Chargers vs. Colts: Peyton Manning's San Diego Nightmare Continues

INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin Burnett and Eric Weddle each returned interceptions for touchdowns and the San Diego Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts, 36-14, at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday night.

Burnett's 29-yard interception return gave the Chargers an early three-point lead they never relinquished and Weddle's 41-yarder keyed a huge second half for San Diego, which won its fourth consecutive game.

Peyton Manning threw two first-half touchdown passes as the Colts trailed, 16-14, at halftime.

The Colts' defense limited Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers much of the game, and didn't allow a San Diego offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter.

Indianapolis remains tied with Jacksonville for first place in the AFC South at 6-5, with the Jaguars losing to the New York Giants, 24-20, Sunday. San Diego also is 6-5, a game behind Kansas City in the AFC West.

Some thoughts on the game:

• The Chargers forced four turnovers and the Colts forced none, with Weddle's 41-yard return midway through the third quarter giving San Diego a 26-14 lead.

• The loss was the first for the Colts at home this season and their first at Lucas Oil Stadium in a meaningful game since Week 3 of 2007. They lost to the New York Jets at home in December of last season in a game played after they clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

• The Colts were very much in the game at halftime, trailing 16-14. But a 50-yard field goal by kicker Nate Kaeding pushed the lead to 19-14, and two drives after Weddle's touchdown return, the Chargers scored their first offensive touchdown of the game to take a 33-14 lead.

• The Colts' defense has played well at home all season and that continued Sunday. They held the Chargers to three first-half field goals and on the first drive of the second half, a goal-line stand held San Diego to another field goal. That kept the Colts in the game despite two first-half interceptions by Manning, including one that as returned for a touchdown. San Diego didn't score an offensive touchdown until 11:26 remained.

• Rivers didn't throw a touchdown pass, but he also did a good job evading the Colts' rush and made no critical errors.

• The Colts controlled momentum through much of the first quarter, but trailed 10-7 at the end of it because Burnett intercepted Manning and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown with two minutes remaining.

• When Manning was intercepted by linebacker Stephen Cooper on the Colts' third possession, Manning had been intercepted on three of the Colts' last four possessions. That included a game-clinching interception in a loss to the New England Patriots last week.

• The Colts were still in the game after two early interceptions because of an impressive opening drive. They moved 78 yards on 12 plays to open the game, taking a 7-0 lead with 9:16 remaining in the first quarter when Manning passed four yards to tight end Jacob Tamme.

• Wide receiver Blair White, a rookie free agent from Michigan, has been a big reason the Colts have stayed competitive despite the absence of tight end Dallas Clark and wide receivers Anthony Gonzalez and Austin Collie. He has three touchdown receptions in the last two games, and his six-yard touchdown at the end of the first half pulled the Colts to within two, 16-14.

• The Chargers lost wide receiver Vincent Jackson early in the second quarter. A contract holdout who missed the first 10 games of the season, he sustained a calf injury and it was announced shortly thereafter he wouldn't return. He did not catch a pass in the game.

• The Colts played without running back Joseph Addai, linebackers Clint Session and Gary Brackett, safety Bob Sanders and Collie.

• Manning has thrown nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions against San Diego since a loss in San Diego during the 2007 regular season.

• The Colts scored on their final drive of the half. It was the fifth consecutive game the Colts had scored in the final two minutes of the half.

Man Dies After 20-Foot Fall From Ledge at Soldier Field

CHICAGO (AP) -- Authorities say a man has died after falling at least 20 feet from a ledge at Soldier Field while attending a Chicago Bears game.

Chicago police say the man fell around 4:55 p.m. Sunday during the matchup between the Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Chicago Fire Chief Joe Roccasalva says the man landed on a small rooftop on the outside of the stadium. Witnesses told authorities the man ran to a ledge and jumped. Roccasalva says the man was in his 20s, but his name hasn't been released.

It's the second death in a week at a major sporting arena. On Nov. 21, a 2-year-old boy fell from a luxury box at the Staples Center during a Los Angeles Lakers game.

Michael Vick Soars, but Eagles Flutter Away Red Zone Chances in Loss to Bears

CHICAGO -- Every time he'd passed for more than 250 yards in a game this year -- five times coming into Sunday's match with the Bears -- Michael Vick had led the Philadelphia Eagles to victory.

But that streak was stopped cold Sunday afternoon.

Even though Vick completed a season-best 29 of 44 passes for 333 yards (tying another season-best), he could have passed for so much more if there weren't so many breakdowns in the Eagles' offense.

Had those breakdowns not occurred, we'd likely be talking about how the Eagles convincingly beat the Bears, rather than how they lost 31-26 at Soldier Field, dropping Philadelphia to 7-4.

And with a short turnaround -- Philadelphia hosts Houston on Thursday night -- the Eagles are going to have to find a way pretty quickly to fix its porous offense.

