ESPN College Football

Here are the non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each conference:

C-USA

Offense: G.J. Kinne, QB, Tulsa. Kinne went 21-of-27 for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another in a 57-28 win over UTEP.

Defense: Sammy Brown, LB, Houston. Brown had 10 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and three sacks in a 37-7 win over SMU.

Special teams: Chris Boswell, K, Rice. Boswell made a pair of field goals that went over 50 yards in a 19-7 win over Tulane. His first field goal was a career-best 54-yarder, and he added a 51-yarder in the third quarter.

Independent

Offense: Jake Heaps, QB, BYU. Heaps returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Sept. 30 and led BYU to a 42-7 home win over New Mexico State, going 21-of-36 for 238 yards and a career high-tying four touchdowns.

Defense: Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame. Te'o had a team-high 12 tackles in a 16-14 win over Boston College. He added three quarterback hurries.

Special teams: David Ruffer, K, Notre Dame. Ruffer kicked field goals of 40, 41 and 27 yards against Boston College. He has made eight consecutive field goals dating back to a win over Purdue on Oct. 1, and has made 47 straight extra points.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Branden Oliver, RB, Buffalo. Oliver set the school FBS record with a career-high 235 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns in a 51-10 win over Akron. His performance broke the record set by James Starks (231 against Toledo in 2007).

Defense: Stephen Johnson, LB, Temple. Johnson had a career-high 16 tackles, including a career-best eight solo stops, in a 42-14 win over Army.

Special Teams: Matt Weller, K, Ohio. Weller kicked he game-winning field goal from 23 yards, giving Ohio a 29-28 victory over Bowling Green and the MAC East title. The game-winning field goal was his school record fifth in the game.

West Division

Offense: Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois. Harnish broke the school record for total offense in a game with 519 total yards in a 31-28 win over Ball State. His 519 yards of total offense is tied for third most by any player in FBS this season.

Defense: Drew Nowak, DL, Western Michigan. Nowak had a career-high 2.5 sacks and as many tackles for loss in a 24-21 win at Miami. Nowak leads the team with 15 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks on the season.

Special Teams: Demarius Reed, KR, Eastern Michigan. Reed returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown at Kent State for the first time in his career. It was the longest return by an Eastern Michigan player since 2002. Additionally, Reed’s return surpassed the entire season punt return yards total for any player during the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 season.

Mountain West

Offense: Brett Smith, QB, Wyoming. Smith accounted for 352 of his team’s 462 yards of total offense in a 31-10 victory over New Mexico. He had a career-high 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and threw for 212 yards and a touchdown.

Defense: Tank Carder, LB, TCU. Carder returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown and tied a season-high with nine tackles (one for loss) in a 34-10 win over Colorado State.

Special teams: Ross Evans, K, TCU. Evans accounted for 10 points (four extra points, two field goals) in a 34-10 victory against Colorado State. His two field goals of 21 and 46 yards gave him 55 for his career, moving him past BYU’s Matt Payne (54, 2001-04) into second place on the conference career chart.

Sun Belt

Offense: Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky. Rainey rushed for a season-high 214 yards and a touchdown against North Texas, helping the Hilltoppers become bowl eligible. He also caught four passes for 48 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown reception to finish with 262 all-purpose yards.

Defense: Jonathan Cyprien, S, FIU. Cyprien had nine tackles, five of them unassisted, and one interception return for a touchdown in a 28-17 win over ULM.

Special teams: Luther Ambrose, KR, ULM. Ambrose had a 98-yard kickoff return for touchdown against FIU, moving into second place in Sun Belt history with his third career kickoff return for a touchdown.

WAC

Offense: Robert Turbin, RB, Utah State. Turbin ran for a career-high 208 yards and three touchdowns in Utah State’s 49-42 double overtime win at Idaho. Two of his touchdown runs came in the overtime periods and the other was on an 80-yard run in the second quarter.

Defense: Adrien Cole, LB, Louisiana Tech. Recorded a career-high 17 tackles (15 solo) in a 24-20 win at Nevada, ending the Wolf Pack’s 16-game home winning streak.

Special teams: Jens Alvernik, K, San Jose State. Alvernik hit two field goals from 44 and 23 yards to help San Jose State beat Navy, 27-24. He now has 16 field goals on the season, tying the school record.

Here are the non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each conference.

C-USA

Offense: Charles Sims, RB, Houston. Sims rushed for a career-high 207 yards on only 10 carries with two touchdowns to lead Houston to a 73-17 win at Tulane. He had 252 all-purpose yards in the game.

Defense: Shawn Jackson, LB, Tulsa. Jackson had nine total tackles, including eight solos and three tackles for loss, and added one pass breakup in a 59-17 win against Marshall.

Special Teams: Danny Hrapmann, K, Southern Miss. Hrapmann tied his own school and Conference USA records by making five field goals in a 30-29 win against UCF.

