No defensive end means more to his team, gives 100 percent on more plays or has more pass-rushing savvy than Cal's Andre Carter. He is the most complete defensive lineman in college football, but unfortunately, he has little shot at winning the Outland Trophy.

	Andre Carter had 10 sacks and 20 tackles for loss last season.

Carter plays defensive end for the Golden Bears, but it's on the wrong side. The 6-4, 260-pound senior, who last season led the Pac-10 with 20 tackles for loss, is playing strong side end for Cal this season instead of his natural rush end spot. So, while guys like Florida's Alex Brown can sprint practically unencumbered toward unsuspecting quarterbacks and pile up gaudy sack totals, Carter often will face double- and triple-team blocking. It's an unselfish move, especially by a guy who could've jumped to the NFL and been a late first-round draft pick last April.

The Golden Bears had hoped 6-foot-6, 290-pound Wayne Hunter could've taken over the strong side end, but he decided to transfer, leaving Carter to play opposite 6-foot-1, 240-pound rugby star Shaun Paga.

"Andre sacrifices a great deal in our scheme," says Cal coach Tom Holmoe. "He blocks blockers and keeps guys off our linebackers. And it's probably gonna cost him stats, and that's a shame.

"I just tell people don't look at his stats, just watch him play, and you'll know how good he is."

The scouts already do. They love his quick feet -- his 4.09 shuttle time is the kind they'd expect from a fast OLB -- and his powerful hands. They're also fans of his blue-collar approach. Carter actually sends all his game films to his dad, Rubin Carter, the Washington Redskins D-line coach, to critique his play. "He's becoming more of a student of the game," says the elder Carter, a former NFL defensive lineman. "And he's developing a better feel for how an offense is trying to block him so he can be more instinctive."

Utah will be the first team that has to cope with Carter when they travel to Berkeley on Sept. 9.

Seven up and out
Michigan fans may be sweating a little over QB John Navarre, but the gangly redshirt freshman isn't without supporters. In fact, Navarre's biggest fans may come from a bunch of baseball players in Chattanooga, where Wolverine QB Drew Henson spent part of the summer playing third base for the AA Lookouts.

Word out of Chattanooga is that after Henson got traded to the Reds from the Yankees, he alienated his new teammates when he had the Cincinnati organization call the Lookouts GM and demand he get to wear the number 7. Henson, who was only going to be with the Lookouts for three weeks, didn't seem to mind that it already belonged to catcher Corky Miller, the team's most popular player.

The Wolverines can only hope Henson will play better for them that he did for Chattanooga, where he hit below .200.

Southern hospitality
A make or break game already? For Georgia Southern junior RB Adrian Peterson, Saturday's game against No. 10 Georgia is. Peterson has rushed for 100 yards in 30 straight games, and if he does it against the Dawgs, he not only ties Archie Griffin for most consecutive 100-yard games -- although since the NCAA doesn't recognize his eight I-AA playoff games, the record is safe for now -- but also will emerge as I-AA's best Heisman candidate since Steve McNair.

As the hammer in Southern's flexbone offense, the 5-foot-10, 212-pound Peterson has averaged 198 yards in eight playoff games for the defending I-AA champs. The flexbone essentially is a hybrid of the option and the run-and-shoot, and Bulldog fans are banking that new Georgia defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs' familiarity with the wishbone from his days at Oklahoma will help. One big plus for Peterson -- Richard Seymour, the Bulldogs' all-American DT, will serve a one-game suspension and won't play.

Take it to the bank ...