Sugar Bowl Updates:
12/04/07 Update
LITTLE ROCK--That bowl game in New Orleans has my full attention. Not the national championship game that includes a team that lost to Arkansas, but the game six days earlier.
Colt Brenann, I mean Hawaii, against Georgia.
I want to see the quarterback who holds a stack of NCAA records go against a defense from the SEC instead of the WAC. Well aware of Brennan's gargantuan numbers, I took a Friday night to watch him against San Jose State.
The weather was atrocious and he was, too, with four interceptions. In the rain, throwing a wet ball, it was difficult to get a read on arm strength, mobility, steadfastness under pressure and decision-making -- all qualities of a super quarterback.
That was six weeks ago and I almost forgot about him. On Saturday, Colt Brenann and Hawaii spotted Washington a 21-0 first-quarter lead, but completed a 12-0 season with a 35-28 victory over the Huskies.
Numbers are one thing, Ws are better. Rallying from three touchdowns behind is even more impressive considering the stakes. Brennan and his mates knew that a perfect season would be worth an unprecedented BCS bowl game. On the spot, other teams failed -- Kansas vs. Missouri two weeks ago and Missouri vs. Oklahoma last week. Even worse, with a berth in the national championship game a touchdown away, the West Virginia Mountaineers couldn't get it done against a 4-7 Pittsburgh.
Colt Brenann was 42-of-50 for 442 yards against Washington, including a school-record 20 straight. He was 6-of-6 on the 76-yard drive for the winning touchdown with 44 seconds to play. From the 5, coach June Jones wanted to run the ball, but Brennan was certain the Huskies would be in a man defense and sold Jones on a pass.
The biggest knock on Brennan is that he is a system quarterback, so it was particularly ironic that Jones used that very phrase to describe Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. Jones made the remark on ESPN on Sunday night while talking about the Heisman Trophy.
Given an opportunity to clarify his remarks, Jones said Brennan could run any system, but that he was not sure Tebow could do the same. Pressed for an explanation, Jones said Tebow is "not a natural passer."
A natural passer is accurate and able to make all the throws, Jones said.
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11/24/07 Update
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Despite all of LSU's talent and flair for the dramatic, the Tigers rarely seemed comfortable with life at the top.
Done in by another Heisman Trophy hopeful in another triple-overtime defeat, LSU will lose its Number 1 ranking for the second time this season, and likely the last.
Darren McFadden rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and even threw for another score to lift Arkansas to a 50-48 victory over LSU yesterday.
LSU still has a good shot to play a bowl game in New Orleans, but not the one they wanted - the BCS championship on January Seventh.
The Tigers had already clinched the SEC West Division and will move on to the conference title game in Atlanta on December First.
Winning the SEC title will put LSU in the Sugar Bowl. No team with two losses has ever played in the national title game. A few more upsets could put LSU back in the debate, but it could've been much easier for the Tigers if they had gotten a handle on McFadden.
11/24/07 Update
Hawaii's Colt Brennan threw five touchdown passes to break the major-college career record Friday night, and the No. 14 Warriors defeated No. 17 Boise State, 39-27, in Honolulu to win the Western Athletic Conference title.
Brennan completed 40 of 53 passes for 495 yards for Hawaii (11-0, 8-0), which set a team record with 12 consecutive victories and denied the Broncos (10-2, 7-1) a sixth consecutive conference championship.
The teams traded scores and the lead until Brennan had three scoring tosses in the third quarter to give Hawaii a 12-point lead.
Hawaii, which has won 21 of its last 22 games, entered 15th in the Bowl Championship Series standings, needing to finish 12th or higher to secure an automatic bid to the BCS. A weak schedule has kept the Warriors from moving up the rankings, but a convincing win over last season's BCS busters should help them make a final push. A Sugar Bowl bid could be in the Warriors' future if they can complete a perfect season next week at home against Washington.
Brennan has passed for 126 TDs in his three-year career at Hawaii. Brennan's six-yard scoring pass to Ryan Grice-Mullen surpassed the NCAA mark for career touchdown passes set by former Brigham Young Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1991.
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