They've been going all day here in Iowa City. And by "going" I mean going to the keg for beer after beer. I made a recon run early this morning to check out the parking situation here at Kinnick Stadium.

The whole city seemed to be filled with RVs, students and yellow. Saw the first casualty of the day four hours before game time. A couple of guys were carrying their drunk buddy to ... somewhere, like he'd been shot at the front and needed medical attention.

Which of course he did.

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Big ups to The Edge, a sports bar with actual edible food here in I-Town. The lobster rolls and tilapia were great while we watched the 12 pm ET early games on the flatties.

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Thoughts on the early games: It's starting to slide for Texas A&M's Dennis Franchione. He just lost his swing game to Texas Tech 31-27. The season hinged on beating the Red Raiders (at Kyle Field) because the schedule lays out so smoothly.

This is the first living, breathing opponent the Ags have played. Freshman defensive back Jordan Peterson allowed Tech's Robert Johnson to get behind him for the game-winning catch with 25 seconds left. So much for the nation's No. 6 pass defense.

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Memphis' Joseph Doss was suspended for the first half of the Tennessee game for being late to the meeting. Doss said after the game that the reason he was late was his cell phone. It doubles as his alarm. Doss dropped his alarm in the toilet. Doesn't that happen to everyone?

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Blowing a big lead to Notre Dame is one thing. Losing at home to hapless Illinois is inexcusable. John L. Smith should be very, very worried at Michigan State. The Spartans got beat by a breakfast drink (Illinois' Juice Williams). Smith is 21-20 in his fourth year. Hey, what is Steve Mariucci doing anyway?

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I just can't bring myself to go all in on Georgia Tech. The win at Virginia Tech might have been the biggest of Chan Gailey's tenure. But for the short term all it proved was that the ACC is probably out of the championship hunt. The Jackets (4-1) have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way (not counting the Georgia game), but history reminds us this is a program that was won seven games four years in a row.

Get me re-write. Forget Wednesday's one-third poll awards in my blog. Thursday night produced the game of the season.

Where to start with Auburn's 24-17 victory at South Carolina? ...

Auburn critics say this result will hurt in the polls. I think the opposite. Winning this type of game should strengthen the Tigers' spot in the polls. Let any other team come to Columbia for a Thursday night game against that defense and come out with the victory. ...

Auburn's Tommy Tuberville coached the perfect SEC road game and still almost lost. ...

Who among us has seen a quarter where a team (in this case South Carolina) didn't run a play? ...

Steve Spurrier might be better than any of us thought. Syvelle Newton was playing receiver a couple of weeks ago. On Thursday, he was throwing into the end zone with 19 seconds left with a chance to tie (or beat) the nation's No. 2 team. ...

The Gamecocks are going to beat somebody they shouldn't. Watch out Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson. ...

The Irons brothers -- David and Kenny -- are the truth. ...

Say goodbye to TCU. Losing by 14 at home in September (to BYU) is not the way to build BCS bowl momentum. Now we can concentrate on Boise State and Utah being an elimination game for the Fiesta Bowl. ...

Ohio State (at Iowa) and West Virginia (bye) are now tied with nation's longest winning streak, 11. ...

Back from the dead: Syracuse has scored a combined 65 points in its past two games. In its six previous games it scored a total of 62. ...

Leave it to Jackson Hole to stir things up. Wyoming's Devin Moore to that city's Star Tribune: "I'm going to guarantee a win ... against Syracuse, and every other conference game. I don't want to be cocky, not at all."

Deluded, maybe. Wyoming has won one of its past 10 games. ...

Missouri is the last team to lose to Colorado. That was last year and eight losses ago for the Buffs. Since that game CU has averaged 8.5 points per game. Missouri is currently No. 1 in total defense. The teams open the Big 12 season Saturday in Columbia. ...

Minnesota is the homecoming opponent in three of its first four Big Ten road games.

"You see my parking space out there," coach Glen Mason said. "I drive a float. I don't drive a car." ...

Beers are on me Friday in Iowa City. We're going to find a sports bar (uh, see Weekend Watch List for a hint) and watch the people's choice, Rutgers, play South Florida. ...

Pop culture recommendation of the week: The Office is better than ever. ...

I don't want to look this weekend. Someone e-mail Monday and tell me if the Cardinals made it.

Where has the time gone? We're already one-third of the way through the regular season. It's so early the BCS hasn't invaded our lives yet. ...

Coach of (one-third of) the year (tie)

Bobby Petrino, Louisville: Take away anyone else's Heisman-caliber quarterback and NFL-worthy tailback and the offense would fall apart. Louisville has flourished with a defining win over Miami and an underrated defense.

Jim Grobe, Wake Forest: By the third game, he lost three offensive starters from a team that went 4-7 last year. The Demon Deacons are one of two undefeated teams in the ACC (Virginia Tech is the other) and of only 16 4-0s in the country.

Team of the year

TCU: Playing the Rodney Dangerfield card, the Horned Frogs have won 13 in a row and threaten to crack the exclusive BCS club.

Player of the year

Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma: A.D. lost his quarterback and one of his offensive linemen, and his defense has been disappointing. Opposing teams know this and have been ganging up on him. Still, he is second nationally in rushing.

Peterson will arrive in the NFL next, shall we say, seasoned.

Best trend

Six I-AAs have knocked off six I-As. Guess that name change (to Football Championship Division) really worked.

Worst trend

Ticket prices are still the same, but we're getting less football. The NCAA rules committee chose to cut the length of games by almost 10 percent (see lead note).

Second-worst trend

Bad kicking: Florida hasn't made a field goal this season. Alabama, Clemson had a chance to be undefeated at this point if their kickers had made a simple extra point.

On Saturday alone, Boston College, Navy, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Hawaii and Florida (twice) missed extra points.

Best story

Flu-ridden Joe Paterno having to leave twice to take care of business during Saturday's game at Ohio State.

Hey, it happens to all of us.

Worst story (tie)

Both Miami and Florida State in freefall: Larry Coker still has 10 games to go (assuming a bowl), but it seems inevitable he will be fired.

The situation is worse in Tallahassee where Bobby Bowden is too stubborn to address the offensive coordinator situation. Meanwhile, the 'Noles are a shadow of their former selves.

Their plight is tied with the Oklahoma-Oregon replay fiasco. Missed calls brought out the worst everyone -- Bob Stoops, David Boren, the Pac-10, fans, ABC (playing a duck-and-cover version of CYA) and officials.

For the moment, everyone is hypersensitive to every call. Conference USA suspended an official this week for reviewing a play he shouldn't have.

Best backfield

At the state university of New Jersey where Ray Rice (speedy tailback) and Brian Leonard (bruising fullback) are both pro prospects.

Best comeback

Michigan: Critics took 61-year old Lloyd Carr for old, conservative and out of touch.

Touch this! Michigan walked into Notre Dame on Sept. 16 and put the most points on the Irish at their home since 1960.

Buckeye Nation is suddenly nervous about that chummy get together on Nov. 18.

Best game

Florida 21, Tennessee 20 on Sept. 16: How many times do teams rally in the fourth quarter to win at Neyland? Florida has done it twice this decade with two different coaches!

Best conference

Still the SEC. Five ranked teams, two in the top 10. Runner-up: Big Ten.

One-third of a Thorpe Award (best defensive back): Daymeion Hughes, Cal
One-third of a Mackey (best tight end): Martin Rucker, Missouri
One-third of a Biletnikoff Award (best receiver): Mario Manningham, Michigan
One-third of a Davey O'Brien (best quarterback): Kevin Kolb, Houston
One-third of a Butkus Award (best linebacker): Jim Laurinaitis, Ohio State
One-third of a Doak Walker (best running back): Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois
One-third of a Nagurski (best defensive player): Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
One-third of a Frank Broyles Award (best assistant coach): Will Muschamp, defensive coordinator, Auburn
Comeback player of the year: Tyler Palko, QB, Pittsburgh

Things to look for in the remaining two-thirds of the regular season: Ohio State and USC sealing the deal. ... The first BCS standings on Oct. 15. ... Armageddon if Auburn goes unbeaten (again). ... The Chris Leak-Tim Tebow combo at Florida. ... Freshman quarterbacks (see: Arkansas and Georgia). ... West Virginia winning with one of the smallest offensive lines in the country. ...

Since 1996, TCU has played 18 non-Saturday games. It is so desperate for exposure (read: money) that since 2001 it has played at least one game on every day of the week.

Twenty-six percent of the Frogs' games under Gary Patterson (16 of 61) have been played on non-Saturdays.

The Frogs hit the meat of their schedule in the next two weeks with Thursday night games against BYU (this week) and Utah (Oct. 5).

That doesn't sit right with Cougars coach Bronco Mendenhall, a traditionalist.

"TV is not my first concern," he said this summer. "Our student-athletes having a college experience, playing football on a Saturday afternoon, is one of the reasons I'm in this business."

Bronco might be bucking for another reason. After routing Utah State on Saturday, the Cougars don't practice on Sunday, so will have only two full days of practice before traveling on Wednesday. ...

Texas seems to be taking some this week because it is playing a I-AA opponent -- Sam Houston State.

Some perspective: All patsy discussions are rendered moot when playing the nation's No. 1 team (Ohio State on Sept. 9). Besides Ohio State, Texas' other non-conference opponents have been Rice and North Texas.

Oh, and it still has to go to Nebraska and Texas Tech as well as play Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

This is the first time Texas has played a I-AA in 14 years, but it certainly doesn't abuse the privilege. Five Big 12 schools (Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas and Oklahoma State) have averaged one gimme a year for the past five years.

In I-A this year, 67 of 119 teams (56 percent) have played a I-AA. ...

Figure this out: Stanford (0-4) has the most experienced offensive line in the country -- 143 combined starts. ...

Southern Miss' Jeff Bower (a winner Tuesday at Central Florida) has played 100 of his 177 games at the school on the road.

The coach with most road games since the beginning of '91 season (Bower's first) is Air Force's Fisher DeBerry with 80.

Why my Heisman ballot looks this way this week:

1. Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma: Think about, AD is about all the Sooners have. The defense and quarterback are shaky. The offensive line certainly isn't great. Peterson is the focal point of every defense and is still No. 2 nationally in rushing.

2. Troy Smith, Ohio State: Except for one touchdown pass, largely unspectacular against Penn State.

3. Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois: There should be a crusade to get him to New York.

4. Steve Slaton, West Virginia: With Pat White's lack of passing expertise, I still can't understand why defenses can't zone in and stop Slaton.