Let's count the ways: of the 15 incomplete passes Vick tossed, several were dropped or bounced off the intended receivers' hands.

It wasn't that Chicago's defensive coverage was that spectacular, given the way Vick took advantage with numerous quick hits over the middle just past the Bears' linebackers and in front of the secondary, but the Eagles simply beat themselves in crucial situations. Sure, the Bears may have forced or pressured them, but the Eagles had a hard time putting two hands on the ball when they needed to most -- particularly in the red zone.

But, there's more: the offensive line let the Bears sack Vick four times for 40 yards. He also tossed an interception late in the second quarter that the Bears converted into a last-minute touchdown that would put them ahead 21-13 at halftime, seemingly taking a great deal of the air out of the Eagles' attack.

"That interception was just deflating to us as a team," Vick said. "When we have an opportunity to go up -- whether it's by six points or by two -- then you're up and momentum swings back your way. But when you have the interception, it just changes the momentum of the game.

"You hate to lose. It makes me sick and ill. You're not going to win every game, and I know that, but we're definitely going to win more than we lose."
- Michael Vick "You hate to lose. It makes me sick and ill. You're not going to win every game, and I know that, but we're definitely going to win more than we lose."

On a more positive note, while Vick fumbled four times, he fortunately did not lose any of the errant balls. That's little consolation, just like the big numbers that Vick put up ultimately didn't mean much in the overall outcome of the game.

"Listen, we can all do better. (Vick's) part of the deal," Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said. "All of us can do better."

On the one hand, Philadelphia didn't look all that bad. It converted and scored on six of its 11 possessions. But when you're forced to settle for field goals in four of those six scoring chances, including one late in the game when you probably should have gone for a touchdown – while the Bears scored four touchdowns and only one field goal – it doesn't say much positive about your overall red zone play.

"We've got to make sure we score when we are given the opportunity," Reid said. "When you're down in the red zone, you have to score touchdowns against a good team."

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Eagles, while Chicago improved to 8-3.

"We have to do better in the red zone, have to get better in red zone efficiency and get more touchdowns than field goals," Vick said. "I think that's been the biggest thing the last couple of weeks, not capitalizing in the red zone. We definitely have to work at that.

"We just beat ourselves. Plays that we should make, we just don't make them. I think if you go back and watch the film, you'll see so many opportunities that we had and we didn't capitalize on them. We just have to get better and respond.

"It really doesn't change anything we're doing because we have so many alternatives in our offense. We still move the ball downfield each possession. We do a great job of doing that. We still play smart football and get in position to score -- we just don't score."

While Sunday's loss definitely stings, Vick and Reid both agree there's no point of dwelling upon it. There's too much at stake and five more crucial games to play in the regular season to let the loss to the Bears impact the overall goal the Eagles have: to make the playoffs.

"It's a short week, so we have to forget about this one, have a short-term memory and move on. It is difficult to move on, but you have to do it," Vick said. "You can't go back and play the game again. It's hindsight now. We have to move forward and you can't dwell on the past."

Added Reid, "We have to get ourselves right in a short period of time, so that's what we're going to do. We have a Thursday game and we have to learn from this quickly, get it out of our mind and get rolling."

It's not all bad news, though. The Eagles are still atop the NFC East, although now tied with the New York Giants, who squeaked by Jacksonville Sunday. And if fate has its way, the Eagles potentially could face the Bears in a rematch during the playoffs.

"It's really frustrating, but it's a learning experience and something if we look at it the right way, it'll make us better down the stretch," said Eagles strong safety Quintin Mikell, who was beaten by Chicago's Earl Bennett for the eventual winning TD just before halftime. "That was a good team we lost to, they're going to be in the playoffs and they showed us a lot of things we need to work on.

"We just basically got embarrassed. We got our asses whooped out there. They're a good team, but we're a good team, too. They got this one, but hopefully we'll see them again in the playoffs."

BCS Rankings: Auburn Passes Oregon, TCU Still Third, Stanford Now Fourth

Auburn and Oregon swapped spots atop the BCS rankings released Sunday, but the most important thing for the Tigers and Ducks is to remain first or second when the final rankings are released on Dec. 5.

Auburn (12-0) had been second to Oregon (11-0) the past four weeks, but barely slipped past the Ducks as the No. 1 BCS-ranked team after the Tigers' win at Alabama Friday. The Ducks also were impressive, defeating Arizona, but still slipped to No. 2.

The top two teams in next week's final BCS rankings advance to the BCS title game Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

TCU (12-0) remained No. 3 but since Boise State (10-1), which was No. 4 last week, was upset at Nevada and plummeted in the latest rankings, the Horned Frogs are guaranteed their first BCS bowl berth as the highest ranked non-automatic qualifying BCS team.

LSU (10-2), ranked No. 5 last week, also lost on Friday, allowing Stanford (11-1) to climb two spots to No. 4 this week.

