Sports briefs
By Associated Press
Johnston wins Australian Open for first pro title by the Arizona State alum
MELBOURNE, Australia | Unheralded American Ryggs Johnston won his first professional title Sunday by closing with a 4-under 68 at Kingston Heath for a three-shot victory in the Australian Open. The Arizona State alum was among three players to earn a spot in the British Open.
Jiyai Shin captured her second Women’s Australian Open. The men’s and women’s tournaments were played concurrently for separate trophies and the same prize fund.
Johnston, a 24-year-old from Montana, turned pro only five months ago and recently earned a European tour card through Q-school. He won by three shots over Curtis Luck and became the first American to win the Stonehaven Cup since Jordan Spieth in 2016.
Marc Leishman (69), who plays on the LIV Tour, and fellow Australian Jasper Stubbs (70) were tied for third at 14-under 273. Luck and Leishman also earned spots in the British Open next year at Royal Portrush.
Asian Tour
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Peter Uihlein closed with a 3-under 69 for a five-shot victory in the International Series Qatar, his second title this year in the Asian Tour’s top events.
The victory put Uihlein, who has been with LIV Golf since it began in 2022, atop the International Series ranking.
Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel closed with a 68 to finish second. Louis Oosthuizen and Miguel Tabuena tied for third.
John Catlin tied for 19th with a 71 to clinch the Asian Tour Order of Merit title with one tournament remaining. He slipped to No. 2 behind Uihlein in the International Series ranking.
Other tours
Shaun Norris closed with a 2-under 68 to win the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup in the final Japan Golf Tour event of the year. Takumi Kanaya shot 67 to finish third, enough for him to capture the money title. … Carlota Ciganda had a 1-under 71 for a one-shot victory in the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. It was the Spaniard’s eighth career title on the Ladies European Tour.
AP Top 25: Ohio St, Miami, Clemson drop; Texas, Penn St, Notre Dame, Georgia in line behind Oregon
Ohio State, Miami and Clemson plunged in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday following their losses during a wild weekend, eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week.
The shakeup creates two top-five matchups in conference championship games coming up on Saturday, a day before the College Football Playoff bracket is announced. Oregon, the nation’s only unbeaten team, will face No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten game in Indianapolis. No. 2 Texas will play No. 5 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference game in Atlanta, a rematch of their top-five meeting in October won by the Bulldogs.
No. 4 Notre Dame, 11-1 and a winner of 10 straight, won’t play again until the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State, which lost for the fourth straight time to Michigan and was knocked out of the Big Ten title game, dropped five spots to No. 7, behind Tennessee.
SMU is No. 8 and followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and the highest-ranked Group of Five team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the highest-ranked Big 12 team.
If the Broncos win the Mountain West title and are one of the top four-seeded conference champions in the final CFP rankings, they would receive a bye to the quarterfinals.
Miami’s loss at Syracuse cost the Hurricanes a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, and possibly the CFP, and dropped them six spots to No. 14. Clemson, which plays SMU in the ACC game, lost at South Carolina and fell six places to No. 18.
South Carolina has won six straight — four against ranked opponents — and earned a three-rung promotion to No. 13. Mississippi remained No. 15 and was followed by Iowa State and BYU.
Poll points
Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Michigan marked the fifth time this season a top-five team lost to an unranked opponent, the most since it happened five times in 2017.
Miami’s 42-38 loss to Syracuse was the 12th by a top-10 team against an unranked opponent, the most since there were 12 such losses in 2021.
It’s been 10 years since South Carolina was ranked higher than in-state rival Clemson. In 2014, the Gamecocks were No. 13 following a 3-1 start and finished 7-6 and unranked in Steve Spurrier’s last full season as coach.
Notre Dame has its highest ranking since it was No. 4 on Dec. 22, 2020.
In and out
No. 23 Syracuse enters the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 30, 2022, after winning nine games for the first time since 2018 under first-year coach Fran Brown. The win over Miami was its first over a top-10 opponent since 2017.
No. 25 Memphis, which was last ranked in October 2020, knocked off Tulane as a double-digit road underdog and has 10 wins for the second straight year.
