Texas Coach Charlie Strong shakes up staff after 38-3 loss to Notre Dame

Searching for a spark on offense in the wake of a third consecutive blowout loss, Texas Coach Charlie Strong shook up his staff, handing play-calling duties to wide receivers coach Jay Norvell.

Strong announced the change Tuesday night, three days after Texas’ 38-3 season-opening loss at No. 9 Notre Dame. The Longhorns, who finished last season with a 48-10 loss to Texas Christian and a 31-7 defeat against Arkansas in the Texas Bowl, rank last in the nation in total offense and are tied for last in scoring.

Strong is taking play calling away from his longtime assistant and quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson, who came to Texas with Strong from Louisville.

Former Iowa safety dies

Tyler Sash, a standout safety at Iowa who won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants, died at age 27. The Iowa state medical examiner’s office said no cause of death had been determined and it was investigating Sash’s death along with police in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Sash’s hometown.

Oskaloosa police said in a statement that emergency services were called to a residence Tuesday morning in response to an unresponsive male, which they said turned out to be Sash. They said foul play was not suspected.

Sash started 37 games and intercepted 13 passes for the Hawkeyes from 2007-10, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior. He played for the Giants in 2011, a Super Bowl championship season, and 2012.

Stanford loses lineman

Stanford announced that starting defensive lineman Harrison Phillips will miss the remainder of the season because a torn knee ligament. He suffered the injury during the Cardinal’s season-opening 16-6 loss at Northwestern.

Etc.

Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder said quarterback Jesse Ertz, who limped off the field in the first quarter of the season opener against South Dakota, will be out indefinitely because of the injury, the nature of which Snyder would not disclose. Joe Hubener, who replaced Ertz on Saturday, takes over as starter. . . . Syracuse senior quarterback Terrel Hunt had surgery on an injured Achilles’ tendon, and Coach Scott Shafer said the school would petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility. . . . Mississippi defensive lineman Issac Gross will miss the rest of the season because of a neck injury, Coach Hugh Freeze said. . . . Ten Southeastern Conference teams are ranked in the Associated Press poll, a record for one conference. They are No. 2 Alabama, No. 6 Auburn, No. 10 Georgia, No. 14 Louisiana State, No. 17 Mississippi, No. 18 Arkansas, No. 20 Missouri and No. 23 Tennessee. Ohio State remained a unanimous No. 1.