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20. A Soapbox Moment
We were all set to sic the Dobies on the Davey O'Brien Award voters for failing to include Indiana's Antwaan Randle El on its list of 12 quarterback semifinalists. But then we realized that, A) We had an O'Brien ballot and, B) We didn't put him in our QB dozen, either.
We penciled in Miami's Ken Dorsey, Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Florida's Rex Grossman, Oregon's Joey Harrington, Fresno State's David Carr, Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler, Texas' Chris Simms, BYU's Brandon Doman, Marshall's Byron Leftwich and Northwestern's Zak Kustok. As it turned out, the official semifinalist list included everyone but Kustok and Leftwich, and added Illinois' Kurt Kittner and Washington State's Jason Gesser. But no Randle El. Sure, mock now, but the O'Brien folks wanted the ballots early. So on Oct. 31 we e-mailed our vote. If you've seen Indiana this season -- and it's been hard, what with the Hoosiers only on the tube for an ESPN season opener against North Carolina State and three other ESPN regional telecasts -- you know there aren't 12 better quarterbacks than Randle El. So we screwed the pooch. And the well-meaning people at the O'Brien Award might have, too, as they tried to whittle the list to 12 so early in a goofy season where much has changed month to month, week to week. If we picked a dozen QBs right now, Randle El would certainly be on the list, Kustok would certainly be off it. Hard to leave off a guy who might win the Big Ten MVP. In a perfect world, it would be nice if the O'Brien organizers made an exception and added the names of Randle El and Leftwich. So what if that makes 14? Strange seasons demand strange exceptions. After all, why penalize them for an October deadline when there was so much football to play in November? 19. The Candidates Speak Who would Nebraska's Crouch put on his Heisman short list? Well, he won't vote for himself, because he's modest that way. So we asked him to list three others. "I would definitely say -- and I think he's one of those guys who has been a great college football player -- Roy Williams of Oklahoma," says Crouch of the OU safety. "I would definitely say Ken Dorsey at Miami. And one more guy who seems to be playing spectacular football is Rex Grossman." Indiana's Randle El wouldn't divulge his top choices, but did rule out Grossman. "I don't believe in giving the Heisman to a freshman or a sophomore," he says. "I think it should go to a junior or senior." Grossman is a sophomore, and no sophomore has ever won the Heisman. Randle El is a senior. Texas' Simms would vote for Crouch. Harrington wouldn't commit to a specific winner, but humbly submitted his name for consideration, as well as Crouch and Dorsey. 18. The Candidates Speak -- Part II
"The Heisman, as I understand it, goes to the guy who has the best year, not who has the best career," says Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis. Exactly. Florida State's Chris Weinke had to fight the same type of silly Heisman age discrimination last season -- but in reverse. We repeat: it doesn't say anything on the official ballot about how old or young you are. 17. BCS Geek Guess who does his very own analysis of the weekly Bowl Championship Series standings, going so far to bring a diagram of the BCS possibilities to his position coach. That would be Joey College himself, Oregon's Harrington. You've got to like a guy who understands this BCS stuff better than about half the hacks (including this one) sitting in America's press boxes. "I've got the whole thing worked out," says Harrington, who knows exactly who has to win what for the Ducks to have a chance to squeeze into the Rose Bowl. "Yeah, he put on the board in our quarterback meeting room," says Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. "I hadn't even seen the BCS standings. I looked at it and said, 'So, we'll be rooting for Washington to beat Washington State.' He said, 'Absolutely not. The only thing keeping us in this thing right now is Washington State.'" Harrington knows his stuff. Oregon needed Washington State, which entered the weekend No. 8 in the BCS standings, to beat U-Dub in the Apple Cup. That's because the Ducks beat the Cougars three games ago and would stand to earn quality-win bonus points if W-State defeated Washington. It didn't happen (the Huskies won convincingly), so out the window go most of Oregon's Rose Bowl hopes (though, the Ducks still have an outside chance if Washington beats Miami this week, and Nebraska loses to Colorado, and Colorado beats Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship, and monkeys fly out my. . . ). Too bad for Harrington, who always dreamed of playing in the Grandaddy of them all. "He's a college football fanatic, he's into it," says Tedford. "You've heard what he does at our basketball games? He's wearing a red wig in the middle of the student section cheering with the rest of them." 16. Obligatory Notre Dame Note