Independent

Offense: Tommy Rees, QB, Notre Dame. Rees set a season high for completions with 30 in a 45-21 win against Maryland. Rees completed 30-of-38 pass attempts for 296 yards and two touchdowns, his 18th and 19th passing touchdowns of the season.

Co-Defense: Thomas Holloway, DB, Army. Jabaree Tuani, DE, Navy. Holloway set a career high with 14 tackles in a 27-12 loss to Rutgers. He also got his first career interception. Tuani had four tackles and a sack in a win against SMU.

Special teams: David Ruffer, PK, Notre Dame. Ruffer made a career-long 52-yard field goal against Maryland.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Matt Brown, RB, Temple. Brown made his first start of the season and rushed 24 times for 123 yards and a touchdown in a 24-21 win against Miami (Ohio).

Defense: Roosevelt Nix, DT, Kent State. Nix tied a career-high with six tackles in a 35-3 win against Akron. Nix helped his defense hold Akron to just 58 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

Special Teams: Paul Hershey, P, Ohio. Hershey had five punts for 205 yards, including a 51-yard punt in a win over Central Michigan. He had four go inside the 20.

West Division

Co-Offense: Alex Carder, QB, Jordan White, WR, Western Michigan. Carder threw for a program record 548 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for another in a 66-63 loss at Toledo. The yardage total ranks second all-time in MAC history and his passing TD total is tied for the most in conference history. White had 238 yards receiving and became the school leader in career receiving yards leader (3,678), single-season receptions (111) and single-season receiving yards (1,402).

Defense: Brad Ohrman, DL, Eastern Michigan. Ohrman had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack in a 30-17 victory over Buffalo.

Special Teams: John Potter, K, Western Michigan. Potter made a career high nine extra points at Toledo. Potter became the MAC's record holder for consecutive PATs made with 114.

Mountain West

Offense: Casey Pachall, QB, TCU. Pachall went 24-of-37 for a career-high 473 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-35 win at Boise State. The five touchdown passes tied a TCU single-game record, while his 473 yards marked the second-highest single-game total in school history.

Co-Defense: Carmen Messina, LB, New Mexico. Nat Berhe, DB, San Diego State. Messina had his fifth straight double-digit tackle performance with 14 stops in a 21-14 victory against UNLV -- the first of the season for the Lobos. He also forced a fumble. Berhe tied a team-high with six tackles, forced a fumble and also had an interception in San Diego State’s 18-15 win at Colorado State.

Special teams: Anson Kelton, P, TCU. Kelton averaged 45.8 yards on four punts in a 36-35 win at Boise State.

Sun Belt

Offense: Derek Thompson, QB, North Texas. Thompson set a North Texas single-game record by completing 82 percent of his passes – going 31-of-38 -- to lead North Texas to its first win ever at Troy. He completed 17 consecutive passes in the game and threw for 331 yards.

Defense: Brandon Joiner, DL, Arkansas State. Joiner tied a school and conference record with four sacks, and he also tied his career high with a team-best eight tackles in a 30-21 victory against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Special teams: T.Y. Hilton, KR, FIU. Hilton returned a punt 97 yards for touchdown in a win over FAU. The punt return is the longest in FIU history.

WAC

Offense: Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada. Fajardo accounted for 371 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-28 win against Hawaii. He completed 25-of-36 passes for 290 yards and a career-high three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed 19 times for 81 yards including a 25-yard touchdown run in the second half.

Defense: IK Enemkpali, DE, Louisiana Tech. Had six tackles, including 3.5 for a loss of 18 yards, in the 27-7 win at Mississippi. Enemkpali had a sack for a loss of seven yards and also forced a fumble.

Special teams: Taveon Rogers, KR, New Mexico State. Rogers returned eight kickoffs for a career-best 246 yards -- including a 99-yard return for a touchdown -- in a 48-45 win against Fresno State. He had a school-record 412 all-purpose yards in the game.

Here are your non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each conference. The independent players are selected by a national media panel.

C-USA

Offense: Dominique Davis, QB, East Carolina. Davis set an NCAA single-game record with 26 straight completions to open the game in a 38-34 win at Navy. He finished the game 40-of-45 for 372 yards with two touchdowns. His completion percentage of 88.9 was a school record.

Defense: Marques Wheaton, DB, Southern Miss. Wheaton recorded five tackles (four solos), a pass breakup and two fourth-quarter interceptions in Southern Miss’ 27-3 win over SMU. He returned one of his interceptions 41 yards for a score.

Special teams: Ty Long, K, UAB. Long, a true freshman, made the game-winning 40-yarder with 21 seconds remaining in a 26-24 win over UCF.

