NC State to play home opener as scheduled
RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina State's home opener against William & Mary will kickoff at 6 p.m. as scheduled, but school officials say they plan to keep an eye on Tropical Storm Hanna.
The storm is expected to make landfall late Friday night or Saturday morning, and bring with it the prospect for rain and a possible thunderstorm.
While athletic director Lee Fowler made adjustments for the weekend schedule with other sports, he recommended that the football game retain its original schedule.
Fowler said the school would continue to monitor the storm through Friday to determine if it will come further inland.
Elsewhere, two South Carolina schools got out of Hanna's way.
Wofford's game with Charleston Southern was moved from Charleston to Spartanburg, and Coastal Carolina's game with Colgate was switched to Sunday for the same reason.
The storm won't affect the games between Presbyterian and Fayetteville State, and South Carolina State and Benedict.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
QB Sewell among 4 players not enrolled at Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell is one of four football players not enrolled in classes this semester.
The university said in a release Thursday that privacy laws preclude it from commenting any further, but the announcement comes one day after a new semester started at Virginia, suggesting the players are academically ineligible.
That would keep Sewell, a sophomore who started every game as the Cavaliers went 9-4 last season, cornerback Chris Cook, redshirt freshman linebacker Darnell Carter and redshirt freshman Chris Dalton from participating in spring practice.
Chris Cook, a junior, started six times last season before injuring his knee.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
West Virginia WR Darius Reynaud to enter NFL draft
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Darius Reynaud will forgo his final year of eligibility at West Virginia and enter the NFL draft, The Associated Press learned Thursday.
A person in the Mountaineers athletic department confirmed Reynaud's departure. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet made an announcement.
The 5-foot-10 Reynaud was the top receiving threat in West Virginia's run-oriented spread offense. He had 733 yards receiving this season and scored two touchdowns in a 48-28 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, helping the Mountaineers (11-2) finish the season ranked No. 6 in the country.
His 64 catches tied for the fourth-most in a season in school history and his 12 TD catches matched Chris Henry's school record set in 2004. Reynaud was named to the all-Big East second team for a second straight season. He finished in the top 10 in school history in kickoff return yards and all-purpose yards.
Reynaud said after the Fiesta Bowl he was struggling with his decision.
Quarterback Pat White will again be the foundation of West Virginia's offense next season under the direction of new coach Bill Stewart, who took over after Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan on Dec. 16.
Reynaud submitted paperwork to the NFL's draft advisory committee last month and his projection in April's draft wasn't immediately known. Stewart didn't return a telephone message Thursday.
A senior who is expected to graduate in May and earn eligibility for a fifth season, Reynaud and his longtime girlfriend have a 2-year-old daughter.
Reynaud's departure leaves the Mountaineers with a big need at wide receiver. No other WVU player had more than one TD catch this season and running back Steve Slaton, who has yet to announce his decision for next fall, was the second-leading receiver with 26 catches for 350 yards. Wide receiver Dorrell Jalloh was third with 24 catches for 272 yards.
Reynaud is the second WVU player to declare for the NFL draft. Defensive end Johnny Dingle, a senior, said last month he would give up the extra year of eligibility he'll earn by graduating.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Texas beats Sun Devils 52-34 in wacky Holiday Bowl
SAN DIEGO -- The Holiday Bowl has long been known for wacky plays and wild finishes.
Well, add another one. And this time, the central character wasn't a player.
Texas fans will remember Colt McCoy leading the No. 17 Longhorns to a 52-34 win Thursday night over the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils in the first meeting between the schools and their successful coaches.
No one will forget Chris Jessie, the stepson of Texas coach Mack Brown, inadvertently becoming part of the game.
With the Longhorns leading 21-0 and the Sun Devils driving early in the second quarter, ASU's Rudy Carpenter dropped back to pass and was hit by linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy. The ball squirted backward, toward the Longhorns' sideline.
Jessie, a member of his stepfather's football operations staff, stepped about a yard onto the field and was motioning toward a player when he reached down and appeared to touch the ball with his left thumb. Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller slapped the ball away from the sideline and defensive end Aaron Lewis recovered and returned it to about the ASU 44.
