Brantley to play against Gamecocks; Nutt to step down at end of season
The kickoff time for No. 15 South Carolina's game against Clemson is still undecided.
A tweet by former USC quarterback Todd Ellis, who is the play-by-play man for Gamecock radio broadcasts, on Monday suggested that the game would kick off at 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 26 and be televised on ESPN. But a USC spokesman said the time and network couldn't be confirmed at this point.
Ellis later tweeted again, saying that nothing was official yet but that he heard the late start time on ESPN was a possibility and that the official announcement would be made on Nov. 14.
Since USC is the home team this year, the game will be part of the Southeastern Conference's television rights package. SEC kickoff times are usually announced on Mondays, 12 days before a given game's date, although CBS, which airs the conference game of the week, can call for a six-day extension before making its decision on which games to televise.
Brantley to play against USC: USC doesn't know if its starting quarterback will be cleared to play against Florida on Saturday, but the Gators have no such concerns. John Brantley will start under center against the Gamecocks after being knocked out of Florida's 26-21 win over Vanderbilt with an arm injury, UF coach Will Muschamp told reporters.
"He's fine. He just got a funny hit on it," said Muschamp, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "He probably could have gone back in. I told him, 'Just sit down, we'll let (backup) Jacoby (Brissett) finish it.' It was just one of those things — a funny injury, nothing serious at all."
USC should know whether or not its quarterback, Connor Shaw, will be able to play later in the week. Shaw suffered a concussion in USC's 44-28 loss at Arkansas.
If Shaw can't play, redshirt freshman Dylan Thompson will receive his first career start. Both Shaw and Thompson are listed as the starter on USC's updated depth chart.
Nutt to leave at end of the season: Embattled Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt will resign after the season, the school announced Monday. Nutt will coach the Rebels, who have struggled mightily this fall and are 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the SEC, in their final three games.
"The thing about the SEC that I know (is) they pay you to win," said Nutt, according to the Associated Press.
Ole Miss has lost 12 straight SEC contests. An embarrassing 30-13 loss to Kentucky, which was previously winless in conference play, appears to have catalyzed Nutt's departure after four years in Oxford. Nutt's buyout will be $6 million.
In addition, Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone, who also has been the subject of immense criticism, said he would step down by the end of 2012.
Ole Miss has gone 24-23 under Nutt, including back-to-back Cotton Bowl wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in his first two seasons. But after an 18-8 start to his tenure, the Rebels have flopped.
Nutt said he plans on coaching in the future.