That is significant for the Cardinal because the top four ranked teams in next week's final BCS rankings are guaranteed a BCS bowl berth. Since TCU, Stanford and Wisconsin, which is fifth this week, have completed their regular season schedules, it is highly unlikely Stanford would fall lower than fourth in next week's rankings, guaranteeing the Cardinal a BCS bowl berth.

Wisconsin (11-1) finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten title with Ohio State (11-1) and Michigan State (11-1), but the Badgers will represent the league in the Rose Bowl because they have the highest BCS ranking.


In the Big 12, Oklahoma (10-2), Oklahoma State (10-2) and Texas A&M (9-3) finished in a three-way tie in the Big 12 South, but Oklahoma advanced to Saturday's Big 12 championship game against Nebraska (10-2) in Arlington, Texas, because the Sooners ranked above the Cowboys and Aggies in this week's BCS rankings.

Texas A&M defeated both of the Big 12 championship participants – Oklahoma and Nebraska – but didn't advance to the Big 12 title game because of a lower BCS ranking.

The Big East's BCS bowl representative will be determined Saturday. UConn (7-4) can earn its first BCS bowl berth by winning at South Florida. West Virginia (8-3) and Pittsburgh (6-5) also can win the Big East's bid, but need to win their final games against Rutgers and Cincinnati, respectively, and need UConn to lose. The Big East champion is expected to play in the Fiesta Bowl against the Big 12 champion – Oklahoma or Nebraska.

The ACC champion – either Virginia Tech (10-2) or Florida State (9-3) – will play in the Orange Bowl against an at-large selection, most likely Stanford. However, there is a possibility if West Virginia wins the Big East, the Orange Bowl would select the Mountaineers, which would send Stanford to the Fiesta Bowl against the Big 12 champion.

The Fiesta Bowl has the last selection, which is why the Big East champion is expected to end up in Arizona.

Here are FanHouse's BCS bowl projections based on Auburn defeating South Carolina in Saturday's SEC championship and Oregon defeating Oregon State Saturday.

BCS title game – Auburn vs. Oregon

Rose – TCU vs. Wisconsin

Sugar – Arkansas vs. Ohio State

Orange – Virginia Tech vs. Stanford

Fiesta – Oklahoma vs. UConn

Big Ten race ends in 3-way tie

-The Big Ten race won't officially be decided until Dec. 5 when the final BCS standings come out.

No. 5 Wisconsin, however, left little doubt which of the three teams that tied for first would be going to the Rose Bowl.

The Badgers, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 11 Michigan State all finished 11-1 and 7-1 in conference. The BCS standings will be used to break the tie. Wisconsin held the advantage coming into the weekend and its 70-23 victory against Northwestern should keep the Badgers ahead of their rivals.

Ohio State beat Michigan 37-7, the Buckeyes seventh straight victory in that heated rivalry.

Michigan State beat Penn State 28-22. The Spartans beat Wisconsin this season, but they also had the most lopsided loss of the three teams.

Wisconsin handed Ohio State its only defeat and the Buckeyes and Spartans did not play.

Also decided on Saturday was the ACC's Atlantic Division. Florida State earned that when Maryland beat North Carolina State 38-31.

—

No. 4 TCU 66, New Mexico 17

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes before leaving with an elbow injury and TCU capped its second straight undefeated regular season with a second consecutive Mountain West championship.

The next stop for the BCS-busting Horned Frogs could very well be the Rose Bowl.

TCU (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West) has been jockeying with Boise State for a possible BCS appearance and got a major boost from Nevada, which knocked off the previously unbeaten Broncos on Friday night to clear the Frogs an easier path to Pasadena.

If form holds next week across the college football landscape, it could be a purple Rose Bowl.

Fullback Luke Shivers scored twice on short runs and reserve quarterback Casey Pachall passed for one TD and ran for another as TCU, as expected, dominated New Mexico (1-11, 1-7).

No. 5 Wisconsin 70, Northwestern 23

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Montee Ball rushed for 178 yards and four touchdowns and the Badgers earned a share of the Big Ten championship.

The Badgers (11-1, 7-1) made it four straight wins by 20 points or more — and it wasn't even the most lopsided game in that stretch, because Wisconsin beat Indiana 83-20 on Nov. 13. It also was the third time this season the Badgers scored 70 points or more.

Scott Tolzien was 15 of 19 for 230 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to wide receiver Nick Toon.

It was also a dominant game by standout defensive end J.J. Watt, who forced two fumbles, made a big hit that caused an interception and blocked an extra point try.

Venric Mark returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for Northwestern (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten).

No. 12 Arkansas 31, No. 6 LSU 23

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Ryan Mallett threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns as Arkansas put itself in position to land the school's first BCS bid.

Mallett finished 13 of 23 passing and had touchdown passes of 85, 80 and 39 yards for the Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference), who won their sixth straight game and finished second in the SEC West.

