ESPN.com - And The Winner Is. . .

ESPN.com: ESPNMagazine

Sunday, October 13, 2002
Updated: October 28, 3:50 PM ET
And The Winner Is. . .

By By Gene Wojciechowski
bmoc

20. A BMOC Soapbox Moment
Penn State loses a couple of close games -- partly because it put itself in position to lose those games and partly because of some bad officiating -- and suddenly Joe Paterno and athletic director Tim Curley become the Big Ten's conscience? Paterno whines (clumsily suggesting that a crew that included three Michigan residents had a jones against the Nittany Lions in the Oct. 12 overtime loss to the Wolverines at Ann Arbor) and soon Curley is requesting "a comprehensive review of Big Ten football officiating."

Added Curley: "We realize officials will make mistakes, but we have seen too many instances in not only our games, but other conference games that Penn State is no longer comfortable with this trend and feel this evaluation is appropriate at this time."

Please. Curley wouldn't have said a peep if the Nittany Lions had somehow beaten Iowa and Michigan in overtime, or if the flags had fluttered toward the Hawkeyes or Wolverines. Instead, several blown calls cost Penn State chances at apparent victories -- that is, if you're 100 percent sure Robbie Gould would have converted a game-winning field goal against Michigan, and equally sure PSU would have prevailed in OT against Iowa. (Remember, Gould missed an extra point and field goal in regulation against the Wolverines, and also missed a 23-yarder in OT (but got another chance because of a U of M offsides penalty).


	Joe Paterno finally had something to smile about after tying Bear Bryant's Division I record with his 323rd win.

Of course, Curley is simply doing what any AD would do in his position: he's guarding JoePa's back. You do that, especially when your guy is the winningest coach in Division I-A history. The only "trend" Curley is worried about is the series of calls that went against the Nittany Lions.

How about this: a comprehensive review of why Penn State trailed Iowa by as many as 22 points? Or why Paterno got the benefit of the doubt when he made a beeline for the referee after the Iowa loss? Or why he wasn't also reprimanded for his knucklehead comments regarding a possible officials conspiracy of Michigan residents?

Meanwhile, Mississippi State's Jackie Sherrill recently gets reprimanded by the SEC for publicly chirping about officiating. Paterno gets a free pass not once, but twice from Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. Here's guessing there won't be a third.

We're not saying there haven't been blown calls; there have -- crucial bang-bangers that went the wrong way at the wrong time. In the Big Ten alone, glaring controversial calls have cost Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern. But had, say, NU's Randy Walker sprinted toward a ref at game's end and tugged at the guy's shoulder, he probably would have been fined or publicly disciplined by the Big Ten. Same thing would have happened had Walker said the officiating crew doing the Oct. 5 NU-Ohio State game (the Wildcats got jobbed out of a touchdown) didn't like the color purple.

Paterno made his point the first time. But the post-Michigan game paranoia was just plain dumb. Curley's subsequent statement was piling on.

We're giving the Big Ten the benefit of the doubt for a couple of reasons:

Supervisor of Officials Dave Parry is one of the best in the business. He's the JoePa of officiating.

The Big Ten, thanks to Parry and Delany, actually admits its officiating mistakes, and does it publicly. Because of that, coaches seem a little more chippy than usual.

Each season some poor conference gets hit by a series of controversial calls. This year it's the Big Ten's turn.

19. Officiating -- Part II
Bobby Gaston is the SEC's supervisor of officials. He spent 25 years as an official and worked 19 bowl games, including five national championships. He heard Paterno's comments. . . and winced.

"I would just try to explain to him that there are miscalls in every game," he said. "I'm sitting here and we get questions every week by every coach about miscalls."

The way Gaston figures it, there are seven officials and about 170 plays per game. That's 1,190 chances to make a call. Out of those 1,190 possible calls, Gaston said there are about 6-8 botched calls. "That's a lot better average than quarterbacks are having, and coaches are having," he said.

