Colleges

Winless FAU to open play in new conference

By wire services
Published September 22, 2005

After several weeks of being a sacrificial lamb to football's big boys, Florida Atlantic is ready to pick on someone its own size.

FAU (0-3), a Division I-A newcomer, begins Sun Belt Conference play tonight when it plays host to Louisiana-Monroe (0-3) in its inaugural league game. The Owls have losses to Kansas, Oklahoma State and Minnesota, but coach Howard Schnellenberger said his team has learned a lot.

"Our kids passed the test, even though we didn't win any games. I think we showed that we could play with them," Schnellenberger said. "To get the experience to play against big, talented teams - that's all part of the growing up process."

FAU will need some offensive improvement, tallying just 29 points, averaging about 278 yards of total offense, and the team's leading rusher after three games is quarterback Danny Embick. But Schnellenberger said his young team has remained resilient.

"Realistically it would have been foolish for someone to favor us over these first few games," he said. "We had no preconceived ideas that we could go from losing 28 seniors to playing equal with those teams, but we matched up closer to equal than I anticipated."

BOISE ST. 48, BOWLING GREEN 20: Jared Zabransky rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another, and the Broncos extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 26.

Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs had one of his worst games since he became the starter at the beginning of last season. Considered a long-shot Heisman candidate, Jacobs completed 18 of 36 passes for 220 yards, including 71 in the fourth quarter. He had never completed less than 58 percent, and his career low in yardage, 218, came in his first start at Oklahoma.

Jacobs opened the season with 458 yards against Wisconsin and 428 versus Ball State, with five TDs in each game. He threw two fourth-quarter TDs against Boise State's reserves.

The Broncos starters scored on eight of 10 possessions.

COLORADO: Two women trying to revive their suit against the university over alleged misconduct in its football recruiting program must be given a document outlining another woman's allegations that she was sexually assaulted by a football player, U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig Shaffer said. He ordered attorneys for the university to turn over the transcript of an interview by a campus police officer with the former student athletic trainer identified in court only as Trainer B. Kimberly Hult, an attorney for Lisa Simpson, one of the women suing the school, said the document could help revive the suit.

VIRGINIA TECH: The offensive line will be shuffled for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech because of starting guard Reggie Butler's right knee injury. Will Montgomery will move from center to Butler's spot, and Danny McGrath will start at center. It's the same arrangement the Hokies used after Butler was injured against Ohio.

BASKETBALL: Boston College coach Al Skinner, who led the Eagles to four NCAA Tournament appearances in the past five seasons, received a one-year extension through 2011. Skinner has a 147-100 record in eight years with the Eagles. ... Tory Jackson, a 5-10, 190-pound point guard from Saginaw, Mich., committed to Notre Dame. He averaged 30 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and four steals for Buena Vista High. "I feel good about the whole thing," he said.

SOCCER: USF defender Joris Claessens was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week for the period ending Sunday. Claessens helped USF to a weekend sweep of two Big East teams over the weekend, anchoring a defense which held the conference's top-scoring team, Seton Hall, to two goals, and scored the winner against Georgetown.

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 01:04:14]