Men's College Basketball Coach With Most Wins....Not Who You Think

In the long history of US College Basketball, there have been many great coaches: Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, John Wooden, Pat Summit in the Women's game, we could go on and on. However, with the exception of Summit, none of these other coaches have won as many games as Harry Slatham, the Men's Basketball Coach at McKendree University in Lebanon, ILL.


As of Dec. 15, 2009, Slatham has won 1,005 games during his 44-year coaching career at McKendree, an NAIA Div. l school in Lebanon, ILL near St. Louis, MO. That's more than Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and John Wooden. He is the all-time winningest coach in ALL of Men's College Basketball, including NCAA Div. l. He has only Tennessee Women's Coach Pat Summit to beat. It is amazing that Coach Slatham has stayed at one place for 44 years. The only other college coaches I know of who have that long of a tenure are football coaches: Bobby Bowdon and Joe Paterno.

Slatham reached the 1,000 win mark when his Bearcats defeated East-West University 79-48 in the McKendree classic on Nov. 13. His most recent win came on Dec. 15 of this year when the Bearcats defeated Concordia (MO) 84-38. Currently, the Bearcats are 10-5 on the season. During the 2008-09 campaign, Slatham guided the Bearcats to a 14-0 America Midwest Conference record en route to winning the regular season championship and a berth into the NAIA Div. l National Tournament in which McKendree reached the "elite 8" for the third time in school history. That is just one of the many, many accomplishments of Slatham's tenure at McKendree. Slatham has led the Bearcats to post season play in 38 out of his 43 years of coaching at McKendree. The 2009-10 season will mark Slatham's 44th year at the school.

McKendree has qualified for the NAIA National Tournament 13 times in its history, and Slatham has been the coach all 13 of those years. He led the Bearcats to 5 straight NAIA "Big Dance" appearances from 1999-2004. Since he began his tenure at McKendree in 1966, Slatham's teams have averaged 23 wins a season and reached the 20 win mark 31 times.

I wonder how many offers this man has gotten from Mid Major NCAA Div. l programs such as Southern Illinois, Bradley, St. Louis or other schools. McKendree is fortunate to have had Coach Slatham for as long they have. Here are some of the many accomplishments Slatham has achieved while at McKendree:

• Selected as the 2001-02 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
• AMC Coach of the Year award eight different times, including each of the last two years.
• Six-time recipient of the NAIA District 20 Coach of the Year.
• Named the NAIA-Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year 12 times.
• Led McKendree to an 83-72 victory over Maryville University, marking his 880th career win, passing legendary University of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith for the all-time wins record among college basketball coaches.
• Led McKendree to a 34-4 record and 10-0 record in conference play back in 2002-03.
• 1998 induction into the NAIA Hall of Fame. He is also a 1987 inductee into the IBCA-NAIA Hall of Fame.
• 70-48 win in St. Louis against Concordia. That marked career game No. 1,355 on the bench for Statham, allowing him to pass Jim Phelan for the college basketball record for games coached. Back on Nov. 25, 2005, Statham reached the 900-win mark as the Bearcats defeated Freed-Hardeman University, 73-69.
• Nov. 15, 2002---Led McKendree to an 88-87 win over Mountain St. University, becoming the NAIA’s all-time leader in career victories with career win No. 817.
• Statham has coached 67 different players that have received post-season accolades. Nine of those players have earned NAIA All-America honors.

One amazing thing in spite of all of these accomplishments, Slatham has never won a national championship. Let's hope that before he retires, whenever that may be, he gets to lead the McKendree Bearcats to a national title, capping off a brilliant coaching career spanning almost half a century. Information in this article was obtained from the McKendree University Web Site www.mckendree.edu.

Oregon Tech "Miles Ahead"

As far as college athletics is concerned in Oregon, Oregon and Oregon St. get the most attention. After all, the Ducks are headed to this year's Rose Bowl, and Oregon Sate's Baseball program has won two national titles in recent years.

But probably the best and most consistent college athletic program in the state of Oregon has to be the Oregon Tech Men's Basketball Program. The Hustlin Owls, as they are known, have won two NAIA Div. ll National Title in 2004 and 2008. A year ago, OIT made it to the NAIA Div. ll National Tournament for the 11th time in school history. They won their first round game against Iowa Wesleyan before losing to Belleview (NE) in the "Sweet 16". OIT finished the year at 29-6.

Head Coach Danny Miles has won 364 games while at OIT, and is ranked sixth in all-purpose wins (NCAA/NAIA) with 876 wins, which ties him with the late Adolph Rupp of Kentucky. Miles will move a head of Rupp with a win over Corban College on Dec. 30.
Miles ranks second in all time wins in the NAIA and is number one in NAIA Div. ll. He trails Harry Slatham of McKendree College (Ill.), who leads all of college basketball (NCAA and NAIA) with most wins at 995.
Back in 1995, when Miles won his 5ooth game, the President of OIT, Lawrence J. Wolf, proclaimed the basketball court had a new name, Danny Miles Court. Another footnote, Oregon Tech has the most NAIA Div. ll National Tournament wins of any school with 26.

Currently, the Hustilin Owls are off to another great start. They are 11-3 and are ranked #5 in the NAIA Div. ll Top 25 and are led by 6'4 Sr. Guard Justin Parnell. Parnell averaged 15.2 points per game, 4.4 RPG and 4.3 APG a year ago, earning him First Team All-Conference honors. He helped lead the Hustlin Owls to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Div. ll National Tournament in 2009, and was named NAIA Div. ll All-America Honorable Mention. This year4 so far, Parnell is averaging 17.5 PPG, including a season high 32 points in a 97-71 win over Willamette back on 11/27. Parnell is also averaging 4.6 APG. Oregon Tech is primed and ready to once again win the Cascade Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship and take their 12th trip to the NAIA Div. ll "Big Dance". There is no doubt the Oregon Tech Men's Basketball is the most successful college basketball program in the state of Oregon.

NCAA Volleyball Final Four Featuring a Battle of Coaching Legends

Tonight, the NCAA Div. l Women's Volleyball Final Four will take place at the St. Peterburg Times Forum in St. Petersburg, FL. The semifinalists are Texas, Minnesota, Penn St. and Hawaii.

In this blog, I want to focus on the semifinal match between Penn St. and Hawaii. Penn St. is coming into this match with an undefeated mark of 36-0, while the Lady Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii come in with a 32-2 mark. What is most interesting to me is battle between the coaches. Penn St. Head Coach Russ Rose will earn his 1,000th career victory if the Lady Nittney Lions can win tonight. His counterpart, UH Head Coach
Dave Shoji, already has over 1,000 career wins with a record of 1,016-175 (.852 pct.) record. Rose is currently 999-159 (.863 pct.) in his 31 years at Penn St. Between Rose and Shoji, they have won a combined 7 national championships.

