COLLEGE FOOTBALL : They Have Heisman Potential, but No Heisman Chances

And now, thanks to the continued demise of former front-runners Ty Detmer of Brigham Young and David Klingler of Houston we present the anti-Heisman Trophy candidates. To qualify, a player must meet the following strict requirements:

--Need an act of God to win the prestigious stiff-arming trophy.

--Must cause at least one Heisman voter to mutter, “Who?” when the candidate’s name is mentioned.

--Must be better than most of the lugs being pushed for Heisman consideration.

With that said, we introduce our choices, beginning with. . . .

1--Kevin Williams, Miami sophomore wide receiver.

Did you see Williams when the Hurricanes played Houston? The guy broke seven tackles on one punt return. In all, he has caught six passes for 144 yards--an average of 24 yards a catch--and scored two touchdowns. He returns kickoffs. He returns punts. He wears black socks and broke Randall Hill’s record as the fastest Miami player when he ran an eye-popping 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Nicknamed K.W., the Jet, Sleepy or Mutt-Bulldog (we didn’t ask why), Williams could work his way into the Heisman equation if Hurricane quarterback Gino Torretta is smart enough to get him the ball more than six times in two games.

2--Santana Dotson, Baylor senior defensive tackle.

Dotson didn’t practice last week because of a severely sprained ankle. Then he went out and made five tackles in a victory over Missouri. The week before that, Dotson blocked a Colorado field-goal attempt in the waning minutes, allowing Baylor to regain possession and win the game. In three games, Dotson has made 17 tackles, two of which were for losses, blocked two field-goal attempts and been the centerpiece for one of the best defenses in the country. No wonder Dotson was named the Southwest Conference’s preseason player of the year. By the way, his father, Alphonse, used to play for the Raiders.

3--Greg Skrepenak, Michigan senior offensive tackle.

There is a reason Michigan’s offensive line has allowed no sacks this season and only three in the past two years; why quarterback Elvis Grbac was able to complete 20 of 22 passes against Notre Dame without an Irish player so much as touching his maize-and-blue suede shoes; why the Wolverines have one of the best running games in the Big Ten. The reason’s name is Skrepenak, who proves once and for all that good things can often come in big packages. Skrepenak is 6 feet 6 and 320 pounds, and he is every bit as important as Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard, whose photograph graced the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

4--Steve Emtman, Washington junior defensive tackle.

“His whole deal,” Washington defensive line coach Randy Hart said, “is to try to mess up the offensive scheme that wins a guy a Heisman. He is just a genuine, once-in-a-lifetime, hard-working person.” Nebraska’s players still can’t believe how Emtman disrupted the Cornhusker offense last Saturday. He is unrelenting and intimidating. Said Hart of his star’s Heisman chances: “I’d invite anybody to look at it, certainly. He’s certainly worth a look.” Wouldn’t it be great: an Emtman vs. Skrepenak Heisman race?

5--Jason Verduzco, Illinois junior quarterback.

This guy was booed a season ago. Now he leads the nation in total offense and nerve. Only 5-9, Verduzco has won admirers throughout the Big Ten for his toughness and his passing ability. “(He’s) always been one of my favorites,” Iowa Coach Hayden Fry said. “I love a quarterback who’s also a state wrestling champ. He’s a fiery little guy.” Verduzco, who had to replace Jeff George last year, finally understands Coach John Mackovic’s complicated offense, and it shows. The Illini are averaging 567 yards a game, including 375 on passes.

Honorable mention: Mike Pawlawski, California quarterback; Marvin Graves, Syracuse quarterback, and Trevor Cobb, Rice running back.

Not everyone is thrilled with Coach Jackie Sherrill and the 3-1 start of his No. 21-ranked Mississippi State team.

During Sherrill’s new postgame radio call-in show last Saturday, a “fan,” launched into an expletive-filled tirade against the university. Sherrill said he can’t remember the caller’s message, but others can.

“I can’t repeat it,” said Joe Dier, the school’s sports information director, “but it wasn’t, ‘Go State!’ ”

It has been quite a last few days for Sherrill. The Bulldogs lost, 26-24, to then-No. 11-ranked Tennessee (the Volunteers are now No. 5) and, in the process, lost their starting quarterback, Sleepy Robinson, for at least a week because of an ankle sprain. The injury came on the final play of the game.

