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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- When it comes to questions about coaching job hot stove speculation, Kevin Sumlin has his answers down pat.

He should. He has been through this drill before.

On Tuesday the Texas A&M head coach fielded questions regarding the latest rumor that he will be near or at the top of the wish list for USC, which fired Lane Kiffin in the wee hours on Sunday morning.

"That's always going to be around," Sumlin said. "They only talk about coaches two ways: one of them is you're not going to be around and the other way is you're either moving on or something else is happening. As long as I'm not in that first conversation, you're doing something right."

Sumlin has become adept at saying a lot without saying much. But then again, this is not his first time around the coaching rumor mill.

During his first head coaching tenure at Houston, speculation surrounded his name on several occasions. After the 2009 season, when the Cougars won 10 games, Sumlin's name was linked to several jobs, including Tennessee, Cincinnati and Kansas, but he eventually signed a contract extension to stay at Houston.

After the 2011 season, the rumors ramped up again but that time he did leave, eventually accepting the A&M job. Late that season, it seemed as if almost every opening had Sumlin's name speculated as a potential candidate.

In five-plus seasons, Sumlin has a 50-20 career record. He's one of the most highly-respected names in the industry and even brushed off overtures from NFL teams last offseason.

But Sumlin's right: no matter what he says, the public will speculate on his future when a "big job" comes open, college or pro. And Texas A&M fans have to get used to that, because it's the price that comes with success.

"If they're not talking about you at all, there probably are some other issues," Sumlin said Tuesday. "That's part of it. That's always going to be the case I hope. It means that you're winning and that you're winning the right way and you're doing things that are helpful and being real positive about it. So from my standpoint, it's not a job to manage, I just don't even approach it."

USC isn't the first and won't be the last job rumor involving Sumlin. The NFL might be a bigger threat than another college program. He's at a ripe age (49) to give it a shot if he wants -- not too young, not too old -- and would still have time to return to the college game if he takes the dive but doesn't like it or doesn't succeed.

He has plenty of qualities sought after in coaches. He can relate to current players and high school recruits as well as his fellow coaches. He can make decisions and manage like a CEO but also has the knowledge to dive into the X’s and O’s of the game. His charisma is evident and it projects a positive image from him and his program.

"He has the ability to relate to 15-, 16- or 17-year-olds and then, in the next meeting, he can sit down with a 70-year-old donor and relate to both of those pretty distinct audiences like they've been long lost best friends," A&M senior associate athletic director for external affairs Jason Cook said. "Not a lot of people can do that, but he can do that and bridge that gap."

After the Aggies' 11-2 inaugural SEC campaign, Texas A&M gave Sumlin a contract extension in January that lasts through the 2017 season and pays Sumlin $3.1 million a year currently. The contract includes a $2 million buyout if it’s terminated before March 31, 2014, and that buyout is reduced by $400,000 on March 31 of each following year. The school is also in the process of renovating Kyle Field to the tune of $450 million. Since Sumlin became head coach, the Aggies have added other expensive items: a new football-only weight room, a nutrition center and they renovated the lobby of the football complex. Resources aren't a problem in Aggieland and they're playing in the best conference in college football. It's a pretty good job in its own right.

Is that enough? The only people who truly knows what makes Sumlin tick and what personal and future goals he has are him and his family.

But while the rumors swirl outside, don’t expect this to become a distraction inside the program, at least not in the near future. The team has enough on its plate trying to get through the SEC schedule without having to worry about the future of their head coach. And let’s face it, the Aggies have had bigger distractions this season, from all the talk surrounding Johnny Manziel to the NCAA's investigation into an autograph controversy surrounding the Heisman Trophy winner to unprecedented buildup for the Sept. 14 clash against Alabama. Focus wasn't an issue for the team then, so this likely won't become an issue anytime soon.

Still, Sumlin’s name is one of the hottest in coaching circles right now. That speaks volumes to how he's viewed, considering he doesn't have a conference championship or BCS bowl appearance attached to his name yet. He has shown he can win though, and A&M is back in the national college football conversation in large part because of Sumlin and Manziel.

It's natural for fans to fret over whether their coach is staying or going. But for now, the Aggies will have to get used to it, because that's what happens when you win.

Not to get Biblical on you, but the Arizona State Sun Devils -- Devils! -- are embracing their sinister side for their showdown Saturday against Notre Dame in Cowboys Stadium.

The Sun Devils will don black uniforms with helmets decorated with wild-looking flames -- hellfire? -- against the Fighting Irish, who will be wearing angelic white.

Of course, this isn't a battle of good and evil. It's just two teams embracing the marketplace ideology of branding in college football.

"We wanted to do something unique obviously to Arizona State, so the flames we thought were pretty cool and we put the flames on the back, we obviously want to use our brand," said Arizona State coach Todd Graham, who was involved in the design and noted that every helmet will be different.

The Sun Devils are, er, on fire after a blowout win over USC, while Notre Dame is coming off a loss to Oklahoma and is a disappointing 3-2 after going unbeaten and playing for the national title a season ago. If the Sun Devils can pull off the win and start 4-1 against a rugged early slate, they will enter the meat of the Pac-12 schedule with plenty of momentum and confidence.

Moreover, they can make history. No team has ever beaten USC and Notre Dame, two of the nation's most storied programs, back-to-back.