The Lady Nittney Lions have the winningest Senior Class in school history, and maybe in NCAA history. Senior Outside Hitter Megan Hodge is a four time AVCA All-American. Senior Setter Alisha Glass ranks fourth in the NCAA with a 12.02 set assists average. She has an average of 0.89 kills, 466 digs on the season, and an average of 0.85 blocks. Hodge ranks 10th in the nation with an average of 5.23 points, 8th in the country with an average of 4.75 kills, and 8th in the nation with a total of 399 digs. The Nittnery Lions went 38-0 last year on their way to a national title, defeating Stanford in the championship 3 games to 0. If they win tonight and then win the title against either Texas or fellow Big 10 foe Minnesota, they will have gone 76-0 winning two straight national titles without even 1 loss: Absolutely incredible!

Dave Shoji's Lady Rainbow Warriors will try to derail that streak and they will do it with players like Sophomore Outside Hitter Kanani Danielson. Danielson was named First Team All-American this year and was a Third Team All-American selection a year ago as a Freshman. Danielson ranks 29th in the country with a 4.25 kill average. Senior OH Senior Aneli Cubi-Otineru earned Third Team All-America honors this year, having posted an average of 3.88 points, 3.08 kills, .301 aces average (11th in NCAA), and a 2.53 digs average. Senior Middle Hitter Amber Kaufman is ranked 4th in the nation in number of kills (436), an o.38 ace average and an 0.79 block average.

I'm not by any means discounting the successes of Texas and Minnesota, but the coach and player fire power on both of these squads is tremendous. Most likely, the winner of this match will go on to win the 2009 National Title. That's my opinion, and I welcome yours. More info on this article can be obtained at www.ncaachampionships.com.

EMU Basketball Off To Great Start

The Eastern Mennonite University Men's Basketball Team is off to one of the best starts in school history. The Lions have an overall 8-1 record and are undefeated at 2-0 in the Ole Dominion Athletic Conference.

The early success of the Lions is an entire team effort, but much of the credit can go to Jr. Wingman Todd Phillips. The Waynesboro, VA native is averaging 19 points per game. Already twice this season, Phillips has scored over 25 points. He had 29 against Shenandoah University and pumped in 34 against Virginia Wesleyan, thus breaking his game high record of 20 points against Lynchburg last year. Phillips was named ODAC Player of the Week back in November and was named to the BC/Don Glick Basketball Classic All-Classic Team.

Another player who has been a major factor for the Lions in the 2009/10 campaign is Jr. Wingman D.J. Hinson. The native of Newport News, VA is averaging 13.4 points per game, and poured in a game high of 34 against Wesley earlier this year. The Lions were undefeated at 8-0 until they locked horns with Southern Virginia last Saturday. Up until that game, EMU was averaging 90.6 points per game and Southern Virginia was averaging 82.5 points per game. Southern Virginia prevailed 92-79 largely to shooting 45% from the field for the game including 9-18 from beyond the arc and converting 12 of their final points from the free throw line. Southern VA also out rebounded EMU 42-34.

Despite the loss, Eastern Mennonite should have a good shot at winning the ODAC Title and a trip to the Div. lll NCAA Tournament in March. Of course, they will have to contend with the favorite to win the conference, Randolph Macon, who is also ranked #5 in the nation.

Big Boys Without Big Names

Last Sunday, the participants in the BCS were announced. I was hoping that TCU and Boise St. would each play one of the "Big Name" teams from the BCS conferences. I was disappointed to find out that they would be playing each other. I thought that neither school would get the credibility and respect they so richly deserve. I wanted to see if they could beat an Iowa, GA. Tech or Florida. We will never know.

However, perhaps we are too hung up on the "name". Perhaps the Horn Frogs and Broncos ARE the Big Boys. They are both undefeated and both teams ran through their conference foes like a knife through butter. Also, they both beat quality BCS teams. TCU defeated Clemson, who almost knocked off Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship , and Boise St. beat Oregon, the PAC-10 Champs who will be playing Ohio St. in the Rose Bowl. TCU and Boise St. are Big Boy teams without Big Boy names. I honestly think TCU would give Alabama stiff competition if the two teams were playing for the National Championship. Boise St. would probably beat Iowa and go toe to toe with the likes of Alabama, Florida and Texas.

So when you watch the Fiesta Bowl and you see two non-BCS schools playing against each other, remember that they are big boy teams without big boy names. As one blogger put it, it is the "other national championship game". I will watch it, as I will watch as many of the other bowl games as I can. It should be a great game!

Bowdon And FSU Both Must Move On

Bobby Bowdon will go down as one of the greatest coaches in all of sports. DAH!, of course you know that. After all that he has done for Florida St., building a football program that didn't have much of a football tradition, winning 2 national championships, putting tons of players into the NFL, and most importantly, impacting the lives of hundreds of young men for eternity, it's unfortunate that he was forced out before he really wanted to go, but that is what happened.

The truth is, both Bowdon and FSU have to move on. The football program has been on a steady decline the past few years. There comes a time when a new and fresh voice must be heard. Coach Bowdon is now 80 years old. He can now spend more time with his family and do things he wanted to do but was unable to because of his duties as the Seminoles' Head Football Coach. He really loved coaching football at FSU. In his press conference announcing his retirement, he said "I will now have to go out and get a job". He didn't see coaching at FSU as a "job". The transition will take some getting use to, but again, for both parties, especially for Coach Bowdon, it is necessary.

The concept of "Coach in Waiting" works only if you are winning. That is the case at Texas, where Defensive Coordinator Will Muschampe is waiting in the wings to take over for Mac Brown when he retires. Who knows when that will be. In the case of FSU, this is a disaster because recruits want to know who is in charge. Is it Bowdon or Jimbo Fisher. There can be only one Commander and Chief. Now that Bowdon is retiring, prospective recruits know who their coach will be. This is a huge reason why it was good for Bowdon to step down. Jimbo Fisher is more than capable of returning Florida St. back to the championship level that Bobby Bowdon once had it at. He'll get the top recruits in Florida and probably some from Georgia as well.

As Bobby Bowdon said in his press conference, nothing lasts forever. The inevitable was going to occur either now or a year from now. Better for both Bowdon and Florida St. that it happen now than for the program to go through another year of mediocrity and possibly worse than that. A new voice is needed to relate to young men, and Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is that new voice. Bobby Bowdon will always be the greatest head coach in Florida St. history and among the very best in the history of college football surpassed only by Penn State's Joe Paterno. Eventually, even Paterno's reign in Happy Valley will come to an end. The torch must eventually be passed.

Delle Donne Regains Passion For Basketball; Puts Family First

Elena Delle Donne was one of the top high school girls basketball recruits in the country last year. The Wilmington, DE native had planned to go to UCONN to help the Lady Huskies continue to win championships.

However, the sport that had given Delle Donne so much failed to make her happy. She turned down Connecticut and decided to quit basketball all together. She believed she was burned out, but in reality, she just wanted to be closer to home and to her family. She especially wanted to be with her older sister who is both blind and deaf.

Once she realized that what made her happy was being closer to home, she returned to the sport she loved. She is now a Freshman Forward/Guard on the University of Delaware Women's Basketball Team. She has already made a huge impact for the Lady Blue Hens. They won their season opener against St. Francis University. Even though Delaware lost to Princeton, Delle Donne poured in 35 points on the night and was named the CAA Rookie of the Week.

