Texas Longhorns News

Matt Hayes These are the bland Saturdays when no one is safe. No, really. How often have we seen this is the past: the relatively uneventful developing into the remarkably significant. Even No. 1 Florida, playing host to cupcake Florida International, isn't immune at this late stage of the season. "We know what's on the line," Florida linebacker Ryan Stamper said. "We're going hard." Maybe it's some cosmic balance in response to the wild... weekends of the last three years, but just when you think 2009 couldn't be more predictable we give you these six wild possibilities (ranked in order of likelihood it will happen) that could develop Saturday: 1. A Stanford player wins the Heisman Trophy How it can happen: Hey, it has happened before (Jim Plunkett, 1970), why not again? No BCS league tailback has more yards (1,395) or touchdowns (19) than Toby Gerhart, who has surged to the top of Heisman Trophy lists with 405 yards and six touchdowns in back-to-back victories over teams in the BCS top 10 (Oregon, USC). Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said it best on his Twitter account, two hours after Stanford's rout of USC: "Stop the madness. Hand him the Heisman." 2. Kansas State wins the Big 12 North How it can happen: It's embarrassing enough for the Big 12 that K-State can beat Nebraska on Saturday and win the North Division, or lose and not qualify for a bowl. It's worse that we have no idea which Nebraska team shows up: The team that lost at home to Iowa State and Texas Tech with 10 combined turnovers, or the team that physically battered Oklahoma (and could potentially do the same to the Texas spread offense) in a 10-3 win? 3. Arizona one step closer to its first Rose Bowl How it can happen: It'll be loud in the Zona Zoo, and it'll be your typical Pac-10 game: no defense and more offense than a Big Ten fan can stomach. And that's the last thing Oregon wants. The Ducks have the Pac-10's best defense, but have given up 72 points in the last two games. The longer Oregon lets Arizona hang around, the more streaky Cats QB Nick Foles builds confidence. Related Links Hayes: Week 12 story lines SN staff picks for Week 12 Who will replace USC in Rose Bowl? SN Conversation: Jim Tressel Week 12 matchups, scoreboard 4. Michigan upsets Big Ten champion Ohio State How it can happen: Rose Bowl-bound Ohio State has nothing (OK, obviously The Game is something) for which to play; Michigan is playing for a bowl game -- and maybe, as crazy as it sounds, coach Rich Rodriguez's job. We know Michigan can score on offense. But is this the game the Wolverines play inspired on defense (hasn't happened yet) and give Rodriguez a Get Out of Jail Free card? 5. SMU and Temple: conference champions. How it can happen: SMU won one game in each of the last two seasons, yet needs wins over slumping Marshall and awful Tulane to secure the C-USA West Division. The Mustangs likely would face ECU in the C-USA title game, and SMU beat the Pirates in October. And Temple? Been a nice run, fellas. Kent State on Saturday shouldn't be tough, but at Ohio on Nov. 27 will end the ride before a potential MAC championship game against heavyweight Central Michigan. 6. Kansas rallies behind embattled coach Mark Mangino and beats No. 3 Texas How it could happen: Mangino said earlier this week he hadn't lost his team -- a sure sign that a coach has. The Jayhawks could get a big game from struggling QB Todd Reesing, and Texas could commit multiple turnovers and play lethargic on Senior Day, but that's about as likely to happen as Mangino keeping his job. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Sporting News' Dave Curtis analyzes what Tuesday's buzz means to college football. Players taking charge The details of the dissension involving Kansas football and coach Mark Mangino will shake out soon enough. The good bet is against Mangino—when did a "personnel matter" ever turn out positive for the personnel involved? For now, it's safe to say this: Whatever's going on at Kansas highlights the continuing power shift away from coaches.  Mark Mangino is feeling the heat in Lawrence, from... several sources. For years, the guys in charge of the program owned their terrain; not even athletic directors had the courage to butt into the day-to-day affairs down the hall in the football offices. Now, it seems everyone has a vote in the way things go.  Boosters speak with their wallets. Recruits speak to the media. Players speak with threats to transfer. Fans speak on message boards and talk radio and all the rest. At Kansas, Mangino has neither fostered a dominant program (his Jayhawks are 23-39 in Big 12 play) nor conducted himself like Pete Carroll on the sideline (Mangino's outbursts at players made the YouTube honor roll). Maybe he's guilty of nothing more. Maybe he's committed enough sins to lose his job. Either way, it doesn't look as though he's in control of his program. Rivalry, schmivalry Rich Rodriguez has spent much of the past two years defending his pride and his program's reputation. And although it's easy to find fault in the past two years of Michigan football, we've got his back on one thing—the Ohio State series. Pestered about the importance of the rivalry, Rodriguez again reassured reporters this week, using the word "understand" 11 times in an answer about the game's magnitude. The crazy part isn't the repetition; it's why he gets asked about it so often. What does it matter if Rodriguez understands the