McGee’s Memory Remains Alive

Keffer McGee still had a presence at Mississippi State’s season opener Saturday at Starkville, Miss.

McGee, a tailback, drowned in a Starkville apartment complex swimming pool Aug. 5, two days before the start of preseason practice. An autopsy revealed that a previously undetected heart problem contributed to the accidental drowning.

Players wore patches bearing teammate’s name. McGee’s uniform No. 21 was painted on the field near the south end zone. His game jersey and other equipment hung in his locker. His photo was on the game program.

The Bulldogs want McGee’s spirit to remain a part of this season. It was present for the opener against Memphis, when Brian Hazelwood kicked a career-best 53-yard field goal on the final play for a 13-10 victory.

“In the huddle, I told the team, ‘Just block for me. Keffer is going to be watching over us. Let’s do this for him. I’m going to make it,’ ” Hazelwood said.

A video tribute to McGee was shown on the school’s new Jumbotron screen before the game, while Coach Jackie Sherrill kept his players in the lockerroom until it was completed. The video included several highlights from McGee’s playing career, providing fans at Scott Field another chance to cheer for him. Cowbells rang loudly when a clip was shown of a McGee touchdown run against Memphis in last season’s opener.

FOOD FIGHT

Orlando Pace had flashy nicknames--”The Big O,” “The Pancake Man,” and “Big Dog”--two Lombardi Awards and an Outland Trophy. The guy who will attempt replace Pace at left tackle at Ohio State, Tyson Walter, doesn’t presume to have as much.

“What’s the difference between Orlando and me?” Walter said. “About two inches and 45 pounds.”

Pace turned pro after his junior season, but not before the school’s sports information department invented a statistic: the pancake, earned each time the 6-foot-6, 330-pounder knocked a defender flat on his back. But if you mention pancakes to Walter, he thinks flapjacks and not crackbacks.

“I love pancakes! I love food!” the redshirt freshman said. “I’m an offensive lineman. It’s in my job description.”

DODGE BALL?

Coach Tom Osborne says Nebraska’s 37-game home winning streak might frighten potential opponents--like USC. Osborne said the Cornhuskers had tentative agreements from Arkansas, USC and Utah to play this weekend, but those teams backed out. Not so, say the Trojans. A USC spokesman said the Trojans did not make an agreement to play Nebraska this year but have offered to come to Lincoln if the Huskers would come to Los Angeles--and that USC has not gotten an answer from Nebraska.

NOTEWORTHY

Morehouse College beat Morgan State, 24-14, in the inaugural Ennis Cosby Memorial Classic in Atlanta, a game that also served as the coaching debut of former Washington Redskin quarterback Doug Williams. Cosby was a 1992 graduate of Morehouse who was murdered in Los Angeles early this year. His father, entertainer Bill Cosby, a Morehouse trustee, participated in the pregame coin toss. Williams, the Super Bowl XXII most valuable player while with the Redskins who was hired at Morehouse last January, was carried off the field in his players’ shoulders after the victory. . . . Prairie View had its NCAA-record losing streak extended to 69 games as it was defeated by Texas Southern, 32-16, at the Astrodome.

Coach Larry Smith has lifted the suspensions of two of four Missouri players scheduled to sit out the Sept. 6 season opener against Eastern Michigan. Smith, saying he had new information involving the violation of team rules, reinstated Donnell Jones and Harold Piersey. Nathan Proctor and Ricky Ross remain suspended. . . . Northwestern’s top receiver, D’Wayne Bates, has a torn ligament in his right knee in addition to a broken bone and will miss the rest of the season, the team’s trainer said. Doctors initially thought Bates only had a badly sprained ankle. But the ligament tear was discovered Saturday. Bates, who caught 75 passes for 1,196 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, was hurt in Northwestern’s season-opening victory last weekend over Oklahoma.

QUOTEWORTHY

Houston Coach Kim Helton on the improvement of this year’s Alabama offense, which scored five touchdowns without suspended tailback Dennis Riddle: “I want to salute [Alabama quarterback] Freddie Kitchens, he had a great day passing. The Alabama offense has improved--either that or we really stink.”

--Compiled by Scott Howard-Cooper

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For Starters

Ten major college coaches made their debuts Saturday for new schools. Here’s how they fared:

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Coach Team Result Mike DuBose Alabama Win Walt Harris Pittsburgh Win Pat Hill Fresno State Win Joe Hollis Arkansas State Loss Glen Mason Minnesota Loss Hal Mumme Kentucky Win Dave Roberts Baylor Loss Houston Nutt Boise State Loss Tony Samuel New Mexico State Loss Woody Widenhofer Vanderbilt Win

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Note--Jim Fenwick of Cal State Northridge (Division I-AA), former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams of Morehouse College (Division II) and Greg Johnson of Prairie View (Division I-AA) also made their debuts. Northridge and Morehouse won, Prairie View lost.

THE PLAYMAKERS

RUSHING

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Player, Team No. Yds. TD SKIP HICKS, UCLA 27 190 4 D. WASHINGTON, Colo. St. 25 188 3 AMOS ZEREOUNE, W. Va. 27 174 3 DEMARIO BROWN, Utah St. 36 153 1 JAMES JOHNSON, Miss. St. 21 132 1 KEVIN McDOUGAL, Colo. St. 15 127 1 SCOTT FROST, Nebraska 11 123 2 EDGERRIN JAMES, Miami 14 120 3

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PASSING

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Player, Team Att. Comp. Yds. TD TIM COUCH, Kentucky 50 36 398 4 RYAN LEAF, Wash. St. 30 17 381 3 TIM RATTAY, La. Tech 39 25 358 3 P. MANNING, Tenn. 38 26 310 5 S. PATRIDGE, Miss. 37 24 303 1 T. B’NDBAUER, Iowa St. 31 18 285 2 J. BARNETTE, N.C. St. 29 18 279 3 CADE McNOWN, UCLA 34 19 257 1

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RECEIVING

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Player, School No. Yds. TD MARCUS NASH, Tennessee 7 112 2 RANDY MOSS, Marshall 7 85 2 QUINTON SPOTWOOD, Syracuse 6 155 1 KIO SANFORD, Kentucky 6 120 1 ROBBIE WHEELER, Houston 6 107 1 NIAN TAYLOR, Wash. St. 5 200 2 TORRY HOLT, N. Carolina St. 5 125 2

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