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Falling far from the tree Zook has already shown he's no Steve SpurrierPosted: Tuesday September 10, 2002 6:06 PM
Attention, class. Get out your No. 2 pencils. Choose the first-year coach who said this Sunday: "I think [our opponent the day before] is very talented. That's where we're going. We want to have the same type of players they do." A) Mark Mangino of Kansas, after the Jayhawks lost 31-20 at UNLV.
Correct answer: D. Which is interesting, because I had completely forgotten Florida went 3-8 last year. I thought the Gators had won the SEC in 2000, then a year later gone 10-2, won the Orange Bowl and had a leading Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Rex Grossman. I just don't think Zook's quote is something the old ball coach would have said. Teams with the type of players that Miami has do exist. They're in the same league as Miami. And New England, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. Still, couldn't Zook just have acknowledged getting beat and moved on? The talent level at Miami is such that its own players struggle to be patient. 'Canes running backs coach Don Soldinger told me that sophomore tailback Willis McGahee bristled last season whenever Clinton Portis delivered a verbal jab about how Portis was the starter and McGahee was not. "Portis rubs everybody the wrong way," Soldinger said. "Portis is witty and will put you down. When he was behind James Jackson, he used to ask me, 'How can you play the guy that's going to be in the CFL?' It was rough for McGahee that first year. I told him, 'Listen, you're going to get your reps.'" Football nirvana to football wastelandIn 1869 Rutgers beat Princeton 6-4 in what is considered the first college football game (that makes Rutgers the nation's first undefeated team), which we bring up only because Princeton is ranked 175th in the current Jeff Sagarin ratings for USA Today. Rutgers is 181st. The Tigers haven't played a game yet, and they're six spots higher than the Scarlet Knights, who have lost by large margins to Villanova and Buffalo. Princeton is one of 65 Division I-AA teams ranked ahead of Rutgers. Don't forget, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano used to be Miami's defensive coordinator. He left Coral Gables a few weeks before Butch Davis departed for Cleveland. If Schiano had stuck around, would he have gotten the Hurricanes' job instead of Larry Coker? During the last 21 months, think anyone in the Schiano household has asked him- or herself that question during a sleepless night? Extra pointsBaylor sophomore quarterback Aaron Karas looked good as the starter in the Bears' 50-12 victory over I-AA Samford. My guess is senior Greg Cicero isn't going to win his job back any time soon. ... USC scored 24 points in its opening win against Auburn -- and ranks last in the Pac-10 in points per game. ... South Carolina committed seven turnovers (six fumbles), in its loss to Virginia last Saturday. You may know be aware that Lou Holtz is a stickler for fundamentals like not turning the ball over. The Gamecocks lost only seven fumbles last season. Holtz had three quarterbacks at Notre Dame -- Rick Mirer in 1990, Kevin McDougal in 1993 and Ron Powlus in 1996 -- who threw fewer than seven interceptions in a season. ... Tennessee defensive end Rashad Moore is tired of hearing about all the losses on the Vols' defensive front. After Tennessee's 26-3 defeat of Middle Tennessee State, a team that scored 34 the previous week against Alabama, someone asked Moore if the media should call his unit "awesome." "I don't want y'all to say that," Moore said. "I want y'all to keep saying we suck and the Tennessee front four can't get the job done." I'll ask my editor, but ... Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag.
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