USC announced Monday that it has promoted Clay Helton from interim to permanent head coach. Bryan Fischer of Bleacher Report passed along the press release from the school with a statement from athletic director Pat Haden: Helton reportedly got a three-year deal with the Trojans, per Brett McMurphy of ESPN, who added the contract has a two-year option to extend the deal to five years. USC certainly did its due diligence. According to Tim Kawakami of the Mercury ...

Speculation that Mark Richt will retire is apparently premature, as the former Georgia coach said he "will listen to anyone that is interested in him," according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.Continue for updates.Richt Still Wants to CoachMonday, Nov. 30Richt, 55, mutually parted ways with Georgia on Sunday. The decision came a day after the Bulldogs defeated Georgia Tech to finish the regular season 9-3 and on a four-game winning streak. He will coach the team ...

After closing the 2015 regular season with four consecutive wins, Georgia had the looks of a program gearing up for a run toward the nation’s top-rated recruiting class. However, the Bulldogs abruptly fired head coach Mark Richt on Sunday—which has put a damper on the Dawgs' recruiting efforts. Georgia’s 2016 class—which currently rates as the nation’s No. 4 class—and its hopes of finishing with a strong close are in limbo until a new coach is hired. How are ...

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said Saturday he feels his team is not currently ranked by the Associated Press or coaches due to the ongoing investigation into whether the program used escorts on recruiting visits. Per Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal, Pitino said: I think people are looking at that and they're not really studying the team. We had the best recruiting class, I think, in college basketball, as far as I'm concerned. If you include Damion ...

The University of Southern California has a chance to end what has been a trying season at times on a very positive note, as it clinched the Pac-12 South Division with a 40-21 win over rival UCLA on Saturday and will take on No. 9 Stanford in the 2015 Pac-12 Championship Game on December 5.Stanford (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) already defeated USC 41-31 in Los Angeles on September 19, though much has changed since then for ...

With rivalry week in the books, we have a good idea which teams are on track to make the College Football Playoff. Drilling down deeper, some other compelling bowl matchups are beginning to take shape as well. Here's a look at the 2015-16 bowl schedule with dates, times and broadcasting networks. Counting the CFP, there's a total of 41 bowl games to come. Who said college football season was winding down?   Best Potential Non-CFP Matchups Sugar Bowl: Ole Miss ...

Iowa is 4-3 straight up and 5-2 against the spread in its rivalry with Michigan State under the current coaching regimes, but they've never met for bigger stakes than they will Saturday night in Indianapolis in the Big Ten Championship Game.   Point spread: The Spartans opened as four-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report) College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 33.2-27.5 Hawkeyes   Why the Michigan State Spartans can cover the spread Michigan ...

Clemson is 12-0 and a win away from making the College Football Playoff but it's also only 5-7 against the spread this season, because with success comes increasingly tough lines. North Carolina, meanwhile, is 11-1 straight up and 8-4 ATS, because it's been playing under the radar. The Tigers and Heels meet for some big stakes in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday.   Point spread: The Tigers opened as 6.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds ...

The Michigan football team has a handful of deserving candidates for team MVP after a respectable 9-3 regular season during the 2015 campaign. Jake Rudock bounced back from a lackluster start to his Wolverines career, while veterans showed dramatic improvement from a year ago and a young star flashed his potential. Granted, the definition of "most valuable" can take many different directions. In terms of value alone, there's no question Jabrill Peppers—a cornerback, safety, running back, wide ...

It’s all so simple now. Almost like the calm before a storm. If Clemson and Alabama take care of business in their respective conference championships Saturday, the College Football Playoff is essentially set. Those two will join Big 12 champion Oklahoma and the winner of the Iowa and Michigan State clash as the four teams with a chance at the national title. If the Tigers or Crimson Tide lose, all bets are off. The defending champion Ohio State ...