MONDAY,AUG.20,2001
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 17B
Hurricanes may be in lead in race toward Rose Bowl bid
The Associated Press
Miami may be more than just the best team in the Big East Conference — the Hurricanes may be the best team in the country.
As the 2001 season unfolds, though, the biggest question facing the 'Canes involves coaches, not players.
With the departure of Butch Davis, Miami opens the season under 53-year-old Larry Coker, a career assistant making his head-coaching debut.
Coker promoted two of his assistants to coordinators — Rob Chudzinski replaces Coker on offense and Randy Shannon runs the defense.
It's rare indeed for a coach to inherit a team many are predicting will contend for the national championship. If Miami wins the title in the Rose Bowl, it would be just the second time a rookie coach captured the national crown. Michigan's Bennie Oosterbaan did it in 1948.
The coaches may not be experienced, but the players are, starting with Heisman hopeful quarterback Ken Dorsey, All-American safety Edward Reed and standout offensive tackles Bryant McKinnie and Ioaquin Gonzalez.
"Yes, it's a little unique to be in the position I'm in," Coker said. "It's a little intimidating to think about it in those terms, but we have to make sure we stay focused on what we have to do week to week."
In all, 14 starters return from last year's 11-1 team that finished No.2 after beating Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Miami's tough schedule starts with the season opener at Penn State on Sept. 1. The road gets bumpier, with games at Florida State and Virginia Tech. There's also a Sept. 15 home game against Washington, the only team to beat Miami in 2000.
The Hokies, also 11-1 last season, will operate without
Michael Vick at quarterback, but tailback Lee Suggs returns after leading the nation with 28 TDs. He, too, is a Heisman contender. Junior Grant Noel is set to start at quarterback.
While Miami should win the Big East, don't count Virginia Tech out of the national title picture. With a soft nonconference schedule — UConn, Western Michigan, Central Florida—and its biggest test at home against the Hurricanes on Dec. 1, coach Frank Beamer's team is talented enough for another title run.
Joining Coker as first-time coaches in the Big East are Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia and Greg Schiano at Rutgers. Schiano was Miami's defensive coordinator last year.
Pittsburgh, led by All-American wide receiver Antonio Bryant and a tenacious defense, looks to be stronger than a year ago, when the Panthers were 7-4.
Walt Harris, wooed by Ohio State, returns for his fifth season and has 18 starters back, including 10 on defense, led by end Bryan Knight and safety Ramon Walker. David Priestley, who threw for 829 yards and five TDs last season, moves in as the starter for the graduated John Turman.
Boston College will rely on tailback William Green (1,164 yards, 16 TDs). Brian St. Pierre moves in at quarterback for the graduated Tim Hasselbeck, and will have a top receiver in Dedrick Dewalt (17.8 yards per catch in '00).
"We did win games before Mike was here and we're going to win games when Mike is gone."
Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni, entering his 11th season, has to be on the hotseat after consecutive five-loss seasons.
Lee Suggs
Miami tailback
With one of the nation's toughest schedules — vs. Georgia Tech in the Kickoff Classic, at Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Miami, and home to East Carolina and Auburn — the Orangemen could lose their streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons.
There's no clear-cut starter at quarterback, but freshman Cecil "The Diesel" Howard could have an impact. The defense is led by Dwight Freeney, who had 13 sacks despite playing just seven games in '00.
Rodriguez, who returns to his alma mater to replace Don Nehlen, will shake things up in Morgantown with a spread offense he helped devise with Tommy Bowden at Tulane and then Clemson. Senior Brad Lewis will open at quarterback. Avon Cobourne is back after running for 893 yards last season. Nine starters are back on defense, but they must adapt to a new attacking scheme which features an eight-man front.
Temple is playing its last season in the Big East after the Owls were kicked out by the league earlier this year. Coached by Bobby Wallace, Temple could pull a few surprises. They are led by quarterback Devin Scott, running back/returner Tanardo Sharps and a defense that has 10 starters back.
