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| Friday, December 8 Now, Stemke's name is part of history By Wayne Drehs ESPN.com | |||||
| LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.. -- Prior to Thursday's Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards, Wisconsin punter Kevin Stemke quietly surveyed the trophy table, his jaws dropping at the names of those of those who had won in the past.
Guys like Dorsett. Maxwell. Thorpe.
Little did Stemke know that about an hour later, he's be the winner of one of those trophies, the inaugural Ray Guy Award given to the nation's best punter.
"Don't get me wrong, the punter is still the punter, but I'm just so honored to be a part of this. I really can't believe it," Stemke said, his cheeks bright red and his eyes watery, not out of sadness, but excitement. "To be the guy they voted on is a feeling I can't put into words. Just a little while ago I was walking by those awards in total awe. Now I'm a part of it."
On a night where the relatively unknown Stemke met big-name players like Chris Weinke, Drew Brees, Dan Morgan and Josh Heupel, it was the attendance of his father that meant the most.
That's because Stemke's grandmother is sick and his Dad was leery about leaving her bedside.
"I'm so glad he could be here," Stemke said. "It looked like he might not even make it, so when he did, it meant everything. I guarantee I'm the happiest guy in the house."
Wednesday Night Fever The inside joke of the evening was a rousing Wednesday night dance performance by Purdue quarterback Drew Brees at the Pleasure Island 70s dance club 8-Trax. Brees made his way to the center of the dance floor and began his best John Travolta impersonation much to the delight of the crowd. For a guy that rushed for over 500 yards and five TDs this season, it was his moves on the dance floor that caught the attention of Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit, who joked about Brees' performance after he won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player. Brees just laughed. "What are 70s clubs for?" Brees said. "I figure they want you to go out there and make a fool of yourself. So that's what I did." The Philly connection
With all the controversy surrounding the BCS Championship game this year, pre-awards show talk centered on the topic of a college football playoff. Purdue quarterback Drew Brees voted in favor of a playoff system, as long as it didn't eliminate the bowl games. "People don't understand that for a school like Purdue, going to a bowl game, even like the Alamo Bowl or a third or fourth place bowl game, means everything to the school and to eliminate that would be wrong. "With that, I do agree that there should be a semifinal, four-game playoff. This year taught us that." Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke, whose team benefited from the BCS this year, said he too was in favor of a playoff, comparing it to college basketball's Final Four. "Having a playoff, I think would be good for the game, but the question is where you cut it off, 4, 6, or even 8 teams," Weinke said. "That's the key." Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel, who has battled a sore arm in the season's final weeks, said the extra games a playoff would present would be a challenge physically. "That's tough," he said. "The season's long enough already." Morgan, whose team beat Florida State but finds itself left out of the BCS title game, had an answer for that. "C'mon," Morgan said. "You play once a week. If you can't get up for a game like that, there's something wrong with you." Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE
Brees' Maxwell win adds to Heisman suspenseCollege Football Awards coverage ESPN.com's College Bowls coverage VIDEO
  Kevin Stemke wins the Ray Guy AwardRealVideo: 28.8 Drew Brees wins the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's outstanding player.RealVideo: 28.8 Chris Weinke wins the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's best quarterback.RealVideo: 28.8 LaDainian Tomlinson wins the Doak Walker Award, given to the outstanding non-freshman running back.RealVideo: 28.8 Dan Morgan wins the Bednarik Award for top defensive player.RealVideo: 28.8 Bob Stoops wins the Coach of the Year Award.RealVideo: 28.8 Antonio Bryant wins the Biletnikoff award given to the nation's top receiver.RealVideo: 28.8 Jamar Fletcher wins the Jim Thorpe Award for top defensive back.RealVideo: 28.8 John Henderson wins the Outland Trophy for the top interior lineman.RealVideo: 28.8 | ||||
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