5. Chris Leak, Florida: Tied for the nation's lead with 12 touchdown passes. ...

Ohio State's stroll to the desert isn't so assured. The suddenly tough Big Ten has four 4-0 teams. The herd will be thinned by at least one Saturday when the Buckeyes play at Iowa.

There is still a trip to Michigan State for the Bucks and a season-ender against Michigan. ...

Who has the easiest road to the national championship at this point? Southern California. The Trojans are the only top 10 team that doesn't play another top 10 team the remainder of the season.

Florida, on the other hand, might have the toughest remaining schedule. The Gators face three top 10s -- Auburn, Georgia and LSU. ...

One of the more intriguing games this week is Houston going to Miami. The Cougars are 4-0 for the first time since 1990 and are coming off their first-ever win against a Big 12 team (Oklahoma State). ...

Please, no more comparisons to 1966 and 2006 in reference to Michigan State-Notre Dame. Different time, different game, different teams. Ara Parseghian sat on the ball 40 years ago with a national championship at stake.

On Saturday, the teams combined for 77 points in a game that couldn't end up in a tie.

You tell me, is college football a better game? ...

The three major-college teams bearing the nickname Owls (Temple, Rice, Florida Atlantic) are a combined 0-12 with an average of 44.1-7.5. ...

The nation's leading rusher won't be chasing stats. Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe played only one series into the second half. In that short time he rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns against Indiana State.

"Maybe I'm too old-fashioned, but I've got too much respect for this game and for the Heisman Trophy to have any guy get it because he's padding his stats," coach Joe Novak said. "You can't ever say that about what Garrett has, because his stats haven't been padded and they won't be. This youngster has what he has when the game is important. He's had big games against everybody." ...

Texas is the early leader in recruiting (surprise) in the early 2007 team rankings released by rivals.com.

The Longhorns already have four five-star commits. The next 11 teams on the list have a combined seven five-stars.

In the rivals.com ranking system, Texas is more than 1,000 points ahead of second-place Georgia.

The rest of the top 10: Florida, Mississippi, Virginia, Clemson, Alabama, Virginia Tech, USC and Notre Dame. ...

Roger Clemens plays us all. All these emotional goodbyes, curtain calls, all of them carefully crafted to drive up his price when he comes out of "retirement."

Just be honest with us, Rocket. The lemmings in New York fell for it, now Astros fans are being manipulated. ...

Even if the Cardinals do make the postseason, they'll be swept in the first round. The pitching staff is a shambles. They just got swept in Houston, giving up walk-off hits in the first three games before a 7-3 loss on Sunday.

In the series the bullpen went 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA. ...

On a more pleasant note, Jack Dodd made the key block that sprung a long run for the only score of the game as the Ascension Eagles (1-1) defeated Prince of Peace 6-0 in fourth-grade football action on Saturday.

Mark Richt or Tommy Tuberville at Miami? Please. Richt played there. Tuberville coached there. Miami can't afford either. And who is to say Miami is a better program than Georgia or Auburn? ...

Two more names to add to the Miami list: Terry Bowden and Titans coach Jeff Fisher. ...

Sooner or later it's going to get to the point at Florida State that influential boosters are going to demand that Jeff Bowden be let go. It's gotten that bad at FSU. Bobby is not going anywhere but it could get ugly if he tries to hold on to Jeff and the boosters threaten to cut off the money. ...

One final blast from the replay booth: The words "pressured by television" and "a single frame of video" came up this week in a column regarding that Pac-10 replay official.

Sorry, but if Gordon Riese felt pressured by ABC and only had one still picture of the replays at Oregon, then that's on him. You tell ABC to go fish and wait as long as it takes to get a good look at the plays. It was a split-national game for gosh sakes. There should have been plenty of angles available.

Riese has asked for a leave of absence, but if he had waited 10 extra minutes to get the replays right, he might have saved himself a lot of mental anguish. ...

One final, final blast: In a way, the Sun Belt is in better shape than the big conferences. Because Sun Belt games aren't always on TV, the conference puts five of its own cameras in a stadium and relies on teams' film too. That creates, in essence, a closed-circuit view of the plays.

A camera is camped on each goal line making sure there is no controversy when it comes to breaking the plane. BCS conferences don't even do that. A couple of weeks ago, North Carolina State was beaten by Akron on the last play of the game.

A still photo shows that the Akron running back's knee appears to be down before he got in the end zone. Where was the replay? ...

The best part about Washington State at Stanford (combined record 2-4) is that Stanford's band has been put on "indefinite provisional status."

Bluto and Otter are concerned. ...

The band is on double-secret probation because of $50,000 worth of damage caused to its "Band Shak" (who names it that?). We all know of the countless, tasteless "salutes" at halftime. Remember the salute to polygamy vs. BYU? ...

We promise this is the last Stanford reference but we had to share it with you. Only at Stanford, only in the Pac-10 do you get a pregame media meal that includes seared salmon, mango aioli, rosemary roasted chicken and vegetable frittata. ...

The annual offensive records that have been set this decade:

Average yards per rush: 4.05, 2004
Average pass attempts, 32, 2005
Average completions, 18.5, 2005
Completion percentage, 57.9, 2005
Passing yards per game, 224.6, 2005
Total offense: 382.6, 2003
Average yards per play: 5.39, 2005
Average touchdowns per team: 3.47, 2001
Average points per team: 27.3, 2002

Still can't get my mind around this: Oregon State kicker Alex Serna is oh-for-two this season, cost his team a victory at LSU two years ago (three missed extra points) and was the 2005 Lou Groza Award winner. ...

Recommendation of the week: How fitting for Ted Mandell, a member of the film/video faculty at Notre Dame. His Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys just hit bookshelves. It is a fine compendium of the greatest games of all-time.

Minus the one last Saturday.

Please support freedom of the press and the First Amendment by expressing your displeasure. San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams were sentenced to 18 months in jail Thursday for not revealing their sources in the BALCO investigation.

This was a case that did not involve national security. In fact, it shined a light on widespread cheating in professional sports. On a higher level, it was what journalists are supposed to be -- a public watchdog.

The government has overstepped its boundaries on this one. It's not fair that these two fine men with families are jailed while the scumbags who cheated fans, opponents and the law walk free.

If you support the First Amendment please write the sentencing judge in the case:

The Hon. Jeffrey S. White
United States District Court Northern District of California
450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102
Courtroom Q, 17th Floor
re: Grand Jury Subpoenas to Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams; Case: #CR06-90225MISC JSW.

Maybe someday Bob Stoops will be like Bob Stull.

Maybe someday Gordon Riese will be like J.C. Louderback.

For now, there is only bitterness and recrimination. Fear, even, surrounding Saturday's Oklahoma-Oregon game. Stoops, the Oklahoma coach, won't let go, continuing to spit poison at the Pac-10 three days later. Riese, 64, is in his Portland, Ore., home, his reputation in tatters, doubting whether he will ever be a replay official again.

Stull was the Missouri coach 16 years ago in the Fifth Down game, perhaps the most heinous officiating blunder until Saturday's series of unfortunate events in Eugene.

Louderback was the referee for the Big Eight crew that screwed up that day.

"I wasn't going to fret it the rest of my life," said Stull, now the athletic director at Texas-El Paso. "I've got a picture in my office. It's called 'Fifth and Goal.'"

"I knew I would go on," said Louderback, 72, now retired and living in Arkansas City, Kan.

They are familiar with what is happening this week. This is Oklahoma's Fifth Down. An unfortunate result etched in history. It's up to the principals how they handle it. So far it's been ugly.

Stull and Louderback kept their dignity, each carving out fine careers.

It's almost a new age for officiating screwups. The difference being that part of the reason we have instant replay is because of errors like the one on Oct. 6, 1990, at Missouri.

That day Louderback's crew lost track of the downs as Colorado pushed for the go-ahead score. Not only was CU allowed an extra down, quarterback Charles Johnson appeared to be stopped short of the goal line on what was deemed the game-winning touchdown.

Colorado won 33-31 and went on to share a national championship.

The Pac-10 officials on Saturday had the benefit of instant replay. Even with all that technology they didn't see enough overturn an Oregon onside kick that should have been awarded to Oklahoma and a pass interference flag that should have been picked up.

"It's like this really sick feeling in your stomach that there's something taken away form you that you deserved," said Stull, who has a substantial Pac-10 background as an assistant at Washington under Don James.

"If you get your ass kicked, you understand."

For Stull, though, the feeling was gone in a few days. His biggest concern was getting his team focused for the next week's trip to Nebraska. The Fifth Down game, like Oklahoma-Oregon now, quickly became national news. "The biggest danger in the whole thing, in my opinion, was what kind of effect it has on our next game," Stull said. "We had every dang news crew out there filming the spot (where it happened). I told our staff, 'If you don't get our people talking about this game, we're going to get killed.'"

They were, 69-21.

Louderback drove home from Columbia, Mo., that night. The television replay that greeted him made him sick. His life was much like Riese's is now. There were death threats phoned and mailed in.

The Big Eight indefinitely suspended him and his crew. After the season, the conference cited some obscure age restriction and at age 57, Louderback was out of the league.

His name became a verb, a pop culture reference for getting jobbed.

"You got Louderbacked!" Stull recalled this week.

Louderback's one bad day didn't ruin the career of lifelong teacher in the area and a nationally ranked tennis player. He went on to join a small officials consortium doing independents' games. That turned into a gig doing Conference USA games. Louderback retired in 1999.

The phone and mailbox that haunted him became a source of consolation. His reputation probably couldn't have survived in today's environment. Thankfully, there was no Internet back then. Riese's phone number, address and name of his wife were reportedly up on an Oklahoma message board less than a day after Saturday's game.

Shortly after the Fifth Down game, NFL officials called and mailed Louderback with encouragement. Kids and teachers in the tight-knit Arkansas City community encouraged him to hang in.

It was a glitch in the career of a fine man. In 2002, the USTA named the Louderbacks the tennis family of the year. J.C. is heading out this week to watch a granddaughter play tennis at Notre Dame.

He still hasn't seen the Oklahoma-Oregon replays. There is no hurry.

"This last year is the first time I haven't gotten calls from people when the Colorado-Missouri game comes around," Louderback said. "Everyone has been pretty nice about it." ...

Here's a stunner: There has never been a mandate for instant replay in college football.

