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Yep, Oregon's Autzen Stadium is the closest thing the west coast has to a huge home field advantage. The Ducks have won 16 in a row there. And in case you're wondering, a UCLA team coming off home wins over Alabama and Michigan is an underdog Saturday.

In the slang we use around the Gameday office, this is a "Somebody Knows Something" game. The "somebodies" are the Vegas boys. The "something" they know? is Autzen.

It's small, cozy, and noisy. A pit was dug, the field placed at the bottom and stands built on the piles of earth. Fans sit just a few feet from the sidelines. They make plenty of noise and the noise just hangs there -- bouncing off the walls of the pit. Forty-one thousand can sound like two hundred thousand.

I'm told it's not even the students who are most responsible. Just the average Oregonian, defying stereotype of Northwestern granola-heads and yelling their throats raw. After a woodshed beating there a couple years ago, Michigan State players were stunned at the volume level in little Autzen. This from a bunch that had played at Ann Arbor, Madison, and Ohio State.

As UCLA's Bob Toledo says, "Autzen rocks." He should know. He spent six years as a Duck assistant. Toledo knows that teams who arrive at Autzen without practicing silent snap counts have little chance.

I can't wait to get there and feel the impact Saturday of Oregon's little big house. The Pac-10 hasn't been hotter in years. Gone are the excuses of curtailed training tables, lagging facilities, etc.

With no more high profile non-conference games except Notre Dame's November visit to USC, the Pac-10's rep is safe until bowl season, at least. Only then, with games on neutral fields, can we declare the Pac-10 (or any conference) king. But hey, after the public flogging of the whole league in recent years, go ahead and enjoy this, fellas.

The top five
My AP ballot looks like this:
1. -- Nebraska: Huskers still have to prove they can pass. But a test of that won't come at Iowa. I'll assume they have the special teams traumas worked out and leave them at the top, for now.

2. -- Florida State: Can we please fast-forward to October 7th and the battle at the Ole Horseshoe in Little Havana.

3.-- UCLA: How can pollsters not rank the Bruins somewhere in the top five, based on two big wins? Well, because they haven't been on the road yet. What the heck, they've looked better than these other teams. If they deserve this lofty ranking, they'll win at mighty Autzen.


	Florida coach Steve Spurrier is shaking things up with the "suspensions."

4. -- Florida: Don't pay too much never mind to the Ball Coach's histrionics this week -- "suspending" for a half Jabar Gaffney for his vulgar antics after a catch at Tennessee as well as benching defensive star Alex Brown. That's just Spurrier guarding against the Mighty Gators feeling too good about themselves. He knows this team isn't good enough to just show up and smack around anybody in the SEC, including Kentucky Saturday. These aren't the '96 Gators, friends.

5. -- Kansas State: Slight edge to the mystery-Cats over Wisconsin, which has a quality win, but needed OT to avoid another monster upset by Cincy. Next week, Cats visit 0-3 Colorado and it will be anything but automatic.

Beware the road opener
Besides the Bruins, keep your eyes on a couple of other teams coming off great performances at home who visit hostile places for the first time this season: Notre Dame and Clemson. OK, the Irish have already played a semi-road game, what with all those red-dressed folks invading for the Nebraska game. But it won't be the same as a journey to Spartan Stadium.

Everybody in the Irish camp deserves high praise for the throttling of Purdue. It really surprised me. Never thought the team I saw collapsed and dejected after the OT with Nebraska could respond with such an effort. Rookies quarterbacking and walk-ons kicking game winning field goals? Just another script for the ages. Now, a reality check.

Winning this one will be even more of a challenge than handling Purdue. Why do you think the Irish are underdogs to a MSU team that sleepwalked past lowly Mizzou (in, yes, it's first road test)? Well, "Somebody knows..."

Here's one thing they know: there's a very short list of ranked teams that have actually won road non-conference games this young season. That's what makes Washington's win in Boulder so impressive. Nebraska and Florida State had to fight to the final play. Ohio State made a gutsy comeback at Arizona.

Now, check out the list of victims (in just the first three weeks): Alabama, Miami, Michigan, Purdue, and Texas. All were favored in non-conference road games and all lost. If this keeps up, coaches will get even more wimpy about taking on future early season challenges.


	Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler has thrown for 537 yards and 6 TDs and run for another 275 yards and 3 TDs.

Back to Clemson. The Tigers have been devastating, with Woody Danztler looking like the nation's most improved passer. But now, the initial road test at Virginia. Yeah, the Cavs are less-than-daunting. But this could be real interesting. I'll say this: if Clemson rolls in to C-ville and effortlessly spanks the home team, it says a lot about Tommy Bowden's team.

