Associated Press
The college football notebook …
TEMPE, Ariz. ó A camera hanging from a wire over Sun Devil Stadium fell onto the field at the Insight Bowl.
The camera, which provides overhead shots for ESPN, fell Friday night when the wire it was attached to appeared to snap with 2:22 left in the game between Oklahoma and Iowa.
The camera bounced off the field around the 20-yard line on the south end and narrowly missed Iowa receiver Marvin McNutt Jr., who got tangled in the wire after the camera hit the turf. McNutt wasn’t injured and the camera had to be dragged off the field, causing a delay of about 5 minutes.
“First, I looked: What is it that fell from the sky?'” McNutt said. “The next thing I know, the camera kind of scratched me a little bit. It was just pulling me and I knew I didn’t want to keep going with it.”
The No. 19 Sooners went on to beat the Hawkeyes 31-14.
DABO AWARDED
ATLANTA ó Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who took the Tigers to 10 wins, including a win over Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game, has been named the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year.
Dodd was announced as the unanimous winner of the award, which recognizes “the highest ideals on and off the field,” at halftime of Saturday night’s Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The winner of award is picked each year by votes from a panel which includes previous winners.
Led by Dabo, Clemson (10-3) will play West Virginia in the Orange Bowl on Wednesday. The award will be presented to Swinney on the Clemson campus in March.
Boise State’s Chris Petersen won the 2010 award.
ROSE BOWL BACKS
LOS ANGELES ó LaMichael James figures most of the college football world has seen that priceless photo by now. Oregon’s tailback was captured in one of those roller-coaster snapshots while riding Space Mountain at Disneyland on Monday.
Let’s just say the look on his face won’t exactly intimidate Wisconsin or Montee Ball, his ball-carrying counterpart, in the Rose Bowl on Monday.
James got a hearty laugh out the whole thing, welcoming it as a break from a serious week of preparation for a showdown between two of the most dynamic tailbacks in college football.
James is the lynchpin of the sport’s most prolific offense, while Ball leads the nation in yards rushing and touchdowns.
To top it off, the Rose Bowl also could be both junior stars’ final college game.
HOKIE KICKER SENT HOME
NEW ORLEANS ó Virginia Tech has sent kicker Tyler Weiss home for a curfew violation in New Orleans, where the Hokies are preparing to meet Michigan in the Sugar Bowl.
Virginia Tech spokesman Bryan Johnston says Weiss was booked on a bus to Roanoke, Va., after he failed to be present for a 1 a.m. bed check early Thursday.
Tech now has one kicker with experience, kickoff specialist Justin Myer, who missed both of his field goal tries – from 57 and 53 yards – this season.
The Hokies play Michigan in the Superdome on Tuesday night.
STAYING
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ó Offensive lineman Barrett Jones will return to Alabama for his senior season.
Jones, who won the Outland Trophy this season as the nationís best interior lineman, started 10 games in 2011 at left tackle for the second-ranked Crimson Tide (11-1).
GOING
SYRACUSE, N.Y. ó Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones is skipping his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Jones He finished his career with 147 tackles, seventh among Orange down linemen.