ESPNMAG.com - Midseason Awards Come Down to the Flip of a Coin

20. A Soapbox Moment
One hack's Half-Season Awards (tweaked to reflect an extra week). . .

Coach of the Half-Season
The nominees: Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, Fresno State's Pat Hill, Michigan's Lloyd Carr, Washington State's Mike Price, UCLA's Bob Toledo, North Carolina's John Bunting, BYU's Gary Crowton.

Who thought Friedgen's Terps (7-0) would be the first bowl-eligible team. . . Hill played a tough non-conference schedule and had the Bulldogs in the middle of the BCS mix until last Friday. . . 5-1 Wolverines are winning with essentially new RB, QB, WR and OL. . . Price said Cougars would be good and he wasn't kidding. Unbeaten WSU is 7-0, compared to 4-7 a season ago. . . Toledo was feeling the heat during the offseason; Bruins have responded with 6-0 start. . . Tar Heels started 0-3, have won last five -- credit Bunting for keeping team together. . . Crowton, who replaced the legendary LaVell Edwards, has Cougars 7-0.

And the winner is. . . We picked Hill on the TV gig, but that was before Bulldogs gagged at home against Boise State. Friedgen is the replacement pick.

Flop of the Half-Season
The nominees: 1-4 Penn State, 1-5 Pittsburgh, 1-5 Mississippi State, 1-5, Oregon State, 2-4 Kansas State, 2-5 UNLV.

Nittany Lions finally give JoePa a tie with Bear Bryant. . . Panthers' season was toast the minute they lost to D-IA newcomer South Florida. . . Bulldogs were supposed to challenge for the SEC West title, but instead lost to first-year D-IA Troy State. . . Oregon State was supposed to challenge for the national title. . . K-State a big 0-fer in the Big 12. . .Thomas' Heisman campaign, UNLV's Mountain West title hopes crap out with 2-5 start.

And the winner is. . . Mississippi State. But K-State is closing fast.

Player of the Half-Season

The nominees: Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler, UCLA's DeShaun Foster, Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Oregon's Joey Harrington, Fresno State's David Carr, Oklahoma's Roy Williams, Florida's Rex Grossman.

Too bad Dantzler can't play defense for Tigers. . . Toledo dares you to find a better RB than Foster. He's right. . . Crouch is Dantzler with more weapons. . . Who knows where Ducks would be without him. Not 5-1 . . . Hate to second-guess Hill, but ball should have been in Carr's hands, not RB's hands during late going of Boise upset. . . Watch Williams for 10 consecutive plays and you'll know why he's the best DB in the country. . .If not for Auburn, Grossman would be Heisman front-runner.

And the winner is. . . We flipped a coin between Crouch and Foster. Crouch won. . . for now.

19. That Number Again. . .
News item: A 24-hour toll-free hotline will soon be available to Kentucky alumni, employees and the public to report NCAA rules violations by the school's sports programs. Called "Comply Cats," the new hotline system is in direct response to recent internal and NCAA investigations into the Wildcat football program. The hotline number: 866-275-CATS.

Reaction: Is there a separate line for Hal Mumme to call?

Also, the school might want to consider a change in numbers, to something like, 866-WER-DEAD. Otherwise, you're going to have someone from, say, Danville, trying to order tickets to the long-running Broadway feline musical.

The "Comply Cats" (A little late for that, isn't it?) hotline won't be up and running until Oct. 29, but just think of the possibilities:

"Press 1, if you witnessed a UK football assistant handing a money order to a recruit's high school coach."
"Press 2, if you overheard the UK football assistant say to the recruit's high school coach, "You took care of that thing, right?"
"Press 3, if UK football assistant provides recruit's coach with brochure of latest Mercedes exterior colors."
"Press 4, if you're a UK football player and actually wrote your own term paper."
"Press 5, if you're an Alabama alum or employee and accidently called this number."