Independent

Offense: Riley Nelson, QB, BYU. Nelson led six touchdown drives in seven series before leaving the game early in the third quarter in a 56-3 win over Idaho State. Nelson completed 11 of 17 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns, and added 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Co-defense: Geoffrey Bacon, LB, Army. Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU. Bacon returned his first career interception 70 yards for a touchdown in a 44-21 loss at Vanderbilt. Making his first career start, Bacon added a pass break-up, and he matched his season tally with a career-high 13 tackles, including a half tackle for loss. Van Noy had two sacks, three quarterback hurries and a blocked punt.

Special teams: George Atkinson III, KR, Notre Dame. Atkinson had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 31-17 loss to USC. He tallied 178 yards on five kickoff returns.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Chazz Anderson, QB, Buffalo. Accounted for 460 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in a 31-30 loss to Northern Illinois. Anderson completed a school record 35 passes on 53 attempts for 406 yards and three touchdowns, including one with just 14 seconds left in regulation that pulled Buffalo to within one before a missed extra point made the difference.

Defense: Chris Jones, DT, Bowling Green. Jones had six tackles, three sacks and one quarterback hurry in a 13-10 win over Temple.

Special teams: Matt Weller, K, Ohio. Went 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts, connecting from 24, 27 and 23 yards in a 37-20 win at Akron.

West Division

Offense: Javonti Greene, RB, Eastern Michigan. Greene caught a 50-yard pass from Alex Gillett in the first quarter and scored on a 50-yard run midway through the fourth quarter for the two Eastern Michigan touchdowns in a 14-10 victory over Western Michigan.

Defense: Desmond Marrow, DB, Toledo. Marrow led Toledo with six tackles and tied his career high with two interceptions in a 49-28 win over Miami.

Special Teams:Jamill Smith, KR, Ball State. Returned the opening kickoff for a career-high 48 yards in the Cardinals' 17-point second half comeback victory, a 31-27 win over Central Michigan. Smith led all returners for both teams with four kickoff returns for a total of 135 yards.

Mountain West

Offense: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State. Moore completed 23-of-29 passes for 281 yards in a 37-26 win over Air Force. Moore tied former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy for the most career wins (45) in NCAA history.

Defense:Byron Hout, LB, Boise State. Hout had a career-high 18 tackles against Air Force, including eight unassisted stops and a half tackle for loss.

Special teams:Antonio Graves, WR, TCU. Graves scored his first collegiate touchdown when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone in a 69-0 win over New Mexico. He also forced a fumble on a kickoff return.

Sun Belt

Offense:Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky. Rainey rushed for 206 yards and a career-high three touchdowns as the Hilltoppers won their first home game since 2008 with a 42-23 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Defense:Eric Russell, DB, Middle Tennessee. Russell had six tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception in a win over FAU.

Special Teams:Luther Ambrose, KR, ULM. Ambrose became ULM's all-time leader in kickoff return yards and he did it in style, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards at North Texas. He finished with 148 yards on three returns.

WAC

Offense: Mike Ball, RB, Nevada. Ball rushed for a career-high 198 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and added two catches for 18 yards and another score in a 45-38 win over Fresno State.

Defense: Adrien Cole, LB, Louisiana Tech. Cole had 14 tackles (9 solo), including two for a loss, and broke up a pass in a 24-17 win at Utah State.

Special teams: Ryan Allen, P, Louisiana Tech. Allen averaged 52.2 yards on eight punts in the win at Utah State. Seven of them were downed inside the 20-yard line.

1. The computer ratings will be more accurate as they receive more data, which explains why there is such a discrepancy of opinion between voters and software when it comes to Wisconsin (voters 4th, computers 11th), Oklahoma State (6/1) and Kansas State (12/7). It’s clear that the computers love the Big 12. It’s clear that the voters weigh margin of victory, at least in the case of the Badgers. All the computers measure is Wisconsin’s lack of competition.

2. The Heisman Trophy is the near-exclusive property of quarterbacks and running backs, and you can scratch the latter. After injuries to Oregon’s LaMichael James (elbow) and South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore (knee) on the past two Saturdays, Alabama’s Trent Richardson is the last rusher with the production and profile to remain in the discussion. On Nov. 5, Richardson will take the national stage against the only other non-quarterback who’s gotten any Heisman notice, LSU corner Tyrann Mathieu.

3. You may quibble that Eastern Michigan’s 4-3 record includes two victories over FCS schools (Howard, Alabama State). You may argue that the Eagles’ average margin of defeat, 31.3 points, is a truer measure of their ability. But after the 35-28 defeat of Central Michigan, and with the next three games at home, Ron English’s team has a great chance to win at least five games. That hasn’t happened since 1995 (6-5). English, the former defensive coordinator right up the road at Michigan, is making progress in his third year.

Matthew McGloin threw three touchdowns and the Penn State Nittany Lions welcomed coach Joe Paterno back to the sideline with a 34-6 win over the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

Here are the non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each league. The independent players are picked by a national panel.

