College Football Top 25 Capsules: Newton saga has been 12 months in the making
Cam Newton has second-ranked Auburn two games from a national championship and is a leading Heisman Trophy candidate. Life should be good.
Yet, the Tigers quarterback can't seem to shake allegations that his father asked for money during his recruitment out of junior college.
The whistle-blower in the recruiting scandal, former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond, has said he will be interviewed Tuesday by the FBI.
Bond informed then Mississippi State athletic department Greg Byrne in January that a former teammate — identified by ESPN.com as Kenny Rogers — had asked him for $180,000 to secure Newton's commitment to the Bulldogs.
That triggered a series of events in a drama that began last November.
Newton took his official visit to Mississippi State the weekend of Nov. 27 and watched the Bulldogs beat Ole Miss. Pictures were taken of Newton ringing a cowbell — an MSU symbol of pride — in the stands. Many believed MSU had the inside track at signing Newton because of the quarterback's relationship with Dan Mullen — the former Florida offensive coordinator when Newton was a Gator in 2007 and 2008.
After a fierce recruiting battle between Mississippi State and Auburn, Newton verbally committed to Tigers last New Year's Eve and signed on Feb. 3.
Fast-forward to July, when Mississippi State turned over a detailed report to the SEC after looking into Bond's information. The NCAA launched its own investigation independent of the SEC.
By the end of September, the NCAA had interviewed Bond and also requested financial information from Cecil Newton, a preacher. He also turned over financial information about his church, Holy Zion Center of Deliverance in Newnan, Ga.
Records show that Newton's church spent some $50,000 to make needed repairs, and the building meets city code for the first time in more than two years.
However, the church looked more like an old warehouse than a house of worship during a visit on Sunday. The front entrance was a locked glass door with drawn curtains, and had a giant garage suitable for a big-rig on the side. There was a dusty cement floor with a few folding chairs. A giant plank of wood riddled with nails covered one of the entryways. There was a no trespassing sign in front and neighbors said the church hasn't been used in months. However, Cecil Newton's name was still on the sign.
There has been a flurry of allegations and finger-pointing this month.
It didn't seem to bother Newton Saturday against Georgia, he had another spectacular performance. He led the Tigers to a come-from-behind 49-31 victory by throwing two touchdowns and running for two more. The win secured Auburn a spot in the SEC championship game for the first time since 2004.
Now Auburn has a week off, and though all parties have virtually turned silent — Auburn, MSU, the SEC, NCAA, the Newtons — the situation continues to fester.
Yes, Auburn (11-0) is the No. 2-ranked team in the nation in both the AP poll and BCS standings. Newton's play has made him the leading candidate to win the Heisman trophy.
But college football seems to be holding its collective breath, awaiting the findings of the NCAA probe and answers to the FBI questions.
Miles: Top-ranked SEC team deserves BCS title shot
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The possibility of LSU playing for a national championship doesn't seem all that far-fetched to coach Les Miles, even if the fifth-ranked Tigers have no chance of winning their own league.
After all, there's no guarantee that undefeated, second-ranked Auburn will beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa in two weeks, or win the SEC title game against a South Carolina team that nearly won at Auburn in late September.
If Auburn stumbles, that could open the door for LSU (9-1) to finish as the SEC's highest-ranked squad, and according to Miles' logic, "The highest-ranked team to come out of this conference should well have an opportunity to play in the national championship game."
Alluding to the SEC's four-year streak of producing college football's national champion, Miles added, "Certainly I'm prejudiced, but the reality of it is, I don't know that there's a finer, more competitive conference in America."
Currently, LSU is the top-ranked one-loss team in the country, with games remaining this Saturday against Mississippi (4-6) and at No. 13 Arkansas (8-2) on Nov. 27. Should the Tigers win out, they would go 11-1 in a regular season for the first time since 2003, when they won a national championship.
Miles went on to predict that the SEC's recent dominance of college football "at some point in time will be very significant when it comes to picking who plays in the (BCS title) game."
Senior left tackle Joseph Barksdale said the Tigers understand they must not get distracted from the games at hand by BCS scenarios, but conceded that, "in the back of our minds," they still consider themselves contenders.
Even if it jumped ahead of Auburn, LSU also would have to pass at least two other currently undefeated teams ranked ahead of them.
No. 1 Oregon has two games left against No. 23 Arizona and Oregon State. No. 3 Boise State has three games left, including one at No. 19 Nevada. No. 4 TCU has only one game left against New Mexico (1-9).
There's also the matter of whether an 11-1 LSU team, by virtue of its schedule, could jump over unbeaten TCU and Boise State squads.
"Those other teams are just coasting through their schedule," LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson said. "They play a few teams that probably can give them a challenge but ... no comparison with what we play every week."
