With so many riveting, down-to-the-wire games, "Showdown Saturday" definitely lived up to all the hype, with the high-noon kickoff of Florida State-Miami (Fla.) getting the day off to an incredible start.

Bobby Bowden's Seminoles did just about everything but come away with the victory. FSU ran wild against the vaunted Hurricanes' front four, with super blue-chip junior Greg Jones once again looking more and more like a young Earl Campbell.

	Xavier Beitia could be called upon in another clutch situation.

Jones, who combines quickness with power, carried the ball 31 times for 191 yards, while senior Nick Maddox provided a nice change of pace, finishing with 76 yards on 12 carries.

Miami's standout RB, third-year sophomore Willis McGahee, was limited to 92 yards on 25 carries, while senior QB Ken Dorsey struggled much of the afternoon, completing less than 50 percent of his aerials and tossing a pair of interceptions.

In the end, though, a missed FG as time ran out prevented the Seminoles from vaulting themselves back into the hunt for the national championship.

But don't blame sophomore PK Xavier Beitia for the misfire. Not only was the hold less than perfect, but the ball should have never been placed toward the right hash mark. This should have never been allowed to happen.

The Seminoles should have called for either quarterback Chris Rix or Jones to run the football to the middle of the field and slide down. Then Rix could have spiked the ball to stop the clock. The ball would have been lined up ideally for Beitia, and they wouldn't have needed to rush to get everybody lined up, with the clock nearly expiring.

If he missed the kick then, so be it. The Seminoles would have done all they could to ensure Beitia was given the best opportunity to deliver. As it turned out, the Seminoles were fortunate to still have one second on the clock and time enough to even attempt the field goal.

Now, instead of setting its sights on the Fiesta Bowl and a chance to play for the national title, Florida State now becomes a potential spoiler. The Seminoles must hope Notre Dame beats Air Force at Colorado Springs on Saturday night. This would set up a perfect scenario for the Seminoles to put the first blemish on the Fighting Irish's record when they host Notre Dame on Oct. 26.

The Seminoles will also have a chance to exact some revenge against an N.C. State squad that figures to be either 11-1 or 12-0 when the Wolfpack host Florida State in Raleigh on Nov. 23.

Remember, last year, the Wolfpack traveled to Tallahassee and defeated the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium, 34-28, for their first victory at Tallahassee since 1967. It was also the Seminoles' first home loss as a member of the ACC.

WALLACE IS TOP HEISMAN HOPEFUL
With Dorsey struggling, McGahee limited to 92 yards, and Texas' Chris Simms once again failing to step up with an All-America performance in a marquee matchup, the Heisman Trophy race remains wide open.

That said, the current leader should be Iowa State's senior signal-caller Seneca Wallace, with Greg Jones right behind.

Wallace's exploits were again pivotal in the Cyclones' 31-17 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday. While his stats weren't off the charts, his scintillating, third-quarter TD scramble, which put the Cyclones up 10-3, definitely was a play to remember.

Instincts for the position, awareness, vision, escape-ability and coolness under pressure are all characteristics that have allowed Wallace to make his mark as one of the nation's elite football players.

In a game where Texas Tech had more first downs and more total yards, Wallace once again proved to be the igniter and difference-maker. More importantly, like all great players, he tends to bring out the best in every other player on the Cyclone squad.

At 6-1, Iowa State now begins a brutal stretch of games that includes incredibly difficult road encounters against Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State, and Colorado, all coming within a five-week period. Sandwiched between Texas and Kansas State is a home battle in Ames against the improved Missouri Tigers.

'HUSKERS STOP SMITH
Speaking of Missouri, Gary Pinkel's squad evened its record at 3-3 with a competitive 24-13 loss on the road against Nebraska.

Brad Smith, the Tigers' exciting redshirt freshman QB, completed 50 percent of his passes and was limited to just 31 yards on the ground. The Tigers converted only four of 15 third-down opportunities.

As for the Cornhuskers, they needed a game to re-establish themselves on defense, but in the end the key play was an 89-yard punt return for a TD by highly regarded senior DeJuan Groce. At the time, Nebraska led just 14-13, making Groce's return even more critical.

In terms of the NFL draft in April, I currently view Groce as a potential second-rounder.

GESSER'S STILL GREAT
Jason Gesser, Washington State's senior signal-caller, also remains in the Heisman mix. He's battled injury to perform at an elite level, coming through with another quality performance Saturday in the Cougars' 36-11 defeat of Stanford.

Gesser completed 17 of 23 passes for nearly 300 yards, with senior Jerome Riley proving to be his favorite target. While Mike Bush and Devard Darling combined for just three receptions, Riley finished with nine catches for 173 yards.

After taking this Saturday off, Gesser and the Cougars go on the road to face Arizona on Oct. 26, before returning home to Pullman for a three-game stretch against Arizona State, Oregon and Washington.

ARKANSAS AVOIDS HANGOVER
In one of the mild surprises of the week, the Arkansas Razorbacks soundly defeated the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium, 38-17.

Senior RB Fred Talley stole the show, rushing for 242 yards on 23 carries. When all was said and done, the Razorbacks had accumulated 418 yards on the ground, averaging nearly 10 yards per rush against the overmatched Tiger defense.

After a draining four-hour-plus overtime loss at Tennessee the previous week, the Razorbacks couldn't have been expected to deliver a fired-up, energetic performance. Houston Nutt and his staff deserve a great deal of credit, not allowing anything close to a hangover effect to take place. Instead of falling below .500, the Razorbacks now find themselves with a 3-2 record as they prepare for a much-needed, three-game stretch of home games against Kentucky, Ole Miss and Troy State.

SOUTH FLORIDA MAKING A STATEMENT
With all the great games Saturday, a contest that definitely went under the radar screen was Southern Mississippi at South Florida.

However, this turned out to be a significant victory for the South Florida program, which moves from an independent to a member of Conference USA next season.

Jim Leavitt, one of the up-and-coming, big-time head coaches in college football, has done quite well with the Bulls, certainly benefiting from the presence of blue-chip senior QB Marquel Blackwell.

The Bulls, who upset Pittsburgh on their way to an 8-3 record last season, moved to 4-2 with the 16-13 victory over Southern Miss. Blackwell threw for 246 yards, senior WR DeAndrew Rubin returned four punts for 100 yards, and sophomore PK Santiago Gramatica (younger brother of Martin and Bill) connected on three FGs.

On defense, senior LB Kawika Mitchell, a former transfer from Georgia, recorded 13 tackles against Southern Miss and currently leads the Bulls with 68 stops and 15 tackles for loss on the season.

In addition to the victory over Southern Mississippi, which entered the game on Saturday with a record of 4-1, the Bulls also defeated Northern Illinois earlier in the season, 37-7. Keep in mind, this is the same Northern Illinois squad that upset Wake Forest in the season opener, nearly shocked Wisconsin at Camp Randall (lost just 24-21), and Saturday defeated a talented Miami (Ohio) squad, 48-41.

South Florida has also defeated North Texas, last year's Sun Belt champion. The only losses for the Bulls came against Arkansas and Oklahoma.

This week Leavitt's South Florida squad must put its huge win over Southern Miss behind it quickly and guard against a letdown this Saturday in Greenville against Steve Logan's Pirates of East Carolina.

GAMES TO WATCH
This week the games of note include Notre Dame at Air Force, Iowa State at Oklahoma, Washington at USC, Ole Miss at Alabama, Ohio State at Wisconsin, Texas at Kansas State, and South Carolina at LSU, UCLA at Cal, Arizona State at Oregon, and Auburn at Florida.