C-USA

Offense: Patrick Edwards, WR, Houston. Edwards had eight catches for a career-best 187 yards and a touchdown in a win against North Texas. He also extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 36.

Defense: Marshall's George Carpenter, LB, and SMU linebacker Ja’Gared Davis share the honors. Carpenter recorded a game-high 13 tackles in a 26-20 win against Southern Miss. He also posted two tackles for loss, including one sack, forced one fumble and recovered two fumbles. Davis had eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, three pass break-ups and one touchdown in a win against UTEP.

Special Teams:Kase Whitehead, P, Marshall. Averaged 42.5 yards on eight punts, and backed up the Golden Eagles offense inside the 8-yard line on five of those eight kicks.

Independent

Offense: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame. Had 13 receptions for 159 yards in a 35-31 loss at Michigan.

Defense: Matt Warrick, LB, Navy. Recorded a team-high 12 tackles, a fumble recovery and pass breakup in a 40-14 win at Western Kentucky.

Special teams: Justin Sorensen, PK, BYU. Made field goals of 30, 33 and 32 yards, while making his lone PAT attempt in a 17-16 loss at Texas.

MAC
East Division

Offense: Eugene Cooper, WR, Bowling Green. Had career-highs in catches (6), yards (134) and touchdowns (4) in the Falcons’ 58-13 win against Morgan State. His four receiving touchdowns tied a school record for touchdown catches in a single game.

Defense: Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo. Had a team-best eight tackles (four solos), 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles, an interception and three quarterback hurries against Stony Brook.

Special Teams: Matt Weller, K, Ohio. Was 3-of-4 on field goals and a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points against Gardner-Webb.

West Division
Offense: Eric Page, WR, Toledo. Caught 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in Toledo's 27-22 loss at Ohio State. Page has now caught a touchdown pass in seven of the past eight games.

Defense: Marcus English, LB, Eastern Michigan. Posted a team-best 10 tackles in a 14-7 win against Alabama State. English added 3.5 tackles for a loss and one sack.

Special Teams: John Potter, K, Western Michigan. Made all five extra point attempts, extending his Western Michigan career record for consecutive PATs made streak to 78 straight.

MWC

Offense: Casey Pachall, QB, TCU. Completed 20-of-25 passes for 206 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, leading No. 25 TCU to a 35-19 win against host Air Force.

Defense: Jerome Long, DT, San Diego State. Recorded the first double-digit tackle game of his career, finishing with 10 stops (seven solo) and a sack in a 23-20 win at Army.

Special teams: Brian Stahovich, P, San Diego State. Put four of his five punts inside the 20-yard line and recorded a pair of kicks exceeding 50 yards in the Aztecs’ 23-20 win at Army.

Sun Belt

Offense: T.Y. Hilton, WR, FIU. Had a school-record 201 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 24-17 win against Louisville. For his efforts, Hilton was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week.

Defense: Winston Fraser, LB, FIU. Had eight tackles, six of them unassisted, and a 71-yard interception return for touchdown.

Special Teams: Brelan Chancellor, KR, North Texas. Broke two school records against Houston, setting the mark for all-purpose yardage and kickoff return yards. Chancellor had 286 yards on nine kickoff returns and 332 all-purpose yards.

WAC

Offense: Andrew Manley, QB, New Mexico State. Was 20-of-31 for 288 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 win at Minnesota.

Defense: Jonte Green, DB, New Mexico State. Led the Aggies with 10 solo tackles in the win against Minnesota. He also forced a fumble and broke up a pass while recording his second double-digit tackle game of his career.

Special teams: Devin Wylie, PR, Fresno State. Returned five punts for 110 yards, including a 67-yard return for a touchdown, in a loss at Nebraska. It was the first punt return for a touchdown against the Cornhuskers since 2001 and the first for the Bulldogs in almost two years.

This summer, I am going to be profiling coaches and players who have done something cool during their time off, whether it is an interesting internship or job or a daredevil feat. This is the first in a series entitled: "Summer vacation."

Eastern Michigan coach Ron English had no interest when he was first asked to skydive with the U.S. Army Golden Knights.

Scott Schultz, the school's assistant director of marketing, approached English with the idea in May. But skydiving never really appealed to English. "It wasn't on my bucket list," English said in a phone interview Friday. Schultz worked hard to convince English he should do it. "How many other head coaches can say they have done this?" Schultz asked English.

English finally changed his mind, intrigued by the opportunity. He would be doing it for a good cause, too. The Golden Knights are an elite U.S. Army parachuting team, and English would be helping to publicize the group with his jump. So he, associate athletic director Doug Dowdy and several other Eastern Michigan representatives decided to take the plunge.

