College Football weekly news and notes

-Courtesy of the National Football Foundation

Texas to Hold On-Campus Salute for Johnson

The University of Texas will hold an On- Campus Salute this weekend for 2007 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Johnnie Johnson as the Longhorns take on intrastate rival Texas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 10 in Austin. The game will be broadcast on ABC at 3:30 p.m. (Eastern).

A two-time consensus All-America, Johnson finished his career with 13 interceptions returned for 150 yards and 282 tackles. He also accumulated over 1,000 career punt return yards and still owns the UT records for single season punt returns (44) and career punt returns (114).

BCS News

The fourth BCS Standings of 2007, released nationally by The National Football Foundation, was announced on Sunday. Ohio State continues its reign at No. 1, while LSU moves into the No. 2 spot followed by Oregon, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Penn State (No. 23), Tennessee (No. 24) and Kentucky (No. 25) re-entered the standings this week. USF (then-No. 18), South Carolina (then-No. 21) and Wake Forest (then-No. 24) fell from the BCS Top 25.

Seven FBS teams were undefeated the first week of the 2007 BCS Standings on Oct. 14. Arizona State and Boston College fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last Saturday, leaving only Ohio State, Kansas and Hawaii without losses.

Houston became the 49th FBS team to become eligible for postseason play after Sunday's win over SMU. Twenty-six other squads are just one victory away from achieving the necessary six wins in a 12-game regular season to advance to bowl berths.

New Mexico WR Marcus Smith has been nominated for the 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl- FWAA Courage Award. Smith, a senior wide receiver who leads the Mountain West Conference in receptions and receiving yards, has overcome the grief from the death of his mother in September to help the Lobos contend for the MWC title.

NFF News

The NFF announced today the selection of five exceptional individuals as the 2007 NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes for 2007.

The honorees are: Ryan Coffey - Rhode Island Chapter; Barton Dear - Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter; Kellen Kiilsgaard - King County (Seattle, Wash.) Chapter; Blake Lawrence - Sunflower (Topeka, Kan.) Chapter; and Matthew Stotler - National Capital (Washington, D.C.) Chapter.

The Food Bank of Northern Indiana kicked off its annual food drive at the College Football Hall of Fame during the "Football Friday" festivities prior to the Navy-Notre Dame contest in South Bend. A truck was stationed at the Hall of Fame to begin collecting food donations. The Food Bank's mission is to work in partnership with the community to feed the hungry, to increase awareness of the effects of hunger and to lead programs designed to alleviate hunger.

NFF Board member Terry Jacobs was inducted into the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday. Jacobs is the most prolific contributor in the history of MSU athletics, serving on the MSU Foundation Board and playing the key role in the instillation of the Eagle's artificial turf at Jayne Stadium.

The NFF Ole Miss Chapter honored Preston C. Carpenter of Collierville, Tenn., with its Distinguished American Award and Dr. Robert A. Weems of Oxford with the Contribution to Amateur Football Award at last Saturday's Ole Miss - Northwestern State football game.

Two-Minute Drill

Navy ended FBS's longest series winning streak at 43 games with a triple overtime victory at Notre Dame last Saturday. 2007 NFF Gold Medal co-recipient Roger Staubach was the last Midshipmen's captain to lead the Mids past the Fighting Irish in 1963... Connecticut's victory over USF was its first in history over a nationally ranked FBS squad... San Diego State provided over 4,000 tickets to firefighters and related public servants along with $5 field level seats for last week's game with Wyoming to the general public as a "thanks" to many for courageous activities during recent wildfires... Idaho recently held Trick-or-Treat with the Vandals at the Kibbie Dome to hand out candy to area youngsters in a safe environment. UI student-athletes also spoke with the children about staying in school and sportsmanship... Northern Illinois has partnered with the U.S. Marine Corps and Toys for Tots to have charitable toy drops at football and other sports venues and recently opened its Huskie Indoor Training Center for all sports... California is holding a canned food drive at all home football outings and other sports events in November to assist the Alameda County Food Bank... Missouri is offering "Senior Day Special" tickets for almost half price for its Saturday home finale against Texas A&M... Duke football program partnered with Duke Children's Hospital to host the first "Handoff for Health" promotion for the Duke-Clemson game. The program informed the Durham and area communities about the importance of health care for children... 2006 College Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State) has recorded a public service announcement recorded in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Museum to encourage youngsters to work out, eat healthy foods and make positive choices. Others assisting in the PSA are fellow Hall of Famers Ray Guy (Southern Miss) and Lance Alworth (Arkansas).

Arkansas named its football surface Frank Broyles Field Saturday after the College Football Hall of Fame head coach and legendary, retiring 34-year UA director of athletics... Cincinnati is looking at a possible bubble- covered football practice structure and may share the facility with the NFL Cincinnati Bengals... Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has accelerated work on its $110 million sports complex, which includes a 4,800-seat football and multi- purpose stadium.

The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl has arranged for 2006 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Chad Hennings (Air Force) as guest speaker for its team kickoff luncheon in December... Bowling Green recently hosted the traveling GMAC Bowl exhibit with General Motors vehicles, spirit tattoos, $1,000 scholarship giveaways, and ticket informational booths, among their amenities. GMAC Bowl officials will visit virtually every Mid-American Conference campus before the '07 season ends.

The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and the Fred Biletnikoff Award committees both announced their 2007 semifinalists... Denver three-sport standout Ken Jastrow and the Skyline Conference-winning 1954 football team (9-1) were inducted into the 2007 University of Denver Athletics Hall of Fame... UTEP inducted former directors of athletics George McCarty and Mike Brumbelow (also a former football coach) into its Hall of Fame on Oct. 26... Standout DT Dan Wilkinson, who played 14 years in the NFL, was honorary captain for Ohio State against Wisconsin last week... NACDA and the members of the Division I- A Athletics Directors McLendon Minority Scholarship Steering Committee will present the inaugural induction of the Legends Class of Minority Athletics Administrators on Dec. 18 in Cleveland. The luncheon will recognize the Legends Class at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center.

Each Thursday, The National Football Foundation will post a viewers' guide for all televised match-ups featuring all Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) schools. Please visit www.footballfoundation.org.

Former Canisius head coach Bill Brooks, 62, died on Oct. 27 in Greensboro, N.C. In 1975, the Woodbury, N.J., native became the school's first varsity football coach in 26 years after the sport was reinstated to the varsity level... Former Notre Dame QB George Ratterman died in Centennial, Colo. He was 80.