TCU's Hughes Wins Ted Hendricks Award

TCU's Jerry Hughes has been selected as the winner of the 2009 Ted Hendricks Award, recognizing him as the nation's top defensive end.

Hughes was informed of the honor via a Tuesday night phone call from Hendricks, a College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame member. The Ted Hendricks Award will be presented to Hughes on March 21 at the Doral Golf Resort in Miami, Fla.

A two-time All-American, Hughes received nearly 60 percent of the votes cast in the final round of balloting.

Other finalists were Jeremy Beal (Oklahoma), Brandon Graham (Michigan), Sergio Kindle (Texas), Von Miller (Texas A&M), Derrick Morgan (Georgia Tech) and Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh).

"Jerry Hughes has been a consistently outstanding performer in his four-year career at TCU," Hendricks said. I have enjoyed watching him become one of the top defensive ends in the nation. It has been a rare occurrence that our voting process has included as many as seven finalists.

"It's a huge credit to Jerry that he emerged with the overwhelming majority of the vote. I am very pleased to announce that Jerry Hughes is our 2009 winner. It's well-deserved!"

Hughes anchors the nation's top-ranked defense. He has 15 tackles for loss, including 11 1/2 sacks, among a career-high 54 stops. The Horned Frogs are 12-0 and headed to the Fiesta Bowl for their first BCS appearance.

A senior from Sugar Land, Texas, Hughes is a two-time finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, honoring the nation's top defensive player. He is also a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy and Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

After traveling to Charlotte, N.C., Monday for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy banquet, Hughes will be in Houston Wednesday for the Rotary Lombardi Award presentation. He will also head to Newport Beach, Calif., Sunday for the Lott Trophy announcement.

Hughes is just the third player to become a two-time Hendricks Award finalist.

Hughes is on pace to graduate this spring, in four years, with a degree in communications. In October, he received a Local Hero Award from Bank of America for his work in the community.

Photo Courtesy of College Press Box

BCS Busters Week Two Preview

Game of the Week: East Carolina @ West Virginia

The first test for the Pirates will be a hard one. Morgantown is one of the toughest places to play in all of college football. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney needs to get over his week one performance and play the way a veteran quarterback of his caliber can play if ECU is to beat a good West Virginia team. They will also need to stop the Mountaineers’ potent rushing attack led by running back Noel Devine, who rushed for 112 yards and one touchdown on just 17 attempts against Liberty. Mountaineer quarterback Jarrett Brown will be hard to contain due to his ability to get out of the pocket and run. He rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown while going 19-of-26 for 243 yards. If they can contain these two playmakers of West Virginia and limit their turnovers on offense, they should leave Morgantown with a win.

Players to Watch: East Carolina: QB Patrick Pinkney, RB Dominique Lindsay, DE C.J. Wilson

Players to Watch: West Virginia: QB Jarrett Brown, RB Noel Devine, CB Robert Sands

Prediction: West Virginia 27, East Carolina 20

Other Games to Watch:

TCU @ Virginia: The Frogs get a lowly ACC opponent in Virginia who is coming off a loss to William & Mary. This should be a good way for the Frogs to get into the swing of things to start their season. Look for Jerry Hughes to get into the backfield and disrupt the offense of Virginia.
Prediction: TCU 24, Virginia 17

Fresno State @ Wisconsin: Fresno State is coming off an offensive outburst against UC Davis, led by a number of backs who are able to carry the ball effectively. They now have to get the ground game going against a much tougher Wisconsin defense if they want to emerge victorious.
Prediction: Wisconsin 35, Fresno State 21

Colorado @ Toledo: After carrying the ball only 22 times and throwing 69 times against Purdue, the Rockets will need to find their run game if they are to have a chance against Colorado.
Prediction: Colorado 39, Toledo 14

Kansas @ UTEP: The Miners will need to slow down the Jayhawks’ offense and succeed in their balanced attack—as they did against Buffalo—in order to come out of this one with a win.
Prediction: Kansas 31, UTEP 20

Photos Courtesy of East Carolina University Athletic Media Relations, TCU Athletics Media Relations

NFF: Chalk Talk

News and Notes From Around College Football for Dec. 15, 2008

Cal Center Alex Mack Named 2008 Draddy Trophy Recipient

Center Alex Mack of California captured the 19th annual Draddy Award at the 51st annual NFF Awards Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York. He earned the 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship. $277,000 was awarded to Mack and the other 14 Draddy Trophy finalists, who each claimed $18,000 scholarships for postgraduate educations.