After a 12-minute review, officials reversed the play. They ruled that Jessie touched the ball, which is illegal interference, an unsportsmanlike foul. The ball reverted to the Sun Devils and Texas was penalized half the distance to the goal, giving ASU fourth-and-3 at the 7. Carpenter threw a touchdown pass to Chris McGaha.
"It was just natural instinct," Jessie said. "I thought it was a forward pass. I was looking at the ball being thrown and I was waiting for a grounding penalty. When I realized the ball was in play, I jumped back."
The gaffe didn't end up costing the Longhorns (10-3), other than some embarrassment.
"I didn't touch it, I didn't touch it," Jessie said. "The focus shouldn't be on me. That was a great game."
He said his stepfather told him "not to worry about it, the guys would pull it out."
Brown joked about it afterward.
"I was standing there. I didn't think he touched it, but it just shows you how badly our family wanted to win the game. He even got involved," Brown said.
"That's the most unusual play I've ever seen in college football," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. "I was talking to the official and I said, in my 35 or 40 years -- it feels like 50 right now -- however many years I've coached, I've never seen anything like that."
The 86 points were the fourth-most in the Holiday Bowl's 30-year history.
Texas set team records for points in a bowl game and with its fourth straight postseason win.
McCoy led the way for the Longhorns, throwing for a touchdown, running for another and fumbling into the end zone at the end of a 30-yard run, with tight end Jermichael Finley recovering for a score.
McCoy fumbled four times. The Longhorns recovered three and ASU got the other one.
Jamaal Charles carried 27 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns.
Brown and Erickson have been friends for years, but had never coached against each other. Erickson won two national championships at Miami and Brown coached Texas to the national title two years ago.
ASU (10-3) committed five turnovers, with Carpenter throwing two interceptions before leaving the game in the fourth quarter.
Carpenter had a horrible night, going 18-for-32 for 187 yards. He was sacked four times.
"I just couldn't step into my throws," Carpenter said. "They were bringing a lot of pressure and they were bringing heat. Sometimes I was trying to make some throws off my back foot and the ball is going to sail on you."
Texas cornerback Brandon Foster had a huge game with two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a tipped pass that was picked off by teammate Marcus Griffin.
McCoy was 21-for-31 passing for 174 yards, and carried 16 times for 84 yards.
The Longhorns raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, including the fastest score in Holiday Bowl history. McCoy threw a 2-yard TD pass to Derek Lokey just 1:21 in. John Chiles scored on a 4-yard run, and Charles had a 15-yard scoring run.
"When you play a team like Texas, they're too good to get in that type of deficit," Carpenter said.
After ASU's score following the bizarre play, McCoy added a 9-yard TD run.
It looked like he was going to score again in the third quarter when he went zigzagging through ASU's defense. But he fumbled as he was tackled at the 3 and the ball rolled into the end zone. Finley was the third player into the pile and ended up with the ball and the TD.
Vondrell McGee scored on a 28-yard run for Texas in the fourth quarter, and Charles added a 32-yard score.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Hawaii coach June Jones pours on the praise for Georgia
HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii coach June Jones is reluctant to watch any more Georgia game film.
"Every time I look at them, they look better," he said of the Warriors' Sugar Bowl opponent. "Hopefully, we can make some plays and score a little bit and make it a close game."
Not one to shy away from hyperbole, Jones poured on the praise for the fourth-ranked Bulldogs (10-2).
"I think every player on their team will play in the National Football League," said the former NFL coach and quarterback. "They've got a lot of talent. They've got some young kids playing, too. But right now, they already look like they can play in the NFL."
Jones, who played and coached with the Atlanta Falcons, said Georgia has fast skill position players, a young and athletic offensive line and a running back, "who is one of a kind." Georgia freshman Knowshon Moreno has run for 1,273 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The unbeaten and 10th-ranked Warriors (12-0) have some talent as well, starting with their record-breaking quarterback Colt Brennan, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. Brennan has thrown for 4,174 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Hawaii owns the nation's longest winning streak at 13 games and has won 22 of its last 23 games. The Warriors are the third team from a conference without an automatic BCS bid to earn a trip to college football's biggest stage. Fellow Western Athletic Conference member Boise State earned a Fiesta Bowl bid last year and upset Oklahoma in overtime.
While the Bulldogs were a bit miffed about not playing in New Orleans on Jan. 7 in the BCS national championship, the Warriors are looking forward to their first postseason trip outside the Aloha State since the 1992 Holiday Bowl.
