Loss Ends Schnellenberger Era

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Howard Schnellenberger era is officially over, as the only coach in FAU Football History leaves the program with a 58-74 mark.

Schnellenberger's all-time record in 27 years of coaching college football is 158-151 with a National Championship for the Miami Hurricanes in 1983. He is 6-0 all-time in bowl games including a 2-0 mark with FAU.

The Owls can thank the UAB Blazers to avoid going winless this season as FAU pulled out a 38-35 win Saturday, November 26, thanks to Senior Running Back Alfred Morris' 198 yards and four touchdowns.

Morris became the first person in Schnellenberger's career to surpass 1,000 yards twice in his career. He finished with 1,186 yards in 2011 with a 72-yard effort against ULM. In 2009, he amassed 1,392.

The embarrassing defeat by UAB led to the firing a few days later of its' Head Coach Neil Callaway, who had a 3-9 season and was 21-51 in five years.

On Saturday, the 1-10 Owls were unable to build on their Thanksgiving Weekend momentum as they dropped a 26-0 decision to the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) Warhawks.

ULM improved to 4-8, 3-5 while FAU dropped to 1-11 and 0-8 in the Sun Belt Conference.

FAU trailed 19-0 at half-time and Morris was held to 29 yards. ULM dominated the half by out gaining FAU in total yards 260-78. ULM added one more touchdown in the second half. For the contest, ULM outgained FAU 424-148 offensively.

Punter Mickey Groody had seven for 295 yards with a 42.1 average. Quarterback Graham Wilbert was limited to 79 yards passing.

When the game was over, FAU sent Schnellenberger out with a fireworks display. He also gave a game ending speech thanking everyone in the stadium for their support.

It took him longer to address the media because he spent extra time talking to his players. At the end of the press conference, the popular coach was busy signing media members press passes.

Schnellenberger said, “This is the first time I've turned a football team over in this type of situation. But I want the players to know that I value them being here. I didn't want these players to go out as losers. There are a lot of good football players on this team.”

But Schnellenberger was pleased that his retirement would turn out differently than legendary coaches like former Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden and Penn State's Joe Paterno by leaving on his own terms.

“I talked to Bowden about this and with the way coaches are getting disposed, and I didn't want to leave like that. I wanted this to be a seamless transition. I've never missed a day of work in 52 years of coaching and I'm glad that I can retire, relax, spend time with my wife Beverlee, children and grandchildren,” Schnellenberger added.

“I'll be moving out of my football office Sunday and into a new one in the administration building Monday helping out any way I can but won't be in the way of the new coach.”

My time with Coach Schnelleberger dates back to our days with the Miami Hurricanes in the early 1980's. It will be different without my friend in the future, but the UAB win meant so much that it would have been a major in justice for him to end his final season as the only winless team in NCAA Division I FBS.

Thankfully, it didn't happen and once again, and I'm pleased he left on his own terms.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can also be seen at www.scottsports33.com. 

College Football Firings

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

As I sit up in the FAU Press Box for the final time this season, in Boca Raton, Florida., Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger will be deservedly celebrated.

Nobody will care what his final record at FAU will be because his contributions to this program go beyond wins and losses.

He's the reason there is a Football Program, Tom Oxley Athletic Center and now FAU Stadium.

The team's national television appearances and two bowl games have put the university on the map and has led to an increased enrollment.

As a new coach gets set to take over and will be announced next week, unlike Schnellenberger, there have been many coaches that haven't been able to go out on their own terms.

They've come from some big name universities. I will list some of the most intriguing firings that have occurred recently.

1. Neil Callaway of UAB lost his job a few days after his team lost to FAU 38-35 on November 26 enabling the Owls to record their first win of the season. In five seasons, Callaway was 21-51 and 3-9 in 2011.

2. The Memphis Tigers, who once lost to FAU in the New Orleans Bowl, fired Larry Porter after a 2-10 season. He was 3-21 in two seasons.

3. Former Florida Gators Coach Ron Zook was a casualty for Illinois after finishing 34-50 in seven seasons. Illinois became the first team in NCAA Division I  FBS history to start a season 6-0, and end it 6-6.

4) After having success at the University of Buffalo leading the Bulls to a Bowl Game, Turner Gill had a 5-19 record in two seasons for the Kansas Jayhawks.

5) Mike Leach will take his high powered passing attack to Washington State as he replaces Paul Wulff. In four years, Wulff complied a 9-40 mark with the Cougars.