On Wednesday, English arrived at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Mich., and got a brief training session. No nerves then. He boarded the little prop plane and they went up in the air, all the way to 13,500 feet. No nerves then. The prop plane was as steady as can be, despite the chop in the air. But once it came time for English to jump out of the plane with his tandem partner, he got a little nervous.

"Then right after we jumped, it was a thrilling rush ... the feeling of the air, it was just awesome," English said.

They jumped over Lake Erie and free fell for about a minute. His parachute opened at about 5,000 feet, and his partner let him turn and steer as they made it down. It was windy that day, so they decided it would be easiest to land standing up. So English put his legs so his body formed an L-shape, and he stuck the landing perfectly. The jump lasted all of five minutes.

English was actually the second coach to skydive this week. West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen also teamed with the Golden Knights in West Virginia. Holgorsen had a rougher landing but had a blast as well. But skydiving was always something Holgorsen wanted to do.

Even though English resisted the idea at first, he was thrilled he had the opportunity.

"After the experience, it deepened my appreciation for our Armed Services," English said. "These guys are the best in the world."

Would he do it again?

"I wanted to go right back up after it was over," he said.

Every year, there are coaches that land on the hot seat. So who are the non-AQ coaches who have to win in 2011? I have compiled a brief list. The no-brainer choice at the top of the list is New Mexico coach Mike Locksley, who goes into his third season having won two games and lost 22 with the Lobos.

Many thought he was on the hot seat last season, too. But the problem is he has a large buyout that New Mexico cannot afford to pay. According to local reports, it would have cost the program $1.4 million to fire him after last season. It would cost $1 million to fire him in 2011. So he may actually be safe if he has another bad season, unless New Mexico can find some serious cash.

I would put UAB coach Neil Callaway and Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild at the top of this list. Callaway goes into his fifth season at the school and has now been given plenty of time to get his players in to try and get into a bowl for just the second time in school history. He is 15-33 in four seasons and the Blazers went 4-8 last season. With 16 returning starters, including quarterback Bryan Ellis and running back Pat Shed, this could be bowl game or bust season for Callaway.

As for Fairchild, he took his team to a bowl game in his first season in 2008, but his teams have now posted back-to-back 3-9 seasons. The Rams also return 15 starters, including quarterback Pete Thomas. The Rams should be favored in four of their five nonconference games (Utah State, San Jose State, Northern Colorado, UTEP) so expectations will be high to return to a bowl.

Ron English also has gone 2-22 in his first two seasons. His team showed vast improvement last season over 2009. If that continues in 2011, he should be safe even with a losing record. But there are going to have to be more Ws in the win column. Bob Toledo is 12-37 in four seasons at Tulane

Colleague Ivan Maisel has a great breakdown of the MAC nonconference schedules Tuesday in his "3-point stance." We must have telepathy because I planned to put out the complete list of schedules today. Maisel points out:

-- Of the 29 games against the AQ conferences, 24 are on the road and one is at a neutral site (Wisconsin vs. Northern Illinois at Soldier Field).

-- MAC teams play 11 games against the Big Ten and nine against the Big East, which just may be for a leg up. Last year, I wrote about the MAC vs. Big Ten games, which are played every year. They may be for big paychecks, but the MAC has been able to win at least one of those games in each of the last three seasons.

Now here are the schedules by team:

Akron
Sept. 3 – at Ohio State
Sept. 10 – FIU
Sept. 17 – at Cincinnati
Sept. 24 – VMI

Ball State
Sept. 3 – Indiana
Sept. 10 – at USF
Sept. 24 – Army
Oct. 1 – at Oklahoma

Bowling Green
Sept. 3 – at Idaho
Sept. 10 – Morgan State
Sept. 17 – Wyoming
Oct. 1 – at West Virginia

Buffalo
Sept. 3 – at Pittsburgh
Sept. 10 – Stony Brook
Sept. 24 – UConn
Oct. 1 – at Tennessee

Central Michigan
Sept. 1 - South Carolina State
Sept. 10 - at Kentucky
Sept. 24 - at Michigan State
Oct. 8 - at North Carolina State

Eastern Michigan
Sept. 3 – Howard
Sept. 10 – Alabama State
Sept. 17 – at Michigan
Sept. 24 – at Penn State

Kent State
Sept. 3 – at Alabama
Sept. 10 – Louisiana
Sept. 17 – at Kansas State
Sept. 24 – South Alabama

Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 3 – at Missouri
Sept. 17 – at Minnesota
Oct. 1 – Cincinnati
Oct. 8 – Army

Northern Illinois
Sept. 3 – Army
Sept. 10 – at Kansas
Sept. 17 – Wisconsin (at Soldier Field, Chicago)
Sept. 24 – Cal Poly

Ohio
Sept. 3 – at New Mexico State
Sept. 10 – Gardner-Webb
Sept. 17 – Marshall
Sept. 24 – at Rutgers

Temple
Sept. 3 – Villanova
Sept. 17 – Penn State
Sept. 24 – at Maryland
Nov. 19 – Army

Toledo
Sept. 1 – New Hampshire
Sept. 10 – at Ohio State
Sept. 17 – Boise State
Sept. 24 – at Syracuse

Western Michigan
Sept. 3 – at Michigan
Sept. 10 – Nicholls State
Sept. 24 – at Illinois
Oct. 1 – at UConn

Once again, USA Today has come out with its exhaustive database of salaries for head coaches and assistant coaches on the FBS level. Not surprisingly, the salaries for assistants continue to rise. The newspaper found that assistants making $250,000 or more is up from at least 106 last year to 132 this season.