Mack already has graduated magna cum laude from Cal with a 3.61 GPA and a bachelor's degree in legal studies. The projected first-round NFL Draft pick was a two-time First Team All-Pac-10 selection, two-time Rimington Trophy finalist, and a four-time Academic All-Pac-10 selection. He will lead the Golden Bears against Miami (Fla.) in the 2008 Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27.

NFF Appoints New Board Members

The NFF & College Hall of Fame has added four exceptional individuals, who all played college football before going onto stellar business careers, as members of its national board of directors. Joining 43 other active members of the prestigious board are James A. Haslam II, founder and chairman of the Pilot Corporation; Ronnie Lott, founder HRJ Capital and a College Football Hall of Famer from Southern California; John J. Mack, chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley; and George Pyne, president IMG Sports & Entertainment.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to Honor 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Class

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will celebrate the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Class during pregame ceremonies on Jan. 5, when No. 10 Ohio State faces No. 3 Texas in Glendale, Ariz. Highlights include the traditional on-field recognition prior to kickoff and participation in the 38th annual Fort McDowell Yavapai National Fiesta Bowl Parade on Jan. 3, 2009. The 2008 class members include: Coaches John Cooper and Lou Holtz, who captured a national championship at the Fiesta Bowl with Notre Dame in 1988; Troy Aikman, UCLA; Billy Cannon, LSU; Jim Dombrowski, Virginia; Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; Wilber Marshall, Florida; Rueben Mayes, Washington State; Randall McDaniel, Arizona State; Don McPherson, Syracuse; Jay Novacek, Wyoming; Dave Parks, Texas Tech; Ron Simmons, Florida State; Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State; and Arnold Tucker, Army.

Voting Has Reopened for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award

College football fans can visit www.CoachoftheYear.com from now until December 22 to cast their vote for the 2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. On the site fans can review bios and testimonials supporting each of the 25 finalists before they make their selection.

The finalists - 10 from the Football Bowl Subdivision and five each from the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II and Division III - are now in the running for an award that includes $50,000 towards civic and charitable activities, $20,000 in scholarship donations for their schools' alumni associations, and permanent recognition in the College Football Hall of Fame.

They were determined by a combination of hundreds of thousands of fan votes at www.CoachoftheYear.com and an objective scoring model endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame. The scoring model considers such criteria as wins, team penalties, academic achievement by student-athletes, and civic and philanthropic commitments.

After this season, the total Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year charitable and scholarship contributions since 2006 will reach $680,000.

Bowl Notes

A record 68 teams are lined up for 34 FBS postseasons contests, starting Dec. 20 with the inaugural EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C. There were 72 bowl-eligible squads for the 68 contracted FBS postseason positions.

Cincinnati is the 43rd different school to play in a BCS contest... Southern California has played in a record seven-consecutive BCS contests... The 2009 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl between Clemson and Nebraska is the first meeting of the two schools since the Tigers edged the Huskers 22-15 in the 1982 Orange Bowl for CU's only national championship.

NCAA/NAIA Championships

FCS (formerly Division I-AA) - Friday, Dec. 19: Montana vs. Richmond in Chattanooga, Tenn. (ESPN2)

Division II - Saturday, Dec. 13: Minnesota- Duluth def. Northwest Missouri State in Florence, Ala.

Division III - Saturday, Dec. 20: Mount Union (Ohio), led by NFF Draddy Trophy finalist Greg Micheli vs. Wisconsin- Whitewater in Salem, Va. (ESPN2)

Russell Athletic NAIA Championship - Saturday, Dec. 20: Carroll (Mont.) vs. Sioux Falls (S.D.) in Rome, Ga. (CBS College Sports Network)

NFF News

The NFF Northern Ohio Chapter has been renamed the Mike Cleary Chapter, in honor of the longtime executive director of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and lifetime NFF member. The surprise announcement was made at last Tuesday's NFF Chapter Luncheon at the Waldorf=Astoria.

Worldwide membership now is at 12,000-plus in 119 chapters.

For the weekly College Football Insiders newsletter, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announcements and more information on the NFF and college football, please visit www.footballfoundation.com.

