College Confidential

A&M officials set school record for student tickets for Nebraska game

Texas A&M students have pulled a school-record 29,520 tickets for Saturday’s game against Nebraska, school officials announced today. It marks the largest number of student tickets ever distributed for an A&M home game, eclipsing the total of 28,100 that attended the 2002 Oklahoma game.

The typical four-day, student ticket draw ended today. But A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said at least 1,000 more student tickets _ in a standing-room only area _ will be made available Friday for Saturday’s 7 p.m. game in Kyle Field between No. 18 Texas A&M (7-3, 4-2 in Big 12) and No. 9 Nebraska (9-1, 5-1).

Byrne said he has instructed workers in the school’s ticket office to put additional chairs on the track that surrounds the playing field and to “find every available standing-room space” for additional students in quest of topping the 30,000 mark.

A&M seeks to set a new NCAA record for most students attending a college football game but it is unclear what that record is. Earlier this week, A&M officials believed their count of 28,100 at the 2002 Oklahoma game was an NCAA standard. But further research suggests Ohio State reserves approximately 30,000 tickets for students to its home game, although an actual drop count is not kept by the school.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas RB Newton to give up football because of concussions

Texas tailback Tre Newton, a Southlake Carroll graduate who led the team in rushing last season, has given up football because of recurring head injuries. In a phone interview this morning, Netwon said the decision was “real tough” but in his best interest for the long term.

Newton, son of former Dallas Cowboys’ offensive lineman Nate Newton, will remain in school on a medical scholarship and pursue his degree in corporate communications. Newton, a sophomore, suffered his most recent concussion _ his only one of the 2010 season _ during the team’s 39-14 loss to Kansas State on Nov. 6. He battled a neck stinger for several weeks during the 2009 season.

_ Jimmy Burch

A&M's Fuller joins two other Big 12 WRs as Biletnikoff semifinalists

Texas A&M receiver Jeff Fuller joined Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon and Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles as semifinalists for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver.

The list of 10 semifinalists, announced today, also included Kentucky’s Randall Cobb, Georgia’s A.J. Green, South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery, Alabama’s Julio Jones, SMU’s Aldrick Robinson, Hawaii’s Greg Salas and Western Michigan’s Jordan White. The list will be trimmed Nov. 22 to three finalists, with the winner announced Dec. 8 in Orlando, Fla.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas Tech castoff Ruffin McNeill is bowl eligible

Look who is bowl eligible after 10 games.

No, not the Texas Tech Red Raiders. But the East Carolina University Pirates, led by former Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill.

McNeill and the Pirates reached bowl eligible status with Thursday's wild 54-42 win over the University of Alabama-Birmingham. ECU trailed 35-27 after three quarters, but outscored UAB 27-7 in the fourth period to run its record to 6-4.

Along with Tommy Tuberville, McNeill was one of the two finalists for the Tech head coaching job last winter after Mike Leach was unceremoniously fired.

After Saturday's 45-7 loss to Oklahoma, Tech is 5-5 this year under Tuberville and needs to win one of its next two non-conference home games against Weber State or Houston to become bowl eligible.

Tech's 3-5 Big 12 South record is its worst since it went 3-5 in 2000. That was Leach's first year coaching the Red Raiders.

Leach hired McNeill in 2000 as his linebacker coach and eventually made him his defensive coordinator in 2008. Tech offered McNeill a job with the Red Raiders after Tuberville was named its coach, but McNeill instead beat the bushes and eventually wound up as the ECU coach.

And even with East Carolina only returning six starters and thought to be in a rebuilding season, McNeill found a way to bond with his players and get them to play hard for him. It's a formula he used during his success as an assistant/defensive coordinator at Tech.

Now, McNeill is already bowl eligible -- even before Texas coach Mack Brown -- with two regular season games remaining. It's a status the Red Raiders and Longhorns are still hoping to achieve this season.

-- Dwain Price 

OU's Adrian Taylor leaves game with injury

Sooners senior defensive tackle Adrian Taylor, a former Mansfield High School star who has battled back this season after suffering a severe ankle injury in last year's Sun Bowl, left the game against Texas Tech because of a right leg injury with 4:52 remaining in the first half.

 

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Be sure to follow Stefan Stevenson (@FollowtheFrogs) on Twitter to get live updates from the Horned Frogs' final home game of the 2010 season and the last game at Amon G. Carter Stadium before its $105 million renovation begins.

