D1 College Football News

January 8 , 2007

Source: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.

Bowl Notes

Boise State head coach Chris Petersen became the first coach in NCAA annals to go 13-0 in his very first assignment as a college head coach... The Big East Conference closed 2006-07 bowl activity with a perfect 5-0 record after Cincinnati’s 27-24 victory over Western Michigan in the International Bowl in Toronto... Auburn advanced to 18-13-2 in bowls after downing the Huskers for the first time in four tries. The Tigers' PK John Vaughn also tied Alabama's Van Tiffin (1983-86) for 12th place in all-time Southeastern Conference career scoring with 312 points from 2003-06... LSU’s defense limited Notre Dame to 30 net yards of total offense in the second half of the 73rd annual Allstate Sugar Bowl, which returned to New Orleans after a one-year hiatus to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome because of the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina in ‘05... Noted broadcaster Pat Summerall made his return to college broadcasting with the 2007 AT&T Cotton Bowl on the FOX Network national telecast... Ohio State has the opportunity to become the first school in the nine-year history of the BCS to win a second title in ’06. OSU also was the 2002 titleist... Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly became the first coach in NCAA history to earn wins over a school in the same season, while coaching two different teams.

Two-Minute Drill

Alabama signed former LSU, Michigan State and Toledo head coach Nick Saban to an eight- year contract through the 2014 season... Central Michigan named Butch Jones, a Michigan native and 2006 West Virginia wide receivers coach, head coach... Louisville's Bobby Petrino has accepted the head coaching position with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons... Former Thiel assistant head coach John Marzka has taken over the Albright grid program.

2005 NFF Scholar-Athlete DeMeco Ryans from Alabama was recently named the NFL's AP Defensive Rookie of the Year... The Darrent Williams Children's Fund has been established by the U.S. Bank in Denver. Funding will benefit the future educational and health needs of the children of the former Oklahoma State player, who was killed on New Year's Day. For more information, please go to www.denverbr oncos.com... Kentucky will have two coaches and three student- athletes in the IntaJuice North-South Classic on Jan. 13 in Houston, Texas. Head coach Rich Brooks, offensive coordinator Joker Phillips, OL Michael Aitcheson, C Matt McCutchan, and DE Durrell White are scheduled to coach and compete... College Football Hall of Famer Lee Roy Jordan from Alabama recently attended the 50th wedding anniversary celebration for country music star Charley Pride and his wife Rozene... Minnesota is celebrating 50 years since head coach Murray Warmath sparked a 16-9-2 turnaround from 1954-56 and built the base for the Golden Gophers’ 1960 national championship team... Western Michigan LB Ameer Ismail has been named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year for ’06... Three Akron senior standouts are ticketed for all-star activity. OL Andy Alleman and OL and Tim Crouch will play in the Las Vegas All-Star Classic, and QB Luke Getsy has been invited to the Inta Juice North South All-Star Classic in Houston... Newberry QB Josh Stepp and WR Tymere Zimmerman have been named to the South Carolina All-State College Football Team... Northern Illinois has placed four standouts in all-star contests. They are OT Doug Free (East-West Shrine), QB Phil Horvath (All- American Classic in Las Vegas), TE Jake Nordin (IntaJuice North-South Classic), and RB Garrett Wolfe (Senior Bowl)... The FWAA has chosen Rutgers’ Greg Schiano for the 2006 Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award.

Southern California junior PK Mario Danelo died on Jan. 6 near Los Angeles... Dr. Harold Jeskey, 94 and former president of the Southwest Conference as well as longtime faculty representative at SMU, passed away recently... Walt McAlexander, 62, longtime sports information director at Lubbock Christian and assistant at Texas Tech, died on Jan. 3... Former All-Southwest Conference back Ernie Coy from Texas passed away at 97.