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Al Golden Fired As Coach of Miami (FL); Top 25 Polls Largely Unchanged

 width=It seems that Miami's 58-0 loss to Clemson on Saturday was the final straw. The school announced Sunday that Al Golden has been relieved of his duties as football coach.

Miami athletic director Blake James said in a statement Sunday, quote - "Coach Golden has led our program through some very difficult times and he has done so with class, integrity and a true desire to see our students succeed on the field, in the classroom and in the community."

"However, we have a proud tradition of excellence at Miami, not just in football but in all sports, and we want to compete for ACC and national championships. I simply believe that now is the time to bring the Hurricane Family together and rally behind our young men."

Golden went 32-25 in his five seasons with the Hurricanes, never finishing with more than nine wins in a season. He led the team to two bowl games, but for a fan base that expects national titles, it simply wasn't enough.

Assistant coach Larry Scott, Miami's tight ends coach and running game coordinator, will serve as interim coach until the end of the season.

>>Clemson Moves Up in Latest AP Poll

While Week 8 provided some memorable finishes, most notably Georgia Tech's thrilling last-second blocked field goal returned for a game-winning touchdown, there was very little shake up in the AP Top 25.

 width=Florida State's slide (down eight spots to No. 17) following the loss at Georgia Tech was only topped by Utah, falling 10 spots to No. 13 after losing at USC. Most of the Utes' first-place votes from a week ago (16) appear to be back with the Buckeyes, now that J.T. Barrett has reassumed control of the offense with his five-touchdown performance in a return to the starting lineup.

Other big moves include Clemson's move up into the top five after beating Miami 58-0 and slight improvements in the rankings for the undefeated American trio of Memphis (No. 16), Houston (No. 18) and Temple (No. 21).

>>Ohio State Gains on No. 1 In Latest Coaches Poll

Ohio State, with J.T. Barrett back in the starting lineup at quarterback, remains the nation's No. 1 team after trouncing Rutgers 49-7 on Saturday night in Piscataway. After seeing some of their first-place votes get distributed elsewhere over the last several weeks, the Buckeyes' hold on No. 1 (49 of 62 first-place votes) has improved.

Utah and Florida State, both unbeaten heading into the weekend, lost in different ways. The Utes, down seven spots to No. 14, struggled with turnovers and were overwhelmed early by USC while Florida State, dropped six spots to No. 15.

Texas A&M and Cal both fell out of the top 25 following conference losses to Ole Miss and UCLA, respectively. The biggest moves up came from the Bruins and Pitt, both moving up four spots to break into the top 25.

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