Knoxville News Sentinel

IP SHEET
SOUTHCAROLINA
ATTENNESSEE
Time:7:45 p.m. at Neyland
Stadium.
TV: ESPN (Mike Patrick, Todd
Blackledge, Holly Rowe)
Radio:WIVK-FM 107.7, WNMLAM 990/FM 99.1, WNRX-FM
99.3
Line: Tennessee 22
VolWalk: 5:30 p.m.
Gametimeforecast: Clear, 57
degrees
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GOVOLSXTRA.COM | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2007 | 50¢
ALMOSTBOWLING
Tennessee only needs two more
victories to become bowl eligible
for the 14th time in 15 seasons under
coach Phillip Fulmer. UT could
become bowl eligible by winning
against South Carolina tonight and
again next Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette, which has won only
one of eight games. The SEC has
alliances with eight bowl games,
so that many conference teams are
assured of a bid as long as they win
thenecessarysixgames.Withseven
other SEC teams ranked in the top
25,theVolsmighthaveagoodshotat
one of the two in-state bowls — the
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl in
Nashville on New Year’s Eve or the
AutoZoneLibertyBowlinMemphis
on Dec. 29.
CHASINGGAULT
LaMarcus Coker doesn’t have to
be faster than Willie Gault to catch
him. Coker is on pace to surpass
the former UT sprinter and wide
receiver in kick returns. Gault holds
single-seasonschoolrecordsinkick
returns (28) and return yardage
(641). Coker already has 18 returns
for 461 yards, and the UT defense
should give him plenty of more opportunities to return kicks.
RECORD-SETTINGPACE
Aftergivingup226pointsthrough
its first seven games, UT’s defense
should surpass the school record
for most points allowed in a season.
The 2004 team gave up 295 points.
ThecurrentVolsalreadyhavegiven
up more points than 92 UT teams.
In the Vols’ three losses, they have
given up 145 points, which is only
30 points fewer than Fulmer’s first
team allowed in 1993.
POLL RESULTS
What’sthebiggestsurpriseintheSEC
East?
A two-loss team is leading the
division
24 percent (525 votes)
Steve Spurrier has South Carolina in
the title chase
1 percent (43 votes)
Kentucky is ahead of Tennessee in
the standings
39 pecent (852 votes)
Vanderbilt is the only team keeping
Tennessee out of the basement
34%
751 votes
2,171totalvotes
ON GOVOLSXTRA.COM
■ Blog:Leave your comments during
tonight’s game with Josh Ward.
MORE
■ Kenny Chesney on UT football and
friendship with Steve Spurrier. B1
■ Pennington: Youth is not
automatically served by next year.
GV3
■ Adams: Spurrier should dine on
secondary. GV3
■ Witten, Shuler support Fulmer. GV4
At the crossroads
UT, South Carolina in almost same fix
BY DREW EDWARDS
edwardsd@knews.com
On the surface, Tennessee
coach Phillip Fulmer and South
Carolina coach Steve Spurrier
appear to be polar opposites.
Fulmer loves to run like the
former offensive lineman he is.
Spurrier still calls plays like
he’s lined up under center.
Fulmer would rather post his
game plan online than jab an
opponent in print.
Spurrier’s one-liners are the
stuff of SEC legend.
But entering tonight’s 7:45
kickoff (TV: ESPN) in Neyland
Stadium, Spurrier and Fulmer
will be trying to do the same
thing: Rally their teams from
embarrassing losses a week
ago and reclaim their place in a
crowded SEC East race.
The 15th-ranked Gamecocks
(6-2, 3-2 SEC) can’t wait to get
past an ugly 17-6 defeat against
Vanderbilt last week, Spurrier’s
first loss in 15 games against the
Commodores.
Meanwhile, the Vols (4-3, 22) have a chance to atone for
the egg laid last week in a 41-17
loss to rival Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
“A win this weekend changes everything back to close to
where it was before the Alabama game,” UT quarterback
Erik Ainge said.
Both Spurrier and Fulmer
would love to see their offenses
roll back a week as well.
South Carolina hasn’t scored
a touchdown since the first half
of its 21-15 victory over North
Carolina two weeks ago.
Tennessee failed to score in
the second half last week and
struggled to maintain balance
on offense.
What the Vols have done as
well this season as any team in
the nation is protect the quarterback.
ErikAingehasn’tbeensacked
sinceUT’sfirstoffensivepossessionoftheseason,astreakof253
passes without being sacked.
SouthCarolina,whichboasts
the nation’s top-rated pass defense, will use a variety of de-
See VOLS on GV4
.500 OCTOBERS
AwinoverSouthCarolina
putsTennesseeat3-1inOctober,
whilealossdropstheVolsto2-2
inthefirstmonthoffall.
Here’s how the Vols have
fared under UT coach Phillip
Fulmer in October:
Year
Record
2006
3-0
2005
1-3
2004
4-1
2003
1-2
2002
1-2
2001
2-1
2000
2-1
1999
4-0
1998
4-0
1997
3-0
1996
3-0
1995
3-0
1994
3-1
1993
3-0-1
54
80
53
75
50
79
78
28
Defensive end
40 Eric Norwood
43 Ryan Brown
W linebacker
83 Cliff Matthews
24 Cody Wells
1
21
Cornerback
1 Captain Munnerlyn
23 Mike West
Pos.
CB
RB
WR
QB
CB
QB
QB
WR
WR
DB
WR
QB
WR
P/PK
WR
QB
QB
WR
TE
RB
FS
TB
CB
LB
RB
FS
FS
CB
LB
LB
FS
LB
SS
SS
LB
CB
FB
CB
DE
DE
FS
DE
LB
LB
FB
FB
LB
LB
DS
LB
LB
LB
OC
OG
LB
LS
DT
OG
OG
OG
OC
OT
OG
OL
DS
OG
OC
OL
OT
OT
OC
OT
OT
DT
TE
WR
WR
DE
WR
TE
WR
P
TE
TE
WR
TE
DT
DE
TE
PK
DT
DE
P/PK
DT
Ht.
5-9
6-1
6-3
6-2
5-11
6-1
6-1
6-1
6-0
5-10
6-0
6-3
6-2
6-2
6-0
6-2
6-2
5-11
6-3
6-0
5-10
5-7
6-0
5-10
5-9
6-2
5-10
5-10
5-10
6-0
5-11
5-9
5-11
6-1
5-10
5-11
5-9
5-8
6-0
6-3
5-11
6-0
6-3
6-0
6-0
6-1
6-0
6-0
6-1
6-2
6-2
5-11
6-1
6-3
6-0
6-4
6-1
6-2
6-4
6-4
6-5
6-6
6-3
6-6
5-7
6-4
6-4
6-4
6-7
6-4
6-4
6-5
6-7
6-3
6-4
5-11
6-2
6-4
5-4
6-5
6-4
5-10
6-1
6-5
5-10
6-3
6-1
6-5
6-4
5-6
6-1
6-7
6-2
6-1
Wt.
180
214
203
212
192
221
221
209
180
179
181
211
189
213
173
216
205
208
226
215
216
196
219
217
212
201
195
195
223
233
215
219
194
204
224
196
247
175
264
254
197
256
239
217
226
224
238
221
252
257
262
222
284
295
221
221
307
287
320
320
271
286
320
269
190
300
291
276
304
293
297
295
323
302
267
193
211
234
164
236
194
177
215
283
179
245
294
220
255
154
290
270
233
294
Defensive tackle
91 Ladi Ajiboye
98 Joel Reaves
45
53
Class
SO
SR
FR
FR
JR
SO
FR
JR
SO
FR
JR
SR
FR
JR
FR
SO
FR
FR
FR
SO
SO
JR
SR
SR
JR
SR
SR
SO
JR
SO
SO
SR
SR
JR
SR
JR
SR
SR
SO
SR
JR
SR
JR
SO
JR
FR
SO
SO
FR
SR
SR
JR
SO
SO
SO
FR
FR
FR
FR
FR
FR
SO
SR
FR
FR
SO
SR
FR
FR
JR
JR
JR
JR
JR
SR
SO
SO
FR
SO
SO
FR
FR
JR
FR
JR
FR
FR
FR
SR
SR
JR
FR
SO
SR
Wide receiver
18 Dion Lecorn
82 Freddie Brown
S linebacker
45 Rodney Paulk
30 Yvan Banag
W linebacker
5 Rico McCoy
34 Dorian Davis
17
7
5
W, 38-23
W, 21-15
L, 17-6
7:45p.m.ESPN
8 p.m.
TBA
TBA
GP
7
5
7
5
PASSING
GP
7
5
7
7
Erik Ainge
Jonathan Crompton
Total
Opponents
Att.
110
41
229
245
Gain
630
189
1,109
1,198
Att
256
8
266
237
Loss Net
5 625
5 184
76 1,033
94 1,104
Cmp
169
4
174
138
RECEIVING
GP
7
7
7
7
Lucas Taylor
Austin Rogers
Total
Opponents
TACKLES
Jerod Mayo
Rico McCoy
TD
8
2
11
9
L, 45-31
W, 39-19
L, 59-20
W, 48-27
W, 35-14
W, 33-21
L, 41-17
7:45ESPN
4/PPV
TBA
TBA
TBA
Long
42
11
42
44
Int
4
2
6
5
Yds
1,797
29
1,882
1,743
Td
13
0
14
13
No.
43
32
174
138
Yds
633
392
1,882
1,743
TD
3
1
14
13
G
7
7
Solo
38
32
Ast
13
18
Avg/G
89.3
36.8
147.6
157.7
Long
53
16
56
69
Avg/G
256.7
5.8
268.9
249.0
Long
51
32
56
69
Total
51
50
Avg/G
90.4
56.0
268.9
249.0
Sacks
0
1
2007 SOUTH CAROLINA STATISTICAL LEADERS
RUSHING
GP
8
8
8
8
Cory Boyd
Mike Davis
Total
Opponents
PASSING
Chris Smelley
Total
Opponents
Att.
107
90
264
338
GP
6
8
8
Gain
558
448
1,176
1,663
Loss
27
21
256
241
Att
157
267
231
RECEIVING
Kenny McKinley
Cory Boyd
Total
Opponents
TACKLES
Emanuel Cook
Eric Norwood
# Net
531
427
920
1,422
Cmp
89
153
114
GP
8
8
8
8
Avg
5.0
4.7
3.5
4.2
Int
6
12
11
No.
Yds
41 525
23 250
153 1,804
114 1,167
G
7
8
TD
4
5
9
8
Yds
1,136
1,804
1,,167
Long
29
18
29
50
TD
9
13
7
Avg
12.8
10.9
11.8
10.2
Solo
45
28
TD
6
1
13
7
Ast
12
18
39
Punter
14 Ryan Succop
87 Spencer Lanning
Strong safety
14 Eric Berry
19 Jarod Parrish
Avg/G
66.4
53.4
115.0
177.8
Lng Avg/G
48 189.3
48 225.5
35 145.9
Long Avg/G
48 65.6
27 31.2
48 225.5
35 145.9
Total
57
46
Sacks
3
5
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
26
27
28
30
31
33
34
34
35
36
37
38
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
63
65
66
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
93
94
95
95
96
96
97
98
99
RETURNERS
S linebacker
39 Ryan Karl
48 Adam Myers-White
33
Punt returner
33 Jonathan Hefney
21 Austin Rogers
31
22
Cornerback
31 Marsalous Johnson
24 DeAngelo Willingham
TENNESSEE ROSTER
2007 TENNESSEE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Arian Foster
Montario Hardesty
Totals...