"A lot of them were concerned about costs," John Adams, secretary-editor of the NCAA rules committee, said of the questionnaires he sends out to coaches each year. "A lot of them were concerned about validity."

It was the Big Ten coaches who essentially started the monitor whirring. Joe Paterno chased a couple of zebras off the field. That was enough for the league to start its own instant replay experiment two years ago.

Until then, replay a pipe dream, off the table, considered too expensive. Too NFLish. An unneeded extravagance for the college game.

How strange. Last year the SEC alone spent more than $500,000 on state-of-the-art replay equipment. From an emphatic "no" three years ago to standardized instant replay this season.

How did the purse strings get loosened?

It became more expensive not to add instant replay. There was too much money at stake -- with bowls and BCS, etc. -- to entrust the game to mere humans.

It was faulty bipedal hominids who allowed that Colorado-Missouri breakdown. More mistakes were made. Money was thrown at the mistakes. College football's power brokers made sure such monumental meltdowns would never happen again.

Then Oklahoma was jobbed so badly by Pac-10 officials that it brought back those memories. How, we were asking again, could something like that happen again?

Riese, the offending replay official, is a decent man, deemed one of the best Pac-10 officials in the league during his 28 years. Phone calls to his home ring into perpetuity, not attended by voice mail. Riese says he is weighing whether to continue at all. Monday, he asked for a leave of absence for the rest of the season.

"I know guys that have been asked to do it," Adams said, "and it was too emotional for them to consider it."

Funny how things changes when $2 million contracts and $17 million bowl berths are in the balance. Finally, college football's power brokers employed the oldest business practice in existence: spending money to make money.

Everything else has been crushed in the wake of change. But how far have we come considering the complete collapse of the system Saturday at Oregon?

"It's not a question of faith in instant replay," said USC's Pete Carroll, a longtime critic of the system. "I just don't prefer it. I'd rather not have it. I can't even imagine how somebody would govern all that."

The solution? Throw more money at it. Saturday's events are about to make a Democratic White House look like a convenience store. Big government? Get ready for Big Replay.

On Tuesday's Big Ten conference call, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr suggested that a national pool of officials be established. That set in motion The Next Big Idea. Yeah, that's the ticket, neutral officials. Not even a hint of conflict of interest.

Expect a national push for at least a pool of neutral replay officials. The I-A conferences in general all employ retired former officials from their league.

Who knows how much that would cost? Better yet, who cares in this climate? It's going to happen because if it can happen to Bob Stoops, it can happen to Lloyd Carr. Coaches don't want to become the next Bob Stoops, staring up a press box at senior citizens staring at a monitor.

"The typical coach's statement to officials (when there is a bad call) is, 'Well, you're affected all my staff, my family and my kids,'" Adams said.

And their wallets.

"I don't think there is any question going on the road ... you run into some of those (neutrality) issues," Carr said. "It's just human nature. People are affected by crowds."

The embarrassment factor is too great. Before replay, Joe Paterno accused a Big Ten official from Michigan from having a bias in favor of Michigan. The 2002 Rose Bowl crew included a back judge from the Miami area who was paid through the Big East to work Miami practices.

The Pac-10 practice of using conference officials at all non-conference home games is unacceptable. Oklahoma is making noises about not coming to Washington for a 2008 game unless the policy is changed.

We're trusting officials deemed too old to make bang-bang decisions on the field to make bang-bang decisions from an office chair in the press box. Did we say old men? We meant good old boys as far as the conference is concerned.

"I think you're talking about tremendous expense," to create a neutral pool of officials, Oregon's Mike Bellotti said. "You're talking about every single game that has replay. Logistically, travel wise and from a pay standpoint much different than from what we're doing now."

Hey, they once said instant replay was too expensive once, too.

"I'd like to see the officiating become standard," Paterno said. "A national pool of officials would be a start."

And when JoePa talks, people listen. Ask the Big Ten. ...

Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe is on pace to shatter Barry Sanders' single-season rushing mark. He's not doing it all against MAC pikers either. Wolfe has 100-yard days against Michigan last year and Ohio State this year.

The tiny 5-7 back currently leads the country averaging 210 yards per game. If Northern Illinois plays 14 games (MAC championship game and bowl game), at his current pace he would end with 2,940 yards.

Sanders gained 2,628 yards in 11 games in 1988. That was before conference championship games and the NCAA began counting bowl game numbers.

Sanders' record might fall in the regular-season alone. This week's opponent, Indiana State, is last in I-AA rushing defense (290.7 yards) having allowed five 100-yard rushers in three games. ...

Miami dropped out of the Top 25 this week for the first time since 1999. Larry Coker, though, isn't going quietly.

"I'm still the coach who won a national championship," Coker said on Wednesday's ACC conference call with reporters. "I went to an Orange Bowl. ... I think the program is better than when I came."

In its past five games against I-A teams, Miami has scored a combined 55 points. ...

One player representative contacted this week said both Louisville's Michael Bush (broken leg) and Brian Brohm (sprained thumb) would be wise to enter next year's draft.

Bush, a senior, still has a redshirt year left. Brohm is a junior who missed a chunk of last season with a knee injury. ...

Where does the depth come from? Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said this week that Hunter Cantwell, Brohm's replacement, is an NFL prospect.

Cantwell, 6-feet-5 and 230 pounds, started the last two games in '05 because of Brohm's injury and was the team's MVP in the Gator Bowl. ...

How special is 3-0 TCU, currently in the running for a BCS bowl bid? Teams from non-BCS leagues (those conferences whose champions don't get an automatic berth) are 9-63 against BCS leagues. TCU is 2-0.

TCU (No. 16) is one of only two non-BCS schools that's ranked (No. 25 Boise State is the other). The Horned Frogs have the nation's longest winning streak (13) and have a four-game winning streak against Big 12 schools.

It hasn't been a good year for Oklahoma. Quarterback Rhett Bomar pooped all over the program in early August when it was revealed he was taking money for work he didn't perform at a car dealership.

The team's national championship hopes were essentially ended right there. When the Sooners did get on the field, it was obvious quarterback wasn't their biggest concern. The defense allowed Alabama-Birmingham and Washington to stay closer than they should have in the first two games.

Then came Saturday's fiasco in Eugene, Ore., which might have been the biggest officiating blunder since the notorious Fifth Down game between Missouri and Colorado 16 years ago.

At 6:05 p.m. ET, 48 hours after Oregon's tainted 34-33 victory, we finally heard from the Pac-10 on the subject.

The officiating crew and replay official were suspended one game and the Pac-10 apologized to Oklahoma for botched calls (and non-calls) at the end of the game.

On Monday night after practice, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops immediately gathered reporters around him in an obvious I'm-only-going-to-say-it once rant.

It's already been a long season and Stoops didn't hold back.

"At least they have reacted to it and tried," Stoops said of the Pac-10. "Truly, there can be no amends to it and it can't be corrected. I think (the media) are fair to discern whether the actions taken against (the officials) or the individuals who had an opportunity to get it right are acceptable or enough ... compared to how our season has changed.

"If you're going to write any of this, you need to say it all. I've made a million mistakes; I'll make a million more. In each game and in that game included ... there are things I could have done differently or changed. Unlike officials, players and coaches don't have that opportunity. They had an opportunity to get it right and they chose not to.

"So I find it still absolutely inexcusable and unacceptable. In particular (the) people who had an opportunity to review it all and look at it and get it right. They chose not to.

"You discern whether a one-game suspension is appropriate for those individuals. I'm not talking about people in the heat of the moment out there in the middle of the chaos. I'm talking about people who, like every viewer at home, had an opportunity to see it. It's not for me to decide what is appropriate, but I think it's fair to say that a one-game suspension compared to the way our season now is altered, I don't know if that fits the situation.

"Like I said, I've made a million mistakes. In a game I'd love to have a chance to replay it and do it over. They get that opportunity, we don't. To me, again, it's just unacceptable and inexcusable. ...

"All parties involved should have to explain their actions to some degree you would think. There are a lot of dynamics to it.

"We all make mistakes in the heat of the moment. Every coach in the country and every kid would love to replay it and say, 'Let me do that over.' (The officials) have that opportunity, so how can it be excusable and acceptable? It's just not.

"The people who were in those positions, I don't know if that's enough compared to what they've done to our season when they had an opportunity to get it right. And it isn't like there's 10 minutes to go. We're taking a knee, game's over. I'm not saying we didn't have our fault in it that we could be better. But that's the end of the game and there is no refuting that."

It's good to see Bob isn't bitter or anything like that.

Several thoughts: Was anyone else bothered that it took the Pac-10 two days to say anything?

In contrast, the SEC supervisor of officials, Rogers Redding, was quoted Saturday regarding the ending at LSU-Auburn.

The Pac-10 looks like it is: a) slow; b) didn't care; or c) both. What's the use of having replay if you don't use it correctly? If you haven't seen replays of the missed calls in the Oklahoma-Oregon game, do yourself favor. You will be appalled.

This practice of having local retired officials closely affiliated with the home team has to stop. Gordon Riese, the replay official responsible for the (lack of) calls, is a retired Pac-10 official from Portland, Ore., with 28 years experience.

Ironically, Pac-10 officials supervisor Verle Sorgen was given an outstanding official award last year by the National Football Foundation. Sorgen retired as an official in 1994 and has been the league's supervisor for the past 21 years.

This is not the first time Oklahoma had a problem with Pac-10 officials. Stoops asked the Big 12 to pass on his concerns about several calls in the game. Even after all that, Oklahoma gave up the game-winning touchdown to an incredibly open receiver. Then it ran back the kickoff into Oregon territory and had a chance to kick the game-winning field goal. It was blocked.

This wasn't a last-play-of-the-game type thing. Oklahoma had two chances to recover after the heinous officiating and did not make a play.

Still, instant replay was created so these types of things wouldn't happen. Oklahoma goes to Washington in 2008. Don't be surprised if Oklahoma demands a Big 12 or neutral officiating crew. It is Pac-10 policy for a conference crew to officiate all home non-conference games.

You can bet that practice will be terminated when future opponents start demanding otherwise. ...

Here's how I, as a commissioner, would have handled it:

1. I would have called Sorgen immediately after the game and told him to contact the officials involved. Sometimes that's impossible because officiating crews typically head directly to the airport after games. But at least that first phone call would have the wheels in motion.

2. Before they did anything else, I would have ordered the referee and involved officials to write detailed reports of the plays in question (onside kick, pass interference). Those reports would be faxed or e-mailed ASAP.