18. The "Coffee's For Closers" Bowl
If you ever saw Alec Baldwin in, "Glengarry, Glen Ross," you know the line.

Anyway, the third Saturday in October featured rivals Tennessee and Alabama, two teams that hadn't been able to close a deal in weeks. The Vols had a chance to remain unbeaten and ultimately control the SEC East, but then blew a lead against Georgia in the waning seconds of its Oct. 6 game at Neyland Stadium. Goodbye, Destiny.

Meanwhile, Bama blew a fourth-quarter lead at South Carolina Sept. 29 and at Ole Miss last week.

Sure enough, the Vols and Tide traded leads at Tuscaloosa. But in the end, Bama surrendered yet another fourth-period lead and Tennessee registered its seventh consecutive victory against the Tide -- the first time a Bama team has ever suffered that many straight losses to the same opponent.

But say this for the Tide: this year's Dennis Franchione version of Bama looks and plays about 100 times better than last year's Mike DuBose version. Both Franchione and DuBose had identical records after seven games last season (3-4), but the differences seem obvious enough. No more perplexed, clueless looks on the sideline, no more quarterback controversy, no more staff dissension. And unlike last season, when Bama didn't win another game after the 3-4 start, Franchione's team is adjusting to the learning curve. Put it this way: a 4-0 finish wouldn't be out of the question.

17. Player of the Week
Ryan Dinwiddie, Boise State.

We'll admit it. . . we didn't know Dinwiddie from Dunwoody, Ga. But the sophomore quarterback completed 20 of 32 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns in Boise State's upset of then-No. 10-ranked Fresno State.

Dinwiddie didn't have too much pressure on him at season's beginning. He was merely replacing Bart Hendricks, a two-time Big West Offensive Player of the Year who had led the Broncos to consecutive league titles, consecutive bowl victories and consecutive 10-win seasons. Along the way, Boise State led the nation in scoring with a 45-point average overall and a 53-point average in its five conference games.

Not only would Dinwiddie have to deal with that legacy, but he'd have to do it in a new league, what with the Broncos bumping up in class to the Western Athletic Conference. And just to make things more interesting, Boise State opened its season at South Carolina, then returned home for its opener against Washington State. Uh, oh -- the Broncos were 0-2.

But Dinwiddie has gotten better. They scored 42 in a win against Texas-El Paso, 45 in a win against Idaho, 41 in a win against Tulsa, and now 35 in the upset at Fresno.

Runner-up: Penn State's Zack Mills.
All Mills did was come off the bench in the final minutes at Northwestern, lead the Nittany Lions to a comeback win and give Joe Paterno his 323rd career victory.

Honorable mentions: Tennessee tailback Travis Stephens (Bama's Reggie Myles called Lost & Found in search of his jock after a Stephens' move on a TD run); Alabama fullback Donnie Lowe (the converted linebacker splattered would-be UT tacklers all afternoon); North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant (11 of 11 and three TDs in rout of Clemson); Auburn quarterback Daniel Cobb (5 TDs in OT win against Louisiana Tech); Georgia wide receiver Fred Gibson (200-plus yards in win against Kentucky).

16. Coaches of the Week
Paterno, Penn State.
Somewhere, Bear Bryant is lighting a stogie in your honor. Congrats on No. 323.

Runner-up: Dan Hawkins, Boise State.
The BCS powers-that-be thank you. Nothing against Fresno, but the BCS boys weren't looking to date Cinderella. The fewer undefeated teams (there were 11 at the start of the week), the better for them.

Hawkins is the third Boise State coach in the last five years, and if he keeps pulling these kind of upsets the school might be looking for a fourth new coach in a season or two. Hawkins was the Broncos' tight ends and special teams coach before replacing Dirk Koetter, who took the Arizona State job.

Honorable mention: Stanford's Tyrone Willingham and Ball State's Bill Lynch.

15. Darwinian Football
NCAA Management Council chairman Charles Harris says as many as 20 schools might eventually get the heave-ho from Division I-A if those programs don't improve, among other things, their attendance, scheduling and scholarship numbers by 2004.

The Mid-American Conference is especially vulnerable to the proposed standards, what with nine of its 13 members averaging less than five home games against I-A opponents, and six members averaging less than 15,000 in home attendance.