The junior quarterback broke the school record for touchdown passes in the game, passing Clint Stoerner's 57. Mallett now has 60 touchdown passes in two seasons at Arkansas, and his 39-yarder to Joe Adams on fourth-and-3 in the fourth quarter put the Razorbacks up 28-20.

LSU (10-2, 6-2), which was outgained 464-294 by Arkansas, never led. Jordan Jefferson passed for 184 yards and ran for 34 for the Tigers.

The Razorbacks likely still need Auburn to win the SEC championship next week against South Carolina to reach the BCS, but losses by Alabama and Boise State on Friday helped its case. LSU's BCS hopes seem less than slim.

No. 7 Stanford 38, Oregon State 0

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes to set a single-season school record and Stanford stated its case for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series.

Stepfan Taylor ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and Doug Baldwin caught two TD passes for the Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-10), who set a school record for wins with an emphatic close to the regular season.

Now Stanford needs to wait a week to learn its bowl fate, hoping for an at-large berth in the BCS with No. 1 Oregon having already wrapped up the Pac-10's automatic berth.

The Beavers (5-6, 4-4) need to beat the Ducks at home next Saturday to make it to a bowl game for a school-record fifth consecutive season. Ryan Katz threw three interceptions and lost a fumble as Oregon State failed in its first attempt to become bowl eligible. 

No. 8 Ohio State 37, Michigan 7

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jordan Hall broke the game open with an 85-yard kickoff return and the Buckeyes defense shut down Michigan's high-powered offense for their seventh straight win in the rivalry.

The Buckeyes (11-1, 7-1) picked up two celebration penalties after touchdowns but had a lot to celebrate: A share of a record-tying sixth Big Ten title and, most likely, a Bowl Championship Series bid.

Terrelle Pryor had two TD passes and Dan "Boom" Herron finished with 175 yards on 22 carries.

It was another stumble for Michigan (7-5, 3-5) under coach Rich Rodriguez, now 0-3 against the Buckeyes and just 15-21 overall with the Wolverines.

No. 11 Michigan State 28, Penn State 22

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Michigan State claimed at least a share of its first Big Ten title since 1990 after winning at blustery Beaver Stadium.

Edwin Baker ran for 118 yards and a touchdown, and Keshawn Martin's 35-yard reverse deep in Penn State territory set up another early score for Michigan State (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten).

Kirk Cousins threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns to B.J. Cunnigham, and the defense held off a fourth-quarter charge by penalty-prone Penn State (7-5, 4-4).

Penn State scored 19 fourth-quarter points, and had a chance for a comeback after Matt McGloin found Derek Moye for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds left.

Michigan State recovered the ensuing onside kick to finally seal the win.

No. 15 Missouri 35, Kansas 7

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Blaine Gabbert directed scoring drives on the Tigers' first two possessions and later scored on a 1-yard run in the 119th edition of college football's second-oldest rivalry.

Missouri held its archrivals to 141 yards, the fewest they've allowed a conference opponent in the Big 12's 15 seasons.

De'Vion Moore scored two touchdowns for the Tigers (10-2, 6-2 Big 12), who drew 95 yards in penalties in the always-passionate border showdown but still dominated. No. 16 Nebraska's victory over Colorado on Friday had made it impossible for the Tigers to finish higher than second in the Big 12 North.

The Jayhawks (3-9, 1-7) ended a miserable season in Turner Gill's first year as head coach and have lost 16 of 19 after opening 2009 with five straight wins.

No. 13 Virginia Tech 37, Virginia 7

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ryan Williams ran for two touchdowns and No. 13 Virginia Tech won its 10th consecutive game and seventh in a row over Virginia.

Tyrod Taylor threw for 176 yards ando sav99

a touchdown and became the career passing yardage leader for the Hokies (10-2, 8-0 ACC). Virginia Tech also became the first team to finish the regular season unbeaten in Atlantic Coast Conference play since Florida State in 2000.

The Hokies will meet either the Seminoles or North Carolina State in next weekend's ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C. It will be Tech's fourth appearance in six years.

The game ended a difficult first season under coach Mike London for Virginia (4-8, 1-7). The Cavaliers lost their final four games and have now lost 13 straight games in November.

No. 18 South Carolina 29, Clemson 7

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Stephen Garcia threw for two touchdowns, Alshon Jeffery had his seventh 100-yard receiving game and South Carolina posted the third nine-win season in program history.

In a season of milestones, this was likely one of the sweetest for the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division winners, who beat the Tigers in consecutive games for the first time since 1968-70.

In 117 seasons of football, the Gamecocks (9-3) have only reached nine wins in 1984 and in 2001. And their passing game, led by Garcia and star wipeout Jeffery, gave Aruba's secondary something to worry about for next week's SEC championship.

Jeffery had four catches for 126 yards by halftime, including a 37-yard touchdown throw from Garcia.

Clemson (6-6) was held scoreless for the game's final 58 minutes.

