College Football News and Notes Week 14

Saturday's NCAAF Top 25 recaps
ASSOCIATED PRESS

No. 16 Boston College 28, Miami 14

BC will play in the conference title game Dec. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla., against Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 10 years.

No. 8 Virginia Tech 33, No. 15 Virginia 21

Virginia Tech won the biggest game in the history of its rivalry with Virginia 33-21 on Saturday to advance to the ACC championship game.

No. 23 Brigham Young 17, Utah 10

Harvey Unga ran 11 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds left as No. 23 Brigham Young rallied to beat Utah 17-10 Saturday, clinching a second consecutive outright conference title.

No. 19 Tennessee 52, Kentucky 50, OT

Tennessee's 23rd straight win over the Wildcats handed the Volunteers the division title and a shot at LSU in next week's SEC title game.

No. 3 West Virginia 66, No. 21 Connecticut 21

Pat White rushed for 186 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to clinch the Big East championship and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

No. 7 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 17

Georgia won't get a chance to play for the Southeastern Conference championship. At least the Bulldogs still have their state title.

UCLA 16, No. 10 Oregon 0

Down to a pair of redshirt freshmen to play quarterback, Oregon's hopes of returning to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day came to an end.

No. 9 Oklahoma 49, Oklahoma State 17

Allen Patrick passed the century mark for the first time since September and also caught a touchdown pass in easily his best game of the season.

No. 22 Clemson 23, South Carolina 21

Mark Buchholz hit a 35-yard field as time expired to give No. 22 Clemson a 23-21 victory over South Carolina and leave Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier with the longest losing streak of his college career.

No. 14 Florida 45, Florida State 12

Tim Tebow threw three touchdown passes, ran for two scores and carried the 14th-ranked Gators to a 45-12 victory over the Seminoles on Saturday night.

No. 4 Missouri 36, No. 2 Kansas 28

Chase Daniel threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns and the fourth-ranked Tigers ruined No. 2 Kansas' unbeaten season Saturday night with a 36-28 victory in the biggest game either school ever played.

No. 25 Auburn 17, Alabama 10

Brandon Cox scored on a 1-yard sneak with 3:58 left and the 25th-ranked Tigers played stingy defense in a 17-10 win over Alabama that extended Auburn's winning streak in the bitter rivalry to a school-record six games.

Memphis accepts invitation to New Orleans bowl to play Sun Belt champ
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Tigers accepted a bid to the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night, putting the Tigers in postseason for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Memphis (6-5, 5-2 Conference USA) will face the champion of the Sun Belt Conference, either Troy or Florida Atlantic, on Dec. 21 at the Superdome.

The Tigers won the New Orleans Bowl in 2003, beating North Texas 27-17.

Memphis had been to only one bowl game in its history, the 1971 Pasadena Bowl against San Jose State, before 2003.

Tebow injures hand against FSU
Associated Press

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has a broken right hand and will be in a cast for at least two weeks.

The Heisman Trophy hopeful sustained a non-displaced fracture in his non-throwing hand during his 5-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the third quarter against Florida State, team spokesman Steve McClain said Sunday.

Team doctors looked at his hand and did some tests on the sideline, but Tebow said he was OK to play and stayed in the game.

X-rays following Florida's 45-12 victory revealed the severity of injury.

The Gators (9-3) probably will play in either the Capital One Bowl in Orlando or the Outback Bowl in Tampa on New Year's Day, and they expect Tebow to be back in time to play.

Lubick set to leave Colorado State
November 25th, 2007

Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Colorado State head coach Sonny Lubick is reportedly ready to leave the school.

The Denver Post reported that Lubick is negotiating a buyout with the school with just two issues, Lubick's role at Colorado State and the fate of his assistant coaches, to be hammered out.

Lubick's current deal contains a clause that says if he retires he can stay on with the school in a fundraising capacity.

Lubick has a 108-74 record in 15 seasons at Colorado State and is the school's all-time winningest coach. He piloted the Rams to nine bowl games and six conference titles.

But, the Rams were just 3-9 this season after Friday's 36-28 win over Wyoming.

Lubick has two years remaining on a deal that was extended in 2006.

