20. A BMOC Soapbox Moment
Anybody who thinks Marshall's Byron Leftwich doesn't belong on the short list of Heisman candidates has Tinactin for brains or needs Lasik surgery. Did you see the throws he made against Virginia Tech? On national television? With everyone saying this was his make-or-break Heisman game?

Leftwich completed 31 of 49 passes for 406 and three touchdowns in the 47-21 loss to the Hokies. If only he could have played defensive tackle too, as Tech rushed for 395 yards. (Editorial aside frequent business travelers: Leftwich threw one of his TD passes to junior receiver Denero Marriott. That means whenever he scores, Marshall gets Marriott points.)

	The Jags hope Byron Leftwich can learn the West Coast offense.

For someone who had the weight of Huntington, West Virginia, on his shoulder pads, Leftwich played with confidence and nerve. He ran the Herd's no-huddle offense with a senior's aplomb. In the first half, with the game not totally decided, he had 202 yards and 15 completions. It would have been more, but Marshall's receivers experienced a rare case of motor skills problems. By game's end, there were at least six dropped Leftwich passes and another one fumbled away.

There was also an interception, but not even that mistake was totally Leftwich's fault. After the game, as Leftwich began to explain what happened on the play, Marshall coach Bob Pruett interrupted. In short, Pruett said the receiver botched the pattern.

Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things.

"That wasn't us out there," Leftwich said.

Leftwich made all the throws -- outs from the far hash, corner routes, slants, hooks, skinny posts, flies. He made hot reads. He showed some nimbleness for a 6-foot-6, 240-pound guy. He patted butts. He didn't throw sideline fits as the Herd slipped farther behind. He took Tech's best shots. He showed postgame class by stopping for a moment and posing for a photo with two Marshall dance team members in the stadium tunnel. He didn't smile, but that's OK.

"He's a great player," said VaTech quarterback Bryan Randall. "He's not just all the hype."

Some of Leftwich's yardage was due to Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster's decision to blitz less and make Marshall beat Tech underneath rather than over the top.

"I didn't want to give him anything cheap," said Foster. And as the Tech lead increased, "we just played a bend-don't-break defense," Foster said.

The Hokies didn't break, but either did Leftwich. It wasn't his fault his receivers dipped their hands in 10W-30 before the game. It wasn't his fault Marshall couldn't run the ball.

Or that the defense struggled. Or that Marshall has a tough time getting elite non- conference teams to play it. Or that he's not on national TV more often.

As the scoreboard clock moved toward zeroes, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets began a chant directed at Leftwich.

"No more Heis-man," they yelled. Then followed it with, "Left-wich (makes a gaping windpipe noise)."

Kids.

We know what we saw and it was impressive. How it plays to the 19 scouts from 12 NFL teams that were there that night, who knows? But MAC, or no MAC. . . TV or no TV, Leftwich earned our respect. And Virginia Tech's too.

19. Fish Story
Miami running backs coach Don Soldinger was in the middle of ordering a tuna fish sandwich for lunch when we tracked him down on his cell earlier in the week. It was pretty much your routine interview: respected assistant coach interrupts BMOC question to revise his choice of sandwich condiments. . . coach says it looks as if 2001 tailback sensation Frank Gore will be redshirted. . . coach mentions that Gore's 2002 replacement, Willis McGahee, and McGahee's backup, Jason Geathers, are the best 1-2 combination he's ever coached.

"Best tandem I've ever had," he says, to be exact.

Better than Clinton Portis and James Jackson? Better than Jackson and Edgerrin James? Absolutely, says Soldinger.

McGahee is the marquee attraction. He had 204 yards in the win against Florida and 134 yards and four touchdowns (tied a school record) this past Saturday against Temple (Geathers had a much more modest 2 yards on four carries).

No one could ever question McGahee's talent, though there were plenty of doubts about his attitude. But McGahee answered many of those questions when he switched to fullback for the national championship victory against Nebraska. "I had 20 practices to get him ready," Soldinger says.

McGahee played as if Soldinger had worked with him for months. "It impressed me," says the UM coach. Impressed Nebraska, too, which got so chewed up in the Rose Bowl the Cornhuskers could have starred in the "Fargo" woodchipper scene.

The 6-1, 227-pound McGahee runs a 4.29 40 and, says Soldinger, "power cleans the world, bench presses the world. . . he's Superman."

And Geathers? "He's unbelievable too," he says.