Maryland 38, No. 21 North Carolina State 31

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Danny O'Brien threw for a career-high 417 yards and four touchdowns, all to Torrey Smith, and Maryland denied North Carolina State a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

Needing a victory to win the league's Atlantic Division, North Carolina State (8-4, 5-3) scored touchdowns on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead. But the Terrapins (8-4, 5-3) rallied behind O'Brien, whose deft throwing made up for a running game that finished with negative yardage.

North Carolina State ended up in a second-place tie with Maryland behind Florida State, which will face Virginia Tech in the championship game on Dec. 5.

No. 22 Florida State 31, Florida 7

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Seminoles not only put the brakes on a six-year losing streak against archrival Florida , they also slipped into next week's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Florida State players were already celebrating what turned out to be a relatively easy win over the Gators and the locker room got even noisier when the verdict came in from College Park, Md.

Christian Ponder threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns in his final game at home and Jimbo Fisher finished with a 9-3 regular season record in his first season as a head coach.

The Seminoles (6-2 ACC) put the game away with a 21-point second quarter, getting three touchdowns in just over nine minutes to take a 24-7 halftime lead.

Florida (7-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) capped its worst regular season under Urban Meyer with its first loss to FSU since Meyer took over in Gainesville in 2005.

No. 23 Utah 17, BYU 16

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brandon Burton blocked a last-second field goal to lift Utah to a wild victory against BYU in their final game as Mountain West Conference rivals.

Mitch Payne had already kicked three field goals for BYU and was lined up for the game-winning 42-yarder. But Burton came up big for the Utes (10-2, 7-1), who likely are headed to the Las Vegas Bowl.

BYU (6-6, 5-2) at one point had a 13-0 lead. But the Utes came back behind sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn, who had been benched to start the second half.

Reinserted after Terrance Cain tossed two interceptions in two third-quarter possessions, Wynn pulled Utah within 13-10 with a 37-yard touchdown pass to DeVonte Chrisopher with 13:46 to play. He then set Matt Asiata up for a 3-yard TD run with 4:24 remaining that gave Utah it's first lead. 

Minnesota 27, No. 24 Iowa 24

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Duane Bennett's touchdown run with 4:31 left lifted Minnesota to its first victory against Iowa in four years.

DeLeon Eskridge had 95 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries for Minnesota (3-9, 2-6 Big Ten), which outmuscled Iowa on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Freshman Marcus Coker carried 21 times for 90 yards for Iowa (7-5, 4-4), which closed the regular season with three straight losses of four points or fewer.

After the Gophers went ahead, Coker broke free, then started to brake near midfield where he was crushed by Troy Stoudermire, forcing the ball out and giving it to the Gophers at their 45. They drained the clock and celebrated by racing across the field to fetch the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, the bronze pig these border-state schools play for each fall.

No. 25 Mississippi State 31, Mississippi 23

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Chris Relf threw for a career-high 288 yards and three touchdowns as Mississippi State won the Egg Bowl.

The Bulldogs dominated for most of the game, with a 498-326 advantage in total yards. But Ole Miss nearly rallied from a 31-9 fourth quarter deficit, scoring two touchdowns to pull within 31-23 with 4:21 remaining. The Rebels' comeback ended when Jeremiah Masoli was sacked on fourth-and-24 with 59.4 seconds remaining.

MSU's LaDarius Perkins caught three passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns. The freshman also rushed for 98 yards on 13 carries.

Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4 SEC) won for the first time in Oxford since 1998. Masoli led Ole Miss (4-8, 1-7) with 261 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception.

What's Next for Miami After Randy Shannon -- Is it Jon Gruden?

Will Jon Gruden land in Miami?

But with whom -- the Hurricanes or Dolphins?

Media speculation in south Florida has quickly escalated to an inferno, only hours after UM fired coach Randy Shannon. The decision came Saturday night after the Hurricanes' 23-20 overtime loss to South Florida at Sun Life Stadium, a game which attracted less than 30,000 fans.

The Hurricanes finished the regular season 7-5. Shannon, who received a four-year contract extension before this season, was 28-22 in four seasons at his alma mater.

CaneSports has reported that UM is prepared to pay Gruden $3 million annually -- that is if the former NFL head coach and current ESPN Monday Night Football television commentator wants to return to college football for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Gruden's name has been linked to a number of openings -- college and NFL -- since he was fired by the Buccaneers in January 2009 after seven seasons, punctuated by a Super Bowl win in 2002.

Which leads us to even more speculation.

The Hurricanes may also be competing with the Dolphins for Gruden if whispers that Miami coach Tony Sparano's job might be in jeopardy are accurate.

After initial success in 2008, the Dolphins have floundered in mediocrity. They are currently 5-5 and will likely face another offseason of restructuring if they can not turn it around. Hello Jon Gruden?

This much is certain:

The Hurricanes have scheduled a team meeting for Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will serve as interim head coach for the team's bowl game. Shannon was promoted from defensive coordinator two weeks after Larry Coker was fired following a 6-6 regular season in 2006.