"I totally plan on being back here next year and continue to try to get this football team to improve," Davie said. Had he considered stepping down? "None. Zero. I have too much invested," he said. This isn't surprising. FOB's (Friends of Bob) have long said he wouldn't give up the Notre Dame job willingly -- not if he thought he could still succeed. Davie's contract extension runs through 2005, but that's done zilch to quiet the rumors of his imminent departure. And Davie isn't getting much help from athletic director Kevin White, who declines to issue even a standard-issue vote-of-confidence statement. Nor will he address the possibility of hiring a new coach. "Right now we're focused on helping our team win games," White told the Chicago Tribune. That's right out of the Non-Denial, Denial Hall of Fame, but what else can the guy say? The Irish still have a shot a bowl appearance. They outplayed Tennessee, but lost. Saturday's win against Navy helps -- a little, and they can reach the necessary six-victory mark if Davie can go on the road and beat Stanford and then Purdue. But as the recruiting season soon reaches full no-prisoners, Cage-Match status, expect some of Notre Dame's rivals to drop their share of negatives on top prospects thinking about going Irish. You can almost hear the exchange: Coach: "Notre Dame's on your short list, eh, son?" Recruit: "Yes, sir." Coach: "Good school. Hell of a field hockey team." We'll give Davie credit for the ability to crack wise about his predicament. Remember a few weeks ago when Notre Dame Stadium ushers booted several fans wearing "Dump Davie!" T-shirts from the premises? Davie does. "I recruited a new group of ushers, did some strategic planning, put them through some tests, got them each binoculars and have them looking out for new T-shirts they see in the stands," Davie said. "I have new guys, coached up, ready to go. They're probably the best ushers in the country." 15. Player of the Week Bowling Green's Josh Harris. Harris, a sophomore QB, had the kind of day usually seen only on a PlayStation2 game. He passed for for 402 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for two TDs and even caught a TD pass. More importantly, he sparked the Falcons' furious comeback victory -- leading BGSU to two TDs in 2:30 minutes -- over Northwestern. Runners-up Florida State's Stanford Samuels. The next time you think these guys don't earn their scholarships, remember Samuels. The sophomore cornerback missed Thursday's FSU practice and returned home to Miami after the unexpected death of aunt. Then he boarded a Greyhound bus at 11 o'clock Friday night and arrived at the Seminoles team hotel in Lake City at about 8 a.m. Saturday. Then he started against Florida that night. Hawaii's Nick Rolovich The senior QB completed 30-of-53 passes for 500 yards and a school-record seven touchdown passes in Hawaii?s 52-51 victory over Miami (Ohio). Honorable Mention Tennessee's Donte Stallworth (six touchdown catches in last two games); Alabama's Andrew Zow (fills in admirably for injured starter Tyler Watts); Marshall's Byron Leftwich; BYU's Luke Staley; Florida's Reche Caldwell. 14. Coach of the Week Alabama's Dennis Franchione. Not much style, but a lot of substance. You'll always remember your first Iron Bowl victory -- and Bama needs something to carry it through infractions case. Runner-ups We're going to Memphis! We're going to Memphis! The Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31st isn't exactly Pasadena, but it will do nicely for the Cardinals, who won the Conference USA title and need one more win for an 11-1 record. Different schedules, but BYU still matches Nebraska for wins at 11-0. Perfect season for Ivy League champions. Honorable Mention USC's Pete Carroll, Miami's Larry Coker, Bowling Green's Urban Meyer, Georgia's Mark Richt. 