Big 12 Morning Rush: Former head coach in waiting fired at South Carolina

The top headlines from around the Big 12 Conference. A former Texas assistant back at the unemployment line plus a roundtable from OKC.

On Monday morning we scour the internet for the top stories inside the Big 12 Conference. Former head coach in waiting Will Muschamp found himself at the unemployment line once again. A special visit for the Texas Tech Red Raiders’ new kicker. Plus a Big 12 Roundtable from the Oklahoman.

Will Muschamp relieved of duties for South Carolina

During the latter part of the Mack Brown era, Will Muschamp was deemed the head coach in waiting. He ran the defense for the Texas Longhorns from 2008-2010 before leaving to take over as the head coach at Florida following the departure of Urban Meyer. He spent time in Gainesville until he would be fired and took a job as the defensive coordinator at Auburn. He would get another opportunity.

Muschamp was named head coach at South Carolina in 2016. In his second season for the Gamecocks, he led them to a 9-4 record. Since that time it was less than stellar going 13-19 in the two plus seasons. It was reported on Sunday that he was no longer with South Carolina, naming Mike Bobo as the interim head coach.

Special visit for Texas Tech’s new kicker Jonathan Garibay

On Saturday against the Baylor Bears, Jonathan Garibay would handle both kicking and punting duties for the Red Raiders. He would have the game of his life as Garibay averaged 49.4 yards per punt. One inside the 20-yard line and a long of 56. When asked to kick, he would nail all four of his field goal attempts. Two of those kicks came from 46+ yards out. Garibay’s final kick would come as time expired to give Tech the win.

The coolest moment for the junior kicker didn’t even happen in the game. The night before the game, while at Jones AT&T Stadium Garibay was surprised by his mother and siblings who traveled from California to see him play in his first FBS game.

Big 12 Roundtable: Who is the Biggest Disappointment?

The Oklahoman held a roundtable with writers from across the conference to discuss the title game selections, big disappointment and the best player. You can read the full article from our colleagues, but we are going to focus on the disappointment.

Two votes for Texas, one for Oklahoma and one for Kansas. Not quite sure how Kansas can be disappointing considering they have been the basement team for some time now.

Cedric Golden of the Austin American-Statesman

“Texas. The Horns choked away a win over TCU at the goal line, then really blew a chance to put OU in an 0-3 hole to start conference. If the Horns don’t make it to Dallas, it’s easily the biggest disappointment in the league, given they were returning college football’s most experienced QB in Sam Ehlinger and a wide array of weapons on both sides of the ball.”

Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal

Um, not an original thought here, but Oklahoma and Texas going from top-10 teams in late September to facing an uphill climb just to make the Big 12 title game by mid-October. And Oklahoma with one of the most talented young quarterbacks around and Texas with Sam Ehlinger, to boot.

Randy Peterson of Des Moines Register

Texas. I picked Tom Herman’s guys to win the Big 12, and I wasn’t alone. Longhorns have the league’s best talent. They’re playing all right, but not as all right as I expected them to be playing.