The Hurricanes are still sweet on Gore, who was the likely starter until he tore up his knee during spring drills. Gore's early rehab wasn't anything to write your physical therapist about, but in recent weeks the progress has been off the charts. Gore is working with UM's track coach, doing squats. . . the important stuff.

"Frank knows he's behind," Soldinger says. "He wants to be on the same level playing surface (with McGahee and Geathers). He's even thinking about doing a redshirt. If Frank Gore is healthy, he can compete with anybody. He's the most natural, pure runner I've ever seen."

As if Miami needed more help, tailback Jarrett Payton is recovering nicely from assorted late summer ailments.

"Jarrett's coming back in the mix," Soldinger says. "His back is feeling better. He just gives us another ace in the hole. I've always used three (running backs). If Payton comes back, we should be OK."

Payton had 16 yards on six carries against Temple.

18. The Waiting Is The Hardest Part
It wasn't much of a run: 3 yards, that's it. But for Justin Fargas, who hadn't carried a ball in a game since Sept. 16, 2000, those 3 yards against Colorado last Saturday were ones to remember.

Fargas was the nation's No. 1 high school tailback in 1997, signed with Michigan (USC lost out because of John Robinson's firing), and then suffered a series of injuries, including a broken leg, that ultimately derailed his career as a Wolverines tailback. He later requested a position change to defensive back and when that didn't work out, he asked Michigan coach Lloyd Carr for his release and transferred to USC.

"I basically told [Carr] I planned on making a move," says Fargas. "At first, he was apprehensive. But then he saw I had my mind made up. He basically told me I could do whatever I put my mind to."

Fargas did grunt-work time on the Trojans' scout team last season and now -- finally -- is back on the field when it counts.

"I've definitely been through a storm," says Fargas, who missed USC's home opener against Auburn because a hamstring injury. "Coming out here with this opportunity I had. . . I can finally see the sun shining a little bit."

As you might expect, Fargas has a slight adrenaline overload these days. You sit for two years and see what happens.

"We tell him, don't try to make up a whole season, a whole career in one game," says USC assistant Kennedy Pola.

In a mostly perfect world, Fargas would like to stay healthy and help USC, which beat CU, 40-3, re-establish itself as a Pac-10 power. In an absolutely perfect scenario, the Trojans would win the conference, play in the Rose Bowl and. . . face Michigan.

"I've thought about that," Fargas says. "You've got to have a picture. That's the ultimate, playing in the Rose Bowl. We're planning on being there. If they're [the Wolverines] there, that would be the game."

17. Keeping Up With The Joneses
Think Notre Dame could use Julius Jones?

The offensively-challenged Irish have struggled scoring points for all sorts of reasons: new coach, new coordinator, new system, old-fashioned schedule and turnovers. Nothing against Ryan Grant, who had an impressive 132 yards and two scores in the Michigan win, but Jones would have helped the Irish this season. Problem is, Jones was dismissed from the program during the offseason because of academic difficulties.

Since then, several Division I-AA programs have called Notre Dame inquiring about Jones' availability. In most cases, a player can transfer to a I-AA program without having to sit out a year.

Except that Jones' case isn't like most.

Turns out Notre Dame wouldn't grant Jones' release -- not because they wanted to stick it to Jones, but because it's following the NCAA's complicated (surprise) rules. In short, a player can't transfer to another school unless he's in good academic standing at the institution he's leaving. Thus, the reason for the Irish thumbs down to the I-AA requests.

We talked to Jones' high school, his father, Notre Dame and the compliance director of a Big Ten program -- all in an attempt to clarify Jones' situation and future. The Jones contingent was understandably vague, except to say that education is the major priority for their sons (Julius' brother, Thomas, starred at Virginia and now plays for the Arizona Cardinals).

Meanwhile, a Notre Dame spokesperson says Jones, who led the Irish in rushing last season, can re-apply for Fall 2003 admission -- something new coach Tyrone Willingham has encouraged. But first, Jones must repair his academic status (take your pick of his supposed whereabouts: in South Bend. . . in Arizona with his brother, taking classes).

Wherever he is, it's obvious Willingham would like him back. It's also obvious that right now all signs point to a Jones return -- if he is accepted by Notre Dame's admissions office.

16. Thomas Wolfe Game Of The Week
If you wanted to drop a few bucks at North Carolina you could buy a Sack Mack. . .And the Steer He Rode In On T-shirt. The T-shirt slogan might have been lame, but the Tar Heels' effort against Brown's Texas team this past Saturday was gutty enough.