Delle Donne may never experience cutting down the nets after winning a national championship, but in many ways, she is already a champion. She has the heart of a champion. Elena Delle Donne has put her family first, especially her severely handicapped sister. In this blogger's mind, she has won the biggest championship of all: the championship of life itself.

Lambert is a Disgrace to the Beautiful Game

The University of New Mexico Womens' Soccer Team has gotten national attention, but unlike programs like North Carolina, Florida and the University of Portland, the Lady Lobos have gotten the wrong kind of attention thanks to one of their players, Elizabeth Lambert.

Lambert gained national attention for her dirty play against Brigham Young when she yanked down a player from behind by the player's pony tail. A video of the incident was sent to several new outlets including the New York Times. As a result of her flagrant behavior, Lambert has been suspended indefinitely from the New Mexico Womens' team. "I still deeply regret it and will always regret it and will carry it through the rest of my life not to retaliate,” said Lambert.

The pony tail yanking incident wasn't the only thing Lambert was guilty of during the BYU match in which the Lady Lobos lost 2-1. She elbowed a player in the back and received a yellow card for tripping. She also appeared to throw a punch at an opponent's head. When she saw the video, she said that she couldn't believe that it was really her. "I look at it and I’m like, ‘That is not me,’ ” said Lambert, a defender and an all-conference academic player. “I have so much regret. I can’t believe I did that.”

Really, Elizabeth? That's not you? I agree with one writer when he said that if it was just an isolated incident, that statement may be true. However, there were several incidents of foul play on the part of Lambert. Yes, Elizabeth, it is you, and you need to own up to it and admit it. However, that's not the worst of what she said. In an interview with the New York Times, she said that because she is a female, the media is making a bigger deal out of it. "I definitely feel because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it,” Lambert said. “It’s more expected for men to go out there and be rough. The female, we’re still looked at as, Oh, we kick the ball around and score a goal. But it’s not. We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to. The physical aspect has maybe increased over the years. I’m not saying it’s for the bad or it’s been too overly aggressive. It’s a game. Sports are physical.”

Yes, Elizabeth, sports are physical, but there is a fine line between good, physical play and dirty, unsportsman like play. To say that the media is making more of this because you're a girl is a cop out. Men do not play like that. That's why they don't get the attention you are getting right now. It's a disgrace. It's rare that the mainstream media talks about soccer, let alone Womens' College Soccer. Elizabeth, you have embarrassed the UNM Womens' program and the University, not the national attention they wanted. You are a Junior, an upper classman, yet you have lots of growing up to do.

Local Product Earns Starting Role for Clemson

Tanner Smith came out of the Wesleyan School in Norcross, Ga as one of the top players in the state. He had a solid season as a Freshman coming off Coach Oliver Pernell's bench a year ago. This year, he is now a starter for the #23 ranked Clemson Tigers Basketball Team.

So far, Smith has been putting up good numbers for the orange and blue kitties. In the Tigers first two games, Smith is shooting 10-18 from the field and has a total of 3 assists on the season. Even though both of those games, Presbyterian and Liberty, were blowouts, Smith has gotten off to a good start.

Tanner Smith has also made a huge impact off the court as well. Several years ago, Smith, with the help of his parents, started a foundation to provide gift bags for teenagers fighting cancer. Since then, "Tanner's Totes" has taken off big time. We here at College Sports will continue to monitor the success of this young man's college career both on and off the court. More will be expected of him this season, but I'm sure he is up to the task of meeting those expectations.

Kuhn Sets Record For Lady Mocs Volleyball

UTC Sophomore Middle Blocker Ellie Kuhn set a new single season school record for block assists with 101. She reached that mile stone by registering 5 block assists against fellow Southern Conference opponent Appalachian St. this past Sunday. The Mocs dropped the match against the Lady Mountaineers 3-1 (25-22, 11-25, 22-25, 20-25), but nevertheless, it was a tremendous performance by the San Antonio, TX and Alamo Heights HS product.

Kuhn passed the previous leader Heather Gibson, who had 100 block assists during the 1991 season. She also moved up the ranks in the single season total blocks category to eighth all-time by totaling 114 blocks in Sunday's match against the Mountaineers. With that performance, she passed former Mocs Carmen Walker and Rachel Evan, and current teammate Leslie Ball.

Kuhn, along with her teammate, Jr. Courtney Barnes, both registered 10 kills for the second straight match. "I am thrilled to have surpassed the record," said Kuhn. "I have two more years left to improve and add to it. I couldn't have done it without the presence of the outside and right side hitters. I am glad that I was able to accomplish the feat and there is more to look forward to in the future."

It was Senior Day at UT-Chattanooga, and it would be shameful for this blogger not to mention Sr. Cassie Conner, who was honored before the match. The Willow Springs, ILL native registered 35 assists, 13 kills and two blocks on the day.

Ellie Kuhn enjoys her role as Middle Blocker. You can tell that from her remarks: "I love contributing offensively especially as a middle because it can open up things for our outsides," said Kuhn. "I am sure it did because our outsides had a pretty good day. It is a great feeling to contribute offensively and defensively."

The amazing thing is that Kuhn is just a Sophomore and has two more years to improve on her record-breaking accomplishment. She could leave UTC as the greatest Lady Mocs Volleyball player in school history. As a Freshman a year ago, Kuhn started in 10 matches and appeared in 23 matches for the Lady Mocs. She recorded 10 service aces and 26 total blocks during the 08 campaign. Also as a Freshman, Kuhn had a season high 8 kills in matches against Alabama A&M and Georgia St.

As great as these accomplishments are, they are even more staggering considering the fact that Kuhn had never even touched a volleyball until her Freshman year in high school. An Atlanta read club coach named Bob Westbrook worked with Kuhn constantly and the her training paid off. Ellie Kuhn is one of many student-athletes whose accomplishments don't get the big time press attention, but are every bit as impressive as the accomplishments of a Tim Tebo, Tyler Hansbrough or Eric Berry.

Information in this article was obtained from the official UTC athletics website http://www.gomocs.com/.

Quitters Never Win And Winners Never Quit

Just this past week, Syracuse Wide Receiver Mike Williams walked into Head Coach Doug Marrone's office and told the coach he was quitting the team. You might expect that from a member of the Scout Team who rarely gets to play in a game if ever, but not from a semifinalist for the Bilettnikoff Award, the award going to College Football's top wide receiver.

But that is exactly what happened. With four weeks left in the season, Williams has decided to throw in the towel. Syracuse is having a bad year, but that's no excuse or reason whatsoever for any member of the team, let alone the team's best player, to quit.

Williams was suspended from school last year for violating the university's academic integrity policy, but was allowed to return to the school in January. He was also suspended for the Oct. 10 contest against West Virginia for violating team rules. Though his team is having a losing season, Williams his having an outstanding season personally. He ranks fifth in the country in receiving yards and first in the Big East Conference with 118.7 yards, 7.5 yards per catch. So far this season, Williams has caught 49 balls for 746 yards and six touchdowns. Williams would have been a sure first round pick in next year's NFL Draft. Two years ago, Williams set a Syracuse record with touchdown receptions in 9 straight games

With so much a head of him, including millions of dollars, why would he up and quit? Whats more baffling is that in an interview, he said he was looking forward to returning for his final year of eligibility in 2010. Perhaps he is tired of losing. So what! Syracuse didn't quit on you after you cheated, or broke some academic rule. Why, Mr. Williams, are you quitting on the Orange now?

