Fulmer Stepping Down At Tennessee

Phil Fulmer, the football coach of the University of Tennessee will step down as head coach at the end of this college football season.

Today, ESPN is reporting that after 17 seasons with the Vols football program, Phil Fulmer will step down as head coach at the end of this season.

An official announcement is evidently planned for Monday at 5 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols are accustomed to winning under Fulmer's direction, but for the past two seasons it just hasn't happened.

Both parties met this morning and decided that Fulmer won't return next season. They aren't saying that Fulmer has been fired. Most media outlets are reporting that he is "stepping down."

Tennessee officially named Fulmer head coach on Nov. 29, 1992, and he led the Vols to the 1998 national championship — the school's first since 1951.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL AP TOP 25 NOV 2, 2008

Alabama is the new number #1 in College Football based on two of the top 3 college football ranking polls.

The AP Top 25, arguably the most influential of all the college football polls has posted it's results after Week 10 of the 2008 NCAA College Football season.

The columns are the National Rank, Rank at the beginning of the 2000 season, 2008 season record,ap TOP 25 calculated score.

AP Top 25
1. Alabama (46) 9-0 1,600
2. Texas Tech (12) 9-0 1,528
3. Penn State (6) 9-0 1,525
4. Florida (1) 7-1 1,398
5. Texas 8-1 1,353
6. Oklahoma 8-1 1,324
7. USC 7-1 1,250
8. Oklahoma State 8-1 1,198
9. Boise State 8-0 1,030
10. Utah 9-0 1,028
11. TCU 9-1 958
12. Ohio State 7-2 898
13. Missouri 7-2 830
14. Georgia 7-2 808
15. LSU 6-2 746
16. Ball State 8-0 594
17. Brigham Young 8-1 536
18. Michigan State 8-2 456
19. North Carolina 6-2 418
20. West Virginia 6-2 303
21. California 6-2 288
22. Georgia Tech 7-2 286
23. Maryland 6-2 242
24. Florida State 6-2 128
25. Pittsburgh 6-2 96

Others Receiving Votes
Northwestern 88, Tulsa 72, Kansas 60, Minnesota 23, Cincinnati 16, Oregon State 16, South Carolina 10, Louisville 8, Air Force 6, Arizona 3, CENTRL MICHIGAN 1, South Florida 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Tulsa 19, Minnesota 20, Oregon 23, South Florida 24.

A is For Alabama - The New #1 In College Football Polls

According to the LA Times, Alabama is the new No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' and Associated Press media polls while USC's 56-0 victory against Washington on Saturday only allowed the Trojans to keep pace.

Texas Tech's upset of No.1 Texas in Lubbock on Saturday night caused upheaval in the college football rankings and will no doubt lead to significant changes in this week's Bowl Championship Series standings, which will be released Sunday evening.

Alabama, a 35-0 winner over Arkansas State, took advantage of Texas' upset and rose to the top spot in both indexes.

Alabama is followed in the AP rankings by Texas Tech, Penn State, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma.

USC held its No. 7 position and is followed in the top 10 by Oklahoma State, Boise State and Utah.

Alabama is also No.1 in the coaches' poll, followed by Penn State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Florida.

USC remained at No. 6 and is followed in the coaches' top 10 by Texas, Oklahoma State, Utah and Boise State.

The coaches' poll is used in the BCS standings formula to determine this year's national title-game participants.

The AP poll is no longer used in the formula but still crowns an independent champion.

The final BCS standings will be released Dec. 7. This year's BCS national-title game will be played Jan. 8 at Dolphin Stadium in South Florida.

UCF Being Sued In Football Player Death

On Tuesday, March 18, members of the University of Central Florida football team begin an hour-long weightlifting session on the first workout after spring break.

What happened over the next thirty minutes is disputed but the result was the same - Ereck Plancher collapsed and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:51

Ereck Plancher would have been a redshirt freshman for Central Florida this season. The circumstances surrounding his death in March are still at issue.

