20. A Soapbox Moment
Sure, we've taken a few shots at Penn State this year and with good reason. In their losses against Miami and Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions looked as if they'd been introduced to each other just before the coin toss. They were outscored, 51-13, and played so poorly you wanted to take the S out of PSU.

Then came Saturday's loss to Iowa and the very real possibility that Penn State could be 0-8 when it faces Indiana Nov. 17th at State College. That would obviously mean a second consecutive losing season and another home-for-the-holidays postseason for the Nittany Lions -- almost unheard of during the 36-year Joe Paterno Era.

As for Bear Bryant's all-time victories record, there's a decent chance that Florida State's Bobby Bowden might reach the 323 win mark before JoePa does. Paterno is stuck on 322, while Bowden is at 318 with his latest win against Wake Forest.

So now comes more carping about Paterno. He's too old. The game has passed him by. He can't recruit. Players can't relate to him. Blah, blah, blah.

Bowden will be 72 in November and nobody is telling him to leave. He won a national championship when he was 70.

Lou Holtz looks older than Paterno and Bowden, but that didn't stop South Carolina from hiring him. Holtz turns 64 in January.

Meanwhile, Paterno is 74 going on 54. He has more hair than me and my younger brother, and has forgotten more about football than any of his critics have ever known. Watch him on the sideline. For someone who supposedly has lost his knack for the game, Paterno sure looks like he'd to grab a helmet, get into a three-point stance and whale on someone.

Can't recruit? Well, yeah, it didn't help that Paterno lost three key assistants off his staff, including recruiting coordinator Al Golden and former Penn State star Kenny Jackson. Or that the best high school running back in the country, who just happened to be from Pennsylvania, signed with Virginia Tech. Or that every school that recruits against Penn State is dropping hints, subtle or otherwise, that JoePa isn't going to be around much longer -- even though he has a contract through 2005.

The talent level is down at Happy Valley, but will it stay that way?

Answer: Does Joe Pa wear contacts?

No matter how bad it gets this season, Paterno has earned a bag full of mulligans. He could have ditched Penn State plenty of times for another program, for an NFL franchise, for more money. Instead, he followed his heart, not his wallet. He showed some loyalty.

The JoePa bashers ought to do the same.

19. Advantage, Paterno ... Barely
Compare schedules:

Penn State -- Michigan, at Northwestern, Ohio State, Southern Miss, at Illinois, Indiana, at Michigan State, at Virginia. Our guess: loss, loss, loss, flip a coin, loss, win, loss, flip another coin.

Florida State -- Miami, at Virginia, Maryland, at Clemson, North Carolina State, at Florida, Georgia Tech. Our guess: loss, win, win, flip a coin, win, loss, loss.

What it all means is that Bowden and Paterno both could have 322 wins entering the weekend of Nov. 17. FSU, a week removed from what promises to be a tough game against North Carolina State, would have to play the Gators at the Swamp. In the Seminoles' favor: Florida has to play South Carolina the week before ... FSU beat the Gators two years ago in Gainesville. Not in the Seminoles' favor: This isn't the same FSU team of two years ago.

Penn State gets Indiana at home, the first time in months the Nittany Lions can catch their breath from a brutal schedule. In Penn State's favor: It's Indiana, enough said. Not in Penn State's favor: Antwaan Randle El.

18. No Flipping
It hasn't been a memorable eight days for the Notre Dame program.

First, the Irish took some heat for staying in their locker room during last Saturday's pregame tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It wasn't their fault; Michigan State's players were supposed to be in their locker room, too, but changed their minds at the last minute. Nobody told Notre Dame, which made the Irish look like unpatriotic mopes. To make matters worse, Michigan State beat the Irish at home.

Then this past week the ABC affiliate in Chicago informed its viewers that it was dumping its previously scheduled Notre Dame-Texas A&M game for Illinois-Michigan. Notre Dame usually draws big TV numbers in Chicago, but WLS said it couldn't ignore some other numbers: the Irish were 0-2, the Illini were 3-0.

It got worse -- A&M whupped the Irish, 24-3. Notre Dame has been playing football since 1887, but never has it started a season 0-3.