	Mack Brown's return to North Carolina was a successful one.

Brown spent 10 seasons at Carolina before leaving beautiful Chapel Hill for beautiful, but football-hyper Austin. He left the Tar Heels program in wonderful shape, a fact not lost on most of the Carolina faithful who ventured into gorgeous, but rain-soaked Kenan Stadium.

There were some boos when Brown stepped onto the field for Texas' pregame warmups, but nothing that required security personnel. If anything, Brown was hugged and handshaked to death by burnt-orange-clad fans, as well as Carolina followers, during last Friday's walk-thru at Kenan and again when the Longhorns arrived for Saturday evening's game.

Brown had said it wouldn't be an emotional game, but that was a bunch of Bevo chips. Brown, says San Antonio Express-News beat reporter Mark Wangrin, is the kind of guy who gets teary-eyed when he hears the school fight song. So to think his first visit to Carolina in five years wouldn't tug at least some of his heartstrings, well, seems unlikely.

As usual, Texas had its way with the Tar Heels. Last year in Austin, Brown's Longhorns won, 44-14. This time it was, 52-21. But with feeling.

"We called this our Mack Bowl," said running back Cedric Benson, who did his part with 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Brown, who got a sideline douse from his players, was gracious in victory, complimenting Carolina's comeback try, saying he was "really proud that North Carolina football is in [coach John Bunting's] hands and moving forward."

Now Brown will do the same.

15. Guy Power
Kentucky is 3-0 for the first time since 1998, which might not sound like much to the Florida States of the world, but carries some weight in Lexington. The three wins are one short of the Wildcats' combined victory totals in 2000 and 2001.

Already the Wildcats have had two SEC Players of the Week: Lorenzen and special teamer Taylor Begley. They didn't have any in the previous two seasons.

Louisville's Dave Ragone got most of the preseason quarterback buzz in the state, but Lorenzen is the one with the better numbers and an undefeated team. We'll cut Ragone some slack, mostly because the Cardinals' offensive line is a mess and Louisville lost some very good receivers from a season ago (Deion Branch, now with the New England Patriots). But the big lug from Kentucky is starting to make some regional and national noise too.

Lorenzen is listed at 275, which is true if you don't count one of his limbs. Otherwise, he's pushing 290 or so, depending on the weekly mashed potatoes intake. That makes him heavier than Kentucky's starting left guard -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

There's certainly nothing wrong with his arm. Little-known fact: Lorenzen is the SEC's active career leader in completions and total offensive yardage. That's right, he's ahead of Florida's Heisman candidate Rex Grossman.

It's a little too early for the Wildcats to start checking Orbitz for air fare to a bowl game, especially since Kentucky is on NCAA probation and ineligible for postseason play. At this point, they'd take a winning season and a reversal of their bowl ban by the NCAA's appeals committee (a decision is expected soon). Kentucky finishes its non-conference schedule this Saturday against Middle Tennessee State (MTSU plays four SEC teams this season), then gets a waffle iron to the face: Sept. 28 at Florida. After that, it's South Carolina, at Arkansas, Georgia, at Mississippi State, LSU, Vandy and at Tennessee.

The better the record, the better the chance coach Guy Morriss has of new athletic director Mitch Barnhart re-working Morriss' contract. Morriss, who is 5-9 since replacing Hal Mumme, would like an extension with some teeth in it.

14. Wolverine Blue
You probably don't want to be Michigan special teams coach Jim Boccher these days. Another week, another missed field goal.

Philip Brabbs finally made one (a 19-yarder that made him 2 of 6 for the season), but Troy Nienberg had a 32-yarder blocked in the second quarter that ultimately would have been the difference in Michigan's 25-23 loss to Notre Dame. We're not blaming the loss on Nienberg -- there were plenty of Michigan turnovers and penalties to go around -- but without a reliable kicking game, the Wolverines are cooked come Big Ten time.

By the way, a bad day for the state all around: Michigan, Michigan State and Western Michigan lost. Central Michigan won, though.

13. Players Of The Week

Virginia Tech RBs Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs

	Va. Tech's Kevin Jones was amazing in the win over Marshall.

Talk about your tag teams. . .