There are the Mike Williamses of the world, and then there are those like Brett Favre. Yes, Favre hasn't handled the soap opera with the Packers and Vikings like he should have, but that's beside my point. I wonder how many people know that Southern Mississippi was the only Division 1 school that gave Favre a scholarship. At one point, he was ranked 7th on the USM depth chart, absolutely buried with little hope of playing time, let alone being the starting quarterback. However, Favre worked and worked and eventually won the starting job for the Golden Eagles. During his Senior year in 1989, the Brett Favre-led Southern Miss Football Team upset Florida St. in Jacksonville, FL.

He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, then traded to the Green Bay Packers. The rest, of course, is history. He's a sure Hall of Fame QB, and is leading Minnesota to a possible play off appearance and who knows what after that. What if Favre had decided to quit while being buried so far down on the USM depth chart? He didn't do it because he is a winner and winners never quit. Mike Williams, on the other hand, is throwing away a possible lucrative career in the NFL and letting down his Orange teammates when they need him the most. As one sports broadcaster put it, he went from a sure First Round draft pick to three or even four rounds down. It's ridiculous! Shame on you Mike Williams. Quitters never win, and you are a quitter.

Spikes Get's Off Too Easy

Florida Head Football Coach Urban Meyer cares more about winning than doing the right thing. This belief can be proven by the fact that he gave his star linebacker, Brandon Spikes, a "slap on the wrist" for clawing at the eyes of Georgia Running back Washaun Ealey at the end of a play.
Meyer suspended Spikes for the FIRST HALF of next week's game instead of, at least, the whole game.

This is despicable! What if Spikes had damaged Ealey's eyes? He could have gone blind. There was no need or excuse for that kind of behavior. Also, if it were a second teamer who did this barbaric act, that second teamer would probably been suspended for not just one, but probably two whole games. We have a situation here where a coach feels he has to have his best linebacker playing in order for Florida to win regardless of what transgression the player has committed. Standards of propper behavior have been lowered in the name of winning. Spikes put his fingers through Ealey's facemask and grabbed at his eyes. Unnecessary and stupid! Spikes should at least be suspended for the entire game, not just the first half.

We have lost and are continuing to lose all sense of decency. Yes, football is an emotional game, but there are still things a player cannot do. Clawing at an opponent's eyes is one of those things. Am I the only one that agrees with this? I don't think so. In a yahoo.com poll, an overwhelming 91% of people said that the punishment meted out to Spikes for his actions was not enough. Consider me one of them. You can still win by doing the right thing. You don't need to cause intentional harm to your opponent in order to win. where's the sportsmanship here?

Florida Quarterback Tim Tebo told reporters after the game that guys on the other team were probably doing it too. That is a pathetic excuse. Come on, Tim. You're suppose to be above that. To sum it up, Meyer has made a poor decision. Brandon Spikes needs to sit out at least one entire game, not just the first half.

USC Trojans Run-A-Duck

Oregon put up 613 yards of offense against Southern Cal's defense enroute to a 47-20 shellacking of #5 ranked USC. The Ducks, led by QB Jeremiah Masoli and RB LeMichael James made it inside the red zone 9 times out of their total of 11 offensive drives. You make it inside the opponent's 20 yard line that many times, you will come away with lots of points. and the Ducks did. This was the Trojans' worst loss in Head Coach Pete Carol's tenure in Los Angeles.

The ducks now have the inside track to the PAC-10 Title, but if they can win out, and win convincingly as they did Saturday Night, they just might be playing for much more than the PAC-10 Crown. the last time I saw Oregon play, it was the debacle at Boisie St. ending with Ducks RB LeGarrett Blount's TKO of a Boisie St. player. The Ducks were throttled by the Broncos on the blue turf. They looked like anything but a top 25 team.

but give credit to Head Coach Chip Kelly. He suspended Blount for most of the season (Blount may actually be reinstated), which he had to do. However, Ducks quack caller Jeremiah Masoli, RB LeMichael James and the rest of the Ducks picked up the pieces and, unlike Humpty Dumpty, put their season back together again.

Since that blue performance on BSU's blue turf, the ducks have beaten California by 39, Washington St. by 46, UCLA by 14, and Saturday defeated the #5 ranked team in the country by 27. Oregon was ranked #10 before the thrashing of USC. They will most certainly will be ranked in the top 5. Oregon is one outstanding football team that no one, up until now, is talking about.

One big turning point in this game, in my opinion, was win Kelly wanted his offense to try and score before the third quarter ended. He didn't want to interrupt their rhythm and momentum. It was a smart move because the Ducks scored with just 5 seconds left in the third to make the score 41-20 to start the 4th quarter. Many coaches would have just waited till the start of the next quarter, but Kelly wanted to keep attacking and it was a good thing that the Ducks did.

Oregon still has two tough away games against Stanford next week and then Arizona two weeks later. In between those two games, they have the Sun Devils of Arizona St. at home, and of course, the Civil War game with the Beavers in Eugene to close out the season. If the
Ducks keep playing like they did against USC, they will most certainly assure themselves no less than a trip to the Rose Bowl. Realistically, for the Ducks to play for the National Title, they must win out and hope Texas and Iowa loses. The winner between Florida and Alabama in the SEC Championship Game will play for the National Title, so if the Ducks win out, and the Longhorns and Hawkeyes lose one or two games, they would have a very good shot of playing the Gators or Crimson Tide. However, the prospect of Iowa and Texas losing two games is highly unlikely. Iowa might lose a game, but I doubt Texas loses again until their bowl game, if then.

To sum it up, the Ducks will most likely play Iowa in the Rose Bowl. If both Texas and Iowa win out (Texas will probably play Kansas St. or Mizzou in the Big Xll Title Game), the Longhorns will probably get the upper hand because of their more dominating victories than those of the Hawkeyes. Texas would then play either Alabama or Florida in the National Title Game. Nevertheless, what Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly and his team have done since the debacle in Boisie at the beginning of the year is one of the biggest stories in College Football this year.

Bryan's Harper Gains National Recognition

The Cross Country and Track & Field programs at Bryan College were both reinstated a few years ago. Now, they are producing some of the best runners at the small college level. Bryan Sophomore Runner Bryson Harper was named the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Student-Athlete of the week for leading the Lions to a #1 finish at the Southeastern Classic in Louisville, KY a week ago. The meet contained teams from 22 different schools.