game's meaning? Do fans expect players to play harder against Michigan than against Purdue or Wisconsin? (Maybe there's the problem, folks). College football rivalries are beautiful things, but they're fueled by fans and history and geography. If anything, the rivalries matter more in recruiting battles because of that history and geography, than on the field. So good for Rodriguez for having the "Beat Ohio State" button he said he received before he even held a press conference in Ann Arbor. Let's see if that, or how well he "understands" the Ohio State rivalry, helps Saturday afternoon at the Big House. Kicking it And the secret to having a national title contender this year is … excellence on kickoff return? The six unbeaten teams in Division I-A have navigated the first 11 weeks of the season with different strategies and strengths. But they find common ground in gaining good field position after their opponents score. All six squads rank among the top 20 nationally in kickoff return average, with everybody except Alabama (No. 19) squeezing into the top 10. Related Links Hayes' Hot Seat: Coaches get grief 24/7 TSB: Carroll, USC hearing it during slide Curtis: Leavitt's Bulls lose momentum again Bowl projections: Curtis sets all 34 matchups The stats are a bit misleading—better teams have fewer kickoff returns than losing ones because they tend to allow fewer points. But winners also benefit from short fields—something to which Texas (29.6 yards per return) and TCU (28.6) can attest. The Horns and Horned Frogs rank second and third in the country. Who's No. 1? Stanford, and it seems as though the Cardinal are playing decent football, too. This story appears in Nov. 18's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free. Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.more>>

Think about the statement, and take in the enormity of it all. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on TCU: "I have been a coach for five years, and that is the best team I've faced." Utah has faced a handful of BCS teams in Whittingham's tenure, but the one that stands out was Alabama in last season's Sugar Bowl. The same Alabama team that was a handful of perfect throws from Florida quarterback Tim Tebow from playing in the national title game. We all know what would've happened in that game—and we... all know what Utah did to the Tide in the Sugar Bowl. That only gives more weight to Whittingham's comments after TCU's dismantling of Utah—and further clouds the non-BCS question: Does unbeaten TCU, a member of the non-BCS Mountain West Conference but playing better than anyone in the nation, deserve to play in the BCS national championship game? "All we can do," said TCU quarterback Andy Dalton, "is continue to play as well as we can and see what happens." Don't panic No. 3 Texas. If TCU was going to make a significant jump in the BCS poll—and possibly pass the Longhorns—it was going to be this week. It didn't happen, and now the road is clear for Texas: win out and play in the BCS national title game. Start to panic No. 4 TCU. Yep, the Frogs are playing better than anyone, but the last two games of the season—Wyoming and New Mexico—won't provide near enough juice for them to move into one of the top two spots in the poll. No. 18 USC. Unless a cataclysmic series of events happens and leaves a group of Pac-10 teams at 6-3 (one of those events would include Washington State beating Oregon State), the Trojans' chances for an eighth straight BCS bowl are history. And now, it has come to this: coach Pete Carroll complaining about another coach running up the score. Two thoughts: 1.) How do you like them apples? 2.) It's your job to stop them. Underrated No. 17 Stanford. There were eight other Pac-10 programs full of players and coaches absolutely giddy when hearing Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh tried a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter of the beating his team handed USC. The bigger picture: How are the Cardinal behind Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Iowa, Oklahoma State and … Oregon, a team it beat by 7,000 touchdowns last week? Ask any coach what he fears most, it's a team that can dictate tempo with a power running game. No one wants a piece of the Cardinal right now. Related Links Hayes' BCS bowl projections USC tumbles, Stanford soars in AP poll Coaches Poll Sporting News Poll Legends Poll TCU stuck in BCS standings after big win No. 9 Pitt. I'm going to call it right now: Pitt is beating Cincinnati. The Panthers are terrific on defense, and the trifecta on offense—QB Bill Stull, TB Dion Lewis, WR Jonathan Baldwin—is the best in the nation. Overrated No. 1 Florida. I'll buy Urban Meyer's statement that the Gators get everyone's best game—but that doesn't mean Florida shouldn't get ready and know it's coming. We still haven't seen this team's best game. If not now, when? No. 10 Ohio State. Big Ten champions have lost to USC and Purdue. And frankly, I'm not sure USC could beat Purdue right now. The Buckeyes' best win? Against equally overrated Iowa. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Sporting News college football expert Matt Hayes projects the BCS bowl games: BCS national championship game: Alabama vs. Texas Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Iowa Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. TCU Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Pitt Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.  