Opponent
14
Right end
89 Antonio Reynolds
91 Robert Ayers
14
TENNESSEE SCHEDULE
W, 28-14
W, 16-12
W, 38-3
L, 28-16
W, 38-21
RUSHING
M linebacker
7 Jerod Mayo
35 Ellix Wilson
Free safety
33 Jonathan Hefney
23 Ricardo Kemp
SEPTEMBER
1
at California
8
Southern Miss
15
at Florida
22
Arkansas State
OCTOBER
6
Georgia
13
at Mississippi St.
20 at Alabama
Today SouthCarolina
NOVEMBER
3
La.-Lafayette
10
Arkansas
17
Vanderbilt
24
at Kentucky
589
Right tackle
99 J.T. Mapu
55 Dan Williams
33
Left cornerback
13 Brent Vinson
24 DeAngelo Willingham
SOUTH CAROLINA SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER
1 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
8 at Georgia
15 vs. South Carolina St.
22 at LSU
29 vs. Mississippi St.
OCTOBER
4 vs. Kentucky
13 at North Carolina
20 vs. Vanderbilt
Today atTennessee
NOVEMBER
3 at Arkansas
10 vs. Florida
24 vs. Clemson
599
Left tackle
98 Demonté Bolden
95 Walter Fisher
13
Kickoff returner
17 Chris Culliver
1 Captain Munnerlyn
Cornerback
5 Carlos Thomas
26 Brandon Isaac
598
Left end
93 Xavier Mitchell
94 Wes Brown
Punt returner
1 Captain Munnerlyn
11 Kenny McKinley
Tight end
80 Andy Boyd
84 Jared Cook
PUNT
TEAM
Right tackle
Right guard
Center
Left guard
Snapper
Left tackle
78 Justin Sorensen 57 Lemuel Jeanpierre 71 William Brown 63 Seaver Brown 77 Jamon Meredith 59 Charles Turner
74 Heath Batchelor 67 James Thompson 70 Garrett Anderson 75 Gurminder Thind
6 Tommy Beecher
593
1
5
Free safety
32 Darian Stewart
36 Stoney Woodson
Wide receiver
11 Kenny McKinley
9 Moe Brown
8 Larry Freeman
11
RETURNERS
Defensive end
51 Casper Brinkley
42 Travian Robertson
32
Strong safety
21 Emanuel Cook
33 Chris Hampton
SOUTH CAROLINA ROSTER
No.Name
1 Captain Munnerlyn
3 Cory Boyd
4 Jason Barnes
5 Stephen Garcia
5 Carlos Thomas
6 Tommy Beecher
7 Chris Smelley
8 Larry Freeman
9 Moe Brown
10 Jamire Williams
11 Kenny McKinley
12 Blake Mitchell
13 Mark Barnes
14 Ryan Succop
15 Matt Clements
16 Michael McQueeney
17 Zac Brindise
18 Dion Lecorn
19 Nick Prochak
20 Taylor Rank
21 Emanuel Cook
22 Bobby Wallace
23 Mike West
24 Cody Wells
25 Mike Davis
26 Brandon Isaac
27 Ty Erving
28 Chris Hail
30 Yvan Banag
31 Gerrod Sinclair
32 Darian Stewart
32 Marcus Davis
33 Chris Hampton
34 Douglas Peterson
35 Greg Wright
36 Stoney Woodson
39 Lanard Stafford
39 Ranzino Valentine
40 Eric Norwood
41 Jordin Lindsey
42 Mike Newton
43 Ryan Brown
44 Dustin Lindsey
45 Rodney Paulk
46 Bryan Kingrey
47 Patrick DiMarco
48 Vandaral Shackleford
49 Damien Wright
50 Chris Vaughn
51 Casper Brinkley
52 Jasper Brinkley
53 Marvin Sapp
54 Hardee Sanders
57 Lemuel Jeanpierre
58 John Guerry
59 Charles Turner
61 Donte’e Nicholls
62 Pierre Andrews
63 Seaver Brown
64 Kevin Young
65 Ryan Broadhead
66 Hutch Eckerson
67 James Thompson
68 Kyle Nunn
69 Joshua Gonzalez
70 Garrett Anderson
71 William Brown
72 Quintin Richardson
74 Heath Batchelor
75 Gurminder Thind
76 Jeremy Burgess
77 Jamon Meredith
78 Justin Sorensen
79 Marque Hall
80 Andy Boyd
81 Paul Haile
82 Freddie Brown, III
83 Cliff Matthews
83 Scott Spurrier
84 Jared Cook
85 Joe Hills
87 Spencer Lanning
87 Alex McGrath
88 Weslye Saunders
89 Leon Gamble
90 Foxy Foxworth
91 Ladi Ajiboye
92 Byron McKnight
93 Robert Pavlovic
94 Thomas Hooper
95 Nathan Pepper
96 Clifton Geathers
97 Nate Spurrier
98 Joel Reaves
Defensive tackle
79 Marque Hall
99 Jonathan Williams
Middle linebacker
53 Marvin Sapp
6 Melvin Ingram
83
551
591
579
Quarterback
7 Chris Smelley
12 Blake Mitchell
78
18
Wide receiver Tight end
Right tackle Right guard
Center
Left guard
Left tackle
Snapper
81 Josh Briscoe 28 Chris Brown 78 Ramon Foster 79 Chris Scott
50 Josh McNeil 75 Anthony Parker 54 Eric Young
53 Morgan Cox
87 Q. Hancock 45 Kevin Cooper 71 Steven Jones 65 Jacques McClendon 73 Michael Frogg 51 Vladimir Richard 72 Ramone Johnson 57 Nick Guess
540
Holder
6 Tommy Beecher
83 Scott Spurrier
57
Punter
47 Britton Colquitt
95 Chad Cunningham
Fullback
39 Lanard Stafford
47 Patrick DiMarco
71
Tight end
80 Jeff Cottam
88 Luke Stocker
47
WHEN THE
GAMECOCKS
HAVE THE
BALL
Tailback
3 Cory Boyd
25 Mike Davis
Placekicker
14 Ryan Succop
87 Spencer Lanning
63
12
Quarterback
10 Erik Ainge
8 Jonathan Crompton
KICK TEAM
14
77
85
81
Wide receiver
12 Lucas Taylor
21 Austin Rogers
83 Denarius
Moore
WHEN THE
VOLS HAVE
THE BALL
Tailback
27 Arian Foster
2 Montario Hardesty
22 LaMarcus Coker
PUNT
TEAM
6
Placekicker
26 Daniel Lincoln
47 Britton Colquitt
Kickoffs
47 Britton Colquitt
95 Chad Cunningham
Holder
85 Casey Woods
47 Britton Colquitt
26
knoxnews.com | NEWS SENTINEL
80
KICK
TEAM
GOVOLSXTRA
59
GV2 Saturday, October 27, 2007
NAME
Kenny O’Neal
Montario Hardesty
Lennon Creer
Gerald Jones
Rico McCoy
Ja’Kouri Williams
Jerod Mayo
Jonathan Crompton
Daryl Vereen
Erik Ainge
Todd Campbell
Tyler Maples
Lucas Taylor
Brent Vinson
Eric Berry
Sinclair Cannon
Nick Stephens
B.J. Coleman
Jarod Parrish
Nevin McKenzie
Austin Rogers
LaMarcus Coker
Ricardo Kemp
DeAngelo Willingham
Art Evans
C.J. Fleming
Daniel Lincoln
Arian Foster
Chris Brown
David Holbert
Marsalous Johnson
Jonathan Hefney
Dorian Davis
Roy Olasimbo
Ellix Wilson
Anthony Anderson
Antonio Gaines
David Campbell
Antonio Wardlow
Ryan Karl
Chris Donald
Dennis Rogan
LaMarcus Thompson
Savion Frazier
Josh Hawkins
Kevin Cooper
Andre Mathis
Britton Colquitt
Adam Myers-White
Josh McNeil
Vladimir Richard
Victor Thomas
Morgan Cox
Eric Young
Dan Williams
Nick Reveiz
Nick Guess
Donald Langley
Adam Gillem
Jacques McClendon
Cody Sullins
Darius Myers
Steven Jones
Ramone Johnson
Michael Frogg
Jarrod Shaw
Anthony Parker
Darris Sawtelle
Cody Pope
Ramon Foster
Chris Scott
Jeff Cottam
Josh Briscoe
Ahmad Paige
Denarius Moore
Chris Walker
Casey Woods
Brad Cottam
Quintin Hancock
Luke Stocker
Antonio Reynolds
Ben Martin
Robert Ayers
Xavier Mitchell
Wes Brown
Chad Cunningham
Walter Fisher
Michael Crain
William Brimfield
Chase Nelson
Demonte’ Bolden
J.T. Mapu
HT.
6-0
6-0
6-1
6-0
6-1
5-10
6-2
6-4
6-0
6-6
6-0
6-2
6-0
6-2
5-11
6-2
6-4
6-4
6-3
6-2
6-2
5-11
5-11
6-0
6-1
5-10
6-0
6-1
6-3
6-1
5-9
5-9
6-2
5-10
5-10
6-0
5-9
6-2
6-0
6-0
6-2
5-10
6-1
6-2
6-0
6-1
6-2
6-3
6-2
6-4
6-4
6-4
6-4
6-4
6-3
5-10
6-3
6-2
6-1
6-3
6-1
6-6
6-4
6-5
6-4
6-4
6-3
6-6
6-6
6-6
6-5
6-8
6-3
6-3
6-1
6-3
6-5
6-8
6-3
6-6
6-3
6-5
6-3
6-2
6-4
6-3
6-3
6-1
6-6
6-4
6-6
6-4
WT.
195
205
202
185
215
190
230
230
196
220
185
190
185
190
195
215
215
205
200
210
185
195
190
195
185
173
204
225
250
250
180
185
215
195
225
175
180
200
185
218
225
182
203
210
195
240
255
205
215
280
297
265
225
305
310
225
230
290
260
330
285
315
305
310
290
345
305
295
285
325
305
260
183
175
185
220
215
270
200
235
270
230
260
255
256
210
265
230
300
256
290
290
Kick returner
22 LaMarcus Coker
41 Dennis Rogan
YR.
Jr.
So.
Fr.
Fr.
So.
Jr.
Jr.
So.
Fr.
Sr.
Fr.
Fr.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
Sr.
Jr.
So.
So.
So.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
Jr.
Sr.
Sr.
So.
Sr.
So..
Sr.
Jr.
Fr.
Sr.
So.
