Mangino Leaves Oklahoma for Job as Kansas Coach

Oklahoma assistant Mark Mangino changed his mind and took the head football coaching job at Kansas on Tuesday.

Three days after withdrawing from consideration because Kansas was taking too much time to make a decision, Mangino accepted an offer.

“At that time, I had every intention of staying at the University of Oklahoma,” Mangino said of his decision to withdraw.

“I was getting concerned it would take a little long and we were preparing our recruiting at the University of Oklahoma, and I didn’t want to do anything that would hurt the recruiting there.”

Mangino will begin his new job immediately and not go to the Cotton Bowl with Oklahoma, where he has been offensive coordinator the past two years. Before that, he spent eight years at Kansas State under Coach Bill Snyder.

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Maryland and Illinois, two one-loss teams with no shot at the national championship, are headed to bowl championship series bowls--the Terrapins in Miami, the Illini in New Orleans.

No. 7 Maryland (10-1), champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, accepted an invitation to the Orange Bowl against a yet to be determined opponent, likely No. 6 Florida.

Illinois, the Big Ten champion, heads to the Sugar Bowl for the first time. The No. 8 Illini (10-1) probably will face No. 5 Nebraska, but would get Louisiana State if it beats Tennessee on Saturday.

Clemson (6-5) moved into a spot in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, after UCLA decided not to go to any bowl.

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Quarterbacks Ken Dorsey, Joey Harrington, Eric Crouch and Rex Grossman were picked as finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

Rudy Riska, executive director of the Heisman Memorial Trophy Trust, said a fifth player could be invited later this week for Saturday’s ceremony in New York.

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After a season on the sideline, Major Applewhite will start a final game for No. 10 Texas.

The leading passer in Longhorn history has earned a start in the Holiday Bowl against No. 20 Washington, Texas Coach Mack Brown said.

Brown said the decision was based on the senior quarterback’s performance in Texas’ 39-37 Big 12 Conference championship game loss to Colorado. Applewhite replaced junior starter Chris Simms in the second quarter and passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns in a desperate rally from a 29-10 deficit.

“We decided in talking to both quarterbacks we’re going to start Major because he was the most productive last week and we felt like right now he gives us the best chance to win against Washington,” Brown said.

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Two Clemson starters have been arrested on drug charges, the third time in two years a group of Tigers have had problems with the law.

Senior running back Travis Zachery and junior left tackle Akil Smith were arrested, according to the State Law Enforcement Division in South Carolina. Both have been suspended from school and kicked off the football team, officials said.

In a prepared statement, Coach Tommy Bowden said dismissing the players was in the best interest of the team and university.

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Linebacker Robert Thomas and tailback DeShaun Foster were voted team co-most valuable players by their UCLA teammates.

Thomas, one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, led the Bruins with 111 tackles and set a school record for 26 tackles for loss. He was voted Pacific 10 Conference defensive player of the year.

Foster rushed for 1,109 yards in eight games before the NCAA declared him ineligible for driving for six weeks a 2002 Ford Exhibition that did not belong to him.