Also unsurprisingly, 51 of those assistants are in the SEC. Only three of the 132 are among non-AQs teams.

A quick gander of the assistant coaches pay chart reveals the programs that pay the most are in the six automatic-qualifying conferences. That stands to reason, considering the money is concentrated among those schools. Here are the top earners from the non-AQs. Keep in mind USA Today was able to get numbers from 110 of 120 FBS schools. Not included are private schools TCU, BYU, Rice, SMU, Tulane and Temple. Hawaii also is not included:

Ivin Jasper, Navy offensive coordinator, $344,836*

Bryan Harsin, Boise State offensive coordinator, $259,520**

Pete Kwiatkowski, Boise State defensive coordinator, $259,520**

Paul Randolph, Tulsa executive senior associate coach/co-defensive coordinator, $242,680**

Bob Gregory, Boise State linebackers coach, $220,000**

Phil Snow, Eastern Michigan defensive coordinator, $212,000

Rocky Long, San Diego State defensive coordinator, $205,008

Al Borges, San Diego State offensive coordinator, $205,000

Larry Kerr, Colorado State assistant head coach/defensive coordinator, $200,000**

The highest-paid assistants in the Sun Belt are FIU defensive coordinator Geoff Collins and offensive coordinator Scott Satterfield, who both earn $146,969.

*Jasper's salary is from 2008 and taken from the Naval Academy Athletic Association's IRS 990 form. This is his total salary, including bonuses.

**Salary does included statement of outside income

As for head coaches, SMU coach June Jones is the highest paid of the non-AQs, earning $2.142 million. TCU coach Gary Patterson is next ($1.642 million), followed by Boise State coach Chris Petersen ($1.5 million).

Here is a quick update on where the MAC and Conference USA championship games stand after Friday:

Miami (Ohio) is headed to the MAC title game to play Northern Illinois after Ohio lost to Kent State 28-6 on Friday. The favored Bobcats (8-4, 6-2) stumbled badly on offense, totaling just 183 yards while posting four turnovers. Kent State racked up seven sacks as well. It was the final game for Kent State coach Doug Martin, who announced his resignation this week. Miami (8-4, 7-1) makes its first MAC title game appearance since 2007, and will attempt to become the third school in MAC history to go from worst to first in the 64-year history of the conference.

Miami was 1-11 last season, including 1-7 in league play. The RedHawks have posted the best turnaround in the country and in MAC history, with a plus-seven win improvement.

Northern Illinois clinched last week, but the Huskies posted a 71-3 win against Eastern Michigan on Friday. The Huskies (10-2, 8-0) won 10 games for just the fourth time in school history and completed the first perfect league season in school history. Northern Illinois ran for 544 yards, the second most in school history, and has won nine straight. The Huskies and RedHawks did not play during the season.

Meanwhile, SMU clinched the West Division and a spot in the C-USA title game with a 45-38 overtime win against East Carolina. The Mustangs are making their first appearance in the game. They will play UCF in Orlando. The Knights clinched the East when Tulsa beat Southern Miss 56-50 Friday night. Zach Line scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime for SMU, helping the Mustangs hold on after blowing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit with five minutes to play in the game.

The last time SMU won a league title was in 1984, as co-champs of the Southwest Conference. SMU (7-5, 6-2) and UCF did not play this season.

Here are the non-AQ Players of the Week, as selected by each conference:

Conference USA

Offense:Southern Miss QB Austin Davis. Threw for 293 yards on 24-of-31 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions and added his second career 100-yard rushing performance with 111 yards on 17 carries and four rushing TDs in a 59-41 win over Houston.

Defense:SMU DB Richard Crawford. Had two interceptions and six tackles in a win over Marshall. The two picks were the most for any SMU player in 23 games.

Special teams:UCF KR Quincy McDuffie. Returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in a 61-14 win over Tulane. It was his second kickoff return for a touchdown this year.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Ohio RB Vince Davidson. Had 100 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in a 31-23 win over Temple.

Defense: Miami DB Brandon Stephens. Had a season-high nine tackles in a 19-14 win at Akron. Stephens nine tackles were all solo and marked the first time this season he led the club in tackles.