Two-Minute Drill

Coach Lou Holtz appeared on "Regis and Kelly" last Tuesday prior to his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame that evening... Oklahoma has set a modern FBS record (and counting) with 702 points in 13 games this season... Southern California has won or tied a record seven consecutive Pacific-10 Conference football crowns... Harvard won or shared its first back-to-back Ivy League titles since 1982-83... Grambling downed Jackson State 41- 9 for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship last week in Birmingham, Ala.... Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, 2008 NFF Draddy Trophy finalist, joined head coach Mike Leach in a private White House tour last Saturday and meeting with President George W. Bush... Rutgers' football program was mentioned prominently in Sports Illustrated's year-end issue as one of the leaders and key volunteer groups for Special Olympics... Tulsa football student-athletes visited Tulsa's Sequoyah Elementary School to emphasize staying in school and general academics on the day before the Conference USA championship... Wake Forest athletics' team members participated in a Santa's Helpers toy and gift drive for underserved youngsters... USF student-athletes and administrators gathered over 1,200 pounds of food for local pantries and holiday disbursement... Michigan State hosted a special Team for Toys event to help fill the stockings of area children... The Southern Conference raised over $18,500 for the Komen Foundation Dig for the Cure cancer research fund... The Ball State-Buffalo Marathon MAC Championship contest at Ford Field in Detroit drew a Mid-American Conference all- time-high national rating of 1.7 on the Nielsen scale.

The Rutgers Board of Governors formally approved $102 million to expand the school's stadium to 54,000 and add other amenities... TCU began work on another phase of Amon Carter Stadium expansion and renovation.

Auburn named Gene Chizik as its new head coach... Gary Andersen has taken over as head coach at Utah State... Dave Clawson accepted the top spot at Bowling Green... Dan Mullen has been named head coach at Mississippi State... Doug Marrone has received the new nod at Syracuse... David Yost has become Missouri's new offensive coordinator... Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin has been given a contract extension... Former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer will remain on campus as assistant to the university's president.

National individual award recipients: Heisman - Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; Davey O'Brien - Bradford; Maxwell - Tim Tebow, Florida; Walter Camp National Player of the Year - Colt McCoy, Texas; Bednarik - Rey Maualuga, Southern California; Biletnikoff - Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech; Lou Groza - Graham Gano; Ray Guy - Matt Fodge, Oklahoma State; Outland - Andre Smith, Alabama; Jim Thorpe - Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State; Doak Walker - Shonn Greene, Iowa; Home Depot Coach - Nick Saban, Alabama; NCFAA Contributions to College Football - Bobby Bowden (2006 NFF co-Gold Medal recipient, 2006 Hall of Fame inductee); Lott - James Laurinaitis, Ohio State; Rimington - A.Q. Shipley, Penn State; Bronko Nagurski and Rotary Lombardi - Brian Orakpo, Texas; Butkus - Aaron Curry, Wake Forest; Johnny Unitas Golden Arm - Graham Harrell, Texas Tech; John Mackey - Chase Coffman, Missouri... The Harlon Hill NCAA Division II Player of the Year Award went to Abilene Christian's Bernard Scott.

2008 Hall of Fame inductee Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern was named 2008 Coach of the Year by the Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club... 2008 NFF Draddy finalist Georgia Tech DT Darryl Richard earned the ACC's 2008 James E. Tatum Award, as top senior student-athlete in football... For the first time in football history, the SEC selected tri-Coaches of the Year - Alabama's Nick Saban, Mississippi's Houston Nutt and Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson... Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo has been selected as NCAA FBS Independent Teams 2008 Coach of the Year... Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson captured the Frank Broyles Award as top FBS assistant coach in '08... Former New York mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani has been denoted as the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) 2009 Tuss McLaughry Award recipient... The Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame inducted five football standouts: Tony Hill (Stanford), Arthur James (East Texas State), Aaron Wallace (Texas A&M), Richmond Webb (Texas A&M) and Kevin Williams (Miami, Fla.).

Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster and AD Joel Maturi joined Kansas head coach Mark Mangino and AD Lew Perkins in presiding over the opening bell of the NASDAQ Monday in New York. It was part of a special promotion for Insight Enterprises and the Insight Bowl... Georgia Tech is providing free, three-day shipping for athletics' gear and football bowl apparel for holiday gifts and special pricing for Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl souvenirs with the custom Yellow Jackets' logos... Utah's fan demand for online ticket purchases for the Allstate Sugar Bowl was so heavy last week that the server had to be closed down for part of last Friday. Orders were taken by phone and in person... The 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl has sold out its ticket allotment. College Football Hall of Famer Joe Theismann will be the headline speaker at the bowl's Kickoff Luncheon... Ole Miss is playing in its first AT&T Cotton Bowl since 1956, as the Rebels and Texas Tech meet in the 73rd and final Classic at Dallas' Cotton Bowl Stadium. Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger will call the game from the booth... Analyst Tim Ryan will call the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl with Matt Vasgerian.

Tom Dillon, 65, voice of Arizona State athletics from 1973-97 and a lead announcer for Sports USA Radio football contests in recent years, died in Phoenix, Ariz.

NFF: Chalk Talk

News and Notes From Around College Football

Historical Moments in NFF Annual Awards Dinner History

50 Years Ago - Oct. 28, 1958 - 10 standouts receive their College Hall of Fame plaques at the inaugural Awards Dinner at the then-Astor Hotel (later Waldorf=Astoria). U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (a standout at Army) is awarded the inaugural NFF Gold Medal, and "Four Horsemen" member Harry Stuhldreher of Notre Dame joins the likes of Michigan's Harry Kipke among the Hall of Famers honored at the only Awards Dinner not held in December.

25 Years Ago - 1983 - U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon join celebrity Bob Hope, the New York Metropolitan Opera's Robert Merrill, and dozens of other dignitaries to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Awards Dinner. Nine previous 24 NFF Gold Medal recipients, including Presidents Ford and Nixon, salute '83 Gold Medal honoree U.S. Rep. and football standout Jack Kemp.

10 Years Ago - 1998 - Noted businessman and longtime NFF supporter John McConnell receives the 41st NFF Gold Medal while the Awards Dinner celebrates many other achievers from the football world. Southeastern Conference commissioner and Bowl Championship Series mastermind Roy Kramer receives Distinguished American laurels.

Five Years Ago - 2003 - The 46th Awards Dinner lauds 135 seasons of college football history since the Princeton-Rutgers contest in 1869 and salutes 12 inductees into the College Hall of Fame. Heisman Trophy executive Rudy Riska captures the Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award while quarterback Craig Krenzel of Ohio State is presented the 14th annual Draddy Trophy for academic excellence and football leadership.

Liberty Mutual Insurance and NFF Chairman Archie Manning to Announce 2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award Finalists

Tomorrow, Liberty Mutual Insurance and NFF Chairman Archie Manning will announce the 25 finalists for the 2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, at the National Football Foundation's Annual Awards press conference.

The finalists - 10 from the Football Bowl Subdivision and five each from the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II and Division III - have been determined by a combination of hundreds of thousands of fan votes at www.CoachoftheYear.com and an objective scoring model endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame. The scoring model considers such criteria as wins, team penalties, academic achievement by student-athletes, and civic and philanthropic commitments.

Finalists will be in the running for an award that includes $50,000 towards civic and charitable activities, $20,000 in scholarship donations for their schools' alumni associations, and permanent recognition in the College Football Hall of Fame.

BCS Notes

Oklahoma grabbed the No. 1 spot for the first time in the final BCS Standings for 2008. Florida finished the season at No. 2, while Texas, Alabama and Southern California rounded out the top five.

Appearances at No. 1 (through Dec. 7, 2008): Oklahoma 18; Ohio State 15, Southern California 15; Florida State 7; Miami (Fla.) 7; Alabama 5, Nebraska 5; Tennessee 5, Texas 3, LSU 2, Missouri 1; UCLA 1 - total of 12 schools, 84 standings.

FBS Conference Champions: ACC - Virginia Tech; Big East - Cincinnati; Big Ten -- (co) Penn State, Ohio State; Big 12 - Oklahoma; Conference USA - East Carolina; Mid-American - Buffalo; Mountain West - Utah; Pacific-10 - Southern California; SEC - Florida; Sun Belt - Troy; WAC - Boise State.

