Yeah, the Aggies are 6-6 overall, 3-5 in the Big 12, and fresh off their third consecutive loss to Texas, a 50-20 thump job. They're 29-23 during the last four years. But 123 career victories and 14 years of loyalty should count for something. Plus, Slocum has one more conference championship than Texas' Mack Brown. And by the way, this is only Slocum's first losing season in league play since 1984.

Slocum attended the funeral of freshman defensive lineman Brandon Fails on Saturday and was on the road recruiting by Sunday. He said he would not resign.

"I intend to coach the team in the bowl game and next season, and many seasons to come," Slocum said.

Look, if Nebraska is willing to stand by Frank Solich and the mushroom cloud in Lincoln, then A&M should have shown similar patience. Slocum had recruited well and was getting a bump from improved facilities. He deserved a 2003, not a pink slip.

19. You're On The Clock
There are more bowl scenarios than you can shake a pom-pon at these days, which is why Orange Bowl CEO Keith Tribble and his selection committee have quit worrying about the dizzying number of possibilities. Instead, the 14-member OB committee will meet Monday to discuss a short list, and again on next Sunday, when it makes a final decision.

"There's a certain point where you stop confusing yourself," said Tribble, whose trusty legal pad is bloated with bowl combinations.

	Carlyle Holiday and Notre Dame are attractive for any bowl.

Right now, the early Orange Bowl favorite is Iowa. Or is it Notre Dame? Tribble isn't saying, though you can probably bet the time share in Key West that it won't be USC, even though the Trojans are 10-2, just whupped ND, have Heisman candidate Carson Palmer, Thorpe finalist Troy Polamalu, freshman of the year candidate Mike Williams, and song leaders in those lovely midriff white sweaters. USC doesn't "travel" well, which is bowl-speak for, "They'll buy 38 tickets, arrive the day before the game, order an appetizer at Shula's that night, stiff the waitress, leave the day after the game. Economic impact: bupkus."

This is the sort of thing Tribble has to consider in the BCS Era. There is only one bowl game that matters this season: the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, host of the BCS title game. Everybody else is stuck putting lipstick on a pig.

Barring a Miami loss to Virginia Tech Saturday, Tribble will have the first at-large pick in what essentially becomes a bowl draft between the Orange, Rose and Sugar. He could take 11-1 Iowa, which features Heisman hopeful Brad Banks and lots of Hawkeye faithful who can't wait to load up the John Deeres and make the drive down to South Beach. Or he could take 10-2 Notre Dame, which has more football pedigree, a higher Q rating, and enough chilled fans to help fill Pro Player Stadium.

"You can't lose," said Tribble of the Iowa vs. Notre Dame choice.

And USC? Tribble didn't come right out and say it -- he can't -- but the Trojans would be a fallback pick. There's no questioning USC's football résumé, but how many Trojan alums are going to make the cross-country trip to Miami?

The Orange Bowl needs to sell tickets. Lots of them. So it not only needs to pull buyers from the invited teams, but also from the south Florida area. It needs a Jan. 2 matchup with national appeal, with TV appeal.

"We do take all factors under consideration," Tribble said. "At the end, I tell the (conference) commissioners we have to do what's best for the Orange Bowl."

And what's best for the Orange Bowl?

"That's why they pay me to make those type of decisions," said Tribble, predictably coy.

18. BCS Changes
It isn't Florida State's fault that the Seminoles are guaranteed a place in a BCS bowl. They won an improved ACC with a 7-1 record, so they're in. But that 9-4 overall record isn't exactly easy on the eyes, especially if you're Pete Carroll at USC, or Ferentz at Iowa, or Bill Snyder at Kansas State, or Willingham at Notre Dame, or Chuck Amato at North Carolina State or even Dan Hawkins at Boise State.

"Hey, we knew that," said Tribble. "We signed off on conference champions. That put the importance back on conference races."

He's right, of course. But this is the BCS tradeoff: a worst-case scenario, this time involving FSU.

Even with this latest BCS problem, don't expect the power brokers to turn the system upside down during the offseason.

"Yes, I expect some conversation about (the conference BCS guarantee)," Tribble said. "Do I realistically think something significant will change? I doubt that."

