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| Tuesday, October 24 Hackett, among others, polishing up the resumé By Gene Wojciechowski ESPN The Magazine | |||||
| From the home office in Bristol, Conn., the weekly Top 20 List. . .
20 -- A soapbox moment News update: Place-kicker Katie Hnida has been granted a release from Colorado. Hnida, who might transfer, is the first woman to ever appear on a Buffs football roster and dressed for two CU games as a freshman last season. Upon hearing the report, Heather Sue Mercer immediately filed a sexual discrimination suit. 19 -- Kermit the Frogs
A) Nike. B) A Reebok rep posing as a Nike rep. C) Costume designers for Star Trek: The Next Generation. D) A Eugene, Ore., consignment store. 18 -- Mulligans Think the 6-1 Ducks wish they could have a do-over against Wisconsin, the only team to beat them? Not only did the Badgers win the game but also they did it with a roster semi-gutted by SneakerGate suspensions. Since beating Oregon the Badgers are 2-4. 17 -- Century 21 Realtors -- Proud sponsor of ... USC coach Paul Hackett. Barring a miracle, Hackett's time has probably come and gone at Troy. The latest loss to Stanford at the Coliseum is another excuse for Trojan fans to bolt. Other coaches feeling the Bunsen Burner: Smith is the same guy who recently told Mizzou beat writers, "If you're playing great, they're going to stay. If you aren't playing great, they're going to leave and go drink." Considering the alternative ... Hey, another Mizzou guy (Class of '65). Widenhofer talked a good game during the preseason tours, but the Commodores are now 2-6 (with 16 returning starters) and 12-29 during Woody's watch. Just kidding. Incredibly enough, Bama (3-4) is still in the mix for the SEC West Division title. But it doesn't help that the Tide just lost its sixth consecutive game to archrival Tennessee. And the remaining conference schedule (at LSU, at Mississippi State, Auburn) is tougher than a rib bone at Dreamland. At 3-4, the Tar Heels need a late-season push or else Torbush will be sweating it out. . . again. 16 -- Catching heat Colorado is 1-6, thanks to the upset loss against Kansas. Kentucky is 2-6 and losing in all sorts of different ways (0 points in LSU defeat, 30 points and 528 passing yards in Georgia defeat). CU's Gary Barnett and Kentucky's Hal Mumme are safe as kittens, but nobody in Boulder and Lexington expected this. 15 -- Player of the week Antwaan Randle El, Indiana The Hoosiers quarterback rushed for 210 yards (91 more than TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson), passed for 263 yards (188 more than Virginia Tech's Michael Vick) and led IU to an upset of surging Minnesota. El is Vick, but without TV coverage and a decent defense. Honorable mention: Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey. Had the touchdown run of the year against Illinois. All he did was scramble for, what, 20 minutes? Then he broke four or five would-be tackles before working his way 39 yards for a score. Said Paterno of Casey's scramble: "We worked on it all week." 14 -- Wild rumor of the week Take it for what it's worth (which isn't much at the moment), but word is that Chris Simms is considering a second transfer, this time to the Northeast (Boston College?). It is true Simms is on the wrong end of the Longhorns quarterback controversy, but another year of sitting out? Doesn't make sense. Then again, his last-minute commitment switch from Tennessee to Texas a couple of years ago didn't seem too logical, either. Other Simms rumor (take with Morton's container worth of salt): He's thinking about redshirting next year. 13 -- Quote of the week "I'm not Superman for real." -- Virginia Tech's Michael Vick, when asked about the weekly expectations on him. Had us fooled. In a game that was light on big passing numbers for Vick (6 of 11 for 75 yards), he still produced the crushing play of the game, a 55-yard touchdown run against Syracuse. 12 -- Living and dying in L.A. USC and UCLA each started the season 3-0, including victories against Alabama, Michigan, Penn State and Colorado. Since then, the Trojans are 0-4 (four consecutive Pac-10 losses) and the Bruins are 1-3. 