Fair point. According to Gaston, coaches want consistency from game officials. Perfection would be nice, but that's not going to happen, not when you factor in the human element and the simple truth that these officials already have full-time jobs. In the SEC, a game official makes about $9,000 per season, plus travel expenses and per diem.

"That's an awful lot of pressure for $9,000," Gaston said.

So they do the best they can. "Nobody hurts more than they do when a mistake is made," Gaston said. "That's not rhetoric, that's just fact."

But Gaston is more worried about getting the calls right than hurting someone's feelings. That's why there's been a huge turnover in SEC officials during Gaston's tenure, why the SEC only has one official over the age of 60, why he made 11 assignment change last season due to below-standard performances. It's also why Gaston would grudgingly consider instant replay.

"As an official, we don't dodge it," he said. "If it would help solve something, and there's instances where it might help, you've got to look at it. Whether or not we want to go to all that in college football, I'm really not sure. Personally, I feel officials would be dependent on it."

There are technical issues, as well as financial ones. Gaston said you'd have to have straight camera sightlines for the two goal lines, the two side lines and the two end lines.

That's just for replay.

So what happens when you have a stadium that isn't configured for those kind of straight shots? And by the way, said Gaston, instant replay isn't perfect, either. Just watch an NFL game. Or you can take his word for it.

"I can prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that a picture taken from the sidelines can be misleading where a person's foot is -- whether he's in or out," he said. "Now I don't want it to sound that we would dodge instant replay, because obviously everybody wants it right. I just don't think it's all that conclusive. If you had enough cameras maybe it would have enough merit."

Of course, cameras and replay machines cost money, about $100,000 per system. So who pays for it?

Lindsey Willhite, who covers the Big Ten for the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago, suggests the "Put Up or Shut Up Plan." The head coach contributes $35,000, each of the assistant coaches puts in $5,000, and the athletic director finds the remaining $20,000. This will happen shortly after Louisiana-Lafayette wins the Fiesta Bowl.

18. Happy Dawgs
This happened a couple of weeks ago. . .

Georgia had beaten Alabama the previous night, sparking a postgame giddy-fest by Bulldogs AD Vince Dooley and making for a very enjoyable charter bus ride from Tuscaloosa to Athens. Now coach Mark Richt was doing his weekly Sunday teleconference with reporters.


	Georgia QB David Greene sure looks a lot more comfortable without having to worry about splitting time with D.J. Shockley.

Question: "There was talk that David Green might play better, more relaxed without D.J. Shockley in the quarterback rotation. Have you seen a difference in his play?"

Richt: "I don't know if David has played a whole lot different. He's really been a good game manager. He's been very good making the right reads. David's problem has been his consistency with his accuracy. He's still struggling with the deep-ball throw. He's got to continue to get better."

Question: "So there's nothing to the Shockley-Greene thing?"

Richt: "I don't think so. Other people are going to try to read something into it. David has played about the same all year long."

Since then, Georgia has beaten Tennessee and crushed Vanderbilt. And for someone who supposedly isn't playing all that different from the split-time-with-golden boy Shockley days, Greene sure looks like a more assured QB. Then again, everybody looks more assured against Vandy.

Remember, this is the 2001 SEC Rookie of the Year, who suddenly had to deal with Richt's preseason announcement that Shockley would see meaningful playing time. If undefeated Georgia wants to survive the remainder of its SEC regular-season schedule (at Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss, at Auburn), it needs Greene feeling good about himself. This will help: 20-of-23 for 319 yards and three TDs (two passing, one rushing) against the Commodores.

17. Baby Steps
Ask Florida State offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden the last time the Seminoles resembled, well, the Seminoles and there's a long pause. "I don't know, maybe Maryland," said Bowden, referring to the 52-31 victory against the Terps nearly a year to the day.

And if not Maryland, try the timetable he recently mentioned to his players. "It's been a year and seven games since we played football the way Florida State is used to playing football," he told them. If true, that puts the Seminoles in the late October, early November 2000 area, when they were beating NC State by 44 and Clemson by 47.

That was then, this is now.

