D1 College Football News

November 27 , 2006

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

Bowl Eligible Schools Now Total 73; Selection Committees Prepare for Dec. 3 Rush

There are 32 bowls and 64 slots for the qualifying teams in NCAA Division I-A membership. Through Nov. 26 games, Seventy-three schools now have the required six victories. Teams with .500-plus records receive first consideration for automatic conference qualification spots, and after that 6-6 squads will be considered by bowl selection committees for placement. Bowl committees not making early selections will name their teams after BCS choices are finalized Sunday.

The latest six-game winners and bowl-eligible from clashes through Nov. 26 are Miami, Fla. (6- 6) and New Mexico (6-6). There are no 5-6 teams playing in Nov. 30-Dec. 2 outings.

Ohio State and Southern California have clinched the first two of 10 berths in 2007 BCS bowls... New Mexico will play in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 23... Boise State may become only the second non-BCS league member to play in a BCS game. The first was Utah in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl... Minnesota accepted an invitation to the Insight Bowl... Hawai’i will play in the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl... The Champs Sports Bowl invited Purdue... Navy is slated to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl... Iowa will square-off against a Big 12 opponent in the Alamo Bowl... Wisconsin was invited to the Capital One Bowl... TCU accepted a bid to the Poinsettia Bowl... The Armed Forces Bell Helicopter Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, features ESPN GameDay’s Lee Corso as speaker at the pre-bowl banquet on Dec. 22... The Football Bowl Association projects composite attendance of 1.6 million at 2006-07 Division I-A postseason contests... Nearly 60,000 tickets have already been sold for this year’s AT&T Cotton Bowl. All sideline seating for the Big 12 is sold out... On Dec. 1, the ACC will host the Coaches & Awards Luncheon at noon and the ACC Legends Reception from 6-8 p.m. in Jacksonville as precursors to the ACC Championship game the next day... Fans attending either the Capital One Bowl or Champs Sports Bowl can go online ( www.ClickandPark.com) to purchase parking in advance... RazorGator Experiences struck a four-year agreement with the Tournament of Roses to handle corporate hospitality, ticket and travel packages and fan-to-fan ticket exchanges for the Rose Bowl. The deal certifies the company as the official hospitality village sponsor at the game, which has already sold out of hospitality tents. Once the teams are announced, RazorGator will work with the schools to provide fan packages.

Ohio and Central Michigan kick off a week of four conferences competing for their ’06 titles in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game at 7:30 p.m. (EST) Thursday at Detroit’s Ford Field... Houston-Southern Miss are pitted in the Conference USA title game Friday at 7 p.m. (CST) in Houston... Wake Forest tangles with Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship in Jacksonville, Fla., Nebraska-Oklahoma tie it up in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship in Kansas City, and Arkansas- Florida are matched in the SEC Championship in Atlanta. Interestingly, this is the first pairing of six of these eight teams in their respective championship encounters. Florida and Arkansas played in the 1995 SEC Championship. The Gators are appearing in a record eighth SEC title contest since 1992 and have won six.

Two-Minute Drill

Hawai’i made the BCS Standings for the first time in school history at No. 25 Sunday after edging Purdue before a season-high 47,825 turnout... LSU captured the coveted Golden Boot Trophy in a victory over then- No. 6 Arkansas last Friday... Boise State has won a record five consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles and is 39- 1 in WAC encounters since 2002... Arizona State won the 107-year-old Territorial Cup prize with a win last week over Arizona... Mississippi edged Mississippi State in the 79th annual “Battle of the Golden Egg”... TCU seeks its school- record fourth 10-win season over a five-year span against Air Force Saturday, and the Horned Frogs are 20-3 in their last 23 clashes... Rutgers, Tulsa, Wake Forest, and Hawai’i increase the total number of schools to make the BCS Standings to 72 since its inception in 1998... Oregon State won the 110th Civil War against interstate rival Oregon... Texas A&M defeated Texas for the first time since 1999 with a 12- 7 upset in Austin last Friday... Nebraska finished 3-1 in Big 12 road games, the most conference triumphs away from Lincoln since the Huskers’ 2001 Rose Bowl season... Texas OG Justin Blalock broke the school career record for starts with 50 while eclipsing OG Dan Neil (49 from 1993-96)... The Big East has three nine-win teams for the first time in conference history... Arkansas will be the 10th bowl-eligible team Florida has faced this season, and the Gators have now won seven straight against Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee... Rice closed the season with its first six-game winning streak since 1949, ending the Owls’ 45-year post-season drought. Receiver Jarrett Dillard tied an NCAA season record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception. He trails only Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald with 18 straight TD grabs for the career record.