17. Notre Dame -- Part II
The Irish are scuffling, no doubt about it, but at least one opposing defensive coordinator thinks ND coach Bob Davie made the absolute right call when he benched sophomore quarterback Matt LoVecchio and started redshirt freshman Carlyle Holiday for the A&M game. Too bad Holiday had to leave the game with a sprained neck.

"That cat is an athlete," said the coordinator, who has scouted the Irish extensively. "It can get your attention big time when Holiday comes in there. He can hurt you from an option standpoint, the quarterback counter, the quarterback draw. The athletes scare me."

And LoVecchio, who started the first two games of the season?

"Good kid, but he ain't going to beat you with the option," says the coordinator. "We'd rather face LoVecchio. Like I say all the time, 'It's not the Xs and Os, it's the Jimmys and Joes.'"

Translation: players win games, not schemes.

16. Coach of the Week
John Bunting, North Carolina.

A collection of Usinger's fine meats and cheeses* will be sent to Bunting, who wins our prestigious award for a second consecutive week.

Even with last week's win against Florida State, Carolina (2-3) still was listed as an underdog at North Carolina State Saturday. Still, Bunting figured out a way to sneak out of Raleigh with another impressive victory.

The Tar Heels did suffer a significant emotional letdown earlier in the week -- several of their players admitted as much -- but as the game time approached, Bunting got them focused on nearby State.

(* -- If we can get it by the boys in expense reports.)

Runner-up: South Carolina's Holtz.

Gamecocks stay unbeaten and break winless streak against Bama.

15. Fearless Predictions
That nobody, absolutely nobody predicted Penn State and Notre Dame would be a combined 0-6 at the end of September, and Fresno State and Maryland would be a combined 9-0.

14. Supplementary Fearless Prediction
And we'll pay a nickel to the person who said the only two teams without a league loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference at this point would be Maryland and Virginia.

13. Quote of the Week
"This team has to decide what they want to do. Are they going to fight back or what?"
-- FSU coach Bobby Bowden on his Seminoles, which took a Mexican cliff dive in the polls after its humiliating loss to North Carolina last Saturday, dropping from fifth to No. 15 in the coaches poll. FSU coaches were privately saying that some of its players phoned it in against the Tar Heels. Carolina's star defensive end Julius Peppers wasn't as diplomatic.

"We knew if we got them on the ropes, they didn't have a leader like they did last year," Peppers said a few days ago. "They didn't have that player that stood out from everybody else. Once we got ahead, they kind of quit."

Bowden also was steamed about an offensive line that couldn't open up a pinhole against Carolina. The Seminoles had given up seven sacks through three games, compared to 23 all last season.

Poor Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons had the misfortune of being the answer to Bowden's question. Final score: FSU 48, Wake 24.

12. Cha-Ching
Northwestern State, the Division I-AA program that shocked TCU a week ago, didn't quite pull off a second consecutive upset against Oklahoma State at Stillwater.

Making the trip back to Natchitoches, La., a little easier though, was the $325,000 guarantee the Demons got from OSU. Add the $185,000 NW State received from TCU and the athletic department pulled in a sweet $510,000 -- a lot of money for I-AA program in need of financial help.

11. A Saturday To Remember
Purdue beats Minnesota in overtime. South Carolina overcomes Alabama and the Tyler Watts Highlight Show. Northwestern somehow sneaks past Michigan State in an amazing victory. Oklahoma squeezes by a better-than-we-thought Kansas State team. Carolina makes it two upsets in a row. Clemson beats Georgia Tech in an overtime thriller. Washington comes back to defeat Cal. Nebraska's Eric Crouch rushes for a school-record 191 yards (for a quarterback), including a 95-yard touchdown in Nebraska's 23rd consecutive win against Mizzou. Tennessee hangs on to beat LSU.

We dare you to find a Sunday that good. We'll even spot you two NFL weekends and throw in a Monday nighter of your choice.

10. Depressing Kansas State Stat of the Week
With K-State's loss to OU, Snyder is now 2-20 against top 10-ranked teams. Stoops is 7-0. (Depressing runner-up stat: K-State had 17 penalties for 139 yards.)

Snyder will get second- and triple-guessed to death after he decided to kickoff rather than try an onside kick with 2:02 left to play and the Wildcats trailing by three points. OU milked the clock, took a safety and then sweated out one last K-State desperation pass that fell incomplete.

