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'College Football Monday'
Frank Coyle's Weekly Column

Photo - Jerrel Jernigan - Troy

Legendary Penn St. coach Joe Paterno won career #400 with a record comeback victory vs Northwestern. The Nittany Lions rallied from a three TD deficit to win a key Big Ten contest. The milestone win for Paterno came in Happy Valley at Beaver Stadium, the scene of so many critical Nittany Lion victories. With the victory, JoePa became the first major college coach to total 400 win. Only two other football coaches have more wins, Eddie Robinson had 408 with FCS school Grambling State, while John Gagliardi had 477 including this weekend with Division III St. John's, Minn. Robinson was a pioneer for Black College football and established Grambling State as a small college power over his long legendary career. Paterno won two AP national titles with a career record that stands at 400 win 132 losses and 3 losses for an amazing .750 winning percentage. His complete postseason bowl record is 24 victories with 11 losses and 1 tie. With teams changing coaches so frequently, this record may stand forever. Paterno ranks with basketball great coach, John Wooden of UCLA as institutions at the collegiate level for their sports and men that changed the landscape of sports during their legendary careers.

The first week of November brought the usual array of outstanding performances by individuals and teams especially in key games. There were an unusual number of wild high scoring games including the triple overtime contest that Michigan won 67-65 over Illinois. Other games saw Navy win 76-35 over East Carolina, Oklahoma St beat Baylor 55-28, Auburn 62 24 vs Tenn-Chattanooga, Kansas over Colorado 52-45 and Nevada win 63-17 vs Idaho.

TCU certainly showed they justified their high ranking by blasting unbeaten Utah in a key battle of top ten clubs. TCU pounded Utah 47-7 that gives them total command of the MWC and possible BCS title game aspirations. LSU revenged a hard fought loss to Alabama last season with a 24-21 victory in a great game between two SEC powers. The Tigers’ HC Les Miles, the ‘Mad Hatter’ did it again with a gutsy 4th down call on a reverse that made the first down on the game winning drive. Miles is worth the price of admission with his gambling style that at times has included gutsy calls, poor clock management and bizarre plays. His 4th down fake field goal vs Florida, may be the most bizarre play I have ever seen. With the game on the line late in the 4th quarter, he calls for a fake field goal trailing Florida on 4th and 6 yards to go. He calls a pitch to the placekicker of all people and the holder actually bounces the ball to the kicker and incredibly, he makes the first down. The Tigers went on to beat the Gators in a key SEC contest. Those type of situations have been Miles signature plays over his six seasons in the SEC. He has a terrific 59-16 record at LSU with a deep talented roster that can do real damage this season. The Tigers are a young club that will play for SEC and national title consideration annually with this coaching staff and roster. The Alabama loss was their 2nd of the year and eliminates them from repeating as national champions. No excuses and crazy scenarios can make it right - two losses and they do not get into top four bowl games. They are probably the only obstacle left in an undefeated season for Auburn whom they face in Iron bowl in late November.

TCU senior QB Andy Dalton threw for a career-high 355 yards and 3 TDs as the Horner Frogs pounded 6th-ranked Utah, 47-7, in Mountain West Conference action. Dalton completed 21-of-26 passes and threw scoring passes of 26, 93 and 11 yards as the Horned Frogs won their 10th game and remained unbeaten. Despite the impressive win over a top ten club, TCU has received only marginal national support. Whether TCU makes the BCS title game remains to be seen and is probably a long shot without one of the higher rated teams losing over the final month. They have beaten Oregon St., Baylor and Air Force, in addition to Utah. They have all been Top 25 teams at some point this season. That is a tougher schedule than Oregon and Boise St at this point of the year. More importantly, TCU plays defense with a sound system and smart defenders who tackle, a rare skill in many college games this season.