Other list of potential candidates include Texas Tech's Tommy Tubberville, Georgia's Mark Richt -- he's a former quarterback at UM -- TCU's Gary Patterson and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, among others.

Gruden started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee in 1986. He also coached at Southeast Missouri State, the University of Pacific and the University of Pittsburgh..

Jaguars vs. Giants: Eli Manning Captains Fourth-Quarter Comeback at Meadowlands

The Jaguars and Giants both entered Week 12 with 6-4 records and playoff aspirations, and on Sunday they gave the fans a playoff-worthy game, well-played throughout and thrilling until the final moments.

The difference was that the Giants -- who entered the game with a league-high 30 turnovers -- were more careful with the ball, making it through a 24-20 victory without a giveaway while Jaguars quarterback David Garrard lost a fumble and threw an interception.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was cool and efficient, completing 14 of 24 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winner to Kevin Boss (above) with 3:15 remaining.

• The Giants' first offensive possession was a tremendous display of marching the ball down the field with a mix of running and passing, but after gaining 75 yards the Giants stalled in the red zone when Derek Hagan dropped a perfect pass from Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw got stuffed on third-and-2, and New York had to settle for a field goal.

• The Jaguars' first offensive possession also went 75 yards, with Maurice Jones-Drew picking up 40 yards on the ground and Rashad Jennings finishing the drive with a five-yard touchdown to give Jacksonville a 7-3 lead. Jones-Drew had a great start to another great game, his fourth consecutive contest with at least 100 rushing yards.

• Jacksonville's second drive was slow, methodical and effective as well, covering 85 yards on 15 plays. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, a false start penalty on third-and-goal backed the Jaguars up and forced them to settle for a field goal that gave them a 10-3 lead.

• The Giants' second drive looked a lot like Jacksonville's: A seven-play, 64-yard drive that stalled thanks to a penalty, forcing the Giants to settle for a field goal.

• Just before halftime Jaguars quarterback David Garrard made an absolutely sensational play with his legs, rolling to his right, looking to pass, not finding anything and then reversing field to his left and running into the end zone for a touchdown that gave Jacksonville a 17-6 lead. That play was the last example of many in the first half of the Giants' defense being completely incapable of stopping the run. At halftime the Jaguars' offense had 20 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

• The Giants took control, however, at the start of the second half. Their defense settled down and the offense had a couple of impressive scoring drives, first setting up a Lawrence Tynes 28-yard field goal, then going 88 yards on five plays, culminating with a Mario Manningham 26-yard touchdown catch from Eli Manning and an Ahmad Bradshaw run for the two-point conversion to tie the game, 17-17. The 28-yard field goal came shortly after Terrell Thomas intercepted a tipped Garrard pass.

• Jacksonville had a ready-made response to that, however, as the Jaguars marched down the field for Josh Scobee to hit a 42-yard field goal and give the Jaguars a 20-17 lead.

• But then, as we were all coming to expect in this back-and-forth game, the Giants came right back with a six-play, 69-yard drive that culminated in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Boss.

• And, of course, the Jaguars weren't done yet. Jacksonville marched down the field and got deep into Giants territory with two minutes to go. But the Giants sacked Garrard on three straight plays, recovering a Garrard fumble on the last of the three to seal the win. Thomas, who had already intercepted Garrard, forced the fumble.

St. John's beats ASU to win Great Alaska Shootout

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -Trailing by double digits against Arizona State on Saturday night, St. John's went small and fast.

Red Storm coach Steve Lavin started what he called his diminutive five-guard lineup in the second half to speed up the game and St. John's forced 11 turnovers to defeat the Sun Devils 67-58 and capture the championship of the Great Alaska Shootout.

"They were opportunistic. They were able to cover a lot of ground defensively and get to shooters and seemed to unnerve Arizona State," Lavin said of the small lineup.

Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek agreed the pressure was the difference.

"It worked in their favor," he said. "They were very aggressive in it. We needed to be stronger with the ball in some cases, make better decisions in other cases."

St. John's shot just 26 percent in the opening period. Ty Abbott's third and fourth 3-pointers gave the Sun Devils (3-2) a 12-point lead, 23-11, with 4:44 remaining. St. John's cut it to 10, 30-20, at halftime.

"We were looking for combinations and ways to attack their zone, and not having much success," Lavin said.

St. John's opened the second half with a 1-2-2 zone, putting someone on the ball. Lavin compared it to harassing a quarterback in football and limiting the point guard's ability to pass.

"There's not that ability to window shop, or search over the top of your defense," he said. "It forced them to start running, and allowed our defense to move up the floor and pressure farther up, which would cause some havoc."

St. John's whittled away at the lead, grabbing fast break opportunities off steals.

With Arizona clinging to a four-point lead with six minutes remaining, Paris Horne tipped in a missed free throw. Malik Stith stole the inbound pass and scored, then stole another one at the other end and drove the length of the floor for a layup, giving St. John's its first lead since the opening minutes, 53-51.

