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Show DAILY HERALD C6 Wednesday, December 19, 2007 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Cheating scandal could leave Florida State short 25 players in bowl game s Brenl KaNestad - An TALLAHASSEE, Fla. academic cheating scandal could leave Florida State without as many as 25 players for its Music City Bowl game against Kentucky on New Year's Eve, coach Booby Bowden said Tuesday. It was the latest off field blow to a program try ing to regain its footing as a national power. "We have some players not traveling for one reason and some for another, including those who are ineligible for the bowl because of academic issues," Bowden said in a statement released by the university. "Kentucky would be a tough opponent when we are at full strength so clearly this will make things more difficult. Our staff is in the process of determining what adjustments we mast make for the game." Many of the players who won't be going to Nashville could also be ruled ineligible for some games next season for their connection to a cheating scandal earlier this year. Federal privacy laws prohibit the school from releasing names. "We dont know what that . number is going to end up being exactly, but we know that's a rough figure," assistant athletic director Rob Wilson said Tuesday. "It's an issue where we're being extra cautious." Bowden also said he would not use any players redshirted this season in the bowl game. The Seminoles ) finished the regular season unranked for a third straight year. Previously, Bowden had not answered questions on the e scandal that resulted in one academic adviser, Brenda Monk, and a student tutor losing their jobs this summer. Athletic director Dave Hart SCOTT AUDETTEAssociated I -- once-prou- d X AP Player of the Year: Tim Tebow Mark Long THE -- (7-5- full-tim- -- 1 RLEAssociated Press Florida State conies out of the tunnel for the start of their game against Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. on Nov. 24. As many as 25 players could be out for their Music City Bowl matchup against Kentucky on New Year's Eve. It was already a year where suspensions are the latest in Jr., and several of his assis- a series of disappointments tants also left in recent months, the program was distracted : although those changes weren't directly related to the present investigation of academic wrongdoing by the school and NCAA. The university reported its findings in a letter to the NCAA in September after a investigation by the school revealed at least 23 athletes in various sports were implicated for cheating on tests. At least two football players already have been penalized for their involvement. Defensive end Kevin McNeil missed the season and wide receiver Joslin Shaw missed the first four games. with off-fiel- troubles. d Police used a Taser on linebacker Geno Hayes after a 2 a.m. altercation with officers outside a local nightclub in September. Fullback Joe Surratt was charged with a felony in the same incident. Xavier Lee, who briefly won the starting quarterback job, was suspended for two games midway through the season, reportedly for academic reasons. Although athletes from other sports at Florida State are involved in the academic wrongdoing, the football for Bowden, who signed a r extension last week to coach his 33rd season next one-yea- fall. Bowden, 78, is working un- der a contractual arrangement where his successor, Jimbo Fisher, who will be at his side as offensive coordinator for up to three years. Fisher, 42, was hired in January to replace Bowden's youngest son, Jeff, who was replaced after six unproductive years as his dad's offensive coordinator. Bowden then replaced the entire offensive staff after the 2006 season. New Mexico's Fergusen is ineligible for bowl game Latest twist on Petrino's career path lands him at Arkansas: At Fayetteville, Ark., for 50 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Star New Mexico running years, Frank Broyles has devoted himself to the Arkansas Hawaii Bowl game for violatback Rodney Ferguson won't Razorbacks, first as their footplay in the New Mexico Bowl ing team rules, coach Chris ball coach and now as athletic Petersen says. on Saturday after being deBesides Childs, who set a director. clared academically ineligible. "I would be shocked if anyschool record for receptions Reserve running back Mike Love also is ineligible and canthis season, cornerback Keith body really wants to leave McGowen and linebacker Ben kansas," Broylesaid. not play when the Lobos (84) Chandler will miss Sunday's Now, along comes Bobby pmeet Nevada Petrino to test that theory. postseason matchup against Ferguson, a junior, was the Petrino left the Atlanta Falteam's top rusher the past two East Carolina in Honolulu. Petersen did not provide decons last week after only 13 seasons. He ran for 1, 177 yards tails of the violations and none games, then was immediately rushing and 13 touchdowns of the players made the trip to introduced as the Razorbacks' this season. Last year, he led new coach. In Arkansas, the the conference with 1,234 Hawaii, the Idaho Statesman hiring was celebrated. Everyreported. yards rushing. where else, it was vilified. Paul Baker will start at tailChilds, a sophomore, was back. The junior has 324 yards voted to the first-teaStill, the fact is that after a k Athletic Conference search to replace rushing this season, with a careg after finishing the season with Houston Nutt, the Razorbacks 54 yards in a er-high 82 catches for 1,045 yards and landed a proven college coach, loss at UTEP. an offensive innovator who nine touchdowns. could help the Hogs finally Without him, the Broncos I Boise State suspends three (10-2- ) will rely on receivers move into the Southeastern players for Hawaii bowl: At Titus Young and Austin Pettis, Conference's top tier. Idaho, top Boise Statereceiver There's one nagging queswho combined for 74 catches Jeremy Childs and two other 11 TDs this year. miss will and the tion, though: How long will backup players ASSOCIATED NOTEBOOK PRESS (6-6- ). two-wee- season-openin- BYU Continued from CI "Those things happen, and some were good calls and some were bad," Weber said. Aulai credits Weber for providing some sound advice, not to mention brushing up on the technique. "I'm much better than a year ago," he said. Aulai can take comfort that UCLA has alscexperienced highs and lows just at the opposite times. Quarterback Ben Olson, who will play against his old school again, told the Los Angeles Times that finishing strong is important. There's not redemption to be had against the Cougars, but for the season as a whole. "We want to go out on a high note as a