But while Graham is glad to talk about attention-grabbing uniforms and history, neither is his central focus. There have been two downers so far this year for Arizona State: (1) The first half at Stanford; (2) The Sun Devils' run defense, which ranks 11th in the conference, yielding 192 yards per game.

When asked about what the problems were against the run, Graham, not known for being laconic in any event, went on with a nearly 500-word answer during his Monday news conference. This story is just over 732 words.

"I am answering long because this is the number one thing that we have to do to win a championship," he said. "This has got to get better and I think it can. That is our number one focus."

Graham said that the chief problem was players getting out of position. He said there were 15 misalignments for the defense against the Trojans, who rushed for 247 yards on Saturday. He also said the biggest plays are coming on the perimeter, not up the middle. Part of the problem against USC was noseguard Jaxon Hood being out. He's questionable-to-doubtful for the Notre Dame game.

The good news for that run defense, however, is the Fighting Irish's struggles on offense. They rank 85th in the nation in scoring (25.4 points per game) and 93rd in rushing offense (135.5 yards per game).

But even the Irish's vaunted defense has been only mediocre. It has yielded 23.8 points and 364 yards per game, numbers that rank 46th and 53rd in the nation.

It's worth noting that both teams have played tough opponents, so the early-season statistics might be slightly skewed. But in the preseason, the Sun Devils looked like underdogs for this game. Now they are 5 1/2-point favorites.

This game also will be another test for the Sun Devils learning to play better on the road, most particularly QB Taylor Kelly. Though this game is technically being played at a neutral site, Irish fans will far outnumber the ASU loyalists. The Sun Devils are 3-4 on the road under Graham, and two of the 2012 road wins were over woeful California and Colorado. The lone quality road win was at rival Arizona last year.

Further, Kelly is a decidedly better QB at home. His rating this season is 156.6 at home and 121.3 on the road (at Stanford, perhaps the Pac-12's best defense). Last season, he was 198.7 at home and 127.6 on the road.

"You could probably take any quarterback and they would have the same stats," Graham said before adding, "If you want to win a championship you have got to win on the road."

Graham was quick to point out that the Pac-12 schedule has more importance for the Sun Devils. But he also knows that lining up opposite Notre Dame means you'll be performing in front of a lot of eyeballs.

Winning is the most important part of branding.

"Is it more important than the Pac-12 games? No, it is not," Graham said. "That is how we emphasize it to our players. But it is very important to our fan base, very important to our football program."

The U.S. government shutdown could have a trickle-down effect into our world of college football, as the service academies are considering cancelling their games and Boston College hosts Army this weekend. Army is the only academy that hasn't issued a public statement yet.

Boston College athletic director Brad Bates (@BCBradBates) has tweeted the school's official statement:

We have been in close communication with Army athletics officials regarding the potential impact of the govt shutdown on Saturday's game.

— Brad Bates (@BCBradBates) October 1, 2013

Obviously our intention is to exhaust all possibilities to play & will communicate the information promptly as soon as we have resolution.

— Brad Bates (@BCBradBates) October 1, 2013

Air Force has already announced that "travel for all intercollegiate athletics is cancelled," including the Air Force-Navy game on Saturday.

From the Department of Defense:

As a result of the government shutdown, the Department of Defense has suspended all intercollegiate athletic competitions at the Service Academies.

The Naval Academy will cancel contests as appropriate and notification on Saturday’s football game against Air Force will be made public prior to 12 noon on Thursday.

Stay tuned for updates.

Travis Haney makes the picks of Week 6 with a trio of ranked games between Maryland-Florida State, Washington-Stanford and Ohio State-Northwestern.

On the heels of the most disappointing loss of the Mike Gundy era, leaders of the Oklahoma State football team decided to ensure that their teammates were focused heading into the next week.

No, we’re not talking last weekend’s 30-21 loss to West Virginia.

During the week following OSU’s 37-31 upset loss to Iowa State in 2011, Brandon Weeden, Markelle Martin and the rest of the senior leaders on that squad made sure their teammates understood the Cowboys’ Big 12 championship hopes remained intact. They didn’t want the loss to snowball and keep them from winning their first Big 12 title.

Waiting in the wings, redshirting freshman J.W. Walsh observed it all. Now, the Cowboys’ starting quarterback plans to use that experience to help his squad get back on track with the heart of Big 12 Conference play looming.

“When we lost to Iowa State, the older guys took it upon themselves to make sure we were buying into the next week and was not letting Iowa State beat us again,” Walsh said. “Watching what those guys did and trying to incorporate what they did is key for us this year.”

OSU lost its Big 12 favorite status with a sloppy loss to the Mountaineers as turnovers, missed opportunities and horrible special teams play doomed the Cowboys during their first Big 12 trip to Morgantown, W. Va. Walsh and company reviewed their mistakes in the film room on Sunday then turned the switch immediately.

“It’s forget it, time to move on, you have to see the mistakes you made, correct them then time to move forward,” Walsh said. “We can’t let West Virginia beat us twice, there’s still a lot of games to be played, we can still win the Big 12. We can’t sit back and ponder on what we did wrong against West Virginia.”

The Cowboys’ defense actually played well enough to win against the Mountaineers, recording two interceptions while holding WVU to 4.28 yards per play. One of WVU’s three touchdowns was off an interception return. Yet defensive tackle Calvin Barnett left Morgantown disappointed with his unit’s ability to make big plays when it mattered.

“We have to continue to get better, we allowed them to score too much, we didn’t do our job,” Barnett said. “We allowed too many big plays and [were] not making plays on the ball or getting off blocks to make a play when we had a chance to.”

