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| Wednesday, November 8 This isn't the way for a legend to go out By Ed Graney Special to ESPN.com | |||||
A veteran screen writer would never script it this way because a legend isn't supposed to trip and fall several times on his victory lap. He isn't supposed to crawl on his belly to the finish line.
Not this guy. Not LaVell Edwards.
Air Force Talk about a shocker. Air Force thought it was bowl eligible after beating Army on Saturday for its sixth win. But news later came that the Falcons will not be able to count a victory against Division I-AA Cal State Northridge towards its win total. Northridge apparently didn't average the minimum number of scholarships during the time it attempted to qualify for I-AA status. "We would have never scheduled the game if there was a chance it wouldn't count," said Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry. Air Force will seek a waiver from the football issues committee, but conference commissioner Craig Thompson told the Falcons not to count on a favorable decision. What does it mean? Air Force must beat either CSU on Saturday or San Diego State on Nov. 18 to secure a bowl bid. ... Air Force-CSU is one of the league's better matchups. CSU rallied to win 42-41 at Air Force in 1996, only to lose 24-0 at home the following season. The Falcons beat CSU 30-27 in '98, but CSU dominated 41-21 last year. "I know we'll play better this time than that last one," DeBerry said. "It's a very important game, moreso for us because they haven't lost in conference." ... Air Force, by the way, won another Commander-In-Chief's Trophy. Oh, yeah. And it rains a lot in Seattle. BYU How bad was it in Fort Collins? It was BYU's worst conference loss since being routed by 31 at Hawaii in 1990 and the program's worst loss to CSU in 42 years. It was also CSU's first win at home against BYU since 1975. CSU had never scored more than 36 against the Cougars, but had 38 at halftime. "It makes me so sad and depressed," said BYU defensive lineman Setema Gali. "Words can't describe it." ... Ryan Denney, a junior defensive lineman who returned home for the CSU game, was one bright spot with a recovered fumble, a pass breakup and a block of a punt and field-goal attempt. ... CSU officials presented Edwards with a golf vacation prior to kickoff, adding to the coach's list of retirement gifts. Colorado State Hail the champs. CSU is 8-1, 5-0 in league and needs just one win in its last two games to claim a fifth conference title in eight years under Sonny Lubick. After playing at Air Force, CSU hosts last-place Wyoming on Nov. 16. In other words, the race is o-v-e-r. Finished. Done. CSU in finishing first would make a return trip to the Liberty Bowl, where the Conference USA champion awaits. "I think the players are reacting well to (the success)," Lubick said. "They want to win the conference outright. We came out to practice the other day and the wind-chill factor was around zero. And they were still anxious to get back to work." ... How are the Rams No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll and not ranked by the Associated Press? "They should at least be in the top 15 and maybe the top 12," said Utah coach Ron McBride. "I've watched Texas Christian (No. 17 in the coaches' poll and No. 18 in AP) twice this season and Colorado State is a better team." Said Lubick: "I know (voters) can't see everything, but if you watched our first half against BYU, you'd have to be impressed. But once we start worrying about things like this, we'll lose a game." New Mexico This is no time to crumble, no time to sulk. The Lobos lost to San Diego State 17-16 on Saturday, a game they led 16-0 at halftime. What does it mean? New Mexico at 5-5 needs to win its final two games -- this week at Nevada-Las Vegas and at BYU on Nov. 18 -- to become bowl eligible. "We have to move forward," said fullback Ted Iacenda. "We have bounced back before. We were 0-3 at one point this season. We can win these next two games." ... Funny, but the one thing that made Rudy Caamano so effective at quarterback of late killed his team against SDSU. Caamano hadn't thrown an interception in three games coming in, but his third-quarter pick was returned 43 yards by safety Will Demps for a score, affording SDSU the momentum it needed to rally. ... The Lobos finished with seven sacks against SDSU, increasing their league-best total to 44. It's the most for New Mexico since 53 in 1982. UNLV It's pretty simple, really. The Rebels have a remaining schedule of New Mexico, at SDSU and at Hawaii. Win all three, and UNLV goes to a bowl in John Robinson's second year as coach. Lose one, and it's another holiday season at home. UNLV needs a perfect ending because it didn't take care of business at Utah, getting drilled 38-16. Starting quarterback Jason Thomas (sprained foot) didn't play, but it's doubtful his presence would have made