30 September 2008 Morning Headlines

Bo Pelini’s late-game temper tantrum has Nebraska tongues wagging about his lack of self control along the sidelines late in the Cornhuskers’ loss to Virginia Tech. By my count, that’s Pelini’s second bench penalty for chewing out referees in his five-game tenure as a head coach. He picked up another one during the Cornhuskers’ Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State in 2003. The new Nebraska coach can afford such showy public outbursts against the San Jose States and New Mexico States of the college football world. Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Kansas will be a different story.  That’s why veteran Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel had a friendly tip for the new Nebraska coach in his column today. Namely, it was to keep his passion, but to keep his ballistic nature in check — if it can be done. – ESPN

Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden was happy with a lot of what he saw in the Seminoles’ win over Colorado on Saturday, but he wasn’t too pleased with another penalty-filled game. “Nobody can play a game without making at least one mental error,” Bowden said. “But make too many and that can cost you a ballgame.” – Palm Beach Post

Sunday was not a day of rest for the Florida Gators. After Saturday’s stunning home loss to underdog Ole Miss, Coach Urban Meyer called an evening practice on the team’s usual off day and then canceled Monday’s drills. “The first time we’ve done that on a Sunday,” he said. “We all had to get around those players and put closure to a bad day. We practiced. I was impressed by the way they came out.” A team meeting was also part of the session. “Made it real clear that it’s a long football season,” Meyer said. “It’s not if a team deals with adversity and injury. It’s how you deal with it and we’re going to find out. I kind of have a feeling I know how we are going to handle it.” Meyer declined to provide details of the closed-door meeting but acknowledged it was passionate. “We all had a bad taste in our mouth,” he said. “Myself and some people had some things on their chest and if you want to say something, let’s say it. – Tampa Tribune

The losses are mounting, fans are getting restless and chances of making it to the postseason are quickly vanishing. It’s not the start first-year Hawaii coach Greg McMackin wanted, especially with the meat of the Western Athletic Conference schedule coming up starting with No. 22 Fresno State on the road Saturday. McMackin, however, said there’s a lot of football left and still believes the Warriors (1-3, 0-1 WAC) could turn it around. “I believe in the players. I believe in the coaches. We just have to continue to get better,” he said Monday. Hawaii is coming off a 20-17 loss at home to San Jose State where it self-destructed, committing six turnovers and five personal fouls. The Spartans overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit by forcing five turnovers in the second half. The Warriors are ranked last in the nation in turnover margin at -3.75 a game. In four games, they have been intercepted 11 times and lost six fumbles. – Union-Tribune

Peter Lalich, who started Virginia’s first two games at quarterback before being dismissed from the team for alcohol-related issues, has transferred to Oregon State. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Lalich was 39 of 74 for no touchdowns and three interceptions in two games, which included a 52-7 loss to USC. Lalich was on probation for underage drinking when he made a court appearance and told a judge he had violated the terms of his parole. Riley said he talked with Virginia coach Al Groh, “and other people involved in Peter’s life,” and Riley said he feels comfortable adding Lalich to his program. “I’m looking forward to working with him,” Riley said. “He’s a terrific talent.” Lalich must sit out the 2008 season, but will be eligible to play at the start of the 2009 season. – Oregonian

An NFL assistant coach who watched USC lose to Oregon State on Thursday said the Beavers’ top priority was stopping tailback Joe McKnight and the Trojans did not adjust by passing the ball more. “They kept trying to run into a brick wall,” said the assistant, who asked not to be identified. That analysis was hardly repudiated by USC coaches Monday. “We tired to do more stuff with Joe. That package of plays didn’t work out, it wasn’t that Joe didn’t work out,” running backs coach Todd McNair said. “We felt that package was going to be effective with Oregon State.” McNair said Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable will get more carries this week, especially if the Trojans decide to implement a conventional running game. – LA Daily News