So.
Sr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
So.
Jr.
Jr.
So.
So.
Fr.
So.
Sr.
So.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
Sr.
So.
So.
Fr.
Sr.
Fr.
Sr.
Fr.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
Jr.
So.
So.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
Sr.
Sr.
So.
Fr.
Sr.
Fr.
Jr.
Sr.
So.
Fr.
Jr.
Sr.
Fr.
So.
Jr.
Sr.
POS.
WR
TB
TB
WR
LB
DB
LB
QB
TB
QB
WR
WR
WR
WR
DB
DB
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((( #( # NEWS SENTINEL
|
knoxnews.com
GOVOLSXTRA
Saturday, October 27, 2007 GV3
Youth is not automatically served by next year
“He said, ‘don’t look surprised
old man I’m older than you think.’
” — MontgomeryGentry
Tennessee is a young football
team. There’s no denying that.
The Vols are
starting two
freshmen in the
secondary and
have five more
sophomores in
the first-team
line-up.
Those
JOHN
players should
PENNINGTON improve in
the future,
though that’s
no guarantee (We’ll talk about
Arkansas in a minute).
But youth is a relative thing.
If Tennessee’s team played in a
vacuum rather than in the SEC,
then youth could be used as a
solid rationalization for UT’s
three lopsided losses.
But Tennessee does play in the
SEC. And the SEC is young just
about all over.
Having heard some chatter
about this Vol team being “a year
away,” I decided to see if the facts
meshed with the “wait ’til next
year” reasoning. I went to the
official athletic department sites
for each SEC school, clicked on
their most recent game notes
(for the week of October 20th)
and examined their depth charts
(you can do the same).
Did I find that Tennessee is
indeed younger than most of the
other teams in the conference?
Are they at a disadvantage
because of their youth? No,
in fact, Tennessee has the
fourth highest percentage of
UPPERclassmen starters in the
SEC right now.
Only four teams start more
seniors than Tennessee’s
eight (LSU with 12, Arkansas
with 10, Vandy with 10, and
Kentucky with 9). Arkansas is an
interesting situation. Seventeen
of their 22 starters are returning
upperclassmen from last
year’s Capital One Bowl team.
Apparently “a year older” does
not guarantee players will be “a
year better.”
In the SEC, only four teams
start fewer underclassmen than
Tennessee.
Last week’s opponent,
Alabama, starts four more
underclassmen than the Vols
and just as many freshmen (2).
They beat Tennessee 41-17.
Florida also starts four
more underclassmen than UT
and they start twice as many
freshmen (4). They beat the Vols
59-20.
Auburn (4), Georgia (5)
and South Carolina (5) are all
starting more freshmen than
Tennessee, too.
This doesn’t mean
Tennessee’s players can’t be
coached up farther than their
opponents’ young players in the
years ahead, but it does show
that nearly every team is young.
YOUTH IN THE SEC
The networks may well be
picking
up more interesting
Breakdown of starters for SEC teams for games played on Oct. 20.
games from across the country.
Team
Sr.
Jr. Soph. Fr. Underclassmen
The South Floridas and
Alabama
6
5
9
2
11
Kentuckys of the world are
draws now, too.
Florida
4
7
7
4
11
But this might also have
Georgia
5
6
6
5
11
something to do with
Auburn
6
6
6
4
10
Tennessee’s recent record on
South Carolina
6
6
5
5
10
national television. In the past
five seasons (and half of this
Kentucky
9
6
7
0
7
one), UT has played on a national
Ole Miss
7
8
6
1
7
network 44 times. Their record
Tennessee
8
7
5
2
7
is 22-22.
In those 22 losses, the
Vanderbilt
10
6
6
0
6
Vols
have been defeated by a
Arkansas
10
7
5
0
5
combined 308 points. That
Miss. State
7
10
4
1
5
averages out to a 14-point loss
when the Vols lose on national
LSU
12
6
4
0
4
TV. That’s not good for ratings.
Teams listed by number of underclassmen starters, then
That’s also part of an overall
alphabetically when tied.
trend. From 1992 to 2001,
Depth charts for week of Oct. 20th provided by schools’ official
Tennessee played 123 total
athletic department Web sites.
games. They lost by 13 or more
points just six times. That was
once every 20.5 games.
Since 2002, Tennessee has
Tonight’s game on ESPN may played 70 games (including this
To automatically assume
be important for Tennessee not
that “next year is the year” is to
year’s 4-3 record). The Vols
purposefully ignore the fact that just in terms of the East division
have lost by 13 or more points 13
race, but also in terms of national times in that span. That’s a 13some of the Vols’ biggest rivals
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and drawing power.
point loss once every 5.3 games.
Last week’s Alabama game
South Carolina) are all younger
Instead of one big loss every two
wasn’t broadcast nationally for
than the Vols.
years, UT is now averaging two
the first time since 1988. The
Alabama starts 11
per season.
Mississippi State game was
underclassmen, Florida 11,
Unless that turns around,
the Vols’ first non-televised
Georgia 11, and South Carolina
you may have to get used to
SEC game since 1995. Next
10. The Vols are starting seven.
more regional and pay-per-view
week’s game against Louisianagames. A big win on ESPN
Lafayette will be the first UT
“Who’s watching? Tell me,
tonight would be a step in the
who’s watching? Who’s watching game since 1994 that hasn’t been right direction.
available on television at all.
me?” — Rockwell
Spurrier should dine on Vols’ secondary
Tennessee will need more
than a loud crowd tonight. It will
need a smart crowd.
That became obvious last
Saturday while watching
Alabama quarterback John
Parker Wilson and wide receiver
DJ Hall play pitch-and-catch at
Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Go ahead and ask: “What does
that have to do with tonight’s
game at Neyland Stadium.”
Answer: Everything.
In case you didn’t hear the
particulars of UT’s 41-17 loss to
Alabama, the Vols need help. In
fact, they need more help than
trained professionals, a.k.a. as
coaches, can provide.
It took UT’s trained
professionals
an entire half to
figure out that
Alabama was
going to throw
the ball to Hall.
By then, he
already had 10
catches.
The Vols
don’t have to
JOHN
worry about
ADAMS
Hall tonight.
They have to
worry about South Carolina
wide receiver Kenny McKinley,
who has 41 catches — or 18
more than the Gamecocks’
second-leading receiver, who is a
running back.
You might assume that UT
would make McKinley a top
priority. You also might have
assumed that UT would have
had at least one defender within
shouting distance of Hall.
Don’t assume anything with
this defense. And don’t bother
screaming incoherently when
the Gamecocks approach the
line of scrimmage. If you want to
influence tonight’s outcome, you
will have to yell smart.
Before every South Carolina
play, UT fans should be chanting
“11,” McKinley’s number. The
defense should get the message
by the second quarter.
Fans usually are encouraged
to be quiet when their team has
the ball. But these are desperate
times for coach Phillip Fulmer’s
program. “Usual” no longer
applies.
Whenever UT has the ball,
UT fans should be chanting “27,”
running back Arian Foster’s
number. The offense should
get the message by the second
LSU last week. That’s why they
should win by only 24 points.
Ole Miss, which hasn’t given
up fewer than 27 points in a
conference game, finally put
together an offense to match its
defense last week in a 44-8 loss
to Arkansas.
Kentucky34,MississippiState
24: The Wildcats also are due
for a letdown after back-to-back
games against LSU and Florida.
The Bulldogs are due for a better
first quarter.
West Virginia outgained
Mississippi State 221 yards to 18
in the first quarter and led 310 six seconds into the second
quarter.
Vanderbilt 27, Miami (Ohio)
13: What’s the only Division IA school in Tennessee which
hasn’t given up at least 50 points
in a game this season?
Wrong answer: UT, MTSU or
Memphis.
The Commodores haven’t
allowed more than 35 points
in a game. They have given up
126 points in seven games, or 26
more points than UT gave up to
Alabama and Florida combined.
Arkansas 45, Florida
International 7: According to the
schedule, the Razorbacks played
in Oxford, Miss., last Saturday.
But the final score suggested
their road trip was a lot longer
— all the way back to 2006 when
they were SEC West champions.
After losing their first three
SEC games, the Razorbacks
actually looked like a division
champion against Ole Miss,
which apparently became bored
with losing close games.
Top25: Ohio State 27, Penn
State 20; Southern Cal 27, Oregon
24; West Virginia 34, Rutgers
GERRY BROOME/ASSOCIATED PRESS
27; Arizona State 38, Cal 31;
South Carolina’s Kenny McKinley, left, and Chris Smelley celebrate McKinley’s touchdown reception in the South Florida 34, Connecticut
first half of an Oct. 13 game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.
20; Texas A&M 27, Kansas
24; Missouri 41, Iowa State 24;
Hawaii 52, New Mexico State 13;
Never mind that he doesn’t
quarter.
other SEC quarterback, whose
Texas 34, Nebraska 17; Michigan
South Carolina leads the SEC have an exceptional quarterback name escapes me. But I do
38, Minnesota 10; Virginia 30,
or a wealth of receivers. He
in pass defense. It ranks 10th in
remember he has a couple of
N.C. State 24.
will find a way to score enough
rushing defense. Foster is UT’s
quarterbacking brothers.
points, and South Carolina’s
best running back.
As for Tebow, he at least
Record: 133-37 (.780) overall,
defense will do the rest.
It’s not that complicated.
should be able to beat the
75-72 (.510) against the spread.
Bulldogs with a bruised right
Tebow34,Georgia27:Florida
SouthCarolina24,Tennessee20:
shoulder.
Sports editor John Adams may
quarterback Tim Tebow said he
What does Gamecocks coach
be reached at 865-342-6284 or
could beat the Bulldogs with one
Steve Spurrier do best?
Auburn 34, Ole Miss 10: The
hand tied behind his back.
Answer: He exploits
Tigers are due for a letdown after adamsj@knews.com.
Just kidding. That was some
weaknesses in the secondary.
a deflating last-second loss to
“Don’t call it a comeback. I
been here for years, rockin’ my
peers and puttin’ suckas in fear.”
— LLCoolJ
In 2006, with folks closely
eyeing the Cal game to see which
direction the program was
headed, Phillip Fulmer led the
Vols to their best performance of
the year … a nationally televised
rout of the Golden Bears that
immediately erased the taste of
the previous 5-6 season.
Just a couple of weeks
ago, with fan polls showing
displeasure and talk shows
calling for heads, Fulmer did
it again. His Vols pounded
Georgia in their most complete
performance of the season,
silencing critics and firing up the
fanbase.
After Bama, some folks are
upset again, but it won’t last.
Fulmer knows how to get his
team ready when his back’s
against the wall. He’s also 3-3 in
his last six versus Steve Spurrier.
By 11 tonight, Neyland
Stadium will smell like a church
picnic… plenty of fried chicken.
The Gamecocks may be higher
ranked, but the only upset would
be if Tennessee doesn’t smack
them around the way the Vols
normally blast opponents when
their coach gets his dander up.
John Pennington hosts the Hall’s
Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11
a.m. on WATE.
