LSU has been sorting out how to go about its national coaching search after firing Brian Kelly on Sunday.
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The actual payout for Kelly’s buyout has not been finalized yet, and it’s unclear whether the state of Louisiana plans to fight the buyout in court. On Thursday night, the Tigers revealed that interim athletic director Verge Ausberry will lead the coaching search. Athletic director Scott Woodward is set to part ways with LSU.
Given the drama surrounding the college football program, it’ll be hard for LSU to land a high-profile name like Lane Kiffin. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has become one of the favorites to move to Baton Rouge in recent days.
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The Green Wave entered Thursday night’s contest on the road against 3-4 UTSA with a 6-1 record and an outside chance to make the College Football Playoff. Tulane’s previous loss came in a 45-10 blowout to then-No. 13 Ole Miss on Sept. 20. The Green Wave will have a big contest coming up in Week 11 when they travel to play No. 25 Memphis.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Tulane entered the game as a 5.5-point favorite over UTSA, but a disastrous second quarter put the Green Wave down 31-12 at halftime. A 21-yard touchdown pass from David Amador II to Devin McCuin on a trick play helped put UTSA up 24-6.
The Roadrunners outscored Tulane 21-6 in the second quarter.
Tulane struggled to score in the second half.
Their lone touchdown in the third quarter came from a trick play of their own via a pass from wide receiver Jimmy Calloway to wide receiver Omari Hayes.
Tulane would score a touchdown in the fourth quarter with 7:10 remaining, but it was too late to catch the Roadrunners. UTSA pulled off a 48-26 upset in front of 16,715 fans at the Alamodome. It was the most points Sumrall’s defense has allowed during his time with the program.
Roadrunners quarterback Owen McCown had an elite performance against Tulane, going 31-of-33 passing for 370 yards and four touchdowns.
UTSA outgained the Green Wave in total yards, 523-434. But the bigger story was the turnover battle. Tulane committed four turnovers while UTSA did not turn the ball over once.
Earlier in the week, Sumrall tried to downplay any talk about rumors surrounding his future with Tulane, saying he was focused on getting prepared to play UTSA in a tough road environment at the Alamodome.
“I’m into coaching this team,” Sumrall said via Guerry Smith of Nola.com. “I’ve dealt with it (coaching rumors) every year as a head coach. I’m so focused on where we are as a team, maybe even more so than ever. (UTSA) is a hostile environment.
“They’ve done a great job creating the environment there, and they have a formula for success at home. We have our work cut out for us.”
Sumrall went 23-4 during his two seasons at Troy. He’s 15-7 in his second season with Tulane.
UTSA will next travel to play South Florida in Week 11.
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