Jones had three touchdowns and 171 yards, and Suggs had two scores and 153 yards in the Hokies' 47-21 blowout win against then-No. 17 Marshall. In all, Tech rushed for 66 times for 395 yards and did a fairly convincing imitation of Nebraska. Yeah, sure, it was against a Marshall defense that stunk it up last season and has obvious problems this season, but lots of the yards compiled by Jones and Suggs came after contact. "I know our fans appreciate what they are seeing right now," says Hokies coach Frank Beamer. "Those are two guys that can carry the mail." Through rain, sleet, snow and Marshall.

Runners-up:

Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett
You sure he's only a true freshman? He had 31 carries for 239 yards and two TDs in the bruising win against Washington State.

Marshall QB Byron Leftwich
Tech played him soft after it got the big lead, but Leftwich still had to make the reads and throws. Is 406 yards and three TDs any good?

Notre Dame RB Ryan Grant
Grinded his way to 117 yards and two scores.

Iowa State QB Seneca Wallace
Where do we sign up for ISU's cable package? Wallace was 23 of 36 for 361 yards and one touchdown in the upset at Iowa.

Cal QB Kyle Boller
The rare trifecta: two passing TDs, one running TD, one receiving TD.

Texas RB Cedric Benson
He had 208 yards and two scores in the Mack Bowl.

Honorable Mention:

Northern Illinois RB Michael Turner
Turner, who replaced 2001 leading rusher Thomas Hammock (cardiac-related condition) in the lineup, had 176 yards and two TDs in close loss to Wisconsin.

USC defense
Held Colorado to three first downs and 29 net yards on 52 plays.

Nevada QB Zack Threadgill
Completed 28 of 37 passes for 410 yards and four TDs in the Wolfpack's upset of No. 24 BYU.

12. Coach Of The Week

Cal's Jeff Tedford
This year's Ralph Friedgen, but about 100 pounds lighter.

Cal is 3-0 for the first time since 1996. Last year the Bears were 1-10. The difference? Tedford, who was hired off Mike Bellotti's staff at Oregon. The Bears are averaging 50 points (201 total points last year, 150 so far this year) and have completely turned around their turnover ratio of a season ago (from minus-17 to plus-11).

Honorable Mention:

Virginia Tech's Beamer Hey, he got his jersey number -- 25 -- retired and got his very own banner at Lane Stadium last Thursday night. All it took was 16 seasons, 110 wins and Michael Vick.

Nevada's Chris Tormey BYU hadn't been to Reno since 1939 and it probably doesn't want to return anytime soon after losing, 31-28. A week after BYU avenged last season's blowout loss to Hawaii, Tormey's team returned the favor against the Cougars, who beat Nevada, 52-7, in 2001.

11. Rumor Of The Week
The NCAA isn't having much luck finding a new executive director to replace Cedric Dempsey. Part of it has to do with the job itself: Who wants to run an organization occasionally stuck in the Byzantine Era? That's why some prospective candidates have passed on search committee or headhunter overtures, or why others are sitting quietly on the sideline waiting to see how some of this shakes out.

The NCAA doesn't publish its short list, but somewhere in the discussions the names of Brit Kirwan, Robert Khayat and Bob Lawless were likely mentioned. But Kirwan recently resigned his position as Ohio State's president to become chancellor of the university system in Maryland. The highly respected Lawless, who serves as Tulsa's president, is said to have mixed feelings about the NCAA job. SEC folks rave about Khayat, the president at Ole Miss.

But the most intriguing name being mentioned by heavy-hitter administrators these days is Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. Delany is a big-picture thinker who isn't afraid to take a chance or make a difficult decision (adding Penn State to the league, inviting Notre Dame to join, establishing a conference postseason hoops tournament). He's tough, opinionated, pragmatic, smart and lives to serve his constituency. But he's also a former Carolina hoops player for Dean Smith, so he has a certain empathy for today's college athlete.

Which, of course, is why the NCAA will probably take a pass. Delany would be a wonderful choice, for no other reason than he'd shake things up at a place that desperately needs its sensibilities and policies questioned.

10. Get Well Card
Oklahoma hard-luck quarterback Jason White had an MRI last week on his injured right knee and will undergo reconstructive surgery as soon as the swelling goes down. Poor White. Last season it was a torn ACL in his left knee. Two games into this season he tears the ACL in the other knee.

	The BMOC wishes Oklahoma's Jason White a speedy recovery.

White was part of Bob Stoops' first recruiting class at OU. He was part of OU's national championship team and keeps his title ring in a little box in his room. The junior from little Tuttle, Okla., used to help his dad pour concrete during the summers until one day his old man said, "You can do this, or you can go to college and get your education."

