Thinking big
BIG CHANGE
What seems like a small rules change is causing a lot of concern among coaches.
Kickoffs will now be from the 30-yard-line instead of the 35, giving teams a chance for more kick returns and better field position.
"The kickoff rule I think will impact our game as much as any rule has since I've been in the league," Tennessee coach Philip Fulmer said at the SEC media day.
Kentucky coach Rich Brooks agreed: "It is going to be one of the most significant rule changes to come about in recent years, maybe in a decade, in college football."
BIG MAN ON CAMPUS
Freshmen who could make a big splash:
Graig Cooper, RB, Miami: Graig Cooper, from Memphis, originally planned to attend Miami last season, but was forced to attend a prep school in Connecticut because of academic issues. There, he averaged 12.5 yards per carry and was re-recruited by new coach Randy Shannon to help bolster a Hurricane rushing attack that ranked 84th in Division I last season.
Arrelious "Regis" Benn, WR, Illinois: Illini coach Ron Zook continues to polish his reputation as an outstanding recruiter. Despite a 2-10 season in which Illini finished 11th in the Big Ten, Zook reeled in an outstanding recruiting class including Benn, an All-American from Washington, D.C.
Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame: Sports Illustrated called Jimmy Clausen, the younger brother of two Tennessee quarterbacks (Casey and Rick), a "once-in-a-generation talent" when he was just a high school junior. In high school, Clausen was 42-0 as a starter and passed for 10,764 yards and a California-record 146 TD passes. Irish coach Charlie Weis is characteristically cagey, saying he won't announce Brady Quinn's replacement at QB until the opener on Saturday against Georgia Tech.
BIG HIRES
Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville: Kragthorpe worked miracles at Tulsa, which was on the brink of dropping football before he eventually won a Conference USA title. He inherits a Louisville team that went 12-1 last season before head coach Bobby Petrino departed for the NFL.
Dennis Erickson, Arizona State: Erickson loves the challenge of resurrecting downtrodden Pac-10 teams, having won at Washington State and Oregon State previously.
Butch Davis, North Carolina: The Tar Heels have been trying to find their way back to prominence since Mack Brown left in 1997. Davis already has one good recruiting class under his belt.
Nick Saban, Alabama: There's enough pressure to win at Alabama. But the Tide has been assailed for giving Saban an eight-year contract worth $4 million annually, and the fans will want a good return on the investment.
BIG MOUTH
LSU coach Les Miles has had plenty of explaining to do this offseason. First, after some head-to-head recruiting battles with former LSU coach Nick Saban, Miles reportedly told Tiger boosters after signing day: "We now have a new rival in (expletive ) Alabama."
Miles apologized for the comment, or at least for it leaking out. "I am in no way trying to be derogatory towards Alabama," he said. "I look forward to competing with Alabama and their head coach."
Recently, he offered his opinion on USC: "I would like nothing better than to play USC for the title. I can tell you they have a much easier road to travel. They're going to play real knockdown, drag-outs with UCLA and Cal- Berkeley, Stanford - some real juggernauts there. They've got it good out there. I would like that path for us. The SEC provides much stiffer competition."
Incidentally, USC beat SEC West champion Arkansas 50-14 last year at Razorback Stadium.
BIG ARMS
Kentucky's Andr e Woodson led the SEC in passing yardage per game (270.4), total offense (259.8) and TD passes (31) while completing 63 percent of his passes for 3,515 yards last year.
Hawaii's Colt Brennan already holds 20 NCAA records after playing just two seasons for the Warriors. He passed for 5,549 yards, an average of 396.4 per game last season.
Graham Harrell of Texas Tech threw for 4,555 yards and 38 touchdowns as a sophomore last season, including 519 yards against Texas.
BIG PROMOTIONS
Patrick Turner, WR, USC: Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith are off to the NFL and Turner finally gets his turn. The 6-foot-5-inch , 220-pound receiver started two games last year and caught 12 passes for 116 yards last season against Washington when Dwayne Jarrett and Smith were injured.
