20B - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY,AUGUST 18,2003
Football offseason proved chaotic
The Associated Press
College football was living high in January. A thrilling championship game with no controversy about its participants capped a season full of excitement.
Then came the offseason.
Two prominent coaches lost their jobs — Rick Neuheisel for gambling and Mike Price for allegedly partying with strippers.
Ohio State's title was called into doubt with questions about the academic eligibility of its star, Maurice Clarett, and then an NCAA investigation into his claim that he had thousands of dollars of stereo equipment stolen from a car.
Most importantly, civil war broke out when the ACC lured Miami and Virginia Tech away from the Big East, altering the balance of power in the sport and leaving one of the six major conferences fighting to maintain its prominence.
Finally, it's time for the games to begin.
"It's great to get a chance to talk football again," Miami coach Larry Coker said at his
final Big East media day "Once the games begin, all this fire and brimstone will wane a little bit."
The impact of last year's championship game and the offseason's chaos will be felt all season.
Hours after 31-24 double overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State, Miami's players were eager to eliminate the bitter taste from the game.
Every time they watched the tape, every time they practiced, almost everywhere they went, the Hurricanes couldn't help thinking about the missed opportunities that cost the Hurricanes a repeat championship.
year's Buck-
"All those two-a-days, all those practices, all those seven-on-sevens, the team meetings, were for nothing, and we only had 2 yards to go," said Miami tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.
Five turnovers, blown assignments, a bit of overconfidence and a questionable pass interference call helped Ohio State snap Miami's 34-game winning streak and give hope to many teams that they, too, have a title chance.
year's duckeyes — a team that came off a five-loss season to run the table and win the championship.
Heading into this season, teams are hoping to become this
"H o w many people Neuheisel really did
give Ohio State a chance last year?" North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato said. "You've got to dream about it, you've got to talk about it, so if it happens, we just don't faint."
This year's top contenders are missing some usual names. Nebraska, Florida State and Florida — which together won at least a share of the national every year but one from 1993-99, are all expected to begin the season outside the Top 10, or in the case of Nebraska and Florida, maybe outside the poll entirely.
Eight times from 1991-2001, one of those three teams was the preseason No. 1. But coaching changes at Nebraska and Florida
and turmoil at Florida State have changed the balance of power.
"I've had to face the reality of losing games for the first time in a long time — and I don't like it," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said.
The ACC, once considered among the weaker major conferences, is in position to be among the toughest in the country once Big East powerhouses Miami and Virginia Tech join in 2004.
The Big East figures to have its best year yet in the what could be its final year as a major player. Miami, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh will all compete for the conference title and figure to play a major role in deciding who plays in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the site of this season's BCS national title game.
Few expected Ohio State to be in the game last season; even fewer thought the Buckeyes could snap Miami's winning streak.
but coach Jim Tressel, using an offense more suited to Woody Hayes' era than today's wide-open one, led Ohio State to its first title in 34 years.
Febles may be done with Kansas City
The Associated Press
nated for assignment Tuesday and in all likelihood is finished with the club.
Febles had been a disappointment
Febles and center fielder Carlos Beltran came up together through the minor league system and were expected to become impact players.
both offensively and defensively despite occasional flashes since his rookie season in 1999.
Beltran, in fact, has. But Febles never got his career going and came into this season with a 252 lifetime average.
"I'm disappointed. But I'm mainly disappointed in myself," the 27-year-old Febles said. "I came out of spring training with
big expectations and didn't fill them. I didn't do my job."
Febles was hitting .253 with 11RBIs in 196 at-bats for the AL Central leaders. His fielding error on a potential double-play grounder in the ninth innings last week led to a three-run rally by Tampa Bay and a demoralizing 3-2 loss.
The Royals' new full-time second baseman will become Desi Relaford, the versatile infielder-outfielder who started in center field against New York on Tuesday night as Beltran rested a sore elbow.
Mendy Lopez, who came off the disabled list after missing 53 games with a right calf strain, took the roster spot of Febles.
"You're looking at a player who is pressing, trying to do too much," Royals general manager Allard Baird said of Febles.
"His strength has always been defense. I think with the opportunities he's had to play, he's tried to do too much offensively and at times that's carried over to his defense."
Cornhuskers coach says power football will remain a priority
The Associated Press
Nebraska offensive lineman Dan Vili Waldrop becomes envious when he watches the tape of the Cornhuskers' 1994 national championship game against Miami.
"That offensive line would kill people," Waldrop said. "In the fourth quarter, they would still be jogging up to the line every play, and the team on the other side would be gasping for air."
Waldrop acknowledges that it was he and his linemates who were sucking air late in games last year.
"We need to return to the old Nebraska," the senior tackle said. "We may not be the same people, but we want to be the same power football team."
ball under Tom Osborne.
Physical domination was a point of pride for Nebraska foot-
Sixth-year head coach Frank Solich insists that power football will remain Nebraska's mantra.
No one in college football,how ever, would argue that the Cornhuskers of recent years have failed to wear down opponents the way they once did.
Nebraska, to be sure, was a strong rushing team last year at 268.7 yards a game.
But it was the third time in five years that the Huskers didn't average 300 yards on the ground — the standard by which Nebraska offenses are measured.
In the losses to Iowa State and Kansas State, the Huskers failed to run for 100 yards.
"We got outmuscled a lot," sophomore tackle Richie Incognito said.
Joel Wilks, a member of the vaunted "Pipeline" offensive line
of 1994, said it hurt to see the Huskers get manhandled. But after attending a practice in late September, he said, the team's 7-7 record at year's end wasn't a total surprise.
"It seemed like there was a different feel around there," said Wilks, now a physical therapist and assistant high school football coach in Portland, Ore. "It was laid back. I didn't see the intensity level that I saw back in the day."
Wilks and his "Pipeline" partners still are considered one of the greatest offensive lines ever in college football. Joining Wilks on the line were Outland Trophy winner Zach Wiegert, All-American Brenden Stai, Rob Zatechka and Aaron Graham.
No one game captured the essence of Nebraska power football better than the Orange Bowl after the 1994 season. The
17 victory over Miami.
Nebraska rolled through the '90s in much the same fashion, with the brute force of its offensive line serving as the team's calling card.
“To watch what happened last year hurt the pride of everyone who had ever played offensive line at Nebraska,” Wilks said. “We're so used to having that dominating presence late in the game. To see us drop into that middle tier of teams in college football, it was hard to swallow. All of us hope it was just a one-year deal.”
There are theories as to why the
line declined.
Traditionally, Nebraska linemen haven't seen much playing time until their junior and senior years. The 85-scholarship rule has forced all teams to go with younger players. The Huskers' lines have been decimated the last two years by the departures of underclassmen Dominic Raiola and Toniu Fonotti to the NFL.
Wilks said he doesn't buy the argument that Nebraska hasn't been recruiting the same quality of offensive lineman.
He said the linemen need to work harder.
And the linemen agree.
"We've got a lot to prove, to ourselves and to our fans," Incognito said.
The linemen are saying all the right things as the Aug. 50 opener against Oklahoma State approaches.
They talk about going through a tough summer conditioning program directed by new strength coach Brian Bailey.
They talk about the embarrassment of last year and their desire for redemption.
They talk about the new energy created by first-year offensive coordinator and line coach Barney Cotton.
Cotton, who played on the Nebraska offensive line in the late 1970s, said that while he has put in some new twists in the passing game, he'll remain true to the system that traditionally has produced lots of vards and lots of victories.
That means the Huskers will keep trying to pound the ball.
It isn't so much about X's and O's to Cotton.
"What it comes down to," he said, "is whether we are more physical than the other team."
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