The season has just whipped by, hasn't it? Here we are, at the holiday football weekend that in the pre-conference championship game era symbolized the season's crescendo.

Thanksgiving weekend features rivalries that have produced some of this sport's classic moments: Johnny Rodgers' punt return in 1971's "Game of the Century". . .Anthony Davis' six TD romp in USC's epic 1974 comeback against Notre Dame. . .Doug Flutie's Hail Mary toss at Miami in '84. . .the classic 1994 tie between Florida and FSU, dubbed either the "Choke at Doak," or "Rally in Tally," depending on your point of view. . .and Ricky Williams' heroic gallop to the end zone, pushing him past Tony Dorsett for the all-time rushing record in 1998. These are just a few of the many timeless moments turkey day weekends have given us.

	Carson Palmer and USC are out to prove a point against the Irish on Saturday.

This year, the holiday weekend offers the usual feast, but with perhaps fewer "big picture" things at stake than usual. With the Orange Bowl poised to select Notre Dame win or lose, the BCS at-large bids are all but locked up. Of the divisions in the SEC and Big 12, only one is undecided. Are you as breathless as I am to watch LSU and Arkansas collide in Little Rock? That's what I thought. The Pac-10 is up for grabs, but won't be decided until Washington State visits UCLA a week from Saturday.

I'm thankful for the Trojans-Fighting Irish collision. If you have respect for this sport's tradition, it's great to see the reemergence of a rivalry born in the Rockne era. They are both in the top 10 at kickoff for the first time since 1988. By the way, it's the 25th anniversary of a memorable "green jersey" game, when Dan Devine busted them out and ND pulled off the big win. If Ty Willingham wants to give the ill-fated 2002 green model a second chance, I'm sure USC would gladly wear the road whites Saturday!

Not that I expect this game to go to the final minute. USC is a tough matchup for anyone, with excellent run/pass mix since Justin Fargas joined the mix, a hot Carson Palmer, and a healthier Mike Williams. Notre Dame does not possess a comeback offense. Just like the Colorado woodshed beating, USC can be devastating when it leads. It wouldn't stun me to see this get a little ugly, especially if Pete Carroll's crew is intent on proving a point to the bowl folks in Miami. If they win, the Trojans would deserve the BCS bid over Notre Dame. But the word "deserve" has no meaning in the BCS at-large arena. Still, as the better, hotter, head-to-head winner, it would be hard to justify not selecting USC over Notre Dame.

Things To Chew On
With the pro-BCS chorus ready to sing "The System Works!" if Miami dodges two more upsets, here's something to munch on. The first round matchups in an eight-team playoff (using the BCS standings to seed one through eight) would be: Miami-Washington State, Ohio State-Notre Dame, Oklahoma-USC, and Georgia-Iowa. Not bad.

Upcoming games would have playoff implications, with the Cougars needing to beat UCLA to get in, USC facing a must-win versus Notre Dame, and Oklahoma knowing that a loss to Okie State would put a bid in jeopardy. Kansas State would be waiting for one of them to lose, with Texas trying to make a late push for the eighth seed by beating Texas A&M. There'd be a bit more at stake than there is now.

I've always said the BCS is a big improvement over the ancient system of a bowls free-for-all selection process. At least 13-0 Ohio State will play a 12-0 Miami. But that's missing the point. It's not what the BCS replaced, it's what it was designed to prevent that interests me.

McPherson Mess
On the surface, it seems that a typically lenient guy like Bobby Bowden was hasty to boot Adrian McPherson before he was even charged in the theft of a blank check from a truck rental company. Then he got charged Wednesday. And here's a memo to McPherson and any other player at any school who runs into trouble: Do not lie or attempt to deceive your coaches. Just come clean. It will always turn out better. If you want a coach to stand behind you, how can you not tell the truth?

McPherson, I am told, did not do that when given his first opportunity. End of career, it seems.

Slocum Mess

	R.C. Slocum's .725 winning percentage is sixth among active I-A coaches.

The faction at Texas A&M that wants to ship out the school's most successful coach ever sickens me. I can't detail R.C. Slocum's accomplishments or define the shoddy treatment of him as well as Ivan Maisel does in his excellent column on ESPN.com this week. I hope you read it. The Aggies' five losses have all been by ten or fewer points. It was their upset of Oklahoma that re-shaped the national title race. But three losses have been at Kyle Field. That's disappointing, but not reason for a lynch mob to gather.

Schaub For Heisman?
Virginia's Matt Schaub has very little name recognition, but very big stats: 26 touchdown passes and only six picks. Those are similar passing stats to trendy Heisman pick Brad Banks. It's been absolutely amazing to watch Al Groh's team, well, grow up. I am interested to see how the baby Cavs handle Lane Stadium this Saturday. UVa is just 1-3 away from home, but might have gained enough confidence to beat Tech in Blacksburg, even though the Hokies should be geeked for their snootier backyard rival after three straight losses. Keep an eye out for that game.