the difference between winning and losing. The defense that impressed for much of the season has suddenly sprung a few leaks and looked feeble against the Utes. Even cornerback Kevin Thomas, considered one of the league's top players at his position, allowed himself to be blocked on one Steve Smith touchdown and was clearly beaten by Smith on another. "We had a bad day in Salt Lake City," Robinson said. "We just didn't seem to have the spark we've gotten used to playing with. I know you better pay attention to details instead of (bowl games). It's good to want something like that, but you have to forget it right away and get back to taking care of business. Teams that think about things other than the task at hand struggle." San Diego State It is the kind of game you don't expect a 2-6 team to win, not trailing by 16 at intermission and having shown no semblance of an offensive clue those first 30 minutes. But the Aztecs made a major character statement in rallying for the win in Albuquerque. It is SDSU's biggest comeback victory since rallying from 17 down at Air Force in 1993. "It's about pride," said junior defensive lineman Jerome Haywood. "It's about not wanting to ever go home and tell your family you gave up." Think about this: SDSU had minus-17 yards at halftime and the Lobos had sacked quarterback Lon Sheriff six times. ... Garric Simmons played a huge role in the win. The sophomore running back made his first career start with Larry Ned (shoulder) and James Truvillion (neck) out. Simmons finished with 28 carries for 88 yards, a team high this season. Key stat: Simmons rushed 14 times for 53 yards in the fourth quarter, when the Aztecs completed their comeback and ran precious time off the clock. ... SDSU will take this week off before concluding its season at Air Force (Nov. 18) and home against UNLV (Nov. 25). Utah Sure, now it plays like a champion. Utah, picked by most to win the conference title in August only to begin the season 2-6, put everything together against UNLV. "We finally gelled," McBride said. "Everyone took care of business and concentrated on their own job. It was a team win. Everyone did his own part." ... The latter statement certainly includes redshirt freshman quarterback Lance Rice, whose first career start produced 157 yards and three touchdown passes. He was playing in Rice-Eccles Stadium, the place his grandfather helped fund and name. "Knowing I was going to start, I came more confident," said Rice, who replaced Darnell Arceneaux in a 10-3 loss at New Mexico the previous week. "I just wanted to stay focused. Hopefully, I was able to prove myself." ... One thing has remained constant throughout Utah's roller-coaster season: Utah has tremendous pass defense. Statistically, it's the nation's best. Cornerbacks Andre Dyson and Jeff Ray held UNLV standout receiver Nate Turner to 16 yards. "As good a corner play as we have had all year," said defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham. Wyoming The Cowboys enjoyed their off week by hitting the streets in search of able recruits. First-year coach Vic Koenning has not made secret his dislike of the talent level signed by former coach Dana Dimel. Of three recruiting classes under Dimel, only 35 players remain. Of those, 14 are starters on a team that has lost 10 players for the season due to injury. Koenning can't change any of it now, so he moves forward with a 1-8 team that hosts Utah this week before ending the season at CSU. "I expect to have some great players in a couple years," Koenning said. "Players who can fly to the ball and make plays." Koenning is safe with a five-year contract and seems to have ample support from the community, despite the fact Wyoming is expected to lose 10 times this season. No team in school history has done that. ... Senior quarterback Jay Stoner (ankle) is still questionable for Utah, despite having the off week to rest. "Utah is the same team in many respects that was picked to win the conference," Koenning said. "It's a very physical team and we'll have to play very well just to hang in there with them." Ed Graney covers college football for the San Diego Union Tribune and can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com | ALSO SEE ACC notebook Big East notebook Northwestern still in the running for the Roses Big 12 notebook Big West notebook Pac-10 notebook WAC notebook AUDIO/VIDEO   Brandon Doman calls his own number to get BYU on the board.avi: 859 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Matt Newton connects with Will Layne for the 51-yard touchdown.avi: 967 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Cecil Sapp takes the ball 39 yards for the touchdown.avi: 1009 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Pete Rebstock takes the short pass 69 yards for the touchdown.avi: 952 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | ||||
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