White got a scholarship, a ring, an education, but also two torn ACLs. The first one left a one-inch scar and three smaller scars, as well as a screw in the back of his knee. He even has a tape of the surgery.

How tough is White? When he tore the left knee against Nebraska last year, he told the OU team doctor, "Can we put a brace on it and tape it up?"

"Son," said the doctor, "you're not hearing me. It's torn."

"Can we try it anyway?" White said.

So they tried it. He lasted three plays.

White's rehab started at 8 a.m.. Then he'd go to class. Then he'd report for rehab again. Then he'd left weights. Then he'd do another rehab session. Teammates and coaches marveled at his work ethic.

Now this. Another operation. Another lost season. Another painful rehab. No wonder White isn't taking this one very well.

9. Get Well Card -- Part II
With White gone and third-teamer Brent Rawls sidelined with a ligament injury in his right thumb, Stoops announced late last week that he was burning the redshirt year of true freshman Paul Thompson. Sure enough, Thompson played in the rout against the Miners and finished with 6 of 10 for 56 yards and one TD.

Thompson is a different kind of quarterback than White and Hybl. He threw for more than 1,000 yards last season, and also ran for more than 1,000. Stoops was thrilled when he pulled him out of Leander, Texas, which isn't that far away from Austin and Longhorns country.

And Stoops is also sweet on Rawls, a redshirt freshman who could be ready in time for the Sooners' Sept. 28 game against South Florida. OU also has another promising true freshman, Noah Allen.

8. Quote Of The Week
"Jiminy, he might not win the Heisman, but he's the best quarterback in the country. Everybody saw that. He was the best player in the game. Everybody can see that."
-- Marshall coach Bob Pruett on QB Byron Leftwich after loss to Virginia Tech.

7. Sparty Belly Flop
Spartan Stadium was a ghost town during the closing minutes of Cal's humiliating 46-22 victory against Michigan State. It was so quiet you could hear the Spartans drop in the polls.

As the season approached, we were so smitten with the Spartans that we asked them to go steady. Say the word and we would have gotten lavaliered. Michigan State had everything -- experience, stars (Charles Rogers), a very favorable schedule (no Ohio State, eight home games). . . everything, except heart. And tackling skills. And maybe even a coaching staff unable to make the right decisions at the right time.

Pitch plays near the goal line? Another halftime deficit, this time, 25-0? Another flat effort?

The Spartans played as if they had watched Cal-Poly, not Cal game film. And did we mention the six turnovers?

"I'll take the hit," said MSU coach Bobby Williams afterward. "Put it all on me. The crowd was booing and doing all that stuff, and getting after me, so I'll take the hit."

He should. After all, it wasn't Tom Izzo's fault.

Michigan State still has five more home games, but look at some of the the opponents: revitalized Notre Dame (this Saturday), undefeated Wisconsin and Purdue.

6. Notre Dame Fate

	Tyrone Willingham has the Irish off to a 3-0 start.

If George O'Leary hadn't fibbed on his résumé, Tyrone Willingham would still be at Stanford, or perhaps in the NFL. But Notre Dame lucked into Willingham and have an improbable 3-0 record to show for it.

Did you see Willingham after the Irish held on for a 25-23 win against Michigan? You couldn't tell if he'd just beaten the No. 6 team in the country, or if he was going to the grocery store to pick up some canned peas.

Notre Dame is a work in progress, but at least we're using that word these days: progress. Willingham's West Coast offense is slowly sinking in, and the defense is government-approved Grade-A stuff. The only people more thrilled with the Irish record than ND fans are the folks at NBC, who were ready to air "Facts of Life" reruns if things didn't get better.

5. Later, Gators?
Florida coach Ron Zook didn't really say there was a recruiting gap between the Gators and Miami, did he?

"I think Miami is very talented," Zook told reporters the day after the 41-16 loss to the Hurricanes. "That's where we're going. We want to have the same type of players they do."

There are a couple of ways to look at this, none of them particularly pleasant for Florida followers:

Former Gator coach Steve Spurrier started to phone it in when it came to recruiting.

If you believe the rankings of assorted recruiting experts (as inexact a science as Ouija-board reading), Miami and Florida State have kicked recruiting butt the last couple of years. If that's true, Zook and the boys might not be sticking their names on the state championship trophy any time soon.

Zook needs to zip it.

