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Pontiac Announces Finalists For 2008 NCAA Football Game Changing Performance Of The Year
December 5, 2008
DETROIT – Pontiac and the NCAA® are challenging college football fans to determine the “Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year”—the first and only fan-voted scholarship award in the history of the NCAA.
Now, fourteen weeks of NCAA football have led us to fourteen plays vying for the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year and a $100,000 general scholarship contribution from Pontiac.
This year’s finalists are:
Week 1: East Carolina University
Week 2: Brigham Young University
Week 3: University at Buffalo
Week 4: Louisiana State University
Week 5: University of North Carolina
Week 6: Vanderbilt University
Week 7: University of Toledo
Week 8: Penn State University
Week 9: Penn State University
Week 10: Texas Tech University
Week 11: University of Alabama
Week 12: University of Southern California
Week 13: University of Mississippi
Week 14: University of Arkansas
Once again, it is up to the fans to determine which school receives the ultimate $100,000 scholarship contribution by voting at pontiac.com/ncaa. Four rounds of voting will take us to the BCS Championship game on January 8, where the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year and winner of the one hundred thousand dollar general scholarship contribution will be announced on FOX.
In addition, for the next four weeks one lucky individual who visits pontiac.com/ncaa will win the ultimate “Pick 6” – a G6 and a Trip for 6 to this year’s BCS National Championship in Miami.
Every week, four “Pontiac Game Changing Performance” plays were selected by ESPN’s GameDay Crew. Fans then went online to pontiac.com/ncaa to vote for their favorite play. The winning school received a $5,000 general scholarship contribution from Pontiac.
“Pontiac has created a successful program that has a positive impact academically and athletically. Teams get deserved recognition for their accomplishments and all students have an opportunity to benefit from the general scholarship fund, so it’s a win-win situation,” said Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN GameDay Analyst.
The Pontiac Game Changing Performance recognizes the most dramatic moments that occur in NCAA games across the country, moments that change the outcome of the game or define a season. The program provides fans the opportunity to vote on the performance they believe is the biggest game changer. The competition began August 31 and will continue for the entire 2008 NCAA® football season.
To vote and get full program details, visit www.pontiac.com/ncaa.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaasports.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions—AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac—and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners—DiGiorno, Enterprise, The Hartford, Lowe’s and State Farm.
About NCAA Football
NCAA Football USA, Inc. represents a coalition of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA), the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and serves as the collective voice to promote college football. Visit www.NCAAFootball.com for more information.
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Andersen takes Utah State coaching job
By Doug Allen
December 5, 2008
LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Utah defensive coordinator Gary Andersen is leaving an unbeaten team to take over a program where wins have been scarce.
Andersen was introduced Thursday as the new coach at Utah State, leaving the BCS-bound Utes for a chance to turn around the downtrodden Aggies and restore them as a rival in a state that has been dominated by Utah and BYU.
"Why not us? Why not now? That's big to me," Andersen said.
Andersen planned to meet with Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on Friday to decide whether he'll still have a role with the seventh-ranked Utes in their bowl game. Utah went 12-0 during the regular season and is awaiting a Bowl Championship Series bid Sunday.
Andersen said he hoped to be there when the Utes try to finish the season unbeaten, but his priority is his new job. Andersen planned to meet with the Aggies, evaluate what he is inheriting and what Utah State needs most during the recruiting stretch.
Andersen said all three schools have the same recruiting pool and he plans to bring more of the talent to Utah State, which hasn't had a winning season since 1996.
"We will go against whoever we've got to go against - whether it's the other blue team or the other red team, I don't care. We're going to go head-to-head with them," Andersen said. "We're going to fight them right to the ground and away we go."
Andersen got several rounds of applause from Aggie boosters who packed the auditorium at Utah State's new complex built overlooking the north end zone at Romney Stadium.
"Once we get young men up here with their parents, this place will sell itself," Andersen said.
Andersen replaces Brent Guy, who was fired last month but allowed to finish the season. The Aggies were 3-9 this year and 9-38 during Guy's four-year tenure. The last coach to have a winning record at Utah State was John L. Smith, whose Aggies went 6-5 in 1996.
Smith was also a candidate to replace Guy, but Utah State athletic director Scott Barnes said Andersen won the job when he was interviewed.
"He came in showing those leadership skills, a tireless fiery work ethic and a vision and a plan," Barnes said.
Utah State fans got a firsthand look at Andersen's defense in September, when Utah allowed just 116 yards of offense during the Utes' 58-10 win. Utah's defense is ranked No. 13 nationally in scoring defense, 14th in rushing defense and No. 18 in total defense.
Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel said he was impressed when he went against Utah's defense, but more impressed when he and several other players met with Andersen last week.
"Everybody got excited," Borel said. "He's a good guy. He says a lot of good things and has good intentions for this team to work harder and do a lot of things better."
Andersen has been Whittingham's defensive coordinator since Whittingham was promoted to replace Urban Meyer in 2004. Andersen was also a Utes assistant from 1997-2002 before spending one season as coach at Southern Utah in 2003, then returning to his alma mater as defensive line coach.
Andersen was named this week as one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation's top assistant coach.
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