Other College Football Capsules: Washington grinds past listless UCLA 24-7
SEATTLE (AP) — The numbers were far from what Jake Locker wanted playing in Husky Stadium for the final time. The celebration was exactly why he returned to Washington.
Playing with a cracked rib, Locker scored on a 3-yard run in the first half, and Quinton Richardson returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown with 6:22 left to help Washington keep its fledgling bowl hopes alive with an ugly 24-7 win over UCLA on Thursday night.
Locker's rib was such a concern that Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said he seriously considered keeping Locker on the bench. Ultimately, he called a conservative game that rarely exposed the Huskies' senior quarterback.
"I felt really good and (Sarkisian) knew I was going to be really honest with him," Locker said. "We have a really good open relationship and I truly don't believe he would have let me be out there all week practicing and thinking I'm going to play without that intention."
Instead, the bulk of this one was put on the shoulders of running backs Chris Polk and Jesse Callier, and a Washington defense that limited UCLA to just 51 yards of offense in the final 3½ quarters.
Polk carried 25 times for a career-high 138 yards and capped the best night of his career with a 2-yard TD plunge with 4:24 left. Callier, the Huskies' speedy freshman, added 107 yards as Washington (4-6, 3-4 Pac-10) saw two backs top 100 yards for the first time in three years.
Washington finished with a season-high 253 yards rushing.
"We knew that we were going to run the ball, but I had no clue that we were gonna just keep running it like that," Polk said. "That was just a dream for me."
Playing a prime-time Thursday game, the Huskies broke out all black uniforms for the first time in school history, even going as far as painting the end zones of Husky Stadium black.
They might want to consider doing it again.
In the final home game of his career, Locker was just 10 of 21 passing for 68 yards and an interception. He carried just four times for 9 yards as Washington coach Steve Sarkisian tried to protect the quarterback's tender ribs that kept him on the sideline Nov. 6 against Oregon.
Locker left to a huge ovation with 2 minutes remaining, replaced by freshman Keith Price. If he had a redo, Sarkisian said, he wished he would have called a timeout to give Locker more of a final moment.
After three straight losses, Washington kept its bowl hopes alive, but still needs wins at California (Nov. 27) and in the Apple Cup against Washington State (Dec. 4) to reach the needed six victories.
"This puts back a lot of life (in the season). Because we had some guys slipping away like, 'Aw, man, this again ...'" Polk said. "But this just reassured us that what we're doing is right."
Meanwhile, UCLA's hopes of going to a bowl game for the second straight season took a major hit. The Bruins (4-6, 2-5) close at Arizona State and at home against USC, needing to win both to get six victories.
For the moment, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel would simply like a quarterback that can run a functional offense. Starter Richard Brehaut went to the bench with a concussion midway through the third quarter after an awful incompletion that ended a Bruins drive at midfield.
Brehaut was chewed out by Neuheisel on his way to the bench. A few moments later, Neuheisel realized Brehaut wasn't right.
"I wanted to talk to him after the series to talk about the third-down play that I thought he didn't see what we just talked about and he couldn't recall what we had just talked about so I said you can't play anymore," Neuheisel said.
Enter Darius Bell, who had no previous playing experience. More of a running threat, Bell threw only three passes, the last one intercepted by Richardson. It was Washington's first interception return for a touchdown since Mason Foster's game-winning return against Arizona last season.
After throwing his interception, Bell was then replaced by Clayton Tunney as Neuheisel continued his revolving door of QBs. Tunney was intercepted on his third pass by safety Nate Fellner.
"We were down two scores and we needed to throw and Darius' strong suit is probably more as a runner in this offense," Neuheisel said, "and I didn't think with six minutes left and change that we had the ability to be methodical. I know Clayton throws it pretty well and knows enough about our offense to go in there and throw it down the field."
The trio of Bruins quarterbacks combined to go 6 of 25 with three interceptions. UCLA's offense, which rumbled for 97 yards in the first quarter behind the running of Johnathan Franklin, finished with just 163 total yards.
Franklin scored the Bruins' only touchdown on a 31-yard run in the first quarter and finished with 53 yards on 18 carries.
Jefferson leads Air Force past UNLV
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tim Jefferson and the bowl-bound Air Force Falcons took their time getting up to full speed against pesky UNLV in their regular-season finale.
Jefferson threw a touchdown pass and had three short scoring runs and Air Force overcame an early 10-point deficit to beat UNLV 35-20 on Thursday night.
"The first 25 minutes of the game, that was unacceptable," Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said. "The last 28 minutes, we played really, really good football."
Jefferson was 7 of 9 for 111 yards, including a 5-yard scoring pass to Zack Kauth early first quarter, and ran 16 times for 64 yards for the Falcons (8-4, 5-3 Mountain West).
The Falcons are headed to their fourth straight bowl.
"My gut — everything we're getting — either is Shreveport or right here in Las Vegas," Calhoun said.
Asher Clark had 14 carries for 82 yards, and Jonathan Warzeka had a go-ahead 54-yard touchdown run and finished with 64 yards rushing on only two carries and also caught two passes for 46 yards.
"I thought it was a big momentum shifter for us," Warzeka said. "We needed to put some points on the board. We needed to set the tempo and put this game away."
Omar Clayton completed 18 of 30 passes for 224 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown strike to Phillip Payne for UNLV (2-9, 2-5), which led 17-7 in the second quarter.
"(Air Force) has pretty good team speed," UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said. "They got good quickness. It showed when they played Oklahoma. We didn't keep the ball offensively enough."
Jefferson's first rushing touchdown, a 1-yarder with 1:49 left in the half, cut it to 17-14 and gave the Falcons rushing touchdowns in 20 straight games.
Warzeka's 54-yard run down the left sideline put the Falcons up 21-17 early in the second half, and Jefferson had a 2-yard scoring run on Air Force's next drive to make it 28-17.