As Barnett reviewed the performance, one thing stood out. The senior liked OSU’s defensive performance during several different stretches, particularly when the Cowboys stayed focused on their individual responsibilities within the system. When they didn’t, trouble arose.

“We have to be our biggest critic,” he said. “There were plays we could have made but didn’t. Everybody being accountable for doing their job, that’s really all it comes down to.”

The mistake-filled performance left the Cowboys with a bad taste in their mouths but also with an understanding of how they can improve. Walsh needs to make better decisions with the ball, the offensive line needs to block better, running backs need to run better, the receivers need to make catches when they get the chance and the defense needs to limit explosive plays from the opposition.

Because, even with the shocking setback, enough talent to win a Big 12 title still roams the halls of the West End Zone in Boone Pickens Stadium.

“We lost a game but it was just because of mistakes, it wasn’t because we aren’t a good football team,” Walsh said. “We made a lot of mistakes and all of those mistakes are correctable.”

OSU had high expectations heading into the season as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Now they’ve tumbled down the conference standings with people questioning how good they really can be. They’ll get their first chance to prove they are a team capable of winning a Big 12 title on Saturday against defending Big 12 champion Kansas State.

“We did lose but at the same time, usually the team that wins the national championship has lost that season and last year the Big 12 [title] was split,” Barnett said. “We still have a chance, our goals are still in front of us, it’s just how bad do we want it because, obviously, we’re not as good as we thought we were.”

Danny Kanell weighs in on whether Alabama is the best team in college football, let alone the SEC, and identifies his best under-the-radar team.

WACO, Texas -- Art Briles was on the sidelines of a Terrell High School game last month when a pack of eighth-graders spotted his Baylor shirt.

"Coach!" one shouted. "Baylor!"

"What you know about Baylor?" Briles playfully asked.

They all returned the same response: "RG III!"

Briles calls it "instant name recognition." Acknowledgment of a program quickly becoming one of college football's coolest. A program on the cutting edge of blistering offense, big points and brash uniforms. A program Briles rebuilt -- and RG III expedited -- into a Big 12 title contender, perhaps perennially.

"Our style of play, our mentality, our location, and then you throw in an icon like RG III in there," Briles said. "Then being somewhere people look at as a great place to get a great education, and, oh by the way, them suckers play some good ball. I think that's it. Throw in all those factors, and you have a chance to have a good football program."

Before Briles and his star quarterback arrived, Baylor was anything but a good football program. In fact, it was a program in shambles.

Baylor was respectable during the 21-year era of Grant Teaff in the Southwest Conference. But after Teaff retired in 1992, Baylor fell into rapid decline. After Baylor moved to the Big 12 in 1996, the Bears endured a dozen consecutive losing seasons and four coaching changes, with a miserable conference record of 11-85.

During that time, Baylor had the seventh-longest active bowl drought in the country and hadn't been bowling since the 1994 Alamo Bowl. The Bears hadn't been ranked in the AP poll since 1993. They hadn't won in Austin since 1991, and had never defeated Oklahoma.

To read the rest of the story from Jake Trotter, click here.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- It's safe to assume that Eddie Jackson understands the opportunity ahead of him at Alabama. He can't say as much publicly because of the school's policy prohibiting freshmen from speaking to the media. But given all he's already gone through, it would be a wonder if he didn't look back on his road to Tuscaloosa and comprehend the enormous turnaround it took for him to get there.

It's a wonder he's wearing Alabama's signature crimson helmet in the first place. The fact that he's starting at cornerback for the defending national champions is something even more implausible considering where he was at this time last year.

Jackson needed a change of scenery before any of the chips fell into place. He likely learned the value of a fresh start from his brother, Demar Dorsey, a former blue-chip defensive back prospect who signed a letter of intent to play for Michigan in 2010 but never made it to Ann Arbor. Dorsey's past included poor grades and three felony charges that robbed him of the opportunity to play at a BCS-level football program. He failed to meet Michigan's standard for admission, announced he would transfer to Louisville, failed to make it there because of more issues and eventually landed at Grand Rapids Community College. Dorsey was supposed to transfer to Hawaii in 2012, but he never reached the Big Island and today is not listed on Hawaii's roster.

Wayne Blair knew of Dorsey's story when Jackson walked into his office at Boyd Anderson High in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., looking to transfer after becoming academically ineligible at his previous school. Blair saw Dorsey's "pitfalls" up close at nearby University School, where he was an assistant in 2009. He took a chance on Jackson, who was then a junior with serious eligibility issues. His grades were "way below normal standards," said Blair, who helped get Jackson eligible just in time for spring football.

Blair's investment and Jackson's hard work paid off instantly.

"He played free safety for us at the time," Blair said of the spring game against University School, a national powerhouse. "He had an interception, he returned one for a touchdown and then had another interception. And I realized then that I had something really, really special on my hands."

Jackson, though, had no college offers at the start of his senior season. Blair worked the phones, calling contacts at all the major conferences looking for someone to take a flier on his wide receiver/defensive back, a tall kid with enormous raw potential. Blair said he told them, "I got a guy that if I can get him NCAA eligible, you might want to go ahead and put your vested interest into him." Of course, no one took him seriously.

What Jackson did on the football field as a senior caught their attention, though, making him an increasingly rare sight in college recruiting: a late-blossoming prospect.

