ing increasingly jaded with the dipping results from the national team.And becoming the first team since the Alan Jones-coached Wallabies to complete a grand slam - with victories over Wales, Ireland, Scotland and En

HOUSTON -- The Houston Cougars are picking up the pieces after coach Tom Herman bolted for Texas this weekend. Interim coach Todd Orlando has taken over to prepare them for their bowl game while the administration looks for a new coach to try and build on the progress Herman made in two seasons.Orlando, who was Houstons defensive coordinator under Herman, thinks the Cougars will be just fine.These kids have battled through a whole bunch of things this year and theyve always responded, he said. Theyve never let us down. Theyve always gone at it with a great attitude and I dont expect that to change.Orlando acknowledged that there was some disappointment among players in the wake of Hermans departure to take over for Charlie Strong, who was fired the same day Herman was hired . He said he spoke to the team all together before they broke into position groups to further discuss the change. The upperclassmen dealt with the move better than many of his freshman and sophomores, who had counted on Herman to be there throughout their time in Houston.He said those players really bought into Hermans culture and embraced the catchy slogan termed H-Town Takeover he used to boost the teams profile on social media.My concern is for the young guys, the young guys that were part of the H-Town Takeover and them analyzing things and I see it in their face, Orlando said. But I do feel comfortable that it is better after a couple of days.Herman led the Cougars to a 13-1 record last season and a trip to the Peach Bowl before helping them to a 9-3 record this season which included wins over Oklahoma and Louisville, who were both ranked third at the time. He isnt the first coach to propel Houston back into to national spotlight before leaving for a more high-profile job.Kevin Sumlin coached the Cougars for four seasons before leaving for Texas A&M. He helped them to a 12-1 record in 2011. He made them a national contender for the first time since the 1980s before many lean years after the Southwest Conference disbanded in 1995 and they werent invited to join the Big 12 or Southeastern Conference.Tony Levine took over for Sumlin, but was unable to replicate his success. He was fired in 2014 after going 7-5 to clear the way for Herman to take over after serving as offensive coordinator for Ohio State when the team won the national title that year.Now they have to search for a new coach yet again. Orlando said he and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite will both interview for the job, and athletics director Hunter Yurachek promised a national search to find a coach to maintain our programs national prominence.For Orlando and his staff preparing for the bowl game comes second to ensuring they dont lose their top recruits following Hermans departure.I told the staff: `Youre going to see every one of our commitments and I dont care if you have to stay at school for five hours and stay in their house for four hours, he said. It doesnt matter. Theres nobody more important than those committed kids and its the stability part of it. I want to make sure they understand were business as usual.Orlando has been impressed with some public support many of his players have shown for the team in the last few days, and none meant more than one from defensive tackle Ed Oliver . The freshman, who is Houstons best player and one of the top defensive tackles in the country, first joked on Twitter that he was declaring for the draft even though that isnt possible, before sending a second tweet that ended with I aint going nowhere.Hes been great, Orlando said. Theres one thing about that guy and its that he loves this place. I think hes got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder to say you know what: `Ill carry us a little bit. Were OK. Time to adjust and see what happens.Herman did a variety of things to bond with his players, namely getting a diamond encrusted grill made by Houston rapper Paul Wall after they won the American Athletic Conference title last season. While Orlando is committing to keeping a good relationship with his players, he was quick to point out that his style would be far different than his predecessor.Im not going to wear a grill, he said. Im not going to dance around. Im going to be me.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Cheap Shoes . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Cheap Shoes Website . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/ . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Cheap Shoes Replica . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Cheap Shoes For Sale . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. The Wallabies have been urged to dream big by coach Michael Cheika as they chase a challenging grand slam quest in a bid to end a horror year on a high.But the measured mentor stopped short of completely endorsing the bold claim from five-eighth Bernard Foley that the Wallabies can win their first grand slam since 1984.Foley made the call in the wake of last weeks tough loss in the third Bledisloe Cup Test of the year, which consigned Cheikas men to a cleansweep at the hands of the All Blacks in 2016 and their seventh loss of a difficult year.But a successful European Tour would go a long way towards winning back an Australian public becoming increasingly jaded with the dipping results from the national team.And becoming the first team since the Alan Jones-coached Wallabies to complete a grand slam - with victories over Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England on the same tour - would be a significant rainbow at the end of a dreary year.It is very important for players to have dreams and of achieving the bigger picture items, Cheika said of Foleys confident prediction.I really believe thats important. IIf you dont have those dreams inside you then what are you doing it for?But the positive outlook was also delivered with a harsh reality check - one which is highlighted by Englands status as the world No.dddddddddddd.2, Irelands well-polished outfit and Welsh and Scottish teams hell-bent on exacting revenge for World Cup campaigns cruelled by the Wallabies.The reality is that in a series like this and a tour like this then it is only the next day that counts, Cheika said.Thats in the background and that will only come to fruition when we are excellent every day.A lot of our players who have not toured the northern hemisphere before will learn about what it is like over here as we get into each day, prepare, learn, grow as a team, which is something we have been doing this year through some hardship and some successes.Just take it a day at a time. If you look too far ahead you will get burnt.Deal with what we have got to do today, get something from it and go from there. ' ' '