6) The Texas A&M Aggies will move into the SEC with a new coach as Mike Sherman was ousted with a 25-25 record in four seasons. Next stop for Sherman, he'll return to the NFL.

7) The University of New Mexico Lobos went to the ESPN Broadcast Booth to find their next coach. Former Notre Dame Coach Bob Davies is the man who has to take this basketball school, piloted by Steve Alford, and has a lot of work to do. The past two plus seasons under Mike Locksley produced a 2-26 mark.

8) The Arizona Wildcats fired Mike Stoops early this season despite three bowl appearances. Stoops compiled a 41-49 record. He was replaced with former West Virginia and Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez.

9) After having success with the UCLA Bruins compiling a 49-32 record, Bob Toledo was unable to duplicate his success with the Tulane Green Wave. In five seasons, he finished with a 15-40 record in Conference USA.

10) Speaking of UCLA, Rick Neuheisel coached his final game for the Bruins in the inaugural Pac 10 Championship Game. The Oregon Ducks hammered UCLA 49-31 as Neuheisel finished with a 21-29 mark in four seasons. His career coaching mark is 87-59.

11) The third Pac 10 coach on this list to be fired was Arizona State Sun Devils boss Dennis Erickson. In five seasons with ASU, Erickson was 31-30 and led the Sun Devils to one bowl game. His overall record in college was 179-96-1 and won two National Championships with the Miami Hurricanes.

12) It's hard to put Luke Fickell on this list because he was just an interim coach that replaced Jim Tressel who left the Ohio State Buckeyes in a cloud of controversy. But Fickell did compile a 6-6 mark in his lone season and was replaced by former Florida Gators Coach Urban Meyer this week.

13) The last person I'm going to mention is a man that I thought I never would. That's former Penn State Nittany Lions Coach Joe Paterno. He leaves the college sidelines with a 409-136-3 record with two National Championships.

Unfortunately, for all of the contributions he's made on the field leaving as the all-time winningest coach in Division I FBS history, one triumph ahead of Paul "Bear" Bryant, Paterno's legacy will now be tied due to an insane sex scandal by his long time Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

If you're looking for a stable career, head coaching at the highest collegiate level requires a lot of moving vans and the exits are not always that pretty.

But I'm glad for Schnellenberger's sake, he did leave on his own terms and now can enjoy retirement as he watches his latest challenge the FAU Owls, build on the foundation that he created.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can also be seen on http://www.scottsports33.com/.

Two Thanksgiving Treats

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Fox Football Analyst Jimmy Johnson predicted on Sunday what everyone was hoping would happen.

The Detroit Lions would defeat the Carolina Panthers to improve to 7-3 and face an undefeated Green Bay Packers squad on Thanksgiving Day. The 10-0 Packers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-26 to set the stage for what could be the best game of the holiday.

Do you think Packers Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers is going to get much sleep knowing Detroit has scored 48 points against Kansas City, 45 on the road to Denver and the defeated the Carolina Panthers 49-35 on Sunday?

In the Lions seven victories, the least amount of points Detroit's offense has scored is 24 with a young gunslinging QB Matt Stafford, who is destined to break every team passing record. He had five touchdown passes against Carolina.

The Lions are 33-35-2 on Thanksgiving. They have faced the Packers 19 times, which is the most of any team invited to play in the traditional contest. Detroit is 11-7-1 against Green Bay.

The 1962 game saw an undefeated Packers team, also 10-0,  lose to the 8-2 Lions, 26-14, before 57,000 plus at Tiger Stadium. The Lions sacked Packers Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr 11 times for 110 yards. Green Bay finished the season 13-1 and won the NFL Championship.

Will history repeat itself on Thursday as the Lions Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Nick Fairley, Stephen Tulloch, Cliff Avril and Corey Williams attempt to make life just as miserable for Aaron Rodgers like the 1962 defense did for Starr?

We'll find out if Rodgers is running for his life at Ford Field just as Starr did a few miles away at Tiger Stadium.

Will Mike McCarthy be able to do what the legendary Packers Coach Vince Lombardi couldn't pull off by going undefeated?

The Lions biggest fans will be their former Assistant Coach and Miami Dolphins legend Don Shula, who piloted Miami to a 17-0 mark and a Super Bowl title in 1972. I'm sure the rest of the Dolphins are hoping to pull the corks out of the champagne with a Lions victory.