Special Teams: Bowling Green PR Eugene Cooper. Had a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 33-14 loss at Toledo on Nov. 17. It was Cooper's second punt return for a score this season.

West Division

Offense: Eastern Michigan RB Dwayne Priest. Ran for a career-high 192 yards on 35 carries and had three touchdowns in a 21-17 win at Buffalo.

Defense: Western Michigan DB Jamail Berry. Played in his third different position on an injury depleted defense and racked up a career-high 17 tackles in a 38-3 win over Kent State.

Special Teams: Northern Illinois LB Jordan Delegal. Blocked two punts in a 59-21 win at Ball State and the Huskies set a school record with three blocked punts in the game.

Mountain West

Offense:Wyoming RB Alvester Alexander. Had 147 rushing yards and a school-record five touchdowns on 23 carries in a 44-0 victory over Colorado State.

Defense:Wyoming DE Josh Biezuns. Had a career-high 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in the win over Colorado State.

Special teams: Utah P/K Joe Phillips. Handled kicking, punting and kickoff duties in a 38-34 victory at San Diego State. Phillips made a 32-yard field goal and five extra points. In his collegiate debut as punter, he averaged 35 yards per punt, landing four of his five attempts inside the 20.

Sun Belt

Offense:ULM QB Kolton Browning. Tied the school record with five touchdown passes in a 49-37 victory over North Texas. Browning completed 18-of-23 passes for 247 yards and also ran for 73 yards on 16 carries.

Defense: Middle Tennessee DB Rod Issac. Western Kentucky led 26-13 and had the ball at the Blue Raiders 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal when Issac picked up a fumble and went 99 yards for a touchdown, matching the longest fumble return in school history. Middle Tennessee won 27-26.

Special teams:Western Kentucky LB Bar'ee Boyd. Had two blocked punts against Middle Tennessee, the first blocks for the Hilltoppers in over two years. His second block was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

WAC

Offense:Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz. Threw for a school record 560 yards on 32-of-44 passing and three touchdowns in a 41-7 win over San Jose State. He also moved into third place on the school’s all-time passing list with 6,330 yards.

Defense: Hawaii LB Aaron Brown. Made five tackles, including one for a loss, and made his first two career interceptions in the win over San Jose State. He returned the first interception 22 yards for a touchdown.

Special teams:Boise State K Kyle Brotzman. Made all three of his field goal attempts (20, 20 and 50) and all six extra points in a 51-0 win over Fresno State. He broke the Boise State school record in scoring and now has 418 points in his career.

Time for a few helmet stickers for Week 12:

Boise State defense. In a word: stifling. The Broncos shut down Fresno State 51-0 on Friday night, handing the Bulldogs their first shutout since 1998. Fresno State had just nine first downs and 125 total yards. The Bulldogs didn't get their first yards of the second half until the fourth quarter. Boise State also had four sacks and got three turnovers.

Tulsa KR Damaris Johnson. Became the NCAA record-holder for career kickoff return yardage with 87 in a 31-28 win over UTEP. Johnson, a junior, now has 3,202 career kickoff return yards, breaking the old mark of 3,118 yards set by Western Michigan’s Brandon West from 2006-09. His second return of the day went 62 yards and set up the game-winning touchdown. He ended with 280 all-purpose yards. Other C-USA mentions: SMU RB Zach Line had a career-high 202 yards rushing in a 31-17 win over Marshall. ... Southern Miss QB Austin Davis had 396 total yards and six touchdowns in a 59-41 win over Houston. ... Memphis LB Jamon Hughes with 17 tackles in a loss to UAB.

ULM QB Kolton Browning. Tied the school record with five touchdown passes in a 49-37 victory over North Texas. Browning completed 18 of 23 passes for 247 yards, and also ran for 73 yards on 16 carries. Browning moved into third place on the ULM single-season completions list with 217 and needs just one to move into second; he also moved into a tie for sixth place on the ULM single-season touchdown passes list with 17 and ninth on the single-season passing yardage list with 2,388 yards. Other Sun Belt mention: FIU defense had seven sacks and three turnovers in a 38-17 win over Louisiana.

Northern Illinois special teams. The Huskies blocked a school record three punts in a 59-21 win over Ball State that clinched the MAC West. Jordan Delegal had two blocks -- one was returned for a touchdown by Jimmie Ward. The other set up a touchdown by Chad Spann, who had three on the day. Ricky Crider had the other blocked punt. Another MAC mention: Eastern Michigan RB Dwayne Priest had a career-high 192 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-17 win over Buffalo. ... Brian Fields and Tevin Drake each had 100 yards rushing for Western Michigan.

Navy QB Ricky Dobbs. Had 308 total yards with four touchdowns in a 35-19 win over Arkansas State. He also set an NCAA record for running touchdowns by a quarterback in consecutive seasons with 40.