The root of the transformation within Duke’s football program began in the weight room this past winter, where over 500 collective pounds were shed for a vast physical improvement that appears to have had a correlation with the Blue Devils’ win column this fall. “I told them, I said, ‘You’re going to feel like different players if you buy in to what we do,’” first-year coach David Cutcliffe said. “We’re big in that regard, as far as being able to run.” Now, the Blue Devils not only look like an FBS football team this season, but a pretty good one at that. Duke, a program that won a total of four games in the past four seasons, is 3-1 overall and off to its first 1-0 start in the ACC since beating Maryland in the 1994 season opener. – ESPN

Georgia coach Mark Richt said the Bulldogs were not punting away from Javier Arenas, who came into the game with an 18.7-yard return average. “He wasn’t trying to directionally kick,” Richt said Monday. “We were not asking him to do that. We just asked him to do his normal thing. He knew that part of the objective was to kick the ball high and I think he tried to overdo it in that regard.” Whatever the strategy was being utilized, Mimbs certainly didn’t pull it off. The senior from Dublin, Ga., averaged just 30.2 yards on four punts. His first punt was 29 yards and was returned 17 yards for a net of 12. He followed that up with a shank that went 19 yards. Alabama scored after both plays. Mimbs came into the game ranked second in the SEC and 15th nationally with a 43.9-yard average. That includes a 77-yarder he hit against South Carolina. Richt just chalked it up to a player having a bad day. “He had a few that weren’t very pretty,” Richt said. “It was not like Brian at all. But I still have a lot of belief in Brian. If he just gets his mind right and just focuses on the drop and nail it like he always does it’ll be plenty high enough for us to cover.” – Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt spent a lot more time talking about the Florida Gators than his next opponent at his weekly press conference Monday. Then again, the Rebels knocked Florida out of the Top Five on Saturday at The Swamp, stunning the Gators 31-30 to earn their third victory against two defeats. Ole Miss takes a 1-1 SEC record into Saturday’s home game against Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina squad. “We made a commitment not to beat ourselves. There’s no way you can beat anybody with costly penalties,” Nutt said. “We wanted to be more physical in our blocking.” – Sun Herald

USC tailback Allen Bradford has waited patiently for his chance. He starred on special teams for two seasons. Broke off highlight-reel plays almost daily last spring and during fall training camp. The powerful junior from San Bernardino, coaches said, would be part of the tailback rotation. But after getting no carries in the Trojans’ loss at Oregon State, Bradford could not contain his frustration. “Even with as many tailbacks that we have, I shouldn’t be going through this,” Bradford said Monday after practice. “I just want to play. I came here to play.” The 5-foot-11, 225-pound Bradford, who starred at running back and linebacker at Colton High, did not rail. He spoke quietly about his situation and acknowledged that fellow junior Stafon Johnson and sophomores C.J. Gable and Joe McKnight also were talented backs. But that did not ease the sting of not carrying the ball once in a game when the Trojans managed only 86 rushing yards and McKnight struggled and fumbled. “I don’t want to sound selfish, but I put in hard work and competed and practiced hard — I’ve done everything I’ve been asked,” Bradford said. “I just feel I could do more. No carries, and we lost.” – Los Angeles Times

Oklahoma has been ranked No. 1 for as many weeks as any college program in the country. OU coach Bob Stoops said that’s a compliment to previous coaches and teams from previous eras as well as current players and coaches who have continued the tradition. Stoops, though, downplayed being ranked No. 1 before might allow this team to handle the publicity better than a program unaccustomed to the top spot. “I don’t know that gives us any special advantage in the end,” Stoops said. “Each year is different. You have to go earn it each time. Just because we’ve done it before, sometimes that’s a long time ago. The bottom line is all that matters is what you’re able to do now.” Stoops also was asked if being ranked No. 1 puts an ever larger bulls eye on their backs. “We generally have a pretty good sized one regardless,” Stoops said. “We’re fairly used to that.” – Oklahoman