And now Sherrill must travel to Orlando’s 70,000-seat Citrus Bowl to play 14th-ranked Florida. The game originally was scheduled to be played at Starkville, Miss., but that was before the Florida Citrus Sports Assn. offered the Bulldogs a reported $1 million to switch sites. Mississippi State’s athletic director, Larry Templeton, consulted with Sherrill, a former AD himself, and then approved the deal.

The Bulldogs justified the move by reminding critics that the athletic program needs the money, that $150,000 of the net profit will go to Mississippi State’s library fund and that the Bulldogs, who originally had seven home games at 41,200-seat Scott Field, could live with one more road game.

But can Mississippi State live with one more loss? By moving the game to Orlando, only a couple of hours away from the Florida campus, Sherrill loses one of the few advantages he had. The Gators probably won’t be in a charitable mood after a somewhat embarrassing loss to Syracuse last Saturday.

Syracuse has played three games, and wide receiver Qadry (Missile) Ismail is moving into position to surpass most of the 1990 totals of his famous brother, Raghib (Rocket) Ismail. Raghib had 32 receptions last season; Qadry has 14 in 1991. Raghib scored six touchdowns; Qadry has scored two. Raghib gained 699 yards on pass receptions; Qadry has gained 273. Raghib averaged 21.8 yards a catch, Qadry is averaging 19.5. Raghib returned 14 kickoffs for a 24-yard average, Qadry has returned six for a 25.6 average. Raghib is making millions with the Toronto Argonauts, Qadry is, uh. . . .

So impressed was the Big Ten office with Illinois’ 51-10 victory over Houston last Saturday that, in an unprecedented move, the entire Illini defense was named conference player of the week. Illinois allowed 414 yards--332 on the arm of Klingler--but only one touchdown. Illinois gained 648 yards against the miserable Cougar defense.

Houston has been outscored, 91-20, in its last two games, and despite a 73-3 season-opening rout of Louisiana Tech, the Cougars now trail opponents, 93-94, overall. “I’m not real fond of the run-and-shoot anyway,” Purdue Coach Jim Colletto said. “They haven’t beaten anyone, anyway. I’m glad to see (Illinois) stand up for the laurels of the Big Ten and pound them into submission.”

This week’s game of the century finds No. 1-ranked Florida State traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich., to play No. 3-ranked Michigan. Before anyone faints from the hype, Seminole Coach Bobby Bowden warns all concerned to remember it is early in the season.

“Whoever wins it is not guaranteed a national championship,” Bowden said.

True enough. Florida State still must play Syracuse, Miami and Florida; Michigan must face Iowa, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio State, among others.

Michigan Coach Gary Moeller said the loser of Saturday’s game could work its way back into the national championship picture.

“You either got to win or stay close,” he said. “I want to make sure we do well in this game. The big thing is . . . how you finish at the end of the season. I think you got to stay close, and I think you could still (win a national championship). But I don’t think you play these (nonconference) games to tie.”

Add Moeller and Bowden: Moeller is being extremely careful not to praise Desmond Howard too much. Howard, now mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate, has scored six of the Wolverines’ eight touchdowns. “We felt Desmond was a good athlete, could make plays and things, but not to this magnitude,” Moeller said. “He hasn’t proved it the whole year. He’s had two great games. The key is, can he do it over the long haul?”

Bowden’s Seminoles are 3-0. His son Terry, coach at Samford, is 4-0. His son Tommy is offensive coordinator at Auburn (3-0). His son Jeff is an assistant coach at Southern Mississippi (2-1). That makes the Bowden family 12-1 so far.

Despite an 0-2 start, Michigan State Coach George Perles said former UCLA quarterback Bret Johnson remains No. 1 on the depth chart. . . . Somewhat lost in the Florida State vs. Michigan talk is Saturday’s meeting between No. 7 Clemson and No. 19 Georgia Tech. The game is at Clemson, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Georgia Tech, which has several key injured players, including strong safety Ken Swilling and his backup, Kevin Peoples, falls to 2-2. . . . Cincinnati’s David Rowe not only is the team’s kicker, he also snaps the ball on punts. . . . And this from Cal Coach Bruce Snyder on the Pac-10 championship: “I think it’s going to be a hell of a close race if Washington will cooperate.”

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No Team Record 1. Clemson 2-0 2. Florida State 3-0 3. Miami 2-0 4. Washington 2-0 5. Michigan 2-0 6. Iowa 2-0 7. Tennessee 3-0 8. Oklahoma 2-0 9. Baylor 3-0 10. Penn State 3-1

The waiting list: Notre Dame (2-1), Auburn (3-0), Pittsburgh (3-0), Syracuse (3-0) and Ohio State (3-0).