Miles draws on his own experience in 2007 when explaining why he won't count the Tigers out yet. That's when two-loss LSU beat Tennessee in for SEC championship, then found out on the plane ride home about Missouri's loss in the Big 12 title game and Pittsburgh's shocking upset of West Virginia — results that allowed the Tigers to play — and defeat — Ohio State for the national title.
"There's a number of ways this thing finishes and I think it's way too early to predict," Miles said. "I would never have been able to tell you that before we played Tennessee in the (2007) SEC championship game that we would have had an opportunity to play in a national championship. I couldn't see it the night before."
Barksdale recalled that he, too, believed that the Tigers had lost their shot at a BCS title when they fell to Arkansas in their last regular season game of 2007.
"That was a pretty big blow to everybody," Barksdale said. "But I remember on the way back from the SEC championship game, when the pilot announced that the teams that needed to lose lost, it was crazy."
LSU also had help getting into the BCS title game against Oklahoma in 2003. That season, the Tigers were in a tight race with Southern California, but USC's strength of schedule dropped on Dec. 6 when Syracuse beat Notre Dame and Boise State beat Hawaii.
Few could have guessed when the 2003 season began that LSU's title hopes would hinge on those games.
Miles said he won't be surprised if arguments about strength of schedule heat up again in final weeks of this season. He can only hopes that LSU will be part of the debate.
"Great teams can come from any conference, there isn't any question, but it's that team that can prove over a length of schedule that they have played the best (that deserves) the opportunity to then represent all of college football in that game," Miles said. "I'm certain it will create great opinion and great conversation as we go forward. I hope to be very interested in that opinion and conversation."
-- Brett Martel
No. 6 Wisconsin may be without Clay again
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Injured Wisconsin running back John Clay should get limited practice time this week, though his availability for Saturday's game at Michigan isn't yet known.
Clay sprained his right knee in a win over Purdue on Nov. 6 and didn't play during Saturday's 83-20 victory over Indiana.
"I don't know if we'll have him for Tuesday (practice), but I do expect him to get a limited amount of work this week," coach Bret Bielema said Monday in his weekly news conference from Madison.
The sixth-ranked Badgers (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) are rolling headed into the game at Michigan (7-3, 3-3) and proved they didn't need the conference's reigning offensive player of the year against the Hoosiers.
With Clay sitting, Montee Ball ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start and freshman James White added 144 yards and two scores. The 83 points were the most Wisconsin has scored in a game in 95 years.
"I don't know if we'll have that three-headed thing this week because John I think won't be at full strength, but when that situation does pop up, whether it's the next game or in the bowl game opportunity, it's something you've got to be smart about when and how you use them," Bielema said. "I think it's hard to get three guys in rhythm all the way through, but you can definitely go a strong two and the third one comes in when he's needed."
It may not matter who gets the carries.
Clay leads the group with 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, White has 714 yards and 11 scores and Ball has 513 yards and nine TDs. Wisconsin is the only school in the FBS with three running backs that have at least 500 yards rushing.
All three have been effective at times and each has at least two 100-yard games. Even though Ball had the biggest day of his career, White took home conference honors as freshman of the week.
Wisconsin has had a memorable fall, but a loss at Michigan State on Oct. 2 has hurt their chances for an outright Big Ten title. Depending on tiebreaking scenarios, the Badgers could end up in the Rose Bowl, another BCS bowl or another trip to Florida to a lesser bowl game.
But first, Wisconsin must take care of its remaining schedule beginning with the Wolverines, who rallied from a 19-0 halftime deficit to beat the Badgers the last time Wisconsin was in Ann Arbor two years ago.
Wisconsin finishes its season against Northwestern.
"The best thing I think that this team really embraces is the Michigan State game happened for a reason. Whatever it was, we had to learn from that day," Bielema said. "If we just left everything in East Lansing, we'd never be where we are today. We learned from that experience and grew and I think that's the true sign of a good (team)."
-- Colin Fly
A lot riding on Ohio State-Iowa outcome
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A whole season of hope and expectation rides on eighth-ranked Ohio State's game at No. 21 Iowa on Saturday.
The Buckeyes know that all those offseason workouts, the grueling two-a-days in the heat of August, the close calls and the big wins will be for naught if they lose to the Hawkeyes. A defeat would most likely mean an end to Ohio State's five-year run as Big Ten champion and maybe even a trip to a second-tier bowl game.
Win, however, and they will be just a victory against rival Michigan away from a sixth straight shared or outright conference title, plus they'll still be in the mix for a Bowl Championship Series bowl bid. They don't expect it to be easy.
"We have a huge challenge having to play at Iowa," wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said. "Iowa is a team that has made its reputation as a tough team. Whether or not they're coming off a loss, I'm sure they've had this game circled on their schedule."