Jefferson threw his 5-yard scoring pass to Kauth after Andre Morris returned an interception to the 8 on the second play from scrimmage in the game. The Rebels tied it on the next drive on Tim Cornett's 2-yard run.
Cornett finished with 69 yards on 24 carries for the Rebels.
"(UNLV) showed us that if we took them lightly, they were going to put points on the board and that's exactly what they did," Warzeka said. "Especially this being their last home game. They had a lot to play for. There wasn't one time during this game that they were letting up."
UNLV will finish the season with games at San Diego State on Nov. 27 and at Hawaii on Dec. 4.
Features
1946 Army-Notre Dame, Game of Century
NEW YORK (AP) — It was 1946 and World War II was finally over, so it was OK to consider a college football game the biggest thing going on in the United States of America.
Back then, Notre Dame and Army were at the top of the sport. Their rivalry was THE rivalry. College football was still a regional game, but the Fighting Irish and Black Knights had national followings.
When they played on Nov. 9, 1946, at Yankee Stadium, Army was No. 1 and the two-time defending national champion. Notre Dame was No. 2. A standing-room-only crowd of about 75,000 packed the House that Ruth Built and Joe DiMaggio still called home that day to watch The Game of the Century.
"This was sort of a quintessential postwar American team," Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said of the '46 Fighting Irish. "In the previous two years, the combined score of Notre Dame-Army was Army 107-0, because all our guys were in the service.
"The following year it was postwar America, the boys had come back home. In a sense, the game really represented that transition. America had returned to normal, Notre Dame had its football team back and its coach back."
The game matched four players who ended up winning the Heisman Trophy, two on each side, and two Hall of Fame coaches in Earl "Red" Blaik and Frank Leahy. And when it was over, not a single point had been scored.
Army 0, Notre Dame 0.
"It turned out to be kind of a dull game of the century," former Irish halfback Terry Brennan told The Associated Press earlier this week.
And yet, somehow, it's still a game that sticks in the American imagination, with echoes that resonate even 64 years later as Notre Dame and Army prepare to play for their 50th meeting — this time in the new Yankee Stadium on Saturday night.
It will be the first football game played at the two-year old ballpark and the 23rd time Notre Dame and Army have met in the Bronx.
"It was a natural," Swarbrick said. "You've got to celebrate this stuff or you lose it."
Some of the most memorable moments in Notre Dame's rich history have come when the Irish have played Army.
The first matchup between the teams was in 1913, a game called "the most significant victory in the history of Notre Dame football" by former AP sports writer Ken Rappoport in his book "Wake Up The Echoes." The Irish beat a powerful Army team 35-13 with coach Jesse Harper surprising the Cadets by having quarterback Gus Dorais frequently pass to end Knute Rockne.
The 1924 game at the Polo Grounds in New York produced one of the most famous pieces of sports writing in American history. The Irish won 13-7 and Grantland Rice began his story for the New York Herald Times this way:
"Outlined against a blue, gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden."
The 1928 Army-Notre Dame game was famous for Rockne, by then the Irish coach, urging his team to win one for the Gipper at halftime.
Notre Dame dominated the rivalry for years, but in 1944 and '45, with Leahy and many of Notre Dame's top players serving in the military, Army had its way with the Irish, winning 59-0 and 48-0.
Army came into the '46 game having won 25 straight with maybe the most famous backfield in the history of the college football. Doc Blanchard (Mr. Inside) had won the Heisman in 1945 and Glenn Davis (Mr. Outside) went on to win the Heisman in '46.
"The difficulty I had as a quarterback was deciding which one of those Heisman Trophy winners to give the ball to," former Army quarterback Arnold Tucker, a college football Hall of Famer himself, said in a telephone interview from his Miami home.
Notre Dame had welcomed back Leahy from the Navy. The coach had done some recruiting while in the service and among the players he brought to South Bend, Ind., was George Connor, a transfer from Holy Cross who went on to become the first Outland Trophy winner as the nation's top lineman in '46.
Johnny Lujack also returned to Notre Dame in 1946 after two years in the service. In 1947, he won the Heisman. The 1949 Heisman winner, end Leon Hart, was a freshman.
Both teams had romped through the competition on their way to Yankee Stadium. Army won its seven games by a combined 296-34. Notre Dame outscored its five opponents 177-18.
The Notre Dame faithful knew they had a team that could end Army's reign. Students sent postcards to Blaik and signed them SPATNC — Society to Prevent Army's Third National Championship.
The sun was peeking through the clouds at kickoff that chilly fall day in the Bronx. As the radio announcer said, "You couldn't get another person in here with a shoehorn."
The game quickly developed into a defensive struggle.
"I called for a play for Blanchard to run sort of off-tackle to the left and usually he'd plow right along with that ... he got thrown for losses," Tucker said. "(The Irish) were out there waiting for us."
Both coaches were cautious — though in one case, maybe not cautious enough.
Notre Dame's best scoring chance came in the second quarter after Lujack led a long drive to the Army 4. On fourth-and-2, Leahy, who equated field goals with failure, called for a running play and Bill Gompers was stopped short.
"I wish when we were down near the goal line we maybe should have kicked a field goal," Lujack said.
At a time when almost everybody played both ways, Lujack was intercepted three times by Tucker that day.
"Coach Leahy asked me why did I throw it to him and I said 'Because he was the only one open,'" Lujack said, pulling out a laugh line he's used more times than he can count.
But it wasn't necessarily a bad day for Lujack. From his defensive position, he made maybe the most famous tackle in Notre Dame history in the second half when he cut out Blanchard's legs near the sideline at the Irish 36. Lujack was the last line of defense between Blanchard and the end zone.
Army continued to drive after Lujack's TD-saving tackle, but Brennan intercepted Davis' halfback pass deep in Irish territory, ending the last scoring threat for either team.
"There's no satisfaction in a 0-0 game," Tucker said.
Both teams finished the season unbeaten, and neither played in bowls back then. Notre Dame was voted No. 1 in the final AP poll and Army finished second.