Even with the heartbreaking 28-27 loss to Miami, Bowden sees small signs of progress. If anything, he says, FSU exceeded its own expectations when it came to running the ball against a Miami defensive line "that if you look at their top seven, eight guys. . . five or six are high draft picks.

"But like I told our players, this can't just be a Miami game mentality. Now we've got Notre Dame, another outstanding defense."

For the first time in years, FSU's rushing attack is setting up the pass. That isn't a total surprise. Florida State's experienced offensive line was considered a strength, and FSU coaches figured running back Greg Jones would have a breakout season.

But the Seminoles staff also liked its receivers and felt good about sophomore quarterback Chris Rix. But Rix has been inconsistent, though he graded out at 96 percent for the Miami game -- the highest grade quarterbacks coach Daryl Dickey has ever seen for one of his guys.

"[Rix is] so competitive," said Bowden. "The thing I've learned is that there's a progression and development stage that most kids have to go through to become a great player. [Rix] is still in a development stage, but he will be a great one before it's done."

Is he happy with Rix?

"I am," he said. "Yes, I am."

16. Half-Season Awards -- Biggest Flop
So many teams, but only one special place atop the flop trophy. . .

The candidates:

Nebraska -- From preseason No. 8 to out of the polls by October. Eliminated from the national championship race before you could say, "Os-borne," the Cornhuskers were a mess even before the loss at Oklahoma State Saturday. Previous humiliations include losses at Penn State and Iowa State. Now 5-3 (two of the wins came against Troy State and McNeese State), the Cornhuskers still have to face Texas A&M, Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado. Winning three of those five would be a huge accomplishment for this team.

Florida -- The Gators began the season at No. 7. Given their remaining schedule (Georgia, at Vandy, South Carolina, at Florida State), they'll have to sweat out winning seven games. The Ron Zook Era has had its moments (quality wins at Tennessee and against Kentucky), but not enough of them. Instead, you're left with too many memories of a blowout loss at home to Miami, a loss at Ole Miss, an absolutely dreadful loss at home to LSU. Special teams play has been a joke, the defense spotty, the offense a disappointment (three games where the Gators scored 16 or less points). Who knows how The Swamp crowd would have reacted had Zook and the fellas lost to Auburn in OT Saturday?

Michigan State -- Our preseason national championship darkhorse team needs a pass to the Westminster Dog Show. It isn't so much the losses (to Cal, Notre Dame and Iowa in the first half of the season, Minnesota to start the second half), but the way the Spartans lose. With the exception of the Notre Dame game, Michigan State sometimes looked as if it were phoning it in (Charles Rogers, not included).

Florida State -- Put an asterisk on this one. The Seminoles didn't show up to play in rain at Louisville, but could have, perhaps should have beaten No. 1 Miami. So at 5-2, a pretty thin flop nominee. Still, FSU's offense has been inconsistent and the defense has given up 26 or more points four of seven games.

Oregon State -- The only thing worse than the Beavers' overbite is a 4-3 record that includes three consecutive Pac-10 losses.

Syracuse -- From 10 wins last season to this? No one expected the Orangemen to win the Big East, but through their first six games they hadn't beaten a Division I-A team. They start the second half with a loss to West Virginia.

Tennessee -- A preseason No. 5, the Vols were a washout against Florida at Neyland Stadium. They're out of the national title and SEC race, but we'll cut them a break because of injuries to Casey Clausen, Kelley Washington and key defensive players.

And the "winner" is. . . Nebraska, but only by the slimmest of margins over Michigan State and Syracuse.

15. Half-Season Awards -- Best Coach
Iowa State's Dan McCarney -- Another foot (remember the play against Florida State in the season opener?) and the Cyclones would have been 7-0 entering Saturday's game against Oklahoma. Even with the decisive loss to OU, the Cyclones have a lot to be proud of.

Air Force's Fisher DeBerry -- A perfect half-season start with wins against Cal and BYU. 0-1 in the second half, after the loss to Notre Dame.

Alabama's Dennis Franchione -- Has done a wonderful job despite NCAA sanctions hangover.