"Every game he either did something extraordinary offensively or completely excellent defensively or on special teams," Blair said. "And the buzz started growing as we had ourselves a good year. We went into the playoffs and he went off."

Jackson's grandmother passed away early in Boyd Anderson's postseason run. Blair said that's when "he went from good to great within a two-week span."

Blair had to chuckle when he retold his "folklore of Eddie Jackson" by telephone this week. He remembered how Florida State offered Jackson as a wide receiver, LSU wanted him as a defensive back and Miami looked at him as a wide receiver. Alabama had him strictly as a cornerback, though, drawn to his raw athleticism and 6-foot-1 frame.

"We thought Eddie was a good player," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday. "There were some academic questions and some of those things. We're always looking for longer corners, guys that have got a little bit more size. We had Maurice [Smith], who had committed to us. We were still looking for somebody else and we found Eddie. We'd known about Eddie, but we weren't sure we were going to be able to recruit him. As soon as we found out that he would be qualified and all that, we really jumped on him."

Being able to work closely with Saban, who coaches cornerbacks one-on-one at Alabama, was part of what swayed Jackson to sign with the Tide. The other factor was timing. With last season's top corner for Alabama, Dee Milliner, likely to enter the NFL draft and not much behind him in terms of depth, Jackson and Blair saw an opportunity to play right away.

"I knew he'd probably be jumping into the starting lineup; I just didn't know when," Blair said. "I was thinking by Week 6. Low and behold, here we are."

Blair's prediction was off by two weeks. Jackson accomplished the improbable, learning enough of Alabama's complicated defensive scheme by Week 4 that he was inserted into the starting lineup against Colorado State.

A week later he proved that his first start wasn't a fluke opportunity against a cupcake opponent, starting again against No. 21 Ole Miss. On Saturday, Jackson was fourth on the team in tackles, had two pass breakups and a key interception against the Rebels, prompting senior cornerback Deion Belue after the game to say, "We finally found a piece to our secondary so that we all can come together."

"He fit in perfectly," said safety Vinnie Sunseri. "Having Jarrick [Williams] and Deion [Belue] back was a huge part of it, too, but Eddie in there, and him getting comfortable and getting that one pick, kind of gave him that confidence booster that he needed. He played unbelievable. I was so proud of him."

Jackson's first-half interception was a defining moment. The rookie corner whiffed on Donte Moncrief, Ole Miss' veteran wideout, on the previous play, allowing a 36-yard gain and a first down. Coach Hugh Freeze then reached into his bag of tricks, calling for a backward pass to Laquon Treadwell, who looked toward Jackson's side of the field for a pass. But Jackson didn't bite on the fake, stuck to his assignment and secured the ball for the takeaway.

"He did everything perfect," Sunseri said. "He jammed the guy off the line, stayed, stepped in the divider, and he threw one right to him and he got the pick. It was a great momentum swing for us."

Saban, who covets long, aggressive corners such as Jackson, was pleased. He and his staff had been searching for an answer at the position after John Fulton and Cyrus Jones were torched by Texas A&M and Mike Evans, and in Jackson it appears they've found someone to work with. He's still just a freshman, but he's already done more in one game than all but Belue, Alabama's top on-ball defender.

"He played well," Saban said of Jackson. "Made a couple of mistakes, but I thought that most of those were because of communication, which is one of the things that we emphasize, where he wasn't sure about what the call was. But when it came to just his technique and what he was supposed to do and the way he competed in the game, I thought he did a really good job."

Blair, who talks to Jackson regularly, said it's now "his position to lose."

"Before it's all said and done, he could end up being the prototype defensive back like that guy over at Seattle, Richard Sherman," he said. "You have a tall, smart kid with good range, good hips. He can end up being the prototype Coach Saban has been looking for."

Reading into Blair's comments, it's clear he thinks that development could happen quickly. And why shouldn't it? It might seem improbable, but everything about Jackson's journey, going from academically ineligible with no college offers to a top prospect signing a letter of intent with Alabama, has been just that.

Jackson turned it around in a hurry in high school. What's to say he can't take the next step in just as timely a fashion? He's certainly showed he's no stranger to making the most of an opportunity.

For four months, ESPN The Magazine will follow the march to the Vizio BCS National Championship, moment by moment, culminating in our Story of the Season double issue Dec. 27. Every Tuesday, Mag senior writer Ryan McGee will pick the previous week’s biggest moments and tell you why they’ll have the most impact on potential BCS title matchups. If you disagree, send a tweet to @ESPNMag and tell us why your moment matters more, using the hashtag #StoryoftheSeason. Who knows? Your moment (and tweet) might just end up in our issue.

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SATURDAY EVENING'S GAME against Ole Miss had barely gotten started when the all-business leader of the Crimson Tide defense, linebacker C.J. Mosley, caught himself grinning.

The first play of the game had been a 38-yard pass that had sliced into Alabama territory. And just moments later the vaunted Rebels offense had decided to take their first big chance of the night. On fourth-and-2 at the Alabama 29, Ole Miss was going for it. Receiver Laquon Treadwell, the man who caught that demoralizing pass to start the contest, took the ball and seemed destined to get the first down. But he was met by a Tide safety -- he of one of college football’s greatest names, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix -- who scooped up Treadwell, upended him and threw him to the turf, inches shy of the conversion. Treadwell was credited with a 1-yard carry, one of Ole Miss’ scant 46 yards rushing in a 25-0 shutout, shutdown loss.