Show me No. 1; Mizzou reaches top spot for first time in 47 years
November 25th, 2007

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Missouri is the new No. 1 in the latest Associated Press college football poll.

The Tigers, who became the fourth team this season to occupy the top spot, reached No. 1 for just the second time in school history, one day after beating Big 12 rival Kansas, 36-28, to earn a berth in the conference championship game.

Missouri, who also reached No. 1 in 1960 but stayed there for just one week, faces Oklahoma on Saturday, just one win away from playing in the BCS championship game on January 7.

West Virginia moved up to No. 2 , the school's highest ranking ever, after a 66-21 thrashing of Connecticut earned them the Big East title.

Ohio State, Georgia and former No. 1, LSU, rounded out the top five. LSU fell to unranked Arkansas, 52-50, in an overtime thriller to end any BCS championship hope.

The rest of the top 10 featured Virginia Tech at No. 6, followed by Kansas, Southern California, Oklahoma and Florida.

The only unbeaten team in major college football, Hawaii, moved up to No. 11 after downing Boise State 39-27 to win the Western Athletic Conference championship.

No. 12 Boston College faces Virginia Tech for the Atlantic Coast Conference title next week while Arizona State was at No. 13 followed by Tennessee and Illinois.

Clemson, Texas, Oregon, Wisconsin and Cincinnati finished the top 20 while the final five spots were taken by BYU, Virginia, Auburn, Boise State and South Florida.

Houston headed to Texas Bowl
November 25th, 2007

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - The University of Houston accepted a bid to represent Conference USA in the 2007 Texas Bowl Sunday.

Texas Bowl officials offered the Cougars the bid following Houston's impressive 59-6 win over Texas Southern. At 8-4 this season, including a 6-2 record in Conference USA, Houston is enjoying its third consecutive winning season and will be making its third consecutive bowl appearance.

Last year, Houston claimed the Conference USA title and faced the University of South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.

"We are so pleased to have the Cougars in the Texas Bowl this season and we look forward to hosting them and their fans at Reliant Stadium," said Texas Bowl director David Brady. "With over 37,000 tickets already sold for the game, this is a great chance for a lot of Houston football fans to see an exciting hometown team. It is also a great chance for Cougar fans and alumni to experience their team in a great bowl game without having to leave Houston."

The 2007 Texas Bowl will be played on Friday, December 28 at Reliant Stadium.

The Texas Bowl is in just its second year of existence after the NCAA awarded the bowl to the city of Houston in June of 2006. Rutgers defeated Kansas State, 37-10, in the inaugural Texas Bowl last December.

Texas A&M names Gary Darnell interim head coach

College Station, TX (Sports Network) - Texas A&M announced Saturday that defensive coordinator Gary Darnell has been named the interim head coach, one day after Dennis Franchione announced his resignation.

Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne made the announcement Saturday that Darnell would start preparing the Aggies for a bowl game.

Darnell has served as defensive coordinator for the Aggies the past two seasons. He served as the head coach at Western Michigan from 1997-2004.

"I have a great deal of faith in our staff and our players," Darnell said, one day after the Aggies upset 13th-ranked Texas. "The values and virtues they have learned throughout their career here at Texas A&M will help deal with this situation. They have a great deal of character. I know whatever bowl game we are rewarded with, they will prepare well and give great effort just like they displayed yesterday at Kyle Field in the win against Texas."

Darnell was the interim head coach at the University of Florida in 1989, posting a 3-4 mark in the final seven games that season. He was also head coach at Tennessee Tech (1983-85).

Franchione led the Aggies to a 7-5 overall record and 4-4 mark in the Big 12 this season. The school announced Franchione accepted a buyout of his contract.

Southern Miss to represent C-USA in Dec. 22 Papajohns.com Bowl
November 24, 2007

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -Southern Mississippi accepted an invitation Saturday to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 22.

The Golden Eagles out of Conference USA will play a team from the Big East Conference at Legion Field.

``I am proud of the accomplishments of this football team and we are excited about the opportunity to play a quality opponent from the Big East Conference,'' Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said in a statement.