Adding to the intrigue is Iowa's 21-17 loss at Northwestern on Saturday. The Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2 Big Ten) are on the outside looking in on the conference race, with Michigan State, Ohio State (9-1, 5-1) and Wisconsin all tied for first place.
"The Big Ten race, obviously we're out of that," quarterback Ricky Stanzi, an Ohio native, said after the defeat. "I don't know. We've just got to go on to the next game."
The Buckeyes know how the Hawkeyes feel. They went to Wisconsin last month and fell behind 21-0 early, drew close and then ended up losing 31-18. They say they learned a lot from that loss — and the experience helped them transform a 14-3 halftime deficit Saturday against Penn State into a 38-14 win.
"We've been there before with Wisconsin and we didn't get the outcome we wanted," defensive lineman Dexter Larimore said. "Since then we have assessed how we can come back and really applied it (against Penn State). We picked it up and got the game rolling in our favor."
Ohio State hasn't been a powerhouse on the road, struggling at Illinois before losing at Camp Randall. They won at Minnesota not long after head coach Tim Brewster was fired.
"Going on the road for a big game like this, it helps that we have an older team," Sanzenbacher said. "I hope we react differently than we did at Wisconsin. All that could have gone wrong did at Wisconsin. But that will help us prepare for this situation."
The Buckeyes expect the Hawkeyes to be desperate.
"It'll be a dogfight," quarterback Terrelle Pryor said. "We went to overtime last year."
The 2009 game pitted two teams tied for first in the Big Ten. Once again Iowa was coming off a loss to Northwestern, which had ended the Hawkeyes' perfect season. They also lost Stanzi to an ankle injury in that game, so freshman James Vandenberg got his first career start.
After a slow start, he led the Hawkeyes to three second-half touchdowns, tying the game at 24 with a 10-yard pass to Marvin McNutt with 2:42 left.
The Buckeyes won in overtime on sub Devin Barclay's 39-yard field goal. The victory clinched a share of the Big Ten title and sent Ohio State to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 13 years.
The Buckeyes have almost always played well at Kinnick Stadium, winning six of their last seven there. The only setback in that string is Iowa's 33-7 victory in 2004. They've only played at Iowa once since then, winning 38-17 four years ago.
Kinnick is a tough enough place to play without facing a team that risks so much.
"We hoped they'd win (last week)," Pryor said.
The game would have been important regardless. Except now neither team can afford another slip or they'll be all but an afterthought for the rest of the season. The solution is simple for the Hawkeyes.
"We'll go back to work and see what we can do about bouncing back," coach Kirk Ferentz said.
-- Rusty Miller
Top 25 Notes
Lattimore, Newton share SEC award
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and South Carolina tailback Marcus Lattimore are co-SEC offensive players of the week.
Alabama safety Robert Lester received defensive honors Monday after intercepting two Mississippi State passes.
Newton ran for 151 yards, passed for 148 and accounted for four touchdowns against Georgia. Lattimore ran a school-record 40 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns against Florida.
Their teams earned spots in the SEC championship game with the wins.
South Carolina punter/kicker Spencer Lanning won special teams honors. He hit field goals of 49, 47 and 41 yards and averaged 43.7 yards on six punts.
Offensive and defensive line honors went to Auburn guard Mike Berry and Kentucky end DeQuin Evans. Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray and Lattimore shared the freshman award.
Saban: Barrett Jones likely out for game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama coach Nick Saban says guard Barrett Jones will probably miss Thursday night's game with Georgia State.
Jones hurt his ankle in the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide's win over Mississippi State. Redshirt freshman Anthony Steen filled in for him, and Saban said Monday that Alfred McCullough will also practice in Jones' spot.
Saban says defensive back B.J. Scott's nagging ankle injury hasn't been healing and he'll likely have surgery this week. He has missed the past two games.
Saban says defensive tackle Kerry Murphy is "probably questionable" for the game.
Running back Trent Richardson sat out the Mississippi State game with a knee injury. Saban says he could have played and isn't expected to miss practice time, but will be evaluated daily.
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Michigan motivated for more than a 7-win season
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has likely locked up a bowl game in a warm climate with its seventh win.
The Wolverines would love to upset Wisconsin and stun rival Ohio State to make their expected postseason trip even sweeter.
"To win these next two games is very motivating," nose tackle Adam Patterson said Monday. "My understanding is, the more wins, the better the bowls."
Michigan (7-3, 3-3 Big Ten) is a 5 1/2-point underdog Saturday at home against the sixth-ranked Badgers (9-1, 5-1) and will probably be expected to lose by even more next week on the road against the No. 8 Buckeyes, who have won six straight in the series.
