Tulsa fires football coach Philip Montgomery after 8 seasons, 4 bowls

Tulsa fires coach Philip Montgomery after 8 seasons, 4 bowls

Tulsa fired coach Philip Montgomery, who spent eight seasons at the school and reached four bowl games, on Sunday.

The Golden Hurricane finished their season 5-7 after beating Houston on the road Saturday. It was not enough to keep the school from making a change.

Montgomery finished 43-53 in his first head coaching job.

“I’m certainly disappointed that I won’t have the opportunity to continue leading this program," Montgomery said in a statement. “For the past eight years, I’ve given the University of Tulsa, our players, and staff everything I have. I’m proud of the way we locked arms and battled through adversity at every turn.”

Montgomery was offensive coordinator at Baylor before taking over at Tulsa in 2015, but the Golden Hurricane's offense was up and down throughout Montgomery's tenure.

Montgomery's best season came in Year 2, when Tulsa went 10-3. The Golden Hurricane also played in the American Athletic Conference championship game in 2020, losing to Cincinnati.

Sources: Fickell on verge of becoming Wisconsin coach

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell informed his team on Sunday that he is leaving the school, paving the way for him to become the next head coach at Wisconsin.

A person with knowledge of Fickell's decision told The Associated Press that Fickell was leaving and veteran assistant coach Kerry Coombs was being named interim coach of the Bearcats.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Wisconsin was still finalizing approval of Fickell's contract.

Fickell, 49, has posted a 57-18 record in six seasons at Cincinnati and helped the Bearcats earn a College Football Playoff berth last year. The former Ohio State linebacker went 6-7 as the Buckeyes’ interim head coach in 2011, after Jim Tressel’s resignation.

Fickell will take over for interim coach and former Badgers star player Jim Leonhard, who replaced Paul Chryst on Oct. 2.

More:Why Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy trusted fans on fourth down vs. West Virginia

Stanford coach David Shaw resigns after 3-9 finish

Stanford coach David Shaw resigned Saturday night after finishing his 12th season at his alma mater with a 36-25 loss to BYU that dropped the Cardinal to 3-9.

Shaw, 50, led Stanford to five double-digit win seasons, with three Pac-12 titles and Rose Bowl appearances in his first six years as head coach. He finished with more wins than any coach in program history with a 96-54 record and was considered one of the most respected coaches in the country.

Shaw arrived unusually late to his postgame news conference and said his decision only came in the last few days.

The falloff in recent years has been drastic. The Cardinal are 14-28 over the last four seasons as the program has struggled to keep up in a rapidly changing college football landscape with players transferring more freely and earning money for name, image and likeness.

More:Was Zach Schmit's OT field goal good in OU's loss to Texas Tech? Brent Venables thinks so

Arizona State hires Oregon's Dillingham as football coach

Arizona State hired Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham on Sunday, making the 32-year-old the youngest head football coach in a Power Five conference.

A Phoenix native, Dillingham returns to the school he graduated from 10 years ago in hopes of turning around a program that fired Herman Edwards in September after a 1-2 start. Arizona State also is facing an NCAA investigation for alleged violations of recruiting rules committed under Edwards.

Dillingham began his coaching career at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, before being hired as an offensive analysis by then-Arizona State coach Todd Graham in 2014.

He has served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Memphis, Auburn, Florida State and Oregon.

USC 38, NOTRE DAME 27: Caleb Willams polished his Heisman Trophy credentials with 232 yards passing and four total touchdowns, and No. 6 Southern California capped its outstanding regular season under new coach Lincoln Riley by staying firmly in the College Football Playoff race with a 38-27 victory over No. 15 Notre Dame on Saturday night. The night felt like a Heisman coronation for Williams, who iced the win for USC (11-1) on his third rushing touchdown with 2:35 to play by sprinting 16 yards through the heart of Notre Dame's (8-4) defense for the 44th total TD of his incredible season. Williams struck a Heisman pose on the USC sideline after a score in the first half, and he was serenaded with frequent chants of “Heisman! Heisman!” from the Coliseum crowd.

OREGON STATE 38, OREGON 34: Isaiah Newell ran for the go-ahead touchdown with 8:11 remaining, and No. 21 Oregon State took advantage of critical mistakes in the fourth quarter by No. 9 Oregon to rally for a 38-34 victory on Saturday. The Beavers (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) trailed 31-10 late in the third quarter and 34-17 early in the fourth, but the Ducks (9-3, 7-2) gave their rivals a short field on three consecutive possessions. Oregon State converted all three drives into touchdowns without attempting a single pass.

WASHINGTON 51, WASHINGTON STATE 33: Michael Penix Jr. threw for 484 yards and had five total touchdowns, and No. 12 Washington reclaimed the Apple Cup with a wild 51-33 win over Washington State. A year after the Huskies watched the Cougars celebrate snapping a seven-game losing streak on the turf of Husky Stadium, Washington kept alive its hopes for a New Year’s Six bowl game thanks to its standout quarterback and a handful of defensive stops in the second half.

Green, Sengun, Smith lead Rockets past Thunder, 118-105

Jalen Green had 28 points and a career-high nine assists, Alperen Sengun added 21 points, a career-best 18 rebounds and seven assists, and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-105 on Saturday night.

Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. had his third double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Portland last March 25-26.

Smith is the 12th player 19 years old or younger to have at least three double-doubles within his first 18 games. Smith recorded his 100th career defensive rebound in the first quarter as well.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 of the Thunder’s first 22 points of the game and has scored 30 or more in four straight games.

Josh Giddey chipped in 18 points, Aaron Wiggins had 15 off the bench and Jalen Williams scored 11 for the Thunder, who have dropped four of five.

—Wire reports

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Tulsa fires football coach Philip Montgomery after 8 seasons, 4 bowls