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AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas players who packed the room were there to hear their coach speak. Some fought back tears.They heard Charlie Strong plead for a win this week to get their senior teammates to a bowl game. They heard him suggest that a win against TCU might be enough to save his job.And then dozens of them mobbed Strong with hugs amid laughs and praise as a teacher, mentor and builder of men.He doesnt want to fail us, and we dont want to fail him, senior defensive lineman Paul Boyette Jr. said as tears ran down his cheeks. He taught me what it really means to be a man ... My heart hurts for him.Strongs players clearly love him. It may not be enough to save him.Strong faced his weekly news conference on Monday amid reports that he will be fired after Fridays game, the result of a 5-6 record so far this season after last weeks loss to lowly Kansas, and a 16-20 mark over the past three years. The game against TCU (5-5) could be Strongs final game.Next year, I want to come back, Strong said. They said we will be evaluated after that game. I dont know how they will be thinking, but winning that game would help.Athletic director Mike Perrin on Sunday dismissed multiple reports that Strong would be fired as rumors, and said no decision would be made until after the game. Perrin didnt show up at Strongs news conference Monday and neither did school President Greg Fenves, who has publicly supported Strong but has been silent on his future since the Kansas loss.Strong didnt think a decision on his future was already made and expected school administrators to live up to that promise.The highest-ranking school official to attend was Greg Vincent, vice president for diversity and community engagement. Vincent broke through the scrum of players to hug the first black head football coach in program history.Whats most important to me as an educator, vice president and professor, is how he develops these young men, Vincent said.Strong has two years and nearly $11 million left on a five-year guaranteed contract. He admitted the wins and losses dont stack up but he tried to make a case Monday that he should stay despite his poor record on the field.He noted key injuries that decimated his first season, top-level recruiting and a two-deep roster packed mostly with freshmen and sophomores that he and his staff brought to Texas. The foundation for greatness is there, he said.This group of guys will win a national championship, Strong said with a nod to the players in the room. I stand by that statement.But Texas hasnt even been close to winning the Big 12 and may not qualify for a bowl game for the second consecutive year.Strong also said hed evaluate his job tenure not just in wins and losses, but as leader for young men who need a father figure in their lives. When Strong first arrived, he set his core values that included no guns, no drugs, respecting woman and honesty. The discipline message connected with fans as Strong dismissed 10 players in his first year.Theres no direction for a lot of young people, thats part of my job, Strong said. When they leave this place, they know who they are.Wide receiver Jacorey Warrick said a group of older players mobilized to get their teammates to attend the news conference to support their coach.He doesnt have the support of people who are trying to get him out, but the people who really matter, the players, you can see where their support lies, Warrick said.Strongs situation was noted among Big 12 coaches on Monday on their weekly conference call.Kansas coach David Beaty, whose victory pushed Strong to the brink at Texas, called Strong one of the finer individuals that Ive met in college football.My heart aches for him -- I mean, it aches for him and his staff, Beaty said.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---This story corrects spelling of Beaty in last 2 paragraphs. Custom Shaquille ONeal Jersey . 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MIAMI -- Clayton Kershaw spent the bulk of the evening in the dugout, wearing a blue Dodgers jacket, chatting with teammates and chomping down on a wad of pink bubble gum.He didnt win his comeback game.Still, the NL West leaders were happy just to have their ace back.Sidelined since June 26 with a mild disk herniation, Kershaw started and pitched three innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday night.You try to look at the positives, I guess, said Kershaw, who reported no physical problems afterward. I got to pitch again. Thats always fun.Kershaw was more than outdueled by Marlins ace Jose Fernandez (14-8), who tossed seven shutout innings and tied a career high by striking out 14.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was thrilled afterward.For Clayton to be back on the mound, I think thats a win for us, Roberts said. Fernandez was good, but the No. 1 thing was Clayton got out of this feeling pretty well. We didnt expect him to be in midseason form anyway.Kershaw (11-3) threw 66 pitches, 46 for strikes. He gave up two runs and five hits, struck out five and walked none, his ERA rising just a bit from 1.79 to 1.89. He allowed a home run to J.T. Realmuto in the first, and an RBI single to Chris Johnson -- off the glove of leaping second baseman Chase Utley -- in the second.We did a pretty good job of making him pitch, said Marlins manager Don Mattingly, the former Dodgers skipper.Kershaw wasnt overjoyed with the outing, the three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP shrugging off notions that it was essentially a rehab or spring start to get his arm ready for the stretch run.Its not spring training for anybody else so its not for me, either, he said. Weve got to beat the Giants. Weve got to win this division. Im thankful for what the guys did while I was gone. They played unbelievable. Theyre still playing unbelievable. I want to be a part of that.Miami improved to 5-0 against the Dodgers this season.Yasmani Grandal hit his 25th homer in the ninth for the Dodgers, who tried to rally against Fernando Rodney before A.J. Ramos came in and closed it out for his 33rd save.ddddddddddddFernandez was simply dominant, improving to 4-0 all-time against the Dodgers and 28-2 at Marlins Park. There have been 12 games in the majors this season when a pitcher has struck out 14 or more, and no one else has more than one of them.His 102nd and last pitch -- one that fanned Yasiel Puig for No. 14 -- hit 98 mph.It seems like thats all I do lately. I cant pass 14, Fernandez said.Kershaw gave up some hard-hit balls, but the most important element of the outing for the Dodgers lefty was this: When tested physically, he passed.Fernandez lined a low offering right back up the middle in the second inning, sending Kershaw spinning 180 degrees and leaving him looking at second base with his left leg outstretched like a hockey goalie making a pad save. And in the third, Kershaw pounced off the mound to field Yelichs nubber, then spun to make the throw to first and fell back somewhat awkwardly.Neither instance seemed to bother him.We all held our breath a little bit, Roberts said.THE DONMattingly is the third skipper in the last half-century to start 5-0 against the Dodgers -- the team he managed from 2011-15. He joined Jack McKeon (with the Padres in 1988) and Sparky Anderson (with the Reds in 1970).CELEBRATING PERFECTIONIt was the 51st anniversary of the only Dodgers perfect game, Sandy Koufaxs 1-0 gem against the Chicago Cubs. Dennis Martinez -- who pitched a perfect game for Montreal at Dodger Stadium in 1991 -- threw out one of Fridays ceremonial first pitches.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: OF Andre Ethier (broken right leg) could make his season debut this weekend. ... Kershaw will start at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, back in his regular spot in the rotation.Marlins: OF Giancarlo Stanton, limited to pinch-hitting duty, struck out with the bases loaded to end the fifth.UP NEXTThe series continues Saturday with LHP Rich Hill (11-3, 1.94 ERA; 8-0 in his last 10 starts) going for the Dodgers against RHP Tom Koehler (9-10, 3.87). ' ' '