Of course, if the MAC drops to Division I-AA, that means Big Ten schools will have to find a new conference to lose to in September.

14. Darwinian Football -- Part II
Athletic directors in the MAC, Sun Belt, Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA are already finding loopholes in the Management Council's proposals to tighten Division I-A.

For example, the NCAA bases home attendance figures on the number of tickets sold for at least half the face value. But for the 2004 deadline, the attendance figures will be based on turnstile count, not tickets sold.

"That means we can count all the band members in the stands on High School Band Day," Northern Illinois athletic director Cary Groth happily told the Chicago Tribune.

And if the band members don't put the attendance average over the top, there's always the popular promotions, "If You Can Spell N-I-U, You're In," or, "Buy One, Get 10,000 Free," or, "Phish Concert Here Every Saturday."

13. Stat of the Week
North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers has three interceptions this season, including a neat little pass knockdown and catch against Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler. The three picks puts him among the ACC leaders, to say nothing of his sack total.

12. Quote of the Week
"I think it was a disaster for us to take the Big Ten into the BCS. In the old days you could say, 'At least we could go to the Rose Bowl.' We even gave that up."
-- Penn State's Paterno on the league's 1998 decision join the BCS, thus allowing the Rose Bowl to join the national championship bowl rotation.

Sorry, but JoePa forgets to mention that Penn State has been to The Grandaddy of Them All exactly once (1994) since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993.

And someone needs to remind Paterno that had the Big Ten been part of the Bowl Coalition in 1994, No. 2-ranked Penn State would have played No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. Instead, they beat No. 12 Oregon. Whoopee! So what's better, a trip to Pasadena or playing for a ring that counts?

And nothing against the big guy, but isn't it time the Big Ten quit obsessing over the Rose Bowl and start winning a national title one of these days? Michigan was co-champion in 1997 and before that, Ohio State. . . in 1968.

One other thing to remember: the Rose Bowl only gets the BCS gig once every four years. That means the Grandaddy belongs to the Big Ten and Pac-10 next season, the season after that, and the season after that -- unless the Big Ten or Pac-10 have a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2.

11. Fresno State
All those who saw the upset coming, please raise your hands.

Didn't think so.

The Bulldogs were 14 1/2-point favorites and hadn't lost at home since 1998 (a 17-game winning streak). The place was sold out -- again -- and Fresno was coming off one of those season-defining overtime victories against Colorado State. And in their previous three meetings, the Bulldogs had beaten the Broncos by a combined 120-35.

But maybe that should have been the tip off. Fresno shouldn't have needed OT to beat a CSU team that scored exactly two points against Louisville a game earlier. And you start tempting fate when you're forced to keep pulling off last-minute comebacks -- just ask Washington.

Now Fresno, its BCS big-money payday down the drain, has to travel to Honolulu for a game against dangerous Hawaii and June Jones' run-and-shoot offense. If the Bulldogs aren't careful they might not even win their own conference.

10. Fresno State -- Part II
Fresno's loss cost the WAC an $11.8-million BCS check, and cost the Bulldogs about a $2-million cut.

And in something of a financial irony, the loss cost Boise State about $1-million share of the BCS payoff. As if Hawkins really cares.

9. Woodrow Dantzler vs. Charlie Heisman
Brad Scott was a Florida State assistant when quarterback Charlie Ward won the 1993 Heisman Trophy. Later, when he became the head coach at South Carolina, Scott made a recruiting run at Dantzler, but decided to commit first to a kid from Boiling Springs, S.C., Phil Petty.

"I didn't get very far with him," says Scott of his try at Dantzler. "That's one I'm glad I lost. Instead, I got him at Clemson."

Scott is the Tigers' offensive coordinator and marvels at Dantzler's weekly play.
"We call it, 'The Woody Factor,"' Scott says. "We'll call a play and somebody will say, 'We can't do that.' But we'll call it anyway and let 'The Woody Factor' take over."

