Herb Gould: All those compliments Bob Stoops is paying Mike Leach this week aren't of the usual butter-up-the-opponent variety. Sure, Leach is bringing No. 2 Texas Tech to Norman, Okla., on Saturday to play Stoops' fifth-ranked Sooners, with the loser dropping out of the national championship race.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Showing why he'll be Illinois' best player this season, Demetri McCamey put on a pretty good show in Music City. And after hitting some wrong notes in the early going, McCamey's supporting cast stepped up nicely in the final 10 minutes as the Illini rallied to beat Vanderbilt 69-63 on Thursday, ending the Commodores' 20-game home winning streak.
DeShawn Sims scored 18 points and Manny Harris 15 to help Michigan upset No. 4 UCLA 55-52 on Thursday in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic in New York. The Wolverines will face No. 10 Duke in the championship game tonight.
The DePaul-UIC crosstown rivalry is only a few years old, but it already has the tinge of sparks that go with the territory.
Notre Dame can ill afford for playmaker Golden Tate to go two straight games without a catch, especially because Michael Floyd, who has been Tate's big-play sidekick all year, will miss the final two games after straining a knee on the third play against Navy last week.
Neil Hayes: 'A win is a win.'' That sentiment was expressed by several players after Notre Dame's 27-21 victory over Navy last week. It's an understandable sentiment, but at some point, however, players and coaches must hold themselves to a higher standard.
Not spending all of his time grinding away in the paint is a welcome change for forward Kevin Coble.
The two home wins were nice but expected. Tonight at Vanderbilt (7, 560-AM), Illinois has its first chance to see what it can do when the stakes are raised.
Illinois leads the Big Ten in total offense in conference play. Its 440.3 yards per game are a sizable increase from last year (408.5), when it was second in the conference. Yet the Illini have two fewer Big Ten wins heading into their final game Saturday at Northwestern (2:30 p.m., BTN, 560-AM, 720-AM) than they had a year ago.
Josh Mayo scored a game-high 27 points to lead UIC to an 84-77 win over Northern Iowa on Wednesday night at the Pavilion.
The small-town boy playing small-college football at North Central is having an enormous season.
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said he doesn't have to worry about his team overlooking 2-8 Syracuse while looking ahead to playing at No. 6 USC in the season finale. That's because Saturday's game against the Orange (1:30 p.m., Ch. 5, 890-AM) is the final home game for Irish seniors.
Many credible sports books are listing upstreaming Illinois as 2 1/2-point favorites over Northwestern on Saturday. While NU coach Pat Fitzgerald did not directly address the point spread after practice Tuesday, questions about the intriguing early-week line and his team's posted role as home underdog left a dandy opening to talk about the degree of respect his Wildcats (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) are receiving as they prepare to host the Fighting Illini (5-6, 3-4) at Ryan Field (2:30 p.m., BTN, 720-AM, 560-AM).
Kevin Coble scored 18 points to lead Northwestern to a 66-48 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday night.
When Illinois and Northwestern met in their regular-season finale last year, the Illini entered with eight victories and the Wildcats thought they needed to win to go to a bowl game. This year, NU has eight victories and Illinois' bowl hopes are on the line.
KENT, Ohio -- Chandler Harnish threw two touchdowns passes and ran for two more scores as Northern Illinois took a 42-14 Mid-American Conference victory over Kent State on Tuesday night.
In many ways, Illinois junior quarterback Juice Williams has made remarkable progress.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Despite some struggles down the stretch, Notre Dame is still drawing interest from the Cotton, Gator and Sun bowls heading into its final two games.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- E'Twaun Moore scored 14 points, and No. 11 Purdue beat Loyola 78-46 on Tuesday night to advance to the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals.
Deon Thompson scored a career-high 20 points to help top-ranked North Carolina beat Kentucky 77-58 on Tuesday night despite playing yet again without national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough in Chapel Hill, N.C.
