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Wednesday, October 4
Rutgers, Shea struggle through trying season

By Bill Doherty
Special to ESPN.com

It just keeps getting worse and worse for embattled Rutgers coach Terry Shea.

Shea lost his mother, Florence Shea Tochilin, last Wednesday at the age of 85, had a key offensive lineman declared ineligible because of an academic compliance matter, then watched his Scarlet Knights get shellacked by Miami, 64-6 last Saturday.

"It was probably the toughest week I've ever been through," Shea said. "Then, to have it conclude like that with a very difficult loss, I felt like what a waste of energy when you go out there and can't perform against a superior opponent."

And it's not getting any better anytime soon.


	Terry Shea is 10-39 as Rutgers' head coach.

As if the death of his mom and on-the-field problems weren't enough, Rutgers declared starting right guard Travis Mills ineligible prior to the Miami game because of a miscalculation over his credits and satisfactory progress. The 6-3, 305-pound junior is a transfer from Garden City (Kan.) Community College who enrolled at Rutgers this past spring.

Depending on how the NCAA rules on the matter, Rutgers could forfeit its victories over Villanova and Buffalo this season, since Mills played in both. One NCAA official said the fact that school uncovered the problem and self-reported it during an internal compliance review will likely be looked upon favorably by the NCAA.

"Following an internal review, it has been determined that an NCAA rule has been misapplied in regards to the eligibility of Rutgers University football player Travis Mills. At this time, we have declared Travis Mills ineligible pending resolution of this matter," said Rutgers' athletic director Bob Mulcahy said. "We will continue to work with the NCAA to restore his eligibility. It is important to note that this student-athlete is not at fault in this matter and we regret any misfortune he has sustained."

Mills may have to miss a game for every one he appeared in (four), depending on how the NCAA rules on his case. "I was told by someone at the NCAA office that sometimes kids are suspended a game for every one that illegally participated in," Shea said. "This is not Travis Mills' doing or something that we did on purpose. There had to be a miscalculation in the compliance office in terms of eligibility for junior college athletes."

Asked about the possibility of Rutgers forfeiting the two victories Mills played in, Shea said, "I can't imagine that will happen."

But then again, Shea has been getting blindsided this season on a regular basis.

While the 64-6 loss to No. 7 Miami -- the program's worst home loss since an 80-0 loss to Princeton in 1888 -- was tough, Shea's next big loss figures to be the loss of his job at the end of next month. Despite mounting pressure to start producing victories, and growing personnel problems making it difficult for him to do so, Shea said over the weekend that he has every intention of finishing out the season on the job.

The beleaguered Shea, who put his team through a rare Sunday practice "to chase the poison out" from the Knights' lopsided loss to Miami last Saturday night, continued to show no signs of cracking, despite growing speculation he might resign.

Asked if he was determined to see the season through, Shea said: "You can take that to the bank, yes."

But there is no guarantee of the future, especially considering the preseason mandate by Mulcahy to produce a winning record and to eliminate the lopsided league losses that have been all too common during his first four years. Shea has been unable to do either so far. Rutgers is 2-3 overall (0-3 Big East) heading into a bye this week. The loss to Miami marked the 13th time in Shea's 49-game tenure that Rutgers has lost by 40 or more. He is 10-39 overall at Rutgers, 4-27 in Big East play.

Shea is trying, but it's getting difficult to imagine Shea being employed as Rutgers head coach immediately after its season-ending November 25 game at Syracuse -- in light of the lopsided losses and this latest PR black eye.

Around the Big East

Boston College


	Cedric Washington is averaging nearly five yards a carry.

The injury bug continues to bite the Eagles (2-2 overall, 0-2 Big East) as starting tailback Cedric Washington suffered a hyperextended right knee and two bone bruises to the right knee and defensive back Jonathan Ordway left the 48-34 Virginia Tech loss with a Baker's cyst problem with his right knee. The injury to Washington hurts, but at least the Eagles have a proven player there in super soph William Green. ... Two bright spots along BC's injury-riddled front seven is the recent play of freshman tackle Doug Goodwin (16 tackles, two sacks in 2000) and junior end Sean Guthrie, who had finest single game of his career (4 tackles, 2 assists) vs. Virginia Tech and could be playmaking off-the-edge rusher that this team so desperately needs. ... A get well card of sorts arrives in the Heights this weekend in 2-3 UConn, a team with eventual Big East dreams that is just in its first year of Division I-A football. In BC and UConn's first meeting since 1928, look for BC to manhandle the Huskies, a team still loaded with Division I-AA players, in the trenches.