College football, like much of the 2009 season, held to form Saturday. No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Alabama kept the national title chase a three-team derby with typical wins.   No. 4 TCU looked like a sure BCS bowl team by waxing No. 16 Utah 55-28.   "If the nation didn't think that this was enough style points, then I don't know what is," coach Gary Patterson told reporters. "We're just going to go about our business."   But outside TCU's statement win, the biggest developments of... Saturday's college football games included the handful of storied programs that continued their shocking slides:   Notre Dame What happened: Anemic offense for three quarters put the Irish in an 18-point fourth-quarter hole at Pittsburgh. The No. 8 Panthers held on, 27-22, and eliminated ND from reaching a BCS bowl. What's next? Find somebody with Brian Kelly's cell phone number. Even with a rally late, this ND squad flustered even the most ardent Irish fan. Charlie Weis best start winning ... if he gets to keep coaching.   Southern Cal What happened: Stanford hung 55 points on the Trojans, one-upping the 47 Oregon scored two weeks ago in Eugene. "To be a senior and leave a legacy like this," Trojans safety Taylor Mays told reporters in Los Angeles, "it's sickening."  What's next? Put out the APB for Southern Cal's defensive prowess and swagger? Actually, a deep breath will do the trick. USC didn't start a single senior in its front seven; let's trust Pete Carroll to have that group better in 2010.   Michigan What happened: Wisconsin rolled up 469 yards and 45 points in handing Michigan its sixth straight loss against Division I-A competition. "We were really reaching defensively to find an answer to try to stop them," UM Coach Rich Rodriguez told reporters in Madison, Wis. What's next? A fourth Wolverines defensive coordinator in four seasons. Greg Robinson's defense has allowed 26 or more points in all seven Big Ten games and has Michigan on the brink of missing a bowl for the second consecutive year.     This story appears in Nov. 15's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.   Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com. more>>

Dexter McCluster: Tennessesse sees way to much of Mr. All-Purpose. Sporting News' Derek Samson covers the best and worst performances of Week 11 in college football.   Gameballs 1. Danario Alexander, Missouri WR. One of the nation's most underrated wideouts, Alexander caught 10 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the rout of Kansas State. In his past two games, Alexander has 414 yards receiving.   2. Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss RB. One of the nation's most underrated runners,... McCluster had 282 rushing yards and finished with 324 all-purpose yards, setting a slew of records at both Mississippi (good ones) and Tennessee (bad ones). McCluster scored on runs of 15, 23, 32 and 71 yards in Ole Miss' first victory against the Volunteers since 1983.   3. Toby Gerhart, Stanford RB. This senior rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 25 Stanford can claim it does in fact own the Coliseum after punishing Southern Cal 55-21.   Congrats to the grad student: Tom Thompson is truly a senior kicker. 4. Tom Thompson, Austin College K. At 61 years old, Thompson made his first kick of his college football career Saturday in the season finale for the Division III Kangaroos. Thompson, a grad student who was a backup kicker in high school more than 40 years ago, was put into the game for the first time this season to try a PAT against Trinity University. Thompson was successful -- although the Kangaroos were not. They lost 44-10.   5. Kendric Burney, North Carolina CB. Burney picked off three passes, returning one for a 77-yard touchdown, in the Tar Heels' 33-24 upset of No. 12 Miami (Fla.).   Making history • Daniel Passafiume set the NCAA record for most receptions in a single game, catching 25 passes for Division III Hanover College. Passafiume finished with 153 yards receiving and two touchdowns in a 42-28 loss to Franklin College. His 25 receptions were one more than the previous all-divisions mark shared by Chas Gessner and some guy named Jerry Rice. And on this same day, the school named Rice won its first game of the season.    • Texas' Colt McCoy tied the NCAA record for career victories by a starting quarterback, throwing two touchdown passes to help No. 2 Texas beat Baylor 47-14. McCoy is 42-7 in his career, tying the wins record set by former Georgia QB David Greene.   • Western Michigan RB Brandon West ran 25 times for 140 yards and set a Division I-A record for career all-purpose yards. He has 7,626 yards with one game left in his career, passing the mark of 7,573 established by Memphis' DeAngelo Williams.   • Virginia Tech RB Ryan Williams ran for 126 yards against Maryland and scored his 12th touchdown, a single-season record for a Virginia Tech freshman. And a little history for Maryland fans from that game: The Terps' five-game losing streak is their longest since 1998. Salt-in-the-wound stat: Virginia Tech has outscored Maryland 142-37 since joining the ACC five years ago.   For Max Hall, day to remember; New Mexico's kicker would rather forget. • Florida QB Tim Tebow tied the SEC's career touchdown record with a 1-yard scoring run against South Carolina. Tebow's 53rd touchdown tied the mark of former LSU RB Kevin Faulk.   The replacement Florida State QB E.J. Manuel filled in for an injured Christian Ponder and kept alive FSU's bowl hopes (how odd is it to read that line?). Manuel was 15-of-20 for 220 yards and accounted for two touchdowns. If Florida State beats Maryland next week, it will qualify for a bowl for a record 28th consecutive year. If it doesn't beat Maryland, it might want to consider discontinuing football at the school for a few years.   Numbers of the day 29/4: BYU QB Max Hall won his 29th game to match Ty Detmer's school record. In the same game, New Mexico K James Aho missed four kicks (three FGs, one PAT) in BYU's 24-19 win. Aho smacked the uprights three times -- on field-goal attempts of 35 and 42 yards and on a PAT try, all in the second half. Aho also had a field-goal attempt blocked just before halftime.   Decision of the day Idaho kicked off to Boise State's Titus Young just before halftime and the boot went seven yards deep into the end zone. Young looked ready to kneel on it for a touchback, but teammate Doug Martin urged him to run it out.   Young then sprinted untouched down the right sideline for a 100-yard TD return. It tied a Boise State record set by John Broadous in 1981, also against Idaho.   Quote of the day "I got a lot of grief on the sideline because it was a duck. But it got us six points."  -- Clemson RB C.J. Spiller, who ran for a touchdown, caught a TD and threw one of his own to help the 24th-ranked Tigers beat North Carolina State 43-23.   This story appears in Nov. 15's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.   Derek Samson is a senior editor for Sporting News. Email him at dsamson@sportingnews.com.more>>

Sporting News college football columnist Matt Hayes looks at who will be feeling the heat heading into Week 11. 1. Heisman Trophy voters Case Keenum leads the nation in passing yards per game and touchdown passes. One month remains in the race for the Heisman Trophy, and this thing is only "wide open" because voters refuse to buy into Case Keenum. These, of course, are the same people who a week ago believed Oregon was better than Boise State because, uh, they just are—no matter what that... insignificant thing called scoreboard proclaimed in bold white lights on the first Thursday of the season. A quick aside to my Legends Poll friend Terry Donahue: Coach, there's no such thing as "if they played again." That's the NFL; this is college football. They played, Oregon lost (badly), move on. Now, back to the Heisman: The pressure rests squarely on the collective shoulders of the voters. Mark Ingram of Alabama is a good choice, but he's not the best tailback in the nation (see: Gerhart, Toby). And if Trent Richardson, Alabama's dynamic freshman backup, got Ingram's carries, he'd have the same numbers. I don't want to hear about Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow. While both have had nice seasons, neither has come close to the ridiculous standards they set the previous three seasons. Unless one of the two gets really hot, really quickly, I can't see voting for them—and I'm the guy who still will proclaim Tebow as the greatest player of the modern era. This leaves us with Keenum, whose candidacy is hurt only because his Houston team plays in Conference USA. In nine games, Keenum has thrown for 3,815 yards, 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He's completing 71 percent of his passes, and he likely has three regular-season games plus a likely C-USA championship game to further pad those numbers. He led the Cougars to victories over Big 12 South heavies Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, throwing for 801 yards and four touchdowns (two interceptions), and running for two more touchdowns. Against those same two teams, McCoy threw for 376 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Keenum has thrown for more than 500 yards in a game three times, and in Houston's only loss, on the road to UTEP, he completed 51 passes for 536 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Why does playing in a non-BCS league make Keenum's accomplishments less important than average seasons from McCoy and Tebow? In this season without a BCS player seizing the moment, maybe we should look to the best player regardless of conference affiliation. 