Big 12 hoping for more lenient bowl requirements

Some mediocre college football teams want Santa Claus to come early this year. From AP-

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe wants the NCAA to treat teams with 6-6 records the same as teams with winning records when it comes to bowl games.

Under current rules, teams with .500 records can receive a bowl bid only if the school’s conference already has a deal with a bowl and all other teams with winning records have been invited to postseason games.

A winning Division I team should receive a bowl bid before any 6-6 teams. I’ve lived long enough to remember Florida State(8-3 in 1978) and the University of Miami(7-4 in 1982) being locked out of the post season in spite of their having better records than teams that did get bids. The Independence Bowl passed on the Hurricanes to invite schools, Kansas State(6-4-1) and Wisconsin(6-5). Who then played a real snoozer of a 14-3 game.

That said, I strongly believe there are too many bowl games played these days. Nothing would be lost if about six of them went away IMHO.

Where’s the Silver lining? Boise State beats San Jose State 45-7

For the tenth time in ten meetings between the schools, the Broncos came out on top. From AP-

Kirby Moore caught his first college touchdown pass from big brother Kellen and the Broncos (No. 7 BCS, No. 6 AP) were sharp once again, rolling over San Jose State 45-7 Saturday for their eighth straight win.

“I think everybody on our sideline had a smile on their face after that play because to get a chance to play Division I football with your brother when not that many guys get to play Division I football — and then your brother is good enough to play and you can then hook up for touchdowns, I think that’s really awesome,” Broncos coach Chris Petersen said. “I think that’s why Kirby came here for those exact situations.”

Kellen Moore finished with three TD passes and ran for another one, and the Broncos stayed perfect at 8-0 and in the hunt for a BCS bid with TCU, the other undefeated team from a conference that doesn’t automatically qualify for the prized postseason games.

“This is what I think: When you get caught up in those numbers and get caught up in the scores of games and get caught up in how bad you should be beating people, it works against you,” Petersen said. “I think sometimes in the first half when it’s not 24-0 in our favor, guys are looking around and fans are looking around and asking, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s not realistic football.”

Moore, who came into the game the nation’s most efficient passer, was 21 of 33 for 278 yards. He now has 24 touchdown passes this season, and the Broncos rolled up 430 yards in beating San Jose State (1-6, 0-3) for the 10th straight time.

The Broncos held San Jose State to less than 225 yards total offense. So where’s the good news for the Spartans.

If there was a bright spot for the Spartans, it was their ability to tighten up their run defense. Coming into the game, the Spartans had been allowing 259 rushing yards per game. But they held the Broncos to 140 yards, most of those coming late with the game out of reach.

Do you think Coach Dick Tomey was impressed by this improvement today?

I didn’t think so either.

Boise State is trying to earn a BCS bowl appearance. They have a weak schedule for the rest of the year and I’m not sure the Broncos can achieve their goal.

Iowa and Washington State Football Coach Forest Evashevski dead at 91

He led Iowa to two winning Rose Bowl appearances and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. RIP.

Forest Evashevski, the former Michigan football star coached Iowa to two Rose Bowl victories in the 1950s, has died. He was 91.

Evashevski’s son, Forest Evashevski Jr., said Saturday that his father died Friday night from cancer at his home in Petoskey, Mich.

Evashevski said his father’s seven children, including five sons and two daughters, and wife Ruth, were at his bedside when he died.

Evashevski, the captain of Michigan’s 1940 team, was hired at Iowa in 1952, seven years after Iowa’s last winning season. He inherited a program that had languished in the bottom of the Big Ten.

But by 1956 the Hawkeyes were in the Rose Bowl, defeating Oregon State 35-19. They went again in the 1958 season, beating California 38-12. Evashevski won 52 games at Iowa, where he coached until 1960. He also led the team to three Big Ten championships.

Pocketful of Miracles- Iowa beats Indiana 42-24

For the 4th time this college football season, the Hawkeyes launched a successful late comeback. From AP-

Of all the holes Iowa has dug itself, this was the deepest.

Indiana was leading by 14 in the third quarter and just two yards away from the Hawkeyes’ end zone. Given how poorly quarterback Ricky Stanzi was playing, one more touchdown might have brought their charmed season crashing down.

It was the second straight week and fourth time this season that Iowa has won a game after trailing entering the fourth quarter.

Tyler Sash instead returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown, and Stanzi bounced back from a career-high five interceptions to rally the Hawkeyes (No. 4 BCS, No. 7 AP) to a 42-24 victory, yet another improbable finish in a season full of them.

Brandon Wegher had a career-high 118 yards rushing and three TDs for the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten), who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to stun the shell-shocked Hoosiers.

“No matter what happens, we know there’s still time left on the clock,” Stanzi said. “There’s a chance to win, so you can’t give up.”

Iowa is off to the best start in school history, thanks to four wins by three points or less. And after needing two blocked field goals to beat FCS school Northern Iowa in its opener, the Hawks control their own destiny in the Big Ten — with a chance to play for the BCS title.

Iowa controls its own destiny but can they continue spotting teams the lead every week? I got a feeling they are in for a tumble before the Bowl games are all worked out.

The Hawkeyes still have games left with Northwestern(5-3), Ohio State(7-2), and Minnesota(4-4). Only the game against the Buckeyes isn’t being played at Iowa.

