Still Leveling the Field

Tyrone Willingham called the event “significant,” and not only because Notre Dame used a late touchdown to defeat Michigan State, 21-17, and end a five-game losing streak to the Spartans.

Willingham was referring to the rare occurrence of two African-American coaches squaring off in a Division I-A football game. His counterpart, Bobby Williams of Michigan State, said the encounter shows progress.

“You see how much college football has changed to have this game broadcast nationwide, to look around at all these kids seeing two black coaches on the sidelines and saying, ‘Hey, maybe I can do that someday,’ ” Williams said.

Unfortunately, Willingham said, coaching opportunities for minorities remain few and far between.

“[Saturday’s game] also points to a shortcoming in our system, and that is disappointing,” he said.

Willingham and Williams represent half of major college football’s black head coaches. San Jose State’s Fitz Hill and New Mexico State’s Tony Samuel are the only others among 117 Division I-A programs.

The Black Coaches Assn. hopes the game will bring attention to the absence of minorities in head coaching positions.

“On the positive, I am very pleased and ecstatic we can take a moment to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of coaches Williams and Willingham in an event that [represents] two of the higher-echelon football programs in the country,” said Floyd Keith, the association’s executive director.

“On the downside, I would hope that the message is clear that we wouldn’t be having this conversation if we didn’t have a problem.”

Players Get the Shaft

Bowling Green quarterback Josh Harris and running back Joe Alls learned a valuable lesson Saturday. Never share an elevator with the team’s linemen.

Harris and Alls were among 22 Falcon players who were stuck for 20 minutes in a hotel elevator that exceeded its weight limit before Bowling Green’s 39-16 victory over host Kansas.

The players got stuck about noon--a few hours before kickoff--at the Marriott Hotel in Overland, Kan.

“That was hectic,” said Alls, who rushed for a career-high 161 yards. “I heard Coach [Urban] Meyer up there saying, ‘Whatever you’re doing, it’s not working.’ ”

Most of the players were linemen, who brought the total weight over the elevator’s limit of 3,500 pounds. The elevator got stuck between the first and second floors.

“I couldn’t breathe and then I started sweating because I’m claustrophobic,” Alls said. “All of a sudden, it stopped.”

After about 20 minutes, a maintenance worker used an override key to get the elevator back to the second floor. The players then took the stairs.

“We were going up to the fourth floor and we made it to about one and a half and it dropped,” said linebacker Mitch Hewitt, who recovered a Kansas fumble for a touchdown. “I remember looking at [offensive lineman] Greg Kupke and his eyes were about to pop out of his head.”

Not Quite the Big Time

Big Ten Conference teams absorbed some big hits and escaped with two close calls Saturday.

Cincinnati nearly upset sixth-ranked Ohio State, but Bearcat receivers dropped two potential touchdown passes in the last minute before Will Allen intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone to secure the Buckeyes’ 23-19 victory at Cincinnati.

No. 14 Michigan also needed a last-minute interception, the second of the game by Julius Curry, to turn back Utah, 10-7, at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Meanwhile, Purdue and Illinois each suffered embarrassing losses at home.

Wake Forest capitalized on five Purdue turnovers (four fumbles and an interception) to defeat the Boilermakers, 24-21. The Demon Deacons scored 17 points off turnovers, sending Purdue Coach Joe Tiller to only his second loss in 23 home games against unranked opponents since he took over in 1997.

Illinois’ defense was a sieve against San Jose State, which got 408 yards passing from Scott Rislov, four touchdown runs by 5-foot-5 tailback Lamar Ferguson and drove the field in the last 1 minute 21 seconds to set up a 37-yard, game-winning field goal by Nick Gilliam on the last play.

Restoring the Lions’ Roar

Penn State is back, and tailback Larry Johnson is leading the revival.

After three years of being lost in the mix of running backs, Johnson continued to assert himself by rushing for 147 yards and two touchdowns and scoring a third touchdown on a reception to help the No. 15 Nittany Lions pound Louisiana Tech, 49-17, at State College, Pa.

“It seemed like we never tackled before,” Louisiana Tech linebacker Curtis Randall said. “[Johnson] was running hard. We were making him look like he should be in the NFL.”

Johnson most resembled an NFL back in third quarter, when he broke five tackles on a 39-yard run, bowling over one defender and throwing another to the ground before being forced out of bounds.

“Larry Johnson had a heck of a game, broke a lot of tackles,” Coach Joe Paterno said. “That means a lot.” It was Paterno’s 330th career victory, extending his record for major college coaches.

Getting Carried Away

Kentucky’s best start in 18 years apparently has gone to the heads of Wildcat fans.

After Kentucky defeated Middle Tennessee, 44-22, a raucous crowd chanted, “Beat the Gators,” referring to the Wildcats’ Southeastern Conference opener next weekend at No. 10 Florida. Talk about wishful thinking.

The Wildcat faithful were feeling giddy after the victory gave Kentucky its first 4-0 start since 1984. Jared Lorenzen led the way by passing for 305 yards and three touchdowns. There would probably be talk among fans of a bowl appearance, except that Kentucky is banned from playing in a bowl this season because of NCAA violations.

Devouring Another Cupcake

It’s a good thing Oregon didn’t put up any billboards depicting its nonconference schedule. That would have been one ugly duckling.

The ninth-ranked Ducks beat up on Division I-AA Portland State, 41-0, to improve to 4-0. Their first three victories were against Mississippi State, Fresno State and Idaho, teams with a combined record of 2-8.

After playing four games in Eugene, the Ducks have a bye this week before opening Pacific 10 Conference play at Arizona on Oct. 5.

Injuries Sideline Standouts

In a tongue-in-cheek response to Oregon’s billboard campaign, Washington State placed the likeness of Cougar quarterback Jason Gesser on the side of a grain silo last summer.

However, the Cougars weren’t laughing when Gesser left Saturday’s game against Montana State in the third quarter after injuring his ribs and the shoulder on his right (throwing) arm. X-rays revealed dislocated cartilage in a rib but no shoulder damage.

At Atlanta, tailback Tony Hollings was helping Georgia Tech run out the clock in its 28-19 victory over Brigham Young when his knee gave way on his 36th carry. Hollings, who rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns, left the field on a cart. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday. Hollings entered the game leading the nation in scoring and ranked fifth in rushing.

Catch of the Day

Michigan State’s Charles Rogers, who had two touchdown receptions against Notre Dame, tied an NCAA record by catching a touchdown pass in his 12th consecutive regular-season game. He shares the mark with Marshall’s Randy Moss, Michigan’s Desmond Howard and Pacific’s Aaron Turner.