Beware for other road favorites as well. Miami will have a real battle with West Virginia. The Canes have had two weeks to regroup after the deflater in Seattle, but will face even more hostility in ol' Morgantown. How much has Ken Dorsey grown in two weeks? Can the Canes' receivers show more toughness? Washington's guys are convinced that a few hard early licks on the Miami pass catchers made them timid. This is a true test and the Canes had better understand that.

Crimson-faced
Alabama is slight road favorite over an Arkansas team that's never lost at Fayetteville under Houston Nutt. Hmmm. The Tide is the biggest early season disappointment in a decade and a half.

Do you realize it's been sixteen years since a team ranked as high as third to start the season has vanished from the polls by week three? Yep, Pitt's '84 team was the last. Rarely has a team buckled under the weight of great expectations so quickly. Andrew Zow told us that the pressure has absolutely been a part of the team's poor play. But where's the passion? The emotion? The pride Alabama teams always show?

This is a team badly in need of somebody -- anybody -- to step forward and speak up. All those ingredients better be in the mix Saturday, because this time the game with the Hogs is in their house.

Much is being made in Alabama of Mike DuBose's wacky offensive hierarchy. He decides whether to start Andrew Zow or Tyler Watts and selects the vast majority of they plays to use each week. Neil Calloway actually holds the title of offensive coordinator. But QB coach Charlie Stubbs calls the plays from the press box. Rarely is everyone on the same page, as the staff struggles to figure out exactly what (if anything) this offense does best. Right now, it's an offense without an identity, and that is always fatal.

Friction and confusion contributed to Bama's poor start last season. It's popped up again. Now, let's see if the Tide can once again use the Arkansas game to begin the long road back.

JoePa standing pat
There's still no panic at Penn State. Not from the boss, anyway. Facing tough decisions about his personnel, his game plans, and even his staff, Joe Paterno says he stepped back, assessed everything from the top down and has decided to make no dramatic changes. For now.

If JoePa sounded discouraged after the debacle in Pittsburgh, he has now changed his tune. It's not a matter of choosing different players or different plays, just MAKING plays. Paterno is seeking guys who won't suffer crises of confidence the minute adversity strikes again.

The offense is mind-blowingly bad. I could not believe my eyes Saturday: dropped passes, five sacks, penalties, a key fumble by the finger-pointer of two weeks ago, Larry Johnson, and the total absence of a ground game. A Penn State team with far more yards in penalties than rushing? Linemen who can't run-block one on one?

Some people close to Paterno are worried. Worried for him. He'd laugh at that. He's been through starts like this before and part of his legacy is salvaging seasons. His teams rebounded strongly in 1976, 1983, 1990.

But rarely have Penn State teams looked this bad. Those vintage outfits were made up largely of blue-collar types. . .can the blue-chippers on this team respond the same way, with the same pride? And, at 73, can Joe still find all the right answers, push all the right buttons? Does he have the same energy level and football-only focus?

Well, Paterno's endured that kind of talk before, too. The last time was about eight years and 70 wins ago. Joe's track record just won't let you believe that he'll stay confused and confounded for long.

As defensive end Justin Kurpeikis says, "In Joe We Trust." Not all Lions' fans still have the same faith, and neither to all longtime Paterno confidants. They privately fear this might be a truly awful season, akin to 4-8, which would leave Joe two wins short of Paul Bryant's record.

By the way, if something like that comes to pass, keep in mind that Penn State opens 2001 with a few toughies: Miami and Southern Miss visit, then it's a road opener at Virginia. File that away if the Lions' slide continues.

Adding insult to injury
Both Bama's and Penn State's poor starts coincide with the rise of regional rivals. Pittsburgh may no longer compete with the Lions on the field, but Walt Harris loved getting the last word and was giddy in proclaiming "a sleeping giant is waking up." Harris plans to renew competition with PSU for top recruits.

For the Tide, it's worse. Arch-enemy Auburn is on the way back, grabbing headlines as it builds toward visits to Starkville and Gainesville. Is it possible that Bama might actually be the SPOILER when these two hook up in Tuscaloosa?

Must see SEC
Can't wait to see South Carolina and Mississippi State slam heads. The Gamecocks' no huddle offense versus the swarming smurfs of Joe Lee Dunn. Holtz's offense has already surpassed its' point total all last season, but this will be a supreme test. Fortunately for USC, the Bulldogs offense is nowhere near as fearsome as it appeared against the thick-ankled pursuit of BYU. This one could be 9-6.

Stop, look and listen
That's it. If you can pick up an ESPN Radio station, check out the two hour On Campus show that Kirk and I do each Friday night from 7-9 Eastern. This week, it's from Mighty Autzen, where we'll look for you Saturday morning on Gameday. Two shameless cross-promotions in one sentence. That could earn me Employee of the Month.

Chris Fowler is the host of College Gameday and his column appears every Thursday.

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