``This gives us an opportunity to play an opponent in close proximity to our fans so they can drive over and enjoy the game.''

The Big East representative is expected to be announced soon.

For Southern Miss (7-5), it will be its 10th bowl appearance in 11 seasons.

South Florida from the Big East beat East Carolina from C-USA 24-7 in last season's inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl.

Five things to look for this week in college football:
November 26, 2007

1 It's UCLA at USC on Saturday at the Coliseum in a game that -- what's this? -- actually means something. USC earns the Rose Bowl berth with a win, and UCLA gets in with five losses if it wins and Arizona State loses. The Rose Bowl isn't supposed to play favorites in these matters, but we can't think of any reason it would be cheering for UCLA.

2 Don't relax yet, Hawaii. The Warriors moved up to No. 12 in the BCS, the position that assures them a major-bowl berth. One problem: The season is not over. Hawaii has to beat Washington in Honolulu on Saturday and hope it is still No. 12 on Sunday.

3 California needs to beat Stanford to clinch its first berth in the BCS title game. Oh, wait, that's how it was supposed to go. Instead, it's just another Big Game between mediocre cross-bay rivals that will make headlines only if one team can repeat the razzle-dazzle play that ended the game 25 years ago.

4 This year's "Backyard Brawl" between Pittsburgh and West Virginia will be the backyard bawl in Morgantown if the Mountaineers can't take care of business. West Virginia needs one lousy home win over a lousy 4-7 rival to secure a trip to the BCS national title game. No way West Virginia screws this up, right?

5 Put your paws together for Missouri over Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game if you don't want Ohio State to backdoor its way back into the BCS title game. But it's looking pretty good for Ohio State. Missouri hasn't defeated Oklahoma since 1998, and the Tigers suffered their only loss this year to the you-know-who Sooners.

latimes.com

Texas A&M expected to make Sherman its football coach

Assuming there are no unforeseen snags, Mike Sherman is expected to be named the next head football coach at Texas A&M University, multiple sources told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday.

The school has called an 11 a.m. news conference today at the Bright Football Complex, A&M spokesman Alan Cannon said.

Sherman, 52, served as A&M's offensive line coach in the 1990s. He's currently the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Houston Texans. He declined to comment about the A&M opening after the Texans lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in Cleveland.

Texans spokesman Tony Wyllie said he could not comment on Sherman's status.

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, believed to be one of the leading contenders for the A&M position, fell out of the running, a high-ranking university source said.

Tuberville has a $6 million buyout clause in his Auburn contract. A&M officials were not willing to pay that amount "just to talk to him," the university source said. A&M would then have to pay even more to lure Tuberville to College Station.

Tuberville told Auburn reporters Sunday that he will meet with the school's athletic director Jay Jacobs this week. Those talks could lead to a contract extension.

Dennis Franchione, who was 32-28 in five seasons at A&M, resigned Friday after the regular-season finale against Texas. At that time, A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said the school would conduct a "nationwide" search for Franchione's replacement.

That nationwide search simply took Byrne south on Highway 6 toward Houston.

Sherman was the school's offensive line coach from 1989 to '93. He left A&M for a one-year stint with UCLA then came back to coach the Aggies' linemen in 1995 and '96.

In 1997, Sherman left the college coaching ranks for the NFL when he became the tight ends coach for the Green Bay Packers. He became the team's head coach before the 2000 season.

Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000 to 2004. The franchise won NFC North division titles in 2002, '03 and '04.

Injuries crippled the Packers in 2005. The team finished 4-12 and Sherman was fired shortly after the season. He landed with the Texans as the assistant head coach in 2006, and he became the offensive coordinator this season.

On Sunday after the Texans-Browns game, Sherman walked toward the team bus and tried to avoid reporters. He would not answer questions about A&M.

"We just lost a football game, and that's on my mind," Sherman told the Houston Chronicle.

Texans owner Bob McNair indicated Sherman would make a good choice for the Aggies.

"First, let me say that we don't want to lose Mike because he's a terrific coach," McNair told the Chronicle. "But I think A&M could search for a long time and not find a better candidate than Mike Sherman.

"We would highly recommend Mike for the job, and we'd wish him the best."

