Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2002
At Bethune-Cookman, the quarterback does not get much credit when things go right and gets too much blame when things don't.
That's because Allen Suber is the Wildcats' offense. All the credit for B-CC's historic 8-0 start rests with him, just as all the blame for Saturday's 37-7 upset loss to Hampton falls on his sprained right foot.
Without Suber -- the Tampa Catholic alumnus who spent the game on crutches on the sideline -- the Wildcats were beatable. "Life is miserable without (him)," coach Alvin Wyatt told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "We need him. I know we need him. But we'll get him back. It's tough. We're just a better football team with Allen. Everybody knows that. It would have been a different football game with Allen."
With Allen, B-CC wouldn't have had four players attempt passes, going a combined 23-of-44 for 239 yards and throwing three interceptions. Without Allen, the Wildcats' triple-option mustered 49 yards, averaging 1.9 a carry.
But B-CC remains in the hunt for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title.
DAMAGE DONE: Troy State dealt a blow to Florida A&M's hopes of earning an at-large bid to the Division I-AA playoffs when it beat the Rattlers 24-7 at the first Azalea Classic on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
FAMU must win the MEAC championship to advance to the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, which opens the door for several scenarios.
WHAT IF?: Four teams still are alive in the MEAC race: B-CC, FAMU, Hampton and Howard. The only MEAC team that controls its destiny is the Wildcats, with one conference loss; the others have two MEAC losses each.
-- If B-CC defeats Howard at home this week, then beats FAMU in the Nov. 23 Florida Classic, B-CC wins the title outright.
-- If B-CC loses to Howard but defeats FAMU in the classic, then Howard and Hampton must lose for B-CC to claim sole ownership of the title.
-- If B-CC beats Howard but loses to FAMU, then Hampton must lose for the two Florida schools to be co-champions.
-- If B-CC loses to Howard and FAMU, the Rattlers win outright if Hampton and Howard lose.
What happens to the conference's automatic entry into the Division I-AA playoffs if there is a tie? The MEAC will use a series of tiebreakers, including strength of schedule, to decide.
WAKE-UP CALL: Central Florida was down 21-14 to Buffalo on Saturday with seven minutes, 59 seconds left in the third quarter.
How could the Golden Knights fall behind the Mid-American Conference's worst offense?
Quarterback Ryan Schneider said after the 45-21 win that UCF had trouble adjusting to the atmosphere of UB Stadium at Amherst, N.Y., where a few thousand less than the announced crowd of 6,923 watched the mismatch.
"You say (atmosphere) doesn't matter, but it probably does," Schneider told the Orlando Sentinel. "You have to talk to yourself and not have the attitude of 'What the heck are we doing here?' "
When the Bulls' Aaron Leeper capped an eight-play, 43-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, the Knights responded.
"When they scored to go up 21-14, that's when we said, 'Let's go!' " Schneider said. "That finally woke us up."
Schneider sparked a 31-0 run with three second-half touchdown passes. He was 25-of-43 for 360 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes and two interceptions.
"We were behind," Schneider said. "But I never thought we would lose."