Welcome to Bowl Eligibility: Three Weeks Left in Regular Season

There are 32 bowls and 64 slots for the qualifying teams in NCAA Division I-A membership. Through Nov. 12 games, 54 schools have the required six victories after seven more schools joined these ranks last weekend. Purdue (7-4) qualified with its seventh victory in a 13-game regular-season slate (game at Hawai’i), and Oregon State (6-4) needs a win under the same 13-contest circumstances for postseason activity. After last weekend, another 17 teams are on the cusp of bowl eligibility with five wins, and nine teams may still be in contention for a bowl with four wins.

Conference Clinchers

Brigham Young clinched a share of the Mountain West Conference crown on Nov. 9 by downing Wyoming… Ohio needs one victory in its last two games against Akron or Miami (Ohio) to clinch its first Mid-American Conference divisional or league-wide title in any sport since 1968… Bemidji State has won its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference crown since 1959 with a 7-0 league mark and has been ranked in the Division II Top 25 (at No. 24) for the first time in school annals… North Alabama (10-0) captured its eighth all-time Gulf South Conference crown and the second under head coach Mark Hudspeth… Nebraska secured its fourth Big 12 North Division crown with a 28-27 win at Texas A&M… Georgia Tech clinched its first-ever berth in the ACC Championship after downing North Carolina 7-0 last Saturday… Curry (Mass.) and Coast Guard met for the first time ever in the New England Football Conference championship game. The Colonels won a spot to the NCAA playoffs, defeating Coast Guard 34-28 and tying their 2003 school record for wins in a season… Houston’s victory over SMU gave the Cougars the Conference USA West crown… Mary Hardin-Baylor secured its fourth American Southwest Conference title in five years on Saturday… Millsaps (Miss.) clinched its first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship since 1996 and first playoff berth since 1975… Central Michigan defeated Western Michigan for the Chippewas’ third 6-0 start in the conference history while securing their first Mid-American Conference West title… West Texas A&M won its second consecutive Lone Star Conference title… East Carolina is bowl eligible for the first time since 2001 and could secure a spot in the Conference USA championship with a win over Rice on Saturday… Mount Union (Ohio) clinched its 15th straight Ohio Conference championship for Division III last weekend, pummeling Marietta 45-17… NCAA Divisions II and III Championships will begin Saturday, Nov. 18.

Two-Minute Drill

Kansas State’s upset of Texas marked the Wildcats’ first win over a top-5 team since 2003… Kentucky became bowl eligible for the first time since 1999… Arizona knocked off its second Top 25 team in as many weeks, defeating then-No. 8 Cal… East Stroudsburg’s Jimmy Terwilliger tied the NCAA record for career TD passes en route to defeating Kutztown… Arkansas’ nine straight wins is their longest streak since 1988… The Fighting Irish secured back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in 13 years… Wake Forest is the first team to shut out FSU at Doak Campbell Stadium under Bobby Bowden’s 31-year tenure as head coach for the Seminoles… Stanford snapped their 11-game losing streak, the nation’s second longest, by defeating Washington… Minnesota’s Bryan Cupito became the Golden Gophers’ all-time leading passer en route to downing Michigan State last Saturday… Virginia Tech kicker Brandon Pace set a school record with 19 consecutive successful attempts… Houston’s four-game winning streak can be contributed in part to having two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 1999. The Cougars are headed for their third bowl game in four years… Penn State coordinators Tom Bradley and Galen Hall coached the Nittany Lions last Saturday during their 47-0 blanking of Temple. Coach Joe Paterno missed his first game in 29 years after a sideline collision with players forced him to have surgery for a broken shinbone and torn ligaments… Rutgers’ set an attendance record with 44,111 fans en route to their 28-25 victory over Louisville. The Empire State Building lit its top in Scarlet red in honor of the highly anticipated match-up… Colorado’s Mason Crosby hit four field goals last Saturday, becoming the first Buff to eclipse the 300-point mark in his career… Rice’s Jarett Dillard has a school record 21 career TD catches and has grabbed at least one TD pass in a nation-leading 14 straight games… Oklahoma’s 85,313 fans set an attendance record at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium last weekend as the Sooners downed Texas Tech… Nebraska QB Zac Taylor broke the school records for both touchdown passes and career passing yards during the Huskers’ win over Texas A&M.