Another thing to be thankful for is that Major League Baseball agreed to a new labor deal on Tuesday that will ensure labor peace through 2016.

What's so refreshing about this, is that these negotiations were kept out of the media and held privately.

HGH testing will be included and violators will serve a 50-game suspension on the first offense.

The Houston Astros will move to the AL West in 2013 and there will be two 15 team leagues to ensure a balanced schedule and expanded inter-league play.

Did you think any player was going to object to another wild card team being added for a one game play in contest?

No way!

The revenue and interest generated in baseball will only get higher than it is. I wouldn't be surprised to see this take place in 2012. You can bet that about 60 players for two teams, in addition to managers, coaches will be chomping at the bit to have an opportunity to win a championship ring.

Meanwhile, if an extra wild card team had been added this year, the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves could eliminate the words "Monumental Collapses" from their vocabularies.

You can't ask for two better Thanksgiving Treats than these.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

The Ultimate Bookends

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Daytona 500 supposedly is NASCAR's Super Bowl, but you wouldn't know that after the Ford 400 Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway as the sport crowned a new champion.

On February 20, 2011, Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 as he led six of the 208 laps to become the youngest driver to win the "Great American Race" at 20-years-old and one day.

Little did the Knoxville, Tenn., native, who was born on February 19, 1991, know that the NASCAR season couldn't have started or ended better than it did, thus creating the "Ultimate Bookmarks."

Tony Stewart became the ninth driver in NASCAR history to win three championships. He did it by ending the five year reign of Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart defeated Carl Edwards despite the fact that both drivers finished tied with 2,403 points. The title was decided by a tiebreaker as Stewart won a chase all-time record five races while Edwards won one race this season.

On Sunday, Edwards led the most laps---119 of the 267 but not the last one as he finished second to Stewart in a climactic memorable finish.

As the rain poured after the race, Stewart left Miami with a $5.7 million check and continued to build his Hall of Fame credentials.

Meanwhile, Edwards had nothing to be disappointed about because he competed with class and will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to contend for next years championship.

Although Johnson's incredible run officially ended Sunday, he's the only driver to win five consecutive championships and he finished sixth in the points standings.

With the equipment and crew that his Owner Rick Hendricks provides him, I wouldn't bet against him in 2012.

But Johnson's legacy is cemented.

To win a hand full of championships, let alone in a row at the age of 36, is incredible in any sport.

If he doesn't accomplish another thing, he'll take his 55 victories and five championships into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC.

Yet, for some reason, I believe that Johnson has a lot more great racing ahead of him. He's two championships away to match the record of seven set by Richard "The King" Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Although the season ended in South Florida, NASCAR couldn't have scripted a better finale.

When the season starts off with an unknown and ends with a driver with multiple championships, this sport has done a great job mixing in the new with the old. It will only get better as legends enhance their legacies and new stars are created.

The Ford 400 turned out to be the equivalent to a Game 7 of a team sport.

You had two competitors in a winner take all setting. NASCAR couldn't have visualized this in it's Super Bowl in February.

But on Sunday February 20, 2011, exactly nine months after it started, this was the sports' real Super Bowl.

It's amazing to think that in about 90 days, it will start all over in Northern Florida off I-95 at the Daytona International Speedway.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

A Humbled Announcer

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I rarely watch ESPN's College Football Game Day because of my busy schedule.

But because Nebraska was facing the Michigan Wolverines in "The Big House," this was a great opportunity to hear the crews prediction.

Longtime analyst Lee Corso, 76, seemed quite decisive predicting the visiting Cornhuskers. Corso's famous line "Not So Fast, My Friend" bit him good as Michigan crushed Nebraska 45-17 in front of 113,718, the largest crowd to ever see a Cornhuskers contest in this storied program's rich history.

Not only did Corso look bad with with this prediction, his use of the expletive that begins with an "F" as he was ending his show turned out to be a disaster. Even his sidekick Kirk Herbstreit wondered where the delay button was.

But I'm going to give Corso a pass for this mistake. His public on air apology looked sincere, he showed tremendous remorse and he was very humbled by his actions.

If the former 1985 USFL Orlando Renegades Coach loses his job, he could go back to work for the Indiana Hoosiers, whom he coached from 1973-1982 and compiled a 41-68-2 record. The Hoosiers are 1-10 and were hammered by Michigan State 55-3 Saturday in East Lansing.