13. Rumor of the Week John Cooper to Kansas. John Cooper to Vanderbilt. John Cooper to San Diego State. We talked to Cooper a few days ago and he's just about had it with raking leaves, watching sunsets, and spending quality time with his TV remote control. "I'm ready to get back in," says Cooper, who is taking the coaching equivalent of a force redshirt year. "I'd love to talk to any athletic director or president interested in talking to John Cooper. I'm available." The former Ohio State coach was dismissed after 13 seasons in Columbus, where he won 111 games, led the Buckeyes to 11 bowl appearances, and shared three Big Ten titles. But 10 of his 43 losses were to arch-rival Michigan, and eight more defeats came in those postseason games. And as a nice parting gift, Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said Cooper's watch also included spotty academic numbers and embarrassing off-the-field moments by Buckeye players. Cooper won't be unemployed much longer. Kansas has made inquiries, which makes sense since Jayhawks athletic director Al Bohl has Ohio State ties. Bohl is a football guy with an appreciation for coaching talent (he hired Pat Hill at Fresno State and Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel at Toledo). Plus, he needs somebody capable (and borderline desperate) enough to revive a program chest-deep in embalming fluid. KU has reached double-digit wins only once since 1905. It has just three bowl appearances since 1981. And is it a good thing when Gale Sayers could still start in your backfield? Meanwhile, attendance stinks, which is disturbing news at a school that already has had to deep-6 several non-revenue producing sports. Vandy also is an interesting possibility for Cooper. After all, he's from Tennessee and the Vanderbilt president is none other than sports honk Gordon Gee, the same Gordon Gee who was president at Ohio State during parts of Cooper's tenure. Vandy is a recruiting job, pure and simple. Cooper has a history of recruiting well (no need to beat him up on that Ryan Brewer thing) and his Big Ten/Columbus experience would come in handy in the hyper-intense SEC. If he won six games there, they'd name a Nashville recording studio after him. As for San Diego State, former OSU athletic director Rick Bay is in charge of finding a replacement for Ted Tollner. This will be the first time Bay has ever hired a football coach (he resigned at Ohio State over the dismissal of Earle Bruce). He could do a lot worse than Cooper, who used to coach in the Pac-10 and has an idea how to recruit the West Coast. Bay has the same problem as Bohl: he needs to put fannies in the seats. "I don't want to go to a place unless we realistically have a chance to compete," Cooper says. "But I know I'm not going to get another Ohio State kind of job." 12. Glass Houses Just wondering if Ohio State's Geiger holds first-year coach Jim Tressel accountable for the recent off-the-field transgression of quarterback Steve Bellisari? A fair question given the standard Cooper was held to. Bellisari registered a .22 on the breathalyzer after being pulled over in the wee hours of Friday. A .22 is legally drunk times two (and then some) in the state of Ohio. Needless to say, Bellisari didn't dot the i during the Ohio State halftime show. His indefinite suspension cost him the start against Illinois, a game in which the Buckeyes lost, 34-22. Tressel reinstated him to the team Monday, but there is no word if he will play against Michigan Saturday. Meanwhile, UCLA coach Bob Toledo was blindsided by another revelation involving one of his players. Last week it was knucklehead DeShaun Foster, who blew his Heisman hopes and the rest of his season when he was suspended for tooling around town in someone else's leased SUV. This week Toledo discovered, courtesy of a L.A. Daily News story, that quarterback Cory Paus had a DUI last June. The moral to the item: Kids do the darndest things. And coaches can't always be there to stop them. 11. Foster -- Part II The Doak Walker Award folks were bailed out of a sticky situation when the NCAA ruled Friday that it wouldn't reinstate Foster for the remainder of the season. That meant no final chance to stick it to crosstown rival USC Saturday, no proper sendoff in what would have been his final game at the Rose Bowl -- the Bruins' Dec. 1 meeting with Arizona State -- and no bowl appearance. Instead, a perfectly wonderful season was ruined because Foster brain cramped over a set of car keys. And UCLA has lost four costly games in a row, the last two (Oregon and USC) without Foster. The Bruins have gone from 6-0 and national championship aspirations, to 6-4 and a so-so bowl. Even if he had been ruled eligible, Foster would have ended up in the same place on our Walker Award ballot we submitted last Thursday: eighth out of eight nominees. Foster was probably the best running back among the candidates (BYU's Luke Staley, Tennessee's Travis Stephens, East Carolina's Leonard Henry, San Diego State's Larry Ned, Iowa State's Ennis Haywood, Wisconsin's Anthony Davis and Maryland's Bruce Perry), but stats and pro potential don't mean everything. We knew the great Doak Walker just well enough to know that he valued character