Tulane, which plays at No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference title game, went from No. 18 to out of the rankings.
Texas A&M, No. 20 last week, was bounced after losing at home to Texas and dropping its last three SEC games.
Conference call
SEC — 7 (Nos. 2, 5, 6, 11, 13, 15, 22).
Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 7, 8, 21).
ACC — 4 (Nos. 8, 14, 18, 23).
Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 17, 20).
AAC — 2 (Nos. 24, 25).
Mountain West — 2 (Nos. 10, 19).
Independent — 1 (No. 4).
Ranked vs. ranked
— No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 3 Penn State in Indianapolis, Big Ten championship.
— No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia in Atlanta, Southeastern Conference championship.
— No. 8 SMU vs. No. 18 Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
— No. 10 Boise State vs. No. 19 UNLV in Boise, Idaho, Mountain West championship.
— No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 16 Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Big 12 championship.
West Virginia fires coach Brown after going 37-35 in six seasons
West Virginia fired coach Neal Brown on Sunday as the Mountaineers continue to flounder in the Big 12, finishing the season 6-6.
Athletic director Wren Baker announced the firing in a statement, wishing Brown and his family “the very best in their next endeavor.”
Brown had an overall record of 37-35 in his six seasons leading the Mountaineers. His teams never competed for a Big 12 championship or were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. They lost nine consecutive times to ranked opponents.
Brown is due to receive a $9.5 million buyout for the last three years of his contract.
Baker’s statement didn’t indicate who will coach the Mountaineers in their bowl game. West Virginia will learn its bowl opponent next weekend.
Brown had been fighting to keep his job for quite some time.
In November 2022, following back-to-back losing seasons, Brown was retained on the same day that Baker was hired as West Virginia’s AD. A year ago, Baker issued a similar vote of confidence as his predecessor, then gave Brown a contract extension in March following a 9-4 finish.
But a return to mediocrity and mounting problems were too much for Brown to overcome.
West Virginia’s offensive production suffered significantly despite returning dual-threat quarterback Garrett Greene and running backs Jahiem White and C.J. Donaldson. The defense was one of the worst nationally in passing yards allowed. West Virginia lost four times at home this season and was outscored in the second half in 10 of 12 games.
Brown had the worst six-year stretch under one coach at West Virginia since Gene Corum went 29-30 from 1960-65. Except Brown’s teams showed flashes of brilliance one week, then stumbled the next. The Mountaineers were especially vulnerable on the road, going 13-20 with 11 losses by at least 17 points. Brown also went 1-2 against rival Pittsburgh.
“Our record at the end wasn’t what we’d hoped for,” Brown said after a 52-15 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday. “I thought that over the course of the year, there were times when people were counting us out and our guys bounced back and did some good things.”
After a home loss to Iowa State, fans became especially agitated when Brown was asked to explain why they should keep showing up to games.
“I get that they want to win, but what I would say is, did they have a good time?” he said. “You know what I mean? Like, did they enjoy it? It was a pretty good atmosphere.”
He acknowledged later that he could have answered the question better and simply asked fans to come support the team.
Instead, billboards calling for Brown’s firing went up in Morgantown. Brown fired defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley on Oct. 29 after the defense gave up 45 points to Kansas State and surrendered a pair of touchdown passes in blown coverage in a 31-26 win at Arizona. In Jeff Koonz’s first game as interim defensive coordinator, West Virginia beat Cincinnati on the road, then lost two of its final three games.
West Virginia hasn’t won a league title since 2011, which was the last of its six Big East championships over a nine-year period before moving to the Big 12 in 2012.
The 44-year-old Brown was in his first major-college head coaching job after leading Troy to a 35-16 record over four seasons, including the 2017 Sun Belt championship.
Purdue fires coach Walters after going 5-19 in his two seasons
Purdue hired Ryan Walters to keep a promising program near the top of the Big Ten Conference.
Two years later, the Boilermakers have sunk to unprecedented depths — and Walters is out of a job.
Athletic director Mike Bobinski fired the first-time head coach on Sunday, following a brutal 1-11 season in which the Boilermakers made all the wrong kinds of history.