11 -- Stat of the week Baylor assistant Tommie Frazier wanted to be part of a rebuilding project, and he got one. The former Nebraska star saw the difference between Haves and Have Nots as the Huskers beat the Bears 59-0. Nebraska scored on its first nine possessions, led 52-0 at halftime and thought about inserting player parents into the game by the fourth quarter. Even more depressing: This was Baylor's third consecutive shutout. 10 -- Coach of the week Indiana's Cam Cameron. After the 51-43 upset of Minnesota, an emotional Cameron asked his players to raise their helmets to the remaining homecoming "crowd" (an announced audience of 30,882 at the 52,354-seat Memorial Stadium), in recognition of the fans' loyalty. All things considered, the fans should have done the same thing back. Give Cameron a little more time. He'll be worth the wait. 9 -- Question Who does Georgia start against Florida: an oft-hobbled and inconsistent Quincy Carter, or Cory Phillips, who threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns while subbing for Carter against Kentucky? Don't laugh, we're serious. Carter will undoubtedly get the start, but we'd keep the keys to Phillips nearby. 8 -- TCU Memo to Horned Frogs: One more struggle like the one against Tulsa and you can pretty much forget this BCS business. 7 -- Heisman Trophy race Invite to Downtown Athletic Club: Oklahoma's Josh Heupel, Virginia Tech's Michael Vick, Purdue's Drew Brees, Florida State's Chris Weinke, TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson. Keep name on DAC Palm Pilot: Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler, Wisconsin's Michael Bennett, Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Michigan's Anthony Thomas, Auburn's Rudi Johnson. Can tell the kids he was a fringe Heisman candidate: Northwestern's Damien Anderson, Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo. Thanks for stopping by the booth: Kansas State's Jonathan Beasley. 6 -- TCU -- Part II Andrew Bagnato of the Chicago Tribune writes that TCU is spending $90,000 on its Heisman campaign for Tomlinson. For a doorstop? TCU officials dispute the exact numbers, but say the five-figure investment is worth every penny. Bagnato correctly pointed out the money might have been better spent on educating its players, since TCU's graduation rate for players during a four-year period was 42 percent, 10 percent below the national average. 5 -- Musical QBs After trying Joey Mathews and A.J. Suggs, and wishing he had Simms, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer used the bye week to prepare freshman Casey Clausen for his first start, against Bama, of all teams. Smart move. Clausen will undoubtedly have his moments when he looks as if he is minutes removed from Alemany High School, but against the Crimson Tide he played with confidence. Fulmer might have found himself a future. 4 -- Just wondering Anybody notice that Notre Dame is 5-2 and Bob Davie is doing one of the nicer coaching jobs of the season? 3 -- Whatever happened to. . . Hawaii. Rainbow Warriors go from feel-good story of 1999 (9-4 record was biggest turnaround in NCAA history) to 1-5 this season. 2 -- Moment to remember Did we mention Rashard Casey's run? One hack's weekly elite Nebraska (7-0) -- After a bye week against Baylor, Huskers travel to Oklahoma for Big 12 game of the season. Clemson (8-0) -- Lost Woodrow Dantzler and still able to overcome 17-0 Carolina lead. Saturday's game against Georgia Tech is no gimme. Oklahoma (6-0) -- Winner has inside track to BCS championship game. Virginia Tech (7-0) -- Non-Superman Vick better than most superheroes. Oregon (6-1) -- Quacking its way to Rose Bowl, maybe better. Miami (5-1) -- Tuneup game against La Tech and then biggie against Va Tech. Florida State (7-1) -- Seminoles almost saw their faint championship hopes go down BCS drain when Clemson nearly stumbled against UNC. Southern Mississippi (5-1) -- Defense has given up just 59 points. Florida (6-1) -- In all likelihood, Saturday's game against Georgia is for SEC Championship appearance ... South Carolina (7-1) -- ... unless the Gamecocks keep winning. Waiting List: TCU (6-0), Ohio State (6-1), Washington (6-1), Oregon State (6-1), Purdue (6-2). Honorary Elite: Army (1-6) They have returned. Gene Wojciechowski's Movers and Shakers appears every Monday. | ALSO SEE Harig: Ducks are quiet contenders What you might have missed Heisman watch: Saturday's numbers | ||||
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