St. John's closed with a 21-7 run.

"We got a couple of easy baskets off of it, but for the most part, I think it really gave St. John's an advantage," Sendek said of the frontcourt pressure.

Arizona State had not seen that kind of pressure this year, he said, and made poor decisions.

"A couple of times, guys just took the ball right way from us," Sendek said. "In some instances, it wasn't even a trap. They just took the ball."

Justin Brownlee led St. John's with 20 points. Dwight Hardy had 14 and Horne finished with 11.

Abbott led all scorers with 22 for Arizona State and made 6 of 12 3-pointers.

Trent Lockett added 10 and seven rebounds.

Wisconsin Stomps Northwestern, Could Be Smelling Roses

MADISON, Wisc. -- In any debate, it's always good to get the last word. The last word is the last impression. If it's a good, memorable one, it'll linger in the minds of the people you are trying to persuade.

Thanks to a three-way tie between Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State, the Big Ten's Rose Bowl representative will be determined by a vote. Whichever team finishes highest in the final BCS Poll on Dec. 5 will be going to Pasadena. Who should go? Wisconsin got the last word in that debate, and that word was "stomp." The No. 5 Badgers kicked Northwestern to the curb, 70-23, on Saturday.

Seventy points. Again. That's the third time this season the Badgers have scored at least 70. The first, against Austin Peay of the FCS, was expected. The second, an 83-20 squashing of the Indiana Hoosiers, made coach Bret Bielema and his presumed bad sportsmanship fodder for sports talk radio all over the country.

Let me nip this in the bud: Wisconsin did not run up the score on the Wildcats.

Northwestern committed seven turnovers. Wisconsin committed none. Any time a team is plus-seven in turnover margin, it's going to win by a large margin. Some teams would be happy to finish plus-seven on the year.

Bielema took heat after the Indiana game for continuing to throw the ball when Wisconsin's lead was far beyond insurmountable. In this game, the Badgers attempted exactly one pass in the second half. It was a killer, a 40-yard bomb from Scott Tolzien to David Gilreath, but still, it was the only pass attempt of the second half for the Badgers. Bielema also pulled his offensive starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin's final touchdown came on a 50-yard interception return by Aaron Henry just before the end of the third quarter. Henry had recovered a Northwestern fumble in the second quarter which the Badgers quickly converted into a touchdown.

Northwestern had its opportunities as well. Even though Wisconsin was up 14-0 before the first quarter was halfway over, the Wildcats didn't give up. Coach Pat Fitzgerald used two freshman quarterbacks, Evan Watkins and Kain Colter, to replace the injured Dan Persa. Both had success running the ball on quarterback keepers. It seemed like every time the Wildcats started to move the ball, though, Wisconsin would force a turnover. Watkins completed 13 of 22 passes but threw three interceptions. Colter completed only one of his three pass attempts -- and it was to Wisconsin's Mike Taylor.

"We can put all the blame on those guys (Watkins and Colter)," Fitzgerald said after the game, "but it's not fair. It's not just those turnovers. We got a chance on defense to go and get (Wisconsin) off the field but we just didn't do that."

No, they didn't. Wisconsin was running and throwing to open space all day long. When the Wildcats closed in, they couldn't tackle. At times it was almost comical, as when Wisconsin tight end Lance Kendricks made three Northwestern defenders who were closing in on him miss. What did he do?

He stood still. They tackled the air in front of him.

Look, Bielema's picture would be in the dictionary next to the word "irascible" if anybody was still printing dictionaries. I don't doubt that he'd slap around an opponent just to score points with the voters who held his team's postseason fortunes in their hands. I know what I saw, though. The Badgers weren't running up the score. They're just a phenomenally talented football team playing out of their minds right now, and Northwestern couldn't stop them.

Montee Ball ran 20 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns. James White ran 20 times for 134 yards and another score. Scott Tolzien completed 15 of 19 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns. Ball and White, you must note, are backups to John Clay, who saw limited playing time as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. Tolzien was third on the depth chart heading into camp last season. The offensive skill players were impressive. But they weren't the most impressive Badgers in this game.

Defensive lineman JJ Watt would be that most impressive Badger. Watt, a junior, will be talked about in hushed tones on Northwestern message boards for years to come. He made seven tackles, all unassisted. He recorded a sack, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, a pass block and three quarterback hurries. Every time something horrible happened for Northwestern's offense, Watt was involved. Watt so dominated this game that Fitzgerald didn't really want to talk about him after the game.

"He's a great football player," he said. "I know how you want me to expand on some superlatives, but he's a tremendous football player."

