A periodic look at where former Florida Gators and Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier might land next year.
Now that he has said no to the Florida Gators, could it be his most likely destination is the NFL's Miami Dolphins? The Dolphins have not fired coach Dave Wannstedt, but that appears inevitable. They are 1-7 and in need of an offensive boost. Though Spurrier's Redskins never lit up the scoreboard like many thought they would, the fact the unit is even worse without Spurrier certainly boosts the his credibility. Because the Dolphins are typically strong on defense, even a slight improvement in the scoring department could make for a dramatic turnaround. Also in the picture: Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Notre Dame. Keep an eye on Colorado, too.
- KEITH NIEBUHR, Times staff writer
CROOM'S HOMECOMING
Sylvester Croom was ready to rescue Alabama.
His beloved alma mater was scrambling after an abrupt, embarrassing coaching change last year, and Croom wanted the job. But the Crimson Tide spurned him for one of his proteges - Mike Shula - and broke his heart.
Now at Mississippi State, Croom is checking his emotions before a return to his hometown of Tuscaloosa tonight, and defusing talk about turning the game into a referendum on who should be coaching Alabama. "That's beside the point. Mike's their head coach, and I'm here," Croom said. "From my standpoint, that's not changing - not any time soon."
Shula also is trying to keep the focus on the field, not the sideline - even though after last year's losing season in Tuscaloosa, some Alabama fans say the Tide picked the wrong guy.
"It's not Coach Croom vs. Mike Shula," he said. "It's about our players. It's about our universities, our programs."
Croom's concern is with breaking Mississippi State's 15-game road losing streak. Everything else is a sideshow.
"Winning a road game is all that matters this week," Croom said. "The fact that it's at Alabama makes it more special because it is Alabama, and it is one of the top programs in all of football."
GIVE IT A REST!
Dana College quarterback Tom Lensch felt like he was pitching for the high school baseball team again.
In the hours after throwing a record 101 passes last weekend in a 60-35 loss to Hastings (Neb.) College, he wrapped his weary left arm in ice and started popping ibuprofen.
"When I was pitching, I probably threw 100 pitches every game," Lensch said. "It's a lot harder to do it when you play football. It kind of got to me."
The all-division college record for passes in a game was 92 by Paul Gray of Hanover, Ind., against Georgetown, Ky., in 1991.
Lensch, whose Blair, Neb., team is 1-8, completed 56 for 507 yards and two touchdowns, with three interceptions, and remarkably was not sacked.
"I really didn't expect 101 passes; I was thinking I was around 80," Lensch said.
MAKING A LIST
Georgia quarterback David Greene, tied with Peyton Manning at 39 wins as the all-time leader in Division I-A history, lists his favorites in chronological order:
26-24 OVER TENNESSEE ON OCT. 6, 2001: As a redshirt freshman, Greene guides the Bulldogs to the winning score in the final minute, silencing more than 100,000 fans at Neyland Stadium with his 6-yard touchdown pass to Verron Haynes.
24-21 OVER AUBURN ON NOV. 16, 2002: Greene throws a 19-yard touchdown to Michael Johnson on fourth and 15 with 1:25 remaining, clinching the SEC East for the Bulldogs.
30-3 OVER ARKANSAS ON DEC. 7, 2002: Georgia wins its first SEC championship in 20 years by routing the Razorbacks at the Georgia Dome. Greene throws for 237 yards and a touchdown.
34-27 OVER PURDUE ON JAN. 1, 2004: Greene passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns as Georgia, after blowing a big lead, comes back to win the Capital One Bowl in overtime.
31-24 OVER FLORIDA ON OCT. 30, 2004: Greene throws for 255 yards and three touchdowns as Georgia beats the Gators for the first time since 1997 and only the second time in 15 years. LOSERS CLUB
Baylor snapped a streak of 11 consecutive Big 12 losses last weekend with an upset over Texas A&M. Since the start of Big 12 play in 1996, Baylor has a 6-60 league record. The worst league records in each of the other BCS conferences since 1996:
Conference, School: W-L/Pct.
Southeastern, Vanderbilt: 6-63/.087
ACC, Duke: 7-62/.101
Big East, Rutgers: 7-53/.117
Big Ten, Indiana: 16-53/.232
Pac-10, Arizona: 24-45/.348
QUOTABLE
"When they stopped cheering, they carried Todd out on their shoulders."
- Washington coach Keith Gilbertson on the reaction of his team to athletic director Todd Turner's announcement that Gilbertson would step down at the end of the season. FIVE THINGS
1. When the ACC expanded to include Miami, Virginia Tech and soon Boston College, it relished the prospect of placing a potential two teams in the lucrative BCS games. But upsets by Maryland over Florida State and North Carolina over Miami make it unlikely the league will divide a second $4.5-million paycheck.
2. It appears that California junior quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be among the top five picks in the NFL draft if he leaves school early. Heralded freshman recruit Nathan Longshore, the starter-in-waiting, likely will begin a two-year Mormon mission next year. Cal has a young prospect in redshirt freshman Cary Dove, but look for junior college transfer Joseph Ayoob to get a serious look from coach Jeff Tedford. Rodgers also was a JC transfer, and he eventually beat out Reggie Robertson for the starting job.
3. UCLA likely needs an upset in the final two weeks of the season - either at Oregon or against Southern California - to win seven games and give coach Karl Dorrell a little breathing room in his rebuilding job.
4. Tulsa's Ashlan Davis returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown against Rice, marking the third consecutive game he has returned a kickoff for a score. That ties the record held by seven other players for most kickoff returns for touchdowns in a season. He is only the second player to do it in consecutive games.
5. With the prospect of a 6-5 team representing the North in the league title game, Big 12 officials have contacted the NCAA about a potential waiver to send the North champion to a bowl game with a 6-6 record. Technically, the NCAA qualifying standard for bowl eligibility in an 11-game season is a winning record (6-5). But waivers have been granted, on occasion, for extenuating circumstances.
BY THE NUMBERS
10: Turnovers committed by Arizona State in its past three games after only two in its first five. The Sun Devils had five turnovers in last weekend's 20-0 loss to California.
14: Yards Hawaii's Timmy Chang needs today against Louisiana Tech to move past BYU's Ty Detmer and become Division I-A's all-time leader in passing yards. Detmer's record is 15,031.
21: Points, most allowed by Penn State this season.
37: Combined points the Nittany Lions have scored in their past five games.
80-12: Combined score of USC's victories the past two weeks over Washington and Washington State.
Information from the Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Orlando Sentinel, Raleigh News & Observer, Rocky Mountain News and Sporting News was used in this report.