	Tyrone Willingham pumps his fist after an emotional Irish victory over his former team.

Notre Dame's Tyrone Willingham -- Wins first six games with little or no offense, but with plenty of defense and grit. Wins seventh game with all three.

Miami's Larry Coker -- Sure, the Hurricanes have the most talent, but someone has to press the right buttons.

Iowa's Kirk Ferentz -- No wonder you keep hearing Ferentz's name in NFL circles.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops -- Quality wins against Bama, Mizzou and Texas in the first six games. (The win against Iowa State was No. 7.)

Bowling Green's Urban Meyer -- Another Falcons team that goes the first half without a loss. But unlike AFA's Falcons, Bowling Green wins its seventh game, this one in OT.

And the winner is. . . Willingham. Duh.

14. Half-Season Awards -- Best Player
Miami running back Willis McGahee -- The best offensive player on the Hurricanes roster?

Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett -- Without him, the Buckeyes wouldn't have started the season 7-0 (Or 8-0, with the win at Wisconsin Saturday).

Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace -- Texas Tech, Nebraska, Iowa and Florida State can tell you all about him. Yeah, he had a game to forget against Oklahoma, but that's on the second half-of-the-season awards clock. And he isn't the first quarterback to get shut down by the Sooners.

Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich -- As good as the passing numbers say he is.

Air Force quarterback Chance Harridge -- The absolute key to the Zoomies' 6-0 start.

Arizona State defensive end Terrell Suggs -- A sack machine: 13 sacks through his first seven games.

North Carolina State running back T.A. McLendon -- Like Clarett, a big reason for the Wolfpack's first-half unbeaten streak (that, and a schedule as soft as a down pillow).

Penn State quarterback Zack Mills -- Is there anything he can't do?

Oregon running back Onterrio Smith -- His yardage has made the transition from Joey Harrington to Jason Fife a breeze. Too bad he couldn't play in the Ducks secondary against Arizona State Saturday.

Virginia Tech running backs Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs -- The Untouchables have been un-tackle-able.

Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey -- The undisputed UM leader.

Colorado running back Chris Brown -- The NCAA's rushing leader. Dinged his ankle against Baylor, though.

Florida State running back Greg Jones -- FSU insiders said Jones would have a big year, and they were right.

Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser -- Playing hurt, playing better than healthy QBs.

Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers -- Too bad rest of Spartans don't have his work ethic.

And the winner is. . . Wallace -- pre-OU, of course.

13. Players Of The Week

Oklahoma's defense
Rendered arguably the best player in Division I-A useless. The Sooners defense has a wonderful defensive line, speed at linebacker and a secondary to die for. Playing better each week.

Runners-up

Penn State RB Larry Johnson (257 yards in blowout win against Northwestern); Arizona State QB Andrew Walter (four TDs and a school record 536 yards in upset of Oregon); Colorado RB Chris Brown (167 yards and three TDs vs. Baylor); Oregon RB Onterrio Smith (172 yards and three TDs in the loss to ASU); Arizona State WR Shaun McDonald (12 catches, 204 yards, one TD); Oklahoma State RB Tatum Bell (career-high 182 yards in upset of Nebraska); Virginia Tech RBs Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones (a combined 329 of Tech's 342 rushing yards in win against Rutgers); USC QB Carson Palmer (21 completions, 348 yards, four TDs in win against Washington); Minnesota RB Terry Jackson (238 yards in win against Michigan State, his second consecutive 200-yard-plus game); Ohio State WR/CB Chris Gamble (inserted into lineup when other corners flopped; made key interception against Wisconsin); Air Force LB Anthony Schlegel (19 tackles in loss against Notre Dame); Notre Dame RB Ryan Grant (a career-high 190 yards vs. Air Force); Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury (49-of-70 for 510 yards and five TDs in win against Mizzou); Texas A&M QB Dustin Long (school record 399 yards vs. hapless Kansas); Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett (133 yards in win against Wisconsin).

Honorable Mention

Florida QB Rex Grossman, Alabama RB Santonio Beard, Michigan QB John Navarre, Wisconsin RB Anthony Davis.

