Apologies for my absence this week, but hopefully you get your fix here today. I was in Miami working on a piece for College GameDay on the University of Miami that you can check out on Saturday. Below are some highlights from interviews I conducted with coach Larry Coker, athletic director Paul Dee, quarterback Kyle Wright, linebacker Jon Beason, former 'Canes quarterback Bernie Kosar and others.
Take a peek at the rest of my notebook from this Week 4.
For the record, I'm headed to Alabama at Arkansas today (I'll take Arkansas). And I'll also take Ohio State over Penn State, Notre Dame over Michigan State, Michigan over Wisconsin, Louisville over Kansas State, California over Arizona State, Texas over Iowa State, USC over Arizona, BC over NC State and Georgia over Colorado.
There really aren't a ton of great games this week, are there?
Coker Under Pressure
Obviously, with Miami off to a 1-2 start, things are tense during this bye week. Dee told me Coker is safe for the rest of this season. And Coker wants the message to get to recruits that he plans to be the coach next season and beyond.
But Miami is unranked for the first time in 108 weeks. And one one high-ranking member of UM's Board of Trustees told me that the 'Canes better not only reach the ACC championship game this season, but win it, for Coker to protect his job.
Here are some of the more interesting remarks from Miami, some of which will be included in that GameDay segment:
"Is anything less than a national championship a disappointment here? Probably. Is that fair? No, that's not fair. But unfortunately, life's not fair." -- Kosar
"I know after we won the national championship -- we'd won 34 games in a row, the national championships, won 12 more, we lost in double-overtime to Ohio State -- and I know one of the fans asked "Coach, we're going to have a better year next year, aren't we?" -- Coker
"I want to know if he's going to be there next year. I don't want to go in with a new coach or a new system and have to show myself off again to another person." -- Miami high school recruit DeMarcus Van Dyke, a speedy corner who is wavering on a commitment.
"Obviously, no football coach can guarantee, 'I'm going to be there.' But what I tell any player that wants to ask me is, 'I'm going to be the football coach here. Because we're going to get this ship right. We're going to get where we need to be. And I feel very strongly about that.'" -- Coker
"Coach Coker is our head coach. He's going to be our head coach for the remainder of this season. We don't evaluate everybody a day at a time. You look at people at the end of a season or when you have enough data to go on." -- Dee
"I think some people think we lack focus; that we're not focused the whole game. And I think you can look back to the two games where we haven't been able to score in the second half, we might have lost focus at that point in time." -- Dee
"When you have high expectations, when you have variations, and those variations show a trend, then you think about making a change." -- Dee
"I was walking around and it's tough because you know people are talking. I missed a quiz on Friday because we traveled and I raised my hand to say I missed the quiz. I was kind of like, 'Yeah, the game.' I kind of whispered it because I didn't want to say it too loud and remind people. I kind of want people to forget about it."- Beason
"The Miami teams of old that won all those games and won the national championships, they claimed to have so much swagger. But it wasn't because they had swagger. It's because they won games. They got the swagger and confidence by winning games. Starting the season 1-2 and losing 31-7, obviously swagger isn't going to get it done. We've got to change a lot of things around here." -- Wright
"As a coach, you understand you don't have job security. That doesn't exist. You look around the country as a whole, I don't know how much job security anybody has." -- Coker
No. 24 Penn State at No. 1 Ohio State
Adjustments for Posluszny
Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny appears a step slow in his return from a serious knee injury. Posluszny says he's fine physically, just needs to adjust from a switch from outside linebacker to middle linebacker.
Posluszny was the nation's top defensive player last year and conceded that being asked to switch positions before fall practice, "came as a little bit of a shock."
Tim Shaw has shifted from middle linebacker to rush end because Penn State is loaded at linebacker and thin on the defensive line and in the secondary.
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley tells me that all options were considered, but they still feel Posluszny in the middle gives them their best chance to win.
"Inside, it can be more tiresome," Bradley conceded. "But he's playing fine. I did see him gasp in a game for the first time ever at Notre Dame. But the thing this lineup really gives us is versatility. Sure, we could always shuffle and reload. But one think I know is Paul would never ask me to move back outside. He's a guy who has always been willing to do whatever it takes to sacrifice for the team."
Bradley said he believes Posluszny could play outside or inside in a 3-4 defense in the pros. Of course, Posluszny returned to school for his senior season instead of going pro.
Notre Dame at Michigan State
Notre Dame's Offense Simple?
Two Michigan defensive players told me this week that Charlie Weis' offense is actually simple to decipher and that first-year defensive coordinator Ron English called out all the Irish presnap movement as "window dressing."
Michigan safety Ryan Mundy told me that everyone thinks Notre Dame's coaches are geniuses, but that Michigan's new defensive coordinator is actually a genius. Notre Dame's offense is ranked only 68th nationally.
"Notre Dame does nothing special," Mundy said. "What they had done in the past is executed. We knew all their shifts and motions, so, basically, we knew their plays."
English, who briefly took a job with the Chicago Bears before returning to Lloyd Carr's staff, is being praised by his players for his energy and enthusiasm.
"Coach E is really, really intense and in your face," Mundy said. "His attitude in practice carries over into the games. I asked him once, 'Why do you have so much passion for football? And he said, 'Because I wish I was still a player.'"
Mundy said that last season, Michigan's defense experienced "constant confusion" and that this season, English has simplified the scheme and broken down opposing offenses in a way that's easy for the players to understand.
Michigan cornerback Morgan Trent told me that after the Notre Dame game, Carr proclaimed the victory one of the greatest in school history. And that the team sang "Hail to the Victors!" in the locker room.
"To be honest, I like listening to the Notre Dame fight song, too," Trent said.
