Keldorf Transfers His Success to North Carolina

Chris Keldorf’s exploration into the outreaches of college eligibility has been a wagon-train ride worthy of Ken Burns’ consideration.

“I’ve gray-shirted and redshirted,” Keldorf said. “I’ve shirted every color in the rainbow.”

How does a 22-year-old junior from Manhattan Beach, approaching his five-year high school reunion next spring, go from a prep quarterback no one wanted, to tight end at Utah State, to starting quarterback at No. 11 North Carolina, which faces No. 2 Florida State at Tallahassee on Saturday in the biggest non-basketball game in Tar Heel history?

Well, mosey ‘round the campfire.

“It’s been a long road,” Keldorf said from Chapel Hill. “It’s just been finding the right people to believe in me.”

The saga began eons ago, after Keldorf left St. Bernard High with a scholarship to Utah State. Coaches in Logan sized up Keldorf--6 feet 5, 230 pounds--and quickly converted him to tight end. Said he’d never make it in the pocket.

Keldorf disagreed, got released from his scholarship, went home and enrolled at El Camino College. He sat out the ’92 season and was angling for the starting job in ’93 when a stranger showed up in fall practice.

The newcomer’s name was Steve Sarkisian, now the star quarterback at Brigham Young.

“That kind of didn’t work out,” Keldorf said.

So, Keldorf redshirted at El Camino and starting thumbing through brochures. He decided on Palomar Community College near San Diego, an El Camino opponent with a wide-open offense.

He transferred again, waited another year to earn the starting job, then took over as a sophomore in ’95.

Bingo.

Last season, Keldorf passed for 3,037 yards and 30 touchdowns, earning a free ride to North Carolina, where the quarterback job was open to all offers after the departure of Mike Thomas.

Keldorf enrolled last January, beat out sophomore Oscar Davenport and stepped anonymously into his junior season.

“The best thing that could have happened,” he said. “They didn’t know anything about me. That was great. I could just come out and ambush them.”

In his first three Division I starts, Keldorf has led North Carolina ambushes over Clemson, 45-0, then-No. 9 Syracuse, 27-10, and Georgia Tech, 16-0.

Keldorf has completed 62.7% of his passes, with six touchdowns and one interception.

“I’m speechless,” Keldorf says. “This really hasn’t hit me.”

Keldorf credits his father, Russell, for urging him not to give up.

“If you want it bad enough, you’ve got to stick it out,” he said. “And I’ve wanted this all my life. I was going to run out of eligibility before I gave up.”

Next up is Florida State, 33-1 since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. A road victory would give the Tar Heels a rocket boost in the polls similar to the 11-position jump, from 17th to sixth, Arizona State made after upsetting Nebraska.

The experts, of course, are giving North Carolina no chance.

“Yeah, I know,” Keldorf said.

Same old yarn.

FREE AT LAST

Nebraska’s stunning loss broke the Cornhuskers’ two-year choke-hold on the top spot and rendered the national championship race wide open.

Here’s a handicap of the contenders with the best chances of winning it all.

1. Florida State (3-0). The Seminoles play eight of their last nine games in Florida and get Florida at home Nov. 30. Other roadblocks: North Carolina this week and at Miami on Oct. 12.

2. Penn State (4-0). This is shaping up as a repeat of 1994, when the Nittany Lions went undefeated but lost a national title shot because they were contracted to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Remember, the new Pacific 10/Big Ten alliance deal doesn’t kick in for two years. Roadblocks: at Ohio State Oct. 5, Northwestern Nov. 2, at Michigan Nov. 16.

3. Florida (3-0). Within striking distance, but the Gators are hurt by having to win the Southeastern Conference title game Dec. 7, probably against Alabama. Other obstacles: Louisiana State on Oct. 12, Auburn on Oct. 19, at Florida State.

4. Notre Dame (3-0). If the Irish can whip Ohio State at home Saturday, it’ll be Blarney bliss, with four home games (Washington, Air Force, Pittsburgh, Rutgers) and easy road pickings against Navy (in Dublin), at Boston College and USC (ouch).

5. Miami (3-0). Yes, Miami. The Hurricanes’ toughest remaining games--against Florida State (Oct. 12) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 19) are at home. At Syracuse on Nov. 30 suddenly looks like a walk, if you’ve caught any recent film on the Orangemen.

6. Ohio State (2-0). Hmmmm. At Notre Dame, home to Penn State, at Iowa, home to Michigan. You figure the Buckeyes will lose one of those.

7. Alabama (4-0). Hey, don’t spit out your grits. The Crimson Tide will need to roll out victories at Tennessee (see Florida’s game plan), at LSU (the Tide hasn’t lost in Baton Rouge since 1969) and close out with an in-state stomping of Auburn. Then, on to the SEC title game.

