Nebraska takes commanding lead in spring game attendance

By Apr 11, 2015, 3:22 PM EDT
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As expected, the spring game at Nebraska this year was a well-attended event. The Huskers claimed a crowd of 76,881 showed up in Lincoln to watch Mike Riley make his Nebraska debut. The attendance is clearly the highest spring game attendance figure of the spring so far, and only a few challengers will stand a chance to beat it by the end of the month.

Nebraska knocked off fellow Big Ten member Michigan from the top spot in the spring attendance numbers. The Wolverines welcomed an estimated 60,000 fans to Michigan Stadium last week, which was the largest spring crowd in Ann Arbor in over two decades. Nebraska traditionally draws well for the spring game, so the big crowd was no shock. But can the Huskers hold off big spring crowds from other notable programs to take the spring attendance crown in 2015?

The biggest threats to Nebraska’s crown come from the Big Ten and the SEC. Expect a big crowd for defending national champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes saw 61,058 fans last year and could see a nice championship bump this spring. Penn State tends to draw well (72,000 last spring) but weather could have other plans. Last year’s spring champion was Alabama, with 73,506 on hand. Auburn and Tennessee could make a run as well.

As a reminder, the updated spring attendance numbers and estimates will be updated here as they come in or are confirmed.

Miami fires offensive coordinator Josh Gattis after 1 season

Associated PressJan 28, 2023, 12:24 AM EST
josh gattis fired
Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami fired offensive coordinator Josh Gattis on Friday, ending the former Broyles Award winner’s time with the Hurricanes after only one season.

The school announced the move in a one-sentence press release, with no other detail: “Josh Gattis has been relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator, Miami head football coach Mario Cristobal announced Friday,” read the release, sent from a university spokesman.

The Hurricanes went 5-7 in Gattis’ lone season. He was brought in by Miami only a few weeks after winning the 2021 Broyles Award – given to the nation’s top assistant coach – while serving as Michigan’s offensive coordinator and helping the Wolverines reach the College Football Playoff.

But Miami’s offense, for a number of reasons, failed to meet expectations in 2022. Part of that was injuries; starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke battled a shoulder injury, and the Hurricanes turned to Jake Garcia – who has since transferred – and Jacurri Brown for much of the season.

Miami scored 100 points in its first two games last fall, overpowering Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. The Hurricanes averaged only 18.3 points the rest of the way, and finished the year 5-0 in games where the defense allowed no more than 14 points – but 0-7 when opponents scored more than 14.

Miami was 86th nationally in total offense last season, averaging 367.1 yards per game, and 97th in scoring offense.

Gattis played at Wake Forest and worked at North Carolina, Western Michigan, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Alabama and Michigan before coming to Miami.

Audit: LSU discovered $1M overpayment to Kelly in 2022

Associated PressJan 26, 2023, 12:27 AM EST
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU accidentally overpaid Tigers football coach Brian Kelly by $1 million during the first year of a 10-year, $100 million contract, but discovered the error and has moved to correct it, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office said Wednesday.

Kelly was overpaid $1,001,368 in supplemental payments in 2022 because duplicate payments made both to Kelly’s LLC and to the coach directly.

The double payments began in May and continued until LSU officials detected the errors in November.

“LSU management and the head football coach have enacted an adjusted payment schedule so the amount of overpayment will be recouped by the conclusion of fiscal year 2023,” the Legislative Auditor’s report stated.

Kelly, who previously coached at Notre Dame for 12 seasons, was hired by LSU after the 2021 season, when the Tigers went 6-7 for its first losing season since 1999.

LSU exceeded expectations in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge, winning the SEC West Division and finishing 10-4 after a 63-7 victory over Purdue in the Citrus Bowl.