COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP Texas A & amp;M fires R.C. Slocum; Nebraska staff is shuffled

The veteran coach compiled a 123-47-2 mark in 14 seasons with the Aggies.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
R.C. Slocum won the most games in Texas A & amp;M history and never had a losing record in 14 seasons.
That still wasn't enough to keep his job.
Slocum was fired on Monday, three days after the Aggies closed the regular season with a 50-20 loss to rival Texas that clinched their first losing season in conference play in 18 years.
Slocum had a record of 123-47-2 for a .715 winning percentage that was second only to D.X. Bible, who had a .765 winning percentage.
Slocum was 21-15 over the past three seasons, losing at least four games each year. In the 10 seasons previous, A & amp;M lost as many as four games only twice.
Slocum won four conference championships, including the Big 12 title in 1998. This year's 6-6 mark matched his worst with the Aggies -- A & amp;M last went 6-6 in 1996.
More coaching changes
Nebraska coach Frank Solich fired three assistants and gave up his role as offensive coordinator. Fired were defensive coordinator Craig Bohl, defensive backs coach George Darlington and rush ends coach Nelson Barnes.
Tulsa coach Keith Burns announced his resignation after going 7-28 in three seasons; Bill Lynch was fired at Ball State after producing only two winning seasons in his eight years at the school, and Mississippi State fired offensive coordinator Sparky Woods, defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn, wide receivers coach Craig Stump, offensive line coach Carroll McCray and defensive line coach John Hendrick.
Awards
Miami (Fla.) center Brett Romberg, Washington State defensive tackle Rien Long and Utah offensive tackle Jordan Gross were named as the finalists for the Outland Trophy, given to the best interior lineman.
Miami's Ken Dorsey, Iowa's Brad Banks and USC's Carson Palmer were named finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's best quarterback.
Willis McGahee of Miami, Chris Brown of Colorado and Larry Johnson of Penn State were named finalists for the Doak Walker Award, given to the top running back.
The winners of all three awards will be announced Dec. 12 in Orlando, Fla.
All-MAC
Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich, the Mid-American Conference's career leader in total offense, was among eight players named first-team all-league Monday for a second straight season by MAC coaches.
Two other Thundering Herd players, wide receiver Darius Watts and offensive lineman Steve Sciullo, joined Leftwich on the list of repeat honorees.
The others are Ball State running back Marcus Merriweather, Bowling Green wide receiver Robert Redd, Western Michigan tight end Mobolaji Afariogun, Miami of Ohio outside linebacker Matt Robillard and Northern Illinois defensive back Vince Thompson.
Gesser questionable
Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser is recovering from a leg injury but still might not be ready to play at UCLA Saturday.
Matt Kegel will take the majority of snaps with the starting unit this week for the No. 7 Cougars, who must beat the Bruins to clinch the Pac-10 title.
Tests showed Gesser strained knee cartilage, pulled a calf muscle and also sprained his right ankle against Washington on Nov. 23. Kegel took over for Gesser in that game, which the Huskies won 29-26 in triple overtime.
Bowl bids
Denied a likely Gator Bowl bid by a home-field loss to rival West Virginia, Pittsburgh may be forced to the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte. For the first time since the early 1980s, the No. 25 Panthers (8-4) apparently will go to a bowl game for the third consecutive season.
New Mexico (7-6) accepted a bid to play in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 25; Colorado State (10-3) will play TCU (9-2) in the AXA Liberty Bowl Dec. 31; Air Force (8-4) will represent the Mountain West Conference in the inaugural San Francisco Bowl on Dec. 31, and Southern Mississippi (7-5) accepted an invitation to play in the Houston Bowl on Dec. 27.
Player of year
Arizona State's Terrell Suggs was selected the Pac-10 defensive player of the year Monday. The junior defensive end was also selected first team all-conference for the third straight year. Suggs had an NCAA-record 22 sacks this season and set Arizona State's career sacks record with 42.