“That stop set the tone. Before the game I kept telling everybody, 'Remember what they said',” Mosley says, grinning as he recalled the waning confidence in the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, acerbated by Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace saying his team could score on anyone. “They called us out. We answered the bell.”

Mosley’s words were meant to apply only to his team. But he could have very easily been speaking for multiple other big-name programs that sent some very big-time messages during September’s final football weekend. Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma ... they all announced their presence with authority.

Officially speaking, it was Week Five of the 2013 college football season. In reality, it was Statement Saturday.

Alabama holds Ole Miss to a goose egg, 25-0. #StoryOfTheSeason #MISSvsBAMA

— ESPN The Magazine (@ESPNMag) September 29, 2013

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In Columbus, Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller returned and quickly reminded everyone why he was on so many preseason Heisman short lists: He threw solidly and efficiently, often on the run, for four touchdown passes and racked up 281 total yards.

Miller made his “Remember me?” statement at the end of the first half. Leading 17-14 after a big Wisconsin score, he drove the Buckeyes across midfield but then lofted up a horrible wounded-duck Hail Mary toss on third down with 10 seconds remaining. The ball wobbled its way toward the right side of the goal line and into the hands of cornerback Sojourn Shelton, but slipped through the freshman’s hands and fell incomplete.

Given a second chance with time ticking away on fourth down, Miller calmly took the snap, jogged up through the left-side alley of a collapsing pocket and fired an off-the-back-foot strike. The 45-yard rope hit waiting Corey Brown, who had inexplicably slipped alone behind the secondary. Though Wisconsin would make it close late, the half-ended pass was the backbreaker. “Man, it slipped out of my hand,” Miller said of the interception. “I told Coach, let’s do it again and make up for it on the next throw.”

A soft early schedule -- Buffalo, San Diego State, Cal, Florida A&M -- hasn’t exactly won the hearts of college football experts or pollsters. But a victory over a should-be undefeated, top-25 team; the fact that the OSU defense held the Wisconsin running machine to 104 yards; and the return of Miller all add up to image momentum that will only increase should the Buckeyes win at 16th-ranked Northwestern this weekend.

Said safety C.J. Barnett: “I don't know if we made a statement. We know we had our doubters. Hopefully, we proved them wrong. But if not, it doesn't matter. We're just going to keep working.”

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Along the I-85 corridor, two schools who met nearly a month ago were busy making statements of their own. Clemson, coming off a somewhat flat nationally televised Thursday night performance against NC State, looked crisp early and often against Wake Forest, one of the culprits behind the “Clemson pulling a Clemson” perception that has dogged the program over the last decade. The Tigers won 56-7 in a game that was largely over at the end of the first quarter.

Just down the road at Georgia, the Dawgs outlasted LSU, thanks to a big-boy fourth-quarter drive led by oft-criticized quarterback Aaron Murray. Speaking of which, you think maybe it’s time to park the “Richt and Murray don’t show up for big games” talk?

Murray certainly does. After Sanford Stadium had emptied out, he made his way to the "College GameDay" stage, where an hour earlier his former roommate, LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, had come up short in the closing moments. When Murray was prepped on the upcoming topics of conversation with Tom Rinaldi, he was told there would be a question about shedding the "bad in big games" image.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "I figured that was coming."

On camera he was smooth, admitting that he hadn't been able to watch LSU's final drive ("My teammates said, 'Stop being a baby and watch the game!'") and repeating his in-huddle statement to the team that he'd used against North Texas the week before: "Relax and have fun". And yes, he addressed the whispers about his big-stage performances. "This isn't about me. This is about our team. This has been a brutal first month and I think we've proved to the nation that Georgia is for real. No matter what happens, we keep pushing."

Consider this: Georgia played four games in September and three were against top-10 opponents; they won two of those, becoming the first team since Alabama’s 2008 squad to defeat two top-10 teams before Oct. 1. The one game they lost was by only three points at Clemson’s Death Valley, which, when on its game, is one of America’s most intimidating venues.

Yes, UGA is giving up yards and points, but when you’re producing 554 yards and 41 points a game, you buy your D time to get their act together, especially with O-challenged Tennessee as their next opponent. “We're ready. We're here, man,” says wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley, with enthusiasm. “We can take on anybody, any time … We'll take anybody, anywhere."

Aaron Murray threads the needle to his man Scott-Wesley to put UGA up 44-41 in Athens. EDGE. OF. OUR. SEATS... #StoryOfTheSeason #LSUvsUGA

— ESPN The Magazine (@ESPNMag) September 28, 2013

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On the West Coast, Oregon posted 55-plus points for the fourth consecutive week. The Ducks racked up 381 yards of offense, despite De’Anthony Thomas being injured on the opening kickoff, purposely letting off the gas in the second half, and playing in a rain storm so strong that it knocked out power to a chunk of Eugene. They also played a little defense, shutting down Sonny Dykes’ famed Air Bear (with an admitted assist from the monsoon).

Meanwhile, Stanford steamrolled Washington State and Oklahoma ran past Notre Dame … all while key rivals USC and Oklahoma State stumbled, one into program in chaos (Wanted: Head Coach), the other into an inexplicable loss (Take Me Home, Country Roads!).

See? September statements, one and all.