Jones said he wishes the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl was sooner.
The time off helps, "but I wish we could play them in three days, too. It gives them a lot of time to prepare for us. We play kind of different style of football and when you have more time to practice against the defensive schemes and the offensive schemes, it changes a little bit. So you have to be physically as good as they are."
The Warriors leave on Christmas Day and won't arrive until the following day. They'll try to avoid getting caught up in the New Year's Eve festivities and distractions in New Orleans.
"It was distracting as a player and distracting as a football coach," said Jones, who's been to the Superdome numerous times during his years in the NFL. "I've been there probably more than anyone that's going to be in that building that day. It's unbelievable to get into that dome."
"It's a little bigger than the Moscow, Idaho dome," said Jones, referring to the Idaho Vandals' 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome, where Hawaii played during the season.
Brennan said his team is used to long layoffs with two open weeks during the season. So far, high-flying Hawaii has been going through its usual routine and resting some ailing players.
"For the offense, we do the same thing every week, the same practice every day," Brennan said. "For us, it's no different."
For the first time in his career, Jones has closed the practices to the public to avoid the hoards of fans and autograph seekers who had been attending. Security guards have also been posted at parking entrance and the field.
Jones said it took more than an hour for some of the players to get back to the locker room because of all the autograph requests.
Some overaggressive fans have even waited for players outside their classrooms.
"It's been crazy," said Brennan, who is the most popular man in Hawaii since Don Ho in the 1970s. "Obviously they want the autographs because you've done something good and positive, so that's a good thing."
The university is trying to accommodate some of the fans. The school has scheduled a 1-hour autograph session for Saturday. Thousands are expected to attend.
"It's only going to help me strengthen my arm," Brennan said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Auburn assistant coach Borges resigns
AUBURN, ALABAMA (TICKER) -- Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges resigned Tuesday, less than a week after Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville signed a two-year contract extension.
This season, Auburn ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring (24.3 ppg) and 10th in total offense (327.8 ypg).
"Al and I discussed this during the last week and after a decision was made, I began looking for a new offensive coordinator," Tuberville said. "We hope to have someone on board in the near future."
A 1981 graduate of California State University, Borges served as Auburn's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2004.
"Al did a good job for us during his tenure, and we appreciate everything that he did for Auburn," Tuberville said.
The Tigers (8-4) finished second in the SEC West and will face Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on December 31.
Copyright 2007 PA SportsTicker. All Rights Reserved
UH receives 500 Sugar Bowl tickets after giving up 4,000 tickets
HONOLULU (AP) -- The University of Hawaii will receive at least 500 Sugar Bowl tickets to help address a severe shortfall caused by an earlier decision not to accept its full 17,500-ticket allotment.
The school announced Thursday that Sugar Bowl officials are sending 500 tickets to the Jan. 1 game against Georgia and could make more available next week.
Tickets will be sold to the 352 season-ticket holders who were placed on a waiting list before the school ceased adding to the list Wednesday night because of "excessive demand." A total of 1,500 tickets have been requested.
Hawaii did not receive its full allotment because its athletic officials were concerned they could not sell them all, so 4,000 tickets were gladly accepted by Georgia.
Athletics director Herman Frazier said Sugar Bowl officials on Saturday wanted a decision immediately to return tickets.
"They pressed us," he told The Honolulu Advertiser. "They wanted a decision."
Sugar Bowl spokesman Duane Lewis on Wednesday said it was entirely Hawaii's decision to take fewer tickets.
With Hawaii quickly selling out its reduced allotment of 13,500 tickets on Tuesday, many angry Warriors' fans and season-ticket holders were left scrambling to find tickets to the school's first bowl game outside the Aloha State since the 1992 Holiday Bowl.
Of the 13,500 tickets, only 8,500 made it to season-ticket holders because 5,000 were reserved for the university, travel packages and corporate sponsors.
Tickets were supposed go on sale to the general public Wednesday, but that never happened.
The university is also offering to buy back tickets if any purchasers are unable to make travel arrangements to New Orleans.
Led by quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan, the 10th-ranked Warriors earned a BCS berth to face the fourth-ranked Bulldogs (10-2) after finishing as the nation's only unbeaten team at 12-0.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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