3. I would have gotten a tape of the game myself as soon as possible to review.

4. I would have contacted both coaches and both athletic directors for their perspective.

5. The first comment from the league office would have been Sunday, instead of dinnertime on Monday.

Instead, you've got Oklahoma president David Boren dropping an A-bomb Monday afternoon. Boren wrote Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg insisting that the Pac-10 forfeit the game and the officials be suspended.

Because the issue wasn't handled promptly the fallout was even more embarrassing for the Big 12, Pac-10 and Boren.

Finally, Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione has unfortunate history in these things. He was in the Missouri athletic department in 1990 when Colorado was given five downs in defeating the Tigers and eventually winning a national championship that year.

He was Missouri's AD in 1997 for the infamous "Flea-Kicker" game against Nebraska. An intentionally kicked ball in the end zone by Nebraska's Shevin Wiggins allowed freshman Matt Davison to catch the game-tying touchdown pass. Nebraska won in overtime.

Now this. Joe, you're a great guy but you need to visit Psychic Friends to see if you're cursed. ...

More Reggie Bush tidbits: Mike Ornstein, the controversial marketing agent in the middle of this, apparently played both ends against the middle.

Ornstein is a paid consultant for Reebok but brokered Bush's shoe deal with adidas. Can you say conflict of interest?

It's hard to believe the NCAA is going to scare Ornstein when he throws over the shoe company he consults for in favor of a rival. In other words, Ornstein pit two of the world's biggest shoe companies against each and came out earning a check from both.

The guy's got big ones. ...

Sad to see Joe Lee Dunn go at Memphis. Joe Lee was fired Monday as defensive coordinator at Memphis. As a risk-taking D-coordinator, Dunn put the "freak" in freak defenses.

I remember talking to him in his hotel room once on the day of a game while he was at Mississippi State. Dunn has had more jobs than there are Alpha-Bits, but it's still a drag to see him go, especially in the middle of the season.

That seems odd even though Tigers coach Tommy West intimated the firing was performance-based.

The Tremendous Ten (see Friday's Weekend Watch List for the official list) lived up to the hype. A smart aleck's look at the biggest shakeup Saturday in recent memory. ...

The SEC lost two contenders -- Tennessee and LSU -- but gained perspective. Auburn remained the best program in the league. Florida's Urban Meyer finally won a big road game. ...

Notre Dame, fraud? You might say that. ...

You too Texas Tech. ...

After Miami and Florida State both lost, may we introduce your ACC frontrunner. Would you believe, maybe, Wake Forest? ...

Louisville is the new Miami. ... TCU has a realistic shot at becoming the second non-AQ to reach a BCS bowl. Non-AQ is short for conference that is a non-automatic qualifier for a BCS berth. ...

Nebraska is not ready for prime time. ...

Pac-10 officials can't see -- the field, or an instant replay monitor. ...

Colorado can't score. ...

Ohio State can't lose. ...

OK, maybe we're overboard about Wake Forest. But after winning at Connecticut, the Deacons are 3-0 for the first time since 1987, and one of only 27 undefeated teams left.

They've done it with a defense that has allowed 12 points per game. Redshirt freshman quarterback Riley Skinner took over in the opener when veteran Ben Mauk broke his leg and dislocated a shoulder. Skinner is third in ACC pass efficiency and 41st nationally, one spot behind Michigan's Chad Henne. ...

Bad day for the Big 12. It went 5-7 Saturday, losing to a sampler platter of conferences -- Big Ten, MAC, Mountain West and Pac-10.

It was 0-4 against the Left Coasters with Baylor (Washington State), Oklahoma (Oregon), Colorado (Arizona State) and Nebraska (USC) all losing to Pac-10 teams. ...

In contrast, the Big Ten was 9-2. The only losses were by Illinois and Indiana. ...

That Indiana loss to Southern Illinois was the fifth by a I-AA over a I-A this season. There were two such results last season.

Both teams are led by coaches fighting cancer. SIU's Jerry Kill was on the sidelines. Indiana's Terry Hoeppner is recovering from brain surgery. ...

Great headline in South Bend Tribune, "A Maize - ing disgrace" ...

The last time Florida came out in white pants and blue tops for Tennessee was in 2000. That was the year Jabbar Gaffney caught the controversial winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining at Neyland. ...

When does a 61-0 loss qualify as progress? When you're Temple coming off a second consecutive 62-0 beating, this time to Minnesota. The Owls will try to keep in the 50s this week against at Western Michigan. ...

Blog fave Rutgers is 3-0 for the first time since 1981 with a win over Ohio. The Knights should be 4-0 when they go to South Florida on Sept. 29. ...

Texas was flagged a school-record 19 times in its 52-7 victory over Rice. ...

Which reminds us, the last time Oklahoma and Texas met with at least one loss each was 1999. That will be the case again Oct. 7 in Dallas. ...

Funny how the stats fall your way when you win. Lloyd Carr is now 4-1 all-time against No. 2-ranked teams and 16-6 against top 10 opponents.

Hot seat? ...

Georgia's 34-0 victory over Alabama-Birmingham marked the sixth shutout by an SEC team this season. In the last five years, there has been only one season when there were more (seven in 2002). ...

Before Saturday, Auburn had scored at least 30 points in 20 of 28 games Al Borges had been offensive coordinator.

"How about that riveting offensive performance?" Borges said in jest after Auburn's 7-3 victory. ...

LSU's defense is the best in the country, hands down. Give me that defense and I'll somehow find 11 guys who can score enough points.

That's why it's a pity that LSU's season is essentially over in terms of championship hopes.

Quarterback JaMarcus Russell still makes crippling decisions at times. On one LSU series, he missed three wide open receivers, dropped a snap right to him in the shotgun formation and fumbled.

On LSU's last drive, he could have easily thrown the ball away to stop the clock but elected to try to turn the corner on an Auburn defender. He was tackled, wasting valuable time. ...

Best Saturday moment: Teary Iowa linebacker Mike Klinkenborg on national TV saluting his father who he buried last week: "I'll see you someday." ...

Worst moment: The goofy network honk asking him about it on the field after the game. Have some dignity, for crying out loud.

My take on the Reggie Bush situation. ...

The NCAA can't take away Southern California's 2004 national championship.

The BCS commissioners, who do have that power, don't have the stomach for it.

In other words, they're not going to stare across a mahogany table and tell brother Tom Hansen, the Pac-10 commissioner, they're putting his prize program in timeout.

Same for the Heisman Trophy Trust. Ripping the statue has never been done. It is such a sensitive subject that a spokesman wouldn't even comment on it Friday.

Oh yeah, and there's a double murderer still walking around with his trophy. How is Reggie Bush taking $100,000 worse than that?

That leaves us with USC. There is a mountainous burden of proof on the Pac-10 and NCAA to determine if the school knew or should have known if Bush was taking benefits.

In other words, investigators need a memo, e-mail, letter, something that shows the school knew about this and ignored it. Good luck.

The biggest deal here is that Bush is out of school. His family is living in the lap of luxury thanks to his multi-million dollar contracts. Marketing agent Mike Ornstein, seemingly one of the culprits in this case, got his client and his money.

Who, exactly, is going to come forward and cooperate with the NCAA and Pac-10? None of those sources are compelled to because investigators don't have subpoena power.

Is Pete Carroll running a loose ship? I don't think there is any question. The Matt Leinart/Dwayne Jarrett situation, allegations of sexual and physical assaults against various players. It's all getting very seedy out there in La-La Land.

Is USC compliance at fault? Absolutely. If the Internet report is true, then Ornstein himself was working with the school in lining up an internship for Bush. Ornstein is well known in NFL and college circles. More care should have been taken.

But will USC be found guilty of a lack of institutional control? That's going to be hard to prove because of the reasons stated above.

Does this go on more than anyone cares to believe? Yup to that too. Check out Bush's teammate on the Saints, Joe Horn.

"I don't think Reggie did that, but if he did, I would have done it, too," Horn told the AP. "And guess what? Eighty percent of the college athletes that don't have much when they're in college get money, too. So they should ban all of them. They should go after everybody. Don't just go after Reggie because he's Reggie Bush." ...

In a way this case comes down to two guys I've sat next to and had conversations with -- Ornstein and SEC commissioner Mike Slive.

I sat with Ornstein in the press box at Arrowhead Stadium when he was with the Raiders. We talked. He cheered. Nice guy. It was obvious he was a big deal. But who in the NFL doesn't think they're a big deal?

Could he have done it? Sure.

Slive is the current BCS coordinator who would have to oversee any discussion about taking away USC's championship. I'm going to see him this weekend at the LSU-Auburn game.

Slive, a former NCAA investigator and long-time commissioner, is one of the nicest and most conscientious people on Earth. This shouldn't have to happen to him, but it might.

Back in April when we were at the BCS meetings in Phoenix, it was clear Mike didn't want to consider the possibility of having to deal with USC.

"This is brand new for me so I didn't think about it at all," Slive told SportsLine.com and other reporters in April. "It's interesting that it has not come up before. If such an issue were to arise ... it's one that we will have to begin to think about and talk about." ...

Reading some feedback and other websites, there seems to be a huge "so what?" factor to this story. Half the readers assume everyone gets paid. The other half think players should get paid.

They just want their football. ...

A part of me was proud this week. I was thinking back to the biggest stories of the year, so far. CBS SportsLine.com and other Internet sites broke a lot of them.

Our Gregg Doyel essentially got a coach fired at Iowa State with his college basketball scheduling story. I'll put our columnists and beat writers up against anyone.

A series on Pat Tillman on another site, I thought, was underplayed and overlooked by readers. It was great. I used to work with the author, Mike Fish.

Then there was this Bush stuff. Excellent reporting. A great read. Fantastic journalism.

Have we crossed that great divide where now the best and greatest writing and reporting is being found on the Internet? ...

Sometimes you just get lucky. After dinner Friday night in downtown Montgomery, Ala., I stumbled upon a gem.

Game 4 of the Southern League championship series at Riverwalk Stadium.

Montgomery Biscuits vs. the Huntsville Stars.

I love minor league baseball. The night couldn't have been better. I got there in the bottom of the sixth with the Biscuits (love that name) leading 10-2 in the game and 2-1 in the best-of-5 series.

I really wanted to see if Double-A minor leaguers would celebrate a title. After the 12-4 victory by the baby Devil Rays, it seemed like the whole city celebrated. The crowd of about 4,000 stood in the top of the ninth like it was Wrigley Field in a World Series.

