college football

Auburn is landing two offensive line starters from Power Four schools. The Tigers are signing former USC right tackle Mason Murphy and ex-Virginia Tech lineman Xavier Chaplin. Additionally, Trojans safety Zion Branch is entering the transfer portal.

Former Alabama coach Mike Shula is South Carolina's new offensive coordinator. The school announced the move after the board of trustees approved a three-year deal worth $1.1 million a season. Shula joined the team as an offensive analyst last season. He will also be the team's quarterbacks coach.

Quarterback Jackson Arnold is transferring to Auburn after two seasons at Oklahoma. Arnold played nine games for Oklahoma this season, throwing for 1,421 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 444 yards with three touchdowns, including a career-high 131 yards in Oklahoma’s 24-3 win over then-No. 7 Alabama in November.

SMU captured the last open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, bumping Alabama to land in a bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1. The selection committee preferred the Mustangs, losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama of the SEC but one fewer loss.

Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Ohio State are competing to bring in the nation's top recruiting class as high school prospects across the nation finalize their college plans. The identity of the No. 1 class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports may not be clear until defensive tackle Justus Terry announces his decision Friday.

Alabama A&M has fired football coach Connell Maynor after seven seasons. Athletic director Paul A. Bryant announced the decision with a brief statement on Monday. The Bulldogs went 6-6 this season, including a 4-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference mark, and won three straight games before a season-ending loss to Florida A&M.

An Alabama A&M football player who suffered a head injury during a game in October has died. Medrick Burnett Jr., 20, was playing his first season as a linebacker with Alabama A&M University

Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. remains hospitalized with a head injury suffered in an October game, the school said hours after announcing that he had died. The athletic department sent out a retraction Wednesday.

Kalen DeBoer and Hugh Freeze are finding it's awfully hard to win in the Southeastern Conference these days. Now, they can try to beat each other. DeBoer caps his first regular season with the 13th-ranked Crimson on Saturday against Freeze’s Auburn Tigers, with the team’s league championship hopes dashed and playoff chances severely damaged.

One thing is sure as the Southeastern Conference wraps up its first expanded season: Two new teams has just meant more chaos in a league that seemingly had settled in formation behind Georgia and Alabama. The SEC's final week is filled with rivalries renewed.