Sam Keller, QB, Nebraska: Keller was the Arizona State quarterback who was given the starting job over Rudy Carpenter before former coach Dirk Koetter reversed course and gave the job to Carpenter two days later. Keller, who averaged 316.9 yards passing per game as a starter at ASU, took his ball and went to Nebraska, where he'll have one year of eligibility left to run Bill Callahan's West Coast offense.
Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: Gators coach Urban Meyer got Tebow some valuable experience his freshman year, but now Tebow has sole possession of the defending national champs' spread offense after Chris Leak's graduation.
BIG NUMBERS
Despite rushing for more than 4,800 yards in high school in Nebraska's largest division, Danny Woodhead didn't get much attention from Division I schools because of his 5-foot-8-inch , 175-pound frame.
He landed at Chadron State in Omaha, Neb., where he's piled up some eye-popping stats, 989 yards away from the all-time career rushing record for college football. In three seasons, Woodhead has rushed for 6,365 yards - 2,756 last season - and has rushed for more than 200 yards 17 times, an NCAA all-division record. He can claim the all-time scoring record with 24 touchdowns this season.
BIG COMEBACK
Beau Bell, UNLV's highly regarded linebacker, sat out the final five games of his junior season with an ankle injury.
That proved to be good news for the Rebels' opponents last year, but might give them cause for concern this season.
"I'm tired of hitting my own teammates," Bell, a 6-foot-3 -inch , 245-pound senior, said as training camp wound down. "I'm ready to start hitting someone else."
Despite battling injuries throughout his UNLV career, Bell is considered a legitimate NFL prospect. He was third in the nation with 12.2 tackles a game when he injured his ankle last October against BYU.
BIG SHOT
The annual battle for the Fremont Cannon, pitting in-state rivals UNLV and Nevada-Reno, is more than a marketing ploy for each university to sell tickets.
At stake every time the two teams play is a replica of the howitzer used by Civil War general and explorer John C. Fremont as he headed West into the Sierra Nevada in 1843. The idea of awarding the cannon to the victorious team was the brainchild of the late Bill Ireland, UNLV's first football coach, in 1969.
When it comes to this rivalry, head coaches on both ends of the state have been known to suspend their ban on providing "bulletin-board material" to the opponent. UNLV head coach Mike Sanford simply refers to UNR as "the team up north," saying , "We're not going to give them the respect of calling them by their name."
Sanford is 0-2 against UNR since taking over at UNLV and the Wolf Pack holds a 17-15 edge in the series.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
Troy Calhoun, Air Force: Air Force turned to a familiar face to take over for Fisher DeBerry, who retired after 27 years at the academy, 23 as head coach. A former Denver Broncos assistant and the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator last year, Calhoun plans to eventually phase out Air Force's trademark triple option offense , which he ran as the Falcons' starting quarterback in 1986.
BIG TICKET
It may turn out to be a body bag game for UNLV's football team, but the Sept. 8 home opener against seventh-ranked Wisconsin will fill the money bags for the university.
Of the six largest crowds to attend a UNLV home football game at Sam Boyd Stadium, Wisconsin has been on the other side of the field three times - including Aug. 31, 2002, when the game drew a team record 42,075.
The Rebels are 2-5 in the series against the Badgers, scoring victories at home in 1986 and on the road in 2003.
BIG OPPORTUNITY
Mountain West Conference member Texas Christian University has a chance to be this year's version of Boise State - a BCS spoiler from a non-BCS conference.
The Horned Frogs are ranked 22nd in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and meet fourth-ranked Texas in Austin in the season's second week. A TCU victory over the Longhorns would thrust the Horned Frogs into the BCS picture, assuming they can run the table against their conference foes - something TCU couldn't do a year ago when it opened conference play with successive losses to BYU and Utah.
The Associated Press projects TCU (with the one loss to Texas) to be playing in a BCS bowl game on New Year's Day.
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