Guest predictor Carl Lewis also picked Nebraska while Herbstreit, a former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback, did pick his former rival U-M to defeat Nebraska.

The Wolverines, which improved to (9-2, 5-2 Big 10) officially welcomed Nebraska to the conference with this beating....

Michigan State was glad that Herbstreit's prediction came to fruition because they'll play in the inaugural Big 10 Championship Game on December 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana., as winners of the Legends Division. It must have very difficult for the Spartans (9-2, 6-1 Big 10) to root for U-M, but if it made conference history and earns them a trip to a BCS Game, Rose Bowl, I'm sure no one in East Lansing is complaining....

A few years ago, I was angry that the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens and in state rival Delaware State never played at all. But the two schools finally met in the FCS Playoffs and now face each other regularly.

This time, the focus is on the Arkansas Razorbacks, who refuse to play the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference. This season Arkansas State is (9-2, 7-0 Sun Belt) while the Razorbacks are (10-1, 6-1 SEC).

I don't know what the problem is with Arkansas, but this meeting could only bolster the enthusiasm in that state. The Razorbacks should change their name to the "Arkansas Chickens."

There are lots of other great in state rivalries.

Why should an SEC powerhouse even worry about facing a Sun Belt Conference school when most of these games guarantee big pay days for the underdog schools, and seldom do you see wins from these institutions when they play?

Arkansas is coached by a man that didn't have the guts to finish an NFL Season with the Atlanta Falcons named Bobby Petrino. If Petrino had the guts to schedule Arkansas State, I might not be as critical of him. But I know he doesn't have the courage to face the Red Wolves.

Years ago, the college basketball rivalry which reminded me of "Dodgeball" was Kentucky VS Louisville. They were forced to face each other in the NCAA Tournament and that sparked the beginning of a rivalry which is going strong.

The folks in Arkansas should have former President Bill Clinton mediate this boneheaded impasse....

Two major droughts ended on Saturday.

Baylor University, a private Christian institution of 15,000 students located in Waco, Texas., went into Saturday's home game against the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners 0-20 all-time against their rival from Norman. Most of these games weren't even close.

The No. 22 Bears (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) finally ended years of misery thanks to the performance of Robert Griffin III by improving to 1-21 as the quarterback threw for 479 yards, four touchdowns including a 34-yarder to Terrance Williams with eight seconds left in the game ending Oklahoma's chances of winning a BCS Championship.

The Virginia Cavaliers (8-3, 5-2 ACC) snapped Florida State's five game winning streak with it's fourth straight win in this 14-13 road triumph.

The Cavaliers had never won in Tallahassee going 0-8 in their previous trips to the Florida State Capital. Virginia is now 1-8 in the Panhandle.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Denver Broncos Underdog

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If I had to comprise a list of athletes that I truly despise, Deion Sanders, Brian Bosworth and Dan Marino would rank at the top of my list.

Six NFL players that I truly enjoyed were John Elway, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Barry Sanders and Bo Jackson.

Then there are the numerous busts which could cost General Managers and Head Coaches there jobs.

The six that come to mind are Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, JaMarcus Russell and Tony Mandarich.

But if there is one athlete that I'm really hoping succeeds, it's Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow.  He's a player that you hope doesn't fall into the category, "Nice Guys Finish Last."

The coach who served as Tebow's biggest supporter was former Broncos head coach and current St. Louis Rams Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. Despite Tebow's unorthodox throwing motion and lack of experience under center, McDaniels never had the chance to complete his pet project.

Over the years, I've always found myself in an underdog role.

Dating back to my college days at Broward Community College in Pembroke Pines, Florida., and the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, in addition to learning a new profession selling in the Home Improvement Business, I always relished the opportunity to prove my doubters and critics wrong.

I'll never forget in 1983 when I was in a Bowling Class, I won a trophy for "Most Unusual Form." This came after my late Uncle Sam Morganroth, who lived in Cape Coral, Florida., and I used to go bowling a lot when I visited him for three day weekends. But I could never get comfortable throwing the ball the proper way. When I won that trophy, Uncle Sam did get a few laughs.

My father has been great giving me his old slip on shoes because I don't like tying them. To this day, I don't have the patience to tie them.

I've always invested into clip on ties or had the knots made in advance.

So I can totally relate to Tebow. He's had many people work on his throwing motion but still can't seem to make that transformation. He reminds me of former NFL Quarterback Bernie Kosar.  Despite his awkward style of throwing, Kosar played in the NFL from 1985-1996.