No time
for UT to
tense up
Oh, how the times have
changed. The Ol’ Ball Coach
is no longer terrorizing the
SEC, although South Carolina
seems to be on the rise. Steve
Spurrier, the coach whom Vol
fans love to hate, seems to be
receiving a little less animosity
these days. Heck, the Fulmers
and the Spurriers are even
good friends outside the white
lines. I’ll bet they get a kick
hearing how the visor would
look good
roaming the
Big Orange
sideline on
ShieldsWatkins
Field after
Phillip’s gone.
Well, I guess
it’s all part
RICK
of college
football’s
RUSSO
changing
landscape.
What hasn’t changed is the
need to come out on top. I’ve
heard it said that winning is
sports deodorant — masking
all that isn’t good. No question,
the Vols have been a bit
offensive, especially on the
defensive side of the ball. A
combined 100 points allowed
against rivals Florida and
Alabama won’t cut it this year
or any year in a conference
which continues to increase in
the degree of difficulty.
Setting goals is great, but
achieving them is even better.
It’s amazing to think the Vols
are a Florida loss and five wins
away from achieving theirs.
The sweet smell of success,
however, doesn’t come without
good coaching, solid execution
and maybe, most importantly,
a bit of fun. Senior tight end
Chris Brown was quoted
as saying, “A lot of people
need to relax more. A lot of
people aren’t just out there
having fun playing football.
They’re worried about making
mistakes.”
Well, the “T” in Tennessee
has never stood for Tense and
it shouldn’t start now.
Rick Russo is sports director of
WVLT.
GV4 Saturday, October 27, 2007
GOVOLSXTRA
knoxnews.com | NEWS SENTINEL
Witten, Shuler easily come to Fulmer’s defense
BY MARK BURGESS
burgess@knews.com
Jason Witten called it “nonsense.”
HeathShulerblamediton“parity.”
Two former University of Tennessee football star players came
to the defense of UT coach Phillip Fulmer after the Vols’ walkthrough at Neyland Stadium on
Friday.
Both were asked to share their
feelingsonfandissatisfactionwith
the Vols’ 4-3 record and lopsided
losses to Alabama and Florida.
“I think it’s a little bit of nonsense,”Wittensaid,visitingKnoxville with the Dallas Cowboys
enjoying a bye week. “I think he
has done a great job here for a
long time.
“Hehashadsometoughlosses,
but he’s a man of character and
he’s going to bounce back on his
feet.”
Shuler, now a congressman
fromNorthCarolina,hadasimilar
message with a different twist.
“We’re seeing the parity in
college football,” the former UT
quarterback said. “Who would
have ever guessed in such a short
period of time South Florida
would be where they’re at today.
Kentucky is playing incredibly
well right now. Vanderbilt beat
South Carolina.
“There’s so much parity, it’s
very difficult year in and year out
to be on the very top.”
For Fulmer, the recent grumblings aren’t anything new or unexpected.
“When you have been at it as
longasIhave,youlearntoweather those times,” he said just after
having a short conversation with
UT athletic director Mike Hamilton. “Anybody who has had any
longevity in coaching has had
years or games or whatever that
haven’t gone quite like you would
want them to go.
“The only exception I know of
is (former Nebraska coach) Tom
Osborne and everybody was always mad at him for not beating
Oklahomaenough.That’sjustthe
way it is.”
Fulmerhascontinuallystressed
tohisteamthatthebiggestgameis
the next one — week after week.
“We’re fighting through this
and we’re sitting here talking
about this at the same time we’re
He finished with 91 yards on 13
carries (7.0 yards per carry) and
caught four passes for 74 yards.
The Vols eventually lost 4117, but Foster doesn’t hold any
grudges.
“I don’t hate the guys across
from me,” he said. “I don’t wish
any bad on them.
“I smile, talk to guys between
plays and try to get the refs to
crackasmileeverynowandthen.
Fun With Foster: UT tight end That’s just my style.”
Chris Brown sent the message
Penalties No Fun: One thing that
early this week that the Vols need
to relax and have more fun on the obviously wasn’t any fun at Alabama on Saturday was UT’s seafootball field.
Running back Arian Foster son-high 11 penalties for 81 yards.
“Itwasincredible,”Fulmersaid.
couldn’t agree more.
“When we’re down, we just “We’ve been one of the least petry to make the best of it,” he said. nalized teams in the conference.
“We go out there and play hard We had eight on defense for the
every down, but you have to re- yearandallofasuddenwegetout
there and give up a couple.
member it’s still just a game.
“You just can’t do that. We’ve
“Idon’tknowabouteverybody
else, but I know I play my best addressed it in practice and we
certainly addressed it Monday
when I’m having fun.”
It looked like Foster was en whenwewatchedthetape.We’ve
route to a really fun day against been our own worst enemy at
Alabama last week. The Tide times.”
couldn’t stop him, but the carries
SellItElsewhere: Fulmer doesn’t
slowed as UT dug itself a hole on
believeSouthCarolina’soffenseis
the scoreboard.
still in the championship mix,” he
said.“Wecontrolourowndestiny
to some degree if we win.
“We’re planning to win the
football game. We’ve got five to
play and we’re only focused on
this one right now.”
Witten’spartingshotwasaplea
for patience.
“I would just ask the people to
hang in there with him,” he said.
1 at California
8 Southern Miss.
15 at Florida
22 Arkansas St.
L ,45-31
W, 39-19
L, 59-20
W, 48-27
OCTOBER
6 Georgia
13 at Miss. St.
20 at Alabama
Today SouthCarolina
NOVEMBER
3 La.-Lafayette
10 Arkansas
17 Vanderbilt
24 at Kentucky
Associated Press
W, 35-14
W, 33-21
L, 41-17
7:45,ESPN
4
TBA
TBA
TBA
VOLS
from GV1
fensive fronts to try to end that
streak.
“They’ve got some schemes
andtheycomeatyoualotofdifferent ways,” UT offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said.
“That’s one of the fun parts of
my job is to kind of piece all that
together. I love pass protection
systems and schemes.”
The Vols would love to find a
way to stick with the run.
Last week against Alabama,
the Vols ran the ball 19 times
despite the fact starter Arian
Foster averaged better than 7
yards a carry.
Fortheseason,Fosterisaveraging 5.7 yards a carry, trailing
only Kentucky’s Rafael Little
(6.4 YPC) and Arkansas’ Felix Jones (9.6 YPC) among the
SEC’s leaders.
But a limited number of carries and an inability to convert
keythirddownsgavetheCrimson Tide some 15 minutes and
27 more plays on offense last
week.
“We didn’t have enough long
drives because of the circumstances where we stopped ourselves,” Cutcliffe said. “But I
really don’t think that running
or throwing has anything to do
ColquittsEndowScholarship:The
Colquitt family, which has produced four all-star punters at UT
over the last 30-plus years, has
endowedascholarshipatTennessee.Thecontributionof$100,000
by UT’s First Family of Fourth
Down permanently endows a
football scholarship.
“The Colquitts have made a
mark on Tennessee football for
more than 20 years,” Hamilton
said in a statement. “This gift ensures they continue to make an
impact for years to come.”
Tennessee’s football records
book has its very own Colquitt
wing. Jimmy (1981-84) is the career punting average leader at
43.9 yards per attempt, followed
by current Vols punter Britton at
42.9, Dustin (2001-04) at 42.6 and
Craig (1975-77) at 42.5.
Craig, Ann, Jimmy, Dustin,
Christia and Britton Colquitt will
maketheofficialpresentationbefore tonight’s game.
“The University of Tennessee, through its academic and
athletics departments, has enhanced the Colquitt family’s pursuit and accomplishments,” said
CraigColquitt,whoisthefatherof
Dustin and Britton and the uncle
of Jimmy. “Therefore, with gratitude and appreciation we want to
reinvest our time and resources.”
Series History: Tennessee holds
a 20-3-2 advantage against South
Carolina dating back to 1903. The
Vols have won 13 of the past 14
meetings, the loss a 16-15 decision
in 2005.
Recruit’s dad details
pay from Tide booster
TENNESSEE SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER
as bad as Gamecocks coach Steve
Spurrier wants people to believe.
Acoupleofweeksago,Spurrier
called his team’s second-half offensive effort “putrid.” Last weekend, Spurrier said it looked like
some of his players “didn’t give a
(darn)”asSouthCarolinalost17-6
at home to Vanderbilt.
“Coach Spurrier is the master
of trying to make you think about
somethingthatisn’tthatrelevant,”
Fulmer said.
On Thursday, asked about the
“putrid” offense comments, Fulmer wasn’t biting.
“No, no, no, I’m not buying any
of that,” he said. “We just need to
play a lot better ourselves.
“I’mworriedaboutourfootball
team playing well.”
MARY ANN CHASTAIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier covers his face as his team heads to a 17-6 loss to Vanderbilt
last Saturday at Columbia, S.C.
with it.”
Time of possession could be
critical tonight.
SouthCarolinahasn’ttopped
300yardsoftotaloffensethelast
two weeks. Part of that falls on
an offensive line that allowed
seven sacks against Vanderbilt
and was whistled for five false
start penalties.
Redshirt freshman Chris
Smelley will likely start at quarterback today, but regardless
Spurrier isn’t looking for an
offensive explosion any time
soon.
“Hopefully, we can get in a
good, close, tight game and try
to find a way to win it,” Spur-
rier said this week. “We’re not
a real explosive offensive team,
soifwegetintoascoringmatch,
we’re not pretty good probably
in that situation.”
Initsvictoriesthisseason,the
Vols haven’t had much trouble
scoring.Intheirlosses,however,
the Vols have given up a combined 145 points to Alabama,
California and Florida.
A victory for South Carolina
keepstheGamecocksincontrol
of their own destiny in their
hunt for a first-ever SEC Championship Game appearance.
The Vols need a win to avoid
joining Vanderbilt in last place.
Bytheendoftonight,Fulmer
and Spurrier will again be on
divergent paths.
Aingewantstomakesurethe
Vols don’t travel the road they
took on their way to a 5-6 finish
in 2005.
“We can go two ways from
here,”Aingesaid.“Wecankeep
gettingbetterandtrytowinthis
football game this weekend, or
we can be upset about the Alabama game.
“And that would be a mistake.”
Drew Edwards covers University
of Tennessee football. He may be
reached at 865-342-6274.
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — An Alabama
booster’sdefamationsuitagainstthe
NCAA has brought out testimony
that$20,000incashwasgiventothe
father of a Crimson Tide football recruit before signing day in 1996.
ButKenSmithofSouthPittsburg,
Tenn.,whotestifiedthathereceived
the money, denied it had anything
to do with his son’s decision to sign
with the Crimson Tide. He also said
he was intimidated by an NCAA investigatorwhenhemadestatements
that he now says were incorrect.
Smith’stestimonycameinthetrial
ofasuitfiledbyanortheastAlabama
timberman,RayKellerofStevenson,
who is seeking $2 million from the
NCAA. He claims defamation and
invasion of privacy stemming from
the NCAA’s 2002 press release announcing sanctions for recruiting
violations at Alabama.