"When we used to battle Army," said Brennan, "they tried to beat the hell out of us and we'd try to do the same, but when the game was over there was great respect between the two schools."
Blaik called off the series with Notre Dame later that year, but they played once more in '47 at Notre Dame. The Irish won 27-7.
In 1957, the schools played again and they have met on and off ever since, with the Irish winning 14 of 15. The last Army victory was in 1958, when Pete Dawkins won the Heisman for Army. Lujack and Dawkins will be honorary captains at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night.
The Notre Dame (5-5) and Army (6-4) programs that will square off are far from the powerhouses of the past. The Irish need a victory to become bowl eligible. The Cadets are having their best season in 14 years.
But for many, when the Irish and Black Knights play, it conjures up memories of a time when nothing — in sports or otherwise — was bigger.
-- Ralph D. Russo
Dooley settling in while Caldwell's job at risk
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Winning two games has calmed down questions about Derek Dooley and his ability to coach in his first season at Tennessee. Robbie Caldwell looks across the state and just wishes he had a full offseason to put his imprint on the Vanderbilt program.
Whether he gets a chance to do just that likely depends on his Commodores snapping a five-game skid and winning their final two games. The coach hired just seven weeks before this season started could be out of a job if Vanderbilt doesn't win.
Vanderbilt's disappointing record is not due to a lack of effort on Caldwell's part.
He has switched up his coaching staff, promoting Des Kitchings to offensive coordinator on Oct. 25. He says he has plans to make major changes if given the chance.
"You never know," Caldwell said. "Any time you're coaching, you're always on a one-year deal. It's what have you done for me lately."
Vanderbilt (2-8, 1-6) hosts Tennessee (4-6, 1-5) on Saturday night in a series where the Volunteers have won four straight and 26 of the last 27. The Commodores then conclude the season on Nov. 27 against Wake Forest (2-8) in what might be their best chance for a win.
A month ago, it seemed like the Commodores would have a good chance at beating Tennessee when the Vols were mired in a four-game skid that included big losses to Georgia and then-No. 7 Alabama. South Carolina downed the Vols 38-24. Dooley switched quarterbacks to freshman Tyler Bray, and he's thrown for eight touchdowns in wins against Memphis and Mississippi.
Dooley is Tennessee's third coach in as many seasons and has had to deal with players who left because of all the changes. Dooley equates the turmoil to being on probation.
Caldwell had been on staff at Vanderbilt the past eight seasons when he was called in from lining the fields for camp to replace Bobby Johnson. This is his first head-coaching gig, and he didn't have time to do more than hire his own replacement as offensive line coach.
He'd like to change the culture and mentality of the program, make the Commodores tougher mentally and physically.
"We have some ideas on what we want to do. Sure do," Caldwell said.
But Vanderbilt has been outscored 206-55 in this skid, with Caldwell's best option to spice up the offense being changing coordinators.
He lost his top two running backs for the rest of the season to injuries, and quarterback Jordan Rodgers, a junior college transfer, had surgery on his throwing shoulder Monday.
Since Fred Pancoast went 7-4 in 1975, only two coaches have won more than the two games Caldwell's already won in their first season at Vandy. Gerry DiNardo went 5-6 in 1991, and Woody Widenhofer was 3-8 in 1997. Johnson, who unexpectedly retired in July, was 2-10 himself in 2002.
By that measure, Caldwell should get another season.
But Vanderbilt officials aren't satisfied with a couple wins a year anymore, not after ending a 25-year bowl drought in 2008 with a trip to the Music City Bowl.
"I don't want it to take as long as it did before," David Williams, the Vanderbilt vice chancellor in charge of athletics, told The Associated Press recently. "We're building to get back to that. Wins and losses are obviously important."
Williams wouldn't discuss Caldwell's contract status but said the evaluation of coaches is ongoing — with wins and losses just part of the measure. Weekly improvement, the team's reaction to wins and losses and recruiting success also count. Last week, Derek King, a three-star rated athlete by Rivals.com, committed verbally to Vanderbilt.
If a change is made, it would be the first major coaching hire since Vanderbilt eliminated its athletic department and put Williams in charge.
Names like former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach and Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn already are being discussed as options on local radio.
Dooley knows too well the challenges a new coaching staff faces. A change at Vandy would mean the Commodores' third coach in as many seasons — just like Tennessee. Dooley said it's more than just telling players which play to run.
"It's developing a team, developing a family of a lot of trust and a lot of belief in what we're doing and how it's going to help them. It's learning to manage the emotions when things don't go well and how do we deal with each other and how do we work together as people," Dooley said.
"It's always easy when the results are good. It's always difficult when the results are not good."
-- Teresa M. Walker
Royster's record career winds down at Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Evan Royster is a reluctant front man for Penn State, a self-admitted lead-by-example tailback who would rather make his statement by piling up yardage.
That's what he's done during a four-year run in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions' career rushing leader gets to play one of his final games Saturday against Indiana at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., about 30 miles from his home in Fairfax, Va.
Royster could have already been playing Sundays at the Washington Redskins' stadium, had he decided to keep his name in the NFL draft as a junior. Instead, he returned to Penn State for a senior season that hasn't quite lived up to expectations.
"I'm not saying I regret coming back," Royster said. "Even though it's not an undefeated season, I still had a good time this year. ... I still consider it successful."
There's no mistaking Royster's imprint on the record book.
Last month, he broke the school rushing record of 3,398 yards held for nearly three decades by Hall of Famer Curt Warner. He's also 217 short of becoming the first Penn State player with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons — another milestone he could reach Saturday against an Indiana defense that allowed 338 on the ground last week to Wisconsin.
"They have their all-time leading rusher, so you have to prepare for him," said Indiana coach Bill Lynch, "and that's saying something at Penn State."
Royster hasn't had much success against tough defenses, though. This year, for instance, he hasn't eclipsed 56 yards in each of Penn State's three road games at ranked foes Alabama, Iowa and Ohio State.