17. Hog-Heaven Heave
Arkansas is going to the SEC Championship, thanks to one of those time-capsule moments that had Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt serenading the Little Rock crowd after the 21-20 do-you-believe-in-miracles win.

All the Razorbacks did was cover 81 yards in three plays, in 25 seconds to move ahead of LSU. That left LSU with 9 seconds and no magic of its own left. The Tigers used their miracle quotient up in the Nov. 9 win at Kentucky, when they scored on a last-second, twice-tipped, 75-yard game-winning pass against the Wildcats.

Arkansas has flown below the college football radar for much of the season because of a 1-3 conference start. But now it has nine wins and will face Georgia in the conference title game in Atlanta. And did anyone notice that the guy who caught the game-tying TD pass -- sophomore flanker Decori Birmingham -- is from Atlanta (Texas)?

16. Wildcat Longshot
We talked to Kansas State athletic director Tim Weiser earlier last week and asked him about his Thanksgiving weekend plans.

"I'll be watching a lot of games, I'll tell you that," he said. "There'll be several calls I'll make. I would anticipate being glued to a TV set, phone in one hand, Internet in the other."

	Darren Sproles and K-State are still in the running for a BCS bowl.

Weiser needs upsets, the more the better. He got one when Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma. And it didn't hurt that USC bogarted Notre Dame. But that won't be near enough to move K-State into a top four BCS Standings spot and the guaranteed BCS bowl berth that comes with it.

Still, the Wildcats are in the BCS at-large pool, which means Weiser is lobbying directors from primarily the Orange and Sugar bowls -- just in case.

"The primary goal is to make sure the appropriate people have the information about our team," Weiser said. "If people take time to see what we've done over these past weeks, months, they'll see what Kansas State is about."

Here's what they're about: The Wildcats are 10-2. . . they've outscored opponents by an average score of 46-11. . . they've had three games where they've scored 60 or more points. . . they've won five in a row. . . they bring fans.

And none of that will matter if Miami doesn't lose to Virginia Tech, Georgia doesn't lose to Arkansas, Washington State doesn't lose to UCLA, and the Wildcats don't jump over Texas in the final BCS Standings. And even then it might not matter if the Hurricanes don't drop out of the top four.

"It is a little bit of a helpless feeling," Weiser said. "There are so many things out of your control. It's just so hard to predict. I don't know how the computers are going to spit things out."

15. Constructive Criticism
K-State has always been easy pickings when it comes to strength of schedule. In short, the Wildcats never met a Division I-AA program they didn't like.

This season, their non-conference schedule included Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Monroe, Eastern Illinois and -- gasp! -- USC. No wonder K-State's schedule strength was easily the lowest ranked of the 15 programs in last week's BCS Standings. It's also why we take regular shots at coach Bill Snyder's scheduling philosophy.

"My standard answer is, the last time I checked, Bill Snyder had a pretty good idea how to build a football program," said Weiser.

He's right. Snyder has built K-State from landfill status to elite status. And that's our point: He doesn't have to build anymore. He has to maintain. He has to add to the program's stature. You do that, in part, by upgrading your non-conference schedule.

"I'm obviously going to stick up for our coach and our program," Weiser said. "He's taken us from a bottom feeder to a top 10 program."

K-State was approached about playing at Ohio State in the opener, but took a pass. Snyder wasn't that interested in playing there anyway, but a lack of tickets for Wildcat fans also had a little something to do with the decision, said Weiser. Washington State took the game, and lost.

According to Weiser, K-State's non-conference schedule for next season features Miami of Ohio (not bad), Louisiana-Monroe (you mean, the vaunted 3-9 Louisiana-Monroe?), and Massachusetts (D-IAA). The Wildcats are looking for another game, but Snyder, not Weiser will have the final say. That's because Snyder's contract includes a provision that gives him complete scheduling power.

"It's a unique situation," Weiser said. "I knew that when I took this job. I'm fine about it. But I'm going to continue to talk to him about (scheduling) opportunities that come along."

Let's hope Snyder listens.