Keller was one of three men describedinthereportas“rogueboosters” and “the parasites of intercollegiate athletics.” The university cut
its ties with the three — Keller, the
late Logan Young of Memphis and
Wendell Smith of Chattanooga.
Young was found dead in his
MemphishomeinApril2006.Police
atfirstthoughthehadbeenviolently
assaulted, but later concluded he accidentally hit his head in a fall.
Testimony continued Friday before Jackson County Circuit Judge
JohnGrahaminatrialthatcouldlast
through next week.
Ken Smith testified Thursday
he received $20,000 from Wendell
Smith, who is unrelated, after moving his family to Bridgeport so his
son, Kenny Smith, could play footballatNorthJacksonHighSchoolin
northeast Alabama.
SmithsaidWendellSmithbrought
$10,000 in $100 bills to his home in
late1995andanother$10,000incash
justbeforetheFebruary1996football
signing day. He repeatedly said the
moneycamefromYoung,withWendell Smith as the middleman.
Butlateinhistestimonyhesaidhe
thought $11,000 of it came from the
lateR.D.Hicks,alongtimesupporter
of North Jackson High athletics.
Trial testimony was reported Friday by The Huntsville Times and
The Daily Sentinel of Scottsboro.
Ken Smith said he saw no lega
or moral problem with taking the
money,andthatKeller“tomyknowledge” had no involvement with the
$20,000, which was used partly to
buy a car.
He said Keller never pressured
his son to sign with Alabama. But
during a 2001 taped interview with
NCAA investigator Richard Johanningmeier,Smithsaid“itwasunderstood” that Keller would be his son’
sponsorfor“thingsastudentneeds
at Alabama.
Kenny Smith signed with Ala
bama but never joined the team because of grades.
KenSmithsaidhefeltintimidated
during the June 2001 interview with
Johanningmeier, Alabama faculty
athleticsrepresentativeGeneMarsh
and Rich Hilliard, a University of
Alabama attorney.
Smith said the tape recorder was
turned off during that interview, at
whichtimeJohanningmeiertoldhim
the IRS could be contacted about
the $20,000. Smith also claimed
Johanningmeier mischaracterized
information.
NCAA attorney Allen Dodd re
peatedly played portions of the interview and asked Smith if what
he had told Johanningmeier was
correct. Smith said it was not, or he
“thought it was true at the time but
now I know it’s false.”
“They were after Ray Keller and
Logan Young,” Smith said of the
meeting. “The whole interview was
about Logan Young and Ray Keller.
They weren’t after the truth.”
Hesaidhehadaskedforthemeeting with the NCAA investigator.
“I called him to set the record
straight on the car,” he said.
Undercross-examination,headd
ed that “the University of Alabama
never offered my son anything. Ray
Keller never bought my son that vehicle, or any vehicle.”
NEWS SENTINEL
|
knoxnews.com
GOVOLSXTRA
Saturday, October 27, 2007 GV5
GV6 Saturday, October 27, 2007
GOVOLSXTRA
knoxnews.com | NEWS SENTINEL
SEC STANDINGS
EASTERNDIVISION
Conference Overall
School
W-L
W-L
South Carolina
3-2
6-2
Florida
3-2
5-2
Georgia
3-2
5-2
Kentucky
2-2
6-2
Tennessee
2-2
4-3
Vanderbilt
2-3
4-3
WESTERNDIVISION
ROB CARR/ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALEX BRANDON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alabama coach Nick Saban, center, leaves the field after Alabama de- LSU coach Les Miles cheers at the student section after the Tigers defeated Florida on Oct. 6 in Baton
feated Tennessee 41-17 last Saturday.
Rouge, La.
LSU, Alabama get a break before showdown
BY RON HIGGINS
The Commercial Appeal
best we have for focusing on our
next opponent.”
IntheAlabamacamp,thisweek
provides ’Bama coach Nick Saban a chance to fire a preemptive
strike about the anticipated hype
surrounding the game between
Saban and the school he coached
toaBCSnationalchampionshipin
2003.SabanleftLSUafterthe2004
season to coach the NFL’s Miami
Dolphins. Then, he left the Dolphins after two seasons to coach
for a team in the same league and
in the same division as LSU.
“We have great respect for
LSU,” Saban said. “The people
really supported us in our time
there. LSU has a good coaching
staffandagreatteam.I’mtryingto
getourteamreadytoplay.Beyond
that, there’s not much to it. It (the
upcoming game) really is about
the players.”
Tell that to the 35,000 LSU
fans who requested tickets for the
game in Tuscaloosa. To the fans,
it’s about beating someone they
consider a traitor.
Somebody in the SEC knew
what they were doing giving LSU
and Alabama open dates before
next week’s Saban Bowl between
the Tigers and Crimson Tide in
Tuscaloosa.
ForLSU,thisweekisachanceto
getofftheemotionalrollercoaster
it has ridden the last three weeks
with two wins (Florida, Auburn)
and a loss (Kentucky) being decided in the last minute or regulation or in overtime.
“GoingintotheKentuckygame,
everyone was talking about our
gameagainstFlorida(theprevious
week), and they couldn’t leave it
alone,” LSU coach Les Miles said.
“AftertheKentuckygame(priorto
lastweek’sgameagainstAuburn),
all everyone talked about was the
Kentuckygame.Noonecouldget
past the Kentucky game.
“Coaches and players understand that by Monday, we’re on to
thenextgame.Butthepeoplethat
don’tseeyouforseveraldays,they
ask you about last week’s game.
Third-and-draw: When you have
That’swhyit’snicetohaveapause
this week. This break may be the backs as good as Arkansas’ Dar-
ren McFadden and Felix Jones,
you can get away with what Arkansas coach Houston Nutt did
against Ole Miss. The Hogs ran
draw plays three times in third
down-and-long situations in the
first half of last Saturday’s 44-8
blowout. McFadden gained 30
yards on third-and-10, Jones 8
yardson third-and-4 andMichael
Smith 11 on third-and-10. Then in
the second half, Jones gained 21
yards on third-and-7 on a draw.
“I like it that Coach shows that
type of confidence in us,” Jones
saidofrunninginobviouspassing
situations.
Change Of Plans: Mississippi
State’s defense may have one of
the college football’s bigger weektoo-week adjustments this week.
Lastweek,Statehadtopreparefor
West Virginia’s option-oriented
rungame,featuringthespeedand
shiftiness of quarterback Patrick
White and running back Steve
Slayton. The Mountaineers ran
for262yardsina38-13victory,and
proved they are the best running
team on State’s schedule.
Thisweekend,StateplaysKen-
Poole headlines four official visitors
BY DAVE HOOKER
hookerd@knews.com
Tennessee’s football team will
host four official visitors this
weekend.
Tauren Poole from Stephens
County High School in Toccoa,
Ga., will finally make his official
trip — a year after committing to
UT last October. The 5-foot-11,
200-pound tailback has said he is
also considering South Carolina.
With only one defensive lineman (Steven Fowlkes from Banneker High in College Park, Ga.)
committed for the 2008 class,
UT is focused on shoring up that
position.
The Vols will try to sway 6-3,
275-pound defensive tackle Jere-
myLewisfromPalmBeachLakes
(Fla.) High. Lewis is committed
to Miami.
Lavar Edwards is another defensive line possibility. Edwards
is a 6-4, 275-pound defensive end
from Desire Street Academy in
Baton Rouge, La.
UT also will host A.J. Alexander, a 6-foot, 180-pound versatile
athlete from Altoona (Pa.) High.
Floyd Concerns: UT’s coaches
can’t be pleased that J.T. Floyd
has decided to take at least four
other official visits, in addition
to the one he’ll take to Knoxville.
However, there shouldn’t have
been much surprise
The 5-11, 180-pound athlete
saidhewillvisitMichigan,Maryland, North Carolina State and,
possibly, South Carolina in the
coming months.
Floydhaslongbeenconsidered
a soft commitment so the visits
were all but expected. But it’s
what Floyd told the Greeneville
News that should have the Vols
concerned.
“The real reason I’m looking
around now is hearing all the
coaching changes mentioned
and things of that nature, I don’t
want to go into a situation where
I have coaches that recruited me,
but they’re not the ones coaching me,” Floyd told the newspaper. “Coaching stability is a big
thing.”
tucky, the best passing team on its
schedule featuring quarterback
Andre Woodson.
“We saw an offense and a defense last week that we normally
don’t see,” State coach Sylvester
Croom said. “This week, we’re
playinganoffensethatwe’remore
familiar with, a team we play every year, and we have a feel for
whattheydo.Butwearereallygoingtogetchallenged,ourcorners,
oursafeties.Ourcoverageisgoing
tobechallengedprobablyasmuch
as it has all season.”
ESPN Adds Game: Arkansas will
hostSouthCarolinainanationally
televised game on either ESPN or
ESPN2, the Razorbacks athletic
department said Friday.
Thenetworkwillbeannounced
Sunday;thegametimeremaining
the same. Kickoff for the Nov. 3
game is at 7 p.m.
The game was not originally
selectedaspartoftheconference’s
television package, but ESPN approached the SEC about broadcasting the game after television
selections for that weekend were
announced.
The Associated Press contributed
to this report.
School
LSU
Alabama
Auburn
Arkansas
Miss. State
Ole Miss
Conference Overall
W-L
W-L
4-1
7-1
4-1
6-2
3-2
5-3
1-3
4-3
1-3
4-4
0-5
2-6
Today’sgames
SouthCarolinaatTennessee7:45p.m.,
ESPN
Miss. State at Kentucky, 12:30,
WVLT
Florida Int. at Arkansas, 1
Miami (Ohio) at Vanderbilt, 2
Florida vs. Georgia (at
Jacksonville, Fla.) 3:30, WVLT
Ole Miss at Auburn , 6
NextSaturday’sgames
La.LafayetteatTennessee4p.m.
Vanderybilt at Florida, 12:30,
WVLT
Troy at Georgia, 1
Northwestern St. at Ole Miss, 2
Tennessee Tech at Auburn, 2:30
LSU at Alabama, 5, WVLT
South Carolina at Arkansas, 7
ESPN/ESPN2
NEWS SENTINEL
|
knoxnews.com
TODAY’S SEC MATCHUPS
Mississippi State (4-4, 1-3 SEC)
at Kentucky (6-2, 2-2)
Time: 12:30 p.m. (TV: WVLT)
Skinny: It was a loss, but No. 14-ranked
Kentucky was still impressive in a 45-37
defeat at the hands of Florida last week.
On the other end of the spectrum,
Mississippi State remained unimpressive
in a 38-13 loss to West Virginia. Kentucky
leads the all-time series 20-14, including
a closer-than-expected 34-31 victory in
Starkville last year.
Key Players: Just when you think you’ve
seen the best from Kentucky QB Andre
Woodson, he completes 35-of-50 passes
for 415 yards and five TDs in the loss to
Florida. The Wildcats are banged up with
WR Keenan Burton and RBs Rafael Little
and Tony Dixon nursing injuries. MSU RB
Anthony Dixon has an SEC-high 11 rushing
touchdowns.