The Pikeville, TN native ran the 8k race in a time of 25:22, earning his team a first place finish and earning Harper a second place finish out of 216 runners. Bryson Harper is only a Sophomore, but already he has had a brilliant career at Bryan. This past Spring during the Outdoor Track season, Harper was AAC Runner up in the Outdoor 1500 and 800 meter events at the AAC (Appalachian Athletic Conference) Championships.
Back on October 4, Harper finished 4th overall in the Music City Carnival 5k with a time of 15:05.98 and finished 5th overall at the Smoky Mountain Twilight Mile with a time of 4:16.73. At the AAC Track & Field Championships last Spring, Harper in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:02.82 and 2nd in the 800 meter event. Before redshirting in 2008, Harper made the AAC Cross Country All-Freshman Team in 07.

The accomplishments of Bryson Harper and his teammates have earned Bryan College a #8 ranking in the NAIA Men's Cross Country top 25, possibly the highest ranking ever of any varsity sport in the school's history. Out of a 10-man roster, the Bryan Men's Cross Country Team has 5 upper class men, meaning the other 5, including Harper, are Freshman and Sophomores. This will hopefully ensure continued success in the years to come for the program as their recent success will draw top notch recruits to Bryan. Congratulations to Bryson Harper and the rest of the Bryan College Men's Cross Country Team. More information on this article can be obtained by going to www.bryanlions.com.

Could Be a Long Day For The Dawgs in Jacksonville

UGA Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez and his defense have been much maligned all year. Maybe they will have enough motivation and confidence to help Georgia pull off and upset, but that is probably about as likely as the St. John's River drying up.

Yes, the Dawgs have had a week off to get healthy while Florida struggled against Mississippi St. The Gators have struggled in the red zone (inside the opponent's 20 yard line). Tim Tebo is 4 out of 16 passing attemps inside the red zone. However, the Georgia offense has been inconsistent. Starting RB Richard Samuels has not proven himself a consistant ground gainer and is a possible candidate to play LB on the other side of the ball. Caleb King has been hampered by injury for much of the season. Freshman WR Tavaris King has also been injured as well.

There is also the distraction caused by Lineman Vince Vance as he was flagged for a traffic misdemeanor. One broadcaster on a local sports talk show in Atlanta said that the Dawgs' best chance is for All-SEC Wide Receiver A.J. Green to run slant routs and for QB Joe Cox to throw him the ball every time since Green is capable of going up and grabbing it. That would be an interesting game plan. If it succeeds on the first few plays, the Gators may double team Green, leaving other wide outs like Orson Charles and Aaron White open, that is if they can make the crucial catches. The pass could then open up the run. Usually, it's suppose to be the other way around.

I don't have to mention that the Gators have an outstanding defense, one of the best in the country, but I just did. Can the Georgia Offensive Line block like the old Berlin Wall, or Buford Dam. If they can, the Dawgs MAY have a chance. On the other hand , if the line blocks like New Orleans levys, the Gators will have breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight snack. Walls, levys, rivers drying up, I didn't think I'd be mentioning these things talking about Georgia/Florida in Jacksonville, but I just did.ies

Sprint Football: Football The Light Way

In 2006, Mansfield University, an NCAA Div. ll school in Mansfield, PA, dropped its football program as part of a huge slash of budget cuts of up to $1.5 million. Mansfield finished the 2006 season without winning a game. The team hadn't even scored a touchdown in quite some time. Mansfield University President Maravene Loeschke looked at every other alternative she could to keep the program. "I consulted with every one in the world before a made my decision," Loeschke said. "But the bottom line was that if we could not do this well, then we should not do it at all".

However, a year later, Mansfield was back to playing football: Sprint Football. It's football played by lightweight players weighing no more than 172 lbs. It is a sanctioned Varsity sport by the NCAA and six colleges: Army, Navy, Cornell, Princeton, Pennsylvania and the newest member, Mansfield. These six schools make up the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL).

Steve Murray, the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference of which Mansfield is a member, asked MU Sports Information Director Steve McCloskey if he had ever heard of Sprint Football. Murray had seen a piece about it in an NFL Films special.
Sprint Football was founded in the 1930s by the President of the University of Pennsylvania. He wanted to make sure that smaller, talented athletes got a chance to play football. A league was founded in 1934 and it was called the Eastern 150 lb. Football League and it consisted of Cornell, Lafayette, Penn, Princeton, Yale, Villanova and Rutgers. In 1998, the CSFL added the term "Sprint" to describe the speed and quickness of the athletes.

Rutgers, Villanova, Lafayette and Yale would move on to play only conventional football. Navy later joined the CSFL, but the athletes grew as the league shrank. Therefore, the league capped the wight limit to 172 lbs. According to Mansfield SID Steve McCloskey, the same passion and fire that you see with conventional football is the same: "The biggest question you get is are there 11 players per side and if they wear pads and helmets", McCloskey said. "But once you watch it for 10 minutes, you don't see size. You see talented kids playing football. There's the same excitement and pride from these players about running on to the field and representing their school. The only difference is that if you're a 170 lb. kid, you're considered a big guy on the team."

Mansfield's Matt Gant, a wide receiver on the Sprint Football Team, made a catch on a 10-yard slant pattern during a drive that ended with RB Desmen Johnson scoring one of his two touchdowns to lead the Mounties of Mansfield to a 26-14 win over Princeton this past Saturday. This was a far cry from when Gant was a Freshman three years ago. He served as Manager on the football team. Last Saturday, he caught 7 catches for 90 yards as a starting wide receiver. He is also the team's Punter.Gant said that his punts weren't as good as he had hoped for, but that he made up for it with a few receptions. Think about it. If it hadn't been for the inception of Sprint Football, Matt Gant, and several other current players, might not be playing any kind of college football at all.

Sr. Solomon Isom plays Free Safety for the Mounties. He was extremely disappointed that Mansfield dropped its Division ll Football Program, but now realizes the Sprint Football was the best thing for Mansfield. "After doing my own research about it, I knew that Sprint Football would be a more manageable alternative for the University" Isom said. "It's not Division ll Football, but it's something, and something is better than nothing. Everyone is excited about this program."

Sprint Football is apparently much less costly and more cost-effective than traditional football. Now realizing what I (the blogger) now know, I'm surprised that more schools, especially small schools like Mansfield, don't have Sprint Football. This is a very viable option for schools that don't have the funds to field a regular football team. Since all the players on Sprint Football teams are lightweights, that's less pounding and wear and tare on the field. This also gives opportunities for student-athletes who are not big enough to play conventional College Football a chance to experience College Football the "light" way, a type of football that is at their level. Information in this article was obtained from an article written by Gary Brown in NCAA Champion Magazine. You can access that article by going to www.ncaachampionmagazine.com.

Bryan's Simpson Named AAC Female Runer of the Week

Several months ago, I wrote about a female Cross Country Runner who hails from Grayson, GA, part of Gwinnett County, on the northeast side of Atlanta. Her name is Erika Simpson and runs Cross Country at Bryan College, a Christian Liberal Arts school located in Dayton, TN near Chattanooga. Simpson had a fine Freshman season, and is continuing her solid performance as a Sophomore.

This past week, Simpson was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Female Runner of the Week for her efforts in the Southeastern Classic; a meet containing 22 teams. Simpson led the Lady Lions with a time of 20:22 in the 5K race, finishing 37th individually, and netting Bryan an 8th place finish in the 22 team field containing 181 runners.

