Somebody needs to ask:
- Why the BYU football team can't even break the Associated Press Top 25, but is still only a four-point underdog to No. 7 Iowa for the Holiday Bowl.
- Why, according to one poll of Heisman voters, Ty Detmer is forecast to finish fourth, not only behind Michigan receiver Desmond Howard, but also behind quarterbacks Casey Weldon of Florida State and Shane Matthews of Florida. Besides the fact that Detmer has been voted the first-team quarterback on almost every postseason All-America team, look at the numbers: Detmer had a higher pass efficiency, higher completion rate, and higher touchdown ratio than those two, and his interception rate wasn't far behind. And lest the strength of schedule argument is brought up, keep in mind that BYU played just as many bowl teams (five) as Florida State or Florida.- How BYU safety Derwin Gray only made the All-WAC second team. If there's a better safety in this league, I didn't see him. Strong arguments could also have been made for BYU fullback Peter Tuipulotu over Air Force fullback Jason Jones, and BYU linebacker Shad Hansen over Air Force linebacker Vergil Simpson.
POPULARITY GAMES: Did anyone else think it looked a little silly when Detmer was given the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback last Saturday on national TV, only to have Weldon win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award minutes later as the best senior quarterback in the country? At the very least, it makes one wonder who votes for these things. In case you were wondering, too, here's the facts:
- The O'Brien Award is awarded by the Fort Worth Club of Fort Worth, Texas, using a 12-person selection committee that included Jim Nance of CBS, Keith Jackson of ABC, and sportswriters from Sports Illustrated, Associated Press, United Press International, USA Today and several daily newspapers in Texas. The voting is done in stages, with the first stage narrowing the field from 26 to 10 finalists. At that point, Detmer narrowly led Weldon, said selection committee chairman Jim Brock. But after Weldon lost to Miami and Florida, Detmer won going away.
- The Unitas Award is awarded by the Kentucky Chapter of the Football Hall of Fame, based in Louisville. Kenny Klein, the University of Louisville sports information director who handles publicity for the Unitas Award, couldn't offer many details of who votes for the award, other than to say it includes broadcasters, writers and NFL scouts. He named several names, but the only recognizable one was Lee Corso, the ESPN football commentator.
RUMOR MILL: There's a story going around Davis County these days that former Clearfield High star Brock Spencer is dropping out of next year's BYU quarterback derby to play for Kansas State. The way the story goes, Spencer has been talking to Mark Adams, a K-State assistant coach who also played at Clearfield High. Spencer, who quarterbacked the BYU junior varsity in 1990 and redshirted this season, denies that he has any plans to transfer. "I've talked to a friend from Kansas State," he acknowledged, "but I'm planning on staying here."
ALL-WAC NOTES: The all-conference selections announced recently were a keen reflection of how far BYU progressed this season. Tight end Byron Rex, who looked early in the year like he'd never learn what pass route to run, made the first team. Eric Drage, an unheralded sophomore who caught six passes last season, was a second-team pick. And two of BYU's defensive linemen, Lenny Gomes and Randy Brock, got All-WAC recognition afer being tabbed by one preseason publication as a below-average group. Gomes was a second-teamer, Brock won honorable mention.
Any other year, BYU halfback Jamal Willis would have had a good shot at WAC newcomer of the year. This season, San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk was the hands-down - and deserving - winner, despite missing three WAC games. With his career apparently bound to parallel Faulk's, Willis may have a hard time ever making the All-WAC team.
And oh, yes, Detmer made the first team despite the prediction by one national columnist that Utah's Frank Dolce would be WAC offensive player of the year.
HOWARD'S HEISMAN: Brock, the O'Brien chairman mentioned above, said it's a foregone conclusion that Michigan's Desmond Howard will win the Heisman Trophy by a wide margin, thanks to ABC's Saturday college football telecasts. "There's no question Howard is going to set an all-time record for votes," Brock said. "You just have to watch ABC every week to know that. They're going to plug that Rose Bowl game any way they can."
The announcement of Howard as this year's winner will be televised following the San Francisco 49ers-Kansas City Chiefs game Saturday. Detmer will be present at the ceremony in New York City.