“September is great, and on the win-loss record, the September wins count just like all the others,” says Sooners head coach Bob Stoops, already looking ahead to the next two weeks, with TCU coming to Norman and then the annual visit to the Cotton Bowl to see Texas. “But there’s an old football cliche and we know it around here better than anybody: They remember what you do in November.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The scenes flickered across the screen as Jimbo Fisher broke down the film on Sunday, and the Florida State coach breathed a sigh of relief.

The outcomes were just as he'd remembered. Boston College's rather mundane attack gashed the Seminoles' defense again and again, big chunks of yardage adding up to 34 points -- the most BC had scored in an ACC game in nearly four years.

Florida State still escaped with a win, thanks to another dynamic effort from Jameis Winston, but the defense was exposed, and the future schedule promised to be far less forgiving. Fisher assumed the worst, but the film eased his mind.

"I wasn't as distraught as I thought I would be," Fisher said Monday, putting a happy face on an otherwise troubling effort. "It was more two or three individuals that caused all the problems."

There is ample room for big-picture concerns. Players admit to being slow to latch on to the subtleties of new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt's defensive scheme. The aggressive approach has yielded a handful of big plays but also surrendered a few more to the opposition. The Seminoles' performance through four games has fans wondering if disaster looms just over the horizon, as the explosive offenses of Maryland and Clemson await.

Instead, what Fisher saw on film were a few minor glitches -- easily correctable mental errors. A few missed assignments here, a few sets of eyes focused on the wrong things there. Rather than panicking, Florida State's defense seems relieved.

“Those mistakes are going to help you," safety Terrence Brooks said. "It’s bad, but it also can be good for you, too. Those are things you know you’ve got to key in on. It’s just room for improvement.”

That's the upbeat spin. These are the raw numbers: Through four games, Florida State has coughed up 606 yards on the ground, nearly half the total its defense allowed in 14 games last year. Boston College amassed 397 total yards Saturday; only Clemson (2010 and 2011) managed more against FSU since the start of the 2011 season -- and the Tigers' high-flying attack gets its shot against the Seminoles in just three weeks. The defense has started slowly in every game, and as a result, FSU has trailed in three of four games. It's a particularly disconcerting picture given that this week's opponent, Maryland, has topped 500 yards of offense three times, is averaging better than 7 yards per play, has a dual-threat quarterback and one of the ACC's most explosive playmakers in receiver Stefon Diggs.

And yet, Florida State's players insist they're not worried. The fixes aren't physical failures, but rather mental miscues -- a product of new personnel seeing an increased workload, a handful of gimmick plays by the opposition and a continuing adjustment to Pruitt's new scheme.

"We had some little, stupid mental errors in that game -- letting our guys go, trying to do too much and getting out of gaps," Brooks said. "That’s the only reason they were able to get all those points they did get."

It's not an entirely unfair accounting. Two of Boston College's touchdowns came on nearly identical plays, when the offense shifted heavily to one side, then threw the opposite way. FSU's defense aggressively pursued the ball and left a receiver wide open.

Of course, Pruitt's approach also might be part of the problem. As FSU's players raved about the new scheme this offseason, the buzzword used again and again was "aggressive." Pruitt promised to turn the Seminoles' athletes loose to make plays, and the players loved the concept. It all sounded good until Boston College used that mindset against them.

"We’re a very aggressive defense, and we want to get to the ball fast," Brooks said. "That right there kind of killed us a little bit."

It's not that the scheme is flawed, however. Pruitt essentially is installing a defense similar to what Alabama used to win three of the past four national titles. There's a track record of success.

The difference is that when Pruitt took over as defensive backs coach at Alabama in 2010, that scheme was already in place, and the veterans already knew it well. At Florida State, it's all new, and the learning process requires time.

"When you come in during the spring and put in a new defense, especially as complex as this one, it’s not like you’re coaching a team full of guys that have already been in the system," defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan said. "It’s almost like you’re coaching a defense full of freshmen, technically. We’re all learning it."

Jernigan insists his teammates have bought in, but the learning process has come more quickly for some. Fisher praised Jernigan's work against BC, saying the junior played perhaps the best game of his career. Eddie Goldman earned raves, too, and linebacker Telvin Smith earned player of the week honors in the ACC after finishing with 10 tackles.

So where are the problems?

Fisher did his best to avoid criticizing specific players, though the absence of senior Christian Jones from his synopsis was noteworthy. Dan Hicks was burned for a touchdown, as well, though he was noticeably overmatched in his assignment. Defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. and safety Tyler Hunter sat out for the second straight game against BC, too, and there are no assurances they'll be ready this week.

But to hear Fisher's analysis, there's no cause for alarm. It's not a matter of a flawed scheme, a too-steep learning curve or a lack of personnel. It's simply about getting the little things right.

Florida State's players are convinced of that, too, and the film from Boston College only burnished that optimism. But even so, this week's practices come with a mandate for improvement.

"Having that happen with these good teams that have mobile quarterbacks, people who can run and pass better, better receivers," Brooks said, "it’s just more of a problem at that point."

If a one-loss team is going to play in the VIZIO BCS National Championship Game this season, Georgia might be as good a bet as any.

But hear this Dawgs fans: You need some help.

The good news for Georgia is that it moved up to No. 6 in the USA Today Poll, one of three components used in the BCS standings.

If the Bulldogs keep winning, they’ve got a great chance to move up even more, especially with a pair of wins over top 10 opponents.

Remember, too, that only twice during the SEC’s streak of seven straight national championships has the team winning it all finished unbeaten.

