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News Nuggets, 10.20.03
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Saturday drubbing triggers Franks dismissal by Duke

DURHAM — Duke fired head football coach Carl Franks on Sunday and named defensive coordinator Ted Roof to replace him for the rest of the season.

The firing comes a day after the Blue Devils fell behind Wake Forest 42-0 at halftime on the way to their 29th-straight Atlantic Coast Conference loss.

``Halftime of the game yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back for me,'' athletic director Joe Alleva said.

Franks is the third Division I-A head coach to be fired so far this season, joining John Mackovic at Arizona and Todd Berry at Army. Mississippi State's Jackie Sherrill announced last week that he would retire at the end of the season.

A former Duke tight end, Franks had signed a contract extension through 2006 after going 2-10 last year, but it's unclear how much of his salary was guaranteed.

Franks' record in 4 1/2 seasons was 7-45. Duke (2-5) was predicted to finish seventh out of nine ACC teams in a preseason survey of reporters covering the conference.

Alleva said a search for a replacement will begin immediately, and that Roof would be considered.

``I'm looking for a coach that can recruit, that can motivate the team and that can lead this organization — be a leader,'' Alleva said. ``I think it's a great coaching job. We have nowhere to go but up.''

Franks returned to his alma mater in 1999 after nine seasons at Florida as an assistant to Steve Spurrier, himself a former Duke coach.

Following a 3-8 record in Franks' initial season at Duke, the team had back-to-back 0-11 campaigns in 2000 and 2001. The Blue Devils snapped a 23-game losing streak with a 23-16 victory over East Carolina to open the 2002 season.

Duke opened this season 2-1 by beating Rice and Division I-AA Western Carolina. They've since dropped four straight games to Northwestern, Florida State, Maryland and the Demon Deacons.

Football weekend: The good, the bad, the ugly

TIE AT THE TOP: Bobby Bowden earned his 338th career coaching victory with No. 7 Florida State's 19-14 win over Virginia. The victory moved Bowden into a tie with Penn State's Joe Paterno for first place on the Division I-A coaching victories list. The Nittany Lions were off Saturday. Bowden is 338-97-4 in 38 seasons, 28 at Florida State. Paterno is 338-105-3 at Penn State.

HURRICANE FORCE: No. 2 Miami beat Temple for the 12th consecutive time, 52-14. The Hurricanes have won 39 straight regular-season games, 27 in a row in the Big East and 26 straight at the Orange Bowl - the nation's longest home winning streak.

TURNOVER TIME: No. 18 Nebraska equaled a school record by forcing eight turnovers in a 48-12 victory over Texas A&M. The Cornhuskers intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles by Aggies' quarterback Reggie McNeal. The last time Nebraska collected eight turnovers was 1991, against Colorado State.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Antonio Perkins tied a Division I-A record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season and seventh for his career as No. 1 Oklahoma beat No. 24 Missouri 34-13.

REBOUNDS: Texas coach Mack Brown is 6-0 in games right after Oklahoma with a 40-19 win over Iowa State. Last week, the Longhorns were run over by Oklahoma 65-13.

FREQUENT FLYERS: Hawaii and Louisiana Tech combined for 939 net passing yards in Hawaii's 44-41 win. Warriors quarterback Timmy Chang was 33-of-46 for 534 yards and four interceptions. For the Bulldogs, Luke McCown was 31-of-48 for 405 yards with one interception.

STREAKING: No. 16 Texas Christian beat UAB 27-24 for its ninth straight win, tying Oklahoma for the nation's longest winning streak. ... Florida has won 42 of its 51 conference road games since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1992, including 33-28 upset over No. 11 Arkansas. ... Syracuse's Walter Reyes scored a touchdown for the 11th straight game as the Orangemen beat Boston College 39-14. Reyes broke the school record set in 1964 by Jim Nance.

SNAPPED: East Carolina beat Army 38-32 to snap an eight-game losing streak. ... USC routed Notre Dame 45-14, beating the Irish on the road for just the second time since 1983.

SLUMPING: Duke lost Wake Forest 42-13, its 29th straight ACC defeat. Blue Devils coach Carl Franks fell to 7-45 in his fifth season. ... Baylor lost to Kansas 28-21 and has dropped 30 straight conference road games. ... No. 4 Georgia beat Vanderbilt 27-8, clinching the Commodores' 21st consecutive losing season. ... Marshall beat Buffalo 26-16, extending the nation's longest losing streak to 18 games. ... UNLV lost to Utah for the eighth straight time, 28-10.

STRONG IN DEFEAT: B.J. Symons was 42-of-67 for 552 yards with five touchdowns, and ran for another score in Texas Tech's 51-49 loss to Oklahoma State. It was Symons' sixth straight game with more than 400 yards. ... Brian Leonard caught two touchdown passes and ran for two other scores as Rutgers lost to Pittsburgh 42-32.

FAMILY TREE: Eli Manning accounted for four touchdowns as Mississippi beat Alabama 43-28. The Rebels have beaten the Crimson Tide just eight times in 51 meetings - half of those with either Eli or his father, Archie, at quarterback. The Manning family is 7-3 against the Crimson Tide, with brother Peyton going 3-1 against Alabama at Tennessee.

SPEAKING: "I said, 'What can you do with 43 seconds?' They said, 'Coach, we can take it back."' - Michigan State coach John L. Smith to his kick return unit just before DeAndra Cobb's 100-yard kickoff return with 37 seconds remaining in the first half. The 15th-ranked Spartans went on to beat No. 25 Minnesota 44-38. ----- "We threw the ball 55 times? That's shameless." - Purdue coach Joe Tiller. Quarterback Kyle Orton was 38-of-55 for 411 yards as the 13th-ranked Boilermakers beat No. 14 Wisconsin 26-23.

Conference USA standings, scores and schedule

Unbeaten Texas Christian moved into sole possession of first place in Conference USA on Saturday with its 24-21 victory over UAB, nudging idle Southern Mississippi into second place.

At the other end of the standings, East Carolina escaped from both the winless ranks and the cellar by holding off a fourth-quarter charge by Army 38-32.

Here are the complete standings along with the weekend's scores and next Saturday's schedule.

Frogs up a notch in one poll, steady in the other

Despite heavily-favored Texas Christian's struggles in overcoming UAB 24-21 on Saturday, the Horned Frogs moved up a spot in the Associated Press poll from No. 16 to No. 15 and held steady in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll at No. 13.

The 7-0 Horned Frogs are off to their best start since since reeling off seven straight victories to begin the 2000 season.

Other Conference USA and Carolinas teams receiving votes were Louisville (both polls) and Clemson with a single vote in the coaches' poll. Following are both sets of rankings, with C-USA and Carolinas teams denoted in bold:

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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