Florida shakes up its coaching staff

Florida football Coach Will Muschamp didn’t wait long to start making changes.

The school confirmed Sunday that Muschamp fired offensive coordinator Brent Pease and offensive line coach Tim Davis less than 24 hours after the Gators (4-8) completed their first losing season since 1979.

Muschamp dismissed Pease and Davis a day after a humbling 37-7 loss to rival Florida State.

The moves had been expected for weeks, as the losses mounted and it became clear Muschamp would revamp his offense. Pease and Davis spent the last two years in Gainesville.

The Gators finished the season ranked 112th in the nation in total offense. Florida managed only 279 yards in a 26-20 loss to lower-division Georgia Southern on Nov. 23 and then 193 against the Seminoles.

===

Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer said the players ejected from the Michigan game for fighting will not be suspended for the Big Ten Conference championship game.

Running back Dontre Wilson and offensive lineman Marcus Hall were kicked out of Saturday’s game when a skirmish broke out after a kickoff return in the second quarter.

Meyer said he would meet with Athletic Director Gene Smith and speak with Big Ten officials about the fight.

A Big Ten spokesman said Saturday that the league would have to review video of the play before deciding if any players would be punished further.

===

A late-season flourish wasn’t enough to save Iowa State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham’s job.

Cyclones Coach Paul Rhoads announced that Messingham and running backs coach Kenith Pope had been fired less than 24 hours after Iowa State closed out a 3-9 season with a 52-44 triple-overtime win at West Virginia.

===

Dave Christensen was fired as Wyoming’s football coach after the Cowboys lost five of their last six games this season.

He coached Wyoming for five years, taking the Cowboys to two bowl games. Wyoming finished 5-7 after starting 4-2, ending the season with a 35-7 loss to Utah State on Saturday.

Christensen has three years remaining on a contract that runs through 2016. Wyoming said it will pay Christensen’s base salary for the remaining three years for a total buyout of $570,024. The buyout will not be paid with state money, the school said.

ETC.

USC water polo team advances to NCAAs

USC’s men’s water polo team defeated Stanford, 10-8, at Stockton to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship. The Trojans (26-4), who are seeking their sixth consecutive national title, advance to the NCAA championships, which begin Friday at Palo Alto.

UCLA’s men’s soccer team was eliminated in the third round of the NCAA tournament, falling to Connecticut, 5-4, on penalty kicks after the teams had tied, 3-3, after regulation and two overtimes at Drake Stadium. The Bruins finished 12-3-5.

UC Irvine lost to Maryland, 1-0, in a third-round NCAA tournament game at College Park, Md. The Anteaters finished 15-5-3.

===

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway captured a World Cup super-G, the third straight year he has won that event at Lake Louise, Canada.

Svindal finished in 1 minute 28.53 seconds. He was followed by two Austrians — Matthias Mayer in 1:28.77 and Georg Streitberger in 1:28.91.

===

Charl Schwartzel successfully defended his title in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, shooting a four-under-par 68 for a four-shot victory at Malelane, South Africa, and his first European Tour victory in a year.

Schwartzel finished with a 17-under total of 271 to secure his third Alfred Dunhill title. Richard Finch Simon DysonRoss Fisher Romain Wattel .