above most anything else. At the risk of sounding a bit too righteous, the Walker statuette shouldn't go to someone who breaks NCAA "extra benefits" rules. Thing is, the Walker organizers kept Foster on the original list of eight semifinalists after the initial suspension by UCLA. Meanwhile, they drop-kicked Boston College's William Green from the candidates list after he was suspended for one game for violating team rules. The Walker Award thinking: this was Green's second suspension (he was left home for the Aloha Bowl), but only Foster's first. That sounds OK, except that Green didn't violate NCAA rules, he sat out one game and is back in BC's semi-good graces. Plus, shouldn't a season stand alone? What he did last season shouldn't necessarily count against him this season, should it? If it did, then Foster could have been Walker toast for his minor screw-up in July 2000, when he pleaded guilty to possession of less than an ounce of marijuana ($250 fine). As it turned out, the NCAA made it easy for the Walker Award people. Foster is history. But they should have applied the same standard to Foster in the first place, as they did Green. 10. Cha-Ching For Kevin Weiberg's sake, we hope he's working on commission. The Big 12 Conference commissioner is looking at a possible, if not probable postseason payday of about $25 million for his league members. You want to know why the BCS founding members -- the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, Big East and Notre Dame -- aren't in a hurry to make things easier for BYU and the Mountain West Conferences of the world? It's easy: money. Weiberg's league could place as many as eight teams in bowl games, including two in the ultra-lucrative BCS mix. The pair of BCS spots could be worth as much as $18.9 million. No matter what the Big 12 does, it's going to have a difficult time surpassing the gold standard set by the SEC in 1999, which collected $29 million in bowl revenue. 9. Iron Will Bowl Alabama could have made a fortune in pay-per-view revenue had it been able to televise Saturday's must-win meeting with its toughest opponent in years, the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Never mind (sort of) the Iron Bowl win against Auburn; Bama needs a victory in the Major Violations Bowl, or else the Crimson Tide might be facing a few more Ally McBeal years: thin and thinner. Bama officials presented their case to the committee Saturday in Indianapolis and now have to sweat out the decision for another 6-8 weeks. At issue is whether Alabama is guilty of allegations of major rules violations, including charges that school boosters offered a high school coach $115,000 to broker a player's commitment to the Tide, and paid another recruit $20,000. There are other alleged violations, most of them linked to the tenures of former coaches Gene Stallings and Mike DuBose. New coach Dennis Franchione, who stepped into this mess wearing clean pants, is doing what he can. He took part in a 7-minute Bama-produced videotape for the committee and pledged continued strict adherence to NCAA rules. Given Franchione's reputation, that should count for something. Chances are Franchione and his program are going to take a hit. How bad a hit -- scholarship reductions. . . bowl ban. . . recruiting restrictions -- who knows? Bama isn't saying if it already has imposed its own penalties and, of course, the committee isn't going to release its decision until probably January. The situation isn't likely to help recruiting, but Franchione knew his first season in Tuscaloosa wasn't going to be an easy one. What's he's worried about -- as is everybody at Bama -- is what the NCAA does to the Tide next season. 8. Quote of the Week "Can I take a bye this year?" -- Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, when reminded that the Seminoles would enter their game in Gainesville with three consecutive victories against Florida. Bowden knew it might be a long night against the Gators. He saw what Florida did on the road against Lou Holtz's South Carolina team a week earlier. "It was like, 10-3, when I left the stadium and South Carolina was leading," remembered Bowden. "By the time I got home, Lou had another wrinkle on his face. I'll have some too on Saturday." He wasn't kidding. The Seminoles, 15-point dogs for the first time since 1977, were soundly whupped by the Gators, too, 37-13 -- and it could have, should have been worse if Florida defensive backs hadn't dropped five would-be interceptions. FSU only managed 40 rushing yards and 13 first downs. The loss drops the Seminoles out of the polls for the first time since September 1989. "We had a nice run," said Bowden afterward. "The good news is that it's not a senior football club." 7. Stat of the Week Now that Foster and Green are out of the Heisman race, this could be only the fourth time in the 66-year history of the trophy that no running back finishes among top four vote-getters. It appears only BYU's Luke Staley has an outside chance to sneak into the mix. Runner-up Stat of Week Saturday's game against FSU marked the first time Florida's Matt Leach, the Maytag repairman of punters, kicked a ball in competition since Nov. 3. That's how efficient the Gator offense had been in victories against Vanderbilt and South Carolina. 6. Purple Haze