Erika Simpson is one of the hundreds of student-athletes from Gwinnett County, GA who have excelled both athletically and academically at the collegiate level. For more information on Bryan College Athletics, as well as the school itself, you can go to www.bryanlions.org and www.bryan.edu.

EMU Mens' Soccer Finishing Strong With Four Straight Wins; Upsets Conference Leader Roanoke

The Eastern Mennonite University Mens' Soccer Team is probably the hottest team in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), having now won four straight matches with a well-earned upset of conference leader Roanoke by a score of 2-1 this past Saturday on the Maroons home field.

The Royals were out played in just about every phase of the game except on the scoreboard. The Maroons out shot the Royals 25-7 for the game, including out shooting EMU 14-5 in the second half. The Royals virtually were playing on their heels the whole match. However, thanks to EMU Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk's 13 saves, the Royals were able to hold on to the 2-1 victory and will finish no worse than 5th place in the ODAC standings.

The Royals drew first blood when Soph. Forward Muoka Musau served a corner kick into the box where Soph. Midfielder Mitchell Leap headed it into the net to give the Royals the 1-0 advantage at the 15:38 mark in the first half. Roanoke's Michael Stark struck back with the equalizer two minutes later, and the Maroons pressed for the next 10 minutes but could not breech Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk and the Royals Defense.

With just over 3 minutes until halftime, the Royals made a "quantum leap" in the form of their leading goal scorer, Mitchell Leap, who scored the second of his two goals at the 41:55 mark, which proved to be the winning goal. Royals Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk, a Sophomore from Dayton, VA, made a crucial save just before halftime.

Roanoke pushed and pressed the whole second half and nearly tied the game in the 78th minute, but Brunk came up big again with 2 big saves and two more with just 2 minutes left in the game to help preserve the upset win for the Royals. With 13 saves on the day, and several of them at crucial times in the match, Brunk was easily the "Man of the Match". The defeat for Roanoke was their first conference loss of the season.

The win vaults EMU's overall record to 7-5-5 and 5-2-2 in ODAC play. The Royals will wrap up the regular season Tuesday when they take on Randolph College. The ODAC Tournament begins Saturday, Oct. 31.

West Virginia Fans, players and Coaches Showed Tremendous Class

Obviously, the University of Connecticut has been through a lot this past week with the tragic death of UCONN football player Jasper Howard, who was murdered last Sunday morning outside of the UCONN Student Union. The Huskies wanted desperately to win their game against West Virginia for their slain comrade.

The Huskies almost pulled it off, but Mountaineers RB Noel Divine scored the winning touchdown for West Virginia with less than a minute left to defeat the Huskies 28-24. However, to me, the real story was the wonderful compassion and class showed by the West Virginia crowd, as well as their players and coaches. They cheered when the Connecticut team came out with Howard's jersey. WVU Head Coach Bill Stewart and his staff embraced Connecticut Head Coach Randy Etzel. The Mountaineer players lovingly embraced and encouraged their Connecticut opponents. Once the game was on, it was dog eat dog, but the love and respect showed to UCONN was beautiful to see.

I know what you are thinking. If UCONN were at Georgia, Iowa, USC or any other program, the fans, players and coaches of that program would have shown the same respect and class. That's probably true. The fact that the WVU family did what they did is commendable and must be recognized. We hear enough stories about players, coaches and even fans coming up short in the area of behavior. The West Virginia University community put football into its proper perspective. The rest of us should do the same.

College Soccer Player Scores From 95 Yards Out

Perhaps the goal scored from the longest distance ever in the history of the sport, in ANY soccer game at ANY level, was done last night when SMU Freshman Defender Ryan Rosenbaum scored a goal from 95 yards out against #16 Tulsa. Rosenbaum was just trying to clear the ball out as the Mustangs were trying to hold off the onslaught of the Golden Hurricanes, who trailed 2-1 in the 63 minute and were trying to equalize.

Video of the goal showed that Rosenbaum simply sent a high clearance ball from just outside SMU's own goal box. The ball sailed high in the air and long and took a high bounce off the pitch just outside Tulsa's goal box fooling the Tulsa Goalkeeper. The ball bounced high over his head as he tried to clear it. He couldn't track back in time to get the ball and it rolled into the net giving the Mustangs a 3-1 lead. They would go on to win their Conference USA match 3-2.

Video footage of this incredible goal can be seen at this site: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Video-SMU-freshman-hits-95-yard-soccer-goal?urn=top,197845. This has to be one of the longest, if not the longest distance to score a goal, in the history of the game of soccer. One other footnote: This wasn't just Rosenbaum's first college goal, it was his first ever shot on goal in a college game. He is a defender for the Mustangs, and is not called upon to score goals. That may change now. Also, should the SMU Football Team need a Field Goal Kicker, they don't have to look too far. Information in this article was gathered from Chris Chase, who is a blogger for Yahoo.Com.

At This Moment, Iowa Should Be Ranked A Head Of Cincinati

About a couple of months ago, I wrote an article on this College Sports Blog saying that Iowa had an excellent shot of winning the Big X Title. A few weeks ago, Is aid that Iowa has an excellent chance to play for the National Title if they run the table and go undefeated. They are very close to doing both.

I won't speak too soon. there's a lot of football to be played. The Hawkeyes face Michigan St. later today in East Lansing. Two home games against Indiana and Northwestern follow. The Hawkeyes did struggle with Div 1-AA N. Iowa and Sun Belt opponent Arkansas St. However, they beat a solid Penn St. club who is ranked 13th in the AP Poll and 11th in the Coaches Poll. They also beat an improving Michigan team as well as Wisconsin on the road.

Cincinati, as good as they are, has not yet beaten a top 25 team. They deserve to be in the top 10. Don't get me wrong. However, Iowa has beaten Penn St. That alone should put the Hawkeyes a head of the Bearcats. The two teams sort of offset each other in defensive rankings. Iowa is #1 in the country in interceptions with 15. Cincinnati is #3 in the country in sacks with 25. Should both teams win out, and both Texas and either Florida or Alabama win out, Cincinnati and Iowa may very well meet in a BCS bowl, but it wouldn't be for the National Title.

Back to my point though, at this very moment, the Hawkeyes should be ranked one spot a head of the Bearcats based simply on the fact that Iowa has beaten a top 25 team and Cinci hasn't. A bunch of stuff can change tomorrow and the next few remaining weeks. Iowa is ranked #7 in the AP Poll and Cinci is #5. In the Coaches Poll, Iowa is ranked #8 and Cincinnati #6. In the CBS Sports.Com 120 Poll, the Hawkeyes are ranked a head of the Bearcats at #4 and Cinci #5. I would agree with that poll not because I'm a Hawkeye fan, but because of what I said earlier. The one other poll, the CBSSports.Com Blog Poll, the Hawkeyes are right behind Cincinnati, who is ranked #4. The teams seem pretty even and it would be a very entertaining game. In my opinion, the CBS Sports.Com 120 poll is the only poll that has it right, your opinions please.

