SAN ANTONIO — Mack Brown didn’t want to go out like this, and No. 10 Oregon didn’t want its season to end here.

That makes the Alamo Bowl on Monday a finale for two programs making the best of disappointment: Texas (8-4) wanting a fond farewell for Brown after the tension surrounding his resignation, and the Ducks (10-2) denied a BCS bowl for the first time in five years.

“The expectation for both of these programs is to be playing in the last game at the end of the year, and neither one of us are doing that,” Brown said Sunday.

Speaking publicly for just the second time since announcing he would leave Texas after 16 years, Brown skirted questions about the circumstances surrounding his exit and whether he will coach again. He said the only thing he would have done differently was win all the games and enjoy the “happy moms and dads and happy media and happy fans” that come with it.

“We’ve done that and it’s a lot more fun,” Brown said.

The Ducks’ chances of playing for a national title after four straight BCS bowl appearances were dashed in November after losing to Stanford. Two weeks later, Oregon lost big to Arizona.

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First-year Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said the disappointment of the Stanford loss created some “stragglers.” He said he could have done a better job to manage that.

“There was absolutely some disappointment, kind of punched-in-the-gut type of feeling for a few guys that just needed to grow up and realize that there was a lot of ball left to be played,” Helfrich said. “And as it played out, we could have played ourselves into a better situation – quote, unquote – but we didn’t earn that.”

MICHIGAN HAS TAKEN a step back for a second straight season under Coach Brady Hoke.

The Wolverines lost to Kansas State 31-14 on Saturday in the Buffalo Wings Bowl, losing their sixth game in an eight-game stretch that left them barely over .500 and dropped their all-time winning percentage to second behind Notre Dame.

After Hoke won eight games last year and 11 in his debut season with the storied program in 2011, the coach, his staff and players will have a lot of reasons to be motivated to bounce back next year.

“I think this team is going to be very hungry,” Hoke said.

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Michigan (7-6) started the season with five consecutive wins, including over the Fighting Irish and Minnesota, before its problems became too much to overcome.

CENTRAL FLORIDA has hired longtime NFL assistant Paul Ferraro to be defensive coordinator next season.

Ferraro has been defensive coordinator at Maine in the FCS the last two years. He worked with the Panthers, Vikings and Rams from 2005-11, and was an assistant for UCF Coach George O’Leary at Georgia Tech from 1995-01.

He replaces Jim Flemming, who left to become head coach at Rhode Island.


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