They lost their final 11 games to set the school’s single season record, endured the two most lopsided losses in program history, went winless in conference play for only the third time since 1946 and failed to beat an FBS opponent for the first time since 2013 and the second time in college football’s modern era.
It was simply too much to ignore even for a program like Purdue, which rarely fires coaches this quickly and the revenue model changes next year.
“It’s a pivotal time for Purdue, and we must take the steps necessary to best position our football program for success,” Bobinski said in a statement. “We are determined to provide the university and our incredibly loyal fans football performance that reflects the excellence of Purdue and is worthy of their continued support.”
The move comes a day after the Boilermakers’ worst loss in the 126-game rivalry with No. 10 Indiana, 66-0. On the radio broadcast afterward, Walters called it the worst offensive performance he’d ever seen, then told reporters he had a vision for the future.
Walters replaced Jeff Brohm after Purdue’s 2022 Big Ten West Division title run, which ended with a Big Ten championship game loss to the playoff-bound Michigan Wolverines.
But things unraveled quickly for Walters.
The FBS’ sixth-youngest coach lost his first game to Fresno State, started 2-3, then lost four in a row — three by 17 or more points to start a trend that continued through his second season and ultimately sealed his fate.
While Purdue was projected to finish last in this year’s expanded 18-team Big Ten, few expected such a complete collapse — even despite a brutal schedule that included four contests against top-five teams.
“This was a truly difficult decision, as head coach Ryan Walters continued to lead the Boilermakers with integrity, resilience and poise in the face of considerable challenges,” Bobinski said.
It wasn’t just the losses — it was how they lost.
Purdue gave up 21 points to then-No. 18 Notre Dame in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the first half, a flurry that led to what was then the most lopsided loss in school history, 66-7. Saturday’s loss was even worse as the Boilermakers suffered their third shutout, losing for the sixth time by 35 or more points while gaining just 67 total yards.
Even the competitive games went awry. Walters took risky gambles in two overtime games by playing for the win. Both failed, and at Michigan State, their second-half comeback fell short.
The fans who kept showing up for home games grew exasperated by what they saw. Walters insisted Saturday night that he could still fix things.
“I know exactly what this place needs, what holes we need to fill,” Walters said. “I feel like going into Year 3, being able to attack the holes we need to fill and getting the right people in place to push forward, I feel comfortable in that plan and confident in that plan.”
How bad did things get?
When the student section at a Purdue basketball game started chanting for Walters’ firing, school administrators threatened to remove anyone caught chanting about the football coach’s job status and banning them from future games.
Behind the scenes, there was a perception of chaos, too.
Walters fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell just 16 games into his tenure, turning over the play-calling duties to Jason Simmons, a longtime Indianapolis prep head coach who was in just his second season coaching at the college level.
When Purdue responded with a 52-6 loss at Wisconsin, Walters, who spent his entire coaching career working with college defenses, started calling the offensive plays in Week 7.
That didn’t work either.
Just keeping players on board became problematic, too.
Starting cornerback Markevious Brown left the team for personal reasons before the Wisconsin game and did not return. Purdue recruits increasingly started decommitting as the losses piled up.
“Yeah, we’ve gotten questions about that,” Walters said when asked if recruits were asking about his future at Purdue.
Naturally, the cries for Walters’ ouster grew into a crescendo. So Bobinski finally ended Walters’ tenure on Sunday. Purdue still owes Walters for three seasons on his original five-year deal, costing the school roughly $9.5 million.
Walters finished his career with a 5-19 mark overall, going 3-15 in league play with no bowl appearances, though he did win both of Purdue’s trophy games in 2023 — and lost both in 2024.
What’s next for the Boilermakers remains unclear.
“We will conduct a thorough search process and look forward to bringing aboard a new head coach equipped to restore Purdue football to its proud tradition of success,” Bobinski said.
Walters arrived at Purdue after spending the previous two seasons as defensive coordinator for Illinois coach Bret Bielema.
He attended his father’s alma mater, Colorado, moving from quarterback to safety and immediately began his coaching career when his playing days ended in 2008. His coaching stops included Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Texas, Memphis and Missouri.
—From AP reports