The Bulldogs are explosive enough offensively to beat anybody in the country. Obviously, they’re going to need a healthy Todd Gurley the rest of the way. He’s day-to-day for this weekend’s game at Tennessee with a sprained left ankle.

To the Bulldogs’ credit, they played without him for the final three quarters last Saturday and still managed to outlast LSU 44-41. But it’s difficult to see them winning out (and winning the SEC championship) if Gurley’s not close to 100 percent. Keith Marshall is a heck of a talent at running back, but Gurley gives that offense a different dimension when he’s on the field.

Georgia also must continue to grow up on defense if the Bulldogs are going to have a chance to navigate their way to Pasadena. They’ve played 10 true freshmen on defense this season, and three are starters. Of the 22 players listed on their defensive two-deep, 16 are freshmen and sophomores.

So it’s not exactly a surprise that they’ve given up an average of 32.5 points per game, which ranks last in the SEC in scoring defense. To be fair, they’ve also played three top-10 foes.

The key will be how much that defense improves over the next month because the offense, as good as it’s been, can’t be expected to score 35-plus points every game.

But what else needs to happen for the Bulldogs to get to where they came within a tipped pass of potentially getting to last season and playing for the national title?

Here’s a quick checklist:

• They need to win out, and they probably need to do so impressively, particularly over the teams they’re expected to beat. Otherwise, some of the unbeaten teams behind them in the polls (Florida State, Louisville and Oklahoma) could easily pass them.
• Clemson has to lose somewhere along the way. There’s no way Georgia gets into the BCS National Championship Game over an unbeaten Clemson team, which opened the season with a 38-35 win over Georgia. The best chances for Clemson to go down (and no, Dabo, I didn’t say pull a Clemson) are Oct. 19 against Florida State at home, Oct. 26 at Maryland and Nov. 30 at South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won four straight over the Tigers.
• If Florida State were to beat Clemson, then Georgia would likely need the Seminoles to lose at some point. Florida State faces Maryland at home this weekend. Miami visits Tallahassee on Nov. 2, and Florida State closes the regular season on Nov. 30 with a trip to Florida.
• Oregon and Stanford play each other on Nov. 7, so one of those teams is going to have a loss. Both are currently ranked ahead of Georgia. An unbeaten Pac-12 champion would be a lock to fill one of the spots in the BCS National Championship Game.
• Having Ohio State stumble would also be helpful to the Bulldogs. The Buckeyes play at No. 16 Northwestern this weekend. If they get out of Evanston unscathed, it’s hard to see a loss on their schedule, although they do have to play at Michigan this season.
• The ideal scenario for Georgia would be for Alabama to win out and be No. 1 in the country heading into the SEC championship game. That way, Georgia would have a chance to score massive points with the voters in the two human polls (and with the computers) by taking down the Crimson Tide on that last weekend before the final BCS standings are released. It’s supposed to be your entire body of work that voters consider when casting their ballots, but last impressions always seem to carry a little extra weight with those final ballots.

In sum, there’s so much football remaining before we get to that first weekend in December that it’s impossible to predict who will still be standing in the national championship race. But if Georgia is indeed going to make a run as a one-loss team, UGA fans probably need to root against Clemson, against Ohio State and for Alabama … at least until the SEC championship game.

1. George DeLeone hired Paul Pasqualoni as an assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State in 1976, and the two have coached together for most of the seasons since, from Division III to FBS to the NFL. When UConn fired Pasqualoni on Monday after two-plus seasons as head coach, the school fired DeLeone, the associate head coach and offensive line coach, too. The Huskies are 0-4, scoring 18 points and gaining 272.5 yards of total offense per game. Pasqualoni has a solid record (151-94-1, .616) in 22 years as a head coach. Something tells me he and DeLeone aren’t done coaching -- together -- just yet.

2. Oregon has won its last 15 road conference games, the longest such FBS winning streak. The Ducks have won their last game at every Pac-12 opponent save Utah (in 2003, when Utes were in MWC. Does that count?) Alabama has won nine straight road SEC games. Stanford and Texas A&M each have won their last five road conference games. The Cardinal lost to Washington in 2012 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. However, with the victory at that stadium Saturday over Washington State, Stanford has won its last game at every opposing venue in the Pac-12.


3. Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds will announce today that he is retiring next August after 32 years. All Dodds, a former track coach, has done is transform Texas into the premier sports program in the nation. It took him three coaching hires to find Mack Brown, but 150 wins and one BCS championship in 16 seasons indicate Dodds got that one right. It’s a measure of the resources and the expectations that Dodds has raised that fans wonder why the Longhorns don’t dominate every sport in which they compete.

DeLoss Dodds is stepping down as athletic director of Texas. The effects of that decision on the future of the Longhorns athletic department will be far-reaching.

Dodds will formally announce Tuesday his plan to leave the job he has held for 32 years and step down as AD at the end of August, 2014. The search for his replacement is already underway and could end as early as Dec. 1.

Whoever is tapped to replace the Texas legend inherits one of the most powerful thrones in college athletics, and could face one of the most important transition periods in school history. We’ll get into that in a moment, though it’s a topic we’ll be talking about throughout the next year.

Dodds is a powerful man with a legacy to match. He made the Longhorns the financial behemoth it has become today and oversaw one of the greatest periods of athletic success in school history. Whoever is deemed fit to take his place has Texas-sized shoes to fill.

By setting these plans in motion nearly a year in advance, he’s providing UT more than enough time to make a smooth transition. That Dodds will stick around as a consultant should help, too. This is a major move and one that must be handled carefully.