12. Coach Of The Week

Arizona State's Dirk Koetter
Not only do the Sun Devils improve to 6-2 overall, but they remain unbeaten in the Pac-10 (3-0), and go 2-0 against the Oregon schools.

Runners-up

Oklahoma State's Les Miles
Cowboys win first game against Nebraska since 1961.

Minnesota's Glen Mason
Soft schedule, but seven wins is seven wins.

LSU's Nick Saban
Loses his starting quarterback, but still whups South Carolina.

Honorable Mention

Notre Dame's Tyrone Willingham
Habit.

11. Four-leaf Clovers Not Needed
It was no accident that a Fiesta Bowl rep, in all his yellow, polyester jacket splendor, was trading laughs and handshakes with Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham and Irish AD Kevin White shortly before midnight Saturday. You'd smile, too, if you were from the Fiesta Bowl, host of this season's BCS Championship, and Notre Dame was 7-0 and staring at a possible undefeated record.


	People keep doubting, but Ryan Grant and Notre Dame just keep winning.

Suddenly it isn't such a leap of faith to think the Irish could win at Florida State this week, beat Boston College at home, beat Navy in Baltimore, defeat Rutgers at home, and leave LA with a season-ending victory against USC. Do that and the Irish should be in Tempe come Jan. 3.

As usual, Notre Dame was listed as an underdog. Air Force was favored by three. Florida State will likely be favored, despite a 5-2 record.

"It's another chance to prove to the nation we're a legitimate football team," said linebacker Courtney Watson, who can't wait to play FSU, what with being from Sarasota. "You always have naysayers out there."

Naysayers? You're 7-0, one of only eight undefeated teams.

"Yeah, the Patriots won a Super Bowl last year and people said they're not a good team," said Watson.

When in doubt, always resort to the "no respect" thing. But in Notre Dame's case, there's some truth to it. When a reporter asked Watson if ND deserved to be mentioned with the Miamis and other unbeatens, the senior linebacker seemed personally insulted.

"Why not?" he said. "Why not?

"Why is that a question? Nobody asks Miami that."

Good point.

There's no question about Notre Dame's defense. It held Air Force's famed Wingbone option to just 10 first downs, 104 yards rushing and 161 total offensive yards. Quarterback Chance Harridge managed a season-low 31 yards. Entering the game, Air Force led the nation in rushing.

"I'm almost at a loss for words right now," said Harridge.

Harridge isn't the first quarterback to be left speechless by the Irish defense. But almost as impressive was Notre Dame's offense, which rushed for 335 yards, passed for 112 and held the ball more than 11 minutes longer than Air Force. Ryan Grant had a career-high 190 of those rushing yards.

"We know what we want, and it has to be taken one step at a time, one game at a time," Grant said.

Fair enough. Step No. 8 comes Saturday in Tally-town.

10. Forget Big East. How About AFC East?
The numbers border on the ridiculous: 19 consecutive victories at America's football armpit, the Orange Bowl. . . 20 consecutive Big East victories. . . 28 consecutive victories overall. Even with the Oct. 12 hiccup against an inspired Florida State team, Miami remains the logical choice to run the table and hoist more hardware come Jan. 3 at the Fiesta Bowl. The Hurricane program is so good that HBO's/Miami Dolphins' Cris Carter says if he had to choose between this year's Cincinnati Bengals and last year's UM team. . . he'd pick Miami to win. And he was serious.

This season's Hurricanes still have some heavy lifting to do before you compare them to the 2001 national championship team. After a week off, Miami met for a conditioning drill Sunday and begins practice Tuesday for the upcoming trip to West Virginia. If nothing else, the Mountaineers and Avon Cobourne can run the ball. That's what Florida State did, which is why the Seminoles nearly ran back to Tallahassee with the upset of the season.

The Nov. 2 game at Rutgers will be a name-your-score win, followed by a much more interesting trip to Tennessee. The Vols are young and have been hampered by key injuries, but this remains a dangerous game for Miami. If Tennessee can stay close, UT officials will have to hire a structural engineer at halftime to make sure Neyland Stadium can handle the stress of 104,000-plus fans dancing to "Rocky Top."