Tennessee and Vanderbilt play for the 100th time on Nov. 18 at Vanderbilt Stadium… Rensselaer (RPI) captured the Dutchman Shoes Trophy after defeating Union (N.Y.) in the teams’ 104th meeting, New York’s oldest college football rivalry… Wisconsin is one triumph away from its first 11-win regular-season in school history, and head coach Bret Bielema became the first rookie mentor in Big Ten record books to guide his team to 10 victories after last week’s win at Iowa… Susquehanna played its final football game as a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference against Lycoming last week and will compete in the Liberty League next season… Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon played for the 112th time – one of the oldest series in small college football in the South – last Saturday… Prior to last Saturday’s contests, the last time Harvard, Yale and Princeton all had records of at least 7-1 at the same time was 1907, and 2006 is the first time in Ivy League history that the three universities have been the three remaining contenders for the league title with two weeks left in the season. Princeton took a one-game edge into the final week of play after downing Yale 34-31… Steve Odom (48 consecutive games with a pass reception) of Toledo, Vincent Marshall (47) of Houston and Johnny Quinn (45) of North Texas hold the longest active streaks of games with catches in Division I-A… Thomas More beat Mount Saint Joseph, their highest-ranked opponent in history, to reclaim the Bridge Bowl Trophy for the first time in three years… Harvard RB Clifton Dawson set the Ivy League career rushing record with 4,781 yards, topping the record set by Cornell’s Ed Marinaro from 1969-1971… Texas’ Michael Griffin recorded his eighth career punt block on Saturday, moving into second place on the NCAA career list… Last Saturday marked the 50th career win for TCU’s Gary Patterson. He is first Horned Frogs’ coach in history to reach the distinction so soon.

East Carolina observed a moment of remembrance and eternally honored the 1970 Marshall football team with a plaque unveiling ceremony last Saturday morning at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium prior to the Conference USA contest between to the two schools. The ceremony memorialized the 75 men and women who lost their lives on November 14, 1970, in the crash of charter jet plane carrying the team, coaching staff, administrators, fans, and crew as it was returning to Huntington, W.Va., after the Thundering Herd and Pirates played in Greenville, N.C.

At last Saturday’s Florida-South Carolina game, members of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) from the fight against terror and soldiers from the Combat Aviation Support Battalion in Florida escorted UF captains to midfield for the coin toss. There was a flyover prior to the game by the Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34), the Blue Blasters… Kentucky’s 1976 SEC co-championship and Peach Bowl unit had its 30-year reunion at last week’s UK-Vanderbilt tussle… Ohio’s football squad and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held their annual food drive for the disadvantaged last week… Outgoing Texas A&M President Robert Gates joined members of the Corps of Cadets in a cheer before Saturday’s game with Nebraska… UCLA may lead the nation with four sets of brothers on the current team – Kyle and Korey Bosworth, Joe and Pat Cowan, Chase, Chad and Chane Moline, and Shannon and Sonny Tevagas… Navy alumnus running back Kyle Eckel of the Miami Dolphins wears a faded Navy T-shirt (with NFL permission) under his jersey to salute current U.S. veterans and got hundreds of supportive emails on Veterans Day weekend… Jeremy Franklin, Eric James and Josh Johnson, all FSU walk-ons and military veterans, served as honorary captains for the Seminoles bout with Wake Forest last Saturday… Auburn’s 26-year-old war eagle retired Saturday before the Tigers’ game with Georgia. A six-year-old golden eagle, Nova, will serve as its successor… Tulsa held Military Appreciation Day last Saturday, collecting items in conjunction with the Blue Star Mothers of America to send to American troops overseas… Miami players will wear No. 95 decals on their helmets for the remainder of the season in honor of former player Bryan Pata who was killed last week.

Ten finalists for the inaugural Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, which honors the college football coach who best exemplifies responsibility and excellence on and off the field of play, have been selected. The candidates are Mack Brown (Texas), Lloyd Carr (Michigan), Danny Hale (Bloomsburg), Bobby Petrino (Louisville), Greg Schiano (Rutgers), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Jeff Tedford (California), Mel Tjeerdsma (Northwest Missouri State), Jim Tressel (Ohio State), and Tommy Tuberville (Auburn).

The Jim Thorpe Award Screening Committee has announced 11 semifinalists for the award given annually to the nation’s best college defensive back. The list will be narrowed on November 20, and the winner will be announced on Dec. 7 in Orlando on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show… The 18 semifinalists have been tabbed for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. The winner will also be announced on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show… Patrick Willis of Mississippi joins James Laurinaitis of Ohio State and 2005 winner Paul Posluszny of Penn State as the three finalists for the 2006 Butkus Award for linebacker of the year announced Dec. 9… Six players from around the country were announced as semifinalists for the 2006 Lott Trophy – the top defensive student-athlete in NCAA Division I-A… The 13th annual Fred Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top receiver has announced its 14 semifinalists… The 2006 Wuerffel Trophy, a national award that honors a college football player who best combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement, has narrowed its watch list to 11 semifinalists… The 24 candidates for the Harlon Hill Award (Division II Player of the Year) were also announced.