The offensive line had been a problem until rebounding over a recent three-game win streak, including the 150-yard, two-TD performance against the defensively challenged Wolverines that got Royster the school rushing record.
But the run grounded to a halt again in the second half last week vs. the Buckeyes, when Penn State managed just 113 yards on 32 carries. Royster had 49 yards on 16 carries, and limped off with a sore left knee before returning late. He said this week he was fine and would wear a sleeve on the knee as a precaution in practice.
"I can't say we've taken a step back, but we didn't play like we could," Royster said. "We're going to try to fix those things."
Royster has played extensively since backing up Rodney Kinlaw in 2007 as a redshirt freshman. He took over as the feature back during Penn State's run to the Rose Bowl in 2008 — rushing for 1,200 yards on team that featured strong leaders like wide receiver Derrick Williams and center A.Q. Shipley.
An 1,100-yard season followed last year, and Royster was able to toil in relative anonymity with charismatic quarterback Daryll Clark serving as captain.
Royster, with the school record in sight, came back in 2010 as Happy Valley's most notable player, though he wasn't named captain. He has remain even-keeled during this topsy-turvy 6-4 season marked by team-wide injuries and half-to-half mood swings.
Royster didn't break 100 yards until a 187-yard day against Temple, with the offensive line taking a big chunk of the blame for the early lack of production. Until then, fans wondered if Royster had landed in JoePa's infamous doghouse after Paterno made a passing comment that he was worried about his tailback's weight.
Coaches had asked Royster to bulk up during the offseason to get ready for the increased pounding that comes with a heavier workload. The 6-foot-1 Royster said he got up to about 228 before returning to his now-listed weight of 218.
Through it all, Royster has stayed subdued — though he did admit this week to being excited to play one of his last games for Penn State in front of more family and friends.
"It going to be tough," Royster said about his college career winding down. "I've loved my time here, and I think I'll be ready for what life throws at me."
-- Genaro C. Armas
Clemson's offense struggling to score
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson's offense has rarely had trouble putting points on the board the past few seasons.
This year, though, the Tigers' attack has gone dry at the worst possible time and everyone involved — from coach Dabo Swinney to coordinator Billy Napier and quarterback Kyle Parker — is feeling the heat of lost opportunities.
A team that averaged 30 points a game the first seven weeks of the season has managed 37 combined the past three weeks, dropping two critical games to fall out of the Atlantic Coast Conference title contention.
The Tigers hope to get back on track Saturday at Wake Forest (2-8, 1-6).
"We have had some scratch your head things this year," Swinney said. "It's been difficult."
Especially the last month. Clemson's late run in the ACC was cut short with a 16-10 defeat at Boston College three weeks ago and a 16-13 loss to Florida State last Saturday night.
The Tigers didn't get an offensive touchdown against the Eagles, who hadn't won an ACC game up to that point. Clemson's kicker, Chandler Catanzaro, missed a pair of field goals inside 45 yards and Parker, usually a solid decision maker, threw two awful interceptions to end fourth-quarter comeback drives.
Things weren't much better the next week in a 14-13 victory over North Carolina State when it was Clemson's defense that did the heavy lifting in shutting down the Wolfpack.
The Tigers offensive problems continued in the must-win game at Tallahassee. Clemson had several chances to extend a lead it held most of the way, but the Seminoles rallied for victory on Dustin Hopkins' 55-yard game winning field goal as time ran out.
"It seems like it's little things here and there," center Dalton Freeman said.
Swinney can't pinpoint the problem. His team put together eight drives of nine plays or more the past three games that came away with no points. Swinney said it's like hitting a lot of doubles and stranding the runner on third.
"I would say it's a little mental now," said Parker, the sophomore playing his final season with the Tigers.
Clemson's offense took a hit in the second half against Boston College when leading rusher Andre Ellington hurt his foot. Ellington accounted for 12 touchdowns, four of those runs of at least 40 yards or more.
"Well, he's our most explosive player," the coach said.
Jamie Harper, the Tigers more powerful back, has rushed for 203 yards the past two weeks in Ellington's absence. Swinney says Ellington won't play Saturday against Wake Forest and is pointing towards the finale with South Carolina for his return.
The Demon Deacons might be the best antidote for Clemson's missing offense. They're dead last among ACC teams with 38.7 points allowed per game.
Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe hurts hardest for his seniors struggling through a difficult season. "I feel sorry for them. This was a group that was part of a winning team when they were younger. They certainly had expectations," Grobe said. "This summer, I think they realized that there were a lot of young guys who were going to have to play for us."
Swinney could point to his own offensive youth this season. Clemson put up the most points in its history last fall to win the ACC Atlantic Division behind a trio of record-setting seniors in tailback C.J. Spiller, receiver Jacoby Ford and tight end Michael Palmer.
The three accounted for two-thirds of the Tigers touchdowns last season.
Their replacements haven't been near as productive and critics have sniped at Swinney's longtime connection as an assistant to the coach he replaced, Tommy Bowden, and to the 31-year-old Napier's inexperience before this.
"We're just trying to do what we need to do to create some points," Napier said. "Nothing's changed as far as my beliefs."
And nothing has changed as far as Swinney's confidence that Napier's the leader of Clemson's offense. "Y'all were at the championship game last year when we went up and down the field. We are moving the ball," Swinney said.
Not that Swinney doesn't have an eye to what's next. Parker has said he won't return so he can begin his baseball career with the Colorado Rockies and Swinney plans to use backup Tajh Boyd.
First-year receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Bryce McNeal have gotten the bulk of playing time to quicken their Clemson futures. All of it, Swinney believes, will bring the Tigers more of what its fans long for.
"If we keep doing the things we are doing, teaching, coaching and recruiting, we aren't going to just win," Swinney says, "we are going to win big."
-- Pete Iacobelli
Johnson deals with an underachieving Ga. Tech team
ATLANTA (AP) — This is all new to Paul Johnson. He built a powerhouse program at Georgia Southern. He won more games than anyone expected at undermanned Navy. And he started his tenure at Georgia Tech with two hugely promising years.
Now, perhaps for the first time in his career, he's got a team that isn't living up to expectations.
The Yellow Jackets (5-5, 3-4 ACC) keep making untimely mistakes, never seem to come up with the big play when they need it and, quite frankly, look like they've gotten complacent after winning the school's first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1990.
"We haven't been as successful as we'd like to be," Johnson said this week. "I don't think there's one thing I can point to. It's a myriad of things."
Whatever the case, Georgia Tech needs to win one of these next two games just to extend its bowl streak to 14 in a row. Duke (3-7, 1-5) will visit Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, followed by the traditional finale at Georgia on Nov. 26.
Let's start with the obvious. Georgia Tech lost four key players off last year's ACC championship squad, all of them juniors who gave up their final season to turn pro. Derrick Morgan and Demaryius Thomas were first-round NFL picks, while safety Morgan Burnett and running back Jonathan Dwyer also were drafted.
If any of those four were still wearing the gold and white, the Yellow Jackets would undoubtedly be a better team. And it sure would help to have star quarterback Joshua Nesbitt, sidelined after suffering a broken arm Nov. 4 against Virginia Tech.
But Johnson knows all college teams must deal with change and injuries, so he's not going to use that as an excuse. All through his career, he's been adept at replacing those moving on with someone else who can do the job. For some reason, that hasn't happened this season.
"You have to have that hunger. You have to have that desire," Johnson said. "You can't have a sense of entitlement. We've had a lot of success the last two years. A lot of these same guys played a vital role in that. ... But it doesn't just happen. You have to be hungry. You have to make it happen at the crucial times in the game. We're just not coming up with the plays."
Johnson is not used to these sort of results. In five years at Georgia Southern, he went 62-10, won three Division I-AA championships and never finished worse than 10-3 in a season. Moving on to Navy, he went 2-10 his first year, then guided the Midshipmen to five straight bowls and no fewer than eight wins in a season — even with a team that almost always had less talent than its opponent.
Johnson kept right on rolling at Georgia Tech. His first team went 9-4 and snapped a seven-year losing streak to Georgia. That was followed by an 11-win season that included the ACC title and the school's first trip to a major bowl (Orange) since the 1960s.
Even after losing the Big Four, the Yellow Jackets started the season in the Top 25 and expecting to contend for another title in the wide-open ACC.
Instead, Georgia Tech has already been eliminated from the conference race and needs to win these last two games, plus a bowl, to avoid saddling Johnson with the second-worst season of his 14-year coaching career.
"We've not been able to make a play," Johnson said. "A year ago, we made those plays. A lot of times, we would make a stop or two when we needed it. Maybe we didn't have a lot of stops, but we would have one or two stops, and then we would get a score. That's the biggest difference from last year to this year. We've not been able to hold serve."
Johnson looks at the stat sheet and doesn't see much of a drop-off — expect with the record.
"The yards are not much different," he said, the frustration rising in his voice. "But we're not finishing drives, finishing plays. That's the difference in a nutshell."
The players seems as baffled as their coach.
"We've been accustomed to winning," senior cornerback Dominique Reese said. "When coach Johnson came in, he brought in a winning attitude. All we know is a winning with coach Johnson. It's been very tough this season."
Reese doesn't think the Yellow Jackets got bigheaded about their success. Johnson isn't so sure.
"I think it's normal sometimes," he said. "It doesn't only happen here. It happens everywhere. That's what we fight as coaches all the time. Sometimes you have more success fighting it than other times. Is that part of the problem? I don't think it's the whole problem, but I certainly think it's part of the problem."
-- Paul Newberry
London looking to get youth movement under way
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Now that playing in a bowl game is out of the question, Virginia coach Mike London is hoping to get the Cavaliers' youth movement going in earnest.
He plans to start Saturday at Boston College, giving dueling backup quarterbacks Ross Metheny and Michael Rocco a chance to show what they can do in meaningful game action, as well as finding snaps for other lightly used players looking ahead to next season.
Fifth-year senior Marc Verica will again start, London said, "but at the same time, we've just got to be conscious of the fact that we've got to have some guys that have been in a game in competition, a league game, on the road. Both of them will probably have the crowd situation that will be unbelieveable, but that's all part of the maturation process."
The Cavaliers (4-6, 1-5 ACC) can still finish at .500 with victories Saturday and next week at No. 14 Virginia Tech, but they are disqualified from making a bowl even if they win both games because two of their victories came against FCS schools Richmond and VMI.
Boston College (5-5, 3-4) needs one more victory to qualify for bowl consideration.
The Eagles have been watching the quarterback maturation take place all season, coach Frank Spaziani having switched to freshman Chase Rettig after just three games.
"There's been improvement every week," Spaziani said of Rettig's play.
Metheny and Rocco have each played in mop-up roles this season, but neither has distinguished himself enough to grab the No. 2 job, London has said repeatedly. Having them go into a game long before the outcome is determined could be more telling, he said.
"When you're getting blown out, you just call plays the quarterback is comfortable with," he said, while in a 0-0 game, the quarterback has to get his team aligned properly, point out all the cues to watch for defensively and then still execute the play that was called.
And quarterback isn't the only spot where London wants to see new blood.
Bobby Smith, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who has played only one snap this season, also could see time, as well as tight end Jeremiah Mathis, who started the season as a defensive end. Mathis caught his first touchdown pass last weekend, but still has much to learn.
Others likely to get some snaps are cornerback Rijo Walker, offensive lineman Luke Bowanko, defensive ends Will Hill and Brent Urban and linebacker Billy Schautz, he said.
The prospects of seeing new faces in the huddle is exciting, tight end Paul Freedman said. Freedman himself has seen more time than expected because of a season-ending injury to starter Joe Torchia, and he and Mathis have been among the pleasant surprises this year.