Griffin officially a Heisman Trophy candidate

It's official.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin is a bonafide candidate to win this year's Heisman Trophy. The sophomore from Copperas Cove received his official letter Wednesday from the Heisman Trophy Trust signifying that he has a chance to be named the best college football player in the country this year.

According to the letter, Griffin's "weekly on-field performances are gaining the attention of the 926 National Electors'' and he is "considered a Heisman Memorial Trophy Contender.''

Griffin is at the forefront of a Baylor program that is 7-3, already bowl eligible for the first time since 1995, and has been one of college football's best feel-good stories of the season. The 6-2, 220-pounder has completed 226-of-342 passes for 2,859 yards, 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions, and has rushed 101 times for 416 yards and seven touchdowns.

"Robert Grffin has been phenomenal,'' said Texas coach Mack Brown, who recruited Griffin as an "athlete'' instead of a quarterback. "I can't imagine him not being in the Heisman talk.''

Also a Maxwell Award semifinalists, Griffin is third in the nation in passing yards (2,859), third in total offense per game (327.5), and ninth in passing yards per game (285.9).

Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said Grififn is the best all-around quarterback in the nation, and added that: "This guys is a lot more athletic than Tim Teebow.''

The Heisman ballots will be mailed Nov. 15 and the finalists will be announced Dec. 6. The Heisman Trophy Presentation will take place Dec. 11 in New York City.

-- Dwain Price

 

Tuberville can relate to OU's home win streak

Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville can relate to Oklahoma’s 35-game home winning streak. It's the longest active home winning streak in the nation.

“We won 55 straight home games when I was coaching down there in Miami,’’ said Tuberville, who was an assistant coach at Miami from 1986-'93. “The players take pride in it and the fans take pride in it, and when you get something like that going you get confidence.''

Miami actually won an NCAA record 58 straight home games from 1985-'94. Tuberville remembers how intimidating it was for opponents to come into Miami to play the Hurricanes, yet he hopes that won't be the case for the Raiders when they play at Oklahoma at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s going to be tough for anybody to go in there and play well,'' Tuberville said. "Florida State took a good football team in there and got beat by 30.’’

Oklahoma dominated Florida State back on Sept. 11, 47-17.

Two years ago when the Raiders were ranked No. 2 in the country and had serious national championship aspirations, they took a perfect 10-0 record into Oklahoma and got ambushed by the Sooners, 65-21.

-- Dwain Price

Baylor's Landor couldn't watch the replay

WACO _ Baylor safety Byron Landor was so disgusted with Saturday’s 55-28 loss to Oklahoma State that he had difficulties watching the replay when the defensive players met Sunday.

“I actually had a hard time watching the film (Sunday),’’ Landor said. “I actually walked out.

“I couldn’t really watch the rest of it. I didn’t really want to see it. It wasn’t us.’’

Landor, who leads Baylor with 98 tackles, vows that the Bears will play more efficient when they host Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Saturday.

“I think if you’re not fired up and motivated to get back out there and compete, I think you’re in the wrong sport,’’ Landor said. “I was ready to play another game after the game Saturday.

“That’s how disappointed I was in our effort. We have to find a way to learn from our mistakes and hopefully never make those mistakes again.’’

-- Dwain Price

Tommy Tuberville has sympathy for Dan Hawkins

Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville has sympathy for Dan Hawkins, who was fired Tuesday as coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.

"You hate to see that,'' Tuberville said Tuesday. "Dan's a good football coach.

"As a matter of fact the year that I got National Coach of the Year in 2004 he was one of the nominees for several of the awards that I won. But that's how things can change.''

Tuberville was 13-0 at Auburn in 2004, the same year Hawkins was 11-1 while coaching at Boise State.

From 2001-'05 at Boise State, Hawkins posted an impressive 53-11 record. But that magic never followed him to Colorado.

From 2006 until he was fired by the Buffs, Hawkins was only 19-39 at Colorado. That included a 3-6 overall record and 0-5 Big 12 Conference record this season.

The final straw for Hawkins at Colorado came this past Saturday when the Buffs led Kansas, 45-17, with 12 minutes remaining in the game, but blew that lead and amazingly lost the game, 52-45.

"He went in and took over a tough situation and I thought at times it got better,'' Tuberville said of Hawkins. "You just got to work through the hard times, and unfortunately he didn't make it through it.''

-- Dwain Price