WARRIORS NOTEBOOK
Third WAC bowl slot still up for grabs
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The WAC has agreements with three postseason bowls, but so far, only two of the league's 10 teams — Hawai'i and Boise State — have winning records.
According to NCAA rules, a team needs to finish with a winning record to be eligible for a bowl game (although this year, because of the expanded schedule, a 6-6 record would be good enough for a team playing 12 games).
UH (6-2 overall, 5-1 in the WAC) needs one more victory to secure an automatic berth in the inaugural ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Day.
Boise State, which leads the WAC, is expected to accept an invitation to the on-campus Humanitarian Bowl, which is played at Bronco Stadium.
The Silicon Valley Bowl in San Jose, Calif., would prefer to invite San Jose State. The 3-year-old game is played in SJSU's home stadium, and three Spartan officials are on the bowl's five-member selection committee.
But the Spartans are 4-5 and 2-2, and would need to win three of their final four games, beginning with Saturday's game against UH, to be bowl-eligible. The Spartans also have games left against Louisiana Tech, the WAC's defending champion, and Fresno State, which has played in the first two Silicon Valley Bowls.
The WAC has a trade agreement with the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. The WAC can send an area team to the GMAC Bowl in exchange for a Mid-American Conference team playing in one of the three WAC-affiliated bowls.
Health report: Defensive end Houston Ala, running back Michael Brewster and safety Leonard Peters have been medically cleared to play against San Jose State.
Ala, who is recovering from a sore left Achilles' heel, actually was medically cleared to play against Fresno State, but the coaches decided he would not be healthy enough to play and left him off the 60-player travel roster.
Brewster, who also did not make the trip to Fresno, has a sprained ankle.
Peters, who is recovering from an abdominal strain, went to Fresno but did not play.
Spartan report: San Jose State football player Neil Parry will receive an Arete "Courage in Sports" award Thursday in Chicago. CBS will televise the program Sunday.
After Parry suffered a compound fracture during a game in 2000, doctors decided to amputate the infected lower part of his right leg, 13 centimeters below his knee. Parry's comeback attempt was abbreviated because of soreness. He has not practiced since Labor Day, and probably will not play this season. Parry, a fourth-year junior, will attempt to play next year, SJSU officials said.
The Spartans are one of the few NCAA Division I-A teams to play games on 13 consecutive weekends.
The Spartans, who have 29 true freshmen on their roster, will bring at least eight to Hawai'i.
Kendrick Starling, who was referred to as the "Next Randy Moss" as a freshman at Marshall, was expected to be the Spartans' top receiver this year. After leaving Marshall, he was a two-time junior college All-American. Instead, Charles Pauley has become the Spartans' most productive receiver.
Running back Lamar Ferguson, at 5 feet 4 1/2, is the shortest starter in Division I-A football this season.