Miami
Miami has not beaten the Seminoles since 1994, a year before Butch Davis was hired, but it has made progress. Since being demolished 47-0 in 1997, Miami has played Florida State closely, losing 26-14 in 1998 and 31-21 last season. Davis credits Miami's recovery from NCAA sanctions early in his tenure -- penalties that included significant scholarship reductions -- for the progress. "Slowly, after we came out of the probation period, we tried to raise the talent level and put ourselves in position to win the games,'" Davis said. "I think the scores indicate that we're getting closer." ... Florida State has 23 sacks this season, while Miami has given up only seven. Miami's offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie (6-9, 330), who draws the assignment of blocking FSU pass rush specialist Jamal Reynolds (10 sacks in 2000), has yet to give up a sack How good is Reynolds? He had three sacks of Michael Vick in last year's Sugar Bowl. "I've had guys go against Michael Vick every day for the past two-and-a-half years in practice and not get to him three times," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. "So for one guy to get to him three times in one night means that he's a special player." ... The big question in South Florida is whether Miami starters Damione Lewis, Leonard Myers and Will McPartland are going to be ready for Saturday's showdown against No. 1 Florida State? Lewis (fractured toe) and McPartland (concussion) each missed the Rutgers game because of injuries. Myers sprained his foot in the first quarter against Rutgers and did not play again. Backup fullback D.J. Williams also did not play because of a hip injury. ... With McPartland and Williams sidelined, Najeh Davenport made his first career start at fullback against Rutgers and likely will be used there against Florida State. "He didn't get as much time at fullback as we might have wished because of the nature of the score (against Rutgers). . . although he needed repetitions at that position just from the standpoint of doing it and learning it," Davis said.

Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh (4-0) will find out if it's a contender or pretender over the next five games, beginning with this Saturday's trip to the Carrier Dome to battle Syracuse (4:30 p.m. on ESPN2). After playing Syracuse (a team that the Panthers haven't beaten since September 23, 1989), Pitt then faces Boston College, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Miami in succession in what looks to be a make-or-break stretch. "We can't look ahead to anyone," said Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris. "We've got a tough Syracuse team this week."... The Panthers received 47 votes in this week's coaches' poll, the third highest total in the "also receiving votes" category. ... Sophomore Torrie Cox has been moved running back to cornerback. Cox (29 career carries for 68 yards) pushed for the move earlier in the year, but Harris asked him to wait until the backfield depth improved a bit. That will happen this week as blue-chip recruit Dustin Picciotti, who had been slowed down by post-concussion syndrome, should be ready to back up Lousaka Polite at fullback and former Notre Dame tailback Darcy Levy has become eligible and will back up Kevan Barlow and Nick Goings. One oddity of Cox moving to cornerback is that he'll go head-to-head, at times, in practice with his old Miami Northwestern High teammate Antonio Bryant, Pitt's stud wide receiver. ... Pittsburgh enters this game vs. Syracuse ranked No.2 in the nation in rush defense (42.3 ypg allowed). ... Pittsburgh defensive end Bryan Knight leads the Big East and is ranked third nationally with 7.5 sacks. Knight also leads the nation in tackles for losses with 13. Knight is from Syracuse's backyard (Buffalo's St. Joseph High School) and was not recruited by the Orangemen. Any regrets, now? "Bryan's a good player and that's all I'll say," Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said Monday.

Rutgers
Last Saturday's 64-6 loss to No. 7 Miami -- the program's worst home loss since an 80-0 loss to Princeton in 1888 -- means that the Scarlet Knights have been outscored by a 142-23 margin in three Big East games. ... With a bye this week, senior quarterback Mike McMahon, senior linebacker Dennis McCormack and sophomore defensive end Will Burnett should all be back for the Temple game on October 14. ... Sophomore safety Shawn Seabrooks did not play against Miami because of what coach Terry Shea said was an injured bone in his foot. He too could be back for Temple Oct. 14. ... Other injuries suffered vs. Miami included freshman defensive back Anthony Frazier (hip, MCL sprain in knee), junior tight end L.J. Smith (hip sprain, tender knee), sophomore left tackle Howard Blackwood (neck burner) and junior outside linebacker Torrance Heggie (hip pointer). ... A memorial service for Florence Shea Tochilin, the mother of Rutgers University head football coach Terry Shea, was held on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at St. Joseph's Church of Cupertino, California. Mrs. Shea Tochilin passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 27. She was 85 years old. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Florence Shea Tochilin Memorial Fund, c/o Scarlet R Club, Rutgers University, 7 College Avenue, New Brunswick, N.J., 08901-1261.