There's a Nov. 21 game against pass-happy Pitt, a Nov. 30 trip to Syracuse, and then the final biggie: the Dec. 7 game against Virginia Tech.

The Hurricanes are playing for another ring and more pages to the UM history book. Beat West Virginia and Rutgers, and the Hurricanes break the school record for consecutive wins. Meanwhile, quarterback Ken Dorsey is working on his own streak: 28 straight wins as a starter, 32-1 overall.

And then there's aw-shucks Larry Coker, who, in case you haven't noticed, HAS NEVER LOST A GAME! Coker is 18-0 at Miami and has a legitimate chance at 25-0. If his wife gets any more postgame victory hugs she's going to slip a disk.

We checked: the last time Coker lost a game as a head coach was at Claremore (Okla.) High School, where he went 16-7 during his two-year stay (1977-78).

9. Foot Fault
Coker remains unbeaten at Miami because of a 43-yard missed field goal by Florida State's Xavier Beitia in the waning seconds of their Oct. 12 game. Beitia was an understandable mess after the loss. He cried for more than an hour, was too distraught to speak to reporters and had to be escorted to the team bus by his parents and security personnel.

When he finally returned to Tallahassee, Beitia discovered a message waiting from someone who knew exactly how he felt.

Former FSU kicker Matt Munyon, who was Mr. Wide Right III (he missed a 49-yarder against Miami in 2000 that could have tied the game), told Beitia that the adversity can be used as a positive.

"Matt told me that I don't realize it now, but I'll be so much better because of it," Beitia told reporters last Wednesday. "He uses it every day for motivation. He said he's gotten so much stronger and just works so much harder."

Of course, he's doing all that at Troy State, where he transferred from FSU.

In retrospect, Beitia says there are all sorts reasons -- some legitimate, some superstitious -- for the missed kick. They range from forgetting to make the sign of the cross, to having the ball snapped 8½ yards instead of the usual 7.

By the way, Miami athletic director Paul Dee apologized to Beitia and FSU for an incident involving a former UM athletic department student volunteer. The man, given a sideline pass by Miami officials, was photographed taunting Beitia after the missed field goal.

"The actions captured in the picture are unacceptable and show a complete lack of discretion," said Dee in his statement.

8. Quote Of The Week
"We understand Gator fans are disappointed, and we're trying like heck to change it, and I think we all need to stay positive. Nothing can be gained by negativity.

"There is no timeline for Zook. "He's our head football coach."
-- Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, during a recent appearance at a Gators booster club in Jacksonville.

Everything's positive this week, what with the OT win against Auburn.

7. Stat Of The Week
Seneca Wallace's combined first- and second-quarter stats against Oklahoma: 1-of-12 for zero yards, minus-25 rushing, two interceptions. Total: 4-of-22 for 43 yards, three interceptions.

6. One And Done Reaction
Ohio State true freshman Maurice Clarett is taking some heat for his cover story comments in the current edition of ESPN The Magazine. The highlights:


	Maurice Clarett has been under fire since admitting he's thought about possibly challenging the NFL early entry rule.

Clarett and his mother are gathering information, opinion and professional expertise on the possibility of challenging the NFL's early entry rule. Right now, you have to be three years removed from high school before you can be NFL draft eligible. Under those rules, the Buckeyes' star tailback wouldn't be able to leave Ohio State until after his junior season.

Given the salary and bonus structure of established NFL stars, as well as first-round picks (and given his family's own financial situation), Clarett says he has thought about leaving school early.

Clarett says he's made no decision regarding an NFL challenge, nor will he until he and his mother assemble all the necessary facts.

As you might expect, some Ohio State followers freaked at the news. Never mind that Clarett is simply considering all his options, or that Ty Tryon can go from high school to the PGA Tour, or that Alex Rodriguez can go from high school to pro baseball, or that buddy LeBron James can make the jump from high school to the NBA. One Columbus sports talk radio host, a good one, asked me if it were right of Clarett to consider such a thing in the middle of Ohio State's try at a national championship. And the answer: it's just as right as any junior considering the same thing.

