Fiesta Bowl to Honor 2006 College Football Hall of Fame Class

News and Notes From Around College Football for January 1, 2007

GLENDALE, Az - The National Football Foundation’s 2006 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be honored today prior to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl match-up between Boise State and Oklahoma at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Hall of Famers also participated in the 36th Annual Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation on Saturday. The Hall of Fame salute marks the second year of a new tradition to promote the best-ever from the college gridiron on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl’s national stage, building on a long-standing relationship between the organizations.

2006-07 Bowl Notes

Texas Tech produced the biggest comeback (down 31 points at 38-7) to upend Minnesota 44-41 in overtime at the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. Tech also won its first game against a Big Ten Conference opponent in six all-time encounters... Kentucky finished its 2006 season with a Music City Bowl triumph over Clemson en route to their best record since 1984...

The community in and around Athens, Ohio, is holding a special send-off rally for the Ohio Bobcats, who are making their first bowl appearance since 1968. OU will face Southern Miss in the GMAC Bowl on Jan. 7... Central Michigan captured its first Division I-A bowl triumph in the Motor City Bowl over Middle Tennessee...

For the first time in Georgia football history, the Bulldogs finish their season with three straight victories over ranked opponents. Georgia rallied back from an 18-point deficit to down No. 14 Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl... South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier became the first Gamecocks’ mentor to lead his first two editions at the university to bowl games.

Two Minute Drill

Florida State assistant head coach Billy Sexton has completed a 30-year tenure at FSU and will move into the athletics’ development office... Washington and Lee head coach Frank Miriello has been named the inaugural Division III National Coach of the Year by Sportexe Synthetic Turf Company... Minnesota’s Glen Mason was dismissed as head coach Dec. 31... Springfield’s Mike DeLong has been chosen as Greater Boston Gridiron Club 2006 Coach of the Year.

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford passed away Tuesday at 93. Ford, who accepted the NFF’s Gold Medal in 1972, played center at the University of Michigan as a three-year letter winner from 1932-34. The Wolverines enjoyed undefeated consecutive, national championship seasons in 1932 and 1933 with Ford dominating the line.

In 1934, Michigan named Ford its most valuable player, and he earned a spot in the East-West Shrine Game, which showcased the season’s All-Stars...

Former Oklahoma State player Darrent Williams was killed early Monday morning. He was in his second year with the Denver Broncos.

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