Players streamed out of the dugout and dogpiled. One thing: The players looked, well, smaller. Perhaps as a result of the minor leagues' stringent drug-testing policy?

Anyway, the young bucks celebrated with real, live champagne. Some guy named Evan Longoria was the MVP. Proving once again it's only a consonant's difference between network TV stardom and the Southern League. ...

Pretty good crowd, the local paper said, considering high school football on Friday night in Alabama.

Had the series gone the distance, Game 5 would have gone head-to-head with Alabama vs. Louisiana-Monroe. Cue the chirping crickets.

Minor-league freak meter: I saw one St. Louis Cardinals game and one Kansas City Royals game this year. I've seen two minor league games, counting the Springfield-Wichita game in August with son Jack and fellow minor-league freak Steve, my brother in life and brother-in-law.

This Blake Mitchell incident is so seedy that you want to wear gloves before poking it with a stick.

According to reports, the South Carolina quarterback walks into a bar, asks a guy (bouncer?) if he "likes" him. Guy responds that he has no problem with Mitchell but is annoyed that he keeps trying to bring underage girls in the bar.

Mitchell punches the guy. B-Mitch has been indefinitely suspended.

Sounds like the South Carolina offense isn't the only one being shut out. ...

A real burning desire to punt apparently turned into a burning sensation in Rafael Mendoza's leg.

Northern Colorado will be without Mendoza, its punter, this week. Its backup punter has been arrested.

That's because Northern Colorado's backup punter stabbed Northern Colorado's starting punter in the leg, according to police.

Mitch "Tonya" Cozad allegedly stabbed Mendoza in his kicking leg this week. Cozad was suspended from the team, kicked out of school and evicted from his dorm.

The third-string punter has hired a security guard. ...

You already knew Ohio State linebacker Jim Laurinaitis was the son of a pro wrestler. That wrestler is "Animal," one half of the "The Road Warriors." Joe Laurinaitis was a linebacker in junior college. Mom, Julie, was a state champion hurdler and won a state powerlifting title.

Powerlifting?

Anyway, moments after Ohio State's win at Texas, Animal got a congratulatory call from The Undertaker.

"Congratulations," said the wrestling heel, who is a big Texas fan, "but it won't happen again."

Folding chairs are option this week for Laurinaitis vs. Cincinnati. ...

Mack Brown didn't really say this, did he?

"They (Ohio State) scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown said referring to the new clock rules. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Here's an idea: Don't fall behind by 17 at home. Then those six minutes don't fly by. ...

One reason the Pac-10 is struggling this year. The league is playing 30 percent of its non-conference games against teams ranked in the preseason top 25, according to the Tucson Citizen.

That, plus the Pac-10 went to a full round-robin nine-game conference schedule this year. That means one less non-conference game than most leagues. Translation: one less automatic victory on the schedule.

Next in line is the Big 12 (14.6 percent of non-conference games against preseason ranked teams), Big Ten (13.6 percent), SEC and ACC (12.5 percent each). ...

The blog's favorite team, Rutgers, can start 3-0 for the first time since 1981 with a victory over Ohio. In other words, Rutgers will start 3-0. ...

Addendum to Thursday's Louisville story: Part of the reason Bobby Petrino is making $2.5 million per year is to keep the likes of Auburn from sneaking in to take him away. Petrino has flirted with different teams after each of the last three seasons.

That and the NFL, and IBM and eharmony.com. This guy is h-o-t!

ADs aren't so much rewarding coaches for their record these days as bidding against the NFL and other schools. There's a reason Charlie Weis is making an estimated $3.3 million per year. ...

The top 10 salaries:

1. Charlie Weis, Notre Dame, $3.3 million
2. Pete Carroll, USC, $3 million
3. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, $2.85 million
4. Mack Brown, Texas, $2.55 million
5. Bobby Petrino, Louisville, $2.5 million
6. Jim Tressel, Ohio State, $2.45 million
7. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma, $2.4 million
8. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn, $2.2 million
9. Joe Paterno, Penn State, $2.1 million
10. Phil Fulmer, Tennessee, $2.05 million. ...

This week's pop culture recommendation: Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run 30th anniversary edition. It includes a remastered CD, a 1975 concert DVD from London and a 90-minute documentary on the making of this epic album.

Yes, I'm one of those Bruce freaks. The docu-disc alone (Wings For Wheels) will blow your mind. A true piece of rock history in this boxed set.

This just in: Tennessee defensive lineman Justin Harrell is actually thinking of playing against Florida.

Harrell ruptured a biceps tendon last week against Air Force and is scheduled for surgery next week. Still, Harrell got taped up and practiced on Wednesday. That could be a huge lift, at least emotionally, for the Vols going into the Florida game.

“I don’t know whether he’ll get five snaps or 50 snaps, but he’s going to be able to play in this football game," Phil Fulmer said. "And this is a one-game deal. He has to have the surgery because if it goes longer than a couple of weeks, the muscle starts to atrophy." ...

This had to be scary: LSU practiced Wednesday despite a power outage that affected most of the city. The last time a power outage was that widespread was, well, you know. ...

Clemson is 4-15 all-time against Florida State. That is the worst winning percentage (.211) Clemson has against any opponent (minimum 15 games). ...

The Harrisites just released their updated list of 114 voters who will participate in the BCS poll. Most of the list was so obscure I had to sit down and count. I have no idea who 29 of them are. I counted seven media members that I know, a raft of retired coaches and administrators and that's about it.

What, Knute Rockne wasn't available? ...

Urban Meyer isn't quite a master of psychology. His psych degree is an undergrad from Cincinnati, but this is football and a few mind games go a long way.

Florida's coach volunteered (hee-hee) last week that the Gators had been using the Central Florida game to prepare for Tennessee. The Gators used a silent count and played a lot of no huddle in preparation for the wall of sound at Neyland Stadium.

Now comes word that Tuesday, Meyer piped in "Rocky Top" to the practice field and taped up Tennessee pictures all over the lockerroom.

Either Florida is going to beat Tennessee or become fans of Tennessee.

Meyer is 1-3 on the road at Florida. This is his first trip to Knoxville.

"I think the question mark at the University of Florida is: How tough are we? We'll find out," Meyer told reporters. "Tough football teams find ways to win on the road, and we were not a tough football team last year. We are a talented bunch of good guys who, if we got up on you, watch out."

...

Say a prayer for Terry Hoeppner. The 59-year old Indiana coach undergoes surgery Wednesday for what could be a be a recurrent tumor in his temple.

He first had surgery on Dec. 27 (and was out of the hospital by Dec. 30).

Quick thoughts: What is it about Miami (Ohio) this year? Former coach Randy Walker died this summer. Now it's Hoeppner, who coached the RedHawks from 1999-2004.

What a lousy time for this to happen (is there ever a good time?). The Hoosiers are out to a 2-0 start and have I-AA Southern Illinois coming in this week. In a weird twist, SIU coach Jerry Kill is fighting cancer at this moment while he coaches the Salukis.

Hoeppner is expected to be out two to four weeks. Meanwhile, assistant head coach Bill Lynch will take over. The Hoosiers are in good hands. In 14 seasons as a head coach at Butler, DePauw and Ball State Lynch is 81-67-3.

...

Bobby Bowden on his Three Inches and a Cloud of Dust offense (That's being cruel. FSU is worst nationally averaging .87 yards per rush -- or actually 31.3 inches):

"You know what my answer to that is? -- and it might be wrong -- but it's who cares? Who cares how you do it? This whole thing about having to establish the run to win, we've already proven two dadgum weeks in a row that ain't right. Now the odds might be better. But to think you've got to out-rush somebody or get 150 yards to win ... I think Steve Spurrier disproved that when he went to Florida about 15 years ago.

"Steve went there with the passing game and beat you. Then when he had the game locked, he'd start running it so he'd come up with 120 yards rushing at the end of the game. And everyone would say, 'Boy, he runs the ball good.' But they went out there and won it throwing the darn ball."

Priceless.

...

More F(S)utility: A year after finishing 109th in rushing, FSU has dropped to 118th (second-worst nationally) this week. The Noles are 95th in total offense (278.5 yards).

This is not a new development. Since the beginning of the 2004 season, FSU has been able to rush for only 89 yards per game on the road while averaging 2.8 yards per rush. How the heck did this team with the ACC?

...

You'd think with these new clock rules the teams that lead in time of possession would be dominating. Not so. The top five teams in TOP are Temple, San Diego State, Alabama, UCLA and New Mexico State. Combined record: 5-4.

Toledo played in the longest game of Week 1 (3 hours, 38 minutes vs. Iowa State) and the shortest in Week 2 (2:27 vs. Western Michigan). ...

A photo published in the Charlotte Observer shows that Akron's Dennis Kennedy may have been down before scoring the winning touchdown on the last play of the game against N.C. State. Kennedy's elbow appears to have touched before he cross the goal line with the winning touchdown.

The play looked suspicious to us from the beginning as Kennedy dived for the goal line in the 20-17 Zips victory.

"Everything I saw looked like he scored; all the shots we got on video look like he scored,'' ACC supervisor of officials Tommy Hunt told the Observer. "We don't count on still pictures. They are not dependable. We always get an amateur picture [in situations like this]. A running picture is much more valuable than a still photo."

Gives new credibility to the Zapruder Film.

...

Note to embattled coaches: If your offense doesn't, you know, actually cross the goal line and it's mid-September do not lash out at media, fans, critics, etc.

Go into a hole somewhere and get better. Or find out what kind of settlement you can get after being at a school less than three seasons.

Now that the note has gone out, we give you its recipient, Mississippi State's Sylvester Croom.

"I don't want to hear about the play calling," Croom was quoted as saying after a 34-0 skunk job against Auburn. "I don't want to hear about getting rid of my coaches. I want to get that clear before that call-in show. I don't want to do that show anyway. I need to be working and trying to get our team better instead of sitting around and listening to those questions."

Yeah, that "being accountable" stuff really sucks, doesn't it?

...

Forget LSU-Auburn and Florida-Tennessee, all eyes in the SEC are on Kentucky. If the Mildcats beat Ole Miss in their conference opener, they will be 1-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1987.

...

It's never too early to make Brady Quinn's palms sweat. So who is going to get the No. 1 draft choice judging by Week 1 results? Oakland, anyone? The Raiders looked absolutely pitiful in getting shut out at home by the Chargers.

...

Clemson hasn't won at Florida State since 1989.

