Football

Ball State fires football coach

Munice -- Stan Parrish was fired Wednesday as head coach of the Ball State football program in Ohio.

The Cardinals just wrapped up a 4-8 season, winning two of their last three games but falling 59-21 to Northern Illinois last Saturday. It was the second consecutive losing season at Ball State.

"As we evaluated the on-field performance and the football program in its entirety, we decided it was time for a change in direction in the leadership of the program," Ball State Athletic Director Tom Collins said.

Cam Newton probe figure talks to FBI

AUBURN, Ala., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- An ex-football player who is a key figure in pay-to-play allegations against Auburn quarterback Cam Newton has met with the FBI, the man's lawyer said Tuesday.

Attorney Phil Abernethy, who represents former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond, told ESPN Bond met with state and federal officials looking into his accusation that a Newton representative sought cash last year in exchange for the signal-caller agreeing to attend Mississippi State.

Bond and another ex-Bulldog, Bill Bell, have told the broadcaster a third former teammate, Kenny Rogers, approached them with an alleged pay-for-pay deal on behalf of Newton's father, Cecil Newton.

Oregon No. 1 but not as solidly

Mclean, Va. -- Oregon remains the top-ranked team in the USA Today's Coaches' football poll but Auburn and Boise State have cut into the Ducks' advantage.

Oregon (10-0) took a narrow 15-13 victory over California Saturday, a result that cost the Ducks four first-place votes. They still have 46 of the 59 first-place mentions but Auburn (11-0) got two first-place votes it didn't have before and now has six and is ranked second.

Boise State (9-0) increased its first-place vote total from three to five, enough to jump past Texas Christian and into third in the poll. TCU (11-0) got the other two first-place votes and is fourth.

This week in college football

Washington-- This week in college football for USA Today Coaches' Poll ranked teams.

(All games Saturday unless noted.)

1. Oregon (9-0) at California (5-4).

2. Auburn (11-0) defeated Georgia (5-6) 49-31.

3. TCU (11-0) defeated San Diego State (7-3) 40-35.

4. Boise State (9-0) defeated Idaho (4-6) 52-14 (Friday).

5. Wisconsin (9-1) defeated Indiana (4-6) 83-20.

6. LSU (8-1) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (4-5).

7. Ohio State (9-1) defeated Penn State (6-4) 38-14.

8. Nebraska (8-1) vs. Kansas (3-6).

9. Stanford (8-1) at Arizona State (4-5)

10. Michigan State (9-1) was idle.

11. Oklahoma State (8-1) at Texas (4-5).

Football may delay coach's wedding

Crete -- An Illinois high school football coach said his impending wedding may be delayed for a couple hours if his team makes it to the Class 6A state championship.

Jerry Verde, the football coach at Crete-Monee High School in Crete, said his scheduled Nov. 27 wedding to fiancee Angie Natsis at the Juno Casino in Rock Island could be delayed from 5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. if his team wins its next two playoff games and plays for the championship at 1 p.m. Nov.

27 at the University of Illinois in Champaign, the Chicago SouthtownStar reported Friday.

Steelers' Harrison speaks on fine for hit

Pittsburgh -- Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison says his meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about his fine for an illegal hit was semi-productive.

Harrison is appealing the $75,000 fine levied for what the league called an illegal hit that knocked Cleveland wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi from the game at Heinz Field Oct. 17, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

No penalty was called on the play.

Tuesday's meeting was not part of Harrison's appeal of that fine. That will take place next Tuesday.

New recommendations issued for sports related brain injuries

The American Academy of Neurology has issued new guidelines, recommending that players with head injuries should be kept out of field till examination by a specialist. The sports activities should be performed under the observation of a qualified trainer.

Oregon No. 1 but Auburn jumps to second

Mclean -- Auburn moved past Boise State and into the No. 2 spot behind Oregon in the USA Today Coaches football poll.

Oregon (8-0) collected 51 of the 59 first-place votes from the panel of voting coaches and is No. 1 for the third consecutive week.

Auburn (9-0) continued its steady move up the rankings. The Tigers were tied for 20th in the pre-season poll and have improved their standing each week. The latest voting has Auburn getting four first-place mentions and moving ahead of Boise State (7-0). Boise was given three first-place votes.

How the Top 25 teams fared

Washington -- How the Top 25 teams in the USA Today Coaches' Football Poll fared.

1. Oregon (8-0) defeated Southern Cal (5-3) 53-32.

2. Boise State (7-0) defeated Louisiana Tech (3-5) 49-20 (Tuesday).

3. Auburn (9-0) defeated Mississippi (3-5) 51-31.

4. Texas Christian (9-0) defeated Nevada-Las Vegas (1-7 48-6).

5. Michigan State (8-1) to No. 19 Iowa (6-2) 37-6.

6. Alabama (7-1) was idle.

7. Utah (8-0) defeated at Air Force (5-4) 28-23.

8. Missouri (7-1) loss to No. 12 Nebraska (7-1) 31-17.

9. Wisconsin (7-1) was idle.

10. Ohio State (8-1) defeated Minnesota (1-8) 52-10.

11. Oklahoma (7-1) defeated Colorado (3-5) 43-10.

Jailed Michigan State player to be freed

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State football player Chris Rucker is in jail for a probation violation but will be freed Thursday, a judge in East Lansing said Monday.

Judge David Jordon told the Detroit Free Press that Rucker, a senior cornerback, had been scheduled for arraignment Tuesday, but a plea agreement reduced his Oct. 10 charge of operating while intoxicated to misdemeanor reckless driving.

Rucker began serving his sentence in the Ingham County Jail when the plea deal was reached last Thursday. Rucker got credit for one day served after his Oct. 10 arrest. He had a blood alcohol level of .10, police said.

Pace football player killed by police

MountPleasant -- Pace University football player Danroy Henry was fatally shot by police sent to quell a brawl outside a bar in Mount Pleasant, N.Y., police said.

Police Chief Louis Algano called the student's death "a truly tragic situation," The Boston Globe reported Monday.

The Globe said Henry, 20, of Easton, Mass., was behind the wheel of a car parked in a fire lane near Finnegan's Grill with teammate Desmond Harris and Stonehill College football player Brandon Cox early Sunday when police officers approached the car.

The chief said about 150 people were milling around the bar.

It was "very chaotic," he said.

Player loses part of finger, still plays

Norflok-- A Virginia Tech football player lost a half-inch off his pinkie finger in a game against Central Michigan -- and kept on playing, school officials said.

Lineman Greg Nosal said he thought he just suffered a bad cut when his hand got jammed into another player's face mask near the end of the second quarter, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported.

Nosal stayed in for the final three plays before halftime then removed his blood-soaked glove on the sideline where the serious nature of his injury became apparent.

As the team's medical staff repeatedly asked where exactly on the field the injury occurred, Nosal says he didn't understand why that really mattered.

"Why do they want to know?" he says he wondered. "Did my finger fall off?"