2. The Notre Dame administration The Charlie Weis question will come down to athletic director Jack Swarbrick, university president Rev. John Jenkins and a few of the school's heavy hitters. Late last year, a few media outlets reported that Weis' buyout wasn't as heavy as many believed. But sources told Sporting News this spring that it is that heavy—and then some. If ND fires Weis after this season, it owes him $18 million. It's cut and dry; don't believe anything else you hear. Notre Dame will have to consider Charlie Weis' $18 million buyout before firing him. That doesn't mean the university won't take that step in stressful economic times, but you better believe it has to be part of the discussion. Firing Weis is a minimum $33-43 million investment, including the Weis buyout and the hiring of a new coach. It will cost at least $3 million a year to get Brian Kelly or Paul Johnson (on typical five-year deals), and maybe as much as $5 million a year for the pipe dream of getting Urban Meyer from Florida. The Irish hired Weis because of his offensive prowess, and because his dynamic personality (while you may not like him, 18-year-old kids and their parents do) would translate to big recruiting classes. In both of those areas, he has delivered. The one area where he hasn't delivered: defense. That has cost him in the win/loss column, where it matters most. Because Weis is the head coach, failure on that side of the ball falls on him. He'd be the first to admit it. Two years ago, Weis hired one of the most respected coordinators in the business, Jon Tenuta, to run the unit, and it hasn't worked out. No one knows the magic number of wins to keep Weis in South Bend, but it's more complicated than wins and losses. 3. The curse of Clemson Admit it: You're starting to believe. As much as I don't want to admit it, because I've been burned by this bandwagon before, I'm hopping aboard again. Clemson—yes, people, Clemson—may finally be for real. Dabo Swinney did a terrific job of holding together the program last fall, and he did it again earlier this year after the meltdown at Georgia Tech and the back-to-back losses to TCU and Maryland. Since the unthinkable against the Terps, Clemson has peeled off four straight wins and needs victories over N.C. State and Virginia in the next two weeks to win the ACC Atlantic Division and play for its first league championship since 1991. I'm all in, you're all in, yet we know what's lurking. The Tigers are hot, C.J. Spiller suddenly is a Heisman Trophy candidate, and quarterback Kyle Parker has eight touchdown passes and two interceptions in his last three league games. It's all set up for ... Clemson's typical flop. If Swinney gets two more league wins out of this team, he's a lock for ACC coach of the year. If not, well ... let's not be the buzzkill just yet. 4. The panic in Ann Arbor Remember when all was well with Rich Rodriguez at Michigan? The team rallied around its embattled coach days before the season opener amid possible NCAA violations, and everything looked peachy a month into the season. Now Michigan is 1-5 in the Big Ten, and two things are clear: 1. TCU or Boise State would win the Big Ten, which could have its worst collection of teams in two decades. And Michigan isn't close to competing in the league. Related Links Hayes' conference calls What we learned Monday This Week In Schadenfreude Introducing UNC DE Robert Quinn 2. The Wolverines' only league win could've—and probably should've—been a loss to Indiana. So where do we go from here? If Michigan doesn't win one of its final two games (against Wisconsin and Ohio State), then it will miss a bowl game in consecutive seasons for the first time since it missed three straight from 1972-74. Don't be foolish and believe Rodriguez is in trouble—at least, not yet. If Michigan fails to become bowl-eligible, Year 3 in 2010 will be make-or-break. And if those alleged NCAA violations are true, the heat will be tenfold, because Michigan then could fire Rodriguez for cause (breaking NCAA rules; it's specifically stated in his contract) and not owe him a dime. 5. Winning as the favorite For the first time since 2005, the college football season has a sense of inevitability in early November. No wild upsets, no crazy possibilities; just three teams with clear paths to the BCS national championship game: No. 1 Florida: at South Carolina, FIU, Florida State, vs. Alabama. No. 2 Alabama: at Mississippi State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, at Auburn, vs. Florida. No. 3 Texas: at Baylor, Kansas, at Texas A&M, Big 12 championship game. In every remaining game—with the exception of the SEC championship—Florida, Alabama and Texas will be double-digit favorites. But as boring as the inevitable looks, imagine the chaos if one of the three loses, and voters are forced to choose between unbeaten Cincinnati, TCU or Boise State—or one of the aforementioned Big Three with a bad loss late in the season? Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences—and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 ACC No. 4 Big 12 No. 5 Big Ten No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 4. Big 12 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma State ... 3. Texas Tech 4. Nebraska 5. Oklahoma 6. Kansas State 7. Kansas 8. Texas A&M 9. Missouri 10. Iowa State 11. Baylor 12. Colorado Rising Nebraska: Despite the season-long inconsistent play on offense, the Huskers still control their destiny in the Big 12 North Division. Falling Iowa State: Cyclones followed up a momentous win at Nebraska with back-to-back duds against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State by a combined 69-18, ending their North Division title hopes. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Analyzing what Monday's buzz means to college football: A plug for Pryor In early October 2004, Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns got shut out in the annual rivalry game with Oklahoma. It would be the last game Young would lose as a college player. Maybe that gives Mack Brown some credence to make a similar prediction for Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, whose career sits near the point Young's was when he started his run. Brown has some knowledge of Pryor from Saturday night highlight... shows and from facing him in January's Fiesta Bowl. And Brown said on Monday's Big 12 coaches teleconference that from his observations, Pryor will enjoy a bright future as a Buckeye. "Before he leaves Ohio State, he'll lead them to a national championship," Brown said. "He's that kind of player." That's a bold statement, sure, but it comes from the leader of a program that's rolling toward another national title opportunity. And after such an endorsement, giving up on Pryor seems like an activity better suited for 2010 than 2009. Soft on Spikes Shame on Florida and the SEC for not extending linebacker Brandon Spikes' suspension to at least a game. As Dan Wetzel from Yahoo! Sports pointed out Monday afternoon, the eye gouge Spikes attempted on Georgia running back Washaun Ealey is illegal in mixed martial arts. (Time for a new adage: What's illegal in the octagon is a felony on the gridiron.) A boost of his punishment, plus a little creativity — maybe some community service involving the blind residents of Alachua County in Florida? — would hammer home that such activity has no place in football. The subplot here is teammate Tim Tebow's comment Monday that the Gators were doing nothing that Georgia wasn't trying on them. Even if Tebow is accurate, it seems like turning the other cheek would be the prudent move for Florida. Instead, Spikes lashed out and pretty much got away with it, placing a temporary black stain on the orange and blue. Not so Happy Valley Ohio State figures to face its toughest road challenge of this season this weekend at Penn State. But take it from veteran offensive tackle Jim Cordle — the hard part starts well before opening kickoff. Here are some reflections from Cordle on OSU's 2007 visit to Beaver Stadium. "The term we use around here is black flag city. You obviously have to keep your head on a swivel, close ranks and just focus in. On the bus ride there, you come up a hill, then down by the stadium, and our bus is getting rocked. We're getting all kinds of beers thrown at us. "Then you get to the locker room, and it's pretty bad. It's this old little shack under the bleachers. When you're walking out to the field, they have old steel bleachers you can see through, and people just line up and let you have it. "Then, on the field, you see the whiteout. They get 'Zombie Nation' going, and obviously, that's the most feared stadium to play in. There's a lot of fierceness in those fans."more>>

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 Big Ten No. 4 ACC No. 5 Big 12 No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 5. Big 12 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma 3.... Oklahoma State 4. Texas Tech 5. Kansas State 6. Kansas 7. Texas A&M 8. Nebraska 9. Missouri 10. Iowa State 11. Colorado 12. Baylor Rising Texas A&M: One day Mike Sherman is fighting off firing rumors; the next, the Aggies are winning back-to-back games and need to win at Colorado this week to become bowl-eligible. Falling Colorado: The issue isn't the coach's son at quarterback or the backup fans crave. It's a defense that has given up at least 30 points five times this season. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

