Lavell Edwards talks about College Gameday experience

BYU legend LaVell Edwards was on the set of ESPN’s College Gameday last weekend for the BYU-TCU game. Edwards talked with Pete Wolek of the Legends Channel about the experience and why he put the Cougar mascot head on.

Listen to the interview below, check out some pictures from the Gameday set.

The photos were provided by Jeffrey D. Allred of the Deseret News.

Click here to see their story.

Watch the video from College Gameday:

Billingsley expects Florida to be focused

• James believes it will be a huge upset if Georgia beats Florida.
• Billingsley believes Florida will be focused, based on the negative media surrounding Tebow.
• James said Tebow must be banged up, because even Jake Locker at Washington is beat up.

Billingsley: USC-Oregon biggest this season in Pac-10

Listen to the second segment of the three-part podcast series Coaches vs. Computers featuring a conversation between Richard Billingsley, a computer pollster with the BCS, former Washington head coach Don James and Legends Poll executive director Andy Curtin. This segment features a discussion about Iowa and the USC-Oregon game.

• Billingsley has Iowa No. 4 and the Legends have Iowa No. 7.
• James says he doesn’t give Iowa much credit for wins over Northern Iowa and Arkansas State.
• James says Barkley could be the key to the game for USC against Oregon.
• Billingsley said Boise State will not be hurt in his poll if Oregon loses to USC.

James evaluates his poll week-to-week

Listen to the part one of the three-part podcast series Coaches vs. Computers featuring a conversation between Richard Billingsley, a computer pollster with the BCS, former Washington head coach Don James and Legends Poll executive director Andy Curtin. This segment features a discussion about the top-3.

• James evaluates his ballot from week-to-week.
• James coached Nick Saban at Kent State.
• Billingsley says he would probably rank Texas No. 1 if he had a human vote.
• Billingsley has Alabama, Florida and Texas ranked No. 1 – 3.
• Billingsley disagrees with the way the NCAA ranks strength of schedule.

A tough road test in Stillwater for No. 2 Texas

Texas may have moved up to No. 2 in the Legends Poll this week, but their ranking will be tested as they travel to Stillwater to play No. 13 Oklahoma State. On the conference call this week, RC Slocum and Fisher DeBerry broke down the game.

Do you think Oklahoma State has a chance at Texas?

Slocum: It will be tough without their wide receiver (Dez Bryant) but they’re playing there at Oklahoma State, and they always play well there against Texas. But Texas always finds ways to beat them.

If I were picking this game, I’d say Texas would beat them.  I just think they’re a better overall team, a better defensive team.  And offensively, Texas always seems to move the ball pretty well on them.  I don’t think it’s as big of a match-up as people are making it out to be.  I know going in there it’s going to be a great atmosphere, but I just think Texas is better.

DeBerry: Well, their quarterback (Zac Robinson) is really playing better now.  He was hurt at the beginning of the year and they’ve had a lot of adversity. They lost their best running back (Kendall Hunter), and now they might get him back.  He suited up the other day but didn’t play. He’s the real deal.  Then of course they might get Bryant back, but it’s an NCAA issue and you know how long it takes them.

At the same time, the quarterback played great last week.  He was 23 out of 27 with no interceptions and three touchdowns.  He’s broken all their records over there now.  I thought this week (against Baylor) was their most complete game yet, mostly because they didn’t get but five penalties.

What is the key to the game?

DeBerry: I do think they’re playing better defense, and I think that’ll be the key to the ball game.  So, we’ll know about Oklahoma State after they play Texas.

Do you think Texas deserved to jump to No. 2 this week?

DeBerry: I think we have to look at the schedule of the first three too.  Alabama plays Tennessee, and gosh Tennessee is still a good football team. They’ve got good players.  Then Florida playing Mississippi State over there, they hadn’t beaten them (in Starkville) in a long time. So, I was kind of surprised that we had Alabama going to third (in the Legends Poll) because I think Alabama could be the best team in the country.

Nebraska’s Suh named Lott Player of the Week

NEWPORT BEACH, Ca. – Nebraska Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh has been named the Lott Trophy IMPACT Player of the Week.

Suh, a 6-4, 300-pound senior from Portland, Oregon blocked a field goal and a PAT, added a sack, three quarterback hurries and eight total tackles in a 9-7 loss to Iowa State.  It was the second time this season Suh has been named the Lott Trophy IMPACT Player of the Week.

The Nebraska Defensive Most Valuable Player last year, Suh was on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll this past spring and is scheduled to receive his degree in construction management this December.

Nebraska will receive $1,000 for its general scholarship fund in recognition of Suh’s accomplishment.

“Ndamukong Suh has been as dominant a defensive lineman as I have observed in college football this year,” said former Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne (and current Cornhusker Athletic Director), a member of the Legends Coaches who selected the Player of the Week.  “He pursues sideline to sideline, is a great pass rusher, and makes it almost impossible for anyone to run the ball effectively through the middle of our line.  He has exceptional speed, athleticism, power, and tenacity as well as being a very intelligent football player.”
Other players nominated for the Player of the Week were Jerry Hughes of TCU, Pat Angerer of Iowa, Sean Weatherspoon of Missouri and Greg Jones of Michigan State.

