From the top - College Football Notes By Bo Carter Mississippi States first-ever reign at No. 1 nationally in college football has come to and end. Alabama now has downed the Dawgs 27 of the last 28 times the teams have met in Tuscaloosa....The bowl picture is starting to take shape, though there is no definitive ealy word for DFW area bowl favorites, especially with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl being an open invitation for the first time since 1941 - the Southwest Conference was the first loop to sign an annual conference champion with a bowl game - seven years before the Rose Bowl inked an annual pact with the Big Ten and then-Western Conference (later Pac-8-10). NFF College Hall of Fame Facts Some key birthdates in NFF College Football Hall of Fame annals in the Nov. 18-24 time period are Nov. 18 (1896) Slip Madigan, Ottawa, Ill.; (1934) Paul Wiggin, Modesto, Calif.; (1948) Jack Tatum, Cherryville, N.C.; Nov. 19 (1947) Mike Phipps, Shelbyville, Ind.; (1949) Ahmad Rashad (nee Bobby Moore), Portland, Ore.; Nov. 20 (1901) Bill Mallory, Memphis, Tenn.; (1971) Chris Bisaillon, Kankakee, Ill.; Nov. 21 (1897) Aubrey Devine, Des Moines, Iowa; (1916) Sid Luckman, Brooklyn, N.Y.; (1964) Thomas Everett, Daingerfield, Texas; (1966) Troy Aikman, West Covina, Calif.; Nov. 22 (1946) Mel Long, Toledo, Ohio; Nov. 23 (1916) Ken Kavanaugh, Little Rock, Ark.; (1930) Dick Kazmaier, Toledo, Ohio; (1937) Alex Kroll, Leechburg, Pa.; (1944) Gene Washington, La Porte, Texas; Nov. 24 (1893) Bob Higgins, Corning, N.Y.; (1905) Jack Mollenkopf, Convoy, Ohio; (1912) Dixie Howell, Hartford, Ala.; (1924) Dick Scott, Highland Falls, N.Y.; (1931) Stan Jones, Altoona, Pa.; (1935) Pervis Atkins, Ruston, La.; (1959) Terry Kinard, Bitburg, Germany. Anniversary dates of death for key Hall of Fame members are Nov. 18 (1977) Davey O’Brien, Ft. Worth, Texas; Nov. 19 (1982) Ray Morrison, Miami Springs, Fla.; (2004) Harrison Stafford, Edenia, Texas; Nov. 24 (1977) Joe Utay, Dallas, Texas Happy birthdays to NFF College Hall of Fame members Nov. 18 Paul Wiggin (a spry 80), Nov. 19 Mike Phipps, Ahmad Rashad, Nov. 20 Bill Mallory, Chris Bisaillon, Nov. 21 Thomas Everett, Troy Aikman, Nov. 22 Mel Long, Nov. 23 Alex Kroll, Gene Washington, Nov. 24 Stan Jones, Pervis Atkins, Terry Kinard… Florida State and Ole Miss will play in Orlando, Fla., for their 2016 opener…Brigham Young and Missouri will meet twice during the 2015 and ’20 seasons…Old Dominion and Wake Forest will play for the first time during the 2010 and 2021 campaigns…Marshall moved to a season-high No. 4 in the Collegefootballpoll national ratings last week behind Mississippi State, Florida State and Ohio State… Iowa State…Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State has its expansion on the docket for completion prior to the 2015 season…Oklahoma State is seeking to become bowl eligible for the school-most ninth consecutive season under head coach Mike Gundy…UTEP has been ranked as high as second in Conference in team rushing defense…Surprising Alcorn State leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference with nine overall wins and a 7-1 mark in the league’s East Division…North Carolina A&T rested atop the Black College Football national ratings two weeks in succession…Carroll (Mont.), Faulkner (Ala.), Grand View (Iowa), and Morningside (Iowa) have been ranked among the Top 10 in every NAIA national coaches’ poll in 2014…Mount Union (Ohio) set a NCAA all-divisions’ record by scoring 50 points in its ninth consecutive clash last weekend. NCAA Division II and Division III as well as 2014 NAIA football postseason pairings were released last Sunday, and the complete brackets can be found at NCAA/football and naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=209768278. The 2014 Wuerffel Trophy finalists for exemplary football leadership and community service and named in honor of NFF College Hall of Fame quarterback Danny Wuerffel of Florida are: Taylor Kelly, Arizona State QB; Bryce Haynes, Ohio State long snapper; Sam Rodgers, Syracuse long snapper; Chris Conley, Georgia; Brennen Beyer, Michigan, defensive end; Deterrian Shackelford, Ole Miss, linebacker; Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska, running back; Trevor Knight, Oklahoma, quarterback; Dylan Thompson, South Carolina, quarterback; Corey Acosta, Southern Miss, place kicker; Greg Mancz, Toledo, center; and Andrew East, Vanderbilt; long snapper. Olympic swimming legend Amy Van Dyken-Rouen of Colorado State and Arizona has been named the grand marshal of the 44th Annual National Bank of Arizona Fiesta Bowl Parade. The Olympian and former Fox Sports Radio talk show host with Rob Dibble is recuperating from a near-fatal ATV crash in Arizona last summer and has inspired millions through her Amy’s Army Foundation. She is a six-time Olympic gold medalist…Minnesota football put out an all-points-bulletin for people wanting to shovel snow at FCF Stadium in Minneapolis after a 25-inch blizzard. NFF College Hall of Fame player and now Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald starred in the Wildcats’ 1995 win over Notre Dame and coached NU to its 43-40 overtime victory over the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind., last Saturday…Ironically, Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury and 2013 NFF College Hall of Fame QB Vinny Testaverde of Miami (Fla.) both played for the New York Jets in 2006. Now Testaverde’s son Vincent is a key quarterback for Kingsbury’s 2014 Red Raiders…LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis has been granted a one-year contract extension…Current Iowa State offensive coordinator and former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino has been mentioned for recent head coaching openings in the Midwest area…Clemson assistant head coach Brent Venables has been the subject of several head coaching possibilities nationwide. Venables and Mangino served on the staff of head coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma in past years. Homesteads: Hometowns of more 2014 college head coaches – Iowa: Kirk Ferentz, Royal Oak, Mich.; Iowa State: Paul Rhoads, Nevada, Iowa; Kansas: Charlie Bowen, Lawrence, Kan.; Kansas State: Bill Snyder, Liberty, Mo.; Kent State: Paul Haynes, Columbus, Ohio. Colorado State’s vacant director of athletics’ position still is ongoing with several nationally-known candidates…Abilene Christian tabbed Lee DeLeon as its new AD after he was associate AD at New Mexico…Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah has been named interim AD at Cal State Dominguez Hills…Mike Leeder is the new AD at Georgia Southwestern…Lane (Tenn.) interim Penny Minter and interim head football coach Malik Hoskins both left the program last week…The Florida State Board of Governors confirmed Dr. John Thrasher as FSU president…Longtime Mississippi Valley State administrator and coach Doug Shanks is retiring. His brother Doug Shanks was a longtime Southeastern Conference football game official…Michigan’s AD search includes a strong interest in candidates with high regard for student-athletes’ academic achievements and welfare… Current Southern Illinois AD Mario Moccia is among finalists for the AD position at his alma mater New Mexico State… Charleston AD Joe Hull has inked a two-year contract extension…Maine AD Karlton Creech’s wife Stacy has been named assistant women’s golf coach at Husson. Brigham Young became the first team officially to accept a post-2014 bowl bid to the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl against a contracted American Athletic Conference foe on Dec. 23 at Marlins Park…The Dec. 30 postseason game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., now will be known as the Foster Farms Bowl after a recent corporate sponsorship agreement…There are 60 teams eligible for the post-2014 bowl season, which includes 78 invitations for NCAA FBS schools, and 21 others are within one win of the six-triumph minimum…The FWAA/Orange Bowl Courage Award’s latest nominee is Laken Tomlinson of Duke – a youngster who has spent most of his life in foster homes in Jamaica…The Dallas Morning News is projecting an Auburn-Marshall matchup in the 2014 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta…Over 94 percent of student-athletes and coaches rated the post-2013 bowl experience as very good or excellent in a Football Bowl Association national survey…Members of the Big Ten and Conference USA have meet only once in the postseason with Houston topping Penn State 30-14 in the 2012 TicketCity (now Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas) Bowl. The Lone Star Conference finished its unique two-week playoff to determine the 2014 champion as Angelo State upended top-seeded Texas A&M-Commerce 35-33 in the championship. ASU will represent the LSC in the NCAA Division II playoffs…The Big 12 Conference will designate its 2014 champion if there is a tie at the top and then let the College Football Playoff selection committee and bowl committees determine the actual postseason assignments, ESPN Radio aired both the No. 1 Mississippi State at No. 5 Alabama and No. 2 Florida State at Miami (Fla.) in a special doubleheader last Saturday…Baylor athletics has extended its broadcast and marketing agreements with IMG Media…ESPN the Magazine’s recent issue highlighted a record 164,733 high school student-athletes playing football in Texas and the state record 110, 633 fans on Oct. 11 to watch Texas A&M host Ole Miss. Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon set a NCAA FBS single-game rushing record with 408 net yards and four TDs in the Badgers’ victory over Nebraska…Clemson wideout Daniel Rodriguez has been named as the third recipient of Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA and coordinated by the staff at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. He will be honored at a regional news conference as well prior to the 2015 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, as well. He joins Nate Boyer of the Texas and Brandon McCoy of North Texas as recipients of this patriotic award, which was revealed on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Rodriguez was a two-time semifinalist for the Armed Forces Merit Award and received a place on the Tigers’ 2012 team after head coach Dabo Swinney watched videos about the former U.S. Army Sergeant and his Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device for his heroism at overseas at the Battle of Kamdesh…The five finalists for the 2014 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award are quarterbacks Bryce Petty of Baylor, Dak Prescott of Mississippi State, Cody Kessler of USC, Brett Hundley of UCLA, and Marcus Mariota of Oregon…Furman QB P.J. Blazejowski completed all 15 of his pass attempts in the Paladins’ win over Wofford…Illinois State RB Marshan Coprich rushed for a school-record 100 yards for his 10th consecutive game…Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah of Birmingham, Ala., suburb Homewood has rushed for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons for the Huskers…Western Kentucky QB Brandon Doughty has been tabbed as the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week three times this autumn…Auburn wideout D’haquille Williams missed the AU-Georgia matchup last Saturday and hopes to be back in time for the Nov. 29 Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa…Illinois QB Wes Lunt returned to play last Saturday three weeks after breaking a bone in his leg…UTSA kicker Sean Ianno kicked a career-high four field goals, the last one with time expiring, as the Roaddunners edged Southern Miss 12-10 last Thursday night in the San Antonio Alamodome…Marshall QB Rakeem Cato has been selected as a semifinalist for both the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Awards…Georgia RB Todd Gurley returned to eligibility before the UGa-Auburn clash last week…Four Conference USA tight ends are among the 33 midseason watch list candidates for the John Mackey Award. They are FIU’s Jonnu Smith, UAB’s Kennard Backman, UTEP’s Eric Tomlinson, and Western Kentucky’s Mitchell Henry…Texas junior DT Malcom Brown, who is married with two children, is assessing his NFL possibilities for post-2014…Texas Tech LB Sam Eguavoen played in his final home game for the Red Raiders against Oklahoma last weekend after being sidelined with a calf injury. Reserve Mitch Awe had a career-high 12 tackles while subbing for Eguavoen against Texas. NFF College Hall of Fame coach Dr. Tom Osborne is working on his fourth College Football Playoff selection rankings and agrees with chair Jeff Long of Arkansas that each week’s discussions should be essentially a blank sheet. Wisconsin AD and NFF College Hall of Fame coach Barry Alvarez also is a key member of the committee after NFF chairman Archie Manning stepped away due to health and travel conflicts. Football and multi-sport venues such as AT&T Stadium – site of the inaugural College Football Playoff in January at Arlington, Texas, the San Antonio Alamodome, the New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and the Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium were among the venues considered last Friday with the designation of NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball sites for 2017-20…The Orange County (Calif.) Register is working on new ways to market and distribute its regional and national college football coverage in Sunday editions. The FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week was Cedric Reed of Texas with 13 total tackles and four stops for loss against West Virginia…Ohio State was the FWAA Big Game Team of the Week after downing Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich….Nationwide voting still is occurring for the FWAA/Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Year and the Outland Trophy among FWAA membership online…IFRA research denotes that Florida State has a chance to join Florida (2006, 08), Alabama (2011, 12), Southern California (2003, 04), and Nebraska (1994, 95, 97, 70, 71) to win at least two national championships in one decade since 1970. 2014-15 Inaugural College Football Playoff Schedule (All Times EST) Dec. 31, 2014 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, 1 p.m. – Host Bowl East, ESPN Dec. 31, 2014 – VIZIO Fiesta Bowl, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., 5 p.m. – Host Bowl West, ESPN Dec. 31, 2014 – Capital One Orange Bowl – ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC or Notre Dame, Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla., 8:30 p.m., ESPN Jan. 1, 2015 – AT&T Cotton Bowl, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, 1 p.m. – Host Bowl, ESPN Jan. 1, 2015 – Rose Bowl presented by Northwest Mutual, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, Calif. – CFP Semifinal, 5 p.m., ESPN Jan. 1, 2015 – Allstate Sugar Bowl, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La., 8:30 p.m. – CFP Semifinal, ESPN Jan. 12, 2015 – Inaugural College Football Championship Game – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 09:27:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015