Although Tebow has abnormalities in his throwing motion, plus a sub-par NFL arm to go deep, the former Florida Gator is a winner.

He's an exceptionally elusive signal caller and rushed for 118 yards in the Broncos 38-24 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Very rarely do you see a quarterback rush for nearly more yards than he had passing. But Tebow managed 124 yards in the air for a six yards differential.

Despite the 45-10 pounding and seven sack performance to the Detroit Lions 11 days ago, the former Heisman Trophy Winner rebounded nicely on the road in Oakland. He-s 3-3 as a starter and you don't win a BCS National Championship by accident.

The bottom line is the Denver Broncos have to create a system which Tebow can flourish in. Coach John Fox and Elway know that and have to figure it out.

If these two can work on Tebow's passing game, surround him with good receivers and tight-ends, he'll be fine. They need to provide him with good running backs and this will give him a solid security blanket in the backfield both as rushers and in the short passing game.

But there is one intangible that Tebow doesn't need to work on.

He's a high character person!

Don't expect him in handcuffs anytime soon and taking mug shuts or getting finger printed in jail. I don't care if he demonstrates his faith publicly.

He will serve the Denver community proud whether it's at football camps instructing kids or at any public event delivering speeches. Overall, he seems to be a nice guy and his No.15 jerseys do sell and bring the Broncos revenue. He's a good role model.

Don't expect Tebow to blow a gasket at reporters as Leaf did in the San Diego Chargers locker-room when he alienated the media.

Time will tell if Tebow ever develops into a good NFL quarterback, but with his Blue Collar work ethic, at the age of 24, at least he's professional, conscientious, and has the determination to make you want to root for him.

He has plenty of time to develop with the right coaching.

Will Tebow ever make the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

That's a major stretch.

But if he starts winning, then adding Super Bowl rings to his resume, then this Underdog will prove his critics and doubters wrong.

But right now, he's a Hall of Fame Person and one individual that we won't see in Commissioner Roger Goodell's office for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy.

You know Goodell is rooting for Tebow along with many others.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Relief In Kansas City

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Miami Dolphins will not join Lions in The 0-16 Club, but they have another thing in common with the players from Detroit.

On September 18, 2011, Detroit hammered the Kansas City Chiefs 48-3 at Ford Field.

To earn their first victory of the season, Miami limited Kansas City to a field goal and pounded the Chiefs 31-3 at Arrowhead Stadium.

But despite my criticism of the Dolphins yesterday, by no means am I ready to jump on their bandwagon. The organization is still a mess. The team is 1-7!

However, on Sunday, certain players lived up to their potential. Reggie Bush rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown. He added 50-yards in receiving. Brandon Marshall caught eight passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback Matt Moore threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went to tight end Anthony Fasano. Moore had a QB rating of 147.5 and zero interceptions.

Since the start of the 2010 season, the Dolphins have made a turnover in every game. Today's win over Kansas City produced zero turnovers.

Former Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn, who watched the Lions long losing streak end, is an assistant coach for the Chiefs. He's been through this drill.

But in the end, what did we learn about Miami's win?

First, founding owner Joe Robbie won't turn over in his grave because there won't be an Imperfect Season in his stadium.

Second, the Dolphins can focus their quarterback search in the 2012 NFL Draft to Landry Jones of the Oklahoma Sooners instead of Stanford's Andrew Luck, who could be headed to the Indianapolis Colts.

Third, the team is playing hard under embattled Head Coach Tony Sparano and the three hour flight to South Florida had to be much more satisfying.

Now the question remains, can the Dolphins go 2-0 against NFL teams that have Indian Nicknames?

The Dolphins face the Washington Redskins on Sunday November 13, 2011 at Joe Robbie Stadium. Miami's next goal is to avoid being the eighth team in NFL History to lose 15 games if they fail to win a contest the rest of the season.

But although I saw the Dolphins losing Sunday against Kansas City, I know that the whole football world is shocked as to what happened in Western Missouri.

However, on Saturday, the Northwestern Wildcats (4-5) upset the No. 10 Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-2) in Lincoln, 28-25.

So you can rest assure that this part of the Midwest was quite shocked as to what happened the entire weekend on the gridiron.

The visitors put the Stop Sign on some major losing and certainly validated the fact that games are won on the field and not on paper.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.