Line: Kentucky by 13½
Florida International (0-7, 0-3 Sun
Belt) at Arkansas (4-3, 1-3 SEC)
Time: 2
Skinny: This could be a blood bath. ESPN.
com ranks Florida International No. 1 in
its “Bottom 10” of Division I programs.
That’s what happens when you lose 19 in
a row. Give FIU credit for playing a brutal
schedule. The Golden Panthers’ first four
losses of the season came to Penn State,
Maryland, Miami and Kansas. This is
the first meeting between the schools.
Arkansas is coming off of last week’s 44-8
destruction of Ole Miss.
Key Players: Arkansas RB Darren
McFadden had 110 yards last week and
leads the SEC with 133.1 rushing yards per
game. His backfield mate Felix Jones had
101 against the Rebels and scored twice.
That was status quo for the Hogs. The
big news was QB Casey Dick throwing
three TD passes. FIU relies on freshman
QB Wayne Younger, who has thrown for
954 yards and rushed for a team-high 245
yards.
Line: Arkansas by 39
GOVOLSXTRA
Saturday, October 27, 2007 GV7
Hard to keep Eagles’ Hubbard secret
SAC STANDINGS
Tusculum
Catawba
Carson-Newman
Wingate
Newberry
Lenoir-Rhyne
Mars Hill
x-Brevard
Conf.
3-0
3-1
3-1
1-2
2-2
0-3
0-3
0-0
All
5-3
7-1
7-1
6-2
6-2
2-6
4-3
2-6
Today’sgames
BrevardatCarson-Newman,1p.m.
Wingate at Catawba, 1:30
Lenoir-Rhyne at Mars Hill, 2:30
TusculumatNewberry,7
Nov.3
Carson-NewmanatWingate,1:30p.m.
MarsHillAtTusculum,1:30
Catawba at Brevard, 2
Newberry At Lenoir-Rhyne, 2
x-noteligibleforconferencetitle
C-N return specialist
‘can make things happen’
BY ADAM GREENE
sports@knews.com
JEFFERSON CITY — There was a time
when sophomore wide receiver Reggie
Hubbardwasconsideredasecretweapon for Carson-Newman College.
With a knack for making circus
catches and busting huge kick returns,
it’s safe to say Hubbard’s secret is out.
“Reggie has been a weapon for two
yearsandIthinkmoreandmorepeople
are starting to find that out,” C-N coach
Ken Sparks said Thursday after practice. “He has a knack for making the big
play. He’s sneaky fast and can run by
you in a heartbeat.”
Hubbard has run by a lot of people
forthe13th-rankedEagles(7-1,3-1South
Atlantic Conference), who face provisional SAC member Brevard College
at 1 p.m. today at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
Hubbard does most of his damage on
kick returns. He is averaging 27 yards
a return this year and has scored one
touchdown.
“We come in with a great game plan
andemphasizethekickinggame,”Hubbardsaid.“Wewanttosettheoffenseup
in great field position and score some
points.”
Hubbard’s returns have done just
that. In six games this season, CarsonNewman has scored more than 40
points. Hubbard has been such a factor
intheonslaught,theEaglesareforcedto
hide him in the kick return team.
When the opposing team lines up to
kick,HubbardandfellowreturnerBuck
Wakefield stand side by side to fool the
kicker. The Eagles give no other choice
than to kick it to Hubbard. Then, things
can get exciting.
“He (Reggie) can make things happen,” Sparks said.
ForHubbard,thesuccesscomesfrom
trustinghisfellowplayersonthereturn
unit.
“I have faith in the wedge guys and
just find a hole and go,” Hubbard said.
“They pick up their blocks, do the hard
work and get the job done. I just get to
pick up the glory and run in the open
field. Once you get past the wedge, all
you’re looking at is the kicker.”
Hubbard and the rest of the C-N
squadwillhaveanewexperiencetoday
Virginia
Tech lets BC
get away
Ryan leads two-minute
rally from 10-0 deficit
Associated Press
Miami, Ohio (4-4, 3-1 MAC)
at Vanderbilt (4-3, 2-3 SEC)
Time: 2
Skinny: Let’s see how the Commodores
handle success. Vanderbilt upset
previously sixth-ranked South Carolina 176 last week, the ’Dores’ biggest upset of
a ranked opponent since 1937. Miami had
won three games in a row before losing
24-17 at Temple last week. The last time
Vandy and Miami got together, the Red
Hawks grabbed a 33-30 victory in 2000.
Key Players: Vandy QB Mackenzi Adams
made the most of his first career start
against the Gamecocks, passing for 123
yards and two TDs while rushing for 84
yards. Vanderbilt WR Earl Bennett needs
two catches to become the SEC’s all-time
leader. Miami QB Daniel Raudabaugh had
a career-high 314 yards passing in the loss
to Temple.
Line: Vanderbilt by 13½
Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC)
vs. Georgia (5-2, 3-2)
Time: 3:30 (TV: WVLT)
Skinny: The crazy SEC East — with
five teams sitting at the top with two
conference losses apiece — gets a
little clearer after this one. 20th-ranked
Georgia leads the all-time series 45-37-2,
but No. 9-ranked Florida has won 15 of the
last 17 meetings, including a 21-14 victory
last season. The Bulldogs had an open
date to prepare for the Gators. Florida took
down Kentucky in Lexington last week.
Key Players: Who else? Hometown hero
Tim Tebow returns to Jacksonville.
Florida’s sophomore leads the nation with
a 177.5 quarterback rating, but he has
been limited in practice this week with a
sore shoulder. Who knows if that slows
down a guy who has 17 TD passes and 10
rushing scores? Georgia RB Knowshon
Moreno has to carry the load after injuries
to Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin.
Line: Florida by 9
Ole Miss (2-6, 0-5 SEC)
at Auburn (5-3, 3-2)
Time: 6
Skinny: They don’t get much tougher than
Auburn’s last-second, 30-24 loss to LSU
last week. Ole Miss had its own frustration
to deal with in a 44-8 loss to Arkansas.
Auburn leads the series 23-8, but nine
of the past 14 games have been decided
by 10 points or less. This is a matchup of
two bad offenses. Auburn ranks 102nd
in the nation with 345.1 yards per game.
Ole Miss is 110th in scoring with 20.3 per
game.
Key Players: Ole Miss is sticking with Seth
Adams at QB despite four interceptions
in the loss to Arkansas. That makes 10
interceptions in three games for Adams.
Brent Schaeffer, a former UT player, could
see relief duty early if Adams struggles
again. Former Maryville High School
star Carl Stewart continues to impress
at fullback for the Tigers. He scored his
first touchdown of the season last week
against LSU.
Line: Auburn by 17½
— Mark Burgess
as they play host to Brevard for the first
time.WithavictoryovertheTornadoes
(2-6, 0-4) Carson-Newman will match
its 2006 win total.
“They (Brevard) are getting better
every week,” Sparks said. “We have to
bereadyforit.Wecan’thaveanymental
lapses and think we’re better than we
are. We’re still a team in progress and
have some work to do.”
BrevardplaysanAirForce-stylewing
bone option, with junior tailback John
Taylor picking up most of the rushing
chores with 134 carries for 669 yards
and 10 touchdowns.
“They give you every formation
known to man,” Sparks said. “You have
to play assignment football and be disciplined. We need to get out there and
get the job done. We have some work
to do and I hope we’ll show up and do
some of it.”
Carson-Newman will be without
centerEvanBeale.Bealewasthesecond
offensive lineman to fall in consecutive
weeks. The Eagles lost Ross Shaffer
for the season against Catawba. Right
tackle Jeff Weaver also left last week’s
gameagainstLenoir-Rhyne,butshould
be ready to play today.
STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BostonCollegerunningbackAndreCallender,left, liftsteammateKevinChallengerastheycelebratethegame-winningtouchdown
against Virginia Tech on Thursday night in Blacksburg, Va.
Playoff push makes sense now
From the very start, the college
football season has been one wacky,
wild and highly entertaining week after another.
Stanford, a Pac-10 bottom-feeder in
recent years, stuns Southern Cal. And
everybody else in the country. Little
Appalachian State sets the tone with a
season-opening upset of Michigan —
in the Big House, no less. South Florida
says hello to the top 10 then falls victim
to the No. 2 curse.
Well, the fun is coming to an end.
On Dec. 2, to be exact.
That, of course, is BCS selection
day. The day when college football’s
powers that be puff out their chests
and declare they’ve identified the nation’s two best teams.
Right. They’ll announce they’ve
figured out how to get Britney back on
track, too.
“Even when you have two undefeated teams, somebody’s unhappy,”
BCS analyst Jerry Palm said. “There’s
always somebody unhappy. Whenever you pick two teams, it’s just not
enough to make everybody happy.”
Which is why there should be a
playoff.
After years of fans and media clamoring for a Division I playoff, this season is the perfect example of why one
is needed. Take any team in the top
five — heck, maybe even the top 10
— and there’s a case for why it should
have a shot at the national title. Why it
shouldn’t, too.
Ohio State and Boston College are
undefeated, but neither the Big Ten
nor the ACC looks too mighty. LSU’s
only loss was at Kentucky and it took
three overtimes; though it did have
close calls at home against Florida and
NANCYARMOUR
Associated Press
Auburn.
Oklahoma’s loss at Colorado doesn’t
look so good, but it did beat Missouri
and Texas. Oregon lost at home to Cal,
but the Pac-10 might be the toughest
conference in the country right now,
and the Ducks offense is putting up
numbers that would make Ernie Kent
proud.
And with a month still left in the
season and conference championships
still to be played, shake-ups in the
standings aren’t close to being done.
Odds are, the top two teams come
Dec. 2 won’t be undefeated. There
could even be a two-loss team near the
top of the polls if defending champion
Florida wins out and the folks in front
of the Gators stumble enough.
That means when the BCS announces which two teams will play for
that big crystal football in the national
championship game Jan. 7 in New
Orleans, somebody — maybe a lot of
somebodies — will cry foul.
“I suppose that’ll make 95 percent of
the people who want a playoff scream
even louder,” Palm said. “But they’re
screaming into the wind.”
There are playoffs in nearly every sport at nearly every level. Even
college football’s lower divisions
make it work. Appalachian State was
hardened by its championship runs
through the playoffs in what was Division I-AA the last two years.
But the BCS knows better. It insists
its ranking system can produce a true
1-2 matchup and still keep the rest of
the big-money bowl system relevant.
Never mind that the ranking system has been tinkered with more
than a beat-up car, or that it’s now as
convoluted as golf’s FedEx Cup points
system. Or that, since it began in 1998,
the BCS has gotten it right about once
every third year. (This isn’t that year,
for those keeping track. The formula
worked in 2005.)
BCS proponents argue that a playoff system would diminish the importance of the regular season and
reward teams for losing. If Michigan
wins out, a 10-2 record likely would
put the Wolverines in the mix in a
playoff system. Never mind that loss
to Appalachian State.
