Quietly -- very quietly -- a Swiss-based marketing company called International Sports And Leisure is trying to buy itself a Division I-A playoff beginning in 2003. So far, at least 15 elite programs such as Notre Dame, Michigan as well as the Big Ten Conference have spoken to ISL about its proposal. The Pac-10 Conference meets with an ISL rep Friday.

		Wednesday, Nov. 4 One of the side effects of the Bowl Championship Series rankings has been the reality of coaches running up the score. At the beginning of the season, coaches didn't know how the rankings would pan out and they were playing it safe by running up the score. Now they think they do know how it runs: They have to run up the score. They have no more doubts. Look at Ohio State the past couple of weeks. Against Northwestern, Joe Germaine was still throwing deep balls late in the game with the Buckeyes leading by more than 20 points. Against Indiana, Germaine was still in the ball game in the fourth quarter and he's still throwing the ball. The way that Ohio State goes about pouring on the points in the fourth quarter is totally focused on the Bowl Championship Series. The gaudy numbers that are showing up on scoreboards are indicative of the fact coaches have figured out the BCS. Look at what happened to UCLA and the impact of the Bruins' close win over Stanford -- they dropped two spots. Other coaches don't want to get caught like that so if their team is up by 14 points, it's time to start looking to put a 21-point lead on the board and so on to make sure the margin of victory means something and the team stays put. That fact appalls me. I don't have very kind thoughts on that subject. In my mind, a team goes out, plays the game and wins the game and when it's over, it's over. There is no sense in risking a player like Germaine in the fourth quarter to pad a team's stats.

Here's the sales pitch:
An eight-year, $2.5 billion deal for exclusive rights to a 16-team, 15-game postseason tournament beginning in December and ending in January.

Despite the huge money numbers and ISL's worldwide reputation, don't hold your breath for a playoff. Officials at the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Michigan say they're not interested.

Superfrosh

Not that anybody noticed, but there's a quarterback race at North Carolina. Senior Oscar Davenport or true freshman Ronald Curry?

Curry has been spectacular at times, and could win the job outright this week. And when the Tar Heels' season ends Nov. 28, Curry will report directly to the Carolina basketball team where he'll challenge for a starting guard position.

Curry has already squeezed in one hoops practice, and he sat on the Tar Heels bench during a recent exhibition game.

A Major factor

If you're looking for reasons for a Texas resurgence, look first at Mack Brown ... then Ricky Williams ... then redshirt freshman quarterback Major Applewhite.

Since replacing an injured Richard Walton, Applewhite has kept opposing defenses honest with his mobility and passing. Among freshmen, he's second only to Georgia's Quincy Carter in passing efficiency.

And Applewhite takes his football seriously. When Brown was hired, Applewhite e-mailed a North Carolina backup quarterback to ask about Brown's offensive schemes.

Rubbing in the salt

Good thing there isn't a sportsmanship category in the Bowl Championship Series rankings formula. If there was, Florida would have some serious problems.

Maybe you saw it: Florida vs. Georgia, 43 seconds left and the Gators leading 31-7. The ball was on the Georgia 8-yard line. You take a knee and run the clock out, right? Not Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier ran a reverse, using a senior walk-on quarterback and a seventh-string wide receiver. The Gators got their meaningless touchdown, but they didn't get any points for class.