...

As ugly as those Oregon uniforms are, we're talking about them aren't we? That's the idea. The Swoosh aren't fools. Look for other schools to get jiggy with their unis. It's essentially free publicity, creates buzz and the new uniform material is lighter and keeps players cooler.

I am not a paid spokesman.

...

Folks want to know which of these huge games I'm most interested in. I'm going to LSU-Auburn because of the top 10 implications. But I'm really anxious to see how Louisville does against Miami. The Cardinals are an opening act, not quite good enough to headline the bill but entertaining. They need a big-time victory like this over a legit opponent to crack the top 10 rat pack.

...

It's my blog and I'll do what I want which means showing a little love to the alma mater. Missouri 2-0 heading to New Mexico. There's a small buzz (two beers?) developing in the Big 12 North about the Tigers.

In some way, shape or form they've got everything: offense, defense, specials teams. Sophomore quarterback Chase Daniel just might be the best signal-caller in the Big 12 (sorry Graham Harrell). Senior linebacker Marcus Bacon was picked Big 12 defensive player of the week.

Even cantankerous coach Gary Pinkel has come around with what seems like a personality transplant.

The Tigers have allowed 14 points in two games. If they win in Albuquerque they should be 5-0 headed to Texas Tech on Oct. 7.

...

If it matters, Florida beat Tennessee 30-27 on a 33-yard field goal at the gun. Chris Leak was great completing 15 of 24 for 235 yards. Erik Ainge threw two interceptions, the second setting up the game-winning field goal.

Who? When? Where? My basement this week, on NCAA Football '07.

Georgia's Joe Tereshinski made it easy for Matthew Stafford. Joe Three Sticks injured ankle will keep him out four to six weeks. The first of the big-time true freshman is likely to get his first start against this week against Alabama-Birmingham. ...

It's official. Saturday's seven overtime games set an NCAA record. The previous high was six, accomplished twice (Sept. 24, 2005 and Nov. 6, 2004). ...

Weirdest scoring sequence of the weekend: Washington punter Sean Douglas booted a school-record 82-yard punt at Oklahoma. Sooners' Reggie Smith returned it 62 yards. Douglas got a net 20-yard kick added to his stats.

Douglas punted from his own 2 to the Oklahoma 16. Smith returned it to the Washington 22. Four plays later, Paul Thompson hit Malcolm Kelly with a 7-yard touchdown pass. ...

Adrian Peterson (304 yards in two games) is off to the best start of his career. AD is 781 yards shy of the Billy Sims' school-record 4,118 yards.

Wow, can Tennessee be in any worse shape heading into the Florida game? Two defensive starters were lost for the year in the Air Force game.

Defensive lineman Justin Harrell (biceps) and cornerback Inquoris Johnson are out.

Johnson apparently has a serious injury. Tennessee released this statement on Sunday: "Inky Johnson has sustained a severe injury to his right upper extremity. He underwent surgery to repair blood vessels and will require further surgery for nerve injury in the future. He is in stable condition at this time. He will not return to play this season. ...

Wonder how Florida will approach that defense, which gave up 30 points, 281 rushing yards and 22 first downs. ...

Speaking of Florida, the Gators are getting it done in the ground in a weird way. They are a solid 38th in the country (fourth in the SEC) averaging 173 yards per game. It has definitely been accomplished by committee. Four players are averaging at least 30 yards rushing, including quarterback Tim Tebow (31.5) and receiver Percy Harvin (34.5). ...

Not sure, but the Akron-N.C. State game may be the first this season decided on the last play of the game in regulation. Akron coach J.D. Brookhart takes the old never-giving-up mantra to a new level.

"We don't run 40s," he said, "We run 41s." ...

Texas-Ohio State leftovers:

Nice job Columbus. Michigan 2002, revisited. Do you people know any other way to celebrate than to set aflame living room furniture. Light a cigar, not an Ottoman. Shameful. ...

Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik saw his personal 29-game winning streak end Saturday night. The former Auburn DC had not been on the sidelines for a loss since November 2003. ...

After the Texas loss, the nation's longest winning streak stays in-state. TCU now has won 12 in a row. ...

The Longhorns had been 72-0 under Mack Brown when outrushing its opponent. Texas more than doubled Ohio State in rushing 172-79. ...

Just a thought sitting on the couch Sunday: No one is going to accuse Andrea Kremer of being an NFL sideline bunny, there solely for her looks. ...

Early Thorpe Award candidate (best defensive back). Pittsburgh junior corner Darrelle Revis has returned interceptions for touchdowns in consecutive games against Virginia and Cincinnati. According to Pittsburgh stats, he has not allowed a completion and could be fast-tracking his way into the draft. ...

The I-AA raiding party isn't over. Portland State (already having knocked off New Mexico) goes to Cal this week and to Oregon next month. ...

Buffalo and Bowling Green played a 5 hour, 31-minute game that was delayed twice by weather and lasted three overtimes. ...

Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio faces his old boss, Jim Tressel, this week at Ohio State. The last time he faced a No. 1 team was as an assistant for the 2002 Buckeyes, who beat Miami in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship. "I guess time will tell," Dantonio said. ...

If the nation's football writers have a favorite team -- and I'm not saying we do -- it's Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are us, scruffy, disrespected and underdogs in the game of life. Just like us. Rutgers is 2-0 for only the second time since 1995.

No really, it doesn't get any bigger than this.

Not the state flag of Rhode Island, a flag as BIG as the state of Rhode Island ...

There's not a dry (bloodshot) eye in the house. They're singing "The Eyes of Texas" ...

Shout out to Army today which won its home opener (17-14 in OT over Kent State) for the first time in 10 years. That's great with the fifth anniversary of 9/11 on Monday ...

Looks like a solid section of about 5,000 Ohio State fans here in Austin. Tickets were hard to come by. It wasn't going to be like Nebraska filling 40 percent of Notre Dame Stadium a few years ago.

Thing is, there is another 50,000, at least, outside the stadium watching in their campers, tents, RVs etc. They just want to be here ...

Fighter jets just flew over and now the Godzillatron is giving us the emergency evacuation plan. Am I missing something? ...

Division II Chadron State beat Montana State today. At least Colorado wasn't embarrassed any further. Chadron State has only 22 scholarships and will use its $40,000 guarantee from the game to buy new uniforms ...

Syracuse just had seven shots inside the five and lost to Iowa in overtime. Iowa was missing quarterback Drew Tate, who had a strained abdominal muscle. These are the kinds of games Rose Bowl teams win ...

You don't want to be Chuck Amato. The NC State coach is going to be roasted this week for losing to Akron. He had a chance to put the game away with 7½ minutes left but elected to go for it on fourth-and-one from the Akron 4. Akron held and went 97 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Akron scored at the gun to pull the biggest MAC upset since ... last season when Ohio beat Pittsburgh. Remember?

Alexis Serna alert. Clemson lost in overtime 34-33 at BC because of a missed extra point. So much for the Tigers as ACC champions ...

Help meeee .... It's so BIG!

Talking about the Godzillatron here at Royal-Memorial Stadium. If you haven't heard about it, you haven't been on the Shuttle lately. You can see Texas' video board from space.

It's that BIG. It takes 30 air conditioners to cool it. Replays scare small children.

This press box is so wired, I don't even have to watch the field. I've got Syracuse-Iowa on my computer. There are six flat screens in the p.b. showing Notre Dame-Penn State, LSU-Arizona and Australian-rules football from Queensland.

Just kidding on that last one ...

Story lines of the day so far: Hockey School beats Journalism School. New Hampshire over Northwestern. Welcome to the big time, Pat Fitzgerald ...

Who would YOU put in the top 25? Missouri (over Ole Miss), Rutgers (shut out Illinois), Boston College (in overtime over Clemson) or Boise State (over Oregon State on Thursday) ...

Friend of mine drove from Austin to Tuscola, Texas this week to do a story on Colt McCoy and his hometown. There are a million small towns in Texas. My friend happened to stop and grab an issue of the Goldthwaite (Texas) Eagle hot off the presses.

This is hilarious because on the front page was a story about the local high school football team -- written by the head coach. Check out the lead:

We would like to thank everyone for their donation of towels last Thursday night at our scrimmage against Hamilton at Eagle Field, coach Gary Proffitt wrote, "We appreciate the towels as we will use them throughout the year in every sport.

Coach Proffitt is quite the wordsmith.

Only in Texas ...

OK, let's get this out of the way. Austin is off the heezy right now.

Steers are running loose in the streets. Makes Pamplona look like Sesame Street.

Mack Brown has this big ol' Caddy with a horn that plays the Eyes of Texas.

Let's say Ohio State fans like their beer.

It looks like the SEC around here with tailgaters now in their fourth day of squatting on tiny patches of land ...

So I get off the plane Friday afternoon and an NBC publicist calls, bugging me to come watch an episode of Friday Night Lights, a new fall series being filmed in Austin based on the book and movie. It would have been cool, but I was completely booked with commitments. And if the bosses had found out I was hanging with NBC, I might not have a job Monday morning ...

The publicist said they were filming a love scene Friday afternoon. It was a closed set. What kind of love scene, exactly? ...

Does Friday Night Lights have a chance? If it's on Friday, won't everybody be at high school games? ...

Had Tex-Mex last night at El Arroyo. You haven't lived until you've tried Zeigenbock, one of those beers you can only get within the state boundaries ...

This afternoon I'll be at a place called The Tavern doing a Phoenix radio show and watching games. Yes, The Tavern. Be assured, the Devil's Brew will not cross my lips ...

Ruminations: Read somewhere that Texas blitzed 43 percent of the time in last year's game. Who keeps track of that stuff? ...

Ted Ginn Jr. caught only two balls for nine yards last year. That's why this sign makes sense: "Ready To Lose A-Ginn?"

Colt McCoy has to be nervous, doesn't he? ...

I'm staying with what I wrote earlier in the week: Ohio State 23, Texas 17 ...

Who is this Ian Johnson and what the heck is he doing scoring five touchdowns against Oregon State?

The Boise State redshirt sophomore from San Dimas, Calif. could have beaten the Beavers by himself in a 42-14 victory.

Quick bio: Johnson made $1,600 last year crocheting hats and scarves and ate four ounces of dog food two years ago during rookie hazing.

You know, your usual running back.

Johnson got some nibbles from Pac-10 schools but probably matriculated to the WAC because of his size (5-11, 194). He ran for 668 yards last year. His 240 yards on Thursday night was 36 percent of last year's total.