Soothing Medicine For Bowden

Some in the Seminole Nation wanted Head Coach Bobby Bowden to step down. The cries have been as loud as earth quake tremors and getting louder until Wednesday Night, when the Seminoles staged a tremendous come from behind victory over North Carolina in Chapel Hill by the score of 30-27 after trailing at one time 24-3

Much thanks should be given to Seminole QB Christian Ponder, who threw for 395 yards, and wide receiver Rod Owens, who caught 9 balls for 199 yards, including a 98 yard touchdown reception from the Seminoles own 2 yard line. This came after an interception thrown by Tar Heels QB T.J. Yates. The pass was intercepted in the end zone. Owens caught the pass from Seminole QB Christian Ponder, broke a tackle, and scampered all the way for the TD making the score 24-20. Up until then, UNC seemed to ahve the game in hand and marching toward a convincing beat down of FSU, which would have raised the Rictor Scale of the cries from Bobby Bowden detractors.

The win gives Florida St. its first ACC win of the season. They are now 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. This was certainly soothing medicine for the embattled Bowden. The Seminole Defense is not your Grandfather's defense from back in the 80s and 90s, when the front four was as dominate as any in the country. The FSU Defense could not contain the running plays of UNC all night. However, that one crucial interception by Yates proved to be heartbreaking for the Tar Heels as it turned the momentum in the game with Owens scoring the 98 yard TD a play later.
Coach Bowden can finally breathe a little easier for now. In fact, with this year's topsy turby ACC, the Seminoles are still in contention for the Atlantic Division Title.

EMU Soccer Team Making a Leap of Progress

The Eastern Mennonite Men's Soccer Team "leaped" into fifth place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) with a big away Victory over Washington & Lee University on Wed. Oct. 21 thanks to Sophomore Forward Mitchell Leap as he scored to break a 1-1 deadlock to put the Royals up 2-1. Sophomore Midfielder Philip Yoder knocked in an insurance goal off a corner kick late in the first half and the Royals held the W&L Generals at bay in the second half to give EMU the 3-1 win.

Eastern Mennonite moves to 6-5-5 overall and 4-2-2 in ODAC play. They trail fourth place Hampden-Sydney by four points and are 2 points a head of Randolph Macon. The Royals actually trailed in the W&L match when Freshman Midfielder Tyler Gilcrest scored at the 31:15 mark in the first half to tie the match. The Royals have a tall order as they take on the ODAC top dog, Roanoke College, on Saturday Oct. 24.

Mitchell Leap, a Sophomore from Harrisonburg, VA, leads the Royals in scoring with 9 goals and 3 assists on the season with a total of 21 points. His career high came on August 31 of last year when he scored 2 goals and tallied an assist against La Roche College.

Eastern Mennonite University, located in Harissonburg, Virginia, competes at the NCAA Div. lll level and is a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1917, EMU is a Christian Liberal Arts College affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The current enrollment at the college is around 1,600

Wahoos Waking Up

If you remember my articles on Virginia Football about a month ago, you'll remember that I didn't hold out much hope for the Wahoos after they dropped their opener against FCS opponent William & Mary. My prediction seemed to be coming to fruition as they lost to TCU an then to Southern Mississippi.

However, the Cavaliers have awakened. They beat one of the best teams in the ACC in North Carolina, then Indiana, which is not a surprise. Then yesterday, the Cavs defeated the Maryland Terps. Believe it or not, Virginia is tied for the lead in the ACC Coastal Division. As Georgia Tech Play-By-Play guy Wes Durham said "It's as if Head Coach Al Groh treated the first three games like NFL pre-season games. Will somebody tell Athletic Director Craig Littlepage to tell Coach Groh that those first three games were for real".

The Wahoos host Georgia Tech next Saturday. The Jackets haven't won in Charlottesville since 1990, the year Tech Field Goal Kicker Scott Sisson kicked the winning field goal to beat the Cavaliers 41-38. That year, Virginia came into that game ranked #1 in the nation. After that win, Georgia Tech went on to win a split national title with the Colorado Buffaloes. Without giving the exact stats, the offense has stopped turning the ball over. In the first three games, Virginia turned the ball over 5 times, four of them via the interception. They didn't turn the ball over in the last three victories.

In their first three losses, the Cavs Defense gave up a combined total of 1,033 yards both through the air and on the ground, an average of 344 yards per game. In their last three wins, they gave up a combined total of 730 yards both air and ground, an average of 243 yards per game. The defense cut their yardage given-up average by almost 100 yards during their last three games, which were victories.

As a result, Virginia is a top the ACC Coastal Division followed by Georgia Tech and Miami. About a month ago, this would have been unthinkable. There is still a lot of football to be played. The Cavs host the Jackets next week. Georgia Tech's Spread Option Offense with QB Josh Nesbitt and RB Jonathan Dwyer looks unstoppable as they made mince meat out the Hokies. After that, the Wahoos host Duke, a winnable game. They then must head to South Florida to take on the Canes of Miami, followed by a home game against a Jekyll & Hyde Boston College, a road game at Clemson, and the in-state war with Virginia Tech, which is in Charlottesville.

I don't see the Wahoos beating the Yellow Jackets. Tech will finally end the winless streak at Jefferson's place. Duke will be a win, but they will not survive Miami. However, Boston College, Clemson and VPI could all be wins if the Cavs continue to play well on offense as they've played these last three weeks. 7-5 is a possibility, but 6-6 and a trip to a pre-Christmas bowl is more likely.

Middlebury Mens College Soccer Gunning For Another NCAA Tournament Berth

One of the most successful intercollegiate athletic programs in the country happens to be at the NCAA Div. 3 level. Middlebury College, located in picturesque Middlebury, VT near the Green Mountains, has won 29 NCAA National Championships. One of those championships is claimed by the Mens Soccer program.

The Panthers won the Soccer program's first national title back in 2007 going 18-2-2 on the season. A year ago, Middlebury reached the NCAA Sectional Finals before losing in penalty kicks to Stephens Institute. This year, the Panthers are 5-3-2 with a 1-0 win over Castleton St. 3 days ago.

They haven't scored a lot of goals this year, but Jr. Midfielder Carson Cornbrooks from Williston, VT, leads the Panthers in goals with three on the season. Middlebury has played very well defensively, especially the man between the pipes. Soph. Goal Keeper Tim Cahill, a native of Glastonbury, Connecticut, has 34 saves on the season and ranks 6th in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in goals against with a 0.95 goals against average.

The Panthers may struggle this year to win the conference title again. Right now they sit in 7th place in the NESCAC at 1-2-2 with an overall record of 5-3-2. However, most of the roster is made up of upper class men, including 7 seniors, who were on the national championship team two years ago. Head Coach David Saward is in his 25th year at the helm of the Mens Soccer Program and is the winningest coach in the history of Midlebury Mens Soccer with a record of 251-83-36. That would be among the best records of any college soccer coach. The Panthers will try to climb up the conference standings when they host Connecticut College
Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11am.

Boisie St. Does Not Belong in the Top 5

The BCS rankings are all about perception. The "BCS Conferences" are perceived to have the best talented college football teams, and for the most part, they do. However, there are teams from the non-BCS conferences such as the Mountain West, the WAC and Conference USA that have teams who are capable of beating the top flight teams of the BCS.

