COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Earle Bruce stepped into his dream job, football coach at Ohio State, under most challenging circumstances, replacing the program's revered longtime leader after a fall from grace.

Bruce embraced the task of following Woody Hayes, and went on to have his own Hall of Fame career. He never did quite match Hayes' record or status at Ohio State, but Bruce earned a special place of his own in Buckeyes football history as adored patriarch and sage and the mentor to the program's current coaching star.

Bruce died in Columbus at 87, according to a statement released by his daughters through Ohio State on Friday. He'd been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee fans finally won't need a cheat sheet to keep track of the score at this year's spring game.

New Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt has vowed to make Saturday's Orange & White Game as close to a normal game as possible. He's dividing his team into two separate squads and is having them play an exhibition game with typical football scoring.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Iowa's offense was as inconsistent as any in the country last season, capable of hanging 55 points on Ohio State one week and getting shut out by Wisconsin the next.

A more reliable attack could help vault the Hawkeyes back atop the Big Ten West in 2018.

ATLANTA (AP) New defensive coordinator Nate Woody and his 3-4 scheme were on display for the first time on Friday night at Georgia Tech's spring game.

But it was difficult to gauge the progress, given the number of players on both sides of the ball who were unable to play.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) Alabama coach Nick Saban says he had a "very positive meeting" with the father of quarterback Jalen Hurts after a recent scrimmage.

Saban responded to a Bleacher Report article Thursday where Averion Hurts said if his son didn't win the starting job, "he'll be the biggest free agent in college football history."

Iconic football programs Alabama and Notre Dame will meet in a pair of season openers, starting in a decade.

The schools announced Thursday that they'll open the 2028 season in South Bend and 2029 in Tuscaloosa.

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) After rushing for more than 2,000 yards and finishing as the Heisman Trophy runner-up as a junior, Bryce Love easily could have decided to enter the NFL draft.

Instead of getting ready for that big show next week, Love chose to stay at Stanford for his senior season in hopes of completing some unfinished business.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer has said all along that his appointment as athletic director at his alma mater wasn't a mere short-term arrangement.

Now he has the contract to back it up.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) Colorado State University has signed a 15-year, $37.7 million naming rights agreement with Public Service Credit Union for its on-campus football stadium.

The stadium is yet to be named because the agreement for title sponsor of the year-old stadium is part of an overall rebranding initiative and public rollout of a new name.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) North Dakota State's Chris Klieman has signed a two-year contract extension with the perennial Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse.

Klieman is entering his fifth season leading the Bison, who have won six of the last seven FCS titles. He was an assistant at the Fargo school for three years before he was promoted to head coach when Craig Bohl moved to Wyoming.