Board of Regents, said "other things" came to light during an investigation of Leach's treatment of receiver Adam James . The sophomore alleged the coach twice confined him to a small, dark place after the player was diagnosed with a concussion.

No scoreboard-watching necessary for Texas Tech. Less than 24 hours after the Red Raiders gave the national championship race a makeover by defeating then-No. 1 Texas, they received more good news when the Bowl Championship Series standings were released yesterday. Texas Tech was in second place, behind Alabama and just ahead of third-place Penn State. And Maryland, which had last weekend off, unexpectedly jumped into the standings at No. 23. If the undefeated Red Raiders of the Big 12 and undefeated Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference win out, they will likely meet in the BCS national championship game Jan. 8 in Miami.

ATLANTA - Massachusetts is No. 1, Georgetown is the favorite and both of them are envious of what Arkansas accomplished the previous two years.Texas Tech could have picked a better region than the East in its quest for some national recognition. Being an afterthought is nothing new to the Red Raiders, but even when people should be talking about the most accomplished season in the program's history, all the folks back in Lubbock want to do is shout over some broken glass.Texas Tech plays a third-round game against Georgetown tonight (7: 40)

The employer has changed, the campus has changed, and so has the team Bob Knight coaches. The only constant is the coach's boorish behavior. Instead of an Indiana student outside the school's basketball arena in Bloomington, there was the chancellor of the Texas Tech University system at the salad bar of a grocery store in Lubbock. The result was similar: Knight got into a heated altercation after the person made a seemingly innocuous remark. This time, Knight received only a reprimand instead of getting fired.

Let the lobbying begin. With last week's first Bowl Championship Series rankings of the 2005 season indicating Southern California and Texas are running a strong 1-2, Longhorns coach Mack Brown took the opportunity to distance his team from the other unbeatens that still have hopes of playing the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. "I thought, at the first of the year, nobody deserved to be No. 2 in the polls," Brown said after Texas dismantled 10th-ranked Texas Tech, 52-17, in Austin on Saturday.

SATURDAY'S COLLEGE FOOTBALL TV HIGHLIGHTS Texas-El Paso@Central Florida CBSSN9 a.m. Whiparound Coverage ESPNU11 a.m. Ohio State@Michigan 2, 7Noon Michigan State@Northwestern BIGTENNoon Rice@Southern Methodist CSNNoon Georgia@Georgia Tech ESPNNoon Rutgers@Connecticut ESPN2Noon NCAA FCS First Round: James Madison@E. Kentucky ESPNUNoon Iowa State@Oklahoma FXNoon Cincinnati@Syracuse MASNNoon SEC Game of the Week: Teams TBA TCNNoon Maryland@North Carolina State 13, 512:30 Grambling State vs. Southern 11, 42:30 Regional Coverage 2, 73:30 Alabama@Auburn 13, 93:30 Illinois@Minnesota BIGTEN3:30 East Carolina@Marshall CBSSN3:30 Duke@North Carolina CSN, CSNP3:30 Penn State@Wisconsin ESPN3:30 Teams TBA ESPN23:30 Vanderbilt@Wake Forest ESPNU3:30 Kansas vs. Missouri TCN3:30 New Mexico State@Louisiana Tech MASN4 Florida State@Florida ESPN27 Mississippi@Mississippi State ESPNU7 Washington State@Washington VS.7:30 Clemson@South Carolina ESPN7:45 Notre Dame@Stanford 2, 78 Memphis@Southern Mississippi (T)

1. Alabama (8-0): Nick Saban celebrated 60th birthday Monday by scaring kids off his porch. (1) 2. LSU (8-0): Sorry Les Miles, only "hat" welcome where you're headed is Houndstooth. (2) 3. Stanford (8-0): Andrew Luck should save his pick-six plays for Santa Anita racetrack. (3) 4. Oklahoma State (8-0): Cowboys defense has created more turnovers than Pillsbury. (5) 5. Boise State (7-0): Word on street is school about to hire new schedule-strength coach.

Joe Paterno continues to impress. The 84-year-old coach passed Grambling State great Eddie Robinson with his 409th win Saturday, giving him the record for the most victories by a Division I football coach. If South Carolina is going to win the SEC East, it's going to be with defense. Everyone knew losing Marcus Lattimore would be a huge blow for the Gamecocks, and that showed against Tennessee. South Carolina needs to stop people to have a chance to win. Clemson's loss is another disappointment for the ACC. After several frustrating seasons, the ACC seemed to have a national title contender in the Tigers.

Maryland is ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press preseason poll, released Saturday. The Terps have started the season ranked in each of the past seven years. Maryland will play eight games against preseason Top 25 teams, including four at home, starting with a 2 p.m. matchup Nov. 13 against No. 10 Georgetown. The Terrapins, who have four of their five starters back from last season's 24-8 team, are one of five Atlantic Coast Conference teams that are ranked. Miami begins the year at No. 7, Duke at No. 8, Florida State at No. 14 and North Carolina at No.20.

1. Alabama (5-0): Mrs. Saban tells Nick she just loves her new alligator purse! (1) 2. LSU (5-0): CBS broadcast vs. Florida to feature new sideline reporter Andy Rooney. (2) 3. Oklahoma (4-0): State Fair pregame menu includes funnel cake, "Bevo on a stick. " (3) 4. Stanford (4-0): Coach Harbaugh is 7-1 in Bay Area this week if you combine Cardinal/49ers. (5) 5. Boise State (4-0): Subscribe to "Dikes&Tulips.com" to keep up on team's Dutch players.

Six months after narrowly missing out on the Maryland head coaching job, controversial former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is back in the news. This week, Leach, who was fired at Texas Tech following alleged player misconduct during the 2009 season, released a tell-all book titled  Swing Your Sword. Leach’s firing stemmed from his punishment of Adam James, the son of former NFL running back and ESPN broadcaster Craig James. Leach writes that while the Red Raiders coaching staff had originally gone out on a limb by offering James a scholarship, they quickly grew fed up with his lack of effort.

The Houston Bowl was guaranteed a classic run vs. pass matchup yesterday when Texas Tech accepted an invitation to play Navy on Dec. 30 at Reliant Stadium. In an intriguing pairing, the Midshipmen will match their old-school, No. 1-ranked rushing attack against Texas Tech's new-wave, No. 1-ranked passing game triggered by quarterback B.J. Symons. "It will be a tremendous challenge to play Texas Tech," said Navy coach Paul Johnson, the day after his team methodically romped past rival Army, 34-6, to finish the regular season at 8-4. "They traditionally have one of the best offenses in the country, and they have a ton of great athletes."