Stanton vs. Quinn
Plenty of NFL scouts will be on hand to evaluate Brady Quinn and Drew Stanton this weekend. Stanton tells me this week that the three or four plays he or Quinn make -- or don't make -- will determine the winner.
Stanton adds that he's as good as any quarterback out there. Some NFL scouts I spoke with this week agree he might be a better pro than Quinn.
Stanton realizes his name could be thrust into the Heisman race with an awesome performance on Saturday.
"That's fine with me," Stanton said. "I was brought up around this time last year, though, and then was dropped pretty quickly."
Stanton said he believes his abilities will translate to the pro level.
"Hopefully the NFL scouts like what I do," Stanton said. "I'm not going to change who I am. I don't think I'm the fastest guy. Someone might throw a better spiral or throw it harder or farther, but as a combo guy, I'd put myself up against anybody."
Wisconsin at Michigan
Bielema's Advantage
Two coaches following legends have huge games this weekend. Bret Bielema takes Wisconsin to Michigan and Ron Prince hosts Louisville at Kansas State.
Bielema tells me he's aware of Prince's game and says he has an advantage over Prince for this reason: He was on Barry Alvarez's staff last season, when he heard the message he will use to try to beat Michigan again:
"The Big Ten is not just Michigan and Ohio State!"
While Bill Snyder has stayed out of Prince's way, Bielema has not shied away from tapping Alvarez for advice.
Added Bielema: "We don't do anything differently than those schools that are looked to as the traditional powers. We prepare to beat Michigan and Ohio State the way they prepare to beat us."
Bielema told me he might be more cautious about going for it on fourth down in this game, as his team is 3-0, but he is 0-for-3 on fourth in the first three games. "This week is different," Bielema said. "Last year we had four field goals against Michigan. And our punter? He's pretty good."
Louisville at Kansas State
The Hunter Cantwell Story
Louisville lost Heisman Trophy contenders at running back and quarterback, but coach Bobby Petrino says quarterback Hunter Cantwell, a walk-on last year, will play on Sundays.
Cantwell is the kid who played against Virginia Tech last year, even as blood was dripping from his nose into his mouth and trainers stuck gauze up both of his nostrils.
"The blood didn't taste so good," Cantwell said. "And it was kind of hard to breathe."
Even though Cantwell wanted to play for one of three Division I-AA schools, he had no Division I-A or I-AA offers. Now he has a scholarship and is starting at quarterback for a national contender.
"In high school, I had this big, loopy release," Cantwell said. "And we had a backfield that was really good. So people thought we just ran. I wanted to go to UT-Martin, Murray State or Southeast Missouri, but they all said no. I'm glad now I'm not at one of those schools."
As for comparisons to Brohm? Cantwell says he is a bit more accurate, but that Brohm has a little stronger arm. Cantwell also notes he is a much better fisher than Brohm, but a much worse golfer.
Brohm's advice for Cantwell, after the youngster took over last week?
"Fill the leadership void," Brohm said. "Be our leader."
Arizona State at Cal
ASU's Rudy Carpenter
Nobody put himself into the fire more than Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter, who named senior Sam Keller starting QB then switched to sophomore Rudy Carpenter.
The Sun Devils are 3-0 headed to Cal, but Carpenter is struggling and Keller is at Nebraska. Carpenter told me this week he's been trying too hard to show everyone his coach made the right call.
"I think last year I hadn't played too much and I was happy with a completion of 1 or 50 yards," Carpenter said. "This year I feel like our offense is good enough to score on every single play. I have to be more content with those 5-yard gains. And that's how I have to not try too hard."
Carpenter said because he's a perfectionist, he thought he could make improvements on the player who led the nation in passing efficiency last year.
"I think sometimes you can overthink or overanalyze something too much and be what others want you to be," Carpenter said. "That hasn't worked out for me. So the big thing now is to concentrate on being me and being as good as I can be. To do the things that helped me to get here. Make weird throws. Run around the field. I wish I could drop back and stand there and throw it. That's not me."
Carpenter, who said a bruise on his throwing hand is more healed than ever, said his football hero is Brett Favre.
I asked Carpenter when he believes the moment will come that he is viewed as "Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State quarterback" and not, "Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State quarterback who emerged victor in a controversial battle with Sam Keller," Carpenter said: "I would say this weekend is a good place to start."
Catching USC?
Arizona State has a great opportunity, albeit tough schedule, at California, home for Oregon and at USC the next three weeks.
"I think a lot of people look at the Pac-10 as USC and everybody else or USC and Cal and everybody else," Carpenter said. "But the only thing you can do is say they're right. USC has dominated the last few years. And no one can take that away from them. And that's what I'm excited about. We have the opportunity in the next three weeks."
Added tight end Zach Miller: "A lot of people think there's only one good team in the Pac-10. But mostly, that's people from the East Coast."
I told Miller I live on the East Coast.
"You guys just don't get to see our games," he said.
Generic Football Officials?
Fallout from the Oklahoma-Oregon controversy continues. The Pac-10 says it will evaluate its unique policy requiring visiting teams to use Pac-10 officials. Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said creating a pool of generic officials might be an overreaction. He added that a better solution worth investigating is the use of only neutral officials in the replay booth.
"Let's avoid any reason to even consider the appearance of bias," Castiglione said. "If we're going to be willing to play these high-profile nonconference games, with all the emotions involved, let's just figure out the best way to create the most neutral environment possible."
And finally...
Any coach who calls out his players as "primma donnas" gets mention here. So congratulations Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who is pleased to see what he described as the "Jarrett Hicks saga" end, with the NCAA clearing the receiver on Friday to be eligible immediately this season.
As for an awful loss to TCU last week, Leach, never one to mince words, said: "We had guys strutting around like primma donnas that need to get back to what they did to get there."