With all the dramatics of the top game matchups and the high scoring contests, the North Carolina win over Florida St. has not drawn much attention. Wide right once again haunted Florida St. on a key field goal as placekicker Dustin Hopkins missed his second late FG from 40 yards out. It was with 7 seconds to go by pushing the kick wide right. That cost them a last second win, as the Tar Heels held on for a 37-35 win in a key ACC battle. The Tar Heels have held up remarkably well despite the broad number of game and season suspensions from a talented club. HC Butch Davis has gotten this club to respond to a tough situation and the Tar Heels have put themselves in position to win the ACC Coastal division. They face Virginia Tech this Saturday that could have a strong bearing on the ACC title game. Miami’s late win over Maryland keeps them ahead of NC and all ties go to the Hurricanes off their 33-10 win over the Tar Heels last month.

College Football Week Ten Notes
Troy's Jerrel Jernigan became the Sun Belt Conference career leader in all-purpose yards in the Trojan's 41-35 win at North Texas. Jernigan had six carries for 89 yards, including a 55 yard run in addition to his four receptions for 57 yards. He accounted for 258 yards totally and was also 2-of-2 passing for 18 yards and 1 TD. He had three punt returns for 28 yards and two kickoff returns for 66 yards. He finished his evening with 240 all-purpose yards, giving him 5,293 yards in his career, a new Troy record. He ranks in our Top 100 Pro Prospects and brings a lot to the table as a pro receiver/returner. He is both fast and quick with natural running skills to become a fine pro playmaker. He is a difference maker at both return duties with a TD as a punt and kickoff returner. He should be in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl in late January, in addition to being one of the speedsters at the NFL Combine in February.

QB Ricky Stanzi of Iowa continues to improve his draft stock significantly after another impressive effort that included throwing the winning TD pass vs Indiana. He has shown a hot hand in big games including the win over Michigan St this past week. He was instrumental in the 37-6 victory over MSU, throwing 3 TD passes in the process. He has improved his arm strength and accuracy that has elevated him to the top of the 2nd tier of pro prospects for the position. His ability to manage an offense has impressed many NFL scouts and has improved his stock overall as a pro prospect. His intangibles and decision-making have been critical in the Iowa success over the past two seasons.

On the defensive side of the ball, a hot prospect is LSU’s DT Drake Nevis. He has been a difference maker this fall and again came up big vs Alabama in the Tigers critical victory. Nevis had seven tackles (2 solo), one sack, 1 FF and broke up one pass as the Tigers improved to 8-1, 5-1 in the SEC West. He is very quick and shoots the gap to disrupt blocking and make big plays behind the line of scrimmage. He continues to improve his draft stock and has moved into the early rounds. He was on our Senior Bowl invitation list in October and continues to rise up the tackle charts.

I think Stanford is for real and will continue to impress at Arizona St. this week. QB Andrew Luck has shined this fall and some scouts feel he could be the best QB in this class if he declares in January. I still feel he returns to Stanford for the 2011 season unless HC Jim Harbaugh moves on to another coaching job. Stanford wideout Chris Owusu faces the same questions this postseason. He led the ranked Cardinal with nine catches for 165 yards and 1 TD to a 42-17 win over No. 13 Arizona. Owusu rushed once for 12 yards and had four kickoff returns for 84 yards totaling 261 total all-purpose yards. He is a big play performer and very developed as both a receiver and returner to become an impact player in the pro game. QB Jake Locker of Washington sat out with several minor injuries. He is still a blue chip prospect, but a player who pushed the envelope too much by running over the first half of the schedule.

Looking for great games this week – North Carolina vs Virginia Tech, Baylor vs Texas A&M. Schedule includes outstanding matchups with Alabama vs Mississippi St and Oklahoma St vs Texas that should have a huge effect on the Top 25 rankings and bowl matchups.

I think Stanford is for real and continues their hot streak vs a weak Arizona St team. Oklahoma St. better not underrate a disappointing Texas squad. The Longhorns are a huge disappointment this season, but could crash the Cowboys party this an improved defensive performance. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games with only a stunning upset over Nebraska in the win column.

Frank Coyle writes ‘College Football Monday’ weekly during the season. He is a longtime scouting consultant for the Senior Bowl, the nation’s premier postseason All-star game. He is also a member of the FWAA and voter in College team and player awards - Heisman, Outland, Nagurski, Thorpe, etc. He is a voter for weekly Team and Player Awards