That having been said, Boisie St., as good a football team as they are, is not deserving of a #5 ranking. They are ranked ahead of USC and Ohio St.. Yes, I know that USC lost to Washington and Ohio St. lost to USC, but both of those teams play in much tougher conferences and their out of conference opponents are tougher. Boisie State's only really tough out of conference opponent was Oregon, who they beat 19-8. Their two other out of conference foes were Bowling Green and Miami (OH), not too difficult competition.

This is not to say that the Broncos aren't capable of beating USC, LSU, Ohio St. or Oklahoma. I believe they are, and the Broncos should be willing to go to these places and try to beat these teams like they did Oregon last year. Boisie St. is deserving of a top 10 ranking since they are undefeated and have a win against Oregon, a good BCS team, but not a top 5 ranking.

Richt's Feet Not Yet to the Fire, But Warm Sensations Abound

In the aftermath of an embarrassing loss in Knoxville to Tennessee, UGA Athletic Director Daeman Evans has expressed concern over the state of Georgia' Football Program but said he is "confident" that Head Coach Mark Richt can find ways to get the program back to where everyone wants it to be. He may have to do something he doesn't want to do: fire some of his coaches.

On his call-in show, Richt was bombarded by questions from callers asking him if he plans to fire some of his coaches like Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez or Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo. In his answers, Richt did say that changes to that effect may have to be made eventually. "I think a lot of people expect blood. They want somebody to be let go and fired and all that kind of thing and maybe that's what needs to be done." Richt said to one critical caller. Richt went on to say to the caller, in so many words, that he and the team plan to do the best thing right now, which is preparing for the Vanderbilt game.

Some callers, echoing sentiment among many Bulldog fans, asked Coach Richt if and when Freshman quarterbacks Logan Gray, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, will get playing time this year. Richt answered by saying that it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, but highly unlikely.

It is a shame that a Coach Richt, who since his arrival at Georgia, has given Bulldog fans 2 SEC Championships and 3 BCS Bowl appearances (two of them wins) and several other winning seasons, is now experiencing the first serious trimmers of a vocational earthquake. It is true that Richt's club is near or at the bottom nationally in important statistics such as scoring defense and penalties, even though his recruiting classes are at the top tier nationally the last few years.

Play calling has been at times, at best, questionable, and the defense has not played well of late. I don't think Richt needs to can Martinez or Bobo just yet. I do think it might be a good idea to allow Aaron Murray to get a series in one of the upcoming SEC games. He, Gray and maybe even Mettenberger will need experience sooner or later. Actually, from what I'm hearing about Mettenberger, he may be better suited for a place like Georgia St.

If Georgia falls to the Commodores this Saturday, changes must be made. The problem is that Kentucky, the Gators, Auburn and Tech await, so what changes do you make. Do you fire Martinez in the middle of the season. Who would coach the Defense? Coach Richt is in a very tough spot.

The most disturbing thing for me is the penalties. That doesn't seem to be improving. Richt brought discipline when he came to Georgia 8 years ago. "Finish The Drill" was and still is the motto. There needs to be a "drill" to eliminate or drastically reduce the penalties on offense. Things like jumping off sides, false starts, and especially things like personal fouls cannot be tolerated. If these things improve, that's one step towards the type of successful football Georgia is use to playing, the type of football that wins games and championships.

This begins with Richt and his coaches. They must get back to the philosophy they started with back in 2001: discipline, finishing the drill. The players, in particular the Senior leadership, must take it upon themselves to buy back into Richt's standards. Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Johnsos revival of the Tech program is eerily similar to what Mark Richt did back in 01. In Richt's second year, the Dogs won an SEC Championship, the first since 1983. Georgia Tech, thanks to Johnson's Spread Option Offense, is poised to make a run for the ACC Title this year. To summarise it all, the Dogs need to get back to 2001 basics

Bryan College Gets Last Laugh

I was up at Bryan College, my Alma mater located in Dayton, TN, last Wednesday to film the great soccer rivalry between Bryan and Covenant College, a storied rivalry which goes back several decades and a rivalry which may very well have come to an end at about 9:45 pm Wednesday night.

Fortunately, the Lions won the match 1-0 on a goal in the second half by Junior Midfielder and Mesquite, Texas native Bennie Bardales. If the rivalry has ended, at least the Lions got the last laugh. When yours truly was a player way back in 1990, the first game I played in was against Covenant at their place high atop Lookout Mountain. We lost 4-0, thus continuing a "clean sheet" the Scotts had on Bryan for about a decade. Bryan went at least 10 years without scoring on Covenant, let alone beating the Scotts, until 1996 when BC Forward Gabe Hammelwright ended the scoreless and winless streak as the Lions toppled the Scotts 1-0.

Since then, Bryan has had the upper hand in most of the matches, including an incredible come from behind victory over Covenant in Dayton as the Lions, trailing 2-1 with under 2 minutes remaining, scored two goals to win in spectacular fashion. In 2007 and 08, the Lions won the regular season contests, but lost in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Semi-Finals to the Scotts two years in a row, the second of the two on Bryan's home pitch.

However, we Lions got the last laugh. Covenant has left both the AAC and the NAIA so we won't have to see them in the post season. For many reasons, I wish Covenant wouldn't make the move to NCAA Div. 3 and stay in the AAC so we could have another chance to beat them in the playoffs. But as it is, Bryan won't get that chance. So what though! If Bryan never plays Covenant again, the Lions won the last match and got the last laugh.

There are several great college soccer rivalries throughout the United States: Boston College vs Boston University, William &Mary vs Ole Dominion and Maryland vs North Carolina in NCAA Div. 1. In NCAA Div. 3, two Pennsylvania schools, Messiah and Elizabethtown, have an extremely heated rivalry. The Bryan-Covenant rivalry ranks right up there with them in intensity. It's a shame to see it go.

Tebo's Quality of Life More Important Then Championship

Florida Quarterback Tim Tebo wants badly to play against LSU and is in Baton Rouge with the team, but has not been cleared to play yet. He really doesn't need to. Backup John Brantley is more than capable of handling Urban Meyer's offense and leading the Gators to a win at Tiger Stadium.

This past week, a study came out saying that NFL players who suffered concussions were more likely to suffer Dementia later in life. I think it's pretty simple here. Tim Tebo's quality of life after football (and he will have a life after football) is more important than winning a championship. I agree with those who say that florida could still play for the National Championship even if they lose to LSU but win the rest of their games, including, of course, the SEC Title Game.

Tebo should sit the LSU game out. Again, Brantley is capable of leading the Gator offense. Florida also has an excellent running attach with Jeff Demps and Immanuel Moody, so it's more than just the quarterback. Florida has the #1 ranked running attack in the country. Florida's defense will also take care of business, so it is not that crucial for Tebo to play in this game. He's not 100% and his quality of life could be in jeopardy, not to mention his future NFL career, should another concussion take place in Baton Rouge.

Bottom line, Tebo should sit out the LSU game. Brantley, Demps and Moody & company can take care of business against the Bayou Bengals.