team," Olson said. "This has not been the year that we all envisioned, for me personally and for our team. To have a chance to go out and clean the slate for the would be a big thing for us." On a team, Olson missed half those games one because of a concussion and off-seas- 6-- 6 r 1 J $ ' 2 Bed, Single-Lev- el From Maintenance Free Planned Community 7 Parks Living $239,900 Exercise Facility Walking Trails Pool Reception Center with Arkansas. Although the Razorbacks have been in turmoil lately, they play in a top conference and boast splendid facilities. They also have no rival for statewide support. Petrino's history invites scrutiny. He was an assistant for nine different teams before going 41-- 9 as Louisville's head coach from 2003-200While with the Cardinals, his name repeatedly came up for other coaching vacancies. There was an infamous episode in 2003 when Auburn set up a secret interview while Tommy Tuberville was still the Tigers' coach. another five because of a knee injury. I Viva Las Vegas: BYU arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday evening. The team held a morning practice in Provo, which was closed to media, then hopped on a plane. Players wrapped up finals Monday. Quarterback Max Hall expressed relief to report 1 ASSOCIATED the credit," Tebow said. "You have to share the credit. I just do the easy part." Although Meyer gets most of the credit for Tebow's success Meyer handpick Tebow to run Florida's spread-optio- n offense, threw ers Monday that the semester was over, and now he could worry only about the game. "Now that all that stuff is over I fully expect us to get to bed and have a good practice in the morning and then continue our preparation in Vegas," Hall said. The Cougars will have a one-ho- practice this morning at Valley High School. That's the 'Hues DENTAL Family Dentistry J! him into the mix as a freshman and then turned him ofloose as a sophomore fensive coordinator Mullen did even more to help Tebow shatter records and make history this season. Mullen retooled Tebow's mechanics, rewired his brain to make him think throw first, run second, and then revamped the offense to showcase Tebow's abilities. Tebow was rewarded with the Heisman Trophy and several other prestigious awards. Along the way, he developed a strong relationship with Mullen. "He's helped me out a lot," Tebow said. "He's a very knowledgeable person about everything, not just football, about life and politics and stuff like that. You learn a lot of things from him. He does a great job explaining things to me. Our relationship has really grown over the course of this year." It took off in the spring, when Tebow was getting most of the repetitions and pretty much all of Mullen's attention. When Tebow endured shoulder pain, he turned to Mullea When Tebow needed to overhaul his throwing motion, he asked Mullen to direct the ; changes. When Tebow had questions or concerns about Florida's offense or opposing defenses, he sought out Mullea Tebow never had to go very far, either. "I spend more time with him than his wife does," Tebow said. After Mullen spent his first two seasons mostly tutoring Chris Leak, having Tebow as his center of attention was quite a change. Tebow is much more outgoing and way more talkative than Leak. Tebow's demeanor helped foster a strong bond with Mullen that even included some friendly banter. "We kind of knock each other down a couple of levels fast," Mullen said. "I'll say, 'Boy, did you see Pat White run? Or Dennis Dixon? And they're not as big as you and they run really hard and physical.' Tim's so competitive and he wants to be good He can kind of laugh at all those things." Mullen also drops "Tebow-isms- " on his student at times Mullen first told the quarterback about this one: Tim Tebow can believe it's not butter trying to keep things light. same roost the Cougars have used the previous two years. UCLA is slated for a two-hoafternoon session on UNLV's campus. The teams will meet up from 6 p.m. local time at (the New York-NeYork Hotel), where they'll dine and play video games before checking out a Cirque du Soliel show at MGM Grand at night. 4-- Dr. Nick Groneman DMD 186 South 1100 East American Fork, UT 84003 7 l4 1300 Sq. '. At GAINESVILLE, Fla. Southeastern Conference media days in July, Florida coach Urban Meyer joked about all the questions surrounding quarterback Tim Tebow. "We're going to run the ball every play this year," Meyer said. "Tim can't throw. Yeah, tell all the other teams in the league ": that, too." Five months later, Tebow has proved to be much more than passable as a passer. He's become the best player '. in college football. The Florida star won AP Player of the Year honors Tuesday in a vote that was similar to the one that made him the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. "That's cool," Tebow said Tuesday. "Again, it's a huge honor. It's a cool thing. Any time you're honored for an individual award, it goes back to the team. Without those guys and their support, you can't accomplish something like that on your own." Tebow received 31 of a possible 58 votes from AP poll voters. Arkansas running back Darren McFad-den- , the Heisman runner-up- , received 19 votes, and Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was third with four votes. Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon received three votes and West Virginia quarterback Pat White received one vote. Tebow became the first player in major college history to run for at least 20 touchdowns and throw 20 TD passes in the same season. He accounted for 51 touchdowns, including a Southeastern Conference record 22 rushing, and set a school record with 3,970 yards of total offense. He also was the second-rate- d quarterback in the country, completing 68 percent of his throws for 3,132 yards. "You don't want to just take I 2ath, PRESS f 4 Ft. LEASE OPTION $1,000 D0YN, $995 Mo. Limited Availability! Only 4 Units Left! FOR AS LITTLE AS JUnP.Y! lAati Evens 801-437-SiZ- $(! "I think the fans here have created a path for a coach to be successful," Broyles said. The tremendous support that we have. There's a very, very positive path in place for the coach bewhat cause of the fan support they've allowed us to do." The skepticism surrounding Petrino's future has little to do '".' Lill,i : Petrino stick around? ST l x. Press Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, left, of the University of Florida, shakes hands with a fan during the second quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL football game on Sunday. Q) : THE J Ill ASSOCIATED PRESS THE - O CcrJasf Cr.i Evens 22 ) (801) 491-330- 0. - ww.HarvestPark.net er Hoars & Same Day Emergency Care 4 ' |