College notepad

By Joel Buchsbaum, Contributing editor
Monday, Nov. 1, 1999

• Three Syracuse football players, including CB David Byrd, were stabbed in a brawl Saturday night after the Orangemen lost to Boston College. Byrd, who was listed in stable condition with chest wounds near his heart at presstime, was considered a potentially high-rated pro prospect. He was very raw and was more into track than football until recently.

• Florida State’s Corey Simon is playing better than any other interior defensive lineman in the country. He is one of the few players on the Florida State team who has consistently played well all season. One of the Seminoles’ problems may be they have too much talent. For a defense with as many great athletes as they have, they should practically pitch a shutout every game. But sometimes chemistry just isn’t what it should be, and that appears to be the case with Florida State.

• Arizona State RB J.R. Redmond was suspended by the NCAA for the Oregon game as a result of a bizarre incident. Redmond used the cell phone of a girlfriend who was a part-time employee of the ASU athletic department. After he made several calls on the phone, she told him that what he had done violated NCAA rules and the only way he could rectify the matter was to marry her. They were married on Aug. 25, but Redmond is now seeking a divorce. It sounds like something that should be on a soap opera.

• It’s going to be very interesting to see what USC does after this season. Despite a tremendous recruiting edge because of its reputation, the football program has come upon hard times under head coach Paul Hackett. John Robinson may not have brought back the glory years to USC, but at least he generally had the team in a bowl game. On the other hand, it appears the team will finish under .500 this season.

• UCLA head coach Bob Toledo is obviously safe because he had great success the past couple of years, but another meltdown like this season’s could leave him on shaky ground.

• It seems as though more and more of the top athletes in California, who would previously have ended up at USC or UCLA, are leaving the state.

• Both the best and the most exciting conference this season is the Big Ten. If you need proof, just look at the last two games Michigan has played, against Illinois and Indiana. For years, Michigan beat up on those teams mercilessly. This year, Michigan almost lost to Indiana and did lose to Illinois. Michigan also has to be questioning some of the schemes it is using on defense after blowing big leads two weeks in a row.

• West Virginia finally conceded that Jerry Porter doesn’t have the temperament or instincts to play safety and moved him back to wide receiver. Last Saturday, he caught a touchdown pass vs. Miami (Fla.).

• Texas Tech TE Kyle Allamon is out for the rest of the season with a fractured left elbow suffered in the Colorado game.

• Arizona State DT Junior Ioane is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.

• Louisiana State CB Mark Roman has been suspended because of alleged improper contact with an agent.

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