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WEDNESDAY.NOV.28,2001
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5B
Buffs' coach wins Big 12 honor
The Associated Press
BOULDER, Colo. — Gary Barnett, on the Colorado staff when the school won its loneliness championship in 1990, came back to Colorado as head coach in 1999 with the slogan "Return to Dominance."
It took three seasons, but even Barnett couldn't have imagined this.
Coming off a 3-8 season,
Barnett t guided the
Buffaloes to a
9-2 record, including a shocking 62-36 win against Nebraska on Friday, and into the Big 12 championship game this weekend against Texas.
For his accomplishments, he was named Big 12 Coach of the Year yesterday by The Associated Press.
In balloting by 20 beat writers from the league's seven states, Barnett received 19 votes. Nebraska's
Frank Solich received the other.
"That's an honor," said Barnett, 55. "Anytime something like this happens, it happens because of what your players and your coaches do. As head coaches, we get way too much credit and probably too much blame in all this process. But it's very gratifying to hear that news. I thank the voters."
Skillfully pushing all the right buttons, Barnett rallied his team after a season-opening loss to Fresno State that had some fans and the media calling for his dismissal.
The next week, the Buffs dominated — there's that word again— in-state rival Colorado State 41-14 and started a five-game winning streak that included a 16-6 road win over Kansas State and a 31-21 decision over Texas A&M.
After stumbling badly at Texas — losing 41-7 thanks to four turnovers — the Buffers rebounded to win their next three games, all in come-from-behind fashion and
all with backup Bobby Pesavento at quarterback. Then came the Nebraska game, in which Chris Brown ran through huge holes in the vaunted Cornhusker defense and scored six touchdowns.
"It's an amazing turnaround," Pesavento said after the Nebraska game.
They accomplished the turnaround with a solid defense and a balanced offense, in particular a relentless running attack with four tailbacks sharing time behind a talented offensive line.
They also did it by overcoming injuries to their starting quarterback, Craig Ochs, their best defensive player, linebacker Jashon Syke, and their top receiver John Minardi.
"If you had told me at the start of the season we were going to play only four games with Minardi and Sykes and six with Ochs, I would have said we'd be lucky to be 5-5 going into the Nebraska game." Barnett said. "The
unree guys who couldn't get hurt were Minardi, Sykes and Ochs.
"Other guys have stepped up, and everybody else elevated their play."
"We didn't pay any attention to what was written or said about us," Barnett said. "We put a shield up. If anything, it brought us real close together."
Barnett, who took a moribund Northwestern program and led the Wildcats to the Rose Bowl in 1995, managed to refocus his team after the loss to Fresno State.
Barnett also used the psychological play of taking captains Michael Lewis and Andre Gurode to Texas Stadium — site of the Big 12 championship game
— during conference media days in July, then telling the assembled media the Buffs' season would be a "failure" if they didn't return to play in the title game.
Many of the media scoffed, but his players believed him.
Nittany Lions bounces back from weak start
The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Talk about a turnaround. After its worst start ever, Penn State is one win away from its greatest comeback and a likely berth in another bowl game.
A victory by the Nittany Lions at Virginia on Saturday would cap a season-ending 6-1 run, a featha'
was inconceivable to most during a 0-4 start.
"Right now, our team's on a hot streak, and I think right now we can't be stopped," wide receiver Tony Johnson said.
it's a far cry from where the Nittany Lions started the season. Even before the opening game,
there were questions about a young defense and an untested quarterback, and fans were worried that Penn State might face a second consecutive losing season.
Expectations then went from bad to worse. Penn State was averaging fewer than 41 rushing yards and 8 points per game, and had scored just 5 first-half points all season. Some were even talking about the unthinkable — that the Nittany Lions could finish 0-11.
But where fans saw only dropped passes and missed tackles, coach Joe Paterno saw his team's inexperience showing in silly penalties and tentative play. Paterno became more active in practice, even showing players how best to block and tackle.
The results were obvious at Northwestern on Oct. 20.
Receivers who had dropped passes all season were suddenly catching everything thrown their way. A Power-I set — something Paterno hadn't used in 30 years — rejuvenated the running game. Quarterback Matt Senneca led comeback after comeback, bringing Penn State within 35-31 in the game's final minutes.
And when Senneca was injured with 1:39 left, redshirt freshman Zack Mills came into the huddle and calmly led the game-winning drive.
"It all goes back to the Northwestern game — that's when the offense started making plays." free safety Shawn Mayer said. "And the week after that, when they continued to make plays, I thought that was a huge sign saying that we can do this. I think it was those two weeks right there — proof that we can play."
That victory was Paterno's 323rd, tying Bear Bryant for the most by a Division I-A coach. It also started the comeback that has simply confirmed what Paterno felt all along.
"I think we've improved, obviously we have. But I don't think we were that bad to begin with," Paterno said. "I think we just had some tough opponents and we did some things where we hurt ourselves with foolish penalties."
Since the bye week, Penn State has averaged 165 rushing yards per game, and both Mills and Senneca have been throwing more accurately. More important, the Nittany Lions have boosted their scoring to almost 34 points per game. Penn State's only loss was a 33-28 slip at Big Ten champion Illinois.
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