BALTIMORE -- It's not often a college basketball coach passes control of his team to an assistant in the middle of a game, then climbs into the stands to watch the action.
The crowd of 3,502 in DePaul's McGrath Arena moaned when sophomore Dar Tucker drove to the basket and opted for an uncontested finger roll with just under four minutes left in the first half Monday night against Albany.
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is not ready to deliver any self-lauding valedictories on his 2008 team, nor would it be his style to speak in such manner.
Among the positives from Notre Dame's 27-21 victory over Navy were the solid play of the defense, the continued stellar play of special-teams standout Mike Anello and the emergence of the Irish running game in the second half.
For all their disappointment at being 5-6, the Illinois players say they are excited about playing Northwestern on Saturday (2:30 p.m., BTN, 560-AM, 720-AM) and trying to pull out a win that would make them bowl-eligible.
J.R. Blount scored 16 points, and Loyola bounced back from an embarrassing loss to Division II Rockhurst in its season opener to defeat Georgia 74-53 on Monday in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off in West Lafayette, Ind.
Freshman wide receiver Michael Floyd and sophomore linebacker Brian Smith will miss Notre Dame's last two regular-season games after suffering knee injuries Saturday in a 27-21 victory over Navy. Coach Charlie Weis said Sunday that both players could return in time for a bowl game.
It was a yawner of a weekend in college football. No big games, no big surprises. But that will change Saturday, when No. 2 Texas Tech visits No. 5 Oklahoma. If the Red Raiders win, they'll remain in position for a surprising trip to the national title game.
Though disappointed, Illinois is vowing to fight on for its bowl life Saturday at Northwestern (2:30 p.m., BTN, 560-AM, 720-AM).
Luke Harangody scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to power No. 9 Notre Dame to a 94-58 rout of South Carolina-Upstate in its season opener Sunday in South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish have won 38 consecutive home games, tying the school record set in 1948.
Northwestern is trying to feel the November love after its impressive 21-14 come-from-behind victory at snow-speckled Michigan on Saturday. But the national polls are generally still holding the Wildcats (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) out and away as they head for their regular-season finale against Illinois (5-6, 3-4) on Saturday at Ryan Field (2:30 p.m., BTN, 720-AM, 560-AM).
After an exhibition loss to Robert Morris, Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said, ''Defense is all we've done.''
Loyola makes its first appearance tonight in the revamped Preseason NIT, now formatted into four regions to determine the semifinalists that will play in New York next week.
CHAMPAIGN -- Among the many question marks on Illinois' basketball roster is Mike Davis.
DePaul center Krys Faber sounded more like a coach than a freshman about to start his college basketball career when he talked about his first game tonight against Albany at McGrath Arena (7:30, 670-AM).
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Bears coach Lovie Smith will not be calling Rocky Top home, sweet home any time soon.
NEW YORK -- All the top teams took care of their business and the BCS standings were unchanged at the top Sunday, with Alabama and Texas Tech holding the top two spots and Florida, Texas and Oklahoma poised to move up.
First the auto industry, then this. A brutal autumn in Michigan continued unabated Saturday as C.J. Bacher and Northwestern overcame rain, sleet, snow flurries and a stadium-wide sense of frosted-blue sticker shock to beat the host Wolverines 21-14 in front of an early-exiting crowd announced at 107,856.
CHAMPAIGN -- For the longest time Saturday, Illinois went up and down the field with No. 10 Ohio State. But it seemed only a matter of time before the Illini reverted to the pattern of this frustrating season.
BALTIMORE -- Notre Dame was four yards away from turning a comfortable lead into a blowout that would have helped erase the memory of a first half littered with offensive futility. Little did the Irish know, the stage was being set for a frantic finish.
Herb Donaldson rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and Taylor Rowan made a 34-yard field goal in overtime to lift Western Illinois (6-4, 4-3 Missouri Valley) to a 48-45 victory against Illinois State (3-7, 2-5) on Saturday in Macomb.