Clarett says he doesn't regret a word of the story. He was asked a question, he answered. He told me he'd say the same thing again.

Then again, this isn't your average college freshman. He's lived a different kind of life than most of us. Because of that, and because of his special athletic talent, he looks at things in a different way. He's comfortable in his own skin.

"A lot of football players hang around with football players when they get out of here," he said recently. "But I kind of like to keep it like high school. Football practice is football practice, home is home. When you go home you like to be to yourself, relax. You need to separate your life. I don't want football to be my whole identity. I don't want to walk around as Maurice Clarett the Football Player every day of my life. I don't want to live like that every day. I want to be normal. I want to be like my mother, my girlfriend. . . a regular person."

Good luck. Just last week several people followed him home from practice. They wanted autographs, even if it meant getting in their cars and tracking Clarett as he drove from campus to his house 20 minutes away. Spooky.

Clarett isn't saying he's going to take the NFL Nestea plunge. Then again, he hasn't ruled it out. But he's a smart guy. Mention the Tryon, A-Rod, LeBron comparison and he says it's an apples vs. oranges thing. No way could he have gone from Warren Harding High to the NFL.

"If you look at the physical differences between high school and pro, there's not even a comparison," he said. "I don't think there's anybody who could possibly do it, go from high school to the pros in football. It's just not physically possible, let alone mentally possible. High school to college is hard."

After one season of college? Two?

He'll let you know.

Until then, OSU fans might want to cut him a little slack. After all, how can you get mad at a college kid simply doing his professional homework?

5. Waiting For Splashdown
That sigh of relief you heard Saturday came directly from the greater Gainseville area, where Florida came thisclose to dropping to 4-4. Instead, the Gators salvaged a 30-23 OT win, thanks to a blocked Auburn field goal attempt with only a few seconds left in regulation. The victory saved Ron Zook from another week of blowtorch-hot criticism, and kept alive the pipe dream that the Gators can somehow reach the SEC Championship.

Meanwhile, beleaguered quarterback Rex Grossman might have pulled the safety chute on his supposed freefall through the NFL Draft atmosphere.

"He's dropped like a rock," said an NFL personnel expert.

Of course, the NFL expert said this before Grossman completed 27-of-35 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in OT. In fact, the winning pass was caught as Grossman was horizontal.

Grossman would have been a no-brainer first-round pick last spring had he skipped his final two seasons of eligibility. And now? "He's played himself into a fifth [rounder]," said the NFL guy.

That might be a little harsh, given that Florida's offensive line has stunk it up at times (and Grossman has the bruises to prove it), that he's playing in a new system, that his receivers are good-to-very good, but not off-the-charts great.

We talked to an NFL scout who evaluated Grossman last year. He had him rated high, as did most everybody else. That same scout now wonders if Grossman was a product of Steve Spurrier's system or, at the very least, wonders how quickly Grossman can adapt to different offensive philosophies.

If Grossman skips his senior year -- a foregone conclusion at season's beginning -- he'll have some things working against him. Grossman is listed a 6-1, but that might be a tad charitable. Because of his junior standing, he won't be able to play in any postseason all-star practices or games, such as the Senior Bowl. Instead, he'll be evaluated in individual workouts and the NFL Combine.

"I think he can play in the NFL," said the league expert. "He's been exposed this year because of circumstances beyond his control."

Weird. Grossman goes from Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2001 to probable Heisman ballot no-show in 2002. He sees his first-round draft status put in jeopardy. He hears his new coach basically tell him to cool it with all the audibles. What a strange, fragile existence.

So maybe he's no longer a first-rounder. But nobody can question his toughness or persistence this season.