The five rushing touchdowns tied a Boise record ...

It's early but Boise (2-0) has emerged as the early leader to become a non-BCS automatic qualifier. It's not going to be easier and the Broncos have typically stumbled somewhere.

Check out this remaining schedule:

Sept. 16 -- at Wyoming Sept. 23 -- Hawaii Sept. 30 -- at Utah Oct. 7 -- Louisiana Tech Oct. 15 -- at New Mexico State Oct. 21 -- at Idaho Nov. 1 -- Fresno State Nov. 11 -- at San Jose State Nov. 18 -- Utah State Nov. 25 -- at Nevada

Trips to Utah and Nevada won't be easy. Fresno State is a rivalry game but it is at home. The Bulldogs have had a hard time beating the Broncos. First, Boise State must be ranked. We'll see in the next few games ...

This rambling screed from Texas Tech's Mike Leach didn't make the cut in the Weekend Watch List, so we dumped it here.

With the Red Raiders traveling to Texas-El Paso this week, it brought back fond memories of visits to nearby Mexico for Leach. "I bought a switchblade. I didn't think the idea through," said Leach who went to Tijuana as a BYU freshman in the early 1980s. "When we were coming back across, they asked me if I had anything to declare. I said, 'Yeah, this switchblade.' The guy said, 'That's illegal.' I said that I wished I had known that when I had bought it. I guess I should have thought of that. I said, 'What are you going to do, keep it for yourself?' He said no. He kind of wedged the blade under the counter and it started bending, and it blew up into pieces. I didn't even get to keep my switchblade. It didn't occur to me that it was illegal. I was from Wyoming, and a lot of stuff is different in other places." ...

Don't know what this means but the Kansas City-based company that conducts drug tests for the NCAA is moving close to a source of a lot of positive tests. The National Center for Drug Free Sports is remodeling space near Boulevard Brewery, Missouri's second-largest brewery ...

One of Boulevard's more popular offerings is its Pale Ale. Please, no urine jokes ...

Montana State coach Mike Kramer won't let it go. He keeps explaining why his I-AA Bobcats trounced Colorado last week:

"Their loss (70-3 to Texas in the Big 12 title game) was devastating and may take years for them to overcome because this school is one with great pride," Kramer said.

"(The game) wasn't about height, weight or speed. It was about belief systems and we found a way to get it done ... Because of their devastating losses last year, they would start doubting each other -- and that's exactly what happened." ...

Media issues: South Florida's Jim Leavitt and Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy don't get it. They are actually limiting their players exposure to the media.

JoePa pulling this stuff at Penn State at one thing. If I-A were a country club, South Florida and Okie State would need a recommendation to become members.

Leavitt is apparently pouting because the Tampa Tribune reported positive drug tests by some of his players. A South Florida fan site writer went on local radio saying Leavitt had banned any media member from passing through the halls. A receptionist's job was on the line, he said, if a media person got through dragnet.

Meanwhile, Gundy has cut access to his players to Monday only. First-year players are not allowed to be interviewed. That includes a 25-year old wrestler who just spent four years in the program and wants to try football.

These coaches do realize who they're recruiting against, don't they? Let's remind them -- South Florida: Miami, Florida State, Florida and the rest of the Big East. Oklahoma State: Oklahoma, Texas and the rest of the Big 12.

Good luck, fellas. Just don't become hypocrites and allow your players talk to networks if and when they come to down to broadcast your games ...

In a rush to hype a new book about the Notre Dame coach's first season with the Irish, a PR firm misspelled his name.

Found atop a release in my in-box on Thursday: You should have recently received a copy of The New Gold Standard: Charlie Weiss and Notre Dame’s Return to Glory

I didn't, and it's Charlie Weis, one S. The Little Tuna's name is misspelled throughout the release.

Hope the book didn't ship that way ...

Can Louisville win without Michael Bush?

Yes, probably 10 games but that's hardly the point. Can Louisville really win without Michael Bush? In other words, the big games against Miami and West Virginia. Bush's broken leg suffered Sunday in the season opener against Kentucky is essentially the difference between the Cardinals being a national championship contender and a second-place team in the Big East.

We'll see.

"It doesn't affect (team expectations) at all. ... " Louisville's Bobby Petrino said. "We're still going to keep the same goals."

Quick opinion from the hip: Two-hundred fifty-pound backs with speed, size and catching ability are not common. Name another one like Bush in the country. His goal this year was to score 30 touchdowns.

Rebuttal: There are teams a lot worse off than Louisville.

The tailback-by-committee thing has a chance to work. Even with Bush down, Louisville looks like it is loaded.

Senior Kolby Smith has averaged 6 yards per carry while backing up Bush the past two years. Smith has not complained, which means he is more than ready to go.

George Stripling, a redshirt sophomore, averaged 7.9 yards per carry as a freshman. Sunday, he scored twice in nine carries while running for 90 yards.

True freshman Anthony Allen will get more of a look after running for 48 yards.

Don't count out Illinois transfer Brock Bolen, a sophomore, who caught a touchdown pass.

The backups ran for 168 yards. After one week, Louisville leads the country in total offense and is third in rushing.

"We can still win," quarterback Brian Brohm told reporters. "We've got a ton of running backs, we're deep." ...

UNLV kicker Ben Jaekle was summoned from the stands Saturday after starter Sergio Aguayo was injured in the opener against Idaho State.

By summoned, we mean that coach Mike Sanford got on his cellphone and called Jaekle, who was sitting in the stands.

"Who is this?" Sanford said recalling the conversation. "I said, 'This is Coach Sanford. This is not a joke. You are going to kick in the second half, you need to get down here and get dressed.'"

Jaekle had planned to redshirt but arrived in time to kick a field goal, three extra points and five kickoffs (he also missed a 33-yard field goal). He is also the man this week against Iowa State. ...

If you're Robert Johnson this week, how do you feel?

You just spent all of spring practice and fall drills winning the starting quarterback job at Arkansas. You are pulled in the season opener against USC and shifted to receiver earlier this week.

Freshman Mitch Mustain will make his first career start Saturday against Utah.

Houston Nutt is weighing his job security here. Basically, he decided it's less threatening to that security to piss off Johnson than it is Mustain, who has his whole career ahead of him and still wields the transfer hammer.

I don't like Mustain's chances for success in the short term as a true freshman quarterback against SEC defenses. But no matter what happens, Nutt can point to the hope for the future that Mustain's development portends.

Unless the bottom falls out for the Hogs, that hope might be enough for Nutt to keep his job. ...

Submitted without comment: The police report on Texas cornerback Tarell Brown, teammate Tyrell Gatewood and former Longhorn Aaron Harris. It was sent to us this week by the Travis County (Texas) police department. (bold type and paragraphing added for easier reading)

AFFIDAVIT FOR WARRANT OF ARREST AND DETENTION

The undersigned affidavit, who after being duly sworn by me, on oath makes the following statement:

I have good reason to believe and do believe that Brown, Tarell b/m 1-6-85 on or about the 4th day of September 2006, in the County of Travis and State of Texas, did commit the offense of: Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon Misd A Belief of the foregoing statement is based upon personal knowledge. I, Deputy A. Howard #2033, am a licensed peace officer currently employed by Travis County Sheriff's Department and assigned to the patrol division.

The following events occurred in Travis County, Texas. On 9-4-6 at 02:48 I was on patrol northbound in the 7700 block of IH35 North. As I was traveling northbound I observed a vehicle, also northbound, swerving from lane to lane. The vehicle was a white 2003 Mercury. The driver was initially traveling in the center lane. On three occasions he swerved into the inside lane with half of the vehicle in each lane.

On 2 occasions the driver swerved halfway into the outside lane. At one point the driver almost swerved into a car also traveling northbound. The driver of that vehicle was forced to brake to avoid a collision. The driver then moved back into the center lane.

This all occurred over the course of approximately 1 mile. The driver then changed lanes from the center lane to the outside lane without signaling the lane change. At this time I notified dispatch of my intention to stop the vehicle. I activated my emergency lights as we passed Highway US 290. The driver slowed but did not stop until we reached Highway 183. I approached the vehicle from the driver side and observed three subjects in the vehicle (the driver and two passengers who were both asleep)

Due to traffic conditions I asked the driver to step out and meet me at the rear of the vehicle. As the driver stepped out he stumbled and then walked back towards me. Then when I asked him for his drivers license he dropped his wallet. I then identified the driver as: Harris, Aaron 1-30-84

Based on my observations I asked a DWI unit to come to the scene and evaluate Harris. Deputy P. Delafunte' then arrived and had Harris perform field sobriety tests. Harris passed these tests but told Deputy Delafunte' that he had been smoking marijuana. I then asked Harris if there was any marijuana in the vehicle. Harris replied that there was "some". I asked Harris to sit in the rear of my vehicle as we made contact with passengers of the vehicle.

Deputies Villanueva #1037, Delafunte' and I approached the vehicle. As Deputy Villanueva looked into the car he stated that the rear passenger had a handgun in his lap with his hand on it. I then instructed everyone to return to our vehicle as we called for more officers.

Sgt. Strawn and Lt Escribano then arrived on the scene. We then went back up and made contact with the passengers. We first woke up and detained the rear seat passenger identified as: Brown, Tarell 1-6-85

After detaining Brown Sgt. Strawn informed me that gun in Brown's lap was loaded 9mm handgun. I also detained the front seat passenger identified as: Gatewood, Tyrell 09-27-84

Deputy Villanueva then conducted a search of the vehicle. Deputy Villanueva located a marijuana "blunt" cigar under the front seat of the vehicle. I observed the "blunt" and through my training and 7 years of experience believed it to be marijuana.

The "blunt" weighed approximately 1.1 grams. Based on the fact the marijuana was in a common area of the vehicle and accessible to all occupants I then placed Harris, Brown and Gatewood in custody for Possession of Marijuana less than 2oz. Brown was also charged with Unlawfully carrying a weapon. During a subsequent search of Harris' person Travis County Booking personnel located an additional .7 grams of marijuana in his front pocket.

Note: According to police, all three were charged with Class B misdemeanors on the drug possession issue. In Texas, Class B misdemeanors are punishable by a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Additionally, Brown was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. Maximum punishment: one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

All three made bail by late Monday afternoon. ...

This statement by Terry Bowden caught the blogger's eye. It appears in the new book about Bobby Bowden Pure Gold, written by fellow scribes Steve Ellis (Tallahassee Democrat) and Bill Vilona ( Pensacola News Journal).