UNC-Pembroke showcased new Adidas uniforms last Wednesday. The 2007 Braves team is the first football team at the school in more than 50 years... Rutgers’ victory over Syracuse gave the Scarlet Knights just their second 10-win season in school history and the program’s best home season since 1984. Senior Brian Leonard set the school record for career points with a last-second touchdown, and Rutgers’ alumnus and The Sopranos star James Gandolfini greeted the team after the game... South Carolina won its first game at Clemson since 1996... Tennessee beat Kentucky for the 22nd consecutive time last weekend in Knoxville... BC has lost 15 consecutive games to Miami since Doug Flutie’s “Hail Mary” pass defeated the Hurricanes in 1984... Texas’ 87-game streak of going without back-to-back losses came to an end. It was the nation’s longest... Nebraska posted its 35th nine-win season in 38 years, the Huskers’ first since 2003... USC’s win Saturday made them 20-0 in November under Pete Carroll and victorious in 33 straight home games... Wake Forest became the first ACC team in history to go 6-0 on the road after downing Maryland last weekend... Georgia quarterback coach Mike Bobo handled the offensive play-calling duties in the Bulldogs’ win over interstate rival Georgia Tech last weekend. Bobo will have the same responsibility in UGa’s bowl game, subsequently head coach Mark Richt will determine if the change will be permanent... North Texas receiver Johnny Quinn finished his career with the nation’s third-longest active streak for consecutive games with at least one reception (47). He is also the Mean Green’s all- time leader in receptions and receiving yards.

Top-ranked Appalachian State (N.C.) beat Coastal Carolina (S.C.) last Saturday and will face Montana State in the I-AA quarterfinals... Montana State’s win over Furman (S.C.) marked their first home playoff win since 1984... Montana got its 11th straight win last weekend and will next face Southern Illinois... Massachusetts downed Lafayette (Pa.), winning its 10th straight game. UMass heads to the second-round to face-off with conference rival New Hampshire... Illinois State is set to play Youngstown State (Ohio) in the I-AA quarterfinals.

Grand Valley State (Mich.) beat South Dakota in a second-round playoff game last weekend, extending the nation’s longest winning streak in any division to 25 games. They will host North Dakota in the quarterfinals... Bloomsburg (Pa.) edged West Chester (Pa.) and will face Shepherd (W.Va.) in the next round... Scott Eyster’s 264-yard passing performance for Delta State (Miss.) led his team past North Carolina Central. The Statesmen will advance to play North Alabama... Chadron State’s (Neb.) Danny Woodhead became the NCAA all-division single season rushing leader last Saturday, as the Eagles flew past West Texas A&M to advance to the quarterfinals against Northwest Missouri State.

St. Xavier (Ill.) downed four-time defending NAIA champion Carroll College (Mont.) in a quarterfinal match-up... Sioux Falls (S.D.) defeated Morningside (Iowa) last weekend, outscoring the Mustangs 61-7 in the schools’ two bouts this season... Missouri Valley improved to 13-0 after defeating Northwestern (Iowa) in the quarterfinals.