Colorado State’s quarterback depth chart remained the same Monday despite a dismal offensive showing Saturday. “Billy’s our starter,” CSU coach Steve Fairchild said Monday of fifth-year senior Billy Farris, who failed to direct a scoring drive against Cal. In his collegiate debut, redshirt freshman Klay Kubiak put up better numbers in one quarter, albeit long after the outcome was decided. “We just have to get our rhythm back in the passing game,” Fairchild said at his weekly news conference. “We were just completely out of rhythm from a technique and fundamentals standpoint.” – Denver Post

The last time Southern Miss (2-2, 0-1 C-USA) played, it lost 34-27 to Marshall. The last time UTEP (1-3, 1-0) played, it defeated UCF 58-13. “We focused on the things we had been doing every week,” Fedora said about the Eagles’ off week. “There is so much room for improvement in the little things, the small areas, that we didn’t have time to expand, because we’ve got to get better in what we’re doing. If we get better at what we’re doing, we’ll be fine, then we can expand in other areas. “There’s nothing scheme-wise that needs to be changed. We just need to do a better job executing.” Fedora said the loss to Marshall left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Eagles, and he hoped that motivated them to practice harder. And he didn’t make it easy on the players as, for much of last week, the No. 1 offense went against the No. 1 defense in workouts. “They came out to practice and practiced hard,” Fedora said. The first-year USM coach wants the team to concentrate on fundamentals more than expanding its game plan. – Hattiesburg American

The 250 return yards that Terrence Austin covered against Fresno State underscored the game-breaking potential the junior wide receiver totes around. The difficulty has been getting Austin the ball on offense, where he can use his speed. He leads the team with 20 receptions, but is averaging only nine yards a catch. Austin ran the ball twice against Fresno State — on a reverse and on a fly-sweep when the Bruins lined up quarterback Kevin Craft at wide receiver and had a running back take a direct snap. “Part of what you do on offense is say, ‘What can you do?’ and part of it is, ‘How do you get your playmakers the ball?’ ” Rick Neuheisel said. “In the passing game, that’s a little more difficult because you can’t predict what the coverage will be. You don’t ever want to tell a quarterback who to throw to. That being said, we want to get the ball in Terrence’s hands as many times as we can.” – Los Angeles Times

Miami coach Randy Shannon said he has been more aware of players’ injuries this season in the context of when to play them and when to let them rest. The 37-29 victory last year at Florida State, Shannon said, ‘was supposed to be a springboard, but we had so many injuries that it wasn’t the springboard we thought it would be. When you have all those injuries and you say, `OK, we’re ready to take that next step,’ you better evaluate what kind of injuries you have because they may prevent you from getting there. ‘I realize from last year to this year, I feel very leery of that now. I look at our injuries all the time to see who is nicked and who is not, and who is going to play. Like [defensive tackle] Marcus Forston — he didn’t play the other day. You probably could have said, `Let’s try him out and see if he can make it,’ but if you aggravate it more . . . you definitely wouldn’t get him for Florida State. Maybe you give him another week, and now he’ll be fully recovered.” – Miami Herald

As a quarterback, Washington’s Jake Locker will be out six to eight weeks after having surgery Monday to repair a broken right thumb suffered Saturday against Stanford. But Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham left open the idea that Locker could return earlier at another position. “It is possible,” Willingham said. “I can’t tell you where right now. But he is a tremendous athlete, and the ability to play five, six, seven positions exists.” Willingham wouldn’t speculate as to what those positions might be, or when Locker might be available. First for Locker, however, was surgery, which was reported on Willingham’s radio show to have lasted at least three hours and involved inserting plates and screws to repair the thumb. Willingham said Locker broke the first metacarpal bone, which connects the thumb to the hand. Locker was hurt while throwing a block on a reverse by Jordan Polk midway through the second quarter of the 35-28 loss to the Cardinal. – Seattle Times