Another backstage mantra has emerged around the Northwestern football program in the wake of the Wildcats' victory at Michigan. This one belongs to athletic director Jim Phillips, and it's on the subject of where NU will play in a bowl. Phillips' auto-response: ''Someplace warm.'' Top candidates fitting that designation -- and the Wildcats' No. 4 status in the Big Ten pecking order -- would include the Alamo Bowl (Dec. 29 in San Antonio), Champs Sports Bowl (Dec. 27 in Orlando, Fla.) and Insight Bowl (Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz.). ... C.J. Bacher's winning 53-yard pass to Eric Peterman was NU's longest scoring play of the season. ''It was cover-2, and the safeties were working off the hash,'' Peterman said. ''Andrew Brewer ran a great route to take the opposite safety away, and then I just cut in front of the near safety wide open and C.J. threw a great ball.'' ... The Wildcats won despite rushing for 59 net yards in 37 attempts, an average of 1.6 per carry. ... Coach Pat Fitzgerald said prognoses for backup quarterback Mike Kafka (concussion) and defensive tackle Corbin Bryant -- who was helped off the field early in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury -- probably won't be available until Monday. ... The Wildcats limited Michigan to 35 passing yards and 67 rushing yards after halftime. Wolverines QB Nick Sheridan misfired on his final eight passes inside the closing four minutes. ... Northwestern finished its Big Ten road slate at 3-1, with the lone loss the 21-19 surprise at Indiana. ... Fitzgerald termed the punting of Stefan Demos ''crucial'' to the win. Despite having one punt blocked and run back for a touchdown, Demos averaged 37.2 yards on eight punts with two inside the Michigan 20. ... Corey Wootton's blocked field goal was the third of his career. ... The victory was Northwestern's first at Michigan Stadium since a middle linebacker named Fitzgerald and his teammates turned the trick 19-13 in October 1995.>
Freshman wide receiver Michael Floyd injured his left leg on the third play Saturday and never returned. Floyd, Notre Dame's leader in receptions and touchdown catches, spent the rest of the afternoon on the bench with a thigh-to-ankle brace on his leg. ... Middle linebacker Brian Smith hobbled off the field late in the first quarter after injuring a knee. Toryan Smith replaced him and had a team-high 10 tackles. ... Linebacker Kerry Neal and running back James Aldridge also were injured. Coach Charlie Weis said he did not know the severity of any of the injuries. ''There were guys going out left and right,'' he said. ... Cornerback Terrail Lambert did not start because of an ankle injury suffered in practice Thursday. ... Notre Dame's defense held the nation's second-ranked rushing offense to 178 yards, 130 below its season average. The Irish also prevented Navy from scoring on its first possession for the first time this season. ... With four more turnovers, the Irish have a minus-16 turnover ratio on the road. ... Notre Dame's offense had 15 rushing first downs to Navy's six. ... Before Armando Allen's 11-yard touchdown run with 9:31 left in the third quarter, Notre Dame had scored only one offensive touchdown in its last eight quarters and four overtime periods. ... Weis sent wide receiver Golden Tate onto the field to take a direct snap in the ''wildcat'' formation in the closing seconds of the first quarter. Because the offense was unable to get the play off before the quarter ended, Navy was prepared for the new wrinkle after the break and stoned Tate for a three-yard loss. ... Said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo: ''There wasn't a doubt in my mind that we were going to win.''>
Illinois coach Ron Zook gave backup quarterback Eddie McGee some opportunities to spell Juice Williams, but Zook said it had nothing to do with being dissatisfied with his starter. ''We're just trying to do what we did last year -- let Juice settle down,'' Zook said. McGee ran the offense for the first three series of the fourth quarter but yielded to Williams during the third series, which resulted in Illinois' final touchdown, a 24-yard pass from Williams to Chris Duvalt. ''It was [about] trying to find a spark,'' said Williams, who said he had no problem with the change. ''I trust the coaches' decisions. They make decisions based on what's best for the team.'' The coaches weren't spelling Williams, though, when he was throwing fewer interceptions and winning more. ... McGee was 3-for-7 passing for 49 yards, rushed nine times for 21 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards. He also took some snaps before the fourth quarter with Williams lined up at wide receiver. ''I was just a decoy,'' said Williams, who never saw the ball on trick plays. ''It's kind of obvious for a defense to sniff that out,'' said McGee, adding that his turf-toe injury won't hamper him next week at Northwestern. ... Defensive tackle Josh Brent is questionable for the NU game with a sprained MCL. ... Jeff Cumberland had three catches for 22 yards and a touchdown. He has six catches for 98 yards in Illinois' last two games -- since the incident in which he broke the jaw of freshman running back Mikel LeShoure, who reportedly stole Cumberland's cell phone. Before the fight, Cumberland had nine catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns in seven games. ... Supo Sanni, a freshman safety from Homewood-Flossmoor, is making a name for himself on special teams, where he had four tackles. And what a great name it is.>
Wisconsin capped a rally with two safeties and a touchdown off a Minnesota turnover in the fourth quarter Saturday, beating the mistake-prone Golden Gophers 35-32 in Madison, Wis.