Syracuse helped feed over 100 Central New York families with a “Touchdowns for Turkeys” promotion during the 2006 season... UL- Monroe welcomed back its 1956 team for a 50th anniversary reunion last Saturday... Rutgers celebrated the 30-year anniversary with the return of its 11-0 and No. 17 nationally 1976 squad last weekend... The Virginia football team has made a $2,565 contribution to the Fahmarr McElrathbey Fund. Clemson freshman DB Ray Ray McElrathbey has custody of his 12- year-old brother Fahmarr... UCF coaches and selected student-athletes paid a special visit last week to cheer patients at Florida Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House of Orlando... Ohio is chartering inexpensive bus trips for fans wishing to attend the MAC Championship Game in Detroit... Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street expressed his opinion last Friday that the Army-Navy game should remain in Philadelphia indefinitely, and the city will do everything possible to facilitate that contract... NFL Youth Program senior director and former Duke WR Cedric Jones will be the guest speaker at the 2006 College Coaches’ Fair and NCAA Clearing House workshop on Dec. 3 in New Haven, Conn... Georgia State recently conducted a football feasibility study, asking the local community for help in deciding whether the addition of a football program will work to the benefit of the school and surrounding areas... Samford could be considered as a possible new member of the Southern Conference... Alabama is searching for ways to solve parking congestion problems that result from Tide football games. Up to 1,500 RVs park on campus for an average game... Washington’s Johnny DuRocher has a brain tumor that will likely end his college football career. The tumor, considered noncancerous, was found during a routine test following DuRocher’s concussion in the Huskies’ Nov. 11 game with Stanford... Lake Erie College (Ohio) is sponsoring a nationwide search for a fight song. The college will field its first intercollegiate football team in 2008 and will use the new song during the games. The winner will receive $200 More information can be found at www.lec.edu/ pr/fight.php ... NFF Hall of Fame member QB Roman Gabriel of N.C. State returned to campus for the 1961 Wolfpack team reunion last week against East Carolina... A crowd of nearly 20,000 gathered last Tuesday at Michigan Stadium to honor coaching legend Bo Schembechler who passed away Nov. 17... Ohio State plans to print thousands of additional game programs from its match-up with Michigan two weeks ago. The Buckeyes originally ordered 25,000, which sold out two hours before the No. 1 versus then-No.2 clash. Programs and other souvenirs from the game were selling for as much as $40 on eBay... Former Rice Owl and current New England Patriot Larry Izzo led teammates in “Larryoke,” a fundraiser to benefit troops... The University of Southern Mississippi has established the Center for Spectator Sports Security Management.

NFF board member Chuck Neinas was hired by Miami to assist in the search for a new head coach. The university also announced plans for a six-month fundraising sprint to secure competitive coaching contracts and building plans... Iowa State hired Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik as its new head coach... Joe Kines was named interim head coach at Alabama... Cincinnati head coach Mark Dantonio replaces John L. Smith as Michigan State’s new head coach. Pat Narduzzi, the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach for Cincy... Bill Moos will step down as Oregon’s athletics director effective March 2007... Gannon coach Bill Elias will step down at the end of the season but will remain the school’s athletics director... Springfield College promoted assistant athletics directors Craig Poisson and Kelly Hart to senior associate director of athletics and associate director of athletics, respectively.

Texas OG Justin Blalock, West Virginia C Dan Mozes and 2006 NFF Draddy finalist from Wisconsin Joe Thomas have been named finalists for the 61st Outland Trophy, which is awarded to the best interior lineman in college football. The winner of the Outland Trophy, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America, will be announced on Dec. 7 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla... The Davey O'Brien Foundation has named three finalists for the 2006 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback. They are Colt Brennan, Hawai'i; Brady Quinn, Notre Dame; and Troy Smith, Ohio State... The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum denoted Mike Hart of Michigan, Darren McFadden of Arkansas and Steve Slaton of West Virginia as the three finalists for the 2006 Doak Walker Award... 2004 winner and Baylor senior punter Daniel Sepulveda is one of three finalists for the 2006 Ray Guy Award, sponsored by the Greater Augusta [Ga.] Sports Council, along with Durant Brooks of Georgia Tech and Jeremy Kapinos of Penn State... Louisville’s Art Carmody, Auburn’s John Vaughn and Oklahoma’s Garrett Hartley have been selected by the Palm Beach County Sports Institute and Palm Beach County Sports Commission as finalists for the 2006 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl... The Allstate Sugar Bowl announced its eleven finalists for the Manning Award presented to the nation’s best quarterback. The Manning Award is the only quarterback honor that considers a candidate’s bowl performances and is selected by a panel of national media as well as Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.