Dantzler oversees an offense that usually features a combination of four true/redshirt freshmen out of the five skill positions. Ward was no less spectacular, but he had the likes of Tamarick Vanover, Sean Jackson, Kez McCorvey and a talented offensive line at his disposal.

"Woody has probably meant more to our offense than Charlie did, which is crazy to say," says Scott. "Off the field they're very similar people. They command a lot of respect. Neither one of them is the gung-ho type. But when Woody does say something, they listen up."

And who is the better pure athlete?

"Charlie's a guy with 4.65 speed and 4.4 quickness," he says. "Woody has 4.4 quickness who runs a 4.4. It's like chasing a rabbit in an open field."

Dantzler needed every bit of that quickness against Carolina Saturday, as the Tar Heels held him to 43 rushing yards and 73 passing yards.

8. Comeback of the Year
Bunting's Tar Heels are getting the pub, but have you noticed how Syracuse has quietly worked its way into the Big East mix? Credit coach Paul Pasqualoni, who was being fitted for a pink slip after the Orangemen began their season with losses against Georgia Tech and Tennessee.

But that was before Syracuse beat UCF, then Auburn, then East Carolina, Pittsburgh and then became one game away from being bowl eligible with Saturday's win against Temple.

Now the fun begins. Of Syracuse's four remaining games, one is at unbeaten Virginia Tech (this Saturday), one is at unbeaten Miami (Nov. 17) and one is against 5-2 Boston College (Nov. 24).

7. At Least He's Human
Auburn's Damon Duval had a chance to win a fourth consecutive game with a field goal, but hooked a 37-yarder in the last seconds of regulation against La. Tech. Still, the Tigers avoided a post-Florida letdown by outlasting a dangerous Bulldogs team.

6. Home, Sweet Home
Undefeated Washington State gets eight days to prepare for Oregon. Plus, the Cougars get the Ducks at home. Then the following week they get UCLA at home.

5. What QB Controversy?
Jason White is 1-0 as Oklahoma's starting quarterback, thanks to the Sooners' win against Baylor (it was the Bears' 25th consecutive Big 12 defeat). We admire former starter Nate Hybl's toughness, but White is the right choice for the huge game at Nebraska this Saturday.

4. Heisman Trophy Race

Bring a coat and tie to the Downtown Athletic Club: UCLA's DeShaun Foster, Miami's Ken Dorsey, Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Fresno State's David Carr.
Moving up: Illinois' Kurt Kittner, Boston College's William Green, Tennessee's Travis Stephens.
Staying same: Florida's Rex Grossman, Wisconsin's Anthony Davis.
Slipping: Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler, Oregon's Joey Harrington.
Thanks for stopping by the booth: Toledo's Chester Taylor.

3. Fighting Irish
It hasn't been artistic, but give Notre Dame credit for recovering from an 0-3 start with three consecutive wins. Now the bad news: the Irish travel to 5-2 Boston College, then get Tennessee at home.

2. Whatever Happened To. . . . . . those Ron McBride firing rumors. McBride's Utah team is 2-0 in the Mountain West and 5-1 overall.

One Hack's Weekly Elite
Honorary No. 1: The USS Kitty Hawk.
1. Oklahoma: Time for Battle of Lipsticks: Crimson vs. Red.
2. Miami: No heavy lifting until Nov. 10 game at BC.
3. UCLA: Bruins control their national championship fate.
4. Nebraska: Huskers want to avenge last year's 17-point loss to OU.
5. Virginia Tech: Hokies better take Syracuse seriously.
6. Texas: Horns should breeze to season finale against A&M.
7. Auburn: Tigers might not face a better offense than La. Tech.
8. Florida: Two weeks to prepare for World's Largest Cocktail Party.
9. Notre Dame: No, not really. Just seeing if you're paying attention.
9. Maryland: Terps travel to Tallahassee this Saturday.
10. Washington State: Next two games make, break season.
Waiting List: Michigan, Illinois, Stanford, Oregon, BYU.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Movers and Shakers appears each Sunday during the college football season. E-mail him at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.