Michigan has lost eight games for the first time in the storied program's 129-year history after Northwestern beat the Wolverines 21-14 on Saturday. C.J. Bacher threw touchdown passes on his first two drives of the second half to lift the Wildcats. A school-record five of Michigan's losses have come at home in Rich Rodriguez's debut season.
Perhaps the best indication of how far Notre Dame has fallen is that today's game against Navy at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore is potentially the most significant of the season and perhaps the biggest in Charlie Weis' three-plus seasons as coach.
CHAMPAIGN -- Beanie Wells ran for 143 yards and a touchdown and Terrelle Pryor added another 110 yards Saturday in No. 10 Ohio State's 30-20 win over Illinois.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Big House has generally been The Big Blue Mouse House this season, and that's an amazing trend that Northwestern can only hope continues today.
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Nothing comes easy for Charlie Weis and Notre Dame these days.
When Brit Miller runs onto the field at Memorial Stadium to play No. 10 Ohio State for the last time today, he'll be filled with emotions.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- No. 7 Penn State overcame a sluggish start to move a step closer to the Rose Bowl.
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Shonn Greene ran for 211 yards and two scores for Iowa, and Purdue's Hail Mary pass with 5 seconds remaining sailed long to preserve the Hawkeyes' 22-17 victory on Saturday.
AUBURN, Ala. Knowshon Moreno rushed for 134 yards and caught a pass for a touchdown as No. 13 Georgia held off upset-minded Auburn for a 17-13 victory.
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin capped a second-half rally with a pair of safeties and a touchdown off a Minnesota turnover in the fourth quarter, beating the mistake-prone Golden Gophers 35-32 at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Colt McCoy burned the Big 12's worst pass defense for 255 yards and two record-breaking touchdowns and No. 4 Texas stayed in the thick of the national championship hunt with a 35-7 victory Saturday over Kansas.
CHAMPAIGN -- All fall, coach Bruce Weber has been challenging Demetri McCamey to have a more consistent work ethic.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Chris Turner engineered a dramatic fourth-quarter drive that produced a 26-yard field goal by Obi Egekeze with 1:42 left, and Maryland beat No. 17 North Carolina 17-15 Saturday for its school-record sixth consecutive win over a ranked opponent.
NEW YORK -- It's not exactly at the top of his agenda, but President-elect Barack Obama says there should be a college football playoff to determine a national champion. In fact, he knows exactly what he wants -- an eight-team playoff.
Jim Whitesell knows better than anyone never to take a non-Division I opponent for granted. The veteran Loyola coach worked his way up from Division III and II, taking his teams to multiple NCAA tournaments.
PEORIA -- Theron Wilson had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds and Dodie Dunson scored 21 points Friday night to lead Bradley to a 67-61 victory over UIC in a Horizon League opener.