Just imagine the résumés that will wind up on UT President Bill Powers’ desk during the search process. He’ll eventually pick from an elite group of candidates, and there’s no doubt he’ll be seeking a leader with the kind of big-picture thinking, sharp judgment and business savvy that Dodds displayed during his long tenure.

In its report breaking Monday’s news, the Austin American-Statesman said West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck is one candidate to keep an eye on. Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick’s name has come up plenty in recent weeks, and more major players will in the next few weeks.

The successor could face a critical dilemma whenever he or she is finally chosen. What will be done about the coaches of three of Texas’ most important programs?

Mack Brown knows he has to win and win big this year, and a 2-2 start didn’t make life any easier. The Texas football coach has long said he has a tremendous relationship with Dodds and Powers, who have backed him throughout a trying month for Longhorn football.

“I’ve got the two best bosses in the world,” Brown said days after Texas’ loss to BYU. “They get it. They understand. I have great conversations with them. They put me in a position to run it, they want me to do it, and I’m responsible for it. That’s what I’ve got to do. DeLoss has been around a long time. I don’t have knee-jerk bosses. They get it.”

Well, one of those bosses is now leaving. Who knows how much success in 2013 will be enough to impress the next boss, or whether Brown’s sub-.600 record since 2009 will simply be too much to overcome.

Will the next AD be prepared to clean house? He or she could face similar big-picture decisions with Longhorns men’s basketball and baseball.

The legendary Augie Garrido hasn’t taken UT to a College World Series in two years and didn’t make the Big 12 tournament in 2013. Rick Barnes hasn’t advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament since 2008 and didn’t make the field last season.

These are worst-case scenarios, to be sure, but not unrealistic ones. The candidates for Texas’ athletic director job will be well aware of these potential first-year decisions.

There are many other reasons why Texas must find the right person for the job. The truth is, there’s really no replacing Dodds. This day had to come eventually, though, and evidently the countdown to that day begins Tuesday.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach discusses Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion's six-touchdown game against Colorado.

All eyes are squarely focused on Oct. 19, when Florida State travels to Clemson in what everybody anticipates will be another battle between unbeaten top 10 teams with national championship aspirations.

But coaches always warn it is dangerous to look ahead. In this case, that mantra fits. The clichéd trap week is here, for both programs. Eighth-ranked Florida State must face an unbeaten Maryland team on Saturday in Tallahassee, while No. 3 Clemson travels to play its first game in the Carrier Dome against improving Syracuse.

Both teams should win, but as folks have learned across the ACC, there are never guarantees. Just last week, Florida State struggled at Boston College. And Clemson looked ragged the last time it went out on the road in a too-close-for-comfort win at NC State.

What makes this week perhaps more difficult for Clemson is preparing for the unknown. This is Syracuse’s ACC opener. Coaches are not nearly as versed in what Syracuse likes to do as they are with all the other ACC teams on their schedules. Playing in the Carrier Dome presents an X-factor as well.

“Typically when you’re looking up for passes, when you’re catching punts, when you’re catching kicks, all of those things it’s totally different when you’re inside because the lighting is over the top of you as opposed to off to the side and things like that,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “It is an adjustment as opposed to playing outside, which is what you do every single day in practice and most games.”

Swinney did note that playing in the Georgia Dome in the bowl game last season should help, along with having an indoor practice facility to help simulate conditions. But unlike the Georgia Dome, the Carrier Dome is smaller and the crowd is closer to the field. Plus, there is no air conditioning inside, causing hot and humid conditions early in the season.

Not only that, Syracuse has pulled a few upsets in the Dome over the last few seasons, completely shutting down the likes of Geno Smith and Teddy Bridgewater, widely regarded as among the best quarterbacks in the country when they played the Orange. Last year, Louisville came in unbeaten and ranked No. 9 in the nation. Syracuse won 45-26. In 2011, Syracuse beat No. 15 West Virginia just as badly, 49-23.

The architect behind those two defensive efforts was coordinator Scott Shafer, who is now the Syracuse head coach. Do you know how much pride he takes in those two victories? During his introductory news conference last January, he specifically mentioned the way the Orange proved their doubters wrong in those two games:

"West Virginia came in here a year ago,” he said then. “They were talking. We locked them in the dome and beat the hell out of them. Louisville this year when we played the unstoppable team and (we) didn't have a chance in hell to play against that team and our kids got after it and the crowd was rumbling in that Dome."

Swinney says his staff will study some tape from last year because four games from 2013 is not enough to evaluate tendencies and scheme. What Syracuse did to Louisville should be on that list. In addition, Swinney said he has gotten input from several coaches on staff who have either coached in the Dome or played in it. Unlike most weeks, his group might do a walk-through at the Carrier Dome when it arrives on Friday to get a better idea for the environment it will face Saturday afternoon.

Still, the focus all week will be on Clemson’s scheme and Clemson’s game plan, to make sure the Tigers have the type of consistent effort that led to a 56-7 win over Wake Forest.

“I think our guys will be excited about it,” Swinney said. “It’s a new place. I’ve never been there. I’m excited about going up there. I’ve seen Syracuse on TV a million times, but we look forward to getting up there. We’ve got to be a good road team. It doesn’t matter where you go, that’s just part of it. You've got to play well on the road. We've got one win under our belt on the road and we played OK. Hopefully we can go on this road trip and play a little better. That’ll be our objective.”