Syracuse
Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris will have noise piped into practice all week to help his 4-0 Panthers prepare for the din they can expect in the Carrier Dome on Saturday against Syracuse (2-2). The Panthers have lost nine straight to Syracuse and are 0-10-1 in the past 11 meetings. "Syracuse is one of the upper-level and elite teams in our league, so beating them would mean a lot," Harris said. ... Senior Will Allen is averaging 33.0 yards per kickoff return, which ranks third in Division I-A football ... Allen and senior Pat Woodcock combine to rank seventh nationally in kickoff returns. Woodcock is averaging 21.5 yards per attempt. ... Despite his many critics, Syracuse quarterback Troy Nunes is the nation's 10th-most efficient passer this season. He has an efficiency rating of 152.7 through four games. ... SU's tailback tandem of senior Dee Brown and junior James Mungro is providing 70 percent of the team's rushing attack (608 out of 874 yards) that ranks 14th nationally ... Brown leads the Orange with 354 yards on 65 carries (5.4 yards per rush) and needs 51 yards this week to become just the 14th SU runner to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. Mungro is SU's second most productive runner, gaining 254 yards on 29 carries (8.8 yards per rush). ... Syracuse's starting defensive tackle Rick Simpkins will return to the lineup against Pittsburgh after serving a one-game suspension against Brigham Young for violation of team academic rules. ... Syracuse junior quarterback Chad Elliott is academically ineligible for the season.

Temple
Temple (3-2 overall, 0-1 Big East) is a 32-point underdog at third-ranked Virginia Tech Saturday, so Owls coach Bobby Wallace is keeping the Hokies guessing. Who will be his starting quarterback: junior Devin Scott, who helped orchestrate an upset in Blacksburg two years ago, or junior college transfer Mike Frost? "We're going to evaluate that as the week goes along and make a decision later in the week," Wallace said. Whether that will make a difference in the outcome is unlikely, but Tech coach Frank Beamer remembers the Owls' 1998 shocker (28-24) in what turned out to be a 9-3 season for the Hokies and says, "They are a much better football team than they have been." By the numbers, Scott has it all over Frost, who threw for 3,404 yards and 30 touchdowns for Glendale (Calif.) Community College a year ago. Scott has completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 948 yards and leads the team in total offense (190.2). But Frost, having missed two games with an injured knee, came off the bench in the fourth quarter to give Temple a chance to beat favored West Virginia the last time out. He rallied the Owls with two TD tosses to give them a lead (24-23) they couldn't hold. The Mountaineers won 29-24, despite two Temple punts that hit West Virginia blockers and were recovered by the Owls and an ill-advised pass out of punt formation that was dropped by a Moutaineer player, giving Temple good field position. ... The "Tanardo Sharps for the Heisman" campaign still isn't needed, but the swift running back is having a great 2000 season. Sharps, a 5-9 sophomore, has 605 yards rushing through Temple's first five games and is on pace to be Temple's first 1,000-yard rusher since Todd McNair in 1987.

Virginia Tech
How good is Michael Vick? In the second half of his virtuoso 210-yard running performance against the Eagles, some BC fans seated behind Virginia Tech's bench were begging Vick to go pro and join the local team, the struggling New England Patriots. Vick just laughed off their suggestion, for now anyway. ... Junior cornerback Larry Austin has had an MRI on his injured knee and is questionable for this Saturday's game vs. Temple. If Austin can't go, then sophomore Ronyell Whitaker will start at the boundary corner and freshman Eric Green will start at the field corner. ... Tech's star tailback Lee Suggs (9 rushing TDs in 2000) suffered a toe strain vs. Boston College, but should ready to go by the weekend. ... With all the hype surrounding Vick, whom Temple coach Bobby Wallace calls "the best football player he's seen in 22 years of college coaching (and that includes Bo Jackson, whom Wallace recruited to Auburn, and Herschel Walker, whom Wallace coached against while an assistant at Auburn), people often overlook Tech's stellar offensive line. "That's one of the best offensive lines in the country and they don't get the credit that they deserve," Wallace said. ... Vick (201 rushing yards vs. BC) won the Big East offensive player of the week award after he broke the Big East record with for rushing yards by a quarterback of 147 yards set by Syracuse's Kevin Mason in 1994. ... Virginia Tech's Andre Davis was named Big East special teams player of the week for his 71-yard punt return for a touchdown against Boston College. Davis leads the nation in punt returns with a 26.9-yard average.

West Virginia
West Virginia safety Shawn Hackett was named the Big East defensive player of the week for his performance against Temple. Hackett had 12 tackles, including 10 solos, in a 29-24 victory at Temple. It was the second game this season that Hackett led the team in tackles. He leads WVU this season with 42 tackles. "Shawn's as good a hitter as we've had here," said West Virginia coach Don Nehlen. "He's a confident guy whose level of confidence is contagious. Like most good players, he's fun to coach." ... With Temple's defense stacked to stop the run, wide receiver Khori Ivy had a field day vs. Temple's suspect secondary with seven catches for 155 yards and one TD. ... When WVU plays Idaho this week, one weapon the Mountaineers must stop surprising tailback Willie Alderson, who has hurt opposing defenses that are spread out to stop dazzing QB John Welsh's aerial assault with his quick, between-the-tackle runs. Alderson has rushed for 446 yards and 3 TDs this season.

Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com.

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