"If it were me, I think if I had to go back and do it again, if I were Jeff," Terry said of his often-criticized brother, the FSU offensive coordinator, "I don't know if I would want to be a coordinator for Dad. And if I were Dad, I don't know if I would want Jeff as coordinator. ...

"The question is at Dad's age ... can he still rise to the occasion and make it happen? That's what the debate is right now."

Wow. "Pure Gold" reads like pure gold. Pick it up. ...

Speaking of which, I have a rash of Alabama books that arrived recently in the mail.

Keith Dunnavant's fine The Missing Ring is the first in-depth look that I know of at 'Bama's controversial 1966 season. The Tide had won consecutive national championships going into that season and were ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls.

This is a fine narrative featuring Alabama at the height of its power. It features Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, Kenny Stabler and the Tide juggernaut and its place in the turbulent '60s.

I'll help Keith, a former colleague at The National, and not spoil the ending for you. You'll have to buy it to find out why 'Bama didn't become the first program to win three in a row. The book is excellent. ...

It occurs to me that Alabama is the Paris Hilton of college football. Whatever she/it does, people will watch, read, love, hate or buy. ...

You've got to see the I-AA poll this week. It's interesting, and wacky, because of the three upsets by I-AA squads over I-As over the weekened.

Appalachian State remained No. 1 despite losing -- yet hanging close to -- North Carolina State.

Montana dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 after losing its opener to Iowa. That's still five spots ahead of No. 11 Montana State, which pulled the biggest shocker in beating Colorado. The Bobcats (ranked No. 22 the previous week) received seven first-place votes. That's the fourth-highest total in the country.

Illinois State "won" by losing, moving from ninth to seventh after a one-point loss at Kansas State. The Redbirds attempted a two-point conversion with three minutes left but failed, losing 24-23.

Guess voters thought McNeese State and Eastern Illinois should have done better against their I-A opponents. The Cowboys dropped from 11th to 16th after losing to South Florida. The Panthers dropped from 14th to 20th after losing to Illinois.

No. 21 Portland State appeared in the poll for the first time after knocking off New Mexico.

The I-AA contains six teams that lost their opener. The AP I-A poll contains two, Cal and Miami. ...

Cost of a ticket to Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl: $12 Cost to purchase a pass to park in the mud for the Miami-Florida State game Monday at the Orange Bowl: $35. ...

Recommendation time: Bob Dylan's Modern Times. The 60-something icon still has it with a Tom Petty-tinged rocker.

Notre Dame leftovers ...

Offensive lineman Bob Morton spoke eloquently and emotionally Saturday night on the loss of his father, who died of cancer late last month. He was allowed to fly home to McKinney, Texas, during fall practice to say goodbye to the man who introduced him to football, then bury him.

Bob Morton Sr. was 54. A month ago he thought he had indigestion. Upon further review, doctors told him Bob Sr. had stomach cancer. It quickly spread to his lungs.

"I had to stop and turn back toward the corner toward where my family (sat at Bobby Dodd Stadium)," Morton said after ND's 14-10 victory over Georgia Tech. "I needed to be near them. I don't believe in playing to the crowd, but I needed to feel their energy and see some of their faces.

"It wasn't just me who went through all this. ... Every time I go out there, I go out there representing a lot of people.

"They were near a lot of Georgia Tech students who said a lot of crazy things. I don't really remember any of them. I was really focused on looking in the eyes of (relatives) and having a little talk with God." ...

Charlie Weis on the defense, the lasting image of which, until Saturday, was giving up 617 yards to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl: "Our much-maligned defense that everybody's telling me about. That's all I've heard this whole offseason, 617 yards. If I hear that again, I'm going to vomit."

Notre Dame gave up 259 yards to Georgia Tech ...

Don't know what this means, but Notre Dame finished seventh nationally last season converting 48.9 percent of the time on third down. That's also the career completion percentage of Georgia Tech's Reggie Ball going into the game.

The Irish converted 7 of 16 third downs (43.75 percent). Ball completed half his passes (12 of 24). ...

I couldn't wait to crunch the numbers. Through the games of Thursday and Friday (17 total), the number of plays is down 8.5 per game because of the new rules implemented to speed up the game.

Teams on Thursday and Friday ran only an average of 62.088 plays per game, down 12.05 percent from all of '05. Last year teams averaged 70.6 plays per game. The early number is also a slight decrease in last year's NFL average, 62.5 plays per team.

Notre Dame was able to squeeze off 78 plays against Georgia Tech in my first live game of the season. That's odd, because Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Patrick Nix employed the no-huddle at times to speed things up. The Jackets ran only 52 plays, mostly because Notre Dame's two scoring drives each took 14 plays.

I'll be doing a full story on this trend after a couple of weeks so stayed tuned. ...

I-AA teams went 2-50 against I-A teams last season. During the opening weekend, the little guys won three games -- Portland State over New Mexico, Richmond over Duke and Montana State over Colorado. ...

Is Tennessee back? The Vols averaged 18.6 pts per game last year before scoring 35 against Cal. It had two scoring plays last year of 20 or more yards. It scored on plays of 42, 80, 50 and 43 yards Saturday.

"We've had a chip on our shoulder," receiver Robert Meacham said. "It's like somebody talking bad about your mama or stepping on your shoe at the club. We wanted to show the world that we were back." ...

The biggest flaw in this instant replay thing: The assistant coaches don't have monitors in their booth ala the NFL. Why not? Every play is theoretically being reviewed. A limited coach's challenge has been added as a further failsafe.

NFL coaches are able to make a split-second decision, usually based on a recommendation from the assistants up top. College coaches should have the same advantage.

I'm thinking that the NCAA doesn't want assistant coaches going nuclear on officials about missed calls. But with all these layers of review, there shouldn't be any missed calls.

The way it's set up, a college coach is much more likely to throw away his challenge than an NFL coach. ...

It wasn't all casting calls and honeys during the Bush-Leinart era, apparently. Check out Trojans fullback Brandon Hancock's assessment of life without the superstars.

"We've been so caught in the limelight. Just saturated with media attention and hoopla. I don't care how much you try to factor that out of the equation, it can get to people sometimes. It kind of muddies the overall team vision and goal."

Yeah, those Trojans have been fairly distracted winning 46 of their last 48. Here's a suggestion, Brandon. Try life at Louisiana-Lafayette and then get back to us. ...

For example, when USC kicked off at Arkansas it marked the first time in 33 months it had gone into a game not ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. ...

Trebek Time: What do these four schools have in common -- Iowa, USC, Georgia and Florida State? Those are the only four programs to play in four consecutive January bowls. ...

Finally, the great Jackson Matthew Dodd turned 10 on Sunday. Every father should be so lucky to have such a great son. He plays the guitar, loves computers, video games and Bond, James Bond. I love you, buddy. Secret handshake from Miami Beach.

So it's about 2 a.m. outside of Bobby Dodd Stadium. I'm with the great Matty Hayes of The Sporting News. He's trying to find his hotel. I'm trying to find my rental car.

We hail a cab. The cabbie knows where Matt's hotel is. However, I have little idea where my car is. All I know is it's on the other side of campus, which I walked across in the afternoon to get to the game. Now it's the middle of the night with drunk frat kids stumbling around the streets.

Fortunately, one such drunk talked his way into our happy little cab set-up.

"I'm infuriated," Drunk Guy says.

Why, we surmise/ask, Reggie Ball?

"I can't be infruriated with him," Drunk Guy says like he's referring to a wayward child. "He's disappointed me all these years."

Even with beer goggles on, Drunk Guy sees the Ball rolling downhill. Ball isn't/wasn't bad. He's just not good, at least not very often.

Anyway, Drunk Guy had it together enough to guide the cabbie to my car. Walking across the lot, I find a perfectly good football. I give it to the only guy I see. He thanks me and tells me his grandchildren will get it. I feel good but I can't help thinking ...

Did Reggie Ball drop it on the way home.?

Ramblings from the Georgia Tech press box ...

Here comes Notre Dame onto the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium for warm-ups at 7:12 p.m. ET. That's also the official time of the first "overrated" chant ...

Yikes, the ND quarterbacks are carrying around these little orange things that look like day-glo softballs. Turns out, they're like mini-medicine balls. The quarterbacks use them to loosen their arms ...

Nice kickoff to the Pac-10-SEC Challenge: 7:33 p.m. ET and its Tennessee 28, Cal 0.

This just in: Pac-10 Conference officials are huddling in Walnut Creek, Calif. at this hour regarding Cal's future in the league. One source close to the situation says a trade is in the works. UC Davis in, Cal out.

If any team was going to be shut out, I thought it would be Tennessee. We're awaiting returns from Auburn (vs. Washington State) and Arkansas (vs. USC).

Oops, it just became 35-0. Seriously, UC Davis could have done better ...

What's Joe Dailey's excuse now? The former pride of Huskerland threw two crippling interceptions in North Carolina's loss to Rutgers. Remember, Dailey blamed his transfer on the offensive change at Nebraska in Bill Callahan's first year.

Now what, Joe? While a loss to Rutgers doesn't qualify as embarrassing, North Carolina should be able to handle the Scarlet Knights at home. John Bunting's buns just got a little toastier ...

Hey, Colorado, at least lose to the good team in Montana. Montana is a I-AA team. CU just lost to Montana State, at home, by nine. This qualifies as one of the worst upsets in Big 12 history ...

One game. That's how long it takes to go from The Next Big Thing to What The Heck Were We Thinking?

San Diego State looked disorganized at times in Chuck Long's debut. Sea World State fell behind 27-3 to UTEP before an inspiring comeback, but still lost 34-27.

The ugly details: The offensive line, with three new starters, was borderline awful. Quarterback Kevin O'Connell was running for his life before being knocked out with a thumb injury. The defense gave up a 36-yard completion on the first play of the game to set the tone (although Jordan Palmer was picked off three times).

The Aztecs were booed off the field at halftime Thursday night. That only proves what your parents always told you.

"We wouldn't yell if we didn't love you."

Special thanks to Georgia Tech student Ryan Lively for his walking tour of the campus on my way to Bobby Dodd.

I parked somewhere in Athens and asked directions to the stadium. Lively and his friends cheerfully guided me through the campus, adding color commentary on points of interest along the way. It made carrying this 40-pound computer bag tolerable.

Lively is a Gainesville, Fla., native on the master's track. Good luck, dude.