Sherman would be inheriting an A&M program that hasn't enjoyed a championship season since 1998. Since Sherman has A&M ties and understands the culture, he would be expected to lead a quick turnaround and make the Aggies competitive quickly.

Under Franchione, the school endured some embarrassing losses and had few exhilarating wins. Franchione, 56, was 19-21 in Big 12 play and 4-16 against ranked teams.

www.dallasnews.com

Navy accepts invitation to Poinsettia Bowl
November 25th, 2007

San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - The United States Naval Academy announced the Midshipmen will play in the third annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Thursday, December 20 at Qualcomm Stadium.

Navy became bowl eligible by defeating North Texas, 74-62, on October 10. The Mids currently have a 7-4 record with their regular-season finale against Army set for December 1.

Navy downed Colorado State 51-30 at in the event's inaugural 2005 tilt. The trip to this year's Poinsettia Bowl will mark the first time in school history that Navy has gone to five straight bowl games and the third time they have played in San Diego.

"A beautiful setting in a Navy city at one of the finest football venues in the county has everyone excited," said Naval Academy director of athletics Chet Gladchuk. "Five bowls in a row is historic for the Academy and our congratulations to Coach Johnson, his staff, our players and the Brigade of Midshipmen for reaffirming that Navy is one of the finest football programs in the nation."

Navy's opponent will come from the Mountain West Conference.

Vols RB Hardesty questionable against LSU
November 25, 2007

Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said he's concerned that running back Montario Hardesty may not be able to play Saturday against LSU in the Southeastern Conference championship.

Fulmer said Hardesty, who splits time in the backfield with starter Arian Foster, aggravated an ankle injury in Saturday's 52-50 win over Kentucky in four overtimes.

The sophomore sprained his ankle Oct. 27 against South Carolina, but did not miss any playing time. He entered Saturday's game averaging

The coach also said cornerback Brent Vinson may need shoulder surgery after the season is over, but will play Saturday against LSU in the Southeastern Conference championship.

Fulmer indicated that Vinson's shoulder popped out and back into place during the game Saturday, but said he expects the freshman will be able to play this weekend.

Defensive end Xavier Mitchell suffered a shoulder stinger against the Wildcats, but returned to play during the game.

"It's been a rugged season," Fulmer said. "Our kids have found toughness and resiliency and fought back and played sometimes with some pain."

Southern Miss to represent C-USA in Dec. 22 Papajohns.com Bowl
November 24, 2007

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -Southern Mississippi accepted an invitation Saturday to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 22.

The Golden Eagles out of Conference USA will play a team from the Big East Conference at Legion Field.

``I am proud of the accomplishments of this football team and we are excited about the opportunity to play a quality opponent from the Big East Conference,'' Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said in a statement.

``This gives us an opportunity to play an opponent in close proximity to our fans so they can drive over and enjoy the game.''

The Big East representative is expected to be announced soon.

For Southern Miss (7-5), it will be its 10th bowl appearance in 11 seasons.

South Florida from the Big East beat East Carolina from C-USA 24-7 in last season's inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl.

Southern Miss coach Bower resigns
November 26, 2007

Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower has resigned, Sporting News has learned.

Bower has coached USM the past 17 years, posting a 119-82-1 mark. He won four Conference USA titles, the last coming in 2003.

The Golden Eagles went 7-5 overall and 5-3 in C-USA this year, finishing fourth in the East Division. It was Bowers' 14th straight winning season. USM has accepted a bid to this season's Papajohns.com Bowl, the school's ninth bowl in the last 10 years.

Bower spent 29 years with the program as a player, assistant and head coach.

Duke to fire football coach Roof
Sporting News

SN has learned head football coach Ted Roof will be fired at Duke. A press conference has been called for 2 p.m. ET to make it official.

The Blue Devils went 1-11 in 2007 and are 6-45 overall under Roof. The former All-American linebacker at Georgia Tech served as Duke's interim head coach for the final five games of 2003, and he was named the full-time coach at the end of the season.

Duke went winless in 2006 and has not won an ACC game since 2004. Under Roof, the Blue Devils beat archrival North Carolina only once, in 2003.