Nebraska’s Dane Todd and Texas A&M’s Matt LaFon posted perfect 4.0 grade point averages to lead the Academic All-Big 12 Conference Team. Missouri had a school- record 12 members on the 2006 team... UL- Lafayette OT Brandon Cox will play in the second annual Magnolia Grid Iron Classic in Jackson, Miss. He is the fifth ULL student-athlete invited to all-star tilts... Wingate CB David Jones became the first Bulldog ever to be invited (East Team) to the Hula Bowl in 2007... Kentucky TE Jacob Tamme is the latest SEC Community Service Team Player of the Week... Minnesota senior TE Matt Spaeth won the team's Bronko Nagurski Award, which is given annually to UM's most valuable player... Late RB Walter Payton of Jackson State was named the 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers Doak Walker Legends Award recipient, and his son Jarrett Payton will accept the award during the ceremonies in Dallas... 1950s football rushing standout and long-time UD football and track coach Jimmy Flynn, three-sport standout Jules “Ace” Hoffstein and record-setting QB Don Miller have been inducted into the University of Delaware Sports Hall of Fame... Barry Switzer and Johnny Majors have been added to the Broyles Award selection committee... Newest members of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame include Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, former Oklahoma football great Billy Sims, Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds and former Washington quarterback Warren Moon. Induction will take place in Waco on Feb. 15... The Florida Sports Foundation added former Tulane QB Shaun King to its board of directors... The Big 12’s inaugural “Good Works” Team, which honors student-athletes for community service and excellent academic standings, included Baylor’s Maurice Linguist, 2006 NFF Draddy finalist Carl Pendleton from Oklahoma, Texas A&M’s Chad Schroeder and 2006 NFF Draddy semifinalist Antonio Huffman from Texas Tech.

The Reserve Training Center in Pasadena, Calif., was officially renamed Blecksmith Hall in honor of the late Navy WR 2nd Lt. James P. (J.P.) Blecksmith. He was killed in service in Iraq in 2004... North Texas athletics department received a $1.5 million gift commitment from Shirley and Al Goldfield. It is the largest gift ever donated to UNT and will be used primarily in the development of a proposed football stadium adjacent to the current Mean Green Athletics Center... Jacksonville University officials are working with architects to design a new stadium and will go into the fund-raising stage soon... Northern Illinois will open the Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Academic and Athletic Performance Center in August... Cal postponed plans to update Memorial Stadium because of stadium’s placement on a fault line... Southern Illinois will build a new 15,000-seat football stadium, replacing the almost 70-year-old McAndrew Stadium. The project’s estimated cost is $40 million... Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium brought in $23,784 after expenses for the athletic department from June 2005 to June 2006, serving as a rental facility outside of football season... Princeton received a $10 million gift from alumnus William Powers. The school’s field will be named “Powers Field” in his honor. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association named Alltel its official wireless corporate sponsor... Aéropostale agreed to be the presenting sponsor for Conference USA’s 2006 Football Championship Game in Houston. Easton High School (Pa.) defeated Phillipsburg (N.J.) during the celebration of the schools’100-year Thanksgiving Day rivalry last weekend on ESPN2... A Texas high school match-up between Southlake Carroll and Euless Trinity drew a crowd of over 46,000. Carroll scored with 37 seconds left for the 22-21 win. Former New Mexico athletics director John Bridgers died Friday at 84. He was responsible for hiring Bobby Bowden at FSU and bringing a pro-style offense to Baylor during his coaching tenure in the 60s... CBS journalist and “60 Minutes” co- editor Ed Bradley passed away on Nov. 9. He was a former Cheney State (Pa.) football player... Former Arizona Wildcat Zaharius Johnson died Tuesday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 27... Fort Valley State (Ga.) assistant coach and former Philadelphia Eagles DB Andre Waters died last week at 44.