But except for those rare years
when there are two undefeated teams,
the BCS system allows do-overs, too.
Oftentimes, it’s the team that had the
good fortune to get its losing over with
early.
Had Florida lost in the SEC title
game instead of midway through the
season last year, it wouldn’t have made
the national championship game.
Michigan, on the other hand, had no
shot after losing to Ohio State in its
season finale.
A playoff system won’t answer all of
college football’s problems. There still
would be debates over the teams left
out, and the No. 1 left standing at the
end might be as lucky as it is good.
But this wacky season has shown
the days of a few super programs
dominating college football are over.
There’s little separating the top teams
and the almost-top-teams, and watching them try and settle it on the field
makes for great entertainment.
Too bad it has to stop Dec. 2.
Playing before a home crowd that
stayed all night standing in sometimes
drivingrain,No.8VirginiaTechthought
it had another signature victory, and a
well-deservedre-entryintothenational
championship picture.
It thought too soon.
When Matt Ryan and No. 2 Boston
Collegedidtheremarkable,scoringtwo
touchdowns in the last 2:11 to win 14-10
on Thursday night at Blacksburg, Va., it
wastheunbeatenEagleswhoenhanced
their profile, and made believers of the
Hokies and surely many others.
“Iknewhewasgood,buthereallyimpressed me with those last two drives,”
said cornerback Brandon Flowers, who
had Virginia Tech’s lone interception.
The Hokies had several other good
chances, but dropped them all during
the soggy early going.
Still, they dominated about as much
as a team can while leading only 10-0
until late in the final quarter, when the
Hokies dropped their linebackers into a
preventcoverage,Ryanscrambledaway
fromtherushinglinemenandpickedthe
Hokies apart.
“That’s not his game, but he ended
up staying alive and it’s hard to hang
onto coverage that long,” BC coach Jeff
Jagodzinski. “We ended having a guy
open there late.”
Held to 16-for-37 for 128 yards in the
first 54 minutes, Ryan was 9-for-15 for
157 yards and two TDs the rest of the
way. Drives of 91 and 66 yards ended
with TD throws, and he even threw in
an11-yardruntotheVirginiaTech16on
the winning drive.
“At the end, we pulled together and
made plays,” Jagodzinski said. “It was
something else, probably the best win
I’ve ever been around.”
TheHokies,whosehopesforachance
to play for the national championship
had returned in spite of a 48-7 loss at
then-No. 2 LSU in the second week,
were stunned.
“I’d rather lose 48-7 than lose like
this, to be honest with you,” left tackle
DuaneBrownsaid.“Youthinkyouhave
it sewn up. Four minutes left, you’re up
by 10, you’re feeling pretty good on the
sidelines and this happens? You really
take a blow.”
Georgia Tech Injuries: Georgia Tech,
already missing ACC rushing leader
Tashard Choice (knee), could be without backup Rashaun Grant for the rest
of the season.
Grant, who was expected to be
Choice’sreplacementThursdayagainst
Virginia Tech, was knocked out of the
fourth quarter of last Saturday’s win
over Army after taking a hit above his
right ankle.
In other college football news:
■ Southern Cal quarterback Mark
Sanchez will start today for the Trojans
at Oregon. Sanchez is getting the start
as regular starter John David Booty
is still recovering from a broken right
middle finger, coach Pete Carroll said.
Booty, who threw in practice Tuesday and Wednesday, did not throw on
Thursday.
■RunningbackJ.R.Hasty,theWashington state prep player of the year in
2004 who led Bellevue High School
to four consecutive state titles before
running into academic problems at
Washington,hasquittheHuskies,coach
Tyrone Willingham said.
GV8 Saturday, October 27, 2007
GOVOLSXTRA
knoxnews.com | NEWS SENTINEL
SCOREBOARD
GLANTZ-CULVER LINE
Scores
Friday
Princeton 34, Cornell 31
Boise St. 34, Fresno St. 21
Widener 13, Delaware Valley 10
Today’s games
FAVORITE
South Florida
at Wisconsin
at Purdue
at Wake Forest
at Louisville
at Illinois
at Florida St.
at Michigan
at Auburn
at Missouri
at Vanderbilt
at Buffalo
Cent. Michigan
at Kansas St.
Kansas
at Texas Tech
at Wyoming
at Tulsa
at Tulane
at Oregon
La. Tech
at Washington
W. Michigan
at East Carolina
Florida-x
Michigan St.
Clemson
Virginia
at Texas
at Nevada
at Marshall
Utah
at Bowling Green
at Oregon St.
UCLA
at Tennessee
at Toledo
at Kentucky
West Virginia
Ohio St.
Houston
at Arizona St.
at Hawaii
at Arkansas
at Fla. Atlantic
Troy
Middle Tenn.
OPEN
5½
8½
14
7
10½
13½
18½
24
18
28½
13
1½
+1
24½
2
12½
11½
14
+1
3½
3
3
5½
14
9
3½
3½
3
20
17
8
6
8
12½
6
3
3½
13½
7
4½
4½
3½
25½
39
6½
4
12½
TDY
4
8½
12½
5½
9½
14
17½
23
18
28½
13
1½
3
25½
3
13½
11
13½
1½
3
2½
4
5
14½
7½
3
3½
3½
20½
17½
9
5½
7
13½
6
2½
3½
14
6
3½
6
3
29½
40½
6
4½
12½
UNDERDOG
at Connecticut
Indiana
Northwestern
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Ball St.
Duke
Minnesota
Mississippi
Iowa St.
Miami (Ohio)
Akron
at Kent St.
Baylor
at Texas A&M
Colorado
UNLV
SMU
Memphis
Southern Cal
at Utah St.
Arizona
at E. Michigan
UAB
Georgia
at Iowa
at Maryland
at N.C. State
Nebraska
Idaho
Rice
at Colorado St.
Ohio
Stanford
at Washington St.
South Carolina
N. Illinois
Mississippi St.
at Rutgers
at Penn St.
at UTEP
California
New Mexico St.
Fla. Int’l
La.-Monroe
at Arkansas St.
at North Texas
x-at Jacksonville, Fla.
Sunday’s game
FAVORITE
at Southern Miss.
OPEN
3
TDY
3
UNDERDOG
UCF
Thursday
SOUTH
Bethel, Tenn. 44, Shorter 21
Boston College 14, Virginia Tech 10
New Mexico 34, Air Force 31
Wofford 47, W. Carolina 44
Summary
No. 2 BOSTON COLLEGE 14,
No. 8 VIRGINIA TECH 10
Boston College
0 0 0 14 – 14
Virginia Tech
0 7 3 0 – 10
Second Quarter
VT–Royal 8 pass from Glennon (Dunlevy kick), 10:31.
Third Quarter
VT–FG Dunlevy 44, 5:33.
Fourth Quarter
BC–Gunnell 16 pass from Ryan (Aponavicius kick),
2:11.
BC–Callender 24 pass from Ryan (Aponavicius
kick), :11.
A–66,233.
BC
VT
First downs
19
15
Rushes-yards
18-32
41-116
Passing
285
149
Comp-Att-Int
25-53-2 15-25-0
Return Yards
7
27
Punts-Avg.
9-45.6
9-37.3
Fumbles-Lost
3-0
5-2
Penalties-Yards
9-83
5-44
Time of Possession
28:11
31:49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Boston College, Callender 7-29, Whitworth 7-25, Ryan 4-(minus 22). Virginia Tech, Ore
20-97, Glennon 14-23, Weatherford 1-3, K.Lewis 2-2,
J.Morgan 2-1, Royal 1-0, Team 1-(minus 10).
PASSING – Boston College, Ryan 25-52-2-285, Flutie
0-1-0-0. Virginia Tech, Glennon 15-25-0-149.
RECEIVING – Boston College, Robinson 5-86, Callender 5-38, Challenger 4-60, Purvis 4-40, Gunnell 334, Loyte 2-8, Jarvis 1-14, Megwa 1-5. Virginia Tech,
Royal 4-77, Boone 3-30, Harper 3-17, Hyman 2-17,
Wheeler 1-5, Weatherford 1-3, J.Morgan 1-0.
Schedule
Today’s games
East
Monmouth, N.J. (1-5) at Cent. Connecticut St. (52), 11 a.m.
Rhode Island (1-6) at New Hampshire (5-2), Noon
West Virginia (6-1) at Rutgers (5-2), Noon
Penn (2-4) at Brown (2-4), 12:30 p.m.
Yale (6-0) at Columbia (1-5), 12:30 p.m.
Dartmouth (2-4) at Harvard (4-2), 12:30 p.m.
Holy Cross (5-2) at Bucknell (2-5), 1 p.m.
Akron (3-4) at Buffalo (3-5), 1 p.m.
Duquesne (5-2) at Iona (5-2), 1 p.m.
Colgate (4-3) at Lafayette (4-3), 1 p.m.
Georgetown, D.C. (1-7) at Lehigh (3-4), 1 p.m.
Delaware (6-1) at Navy (4-3), 1 p.m.
St. Francis, Pa. (0-6) at Sacred Heart (3-5), 1 p.m.
Albany, N.Y. (4-3) at Wagner (5-2), 1 p.m.
Maine (1-6) at Northeastern (1-6), 2 p.m.
Assumption (1-7) at La Salle (0-6), 3 p.m.
South Florida (6-1) at Connecticut (6-1), 3:30 p.m.
Hofstra (6-1) at Villanova (4-2), 3:30 p.m.
Bryant (7-0) at Stony Brook (4-4), 4 p.m.
Fordham (6-2) at Marist (1-7), 7 p.m.
Ohio St. (8-0) at Penn St. (6-2), 8 p.m.
South
The Citadel (5-2) at Georgia Southern (5-2), Noon
Pittsburgh (3-4) at Louisville (4-4), Noon
North Carolina (2-5) at Wake Forest (5-2), Noon
Richmond (5-2) at James Madison (5-1), 12:05 p.m.
Mississippi St. (4-4) at Kentucky (6-2), 12:30 p.m.
Presbyterian (5-3) at Liberty (3-3), 1 p.m.
E. Kentucky (6-2) at Murray St. (2-5), 1 p.m.
Howard (3-4) at Norfolk St. (6-1), 1 p.m.
SE Missouri (2-5) at Tenn.-Martin (1-7), 1 p.m.
Massachusetts (6-1) at William & Mary (4-3), 1 p.m.
Chattanooga (2-5) at Elon (5-2), 1:30 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman (2-5) at N. Carolina A&T (0-8),
1:30 p.m.
Delaware St. (6-1) at S. Carolina St. (4-3), 1:30 p.m.
Edward Waters (3-5) at Savannah St. (1-6), 2 p.m.
Miami (Ohio) (4-4) at Vanderbilt (4-3), 2 p.m.
Samford (3-4) at Tennessee Tech (4-4), 2:30 p.m.
Appalachian St. (5-2) at Furman (3-4), 3 p.m.
Texas Southern (0-7) at Grambling St. (6-1), 3 p.m.
Texas St. (2-5) at Northwestern St. (3-4), 3 p.m.