'Bama's "Bowl"
The Crimson Tide are smarting after a home embarrassment. It has taken much of the fun out of a trip to Hawaii this week, designed as a bowl substitute. Here's something else that might spoil the fun: WAC officials, who flagged visiting Cincy for 14 penalties last week. Hawaii was penalized twice. It's expensive to fly zebras all the way from SEC country for this one, but I'm sure 'Bama boosters would kick in first class airfare.

Yin And Yang
The defense is king in Columbus, but the fire and ice backfield of Maurice Clarett and Craig Krenzel makes Ohio State fascinating. The young, feisty tailback who energizes the whole stadium and seems to provide a tangible spark and confidence to his teammates and the cerebral, ultra-calm quarterback whose poise under duress has defined the Bucks' run to Tempe. Their personalities could not be more different. But they share an unyielding competitiveness, manifested in very different ways. Clarett's talents are obvious. Krenzel's take a bit longer to appreciate. But they are yin and yang, squeezing just enough from a conservative offensive plan to deliver a dream season.

Turkey Is Served. Pass The Pepper Spray, Please
As traditional holiday football games are about to unfold on this holiday weekend, it's a shame that one issue dominating discussion is fan misbehavior. I'll stay out of the postgame mayhem in the streets of Columbus (as I did Saturday night, thanks to the game that would not end at Washington State) because I view it as a distinct issue from fans' rowdiness at games.

First off, it's worse than ever before.

Alcohol fuels it. Drinking accompanies football games. The bigger the game, the heavier the drinking, it seems. I never understood this. If your team is playing an archrival for the conference title and a spot in the BCS title game, why do you have to get completely hammered to enjoy it? Games that big don't need beer to be fun. It's the routine games that would seem to require mood enhancers. When Kent State is coming in to collect a check, knock back a few cold ones beforehand to ease the boredom. When Michigan's in town, stay sober enough to follow the action and savor the moment. It reminds of what you see at concerts. There's always the guys who scheme for weeks and lay out large cash for great seats. . . then drink too much and pass out on the floor of the third row.

	Pepper spray was used to defend the goalposts at Ohio State last week.

It was totally out of hand at Ohio State. Thousands were plastered by 9 a.m. ET. We've never before been showered with beer on our GameDay set like we were last Saturday. If it happened more often, we'd never be able to do shows outside a stadium.

Television fuels fan behavior, too. Fans have been conditioned to think that the more outrageous and maniacal their behavior, the better. TV cameras reward the rowdiest with more face time. We're guilty on GameDay, no doubt. But what we're showing is crazy behavior outside the stadium before the game. Not criminal behavior on the field after the game.

But, every time goalposts are torn down, it makes the highlights. When students try but fail to tear them down, we have a little fun at their expense. Nobody wants to be goofed on, so it's a badge of honor for many to make sure festivities end with the posts being marched out of the stadium as a trophy. Students watch TV, then feel they have to top that celebration. Inevitably, a few injuries will occur.

But there's the issue: how to best prevent people from getting hurt. To me, there are only two approaches that make any sense: totally prevent fans from getting on the field, using extreme measures. . .or stay out of the way of the fun and let fans just have at it, taking the goalposts and leaving when they get tired.

Florida uses the first approach. Fans do not run onto the Swamp's pitch. The University spends upwards of $75,000 per game, I'm told, to secure the field with humans and a German shepherd guarding each goalpost. Miami brings mounted police onto the field when they foresee trouble. Watch where you step when exiting the field post game, as I almost found an equine souvenir the other night!

Many schools do nothing to prevent the inevitable human wave onto the field, though. Serious problems are relatively rare, although more should be done to protect visiting players and coaches. Students who want the goalposts, can have them.

The problems occur when the middle ground is taken. That's what happened at Ohio State Saturday. I asked one of the law enforcement officers assigned to us what the plan was after the game and he said it was to let fans party on the field, but to protect the goalposts. Hmmm, I thought. That ought to get interesting.

It did. I was on the field the entire game and for about fifteen minutes afterward. It was good clean fun for most of the time. Everybody jumped around the center of the field and surrounded the Ohio State players. I saw a few students get pepper sprayed when they tried to get near the goalposts. They staggered away quickly. That stuff is no fun.

But then the bigger mob moved to the goalposts. These are the type that simply cannot be knocked over without help from a Sherman tank, by the way. Some schools use the type that come down instantly, with the assistance of stadium workers. Colorado has used them for years, preventing confrontations by beating students to the punch.

Ohio State's idea to surrender the field but guard the posts led to an inevitable showdown, and forced dozens of individual officers to make judgment calls. It didn't work well.

The construction of college stadiums makes keeping people completely off the field much more difficult than at most NFL venues. Fans are often just feet from the benches. Do we want fields surrounded by huge chain link fences, as they have in European soccer? I don't.

The issue will eventually come down to liability insurance, as most public safety issues do. Can a school afford to leave itself exposed for a multi-million dollar lawsuit? Suddenly, the cost of keeping fans off the field won't seem so huge. Will we have to witness a real tragedy before something is done?

We won't have any crowd problems on GameDay this week. We're in the studio, where it's not as much fun. But beer showers there are very rare. We hope you'll join us as part of a healthy, happy Thanksgiving weekend for you, your family, and loved ones.

Chris Fowler is host of ESPN College GameDay