Enough questions. You see, it's not THAT bad a weekend. Besides, we've got Tyrone Willingham and a couple of high-profile "mystery guests" on GameDay.

Freedom to hide information act
College football teams are maintaining a wall of secrecy about player injuries by hiding behind a vaguely worded federal statute designed to help workers who change jobs get new health insurance. Please. Coaches and sports information directors never want to deal with injury info anyway. The only sport more secretive, more cryptic, more intentionally misleading about injuries is the NHL. Hockey types admit nothing.

Many schools are citing guidelines that go into effect next April in refusing to release any info about a player's injury or his game status. They'd have us believe it's because the athlete's privacy is the main concern. Let's see: supposedly protecting an athlete's privacy, while also getting a potential competitive edge over an in-the-dark opponent. Yeah, sure, let's protect Johnny's privacy. Sounds like a good idea.

I've actually heard this laughable theory thrown into the discussion as well: not releasing injury reports will really screw those nasty bookmakers and big-time gamblers. Right. I promise you that keeping a players' game status secret will ensure that only the casinos, bookies and gamblers know the real scoop. Trainers, managers, fellow players, roommates, girlfriends and the guy who scoops the mashed potatoes at the training table will now be bugged about such burning national security issues as whether Roy Williams' hamstring is okay. What about their privacy?

Wouldn't it be more sensible to just say, yeah, he's got a strain and he's questionable? I'm guessing the federal government has more pressing matters to attend to these days than hamstrings.

Texas over Oklahoma
I'll say it: Texas will defeat Oklahoma. The Longhorns will pound away on the ground and find ways to score against the dominant Sooners' defense. Texas wins, keeps rolling and claims its place among the great teams of all time.

Uh, what? You're wondering why Fowler, always accused by Corso and Kirk of equivocating on predictions (hey, it's not my job) is stepping out there, a few weeks early no less?

You see, it's the Longhorns of 1969 that will conquer the Sooners of 1955 as part of the Tostitos Tournament of Champions, which will eventually name the greatest team of all time. There's a link at the bottom of this site's college football page, so check it out and vote for the weekly winner if you like to take part in this type of barstool debate.

It's been fun for Lee, Kirk, and me to "analyze" these matchups each week. Folks like you get to decide the winners. Each of the first round verdicts have gone to the more recent team. Miami 2001 will next meet Nebraska '95 in a clash of two of the past decade's titans. USC '72 faces Penn State '86, too. Sorry, Lions fans, that game would not have been close.

Oh, by the way: Texas will defeat OU. In the real game. Take that, Coach and Kirk.

Big Hart
The Heisman family lost another good man this week. Leon Hart was the biggest and one of the brightest guys to ever win the award. He was about 250 pounds with an IQ of about 170. There will never be another lineman who wins the Heisman, much less a two-way lineman. Even in those days linemen were over shadowed by backs, an indication of just how dominant Leon was. Part of his considerable legacy is that Notre Dame never lost a game (36-0-2) during Hart's four years from 1946-49 while winning three national championships

Imagine winning three national titles, the Heisman, blocking for another Heisman winner (Johnny Lujack), being the first player drafted and winning three NFL titles with the Detroit, where he became a dangerous pass catcher as well as a tough defender. By the way, his high school teams in Pennsylvania never lost in four years, either. That's eight seasons without a loss! Let's just say the guy was a winner.

Leon was generous and loyal to the Heisman legacy. He always answered the club's call, finding time to return to New York each December to hang out with other former winners and welcome the club's newest member. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him and listen to some old stories about post-war college football. My thoughts will be with his family and friends this Saturday, when Leon will be memorialized in Michigan. His burial place will be fitting: the Notre Dame campus. His grandson, Brendan, is a tight end on the current Irish club.

Leon's passing naturally brought back many memories of the Heisman weekends I've been privileged to share. Each year, on the Sunday night between the televised trophy presentation and the black-tie banquet Monday night, former winners gather for a dinner and dance. It's a great party, a warm affair for the new winner and his family, and it also produces some timelessly hilarious moments.

I will never forget the sight of Steve Spurrier dancing the Macarena. Stunned me. Then again, it was no surprise his execution was flawless.

Beloved 1953 winner John Lattner loves to dance, too. Without pants. Upholding a tradition, John hits the floor each year and drops his trousers to the wild cheers of an appreciative audience. If you were wondering: always boxers, never briefs. I hope John isn't mad at me for sharing this, since it's actually a semi-common knowledge in some circles. Tony Dorsett is also an excellent dancer, but Gino Torretta is not. Both keep their pants on.

If there's a big turkey leg missing from the buffet table, Mike Rozier took it. The night he ripped a leg off a carcass and stuffed it in the pocket of his long leather coat on the way out the door is one I'll never forget. And every time 1997 Heisman finalist Randy Moss comes across as the Fearless, Defiant One, I think back to the night he was so intimidated by midtown Manhattan's December crush that I had to leave a restaurant and search for a taxi to take him to his room, while he waited inside. Come to think of it, maybe he stills need a babysitter.

But I digress. The point is, it will always be an honor (and will never be dull) to share time with the best fraternity in sports. Leon Hart will be missed greatly this December when the proceedings move to the Yale Club in midtown.

We'll also miss the wonderful Jay Berwanger, the first Heisman winner, who passed away in late June. It has been a sad year for the fraternity.