2006 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Oklahoma DT Carl Pendleton is the latest nominee for the FedEx Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award to be announced in Jan. 2007. The three-year starter decided to forgo his senior year of eligibility to continue his education and focus on caring for his 10-year-old brother, Kierstan, Pendleton’s legal ward. Pendleton was also featured in a one-page article in the Nov. 13 issue of Sports Illustrated, which focused on his unorthodox college life as a father, mother and brother to Kierstan... Tennessee State’s Ed “Too Tall” Jones was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame… West Virginia QB Pat White received the United States Sports Academy’s October Alabama Athlete of the Month award.

Akron head football coach J.D. Brookhart has signed a new five-year contract after leading the Zips to the 2005 Mid-American Conference title and their first Division I-A bowl appeareance… Ball State head coach Brady Hoke signed a three-year contract extension with the Cardinals… Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney, the longest tenured Big 12 coach, stepped down last Wednesday after 12 years at the helm for the Cyclones… North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey will not return as leader of the Mean Green next season… North Carolina announced the hiring of Butch Davis as the Tar Heels next head football coach… Stony Brook hopes to join the Colonial Athletic Association in 2008… The Yale Tomorrow Campaign hopes to raise $3 billion over the next five years, intending to have all operations of Yale’s 35 varsity programs endowed by the campaign’s end. The initiative will also help renovate the Yale Bowl… Georgia and Oklahoma State have agreed to a home-and-home series starting in 2007… Towson and Maryland will meet as I-A opponents during the 2011 season as TU transitions into I-A membership... The graduation rate for football rose one point to 66 percent this year, according to a new NCAA study. Research also shows the average SAT score for a Division I athlete is 50 points higher than for all other incoming students.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has named Ron Dilatush director of membership… SMU hires: Jeff Konya, associate athletic director for compliance; Richard Sweet, associate athletics director for marketing & public relations; and Mike Vaught, executive associate director of athletics.

ABC’s Paul Maguire called last Saturday’s Ohio State-Northwestern game from an ESPN production truck. This season, Maguire has also spent time in several other unconventional places, including the game stands and on top of a TV cart… Sports Illustrated recently mentioned NFF board member Clay Bennett, new controlling owner of the Seattle SuperSonics, in an article based on Oklahoma City’s interest in housing an NBA franchise… The Louisville-Rutgers game drew ESPN’s second largest audience ever for a Thursday night game, bested only by the Louisville-WVU game the week before… The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the Outland Trophy Committee will host a book release party in celebration of 60 Years of the Outland Trophy. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, Texas.

The Ellie and Michael Ziegler Fiesta Bowl Center and Museum opened last month, showcasing trophies and memorabilia from past Fiesta and Insight bowls as well as from college teams around the country… The Mya Gonzales Foundation, established by Oklahoma State director of football operations Jimmy Gonzales and his wife, plan to build a preschool for special needs kids at OSU with the help of alumnus Boone Pickens who made a hefty contribution to the cause. Gonzales’ daughter Mya was born last July with Down syndrome… American Airlines will be named the official airline of the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award… The National Association of Athletics Development Directors (NAADD) announced that South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier will be a featured speaker at the organization’s annual convention June 7-10… Former Colorado WR Cliff Branch will be the guest speaker for the Shasta College Celebrity Dinner Auction on March 22… Eastern Illinois’ Vincent Webb, the leading rusher in the Ohio Valley Conference, recently spoke about his faith at the First Baptist Church in Charleston.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy started the installation of its first multi-purpose, artificial surface field. The Cape Cod facilities will also benefit from a new $30,000 state-of-the-art scoreboard and a $275,000 lighting system… A $50 million anonymous gift was given to the University of Tennessee, half of which was specified to benefit the Vols’ athletics program. The donation will help the continued renovation of 85-year-old Neyland Stadium… Florida Atlantic’s plan to build a 40,000-seat domed stadium was rejected by FAU Board of Trustees. The board prefers a 30,000-seat outdoor stadium that could house play by 2010.
NFF Hall of Fame WR Lynn Swann of Southern California lost his bid last week for Governor of Pennsylvania…Tennessee alum and QB standout Heath Shuler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina in the Nov. 7 elections.

During the halftime ceremony of their Sunday game, the Arizona Cardinals inducted 2006 NFF Distinguished American and Arizona State standout Pat Tillman into the University of Phoenix Stadium’s Ring of Honor. The outdoor pedestrian walkway was dubbed Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza and a bronze statue in his likeness was also unveiled. Tillman quit playing for the Cardinals in 2002 to join the U.S. Army Rangers.

NFF Hall of Famer Jackie Parker of Mississippi State died in Canada on Nov. 8… Miami (Fla.) DL Bryan Pata passed away Nov. 7 in Miami… Bernard C. Richardson, major contributor to the “Bernard C. Richardson Zone” at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, died at the age of 88 in Brenham, Texas… James A. Jacobsen, retired TCU band director known to many as “Prof,” passed away last Tuesday.