"It's fun because it gives them an opportunity to really make some strides and make some greatplays," Freedman said, while adding the change doesn't mean Virginia is giving up.
"We're still trying to win these last two games and play the best people, but I think he is just giving them more of an opportunity in practice this week to show what they can do."
-- Hank Kurz Jr.
Washington State's Tuel given room to run
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — It turns out that Washington State had the Tuel needed to win all along. As in sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel.
The decision to make Tuel part of the team's dormant rushing attack provided the weapon the Cougars needed to record their first Pac-10 win since 2008. Tuel passed for 157 yards and rushed for 79 more Saturday as Washington State beat Oregon State 31-14.
The win snapped a 16-game conference losing streak and Tuel was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week, the first WSU player to win the honor since 2008.
Now the Cougars (2-9, 1-7) have two weeks of open dates before finishing the season on Dec. 4 at home against archrival Washington.
Coach Paul Wulff said coaches did not want Tuel running out of the pocket early in the year.
"We wanted to keep him healthy," Wulff said. "We told him to hand the ball off."
But that clearly wasn't working, as the Cougars were one of the nation's poorest running teams. Defenses became so confident that they also began to slow WSU's potent passing attack.
"As we got down the stretch, we figured we could use Jeff in the running game to help our offense," Wulff said. "The decision happened heading into the Cal game."
Tuel said offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy gave him the green light.
"I was just taking what they gave me," Tuel said. "If stuff wasn't open, I looked down, saw places to run and just took them."
Wulff said Tuel will get a chance to run against Washington.
And why not? Washington State converted 10 of 17 third down chances at Oregon State, with Tuel accounting for seven of those, four on the ground and three through the air. The Cougars controlled the ball for more than 40 minutes.
The offensive fireworks were a welcome relief for WSU fans, who have endured perhaps the worst three-year stretch in the program's history.
In the past, even when the Cougars were losing, they always seemed to have the ability to score touchdowns on big plays. That disappeared the past two years, when they were a combined 3-22 and ranked near the bottom of the nation in both offense and defense. A rotating cast of quarterbacks — Gary Rogers, Kevin Lopina, Marshall Lobbestael and, last year, Tuel — did not have the protection to pass effectively and kept getting knocked out of games.
Last year's team was outscored by an average score of 38-12, and scored just 18 touchdowns in 12 games.
This year they've scored 26 touchdowns, and the big play is back. Marquess Wilson has an 83-yard pass reception and Jeffrey Solomon a 57-yarder. Wilson, a freshman, is averaging 19 yards per catch, while Daniel Blackledge is averaging 14 yards on 23 receptions. Clutch receiver Jared Karstetter leads with 54 receptions for 587 yards and six touchdowns.
Tuel has completed 194 of 331 passes (58.6 percent) for 2,452 yards, with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and the Cougars rank 44th in the nation in passing. But that one-dimensional offense wasn't winning games.
"You've got to still run the ball in this league," Wulff said.
Frustrated by an average of just 76 yards rushing per game, coaches decided to unleash Tuel. The result was a 20-13 loss to the Bears, and then the big win at Oregon State.
"He made decisions to get first downs with his feet," Wulff said. "That was really the key."
Tuel has gained 415 positive yards on 118 rushes, although subtracting sacks leaves him with 179 net yards, still the third-best total on the team. James Montgomery leads with 400 yards and a 3.6 average.
It's understandable the Cougars were reluctant to risk Tuel, who at 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds is not built to take major punishment. He appeared in six games as a freshman last year, five as the starter, before a knee injury knocked him out for the season. Tuel said he does not fear being injured.
"You're going to get hit, face it," he said.
Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said he was impressed by Tuel last year, when the freshman threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns against the Sun Devils.
"He gets the (ball) in position for guys to make plays," Erickson said.
-- Nicholas K. Geranios
News & Notes
Study: Hiring practices improving for minorities
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Black Coaches and Administrators gave their highest grade ever to NCAA programs for hiring practices for football coaching vacancies, while cautioning that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
The organization released its annual report card analyzing the minority hiring practices of football coaches Thursday, awarding an overall A grade to 20 of 34 schools that had an opening for a head coach last offseason. That's the highest percentage (59 percent) of any of its seven studies and up from 34 percent last year. There were nine Bs, one C and four Fs.
"We're starting to see the results," BCA executive director Floyd Keith said. "The searches continue to be better, and the result is the numbers — we've practically doubled in one year — speaks very highly of the process and the efforts not only us, but other individuals have made."
Schools were graded on communication, hiring search, final candidates and time frame. They were notified in advance what the criteria would be each time there was a coaching vacancy.
The report included 20 Football Bowl Subdivision programs and 14 from the Football Championship Subdivision. Three schools did not participate, receiving an automatic F.
There was some positive news with a recent surge of minority head coaches.
Six black coaches were hired at Football Bowl Subdivision schools last offseason, including Turner Gill moving from Buffalo to Kansas. From 1979-2002, a total of 19 full-time black head coaches were hired. Ten have been hired in the past two years alone.
Of the 120 FBS coaches, only 15 are minorities — 13 blacks, one Latino and one Polynesian. There were only nine last year. And while this season is the most ever, it's a number Keith and others do not believe is good enough.
"It's not reflective of society. Not at all. But we are moving in the right direction," said Richard Lapchick, the author of the study and the director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University Central Florida.
The pressure has certainly been put on programs to improve.
Keith sent a package and an official e-mail to athletic directors each time there was a documented vacancy for a head coach at their school. He notified them in advance that they would be evaluated on particular criteria by Lapchick.
Three schools — Southern California, Georgia Southern and Western Illinois — chose not to participate in the study. USC had no comment, and Georgia Southern and Western Illinois did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
"We are particularly pleased with the developments at the head coaching positions in FBS football, witnessing the highest numbers ever, but challenges remain," NCAA executive vice president Bernard Franklin said in a statement.