14. Just A Thought
We've got two words for Utah athletic director Chris Hill and Michigan State athletic director Ron Mason: Norm Chow. At the very least, the USC offensive coordinator belongs on the coaching short list.

13. Player Of The Week
Florida State QB Chris Rix
Rix has taken his share of shots this season -- from opponents, from teammates, from coaches, from BMOC -- but it's obvious he isn't the same quarterback he was at season's beginning. He's smarter, more humble, more aware of the fragile chemistry between teammates that can determine a program's heartbeat.

	Chris Rix was simply dominating againt Florida.

It has been a very public and sometimes humiliating experience, filled with boos, criticism (some fair, some unfair) and mistakes (some accidental, some self-inflicted). Rix has gone from heralded sophomore starter, to being on the wrong side of a Louisville-FSU score, to seeing his own coaches doubt him, to getting benched, to watching Adrian McPherson lead FSU to three consecutive wins, to seeing McPherson get benched late against NC State, to seeing McPherson get drop-kicked off the team shortly before an arrest on a charge of felony grand theft.

Presented with a bizarre second chance, Rix responded with a keeper performance against Florida. His passing numbers weren't gaudy (13 completions, 194 yards), but he threw two TDs, rushed for 83 yards and made smart throws and smart decisions in the 31-14 victory against the Gators. And we could have sworn we saw Rix cry at game's end -- not that you could blame him.

"We finally looked like Florida State," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said afterward.

And Rix finally looked like Rix.

Runners-up
USC QB Carson Palmer (425 passing yards -- the most ever given up by Notre Dame, 4 TDs, 44 points against an Irish defense that hadn't given up more than 24 points in any previous game); Miami QB Ken Dorsey (16 completions, 345 yards, 2 TDs in skeleton drill against Syracuse); Miami RB Willis McGahee (TD runs of 61 and 51 yards, 134 total rushing yards); Oklahoma State WR Rashaun Woods (12 catches, school-record 226 yards, 3 TDs against previously feared Oklahoma defense); Georgia RB Musa Smith (121 rushing yards in rout of Georgia Tech); Texas QB Chris Simms (278 yards, 3 TDs vs. Texas A&M. . . why didn't they let him throw like this against OU?); Alabama defense (held high-scoring Hawaii offense to just 16 points, forced five turnovers); UNLV RB Larry Croom (222 yards in upset of Colorado State; West Virginia RB Avon Cobourne (104 rushing yards, ran for a TD in win against Pitt); Maryland QB Scott McBrien (257 of 275 passing yards came in first half as Terps built 27-0 lead and won 32-14); Virginia Tech RB Lee Suggs (incredible TD streak lives as Suggs rushed for 108 yards, 2 TDs in win against Virginia); Alabama RB Shaud Williams (160 yards and TD in win at Hawaii); Marshall QB Byron Leftwich (401 yards, 2 TDs on one leg in win against Ball State); Texas Christian RB Lonta Hobbs (the freshman rushed for 287 yards and 3 TDs as TCU earned Liberty Bowl berth); Colorado RB Brian Calhoun (4th stringer rushes for 137 yards in win against Nebraska); Arizona State RB Mike Williams (career-high 162 yards, 4 TDs in win against Arizona).

Honorable mention
Oklahoma State QB Josh Fields, Houston RB Joffrey Reynolds, Georgia QBs David Greene and D.J. Shockley; USC WR Mike Williams.

12. Coach Of The Week
Oklahoma State's Les Miles
Beats OU twice in a row. Becomes first Cowboys coach to beat OU and Nebraska in same season. "It was a hard-fought victory and we're going to celebrate well into the night," he said after the 38-28 victory against the Sooners.

Runners-up
USC's Pete Carroll (Trojans deserve BCS bid); Arkansas' Houston Nutt (In Bush-speak, has stayed the course); FSU's Bobby Bowden (beat Florida for fourth time in last five years -- postgame exchange with Gators coach Ron Zook lasted about a nanosecond; quieted ridiculous talk about retirement); UNLV's John Robinson (only five wins this season, but last one was against Colorado State); Alabama's Dennis Franchione (no Auburn hangover as Tide makes long trip to Honolulu and beats good Hawaii team); West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez (beat Pitt to improve to 9-3; 3-8 last year); Colorado's Gary Barnett (after 1-2 start, Buffs now 9-3 with win at Nebraska); Houston's Dana Dimel (Dimel gets nice going-away present: upset of Louisville).