Rutgers, which fired Terry Shea after five seasons and just 11 victories, is looking for its first winning season since 1992.
Heisman creates blitz of ads
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When Oregon State quarterback Terry Baker was in the middle of his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1962, his publicity campaign consisted of a short news release the school sent out each week.
"I was unaware of anything being done," Baker said.
In June, Oregon boosters donated $250,000 to plaster quarterback Joey Harrington's image on a 10-story building in Manhattan, where the Downtown Athletic Club awards the Heisman every year.
Today, the marketing machine has grown far beyond what the soft-spoken Baker could have imagined 39 years ago, and the machine's arrival in the Pacific Northwest might bring its first Heisman since Baker.
Oregon State didn't want to be outdone, so it spent $100,000 to promote tailback Ken Simon-
ron. A CD-ROM was issued, complete with Simonton highlights and interviews ("My name is Kenneth Paul Simonton ... see you when I see you," as the introduction goes).
Simonton has his own logo—a silhouetted Simonton behind a shield, flanked by the words "All heart. All warrior." He's also got a Web site.
"If we're successful and Kenny has a good year, then he's got a chance," Beavers coach Dennis Erickson said. "But it's almost getting out of hand as far as all that stuff is concerned."
Oregon's "Joey Heisman" billboard earned rebukes from several newspapers, including The New York Times' editorial page, for its supposed excess.
But the attention is paying off. Harrington also made the cover of ESPN Magazine and could be the most famous quarterback in America, despite statistics that don't measure up to rival Jonathan Smith of Oregon State.
"If we're successful and Kenny has a good year, then he's got a chance."
Dennis Erickson Oregon State coach
"It's a little embarrassing, to be perfectly honest," Harrington said. "But I know it's for the good of the university, and it's great publicity for the state."
Simonton said his biggest thrill of the campaign so far was meeting Baker earlier this summer when they did a photo shoot together.
"Me and Terry was real cool," Simonton said. "That's been the most fun out of this whole Heisman nonsense."
Defense coaches face hurdles
The Associated Press
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has witnessed a shift in football philosophy, not only in the Big Ten but across the country.
Offenses are increasingly spreading receivers across the field with no-huddles and multiple formations. And defenses are scrambling to match up.
"What Joe Tiller brought to this league when he started playing full games with four wides and no backs, and a year ago with the offense of Northwestern, has certainly changed college football," Carr said. "I think the defensive coaches are up against it and until they come up with something that's going to stop the avalanche of points, I think we're in an era where defense doesn't necessarily win championships. It's sad to say," he said.
Coaching styles and strategies
Paterno enters the season one win shy of tying Bear Bryant for most victories by a Division I coach.
must change and Joe Paterno, coming off just his second losing season in 35 years at Penn State, is ready to make some, too.
Pre-season favorite Northwestern, meanwhile, must cope with the tragic death of Rashidi Wheeler and the aftermath that questions the school's conditioning regimen.
Northwestern shared the title last season with Purdue and Michigan, averaging 34 points a game. The Wildcats should again feature one of the country's most potent offenses with 10 returning starters led by quarterback Zak Kustok and running back Damien Anderson, who gained 2,063 yards and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season.
but the death of Wheeler, a senior safety, during preseason conditioning runs, and the scrutiny the program faces, will test the Wildcats like no opponent.
Illinois hopes quarterback Kurt Kittner can put it back in contention after an off-year; Minnesota's Glen Mason, a candidate at Ohio State, will try to pull off a first by taking the Gophers to a third straight bowl game; Michigan State welcomes back tailback T.J. Duckett, who gained 1,353 yards last season; Wisconsin returns quarterback Brooks Bollinger and preseason league defensive player of the year Wendell Bryant.
With the BCS title game in Pasadena this year, a Big Ten school will need to finish first or second nationally to have a shot at the Rose Bowl.