Sunday 7: There's a Wolfe at the Heisman door

Seven things we learned on Sunday. ...

Garrett Wolfe is really good: The 5-foot-7, 177-pound back from Northern Illinois was the nation's leading returning rusher. He backed that up by leading the country in rushing for most of this season.

Garrett Wolfe already has 1,181 yards rushing through five games. (US PRESSWIRE)

But after Saturday night's 353-yard performance against Ball State, it's time to re-adjust our thinking.

Quality of competition? He has run over Michigan and Ohio State in his career. Iowa plays host to Northern Illinois on Oct. 28. Coach Joe Novak has never ducked anyone.

Stat padding? Wolfe was removed after one series of the second half against I-AA Indiana State.

Heisman worthy? Well, yes. He's on pace to smash Barry Sanders' season yards record of 2,638. If the Huskies play in the MAC Championship Game and a bowl, he could reach 3,000 yards.

For now, Wolfe has broken Marcus Allen's 25-year-old record for most yards in the first five games of the season (now 1,181, 236.2 per game). Allen won the Heisman that year.

There could have been more for Wolfe: Runs of 70 and 51 yards were called back because of holding. There definitely will be more in the future: In the next four weeks, Wolfe faces Miami (Ohio) (104th in rushing defense), Western Michigan (sixth), Temple (117th) and Iowa (47th).

"He is the most instinctive football player I've ever seen," Novak said. "He does something different every week, things you haven't seen before."

There is no question Wolfe can get an invite to New York for the Heisman ceremony if he keeps it up. More significant than defenses, he will have to overcome the Eastern bloc of voters that will no doubt look down their noses at a MAC guy.

Anybody remember Holy Cross' Gordie Lockbaum? He finished third in 1987.

You, ACC, out of the national championship hunt! The Always Craving Cash league is not looking good.

Given prevailing winds of change, it could lose close to a division's worth of coaches after this season.

Florida State was deconstructing in front of our eyes before a bye week interceded. Hey, at least the 'Noles didn't lose!

Miami overcame 36,000 empty seats, a series of flyovers demanding Larry Coker's firing and Houston to win by a point.

At least there was Virginia Tech, blocking kicks and suspending players with regularity for most of the season. It all fell apart when the Hokies failed to cover the spread (eventually) and Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson (the entire game).

Feel free to, you know, move a safety over now and then for a guy who has punked just about everyone he has played against this year.

Oops, too late. Georgia Tech pulled the upset and is now only three victories away from matching their total in each of the past four seasons.

Seven.

Inspired? Depressed?

Focus on Clemson, which smashed Louisiana Tech 51-0 for its first shutout in six years.

Right now the Tigers are league's de facto favorite, which salvages some measure of feel good for the ACC. So does Wake Forest (5-0), the conference's only unbeaten team, which hosts the Tigers this week in an Atlantic Division showdown.

There was a small television revolution on Saturday: How loose is Missouri coach Gary Pinkel these days? He gave the first eight plays of Saturday's Big 12 opener against Colorado to Fox Sports Net, which was televising the game.

The plays were illustrated by a rudimentary diagram and discussed by announcers shortly before the snap.

"I knew what play and formation it was going to be," said Gary Reasons, a former NFL linebacker who pitched the idea to Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen during pregame discussions. "When they got to the line of scrimmage that's when I would verbalize the play. Pinkel blessed the whole thing."

The Tigers gained 53 yards on the eight plays (three rush, five pass), part of a 12-play, 66-yard drive that ended in a touchdown.

Coming on the heels of Brent Musburger discussing John David Booty's hand signals, it reminds us: Football is entertainment, not state secrets. It's information for the fans. Nobody died. Everyone calm down.

USC freaked when Musburger discussed on the air Booty's "hang loose" signal to receivers for one-on-one coverage.

This is more evidence that Pinkel, long known as a sourpuss, has done a 180 personality-wise. Of course it's easy to do that when the program is 5-0 for the first time since 1981.

Reasons showed the work ethic that defined his nine-year playing career and is so lacking sometimes elsewhere on other game telecasts. In other words, it was something new, creative and it worked.

He won't abuse the privilege but expects to ask a coach again for his script.

USC has challengers in the Pac-10: None of them are named Arizona State. The team some picked as most-likely-to, was embarrassed at home by Oregon 48-13.

Saturday's 35-point loss makes the Sun Devils one of the more gooey meltdowns of the season. Senior quarterback Sam Keller transferred to Nebraska in the preseason quarterback fiasco. Last year's pass efficiency leader, Rudy Carpenter, has been shaky. Dirk Koetter is 2-18 against ranked teams.

It was triple digits in the desert Saturday, and ASU wilted. What?

At the other end of the standings, Oregon is undefeated. Cal pounded Oregon State. Nate Longshore is tied for second nationally with 14 touchdown passes, all since the debacle against Tennessee in the opener.

Even Washington (4-1) controls its own destiny.

Oregon goes to Cal this week, with the winner having all the mojo needed to overtake the Trojans in November at the Coliseum.

Boise State, you're on the clock: Put it this way: Dan Hawkins might have left too soon.

With the Thursday demise of TCU, the Broncos are the last remaining hope from the non-BCS schools to get a BCS bowl bid. Boise State (5-0) destroyed the other remaining hope, Utah, on Saturday and should be at least two touchdown favorites in each of its remaining seven games.

"Don't even ask one question about the BCS," said first-year coach Chris Petersen, who replaced Hawkins upon his departure to Colorado.

Too late. In fact, that's pretty much the subject of all the questions you'll get the rest of the way, Chris.

Don't forget South Carolina-Auburn: Thursday's game was the best of the season. Two masterful coaches were at the top of their games.

Tommy Tuberville showed why he is the original riverboat gambler. Steve Spurrier's team didn't run a play in the third quarter and was still throwing into the end zone with 19 seconds left to tie or win -- using a converted receiver (Syvelle Newton) at quarterback.

Auburn should not pay the price in the polls for such a "narrow" victory. It should gain. Let's see a Michigan or USC come to Columbia, S.C., on a Thursday night and play that defense.

Alas, the No. 3 Tigers now trail No. 2 USC in the coaches' poll by 57 points. It was 48 points last week. However, they have crept to within 11 points of the Trojans in the Harris Poll (2,637-2,626).

Sometimes life isn't fair:

• You work your whole life trying to do the right thing, then you end up at a backwater like Athens, Ga., fighting for playing time, having to struggle to win at Ole Miss (14-9). Hang in there, Matthew Stafford. The Bulldogs quarterback picture gets more muddled now that Joe Tereshinski is healthy for Tennessee.

• Not to beat up Michigan State, because there was plenty of that going around after a 23-20 loss to Illinois. The Illini won their second Big Ten game in the past four years. Spartans Javon Ringer (knee) and Drew Stanton (bruised ribs) were knocked out of the game. Coach John L. Smith then slapped himself, hard, in the postgame. Really.

• 48, 33 and 26. In order, the number of years younger Pat Fitzgerald is than Joe Paterno; the number of points Northwestern gave up to Penn State on Saturday; and the margin by which Fitz, 31, lost his Big Ten opener.

• Texas A&M held the ball for more than 37 minutes and ran for 250 yards and still lost its first game. Texas Tech's Graham Harrell threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 26 seconds left in a 31-27 victory.

• Purdue averaged 7.6 yards per snap and accumulated 490 yards at Notre Dame and was never really in the game, losing 35-21.