ESPN College Football

Air Force: In one of the first tangible signs of a new policy on religious tolerance, Air Force said coach Fisher DeBerry will forgo his customary team prayer before Saturday's game against Washington.

Instead, the team will observe a moment of silence in the locker room.

The Air Force issued guidelines Monday that discourage public prayer at official functions and urge commanders to be sensitive about personal expressions of religious faith.

The guidelines, which apply to the entire Air Force, were drawn up after allegations that evangelical Christians wield so much influence at the academy in Colorado Springs that anti-Semitism and other forms of religious harassment became pervasive.

DeBerry had led pregame prayers in his previous 21 years as Air Force's coach. Senior academy staffers decided the moment of silence was more appropriate under the new guidelines, athletics spokesman Troy Garnhart said.

DeBerry declined to comment Wednesday. "All I'm thinking about right now is football," he said.

Montana State: The school will receive $250,000 for its matchup this weekend against Oklahoma State, money that will be used to help reduce the athletic department's debt.

Playing teams a level higher has become an annual occurrence for the football program. Since 2000, MSU has played Washington State twice, Alabama-Birmingham, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado State from Division I-A. Next year, the Bobcats will play Colorado and collect $275,000.

It's become a necessity for the school, and a trend that will continue.

"We need to play them," athletic director Peter Fields said. "We need to generate the revenue. We're trying to find someone that matches with our '07 schedule."

Currently, the deficit is at $132,000, according to Fields, down from $400,000 last year.

Playing against larger programs is a situation coach Mike Kramer said he is comfortable with.

"I'm willing to play those," he said. "Until somebody steps up and helps us with our athletic department debt, it's a necessary evil."

Florida Gators: The Gators still don't know who will be the starting running back against Wyoming.

Junior DeShawn Wynn would seem like the logical pick, but he could be suspended for the opener. Junior Skyler Thornton has shown promise, but has not separated himself from freshmen Markus Manson and Kesthan Moore.

Coach Urban Meyer said it would be a game-time decision.

The position battle has been the most competitive during fall practice, with Wynn taking the lead one day, then falling behind Thornton and Manson the next.

"I'm waiting for someone to step up and say, 'I'm the tailback at the University of Florida, give me the ball 25 times and I'll get you a bunch of yards,' " Meyer said. "I have not seen that happen."

The Gators might use three quarterbacks in the opener, with junior Chris Leak getting the start and junior Gavin Dickey and freshman Josh Portis getting playing time -- maybe even early.

Dickey was the backup last season, but he has taken more repetitions at receiver than he has under center this fall.

Portis could claim the No. 2 spot, but Meyer said the quarterback from Woodland Hills, Calif., might be too overwhelmed to be effective early against Wyoming.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane: Tulsa starting quarterback Paul Smith left Thursday night's game against Minnesota with an apparent injury.

Smith, a sophomore who was making his first start after beating out redshirt freshman David Johnson for the job, appeared woozy as he was helped off the field after being sandwiched by two Minnesota defenders on a scramble.

He sat on the bench with trainers for a few minutes before standing on the sidelines without his helmet the rest of the half. Brad DeVault kicked a 46-yard field goal on the following play to cut Minnesota's lead to 17-3, and Johnson replaced Smith on Tulsa's next drive. It was Johnson's first appearance in a college game.

Smith set Oklahoma's high-school passing record with 9,574 yards at Edmond Deer Creek and Owasso high schools. He was 7-for-11 for 46 yards before leaving.

Alexander still out

Safety Kedrick Alexander, who was suspended last season after pleading guilty to a burglary charge, missed Tulsa's season opener against Minnesota after his eligibility was not reinstated by the NCAA.

The school said in a statement that it was appealing Alexander's eligibility status and would have no comment. Alexander, a junior who led the team with 121 tackles in 2003, was not enrolled at Tulsa last fall but did attend classes this spring.

He and another defensive back, Terrance Thomas, were sentenced in August 2004 to deferred sentences of two years unsupervised probation and 120 hours of community service after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary.

Alexander and Thomas admitted breaking into Taylor Carpenter Wingo-Williams' room and stealing a laptop computer, a Sony Playstation 2 game console and a credit card. The card was used to buy gasoline.

Alexander returned the stolen items after Wingo-Williams, a track athlete, confronted him, and he told Wingo-Williams that he and Thomas were behind the theft, police said after the incident.

Thomas, a reserve cornerback, was allowed to play.

Washington Huskies: Washington junior cornerback Chris Handy was declared academically ineligible Thursday for failure to complete his associate's degree from Pasadena Community College in California.

Handy finished his last term at Pasadena CC in early August, then joined the Huskies. Washington officials did not receive his transcripts from the community college until this week. Handy was allowed to practice with the team during the preseason while Washington awaited the transcripts.

Handy had played at Nevada for two seasons before transferring to Pasadena CC. He was listed second on Washington's depth chart behind junior Matt Fountaine.