Look, Spurrier was no fan of the recruiting process, and he certainly didn't hump it around the state like Zook did when he got the job. But Spurrier didn't necessarily have to work the high school circuit. He was The Ballcoach, a Gator playing and coaching legend. Players, such as Grossman, came looking for him, not the other way around. Zook, on the other hand, played at Miami (of Ohio). He'd never been a head coach. His football Q-rating barely had a pulse. Zook had no choice but to make the rounds in the state.

In the last two seasons, with a supposed slipping talent level, Spurrier won 20 games and an SEC championship. Miami won a national championship and might be on its way to another one. Meanwhile, Zook has beaten UAB and Ohio.

What does it mean?

That the Hurricanes have wonderful talent, but also a wonderful coaching staff. And let's face it, no one is going to the confuse the Big East with the SEC.

That Spurrier probably didn't take it well when informed of Zook's recent comments.

That Zook probably meant well, but it's best not to compliment your instate rival. Or suggest that Spurrier and his staff didn't do their recruiting job. It comes off sounding like an excuse.

4. For What It's Worth
The name doesn't matter. Well, it probably does, but we're not going to rat the kid out. Anyway, we were talking recently to a quarterback for a Top 25 program. Really good player. Smart player. Experienced player.

The quarterback and a few of his teammates watched most of that Sept. 7 Florida-Miami game. It didn't take long before the quarterback and his teammates came to the same conclusion: Miami intimidated Florida in its own house.

Not only that, but the quarterback wonders how the Gators, and Grossman, in particular, will handle the rest of the season if Florida loses Saturday at Tennessee. Grossman, you'll recall, thought long and hard about bolting to the NFL, but decided to come back to Gainesville for another season. A 2-2 start probably isn't what he had in mind.

But the unnamed quarterback also made a prediction: the Gators will beat the Vols. Too much talent, he said.

3. Heisman Trophy Race
Bring a coat and tie to the Yale Club: Marshall QB Byron Leftwich, Miami RB Willis McGahee, Oregon RB Onterrio Smith
Moving up: Miami QB Ken Dorsey, Michigan State WR Charles Rogers, Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett, Iowa State QB Seneca Wallace, Texas QB Chris Simms (with major assist from WR Roy Williams and Benson), Florida State RB Greg Jones.
On The Radar: Southern Miss' Derrick Nix. Tennessee QB Casey Clausen, NC State QB Philip Rivers, Oklahoma RB Quentin Griffin.
Slipping: Ole Miss QB Eli Manning, Florida QB Rex Grossman.
Thanks for stopping by the booth: Wisconsin RB Anthony Davis.

2. Whatever Happened To. . .
. . . The Big Ten.

ESPN's Chris Fowler called it Yardstick Saturday. And that's what we'd like to do to Michigan State -- slap it upside the helmet with a yardstick. But the rest of the Big Ten Conference, after an assortment of scares, acquitted itself well enough.

Ohio State had its convincing win against Washington State. Penn State put it to visiting Nebraska. Illinois overwhelmed poor Arkansas State. Purdue overcame a Western Michigan lead for the win. Same went for Minnesota against Toledo, Wisconsin against Northern Illinois and Northwestern against Duke.

Michigan can and, knowing Michigan, will scream until its hair turns maize and blue about the phantom touchdown Notre Dame scored. Can't say that we blame the Wolverines. That said, someone should remind Michigan coach Lloyd Carr of the gift win Washington handed the Wolverines.

Iowa can't complain about a thing. Iowa State beat the Hawkeyes fair and square. And the less said about Indiana's loss to Kentucky, the better.

One Hack's Weekly Elite
Fiesta Bowl Matchup
Miami vs. Tennessee -- 'Canes won't be sluggish vs. BC; Vols get two weeks to prepare for Florida visit to Knoxville.
3. Virginia Tech -- Another put-hair-on-your-chest game: at Texas A&M.
4. Texas -- Houston this week, then Mack Brown Nostalgia Tour continues the next week against former employer Tulane.
5. Oklahoma -- Get an extra week off before facing South Florida.
6. Oregon -- Idaho last week, another gimme this week: Portland State.
7. Florida State -- Seminoles get R&R against lowly Duke.
8. Ohio State -- Buckeyes making believers, including BMOC.
9. Penn State -- So much for that the-game-has-passed-JoePa-by talk.
10. Notre Dame -- Forget Phantom TD vs. UM; Irish the better team.
Waiting list: Georgia, Wisconsin, Florida, USC, Cal, Washington.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.