8. Colorado (2-1). The Buffaloes have a credible enough schedule to get back in the hunt, provided they clean house against Texas A&M;, Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, Nebraska and win the Big 12 title game.

9. Arizona State (3-0). The Nebraska victory was gold, but let’s take a reign check. The Sun Devils catch a break in hosting beat-up Oregon on Saturday. Road games at UCLA, Stanford and Arizona are no cinches, and an Oct. 19 showdown against USC looms.

10. Michigan (3-0). Not a believer yet in the Maize and Blue. Thought the Wolverines were lucky to beat penalty-plagued Colorado and gave woeful Boston College too close a game. Must survive the Big Three: Northwestern and the states, Penn and Ohio.

HEY, WHAT ABOUT US?

Pipe down, Cornhuskers, you’ll have your day in court (excuse the pun). Matter of fact, Professor Tom Osborne was crunching the numbers this week and found a way to win the national title with one loss. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Osborne said. “In history, there have been few times when people lost a game, particularly early, and gone on to be in the picture.”

Osborne was flashing back to the 1983 season, when Miami lost its opener to Florida State, 28-3, but recovered to win the national title by defeating Osborne’s Cornhuskers, 31-30, in the Orange Bowl.

In 1993, Florida State won the title (beating Nebraska, 18-16) after suffering a Nov. 13 loss to Notre Dame.

Then again, neither Miami of ’83 nor Florida State of ’93 was breaking in Scott Frost at quarterback.

Gee, if only Nebraska played in a tougher conference. After another weekend in which “superconference” Big 12 went down in flames--Nebraska, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma--perhaps a switch to the Mid-American is in order.

(SD) STATE OF EMERGENCY

San Diego State’s 51-31 victory over Oklahoma in Saturday’s late, late show may have been the most impressive in school history.

Not because the Sooners are any good. They’re not.

But consider what the Aztecs were up against:

--Because of the Padre-Dodger game and major league baseball’s strong-armed tactics, the football game was ordered out of its afternoon slot, where it would have been televised by ABC to 30% of the country, to an 8:30 p.m. slumber-party kickoff at Jack Murphy Stadium.

--The Aztecs faced the Sooners without three significant players: Tailback George Jones remained suspended pending an in-house investigation regarding possible NCAA violations, receiver Will Blackwell sat out the game because of a sprained knee, and Justin Watson, Jones’ backup, was arrested Friday for a two-year-old misdemeanor charge of petty theft.

“It’s was as much a quality win as I’ve ever been around, given all the distractions,” Athletic Director Rick Bay said.

Bay, former athletic director at Ohio State, compared it to the Buckeyes’ 23-20 victory over Michigan in 1987, five days after the school president fired Coach Earle Bruce.

“Earle got fired on Monday, I resigned the next day, and then we went and beat Michigan anyway,” Bay said. “This was a lot like that.”

Bay’s worries are not over.

If the Padres should win the National League West title, San Diego State’s Oct. 5 home game against Air Force will be moved to the weekend of Nov. 30, possibly on Thanksgiving Day.

Air Force refused to play the game Friday night, Oct. 4, claiming the Aztecs would have too much of an advantage coming off a bye week. Air Force plays host to Rice on Saturday.

HURRY-UP OFFENSE

--After poring over police reports, and considering what’s the best for the player, Nebraska’s Osborne has all but decided to lift star linebacker Terrell Farley’s two-game suspension for a drunk-driving charge for Saturday’s game against Colorado State. Comment: We’re sure it had nothing to do with last week’s 19-0 loss.

--It doesn’t take Lee Corso to figure out what’s wrong with Northwestern, 2-1 entering Big Ten play against Indiana. Last year, the Wildcats had the best takeaway-giveaway margin in the country, committing 14 turnovers in 12 games. In three games this season, the team already has 10 turnovers.

--Ohio State had only eight players on the field when David Boston returned a punt 66 yards for the final touchdown in the Buckeyes’ 72-0 rout of Pittsburgh. Comment: Eight is all you need against Pitt this season.

--Jim Sanson, whose last-second, 39-yard field goal lifted Notre Dame over Texas, was so despondent a few weeks ago he called his parents in Scottsdale, Ariz., to come pick him up. Sanson was shanking so many kicks in practice, Coach Lou Holtz started calling him “Foul Ball.” No wonder. Sanson’s high school team was so strapped for funds it had to practice at Coronado Park in Phoenix. Sanson worked on his accuracy by kicking between palm trees.

--Penn State has given up 14 points in four games, its best start since giving up four points in four games to start the 1947 season.

--You would have been laughed out of the Big 12’s preseason punch party if you said Baylor (3-0) would have a better record in late September than Nebraska (1-1), Colorado (2-1), Texas (2-1) and Texas A&M; (1-2).