SEC will suspend, fine coaches who criticize league officials

This action comes after three coaches recently complained about officiating. From AP-

Southeastern Conference coaches will face stiffer penalties from now on for complaining in the media about officiating.

Commissioner Mike Slive told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday that coaches who violate the conference’s ethics rules against criticizing officials in public will face a fine or suspension instead of receiving merely public reprimands when they first act up.

“On rare occasions over the last seven years there were several private reprimands and that took care of the matter,” said Slive, in his eighth year as the SEC’s leader. “On occasion there were public reprimands and that took care of it. It became clear to me after last week that I was no longer interested in reprimands and the conference athletic directors and university presidents unanimously agreed.

“For the foreseeable future there will be no reprimands,” Slive added. “We will go right to suspensions and fines.”

If I were the SEC, I’d concentrate on getting more professional officials to work their games rather than take action against coaches who criticize officiating. The SEC after all just suspended an entire football crew. I think the integrity of the league possibly being endangered by rogue officiating would be the more serious concern.

Navy runs by Wake Forest 13-10

Navy did not throw a single pass in the rain drenched game.

Backup quarterback Kriss Proctor ran 40 yards for a third-quarter touchdown, and Navy beat Wake Forest 13-10 in a driving rain Saturday for its fifth straight victory.

Subbing for injured Ricky Dobbs (left knee), Proctor carried 23 times for 89 yards in his first college start. Coming in, Proctor’s lone experience over two seasons was playing the mop-up role in a 63-14 win over Rice.

The Midshipmen (6-2) did not throw a pass. Last year, against SMU in similar conditions, Navy became the first FBS team since Ohio in 1997 not to attempt a single throw.

Fullback Vince Murray ran for a career-high 175 yards – his second straight 100-yard game – and Joe Buckley kicked two field goals for the Midshipmen, whose winning streak is their longest since a 5-0 start in 2004.

Wake Forest and Navy played in last year’s Eaglebank Bowl. The only 2008-09 colleage bowl game I watched the whole way through. I served in the Navy from 79-89.

It is difficult to pass in bad weather, but I always thought a football team needs to mix it up. A defense will otherwise always key on the run.

SEC suspends entire football officiating crew

The league said there was no basis for their personal foul call in a recent game. From AP-

The Southeastern Conference has suspended officials from last weekend’s Arkansas-Florida game after the crew was involved in its second controversial call of the year.Referee Marc Curles’ crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.

The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn’t have been called.

“A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews,” SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Wednesday. “I believe our officiating program is the best in the country. However, there are times when these actions must be taken.”

SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom said this is the first time the league has publicly suspended a football crew like this.

The SEC says the crew will be removed from its next scheduled assignment Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14.

Conference officials went on to say this will affect referee bowl assignments. I sincerely hope it does. This crew shouldn’t be given extra opportunities to screw up.

UConn Cornerback Jasper Howard dead at age 20

Howard, who came from Miami and played high school football about one hour south of me, was stabbed to death on campus. Very tragic and RIP.

Jasper Howard, a 5-foot-9, 174-pound starting cornerback on the UConn football team, died today after an on-campus stabbing.

According to multiple sources, Howard, 20, was reportedly was stabbed near the student union.

Howard is from Miami and attended Miami Edison High School.

State Police major crime unit and UConn police say the stabbing happened just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday on Hillside Road near the center of campus. Police said two people were stabbed and were found near each other on Hillside Road. Both were taken by UConn ambulances to Windham Community Memorial Hospital. Police said the stabbing happened when a school-sponsored dance at the student union was let out. A fire alarm was pulled at 12:26 a.m., an altercation happened outside the building between two groups of people and then two people were stabbed.

The perpetrator of the stabbing is still at large, according to an emergency alert posted on the University’s website Sunday morning.

On Saturday, Howard had a solid performance in the Huskies 38-25 win over Louisville at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. He had 11 tackles and also forced a fumble and recovered it in the third quarter. That led to a 30-yard field goal.

Howard often talked about his tough time growing up in Miami. His mother, Joangila worked many jobs to support him and his sisters including one, Jasmine, who is afflicted with meningitis.

Howard, the first in his family to go to college, also often talked about his dream of making it professionally so that he could support his family.

FIU handing out $500 scholarships to lure football fans

Call it South Florida’s newest raffle. From the Miami Herald-

In an attempt to get students to come out and support their football team during home games, Florida International University is offering some creative incentives.

Here’s the pitch:

During each of the next four home games — starting with Saturday’s contest — three students will be chosen at random in the fourth quarter to receive a $500 scholarship for college expenses.

Another four students will win coveted parking upgrades. The sweet deal would allow the winners to park in faculty parking spots for a month.

“We are doing this because we want to create a fan experience and build an affinity for FIU,” said Sandy Gonzalez-Levy, senior vice president of external affairs.

Admission is free to students at the 18,000-seat FIU stadium at its main West Miami-Dade campus, yet the last home game attracted only about 8,000 fans. The school has 35,000 students and tens of thousands of alumni.

And those who come to the games, usually leave early.

“We’re offering some of the gifts in the fourth quarter to persuade them to stay for the whole game,” Gonzalez-Levy said.

It sounds like a good deal to me but will it work? It may draw more spectators on a short-term basis but long term I am pessimistic. You can’t make people interested in a sport who aren’t inclined to watch it to start with it.

That FIU hasn’t had a football program for long and haven’t been very successful either, aren’t likely to help the school bring fans to its games.