2008-09 BCS Bowl Match- Ups

Rose Bowl Presented by Citi - Penn State vs. Southern California, Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m. ABC

FedEx Orange - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech, Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. FOX

Allstate Sugar - Alabama vs. Utah, Jan. 2, 8 p.m. FOX

Tostitos Fiesta - Ohio State vs. Texas, Jan. 5, 8 p.m. FOX

FedEx BCS National Championship - Florida vs. Oklahoma, Jan. 8, 8 p.m. FOX

Rose Bowl Announces 2008 Hall of Fame Class

Former USC standout wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, first permanent Rose Bowl game manager Virgil Lubberden and former Michigan quarterback Chuck Ortmann will be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on Dec. 31 during ceremonies at the Rose Bowl Game Kickoff Luncheon presented by Trader Joe's.

The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 1989 and has honored 92 inductees over the last 20 years. A permanent plaque in the inductees' honor will be placed at The Court of Champions at the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Two-Minute Drill

Former Clemson interim head coach Dabo Swinney has been named permanent mentor for the Tigers...Steve Sarkisian was named head coach a< Washington... Utah State named Gary Andersen head football coach... Chip Kelly was named coach in waiting at Oregon... Mike Locksley was named head coach at New Mexico... Tim Beckman is the new head coach at Toledo... Nebraska and Wyoming have agreed to a three-game series starting in 2011... Texas Tech's Mike Leach received a three-year contract extension... Mike Gundy received a seven-year extension from Oklahoma State... Purdue hired Gary Nord as offensive coordinator... Mount Union (Ohio) has an NCAA-all- divisions-record 14 consecutive seasons with 500- plus points... 2006 Draddy Award winner, Rutgers All- America and current St. Louis Rams RB Brian Leonard joined author Thomas J. Frusciano at the Rutgers Bookstore last week for signings of "The Rutgers Football Vault," a collaborative book detailing the extensive history Scarlet Knights' football. With a forward by current Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and an afterword by Leonard, the colorful 144-page book details 139 years of Rutgers football, which faced Princeton in the first intercollegiate contest in 1869.

Five finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award are Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell, Texas QB Colt McCoy, Florida QB Tim Tebow, and Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree... The 10 finalists for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Manning Award, given to a top national FBS quarterback and named in honor of NFF chairman of the board Archie Manning and sons Peyton and Eli, are Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), Chase Daniel (Missouri), Nate Davis (Ball State), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Brian Johnson (Utah), Colt McCoy (Texas), Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State), Mark Sanchez (USC), Matthew Stafford (Georgia), and Tim Tebow (Florida)... Finalists for the 2008 Broyles Award for nation's top FBS assistant coach are Utah's Gary Andersen, TCU's Dick Bumpas, Ball State's Stan Parrish, Florida's Charlie Strong, and Oklahoma's Kevin Wilson... The Southeastern Conference AT&T Legends for last week's title game were NFF Hall of Famer Billy Ray Smith of Arkansas, Alabama's Bart Starr, Auburn's Al Del Greco, Florida's Errict Rhett, Georgia's Eric Zeier, Kentucky's Irv Goode, LSU's Lance Smith, Mississippi State's Tom Goode, South Carolina's Brad Edwards, Tennessee head coach Doug Dickey, and Vanderbilt's Shelton Quarles.

Washington & Lee All-Southern Conference QB Gil Bocetti, 78, died on Nov. 24 at Fayetteville, N.C.... Thornton Sterling, 95, Baylor's oldest living student-athlete, died in Waco, Texas, last week... Former Iowa State RB Stevie Hicks, 25, died in Omaha, Neb.

NFF News

For the weekly College Football Insiders newsletter, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announcements and more information on the NFF and college football, please visit www.footballfoundation.com.

LISTEN TONIGHT! CFI RADIO: CFI WEEKLY

CFI WEEKLY - MONDAY DECEMBER 8, 2008

Click to Listen to Monday's Show

Oklahoma vs. Florida...it's never too early to breakdown the BCS Championship Game. Plus coverage of all the BCS Bowl Games, as well as other bowl games of interest. Who has a gripe? Plus, the latest news...

SPECIAL GUESTS

NADER ABDALLAH of Ohio St., who is playing in Fiesta Bowl vs. Texas. JOHN SEARS, CFI'S Big Ten Insider makes a case for Penn St., Super Scout KELRON SYKES gives is the lowdown on week 15 and Small School Insider JOSH BUCHANAN on the FCS Playoffs.

Photo Credit: OU Athletics Department