Battle of UNH and B-CU 'Cats could be classic

DURHAM, NH — Four days before football teams from the University of New Hampshire and Bethune-Cookman square off in the Division I playoffs, the first-ever matchup between the two unfamiliar foes is shaping up to be a handicapper's nightmare.

Bethune-Cookman (10-1) boasts a better record and home-field advantage, hosting Saturday's game at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. Meanwhile, the lineup for UNH (7-4) is littered with veterans of past playoff runs and tough CAA battles. So, who's the favorite when these teams square off in the Round of 16 on Saturday?



Hugo Souza headed to playoffs with UNH football

Marshfield, NH - The University of New Hampshire has earned a bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship for the seventh consecutive season, the longest current streak in the nation.

The 7-4 Wildcats will visit Bethune-Cookman University (10-1), champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, in a second-round game Saturday, Dec. 4, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Souza, a 6-foot, 213-pound free safety, has 83 total tackles (46 solo) and one interception this season for the Wildcats. His tackles, both total and solo, rank Souza second on the team. In four years, Souza has 319 tackles and five interceptions for UNH.

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University of New Hampshire Wildcat Marching Band (Oct. 11, 2010)

Appalachian knocks SC State out of FCS playoffs, 37-21

BOONE, N.C. -- All week long, South Carolina State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough had his mind on stopping Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards. Throughout the offseason, Pough will probably not stop thinking about the spectacular third-and-12 scramble Edwards turned into a first-down conversion which helped seal the Bulldogs’ fate Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Appalachian State held a tenuous 24-21 lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and faced the prospect of punting the football back to a motivated S.C. State offense. Taking the snap from his own 23, Edwards was chased out the pocket and heavily pursued by three Bulldog players.

After scrambling backwards to avoid the tackle, Edwards lofted a pass in the direction of T.J. Courman. The senior broke his return to come back to catch the football at around the 30-yard line, then managed to fight off a couple of tacklers to pick up 13 yards and the first down. With the drive continuing, Edwards eventually found Ridge View graduate Brian Quick for the first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns which helped the defending three-time FCS champion Mountaineers put away the Bulldogs 37-21.

ASU QB Armanti Edwards was a one man wrecking crew in the demise of the SCSU Bulldogs.

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Attendance: 13,712 (47.7%) at Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C. (Capacity: 28,727).

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Alabama State's Coach Barlow says NFL can wait

Photo: Coach Reggie Barlow interviewed for Denver Broncos receivers coaching postion on Monday in Denver.

Reggie Barlow said Tuesday that he expects to return as Alabama State's head coach next season and will not accept a possible job offer from the Denver Broncos. Barlow spent Monday in Denver interviewing with head coach Mike Shanahan for a job as the Broncos' receivers coach, but said Tuesday that he didn't think now was the best time to make the jump to the NFL.

"Do I ultimately want to coach in the NFL? Yes," Barlow said. "But I just don't think right now is the time for that. I've brought in some good coaches here, and I sat in a lot of living rooms and made promises to kids. It's a very, very tough decision. But I think I'm content here at Bama State. That's what I told my wife. That's what I've told (ASU officials)."

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FCS (1-AA) shows argument for football playoffs isn't all academic

Either Ohio State or Louisiana State will claim the Bowl Championship Series title tonight, a designation drenched in ambiguity no matter who wins. For years, division I-A football officials have opposed the kind of playoff format that would avoid such murkiness, using final exams as part of the reason for favoring the current bowl structure. Players shouldn't have to balance football and academics when both become most demanding, the argument goes.

And yet, division I-AA players do it every season. Kenneth Peacock, the chancellor at three-time defending I-AA champion Appalachian State, meets annually with the presidents from his league, the Southern Conference. The topic of football distracting from academics -- or vice versa -- has never been brought up. "It's never been an issue," he said.

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