"We need this Ohio State win, bigger than anything," cornerback James Rogers said. "That's something we've been waiting on. I guarantee that's where our focus is going to be at real soon.
"We're going to take on Wisconsin first."
The Badgers might make Michigan pay for peeking ahead to its next opponent.
They've won five straight Big Ten games — including a 13-point win over then-No. 1 Ohio State — since losing to Michigan State and are coming off an 83-20 win over Indiana.
Wisconsin is big, strong and experienced on offense and seems to be set up for even more success on defense against a small, weak and inexperienced unit that has given up an average of 38.2 points and 456-plus yards in conference games.
Rogers, though, is confident the Badgers won't be able to run up the score as they did against the Hoosiers.
"I guarantee they're not going to score 83 points on us," cornerback James Rogers said.
If Wisconsin comes close to that total — as Illinois did in a 67-65 triple-overtime loss in the last game at the Big House — Michigan won't be able to overcome quarterback Denard Robinson having another lackluster game.
Robinson threw for 176 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and fumbled twice on 22 carries for a season-low 3.1 yards per rushing in Saturday's win at Purdue. But Robinson bounced back well enough to complete a 25-yard pass to Kevin Koger on a third-and-7 and to run for 11 yards on a third-and-9 from the Purdue 20, setting up Stephen Hopkins' TD run that gave the Wolverines a 27-16 lead with 1:58 remaining.
"He was having a tough day," coach Rich Rodriguez said. "But in the last drive, he was the difference."
After an electric start that helped Michigan start 5-0, Robinson has fizzled at times. The past two games, he has thrown two interceptions and been held to 3.3 yards or fewer per rushing attempt.
"There's pretty good people he's playing against, but I don't think he's hit a wall," Rodriguez said. "I just think he had some bad a moments in the last game."
-- Larry Lage
Hoosiers trying to turn page on defensive debacle
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana coach Bill Lynch skipped right over the ugly numbers Monday. What else would you expect?
Two days after college football fans watched the embarrassing carnage from Indiana's 83-20 loss on national highlight shows, Hoosiers players had to sift through it all over again. They were trying to figure out what went wrong and what, if anything, could be fixed.
"The reality of it is that it was a loss," Lynch said during his weekly news conference.
But this was no ordinary loss. While few expected the Hoosiers to end their Big Ten losing streak in Madison against the nation's No. 6 team, most thought Indiana (4-6, 0-6 Big Ten) would at least compete.
Instead, the Hoosiers watched Wisconsin pile up points by the dozens. The Badgers finished with their highest point total in nearly a century and the highest point total in any Big Ten game since 1950.
Not enough? The Badgers ran for 338 yards, finished with 596 total yards, scored on all 13 offensive possessions and did all that without their best running back.
Lynch could not care less about the actual stats because as the Hoosiers (4-6, 0-6 Big Ten) need to win their final two games to become bowl eligible.
"The points jump out at everybody, but we can't let that affect where we are and what's ahead of us," he said. "We're going to Penn State to play a good football team and it's a great opportunity for us. I've talked to a lot of the guys over the last few days, and they understand that and they will be ready to go."
Right now, Lynch is the only one talking about Saturday's debacle. No players were available for interviews Monday, the first time that's been the case in weeks. Even quarterback Ben Chappell, a regular participant, was missing. He's trying to recover from a hip injury that knocked him out of the Wisconsin game in the first half.
Lynch believes Chappell's departure ignited Indiana's collapse at Wisconsin, and while there is no certainty Chappell will play this weekend, Lynch remains optimistic.
"I really think he'll be able to play," Lynch said. "When the game was over, he was really sore and not moving very well. But he was much better yesterday. He's been beaten up a lot this year, and he keeps bouncing back and when I saw him in the training room yesterday, he said 'I'll be ready.'"
And that's all Indiana can ask at the moment. The Hoosiers are still trying to end a Big Ten losing streak that has reached 11, a Big Ten road losing streak that now stands at 14 and head to Landover, Md., for a "home" game against Penn State, a school the Hoosiers has never beaten. Indiana agreed to move the game to FedEx Field for $3 million.
They're still trying to improve a defense that has allowed 34 or more points in five of the last seven games. And now they may be playing to save Lynch's job, too.
Saturday's embarrassment has restarted the debate about Lynch's future in Bloomington, with many asking whether he should return for a fifth season as head coach. The only winning season in Lynch's tenure came in 2007, the year Lynch took over after Terry Hoeppner's death.
But Lynch is ignoring all of it as he focuses on the next two games.
"You get that bunker mentality," he said. "It's interesting as a staff when we returned Saturday night, go home and get up early Sunday and you're here until late last night, and then you are back here this morning. Everything is focused on reviewing what happened, what mistakes are correctable, correcting them and then getting on to Penn State."
-- Michael Marot
