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Inside College Football
Posted: Tuesday October 26, 1999 04:29 PM Georgia's Double Threat | South Carolina's Woes Illinois's Big Knockout | USC's Disturbing Trend Extra Points | Fast Forward Spotlight: Kevin Feterik Behind a finally healthy Tee Martin, Tennessee beat Alabama to continue its climb back up the polls By Ivan Maisel
The best player on the field at Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium last Saturday was the same Tee Martin who led Tennessee to the national championship last season, not the quarterback who spent the Volunteers' first five games picking up injuries the way he usually picks up first downs. By rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for a third in the Volunteers' 21-7 defeat of one of their oldest rivals, Martin served notice that he's healthy.
The Alabama-Tennessee game had been billed as a showdown between Crimson Tide tailback Shaun Alexander, an unofficial Heisman Trophy finalist, and a Volunteers defense that hadn't allowed a rushing touchdown all season. Alexander ran for 98 yards, despite getting only one of his 20 carries in the fourth quarter, when Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow attempted 18 straight passes in a fruitless comeback try. Alexander also caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. Tennessee junior Jamal Lewis rushed for 117 yards, 68 in the fourth quarter. NFL scouts like the 6-foot, 225-pound Lewis better than Alexander (6'1", 220) because of his power. Alexander doesn't run over people, but he'll be Alabama's first consensus All-America running back since 1971. "I think he deserves the Heisman," Vols defensive end Will Overstreet said after the game. "Boy, he's hard to tackle, even harder than it looked on film." So is Martin. The best explanation for his success against Alabama may have been simply that Tennessee had the previous week off. "I felt the best I've felt coming into a game since we were going into our second game, against Florida," Martin said after Saturday's victory. "I didn't run a lot during practice this week. Running today felt good. It kind of shocked me. The first quarterback draw I ran, I thought, Man, that felt good." That draw, for 19 yards, converted a third-down opportunity and kept the Vols' first touchdown drive alive. Martin also converted a third-and-14 with a 15-yard gain off a draw, ran two bootlegs for scores and threw a 43-yard scoring pass to David Martin (no relation) while absorbing a hit from Crimson Tide tackle Cornelius Griffin. Alabama had come into the game with wins over three consecutive Top 25 teams, including Tennessee's nemesis, Florida. But the way the Vols controlled 'Bama, coupled with Nebraska's loss to Texas, pushed Tennessee to No. 4 in the polls, first among the once-beatens, and No. 4 in the first BCS ranking. Coach Phil Fulmer, noting the lack of dominant teams this season, has adopted the slogan WHY NOT US? He has a point. The Volunteers have no ranked teams left on their schedule. Unless Florida loses another SEC game, Tennessee won't have the additional hurdle of the SEC Championship game, which means they could finish effectively No. 2 in the SEC East and No. 1 everywhere else. Chew on that one.
Arizona, UCLA and North Carolina: Arizona senior kicker Mark McDonald began the season with a respectable career record of 15-of-27 on field goal attempts, but he's 1-for-10 this season after missing a 45-yarder with two seconds to play in last Saturday's 44-41 loss to Oregon. He also flubbed an extra point in the third quarter that kept the Wildcats from taking a 28-27 lead. After that, coach Dick Tomey benched McDonald for walk-on freshman Sean Keel, who made the next two extra points but doesn't have the leg for long field goal tries. When McDonald ran onto the field for the game-tying attempt, the crowd booed him. "He's undergone so much abuse, and I hurt for him," Tomey said after the game. "People have been really unkind to him." It could be worse, Arizona. You could be UCLA, which lost 55-7 to Oregon State. While the win by the Beavers was no surprise, their dominance demonstrated how far the Bruins have plummeted. UCLA has been laid low by a combination of injuries, inexperience and the embarrassment of the handicapped-parking scam. Now 1-4 in the Pac-10, the Bruins could become the conference's first champion to go from first to last in one season since...last year, when Washington State did it. It could be worse, UCLA. You could be North Carolina, which finished 11-1 two years ago and, after collapsing in a 45-7 loss to Maryland, is 1-6. Without exciting sophomore quarterback Ronald Curry, who ruptured his right Achilles tendon on Sept. 30 and is out for the season, the Tar Heels' offense is rudderless. Redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Huard didn't mimic the success his older brother Damon has had filling in for Dolphins' quarterback Dan Marino. Linebacker Marlon Moore picked off Luke's second pass and returned it 51 yards for the Terps' first touchdown. On North Carolina's second series Maryland sacked Huard on three straight plays, whereupon Tar Heels coach Carl Torbush yanked Huard after that series in favor of junior Antwon Black, who, until Curry's injury, had played safety. That didn't help. Maryland, which came into the game +10 in turnover margin, forced eight fumbles, recovered four of them and added three interceptions. "I've probably never been through a more frustrating loss," Torbush said.
Georgia's Double Threat: Two years ago Michigan cornerback-wideout Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy after demonstrating how one player could decide a game from either side of the ball. Woodson's skills translated easily from defense to offense. That's not usually the case with defensive ends, but Georgia freshman Charles Grant is a special talent. Last Saturday against Kentucky, Grant made his first collegiate start and responded with five tackles, including three sacks. The 6'4", 261-pound Grant also rushed for two touchdowns, including a 42-yarder on which he charged untouched through the left side of the line for the score. Grant, a running back and linebacker at Miller County High in Colquitt, Ga., who scored 101 touchdowns in three years and has been used mainly as a power back in short yardage situations by the Bulldogs, has now carried the ball 15 times for 78 yards. On seven of those carries he has either come up with a first down, a touchdown or, as was the case last Saturday, both.