"It is fair to ask why the numbers are still low, as there are many qualified and talented minority football coaches suitable for head coaching positions," he said. "While institutions ultimately make hiring decisions, the NCAA continues to advocate for an inclusive hiring process to include underrepresented applicants in searches. That allows the best candidates, regardless of race and ethnicity, to be considered."
Montana was the only school that submitted a survey and received an F. The report concluded the program had failing grades in communication, hiring search and candidate categories.
Princeton, San Jose State, Kansas and Memphis earned perfect scores.
The report did caution a few troubling trends: the percentage of minorities on search committees decreased from 30 percent in 2008 to 23 percent this year, and 29 percent of those who interviewed for openings were minorities, down from 31 percent two years ago.
Keith said he plans to have a meeting with NCAA president Mark Emmert next month to discuss the BCA and its findings.
"We'll encourage him to continue the programming that has been put in place that started back in '03 and '04," he said. "We're starting to see the results."
-- Antonio Gonzalez
UNC not planning self-imposed sanctions for now
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina doesn't plan any self-imposed sanctions on the school's football program amid an NCAA investigation into agent-related benefits and academic misconduct, Chancellor Holden Thorp said Thursday.
"We don't have plans to take any more actions than the ones we've taken," Thorp said. "Obviously something could happen. Some information could come out or the NCAA could send us information that we don't know about that could change that. But we've been working on this for four months ... and we don't think there's a lot of new information that's going to come out, so we feel really good about where we are."
Thorp spoke shortly after he, athletic director Dick Baddour and coach Butch Davis updated the school's board of trustees on the investigation. Thorp again publicly supported Baddour and Davis, saying that there is no information connecting Davis to potential violations that sidelined some players for a few games, caused others to be declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA and led to the departure of an assistant coach with close ties to an agent.
Baddour said the fourth-year coach handled "the most difficult times in a dignified and professional manner."
"I believe you were the right fit when we hired you and I continue to believe that," Baddour told Davis during the meeting. "In fact, I believe it even more strongly now."
The presentation seemed designed to close UNC's fact-finding part the investigation, which was initially focused on two players possibly receiving improper benefits from agents, but ultimately ensnared a dozen others.
However, now UNC awaits the final NCAA ruling.
Baddour said the school hasn't received a letter outlining violations from the NCAA, which would signify a shift to a potential penalty phase.
Thorp has said the process could take a year to complete, though Baddour didn't specify a time when asked by trustee Wade Hargrove.
"I don't know what to tell you on that," Baddour said. "That is out of our control."
Earlier this week, the NCAA issued rulings on the last two players whose status was in question, and Thorp said both the NCAA and school were largely finished with their investigations.
In all, 14 players missed at least one game. Seven will miss the entire season, with three declared permanently ineligible and a fourth kicked off the team. Another player played the first four games before being held out and was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA earlier this week.
Five players have returned to game action after being held out by the school or suspended by the NCAA, while a sixth was cleared to return but hopes to redshirt.
In addition, the NCAA also scrutinized the longtime friendship of former assistant coach John Blake — who resigned in September — and California-based agent Gary Wichard. Attorneys for both men have said Wichard loaned money to Blake, though they have denied there was any agreement for Blake to steer players to Wichard when they went to the NFL.
While the NCAA issued rulings on improper-benefits cases, some of the academics issues were handled by the school's student judicial system.
Davis, speaking to the board for the first time since the investigation began, said he was working to make sure the program avoided such trouble in the future.
"I want to make perfectly clear to everyone that I am embarrassed and saddened and disappointed about the negative light that things in the football program have shed on the University of North Carolina," Davis said. "As the head football coach, I take complete and full responsibility for everything that happens in that football program. It is certainly nothing that we are proud of. We're embarrassed by it."
The investigation led to a separate probe launched by the North Carolina Secretary of State's office focused on whether the state's sports agent laws were broken. Thorp told trustees that both the NCAA and Secretary of State's office had interviewed Davis in their investigations.
Baddour told the board that numerous changes are in place or being planned, from requiring current and future employees to disclose associations with agents to reviewing the policies of the academic support program to include more faculty oversight.
-- Aaron Beard
Miami athletics getting $5 million for facilities
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami's athletic department has received the largest gift in its history, a $5 million donation earmarked toward substantially upgrading facilities for the university's 400 student-athletes.
The gift from the Ted & Todd Schwartz Family Foundation will help provide a new academic center for members of Hurricane sports teams, a larger sports medicine facility, a new football locker room and a gallery of champions. The deal is scheduled to be announced Friday.
Preliminary details obtained by The Associated Press show the total cost of the project is planned at $13.6 million, of which $10.5 million had already been raised.
"The generosity of the Schwartz Family will sustain the University of Miami in its spot among the top premier athletics programs in the nation by expanding and renovating the resources and facilities we offer to current and future student-athletes," university president Donna Shalala said.
Miami has long been maligned for not having state-of-the-art facilities, and changing that perception has been a point of emphasis for the university for the past several years. The university created what it called "The Sprint for Hurricane Athletics" in 2007, a plan to raise more than $70 million for all of Miami's programs.
Some of the work has already been done: The baseball stadium, largely through a gift from New York Yankees third baseman and Miami trustee Alex Rodriguez, has been upgraded, as have the facilities for track, soccer and tennis. The Hurricanes' basketball teams now practice in a new fieldhouse as well.
"Ted & Todd Schwartz's gift ensures our future ability to sustain athletic excellence in this age of continued facility growth and enhancement throughout the college athletics landscape," Miami athletic director Kirby Hocutt said.
The new facility will be known as the Theodore G. Schwartz and Todd G. Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence. It will be an expansion and renovation of the current Hecht Athletic Center.
Plans for the new facility include a 120-seat auditorium, classrooms, tutoring rooms, labs for computer, math and science study, as well as staff offices, study spaces, the football locker room and a lounge for the football team. The sports medicine facility will expand to three times its current size, with new in-ground hydrotherapy pools, digital imaging and rehabilitation space.