Memphis (3-4) at Tulane (2-5), 3 p.m.
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WEEKEND TV SCHEDULE
5. Oregon
6-1 1,355
7
6. West Virginia
6-1 1,228
9
7. Arizona St. (1)
7-0 1,156 12
8. Virginia Tech
6-1 1,111 11
9. Florida
5-2 1,107 14
9. Southern Cal
6-1 1,107 13
11. South Florida
6-1 980
2
12. Kansas
7-0 960 15
13. Missouri
6-1 925 15
14. Kentucky
6-2 719
8
15. South Carolina
6-2 649
6
16. Hawaii
7-0 573 17
17. Texas
6-2 497 19
18. California
5-2 444 10
19. Michigan
6-2 401 24
20. Georgia
5-2 394 21
21. Virginia
7-1 315
–
22. Alabama
6-2 263
–
23. Auburn
5-3 248 18
24. Penn St.
6-2 209
–
25. Rutgers
5-2
174
–
Others receiving votes: UCLA 77, Boise St. 72, Wake
Forest 50, Connecticut 26, Clemson 21, Wisconsin 17,
Air Force 11, BYU 6, Texas Tech 6, Troy 4, Fresno St. 3,
Oklahoma St. 3, Tennessee 3, Kansas St. 2, Cincinnati
1, Purdue 1, Texas A&M 1.
Today’sgames
noon — Citadel at Georgia Southern. CSS.
noon — West Virginia at Rutgers. WATE.
noon — Michigan State at Iowa. ESPN2.
12:30 — Mississippi State at Kentucky. WVLT.
3 — Appalachian State at Furman. SportSouth.
3 — Southern Cal at Oregon. FSN.
3:30 — Clemson at Maryland. WATE.
3:30 — Georgia vs. Florida. WVLT.
3:30 — Minnesota at Michigan. ESPN Classic.
3:30 — Richmond at James Madison. CSS.
6:30 — UCLA at Washington State. FSN.
6:30 — Charleston Southern at Gardner-Webb. SportSouth.
7 — Kansas at Texas A&M. ESPN2.
7 — Troy at Arkansas State. CSS.
7:45 — South Carolina at Tennessee. ESPN.
8 — Ohio St. at Penn State. WATE.
USA Today Top 25 Poll
The Top 25 teams in the USA Today college football
coaches poll, with first-place votes in parentheses,
records through Oct. 20, total points based on 25
points for a first-place vote through one point for a
25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
Rec.
Sunday’sGame
8 — UCF at Southern Miss. ESPN.
Alabama St. (4-3) vs. Alabama A&M (6-1) at Birmingham, Ala., 3:30 p.m.
UAB (2-5) at East Carolina (4-4), 3:30 p.m.
Florida (5-2) vs. Georgia (5-2) at Jacksonville, Fla.,
3:30 p.m.
Clemson (5-2) at Maryland (4-3), 3:30 p.m.
Louisiana-Monroe (2-5) at Florida Atlantic (4-3),
4 p.m.
Ark.-Pine Bluff (1-6) at Jackson St. (4-3), 4 p.m.
Florida A&M (2-5) at Morgan St. (4-4), 4 p.m.
Rice (1-6) at Marshall (0-6), 4:30 p.m.
Virginia (7-1) at N.C. State (2-5), 4:30 p.m.
E. Illinois (5-3) at Tennessee St. (3-4), 5 p.m.
Mississippi (2-6) at Auburn (5-3), 6 p.m.
Hampton (4-3) at Winston-Salem (4-3), 6 p.m.
Charleston Southern (3-4) at Gardner-Webb (3-4),
6:30 p.m.
VMI (2-5) at Coastal Carolina (2-5), 7 p.m.
N.C. Central (6-2) at W. Kentucky (4-3), 7 p.m.
South Carolina (6-2) at Tennessee (4-3), 7:45 p.m.
Duke (1-6) at Florida St. (4-3), 8 p.m.
SE Louisiana (2-5) at McNeese St. (7-0), 8 p.m.
Kansas (7-0) at Texas A&M (6-2), 7 p.m.
Houston (4-3) at UTEP (4-3), 9:05 p.m.
Midwest
Sunday’s game
Davidson (4-3) at Butler (4-4), Noon
Ball St. (5-3) at Illinois (5-3), Noon
Michigan St. (5-3) at Iowa (3-5), Noon
Northwestern (5-3) at Purdue (6-2), Noon
Indiana (5-3) at Wisconsin (6-2), Noon
San Diego (7-0) at Dayton (7-1), 1 p.m.
Cent. Michigan (4-4) at Kent St. (3-5), 1 p.m.
Jacksonville (2-5) at Drake (5-3), 2 p.m.
Iowa St. (1-7) at Missouri (6-1), 2 p.m.
S. Utah (0-7) at N. Dakota St. (7-0), 2 p.m.
Morehead St. (5-2) at Valparaiso (4-4), 2 p.m.
W. Illinois (5-3) at Illinois St. (4-4), 2:30 p.m.
Indiana St. (0-8) at Missouri St. (4-4), 2:30 p.m.
W. Michigan (3-5) at E. Michigan (2-6), 3:30 p.m.
Minnesota (1-7) at Michigan (6-2), 3:30 p.m.
Baylor (3-5) at Kansas St. (4-3), 3:35 p.m.
Youngstown St. (5-3) at N. Iowa (7-0), 4:05 p.m.
Ohio (3-5) at Bowling Green (4-3), 6 p.m.
N. Illinois (1-7) at Toledo (3-5), 7 p.m.
Southwest
Colorado (4-4) at Texas Tech (6-2), Noon
Fla. International (0-7) at Arkansas (4-3), 2 p.m.
MVSU (2-5) at Prairie View (4-2), 3 p.m.
Sam Houston St. (3-4) at Stephen F.Austin (0-7), 3
p.m.
SMU (1-6) at Tulsa (4-3), 3 p.m.
Nebraska (4-4) at Texas (6-2), 3:30 p.m.
Troy (5-2) at Arkansas St. (3-4), 7 p.m.
Nicholls St. (5-2) at Cent. Arkansas (4-3), 7 p.m.
Middle Tennessee (3-5) at North Texas (1-6), 7 p.m.
Far West
Montana St. (5-2) at N. Colorado (0-8), 2 p.m.
UNLV (2-6) at Wyoming (4-3), 2 p.m.
Southern Cal (6-1) at Oregon (6-1), 3 p.m.
Arizona (2-6) at Washington (2-5), 3 p.m.
Louisiana Tech (2-5) at Utah St. (0-7), 3:05 p.m.
Idaho (1-7) at Nevada (3-4), 4:05 p.m.
S. Dakota St. (3-4) at UC Davis (3-5), 5 p.m.
Cal Poly (4-3) at Idaho St. (3-4), 5:05 p.m.
E. Washington (4-3) at Sacramento St. (1-6), 5:05
p.m.
Utah (5-3) at Colorado St. (1-6), 5:30 p.m.
Weber St. (2-5) at Portland St. (2-5), 5:35 p.m.
Montana (7-0) at N. Arizona (5-3), 6:05 p.m.
Stanford (3-4) at Oregon St. (4-3), 6:30 p.m.
UCLA (5-2) at Washington St. (2-5), 6:30 p.m.
California (5-2) at Arizona St. (7-0), 10 p.m.
New Mexico St. (4-4) at Hawaii (7-0), 12:05 a.m.
South
UCF (4-3) at Southern Miss. (3-3), 8 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 1
South
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 2
Midwest
Temple at Ohio, 7 p.m.
Akron at Bowling Green, 7:30 p.m.
Far West
Nevada at New Mexico St., 8 p.m.
Polls
The AP Top 25
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college
football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 20, total points based on 25 points
for a first-place vote through one point for a 25thplace vote, and previous ranking:
1. Ohio St. (57)
2. Boston College (2)
3. LSU (5)
4. Oklahoma
Rec.
8-0
7-0
7-1
7-1
Pts Pvs
1,612
1,494
1,479
1,421
1
3
5
4
Pts Pvs
1. Ohio State (58)
8-0 1,498
1
2. Boston College (2)
7-0 1,412
2
3. LSU
7-1 1,319
5
4. Oklahoma
7-1 1,306
4
5. Oregon
6-1 1,225
6
6. West Virginia
6-1 1,134
7
7. Arizona State
7-0 1,089 12
8. Southern California
6-1 1,060 t9
9. Virginia Tech
6-1 1,052 11
10. Kansas
7-0 911 15
11. Florida
5-2 906 14
12. South Florida
6-1 813
3
13. Missouri
6-1 790 17
14. Hawaii
7-0 617 16
15. Kentucky
6-2 604 13
16. Texas
6-2 527 18
17. South Carolina
6-2 474
8
18. Virginia
7-1 466 24
19. Georgia
5-2 402 20
20. California
5-2 397 t9
21. Michigan
6-2 325 NR
22. Penn State
6-2 294 25
23. Auburn
5-3 179 19
24. Alabama
6-2 177 NR
25. Wisconsin
6-2 105 NR
Others receiving votes: Boise State 103, Rutgers 96,
Connecticut 75, Purdue 37, Texas Tech 28 UCLA 21,
Clemson 17, Cincinnati 10, Texas A&M 6, Fresno State
5, Wake Forest 5, Brigham Young 4, Kansas State 3,
Maryland 3, Oklahoma State 2, Vanderbilt 2, Illinois 1.
Harris Top 25
The Top 25 teams in the first Harris Interactive College Football Poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 20, total points based on 25
points for a first-place vote through one point for a
25th-place vote and previous ranking:
Rec.
Pts Pvs
1. Ohio State (111)
8-0 2,847
1
2. Boston College (1)
7-0 2,676
2
3. LSU (2)
7-1 2,550
5
4. Oklahoma
7-1 2,521
4
5. Oregon
6-1 2,281
7
6. West Virginia
6-1 2,157
8
7. USC
6-1 2,100
9
8. Arizona State
7-0 2,003 12
9. Florida
5-2 1,867 14
10. Virginia Tech
6-1 1,831 13
11. Kansas
7-0 1,671 15
12. South Florida
6-1 1,627
3
13. Missouri
6-1 1,568 17
14. Hawaii
7-0 1,265 16
15. Kentucky
6-2 1,156 11
16. Texas
6-2 1,054 18
17. South Carolina
6-2 1,031
6
18. California
5-2 873 10
19. Georgia
5-2 711 20
20. Virginia
7-1 650 24
21. Michigan
6-2 643 25
22. Penn State
6-2 404 NR
23. Auburn
5-3 333 19
24. Alabama
6-2 322 NR
25. Rutgers
5-2 249 NR
Other teams receiving votes: Wisconsin 153 UCLA
116, Boise State 94, Connecticut 80, Wake Forest 42,
Purdue 37, Texas Tech 36, Texas A&M 30, Cincinnati
20, Clemson 15, Kansas State 12, Oregon State 11, Illinois 5 BYU 4, Air Force 3, Oklahoma State 1, Tennessee 1.