2009 Lott Trophy IMPACT Players of the Week

Week 1 – Mike Nixon, Arizona State

Week 2 – Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech

Week 3 – Eric Berry, Tennessee

Week 4 – Pat Angerer, Iowa

Week 5 – Taylor Mays, USC

Week 6 – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

Week 7 – Rolando McClain, Alabama

Week 8 – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year.  Now in its sixth year, the Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation in Newport Beach, the award is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Past winners of The Lott Trophy:

2004 – David Pollack, Georgia

2005 – DeMeco Ryans, Alabama

2006 – Dante Hughes, California

2007 – Glenn Dorsey, LSU

2008 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

In five years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated more than $650,000 to various charities, including $25,000 to each of the winners’ universities.

Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the IMPACT Foundation, the IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of retired NFL players and the Legends Coaches, a distinguished group of former college head coaches.

Watching The Watch List

Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri – 11 tackles, 3 for losses with one sack; an interception and a pass broken up in 41-7 loss to Texas.

Greg Jones, Michigan State – Game high 12 tackles in 15-13 loss to Iowa.

Jerry Hughes, TCU – 1 sack (9 on the season), a forced fumble, a quarterback hurry and 4 tackles in 38-7 win over BYU.

Taylor Mays, USC – Had 11 tackles in win over State, 42-36.

Pat Angerer, Iowa – Led team with 9 tackles in win over Michigan State, 15-13.

Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma – Had 2 tackles for losses, a pass broken up and 4 tackles in 35-13 win over Kansas.

Eric Berry , Tennessee – 5 tackles, forced fumble, fumble recovery, 2 passes broken up and a quarterback hurry in 12-10 loss to Alabama.

Rolando McClain, Alabama – 8 tackles (1/2 for loss) in 12-10 win over Tennessee.

Eric Norwood, South Carolina – 2 tackles for losses, a pass break up and a quarterback hurry in 14-10 win over Vanderbilt.

Kurt Coleman, Ohio State – Interception return for 40 yards plus 4 tackles in 38-7 win over Minnesota.

Joe Pawelek, Baylor – 10 tackles (led team) in 34-7 loss to Oklahoma State.

Named after Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Founded in 2004 by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The Lott Trophy is the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player. The Lott Trophy is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and the Legends Coaches which is a distinguished group of former college football head coaches. The sixth annual Lott Trophy dinner will be held December 13th at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California. For more information on The Lott Trophy visit:http://www.LottTrophy.com.

Pete Donovan
The Lott Trophy
760/360-0414
Plays4pars@aol.com
Thelotttrophy.com

McCoy could be back on track

Texas jumped to No. 2 in the Legends Poll for the first time since Week 4, coming off a strong performance from Colt McCoy against Missouri. Former Texas A&M head coach RC Slocum and Auburn legend Pat Dye believe that Colt McCoy might have broken out this week.

What was the difference this week for Texas?

Slocum: I said last week that I was concerned that McCoy was not playing as well as a year ago, he had a much better game.  He completed the first 11 passes he threw against Missouri and ended up 26 out of 31 I think.  They beat the heck out of Missouri for what that’s worth.  They rushed for 150 yds — 3 yds a carry. I wish they rushed the ball a bit better, but they’re playing really good defense.  If the quarterback can come on out, he’s been sick and hurt a little bit. I talked to Mack Brown this week and he said the kid was healthy really for the first time this week.  He finally had all the little things work out. So with him playing well, they’re one of those teams.  I watched Florida and I watched Alabama and I watched Texas and I certainly think they deserve to be in that mix.  If I had to pick one of those teams, I might pick Texas to be number one right now.

How does their defense match up?

Slocum: I think they’re a comparable defensive team to those two other teams.  I think they might have a wider array of weapons on offense.  I think they might be a little better over all offensively than the other two teams.  That’s saying a lot, I know.

Why are the heralded quarterbacks struggling?

Dye: All these quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference are going backwards because they’re playing in this conference and getting a heck of a lot more pressure than they’ve been getting earlier in the year.

Slocum: I saw Tebow get hit early in that game and man he got blindsided.  Guy just came off that right edge and just drilled him.

Dye: Florida’s so good on defense and Alabama too but I agree with you RC that over all, I don’t know how much Florida or Alabama would neutralize McCoy with their defense. I know he wouldn’t have time to throw like he did against Missouri but I don’t know if they’re better than Texas over the last three weeks.

Vote for the biggest hit from Week 8

The Lott Shots features the Top 5 bone-crushing hits from Week 8. The Legends Channel rated Michigan State CB Jeremy Ware No. 1 this week for his knockout shot against Iowa.

What do you think?

Watch the video and vote for your favorite hit by Tuesday Nov. 3.

The top vote-getter will be named the Lott Shot of the week!

Game Ball: Alabama DT Terrence ‘Mount’ Cody

Great special teams play was the difference as the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide held on against the Tennessee Volunteers in Tuscaloosa 12-10.  Senior defensive lineman Terrence Cody blocked two Volunteer field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.  The last block thwarted a game winning attempt by Tennessee from 44 yards as time ran out.

“I just knew we had to make a play,” Cody said.

Cody’s special teams play not only preserved the win but also the Tide’s hopes for a national championship as they remain undefeated at 8-0.

For his outstanding special teams play, Terrence Cody is awarded the “Legends Nike Game Ball” for the Special Teams Player of the Week

Defense | Offense | Offensive Coordinator | Defensive Coordinator

No respect for ‘ugly’ Hawkeyes

They are No. 1 in the Big Ten, off to their best start ever and owners of the second-longest winning streak in Division 1-A, behind only Florida.

So why do no Legends Poll voters have 8-0 Hawkeyes in their top five?

Click on the image below to read the full story in SN Today

	Legends Poll
October 26, 2009 – Week 8

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