South Carolina's Woes: South Carolina is 114th and last in the country in total offense, hasn't won in eight games this season under Lou Holtz and owns the nation's longest losing streak (18), a slide likely to continue given that the Gamecocks' three remaining games are against Tennessee, Florida and Clemson. So imagine the somber look on Holtz's face last Saturday as he tried to explain South Carolina's 11-10 loss to Vanderbilt. In the fourth quarter the Gamecocks failed to stop a 90-yard touchdown drive and then missed a 46-yard field goal attempt with 1:04 to play. "This one is really difficult," Holtz said, his voice fading. When the 62-year-old Holtz came out of retirement last December to take over the once proud South Carolina program, he was given a five-year contract worth approximately $600,000 annually and was anointed a savior. Gamecocks fans bought a school record of nearly 54,000 season tickets and raised some $8.4 million for the athletic department. Holtz, after all, had won 216 games in previous stints at William and Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota and Notre Dame, taking each of those schools to a bowl game by his second year at the helm. He vowed to establish a similar winning tradition in his new job, but over the last 10 months he has sustained one setback after another. In September his son Skip, who left a head coaching job at Connecticut to become the Gamecocks' offensive coordinator, was hospitalized for a couple of days with a severe abdominal infection. A month later Lou's wife, Beth, who recently recovered from a bout with throat cancer, had to have surgery to remove an adrenal gland and a noncancerous mass from an ovary. On the field Holtz's offense has been plagued by injuries, forcing him to use 16 linemen and six quarterbacks. The unit has produced only five touchdowns and averaged only 223.4 yards per game, 10.8 yards less than the nation's next-worse attack.
Those close to Holtz say he hasn't lost heart. "I constantly
marvel at the energy and drive he exhibits every day," says Skip.
"He hasn't let up from the day we got here. The more we lose, the
more determined he is. He's working harder than he ever has.
Believe me, there is no retire in him. We're all in this for the
long haul, and with my father as the leader of this program we're
going to win, and we're going to win a lot."
But not this year.
Illinois's Big Knockout: Though his team was coming off an embarrassing 37-7 loss at home to Minnesota, Illinois coach Ron Turner didn't bother to deliver a Win One for the Gipper speech as the Illini prepared to face No. 9 Michigan at the Big House last Saturday. "How we played and how we responded to our worst loss of the season was more important to me than winning the game," said Turner after the game in Ann Arbor. "I told the players not to worry about the score and, no matter what happened in the game, to keep fighting." That was sage advice, given what happened on the field. Illinois fell behind Michigan 27-7 in the third quarter but rallied for a 35-29 upset victory, only its second win over the Wolverines since 1984. Quarterback Kurt Kittner passed for 280 yards and four touchdowns, one of them a 59-yarder to halfback Rocky Harvey, who also ran 54 yards for a score. With the win, the Illini ran their record to 4-3 after having finished 0-11 two years ago in Turner's first season and 3-8 last year.
Turner got the Illini's attention the day after the Minnesota
debacle -- their third straight Big Ten loss -- by putting them through
a 1 1/2-hour scrimmage in full pads. "We took a big step back when
we hit the Big Ten schedule, but now we're back on track," he
says. "This group has been through a lot of tough times, but I
think they've seen that hard work and commitment eventually are
rewarded."
USC's Disturbing Trend: Three days after USC raced to a 21-0 lead at Notre Dame on Oct. 16 only to lose 25-24, Trojans coach Paul Hackett lambasted his seniors for their lack of leadership. "I think a good, contending team that sees itself as a champion will win those games," he said. "That has to do with seniors, with the older players stepping up and getting the job done. ... We have some veteran players and some senior players who, quite frankly, are playing at a level that will not allow us to be a true contender in our conference. ... That's the thing that is most disturbing." Hackett pegged his team perfectly. Southern Cal raced to a 21-0 lead against Stanford last Saturday, only to lose 35-31.
Extra Points: Two keys to Kansas's surprising 21-0 shutout of Missouri: One, the Jayhawks got 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Moran Norris, a 245-pound fullback who was converted from tight end two years ago, and two, they got Friday-night pep talks from Kansas greats John Hadl and Gale Sayers. ... Mississippi State is 7-0 and one of six remaining Division I-A unbeaten teams. The Bulldogs have defeated only one team with a winning record: Vanderbilt. The four teams left on the Bulldogs' schedule -- Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss -- are a combined 19-9, and each has been ranked this season. ... Kansas State has outscored its opponents 158-3 in the second half. ... Senior fullback Paul Smith of Division III Gettysburg (Pa.) College set an NCAA record for all divisions with 527 all-purpose yards in a 42-28 win over Muhlenberg College of Allentown, Pa. Smith had 390 yards rushing, 80 yards receiving, 46 yards on three kickoff returns and 11 yards on a punt return. He surpassed the old mark of 525 yards, set by Andre Johnson of Division II Ferris State of Big Rapids, Mich., against Clarion in 1989. ... In a season-and-a-half, sophomore Quincy Carter of Georgia has already thrown for more yards (4,108) than either Peyton Manning or Danny Wuerffel did in each of their first two seasons at Tennessee and Florida, respectively, and should soon surpass the two-year totals of Tim Couch (4,160 at Kentucky) and Doug Flutie (4,401 at Boston College). ... Oklahoma senior Brandon Daniels played wide receiver and returned kicks as a freshman three years ago under coach John Blake. Daniels started the 1997 season at strong safety and the 1998 season at quarterback. This year, under first-year coach Bob Stoops, Daniels has come full circle. He has caught 23 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns and leads the nation in kickoff returning, with a 40.3 average.
Stanford (5-2, 5-0) at Washington (4-3, 3-1)
Air Force (4-2, 3-1) at BYU (6-1, 3-0)
Georgia (6-1, 4-1) vs. Florida (6-1, 4-1)
Issue date: November 1, 1999
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