Wyoming RB Alvester Alexander. Ran for a school-record five touchdowns and 147 yards in a 44-0 win over Colorado State, the first time the Cowboys won consecutive Border War games since 1991-92. His 14 rushing touchdowns this season also sets a new single-season school record, breaking the old mark of 13, held by Gerald Abraham in 1987 and Jim Crawford in 1956.

We are running out of weekends for teams to become bowl eligible. Here is a look at where teams stand in the nonautomatic-qualifying conferences.

Conference USA

Already eligible: UCF, Tulsa, Southern Miss, UTEP, East Carolina.

Vying for a spot: SMU and Houston are each 5-5. After a bye, the Mustangs return to host Marshall before closing the season at East Carolina. If they win out, they win the West. Meanwhile, Houston is in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since 2004 after dropping its second straight game. The Cougars have two toughies left -- at Southern Miss and at Texas Tech. Freshman quarterback David Piland threw five interceptions last week in a loss to Tulsa, but coach Kevin Sumlin is sticking with him.

On the other end of the spectrum: Tulane (4-6) and Marshall (4-6) have to win out. UAB, Rice and Memphis have been eliminated.

Guaranteed bowl spots: Six.

MAC

Already eligible: Temple, Toledo, Ohio, Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio).

Vying for a spot: Kent State and Western Michigan are both 4-6 and play this weekend in Kalamazoo with bowl hopes on the line. Whoever loses is eliminated from contention. Kent State closes with Ohio, while Western Michigan closes at Bowling Green.

On the other end of the spectrum: Buffalo, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Akron, Eastern Michigan and Ball State are out.

Guaranteed bowl spots: Three.

Mountain West

Already eligible: TCU, San Diego State, Air Force, Utah.

Vying for a spot: BYU (5-5) hosts New Mexico with a chance to become bowl eligible. The turnaround has been remarkably gratifying for coach Bronco Mendenhall, whose team was 2-5 after a loss at TCU on Oct. 16. Since then, his team has found its confidence and an offense. It has outscored opponents 104-17 in the last two games.

On the other end of the spectrum: Colorado State, Wyoming, UNLV and New Mexico have been eliminated.

Guaranteed bowl spots: Five.

Sun Belt

Already eligible: No one.

Vying for a spot: Troy (5-4) is stuck on five wins after losing to FIU last week for the first time ever. A win over South Carolina, Western Kentucky or FAU would get the Trojans bowl eligible for the third straight season.

FIU and FAU are each 4-5, but the Owls have a difficult stretch of games at Texas, Middle Tennessee and home to Troy. FIU has some tough ones, too: at Louisiana, then home to Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee. If the Panthers win out, they win the Sun Belt. ULM (4-6), Arkansas State (4-6) and Middle Tennessee (3-6) have to win out. The Red Wolves are at Navy and FIU; Middle Tennessee is at Western Kentucky, home to FAU and at FIU; ULM has North Texas and Louisiana.

On the other end of the spectrum: North Texas, Louisiana and Western Kentucky have been eliminated.

Guaranteed bowl spots: Two.

WAC

Already eligible: Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada, Fresno State. Hawaii has accepted an invite to the Hawaii Bowl.

Vying for a spot: Louisiana Tech, Idaho and Utah State are each 4-6 and face a difficult road to become bowl eligible. Utah State has to win out over Idaho and Boise State; Louisiana Tech has to win out over San Jose State and Nevada; while Idaho needs to win out over Utah State, Fresno State and San Jose State. The Vandals need seven wins because they have a 13-game schedule this season.

On the other end of the spectrum: New Mexico State and San Jose State have been eliminated.

Guaranteed bowl spots: Four.

Independents

Navy (7-3) and Army (6-4) are bowl eligible. Navy will head to the Poinsettia Bowl. Army is eligible for the first time since 1996. Though the Black Knights don’t have an automatic bowl tie-in this year, they have backup agreements with the Armed Forces Bowl and Military Bowl. Notre Dame (5-5) needs one more win with games remaining against Army and USC.

I'm not surprised Ohio State has scored 38 points in the first half.

I'm somewhat surprised the Buckeyes have allowed 14.

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is having another huge day, both with his arm and his feet, as Ohio State leads Eastern Michigan 38-14 at halftime. Pryor had a seemingly effortless 53-yard touchdown run to put the Buckeyes on the board. He also has hooked up with receiver Dane Sanzenbacher eight times for 100 yards and three scores. Junior wideout DeVier Posey gets most of the attention for the Buckeyes, but Sanzenbacher is having an outstanding season so far. I'm guessing Ohio State would like to get its running backs going a little bit more in the second half.

Ohio State's defense has shut down the Eastern Michigan run game, but Eagles quarterback Alex Gillett is finding some room to pass the ball. Gillett has one touchdown pass and set up another.

I can't imagine Jim Heacock is too pleased right now.