Ereck's death has brought into question the school's handling of the situation before, during and after his collapse. His parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit to get to the bottom of their tragedy. Was the school at fault? It is yet to be determined.

However, coaches and trainer for UCF knew of Ereck's condition, sickle-cell trait, that can restrict blood flow to vital parts of the body and cause serious problems during high-intensity workouts.

According to sources, the trainers may not have intimated by the coaching staff not to interfere when the first signs of his stress where noticed. Some of his former teammates were afraid to discuss the matter, fearing their scholarships may be revoked.

In addition, former teammate James Jamison stated that UCF Coach O'Leary, verbally cussed Ereck when he was unable to do jumping jacks after running two sprints from sideline to sideline.

The coaching staff says it was not a rigorous workout but some players disagreed completely.

Two former players who participated in the workout agreed to speak to "Outside the Lines" on the record, though reluctantly:

• The school did not begin interviewing players about the incident until more than a month after it happened; even then, some players with relevant information were never questioned.

"They never tell us really how he died," Plancher's Haitian-born father, Enock, says. "They only tell us he collapse and died. That's all they tell us."

On July 17, the Orange County Medical Examiner released its final autopsy report. It stated that Ereck's death was linked to sickle-cell trait, which "predisposed him to sickling of the red blood cells during periods of physical stress." Two weeks later, the Planchers informed the school of their intent to sue, alleging Ereck "experienced exhaustion, dizziness, shortness of breath, and other signs of extreme fatigue that were ignored by trainers and/or coaches of the University of Central Florida." The Planchers say they hope to prevent other families from confronting the same pain they have endured.

Shortly after Plancher's death, O'Leary told his players to avoid talking to the media about the incident, according to Jamison, Reams, other former players and one current player who requested anonymity. UCF employs a document titled "Catastrophic Incident Guideline," which lays out actions to be taken in the wake of an athlete's death or severe injury. Regarding responsibilities of various personnel, it calls on the head coach to "encourage other student-athletes to not discuss the incident."

Now, with the lawsuit filed, coaches, players and trainers are reluctant to talk due to recommendation from legal advisers.

Texas Tech Over Texas - Week 10 College Football

College Pick of The Week - Week 10
Texas Tech (#6) Over Texas (#1)




TEAMS
Texas Longhorns (8-0) at Texas Tech Red Raiders(8-0)

GAME INFO
November 1, 2008
Time: 8:00 P.M. EST
TV: ABC
Venue: Clifford B. & Audrey Jones Stadium Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech)
Weather: Clear 48 degrees Wind 4 mph

SPREAD
Texas Tech (+3 1/2) Under/Over 72 (Mirage Las Vegas*)

TEAM STANDINGS
The Texas Longhorns, ranked #1 in the national polls is 4-0 in their conference, the Big 12, and 8-0 overall. They beat Oklahoma State 28-24 last Saturday

The Texas Tech Red Raiders, ranked #6 nationally. They are 4-0 in their conference, the Big 12 tied for first place with none other than the Texas Longhorns. They are also 8-0 overall.

MOMENTUM
Texas has remained undefeated by answering each challenge in a series of games against ranked teams that's coming to an end this week.

Texas Tech has put together its own unbeaten start, but its tough stretch is just beginning.

The top-ranked Longhorns look for their fourth straight win over a team ranked 11th or better on Saturday night when they visit the No. 6 Red Raiders, who are hoping to protect their highest ranking in 32 years in the second of four consecutive games against Top 25 opponents.

Texas (8-0, 4-0 Big 12) took over the top spot after defeating then-No. 1 Oklahoma on Oct. 11. The Longhorns followed that up with a 56-31 victory over then-No. 11 Missouri on Oct. 18 and a 28-24 win over then-No. 7 Oklahoma State last Saturday, becoming the first team to earn a unanimous No. 1 ranking in consecutive weeks since Ohio State did it in the last three regular-season weeks of 2006.

Texas coach Mack Brown admits that his team is feeling the effects of facing elite competition over its last several games.