4. Shorties
Miami got two scares last week -- one life-threatening, one football threatening. Redshirt freshman Buck Ortega, who began the season at quarterback but switched to linebacker and special teams, underwent surgery to repair a torn labrium. But his body temperature rose to a near-fatal 107 degrees. Ortega, the son of former Miami Dolphins Ralph Ortega, was rushed to intensive care. He's recovering nicely. Meanwhile, star running back Willis McGahee missed a practice last week because of turf toe. But he's back and doing fine. . . . The number of independents continues to take a dive. Utah State has been invited to join the Sun Belt Conference. That leaves Notre Dame, Navy, Connecticut (which will join the Big East in 2005), Troy State and South Florida (which will join Conference USA in 2003). . . . Oregon quarterback Jason Fife still talks semi-regularly with Joey Harrington, the former Ducks star who now plays for the Detroit Lions. In fact, you can buy his Lions replica jersey in the school store near Autzen Stadium. . . . Anyone notice that Virginia has won six in a row? UVa scored 37 unanswered points in Saturday's win against North Carolina. . . . Anyone notice that Northwestern and Wisconsin have something in common: they're both winless in the Big Ten. You figured the Wildcats would take the collar, but the Badgers? . . . Oklahoma so dominated Iowa State that ABC ditched the game at halftime and switched to Ohio State-Wisconsin. And in retrospect, maybe Chris Simms didn't have such a bad performance against the Sooners, after all. Simms led Texas to an important bounce-back win against K-State Saturday. . . . How bad is BYU? The Cougars lost for the fourth time in five games with Saturday's homecoming defeat to previously 2-4 UNLV. In their last two games, BYU has scored just three (vs. UNLV) and nine points (vs. Air Force) . . . . Is 7-1 Minnesota for real? We'll find out beginning Nov 2. The Gophers' final four games: at Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, at Wisconsin. . . . Since Texas A&M switched offensive coordinators, the Aggies have scored 31, 47, 41 and 47 points. Before the switch: 31, 14, 3. . . . Colorado's Chris Brown reached the 1,000-yard mark in only 143 carries, which is six less than Rashaan Salaam needed in 1994, the year Salaam won the Heisman.

3. Heisman Trophy Race
Bring a coat and tie to the Yale Club: Oregon RB Onterrio Smith, Marshall QB Byron Leftwich, Miami RB Willis McGahee.
Moving up: Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett, Florida State RB Greg Jones, Colorado RB Chris Brown, Penn State RB Larry Johnson.
On the radar: Miami QB Ken Dorsey, NC State QB Philip Rivers, Washington State QB Jason Gesser, Kentucky QB Jared Lorenzen, Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury, Virginia Tech RB Lee Suggs.
Slipping: Iowa State QB Seneca Wallace, Washington QB Cody Pickett, Michigan State WR Charles Rogers.
Thanks for stopping by the booth: Auburn RB Cadillac Williams (injury related), Ole Miss QB Eli Manning, Air Force QB Chance Harridge.

2. Whatever Happened To. . .
. . . Damon Duval?

What was supposed to be an Auburn strength -- the place-kicking of All-American Duval -- has become something of a surprising liability. In the loss to Florida, Duval had the likely game-winning, 23-yard attempt blocked near the end of regulation. Duval is now 4 of 10 for the season, with three blocks. Duval shouldn't take all the heat -- some of the blame goes to the entire kicking unit -- but 4 of 10?

One Hack's Weekly Elite
Fiesta Bowl Matchup
Miami vs. Oklahoma -- UM rested for W. Va. trip; OU faces CU Nov. 2.
3. Virginia Tech -- Hokies should put up more big numbers vs. Temple.
4. Notre Dame -- Beat Florida State and nobody can say a peep, right?
5. Ohio State -- Buckeyes face multi-dimensional Penn State offense.
6. Georgia -- Bulldogs starting to peak at right time; visits Kentucky next.
7. Texas -- Survived trip to K-State, now play embarrassed Iowa State.
8. Iowa -- Travel to the Big House for huge game against Michigan.
9. Washington State -- With two weeks off, should be OK vs. Arizona.
10. LSU -- Defense is peaking nicely for trips to Auburn, Kentucky.
Waiting list: USC, Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, Penn State, Florida State.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.