Arizona State was 7-0 last year when tailback Ryan Torain went out for the season with a foot injury. The Sun Devils are 5-5 since, a drop-off that correlates in part to their troubles rushing without the Train, a rare combination of strength and speed at 6 feet 1 and 213 pounds. With ASU (2-2, 1-0 Pac-10) now averaging just 89 yards rushing (110th nationally), it’s hard to remember that the Sun Devils put up 296 yards rushing against Washington in what turned out to be Torain’s final game. They were averaging 177.1 yards rushing before Torain’s injury; by the end of last season they were down to 137 per game. Dennis Erickson is determined to reverse that trend coming off a Georgia game in which ASU rushed 19 times for 4 yards. “If I had a mulligan, I would go in and run it more,” against Georgia, Erickson said Monday. “It doesn’t have anything to do other than let’s make a commitment to doing it more, and we’re going to do that. It’s not how many yards you gain, but that you run it and you’re physical. We made a mistake not thinking we could go in and run it against Georgia. It’s just doing it more, believing in what you’re doing. Obviously we’ve got to get better up front, that’s simple to see. But it’s hard to get better running the ball if you don’t run it.” – Arizona Republic

TheWolverine.com reported Monday that Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips junior wide receiver Ricardo Miller was offered today by Michigan and committed to the Wolverines. He is the first oral commitment for the 2010 class. – Detroit Free Press

When the University of Florida’s football season began, the offensive line appeared to be one of the strongest units on the field. You wouldn’t know it four games into the season. Multiple injuries to the line means quarterback Tim Tebow is being hurried and pressured more than usual when fewer defenders rush him, causing overthrown and underthrown passes and short-yardage scrambles. Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Jim Tartt reinjured his shoulder in No. 12 Florida’s 31-30 loss to Mississippi on Saturday, and Gators coach Urban Meyer lists him as “very questionable, probably doubtful” for this weekend’s game at Arkansas. “He’s had three surgeries. It’s just wear and tear,” Meyer said. “Poor guy, he’s as tough a human being as there is, but he’s had three surgeries on one shoulder. Jim’s good for a week and off, then he’s off for a week.” – Palm Beach Post

It’s Miami, but it’s not as deeply talented and feared as it once was. hat said, Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher had a point when the questions outside the Florida State locker room following Saturday’s 39-21 victory over Colorado turned to the next opponent. This remains a dangerous Hurricane team. Two days of watching film have not altered Fisher’s thinking that the Hurricanes pose plenty of challenges for his mostly young offense. Miami has the ACC’s top rushing defense, just ahead of FSU, plus more speed with intimidating size up front… Miami has allowed 65 yards rushing per game. FSU rushed for 259 yards against a less experienced and less formidable defensive line in Colorado than what it will face against Miami. A review of the Colorado game showed FSU coaches that the offensive line must play much better this Saturday for the team to find some success on the ground against Miami. “In this day and age of flinging it around, which everybody does, you still got to run the football,” Fisher said. “And you find out all those spread teams, if you really look at ‘em, they all find ways to run it in there. “You have to run the football. It’s going to get back to that when you play good people. You can’t put every play on the quarterback’s back.” – News-Press

Georgia coach Mark Richt wasn’t sure how they’re going to do it but the coaching staff plans on ending Georgia’s run as the most penalized team in college football. The Bulldogs have been flagged 53 times for 437 yards, including 10 for 81 in Saturday’s loss to Alabama. “It’s been about 10 at least every game,” he said. “I’ve got to send a stronger message than we’ve sent to this point. That’s one of my number one priorities right now to make sure I do that.” – Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Perry offensive lineman Johnnie Farms, who is an AJC Super 11 selection, committed to South Carolina on Monday night. The Gamecocks were actually the second choice for Farms, who tried to commit to Alabama a few days earlier. However, Farms said the Crimson Tide coaches told him that they were “full” at his position. He also generated interest from Auburn and Florida. – Atlanta Journal Constitution

USC tailback Allen Bradford has waited patiently for his chance. He starred on special teams for two seasons. Broke off highlight-reel plays almost daily last spring and during fall training camp. The powerful junior from San Bernardino, coaches said, would be part of the tailback rotation. But after getting no carries in the Trojans’ loss at Oregon State, Bradford could not contain his frustration. “Even with as many tailbacks that we have, I shouldn’t be going through this,” Bradford said Monday after practice. “I just want to play. I came here to play.” – Los Angeles Times