So that's the case Wisconsin made. That's its argument for why it, and not Ohio State or Michigan State, should be going to Pasadena. Never mind that Michigan State beat the Badgers in East Lansing. That was back in early October, which in football terms is practically last season. The Badgers won at Iowa. Sparty got deep-fried by the now-withering Hawkeyes. Ohio State shouldn't be in the discussion with Wisconsin. The Badgers beat them straight up, 31-18, in a game the Buckeyes were never really in. Maybe the Buckeyes think they could beat Wisconsin in a rematch. Maybe they should think about that some more.

Michigan State and Ohio State played in the early games today. Wisconsin played late. The Badgers should get the last word in the Rose Bowl debate, and this is what Bret Bielema said after the game: "I think we're playing as well as anybody in the country right now."

I wouldn't argue.

Josh McDaniels Apologizes for Rogue Videotaping of 49ers' Practice

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- A somber coach Josh McDaniels apologized Saturday for his failure to promptly report to team executives and the NFL a secret videotaping of a portion of a 49ers' walk-through practice. A Broncos employee recorded the tape the day before Denver played San Francisco in London last month.

McDaniels said Broncos video director Steve Scarnecchia, who has been fired by the team, acted on his own when he filmed six minutes of the 49ers' practice. The coach added that when Scarnecchia informed him about the videotape later that same day, he was told immediately by McDaniels that's not the way he operates. McDaniels said he refused to view the videotape and directed that the file be deleted from a computer laptop. The 49ers beat the Broncos 24-16 at Wembley Stadium the next day.

Team officials said they became aware of the episode on Nov. 8, and began an internal probe in addition to notifying the league, which subsequently initiated its own investigation.

Neither the team nor the league would say who first made them aware of the taping, saying that information was confidential.


The league announced that McDaniels and the Broncos organization had been fined $50,000 each because of violations of league policies stemming from the delay in reporting the taping to the NFL after McDaniels first became aware of it on Oct. 30.

In addition, Scarnecchia faces a hearing to determine whether he should be banned from the NFL as a repeat violator of the league's integrity rules.

Both McDaniels and Scarnecchia were formerly employed by the New England Patriots. McDaniels was the Patriots' offensive coordinator prior to getting the Broncos job two years ago and Scarnecchia, according to the NFL, was among those involved in improperly videotaping opposing teams' coaching signals in the scandal known as "spygate." The Patriots organization and head coach Bill Belichick were fined $750,000 and the league stripped the team of its 2008 first-round draft pick.

McDaniels admitted he erred by not immediately telling his superiors about the incident.

"I made a mistake," McDaniels said. "I should have done that right away. We felt we handled it the right way by not doing anything with that (material) but I did not follow through with it."

McDaniels said he spoke by phone earlier Saturday with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and understands the importance of his role and the team's in protecting the NFL's good name and in maintaining competitive fairness. McDaniels also intended to call 49ers coach Mike Singletary and owner Pat Bowlen planned to call 49ers owner Jed York to convey their personal apologies.

"We understand it is not only our job individually but as an organization to uphold the integrity of the National Football League by what we do every day and this certainly was not a good example of that," McDaniels said. "We don't condone this type of activity. We don't teach it, coach it and nor would we ever in the future. It was an isolated situation, an unfortunate situation."

"We don't condone this type of activity. We don't teach it, coach it and nor would we ever in the future. It was an isolated situation, an unfortunate situation."
-- Josh McDaniels He also defended his hiring of Scarnecchia as well-intentioned, despite Scarnecchia's brush with "spygate."

"When we hired Steve, it was with the understanding that he would come here and do good work," McDaniels said. "In no way did we think this situation or type of situation would come up and be an issue, for us or for him."

Jeff Pash, an NFL executive vice president, said the league was satisfied that the Broncos did not gain any competitive advantage from the taping because it wasn't viewed. And when the team officials became aware of the taping, they looked into it and also notified the league.

"I think while no one is happy about this kind of event, I think everyone can take a step back and say, 'Well, when the team became aware of it, they did the right thing,'" Pash said.

Joe Ellis, the Broncos chief operating officer, said during a conference call that while owner Pat Bowlen and organization brass were disappointed and embarrassed by the taping incident, they do not view McDaniels' lapse in judgment in failing to quickly report the incident as cause to fire him.

"It is not, no," Ellis said. "The discipline has been handed down appropriately in our mind and in the mind of the owner. We've gone through it with the league, with the coach himself. He's admitted his mistake. He needs to move on and finish the season. Hopefully, we have some success on the field."

That said, Ellis indicated that Bowlen was pained by the entire episode and its impact on the organizational reputation of the Broncos.

"He's had his disappointments on the field and off the field, and this is another one of those, frankly," Ellis said. "He is nothing short of extremely disappointed. He realizes he has to take his medicine. So does the organization. We have to get back and re-earn some of the trust that comes off of an incident like this and he intends to do that."

With all this going on, the struggling Broncos do have to play on Sunday against St. Louis. They enter the game at 3-7 and they're 5-15 in their last 20 games, the worst stretch by Denver in nearly 40 years. And ultimately, that's where McDaniels' fate could be determined, though certainly this videotaping matter does not help.