Honorable mention
Marshall's Bob Pruett, Toledo's Tom Amstutz, TCU's Gary Patterson.

11. Rumor Of The Week
Twenty Tennessee seniors took part in the program's "Last Tackle" ceremony held last Thursday. You know the drill: Coach Phillip Fulmer offers his thanks to each senior, then the fellas run through a gauntlet of teammates, then they take turns hitting a tackling dummy dressed in Kentucky blue (Tennessee's final regular-season opponent).

In all, there were 15 scholarship players and five walk-ons who took part in the ceremony. But will Fulmer also soon wave goodbye to junior tight end Jason Witten and sophomore wide receiver Kelley Washington?

Witten is 6-foot-5, 265 pounds and has Jeremy Shockey-soft hands. Washington, who has been hurt much of the season and recently underwent spinal fusion surgery, is a force -- when healthy. He is expected to be able to "endure" contact, says his doctor, in about 2½ months.

Washington is gone, say Tennessee sources. But Witten says he's going to wait until after the Vols' bowl game before making an announcement.

10. Knucklehead Award
And the winner is. . .

Florida coach Ron Zook for dropping a code of silence over his players last week. And to Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley for allowing Zook to institute the ridiculous pre-Florida-Florida State gag order the day before an estimated 100 reporters were expected to attend the weekly interview session with Gator players.

	Ron Zook's gag order didn't help the Gators one bit against FSU.

First of all, it's college football, not the Gulf War. Nobody was going to ask about troop movements. Second of all, media blackouts are a cop-out.

"I want our players focused on this football game," Zook told reporters last Monday. "I don't want any other information to be focused on. I don't want any other things said. I want them focused on this football game, and that's what we're going to do."

Brilliant move. The Gators were so focused they only got beat, 31-14, at Tallahassee. They played tighter than a kid performing in his first piano recital. Just think if Zook had let his players chat away.

It's Zook's team, so he can do what he wants. If he wants to pretend that Ohio State did the same thing before the Michigan game (it didn't), that's fine. If he doesn't trust his players to speak responsibly, that's fine too. They can vote, fight in a war, but they can't answer a few questions from sportswriters?

BMOC isn't going to hold a grudge, but some writers, especially those who were scrambling for stories last week, are going to remember the gag order. And just wait until Zook and/or the Florida sports information office starts campaigning for a Gator player to receive some sort of postseason award. That should get a chuckle from certain voting media members with long memories.

Zook should have known better. And if he didn't, Foley should have told him. And if Foley didn't know better, someone from the sports info office should have told both of them. Then again, maybe that isn't such a great career move.

Steve Spurrier wasn't exactly Bobby Bowden when it came to media access, but he never did this. Zook hasn't won nine games in his career and he's already sticking it to the people who cover his program on a daily basis. Dumb.

"This is not standard procedure," Zook said. "Obviously, (this) week everything is going to be back the way it was."

Big whoop. The Gators don't play anybody this week because Georgia, not Florida, is in the SEC Championship.

9. Bugeater Update
Colorado fans love to sing this little ditty about their Cornhusker friends to the east:

"There is no place like Nebraska.
"Thank god."

Nebraska will rise again, but it's going to take a while. First, the Cornhuskers are going to get an offensive coordinator. Frank Solich, in a bit of job-survival management (or maybe he was ordered to do so), will soon give up his play-calling duties. And as expected, it was Kinkos time for three Nebraska assistants: embattled defensive coordinator Craig Bohl (Kevin Steele as his replacement?), secondary coach George Darlington and rush ends coach Nelson Barnes. As Solich looks for a new defensive coordinator, defensive line coach Jeff Jamrog and grad assistant Jimmy Burrow will devise the defensive game plan for the Huskers' postseason appearance -- probably the Independence Bowl.

The changes were made because Husker followers aren't used to these kind of numbers: