
Monday Awards (cont.)Posted: Monday November 13, 2006 11:38AM; Updated: Monday November 13, 2006 5:40PM T-shirt of the Week
Hey, it may be crude, but it's true. God bless T-shirts with double meanings. Breakout Performance of the Week Matthew Stafford, UGA. Coming into Saturday's game against Auburn, Stafford had thrown three times as many interceptions as he had touchdowns (12 to 4) and was barely completing over 50% of his passes (51.6 to be exact). The true freshman from Dallas threw for 219 yards, ran for 83 and produced two touchdowns in the Dawgs 37-15 thumpin' of No. 15 Auburn. As for Stafford, we checked his bio and discovered that he graduated high school early and enrolled at UGA in January. Think about it: He's a senior in high school, the quarterback of the football team and heading to UGA in the fall. Think about all the girls he could've had. Plus, he's in Dallas, home of the nation's best-looking women (Big D ranks among the top five of American cities, at the least). Not to say that Athens isn't another top five city, but Stafford had six months to be the big fish in his small high school pond and gave all that up so he could get to Athens a little early and get himself ready for the football season. That's commitment. Not Quite the Breakout Performance of the Week Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech. If Stafford broke out on Saturday, then his Peach State native, Ball, broke in. The senior threw for 78 yards, no TDs and one interception as the Yellow Jackets won a 7-0 shootout against 1-9 North Carolina. The same Jackets, mind you, have the best record in the ACC and, with games against Duke and Georgia, could land the conference's BCS berth. Turnaround of the Week Arizona. After Rutgers defeated Louisville on Thursday, we discussed whether the Scarlet Knights are now the biggest turnaround in college football history. But what about the biggest turnaround in two weeks? Look no further than Tucson. On Halloween, Mike Stoops' squad was 3-5 and losers of four of their last five. Thirteen days later, the Wildcats are 5-5 after wins over Washington State and Cal, and are in position to play in a bowl game. Warm Wishes of the Week Pete Carroll, USC. The Trojans coach was seen giving the refs an earful of F-bombs in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 35-14 victory over Oregon. But who can blame him after one of the most confusing plays of the year. With the Ducks trailing 28-7, QB Dennis Dixon threw to the back of the endzone, where the ball was tipped and eventually caught by WR Jonathan Stewart. The play was originally ruled a touchdown, then overturned (after a five-minute discussion) when Stewart was ruled ineligible because he'd stepped out of bounds and come back in. After the ruling, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti called the officials to the sideline and challenged the reversal, sending the officials back to the video for another look. The refs emerged a few minutes later and reversed the reversal, giving Oregon the TD. At that point, a royally p'd-off Carroll gave the refs his not-so-friendly opinion of their performance. Did we mention that SIOC fav John David Booty -- whose apartment is more of a dump then you'd think -- passed for 176 yards and a TD in the victory? Shady Move of the Week The FSU scoreboard operators, who turned the board off immediately after the Noles were trounced, 30-0, by Wake Forest, even though they usually leave it on longer. Can you blame them? The whitewash by the Demon Deacons was the first home shutout loss for Bobby Bowden and the school's first blanking in 232 games. Bowden is now 4-6 in his last 10 games, including wins against Troy and Rice. Bad Reunion of the Week Al Golden and Mark D'Onofrio, Temple. Golden -- the Owls' head coach -- was a three-year (1989-91) letter-winner and two-year starter at tight end for Penn State. D'Onforio -- the Owls' defensive coordinator -- is a former linebacker for the Nittany Lions. Their return to Happy Valley was a miserable one as the Owls recorded only two first downs and 74 yards of total offense in a 47-0 drubbing by their alma-mater. On the bright side, Temple defeated Bowling Green a couple of weeks ago for their only win of the season. Got a Monday Award nominee? Send it to feedback@sioncampus.com. 2 of 2 | |||
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