Ted Schwartz founded and chairs the board of APAC Customer Services, based in Illinois. His son Todd Schwartz is director of the family foundation and founder and president of Beach Coast Properties and Opportunity Financial.
-- Tim Reynolds
Mossakowski shines in bye-week scrimmage
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — After 11 straight game weeks, Kentucky coach Joker Phillips said he needed "a Kentucky week."
The first-year head coach finished a bye week's worth of practices Thursday with a scrimmage for redshirts and younger players before the Wildcats (6-5, 2-5) dig deeply into preparing for Nov. 27's regular season finale against Tennessee.
Quarterbacks Ryan Mossakowski and Morgan Newton traded reps under center. The two are expected to compete for next season's opening at quarterback once senior Mike Hartline graduates. Both Mossakowski and Newton played a few series, and Mossakowski had an easier time.
The freshman from Frisco connected on a touchdown pass of about 70 yards to receiver E.J. Fields, by far the scrimmage's biggest play.
Newton, a sophomore, struggled a bit with his throws but, true to his style of play, was able to bail himself out of pocket pressure with his mobility.
Defensive coordinator Steve Brown said the scrimmage's best defensive player was Mister Cobble, a freshman defensive tackle. Cobble was expected to arrive in the fall and contend for a starting position, but he was ruled academically ineligible and forced to sit out the season.
He seemed to be playing faster than everyone else on the field, even though he's one of the heaviest players on the roster at 6-feet and 321 pounds.
Brown said the challenge is getting the rest of the young players up to game speed, where Cobble played Thursday.
"It's hard to emulate actual playing," Brown said. "You go through practice and get accustomed to that speed but when you're actually playing, it's a little more taxing on the body."
The Wildcats finish the regular season at Tennessee next Saturday.
Maryland AD: Friedgen to return in 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland's athletic director says Ralph Friedgen will return to coach the Terrapins in 2011.
Kevin Anderson made the announcement Thursday, which was based on Maryland's turnaround this year. After going 2-10 last season, the Terps are 7-3 and still in contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
Friedgen has one year left on his contract after this season. After that, offensive coordinator James Franklin must take over or receives a $1 million buyout.
Anderson says the decision to have Friedgen return next season was "based largely on the improved performance of our team and student-athletes." Anderson says he will sit down with Friedgen after the season to discuss the future of the program.
This is Friedgen's 10th season as head coach at his alma mater.
Washington Regents approve Husky Stadium remodel
SEATTLE (AP) — The University of Washington Board of Regents has approved a $250 million renovation of Husky Stadium.
The board made the decision at its meeting Thursday, hours before Washington hosted UCLA.
Plans for the remodel include complete demolition of the lower bowl and the south upper deck. The field will be lowered and seats brought closer, and a football operations facility will also be constructed. Seating capacity is expected to stay close to its current total of 72,500.
The project is being paid off through 30-year bonds. The school intends to raise $50 million in private donations and pay the remainder through new revenues generated from the stadium.
Washington will play its last game at Husky Stadium on Nov. 5, 2011, against Oregon and play the 2011 Apple Cup and 2012 season at Seattle's Qwest Field.
Third arrest in USM players shooting
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Hattiesburg police have made a third arrest in the shooting of three University of Southern Mississippi football players outside a Hattiesburg nightclub Sunday.
Police Sgt. Allen Murray said Thursday in a news release that 23-year-old Van Allen Myers of Prentiss has been charged with three counts of accessory before the fact of an aggravated assault. Murray says Myers was arrested Wednesday in Gulfport. Myers was being held without bond pending an initial court appearance.
Two other people have been charged in the case. Murray says authorities are still looking for Travis Brown, who is wanted for aggravated assault.
Martez Smith, Tim Green and Deddrick Jones were shot in the parking lot early Sunday morning after the club closed. The three players remain hospitalized.
U.S. House lauds JoePa for 400th career win
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State's Joe Paterno has been honored by Congress for his 400th career win. The U.S. House passed a resolution Wednesday lauding the Hall of Fame coach after the Nittany Lions secured his latest milestone with a come-from-behind victory over Northwestern two weeks ago.
Pennsylvania Congressman Glenn Thompson sponsored the resolution. He says it was appropriate to express support not only for Paterno's record, but the coach's overall achievements on and off the field.
Thompson's district encompasses State College. Thirty-one representatives also signed on as co-sponsors, including Pennsylvania's 18 other U.S. House members. Penn State plays Indiana on Saturday in Landover, Md.
Cougs, Beavers to meet in Seattle in 2011
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Washington State has moved its 2011 matchup against Oregon State from its home field in Pullman to Seattle's Qwest Field.
Washington State athletic director Bill Moos made the announcement on Thursday. The Cougars were originally schedule to play UNLV on Sept. 10 in Seattle. That game will now be played in Pullman. The Beavers and Cougars will meet on Oct. 22.
Moos says the game will cap a week of Washington State activities in the Seattle area. Moos says his intent is to have at least one conference game in Seattle every year.
The Cougars will actually play at Qwest Field twice in 2011. The Apple Cup against rival Washington will be played there on Nov. 26, 2011.
Clemson receiver McNeal out with injured heel
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson wide receiver Bryce McNeal will miss the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference game against Wake Forest with an injured heel.
McNeal is Clemson's fifth leading receiver with 19 catches for 187 yards.
McNeal is one of seven Tigers out for the game, including leading rusher Andre Ellington, who is missing his third game in a row with an injured toe.
Also out for Saturday are offensive guard Kalen Davis, defensive tackle Miguel Chavis and linebackers Brandon Maye, John Wright and Daniel Andrews.
Tickets remain for Tennessee-Vanderbilt game
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tickets remained on sale Thursday in Nashville just 48 hours before the annual Tennessee-Vanderbilt game — in past years a tough ticket to find. Tickets are $50 for the Saturday night game at Vanderbilt Stadium, which seats 39,790.
Some of the games in the past have been played at L.P. Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, which seats 69,143.