Maybe it was the emotional hangover from the offseason death of popular defensive back Rashidi Wheeler (and the controversy surrounding it -- the Curse of Johnnie Cochrane?). Maybe it was Northwestern's horrible defense. Maybe it was Damien Anderson's struggles or his subsequent season-ending shoulder injury. Whatever it was, the preseason Big Ten favorite is now 4-6, staring at 4-7, and without any chance at a bowl. If it isn't the biggest collapse of the season, it's close. The latest embarrassment came Saturday as the Wildcats blew a 42-28 lead to another pain-in-the-rear MAC team, this time Bowling Green, and lost, 43-42. Northwestern was originally scheduled to play Navy Sept. 15, but all that changed with the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Navy took a pass on rescheduling the game, so the Wildcats picked up Bowling Green. Now Walker has to somehow regroup for the season finale at Illinois. That should be fun. The Illini have won six in a row, nine of 10 and is playing for a Big Ten championship. 5. Man of His Word
Not surprisingly, Hill's has been contacted about the Kansas job opening. Makes sense, what with Bohl being his former boss at Fresno. 4. Dawg Gone There's nothing funny about Michael S. Lasseter's bonehead move at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. Lasseter's supposedly absent-minded dash through security gates forced the Friday evacuation of the massive airport, disrupted air travel throughout the country (we know, our flight from Chicago to Atlanta to Gainesville was canceled), and will cost the airlines millions of dollars. Turns out Lasseter, 32, is a Georgia fan who was trying to get to Memphis for the game against Ole Miss. His arrest and jailing put a little crimp in those plans. Of course, true Georgia followers, concerned about the future of their beloved Dawgs, will want to know if Lasseter has any eligibility remaining. After all, Lasseter outran and eluded private security personnel, National Guard members and police officers. His 40-time wasn't immediately available. 3. Heisman Trophy Race Bring a coat and tie to the Heisman Awards Ceremony: Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Oregon's Joey Harrington, Florida's Rex Grossman.
Staying same: Fresno State's David Carr. Slipping: No one. Thanks for stopping by the booth: Tennnessee's Travis Stephens 2. Whatever Happened To. . . . . . Bowden invincibility? Bobby wasn't the only one to get beat by an instate rival Saturday. Son Tommy watched as his Clemson team lost its third consecutive game and, worse yet, were beaten by despised South Carolina. So much for Clemson's seniors going for a career sweep against the Gamecocks. After a 4-1 start, the Tigers have gone a dreadful 1-4 and now need a victory against winless Duke to become bowl eligible. And even if they do beat the Blue Devils, Tommy knows what he's in for. "It's a year-round topic," he said earlier of the Clemson-USC rivalry. "This state is split 50-50 and you're born into the split. It's intense because there are no pro sports in the state, so the allegiance is to one of these two schools." Bragging rights aren't split, though. One Hack's Weekly Elite Honorary No. 1: Special Forces. 1. Nebraska: Huskers load up on turkey Thursday, buffalo on Friday? 2. Miami: Syracuse still doesn't know what hit it. U-Dub will be tougher. 3. Oklahoma: One more win (Okie State) and OU in Big 12 title game. 4. Florida: The Ballcoach has 2 weeks to prepare for suspect Vols D. 5. Texas: Need win vs. Aggies, loss by Nebraska or OU for BCS spot. 6. Oregon: Ducks Fiesta Bowl-bound unless they get lots and lots of help. 7. Washington: OU, Texas, Florida, Oregon rooting for U-Dub vs. Miami. 8. Tennessee: Vols need defensive secondary transplant -- and soon. 9. Maryland: Terps end FSU's 9-year ACC reign; earn trip to Orange? 10. BYU: That exhale of breath you heard came all the way from Provo. Waiting list: Illinois, Michigan, Stanford, Louisville, Washington State. 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. |
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