>>Texas Fires Athletic Director

Texas president Gregory Fenves has fired athletic director Steve Patterson, according to the Austin-American Statesman and the Associated Press.

Citing a source, the Statesman's Kirk Bohls noted that a lack of support from the Texas coaches was the "final straw" for Patterson at Texas. Fenves met with reporters Tuesday night, saying he "accepted the resignation" of Patterson. Former Texas linebacker Mike Perrin will take over as interim athletic director until the school hires Patterson's successor.

Fenves said per the Statesmen- quote - "I felt the that the risks of not accepting his resignation at this time and try to have him stay outweighed the benefits. There was no one thing that led to his decision to resign or my decision to accept that resignation."

Fenves will put off his search for a permanent AD.

Patterson hired both football coach Charlie Strong and basketball coach Shaka Smart during his brief 22-month tenure at Texas, but his ouster comes after several months of reported displeasure from inside the athletic department and within the Longhorns fan base.

For starters, Patterson's efforts to cut the athletic department budget resulted in fewer luxuries for athletes and new costs for alumni. A scathing Horns Digest piece from the summer opened the story of Patterson charging 158 members of the school's Class of 1964 -- back on campus for their 50-year reunion -- $25 apiece just to stand on the field at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Texas also increased ticket prices for football by an average of 21.5 percent, with 59 percent of seats seeing a price increase between 25-50 percent, and doubled ticket cost for faculty and school staff.

>>Michigan Coach Harbaugh Open To Renewal of Rivalry With Notre Dame

To know how important Michigan tradition is to Jim Harbaugh, you don't have to look any farther than his hat, which uses the same "M" logo worn by his old Wolverines coach and Michigan legend Bo Schembecler.

So it's no surprise that when asked about the possibility of renewing the Wolverines' traditional rivalry with Notre Dame, Harbaugh indicated Tuesday that he'd be "open" to playing the Irish again.

Harbaugh discussed the possibility on the Big Ten coaches' teleconference, per MLive.com, saying quote-"I'd probably have a conversation with coach [Brian] Kelly about that before anyone else, that'd be the best course of action. But I would be open to it, yes."

Harbaugh's comments come fresh on the heels of Kelly saying that the potential for a renewal between the two sides is "trending up."

On the Rich Eisen Show, Kelly said qoute - "I think that's something that everybody wants to get going and get Michigan back on the schedule. I think that sentiment is coming back to the forefront of where college football needs to be and some of those classic rivalries coming back together. I know we're going to be working hard to see if we can get that done."

"I think we're going to see it happen."

>>

Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. has been battling an undisclosed finger injury that he suffered in the Ducks' opener against Eastern Washington. Oregon has not offered any official specifics on the injury, but according to CSN Northwest, Adams is dealing a broken right index finger. However, it is not expected to keep him out of action.

The injury is likely to bother Adams for weeks, but he will continue to play through the pain as he did against Michigan State in a three-point loss on Saturday night.

Adams was not particularly sharp, completing 22 of 39 passes for 309 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The broken index finger on his right hand -- which he had in a splint after the game -- makes it difficult to get enough grip pressure on the ball, and some people wonder if that caused him problems with accuracy.

Adams and offensive coordinator Scott Frost won't use the injury as an excuse for his performance in East Lansing and insist Adams will be fine.

Frost said after the game that backup Jeff Lockie would be prepared just in case Adams could not finish. With Georgia State on the schedule this week, we'll see if the Ducks take any extra precautions with Adams in a game Oregon should win with ease.