college football | News & notes

Pitt player dismissed: Pitt football coach Paul Chryst has dismissed redshirt freshman defensive back Stephen Williams from the team for disciplinary reasons two days after city police charged him with assaulting a woman who claimed to be his girlfriend. The 19-year-old Williams denied hitting the woman, though police said in a criminal complaint that he did acknowledge shoving the woman after she flagged down police Saturday about 2 a.m. Williams faces a preliminary hearing in Pittsburgh Municipal Court Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of simple assault. Two other redshirt freshmen, linebacker Jason Frimpong of Irving, Texas, and defensive back Roderick Ryles of Orlando, Fla., have left the team and been given permission to transfer. Neither played this season.

Texas QB shuffle: The Longhorns will have a different starter under center for the first time this season when they play Kansas State in the last game of the season. Case McCoy, who started five games last season, has been named the starter. McCoy has twice relieved David Ash, and he picked up the win with two fourth-quarter touchdowns against Kansas. He went 11-of-17 for 110 yards with an interception and a touchdown drive in relief of Ash against TCU on Thursday in a game Texas lost 20-13.

Colorado coach fired: A choked-up Jon Embree suggested Monday that the only way he could have turned around the University of Colorado’s flailing football program in his two years as head coach was to take shortcuts in the classroom and on the recruiting trail. “If you just hire the next guy and say you’ve got two years, keep your fingers crossed,” Embree said at his farewell news conference a day after being fired. The Buffaloes were thumped by an average score of 48-17 in the Pac-12 during a 1-11 season that was the worst in the program’s 123-year history.

Rivalry renewed: San Diego State has accepted a bid to play BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl. The Poinsettia Bowl will be played Dec. 20 in San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. Last month, BYU (7-5) accepted a bid to the bowl. The Aztecs (9-3) and Cougars played 13 consecutive seasons from 1998-2010 until BYU left the Mountain West Conference to become an independent.

WVU’s Bailey declares for draft: Stedman Bailey, a Biletnikoff award finalist, will forego his senior season at West Virginia and enter the NFL draft. As a junior, Bailey has caught 95 passes for 1,342 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Mountaineers (6-5).

Associated Press