FSU is moving up the polls, but it's not Florida State.

Bowden is coaching a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, but it's not Bobby.

UCLA playing defense? Joe Paterno winless?

Lou Holtz pour-mouthing? Okay, well that's not unusual.

But much about the 2001 season is out of the norm.

That's Fresno State, not Florida State, in the top 10. The Seminoles are out of the national championship race at earlier date than any time since 1990. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are bidding for a BCS berth.

And that's Tommy Bowden at Clemson who has quarterback Woodrow Dantzler vying for the Heisman, a year after father Bobby had Chris Weinke win the award.

And there are the UCLA Bruins getting defensive, stopping teams unlike ever before under coach Bob Toledo, and making a run at playing for the national championship in their home stadium.

And there is Joe Paterno, still one victory shy of Bear Bryant's all-time Division I-A coaching victory record, a predicament he's been in since last fall.

Perhaps the most normal occurrence so far is hearing Holtz poor-mouth his own team's abilities. South Carolina moved into the top-10 last week, Holtz complained, and maybe the Gamecocks listened. They dropped a game at Arkansas. Oh well.

Here's a look at the season so far, with eight weeks gone and eight weeks to go.

Midseason MVP

	Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler has 1,199 yards and 9 TDs passing and 516 yards and 6 TDs rushing.

We had this honor reserved for Florida quarterback Rex Grossman. . . until the Gators lost at Auburn, where Grossman was intercepted four times. That means Clemson's Dantzler gets the honor -- for now. Dantzler had a poor game in a loss to Virginia, but has been nothing short of remarkable in victories against Georgia Tech and N.C. State.

He broke five school records in a 45-37 victory over N.C. State, rushing for two scores and throwing four touchdown passes while amassing 517 yards of total offense -- out of a total of 567.

"I can't imagine there being a better player in America than Woodrow Dantzler," said N.C. State coach Chuck Amato.

Honorable mention: UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster had 301 rushing yards against Washington as the Bruins jumped to No. 4 in the polls. UCLA is doing it with defense, but nothing helps more than a time-consuming running game.

Clutch performer
Auburn's Damon Duval has kicked three game-winning field goals for the Tigers -- in consecutive weeks. None was bigger than Saturday night's 44-yarder in the rain and wind at Jordan-Hare Stadium that knocked off No. 1 Florida. Duval even had the presence of mind to draw the ball with the wind steering it between the goal posts.

Midseason coach of the year
Fresno State's Pat Hill looks like a genius for scheduling Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin at the beginning of his schedule. When the Bulldogs knocked off all three, they had instant credibility. It has come slower in the polls, but Fresno State has moved to No. 8 in the AP and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today poll despite being unranked at the beginning of the season. Despite playing in the Western Athletic Conference, Fresno State has a chance to secure a BCS bid if it can move into the top six.

Honorable mention: Maryland's Ralph Friedgen has already won six games, meaning the Terps have all but locked up their first bowl berth since 1990. They are the only undefeated team in the ACC, and visit Florida State on Oct. 27.

Coach on the hot seat
Who else? Notre Dame's Bob Davie. Of course, isn't any Irish coach on the hot seat. But Davie, despite signing a contract extension last December, saw the debate renewed when Notre Dame lost its first three games for the first time in school history. And the Irish looked terrible in doing so. They've won two in a row since, but to be out of the national picture so soon was a big blow. Already there is speculation that Davie will be gone unless he wins out. Tough task.

Overrated
Oregon State had a storybook season in 2000, going 11-1 and blasting Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Perhaps sustaining such a high level was too much to ask of a program that until coach Dennis Erickson arrived had not celebrated a winning season since the 1960s. Still, Sports Illustrated ranked the Beavers No. 1 in the preseason, and Heisman Trophy candidate Ken Simonton was expected to lead them to greatness. But an opening-game loss to Fresno State, and subsequent defeats to UCLA and Washington State, sent Oregon State spiraling out of the top 25. With games remaining against Washington and Oregon, the Beavers could be fighting for a bowl bid.

Honorable mention: Kansas State showed all kinds of grit in coming back from a 21-point deficit against Oklahoma. In fact, the Wildcats had the ball back with a chance for an improbable victory against the Sooners. It didn't happen. Then K-State lost to Colorado and Texas Tech, dropping out of the polls for the first time in 108 weeks.

Underrated
Everybody was ready to bury Colorado coach Gary Barnett when the Buffs lost their opener to Fresno State. Then the Bulldogs showed how good they are -- and so did the Buffs. They have rattled off five straight wins, including victories against Kansas State and Texas A&M. All of a sudden, Colorado is a team you don't want to play. It'll be interesting to see what happens this week against Texas.

Game of the Year...so far

	David Wasielewski's 47-yard field goal gave Northwestern a victory in the best game of the year.

For sheer entertainment value, Northwestern's comeback against Michigan State for a 27-26 victory tops a big list. The Wildcats scored a touchdown with 29 seconds left to seemingly win the game. Then Michigan State's Herb Haygood took the kickoff 84 yards for the apparent winning score with 18 seconds left. Somehow, Northwestern got into field goal range, with David Wasielewski kicking a 47-yard game winning field goal as time expired.

Honorable mention: Clemson's 47-44 overtime victory at Georgia Tech. Each team scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Tech's Luke Manget kicking a 20-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. After his 33-yarder on the first possession, Dantzler won the game with an 11-yard scramble.

Biggest upset
North Carolina 41, Florida State 9. The Seminoles are clearly not the same team that played for the national championship in each of the past three seasons. Still, nobody expected this. North Carolina was 0-3 heading into the Sept. 22 game. FSU was still, well, FSU. But the Seminoles showed just how young an inexperienced they are. After leading 9-7 at halftime, they were outscored 34-0 in the second half.

Most disappointing
Paterno's quest to break Paul "Bear" Bryant's coaching record has turned into a sad story. And when he finally does get the record -- if FSU's Bowden doesn't beat him to it -- there will be no celebration like the one Paterno deserves. It will likely be more relief.

Instead of his career accomplishments being celebrated, Paterno is being second-guessed and questioned. Some believe he should retire at the end of the season. Paterno deserves better.

Pasadena dreams
There are still 11 undefeated teams: Miami, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Oregon, Fresno State, BYU, Maryland, Washington State and Toledo.

Because of their conference affiliations, Fresno State, BYU and Toledo have almost no chance of playing for the national title at the Rose Bowl.

Miami and Virginia Tech play on Dec. 1; Oklahoma and Nebraska play on Oct. 27, and would also have the Big 12 title game to worry about; UCLA plays Oregon on Nov. 10; Maryland must still play Florida State; Washington State still has UCLA and Washington.

And don't forget about one-loss Florida. The Gators dropped only to seventh in the polls have their loss to Auburn. They could still be a factor.

Who gets to the Rose Bowl? Who knows. But it should be fun to watch.

Bob Harig covers college football for the St. Petersburg Times. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.