The reign is over for USC and the redemption likely complete for Texas. And then there is Florida, in its familiar position of SEC East champions. The race for college football's national championship took a defining turn Saturday with three routs: No. 10 Oregon 47, No. 4 Southern Cal 20 No. 3 Texas 41, No. 13 Oklahoma State 14 No. 1 Florida 41, Georgia 17 "We're excited about where we're headed," Florida wideout Riley Cooper said. All three should be. The impact of those routs could be... felt all the way into the postseason. Related Links Curtis: Pac-10's new stud duck So who needs Blount anyway? Recap: Oregon 47, Southern Cal 20 Hayes: Florida foes, fear the wrath of Tim Recap: Gators 41, Georgia 17 Recap: Texas 41, Oklahoma State 14 Samson: Week 9's top players, Heisman Watch Samson: Week 9's top teams, Poll Vault SN's full college football scoreboard Oregon over Southern Cal What it means for the BCS: Non-BCS heavyweight Boise State, which beat Oregon in Week 1, gets a boost. But Oregon's win was so thorough, so convincing, don't be surprised to see the Ducks leapfrog a handful of teams. Texas over Oklahoma State What it means for the BCS: The Longhorns cleared their last hurdle in the watered-down Big 12. Texas just needs to avoid a major upset now and has better odds than Florida or Alabama of reaching the BCS championship game. Florida over Georgia What it means for the BCS: The stale Gators found a little of last year's dynamic offense, and the timing could not be better. Another second-half run like 2008, and Florida will play for its third national title in four years. This story appears in Nov. 1's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Place: Stillwater, Okla. Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: ABC/ESPN2 Line: Texas by 9˝ Three reasons Oklahoma State will win 1. Forget history: Where do we begin? Mack Brown is 11-0 vs. OSU as the Texas coach, and some of those victories have been gut punches. Oklahoma State led 35-7 in 2004— and lost 56-35. The Cowboys led 28-9 a year later—and lost 47-28. Last year in Austin, OSU closed to 28-21 in the third quarter and could do nothing with two Texas turnovers—and lost 28-24. This Cowboys team knows it... can beat Texas, and has confidence from a game it could've won last season. Keith Toston has been a strong replacement for the injured Kendall Hunter. 2. Be multiple on offense: Texas has been terrific on defense but hasn't played an offense that can force tempo by throwing and running. The Cowboys have moved on without suspended star WR Dez Bryant, and Hubert Anyiam had big games against Missouri and Baylor as the No. 1 receiver. Texas obviously is a bigger challenge, but OSU can give its receivers help by grinding away with bruising TB Keith Toston and using QB Zac Robinson in the run game. 3. Shut down Shipley: We keep hearing about the Texas struggles in the passing game, yet QB Colt McCoy still is completing more than 70 percent of his passes. Here's where Oklahoma State can make a difference: CB Perrish Cox vs. Texas WR Jordan Shipley. When McCoy gets in trouble, when he needs a big play, he looks to Shipley. Cox has become more consistent in his coverage and has learned when to take chances instead of trying to make a big play every play. If Cox takes Shipley out of the game, Texas becomes more predictable on offense. Three reasons Texas will win 1. Redemption overflowith: You didn't really think the Oklahoma game was the only prove-it point for the Longhorns, did you? This team has been feeding off last year's BCS national championship game snub, and that has allowed a team with various distractions—questionable running game, McCoy not playing to the significant bar he set last fall—to persevere and grind out victories. This team is well aware of what happens when you let someone else decide who plays in the big game. Related Links Texas' passing game not 'back' yet Hayes' picks: 'Horns will take it Sporting News expert picks Picks: Davis Curtis vs. Grams Texas could wrap up South with win 2. Stopping the run: If Oklahoma State can't run the ball consistently and keep Texas guessing on defense, the rout is on. The Longhorns are the nation's No. 1 team against the run (41.3 ypg.)—a full 23 yards better than No. 2 Alabama. But Texas hasn't faced a team with athletes (even without OSU injured TB Kendall Hunter) at both tailback and quarterback who can beat you to the perimeter. 3. Gaining momentum: They're baby steps, but the incremental improvement from TBs Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson is beginning to give Texas a bit of an identity in the running game. And more than anything, taking pressure off McCoy to make plays in the zone-read game or by scrambling. Whitaker is the zone-read back who runs the perimeter game, and Johnson is the bruising, pile mover. There's little deception when either is in the game, but Texas is fundamentally sound enough on the line to make it all work. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>