"We're telling our guys to get in bed, get off your feet ... we're trying our best to make sure they can handle this stretch physically and emotionally," he said. "These kids are enjoying playing and what they've accomplished and they're having fun. That really helps."

The Longhorns' tough stretch continues with this meeting against the Big 12 South rival Red Raiders (8-0, 4-0), but none of Texas' final three opponents are currently in the Top 25.

The Red Raiders, however, have plenty of challenges ahead of them. They hadn't faced a Top 25 team until last week, but meet Texas, No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Oklahoma over their next three games.

Texas Tech looked perfectly capable of surviving that stretch in last Saturday's 63-21 rout of then-No. 19 Kansas. Graham Harrell was 34-for-42 for 386 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, and the Red Raiders scored 49 straight points after ending the first quarter in a 14-all tie.

"We went out and executed well," said Harrell, leading the country with 256 completions and 3,147 passing yards while ranking fifth with 28 touchdowns. "When we play like that, we're tough to beat."

The Red Raiders have made a habit of playing like that during their first 8-0 start since 1976, the last time they were ranked this high. They're second in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 556.9 scrimmage yards per game and third with 48.0 points per contest.

Coach Mike Leach, who said before the season began this could be his best team since taking over in 2000, downplayed the hype when asked if this was the biggest game ever for Texas Tech.

"No bigger than the eight that led up to it," he said. "There wouldn't be the sensation around this one if it wasn't for the other eight."

Those first eight games make this a critical contest for the Red Raiders, who are in position to reach their first Big 12 championship game and first BCS bowl.

"Everybody tries to keep their nose out of the newspaper and not watch the news," senior defensive end Jake Ratliff said. "In years before we've always lost one we shouldn't have. I think we've done a decent job so far of keeping our eye on the prize."

The Longhorns have done the same in their hunt for their second undefeated season in four years. The 2005 national champions are ninth in the FBS with 486.5 scrimmage yards per game and fifth with 45.6 points.

Their biggest weakness, however, could be even more glaring against the Red Raiders. Texas' young secondary is giving up 265.5 passing yards per game, ninth-most in the FBS. That bodes well for Harrell and pass-happy Texas Tech, which leads the nation by averaging 418.4 yards in the air.

Luckily for the Longhorns, they boast a strong passing game of their own. Colt McCoy leads the country with a completion percentage of 81.8, and has thrown 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

McCoy completed a school-record 38 passes for a career-high 391 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win over Oklahoma State, but also threw his first interception in 101 attempts and fumbled a ball away near the OSU goal line in the fourth quarter for the Longhorns' first turnovers since their Big 12 opener against Colorado on Oct. 4. Mistakes like those could prove costly against the Red Raiders when there's pressure to make every possession result in points.

"Those things can get in your head," said McCoy, who led the Big 12 with 18 picks last season. "To be able to put it behind you is something that you can learn, and I've definitely learned that in the last two years."

Texas has averaged 48.0 points in winning five straight against Texas Tech. McCoy was 21-for-30 for 268 yards, four touchdowns and one interception as the Longhorns won 59-43 in Austin last Nov. 10.

Harrell completed 36 of 48 passes for 466 yards, five TDs and one interception in that game, which dropped Leach to 1-7 against Texas. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 42-14.

Copyright 2008 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohi


KEYS TO THE GAME
The Texas defensive secondary is verniable and could mean the difference in the game. The strong passing game of the Red Raiders is impressive. Who ever has the better game will decide the winner.
PICK PREDICTION

TEXAS TECH 44, TEXAS 35

Take the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Over. The line I the game started with the Red Raiders getting 6 points, the spread is now 3 1/2. The Under/Over has stayed around 72 but some Sportbooks are giving as much as 73 1/2.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders have had it pretty easy so far while the Texas Longhorns have had to play back-to-back-to-back national ranks opponents. It will tough for them to keep up their emotional and physical integrity. Texas Tech is also at home.

**source CBS Sports