Afterward, Snyder himself seemed to question his own strategy, but it says here he made the right call. Miss out on the onside kick and the game's over. Instead, he forced OU to punt or take a safety -- and still give the Wildcats a chance, however slim, at a scoring miracle.

9. Just A Suggestion
The New York Downtown Athletic Club should know within a week or so if it has to move its Dec. 8 Heisman Trophy awards ceremony to a midtown hotel. The DAC is located about three blocks from Ground Zero of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and building inspectors are still determining the structural integrity of the famed home of the Heisman.

No matter where the ceremony is held (and the DAC has been the awards site since 1935), the Heisman folks ought to consider a change in trophy metal. Instead of doing the stiff-arming statuette in the usual bronze, why not melt some steel from the WTC or a NY Fire Department vehicle and use it in the mold. Think that would mean something to the winner?

8. Early Season Favorite
If we had to put together a short list for Frank Broyles Award nominees (given to the best assistant coach in the country), there'd have to be room for UCLA defensive coordinator Phil Snow, Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and Miami offensive line coach Art Kehoe.

Snow is the fourth UCLA defensive coordinator in five years and his simplified schemes have done wonders for the Bruins, who gave up a school record 368 points last season. So far this season: 47 points, including a near goose-egger against Oregon State.

O'Brien, one of the youngest offensive coordinators in D-IA, has had to replace Ralph Friedgen, who's working wonders at Maryland. Tech is averaging nearly 41 points.

And good luck finding many better offensive lines than the one Kehoe has put together.

7. Best Team, Best Player You'll Never See
Division I-AA powerhouse Georgia Southern and its star running back, Adrian Peterson. Peterson has rushed for 100 yards or more in 35 consecutive games to tie an NCAA all-divisions record and some folks are pushing him for a seat at the DAC in December.

Georgia Southern is 4-0 and, according to last week's Sagarin computer ratings, was the 76th best team in the country, better than established D-IA programs such as Colorado State, Air Force and Minnesota.

6. Heupel Jr.
Nobody took more hits last season -- and still delivered the goods -- than Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel. But his replacement, Nate Hybl, did a pretty good imitation of a tough guy in the win against K-State.

Hybl was knocked silly a nano-second after throwing a third quarter touchdown pass. So woozy was Hybl that he staggered off the field and couldn't have spelled OU if you spotted him both letters.

But Hybl stayed in the game, sort of regained his senses and earned the admiration of his coach and teammates.

"He never broke the entire day," said OU's Bob Stoops.

5. Heisman Trophy Race
Bring a coat and tie to the Downtown Athletic Club: UCLA's DeShaun Foster, Florida's Rex Grossman, Fresno State's David Carr.
Moving up: Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler, Northwestern's Zak Kustok, Miami's Ken Dorsey, Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Boston College's William Green.
Staying same: Northwestern's Damien Anderson, Toledo's Chester Taylor, Oregon's Joey Harrington, Illinois' Kurt Kittner, Wisconsin's Anthony Davis.
Slipping: Oregon State's Ken Simonton.
Thanks for stopping by the booth: No victims.

4. Memo To Phillip Fulmer
Things to do this week: Break down film for upcoming Georgia game ... pick out a new orange warmup jacket ... thank the football gods for walk-on wide receiver Kelley Washington.

All Washington did against LSU was catch 11 passes for a school-record 256 yards and a touchdown. We told you about Washington way back in spring. The former high school quarterback and minor league baseball player (the Florida Marlins are picking up the tab on his UT tuition) is still learning the receiver position. Just think how good he'll be once he knows what he's doing?

3. Second Guessing ...
... My national championship game pick of Georgia Tech vs. UCLA.

Who knew the Yellow Jackets defense would somehow give up a long touchdown run by Dantzler as time ran out in the first half. . . give up a long touchdown pass on a Dantzler pass on a fourth-and-13 late in the game. . . give up a touchdown in OT on a Dantzler quarterback draw?

Dantzler was dazzling, but Tech's defensive breakdowns cost them a legitimate chance at an undefeated regular season and a Rose Bowl opportunity.

2. Whatever Happened To ...
... Mississippi State's defense.

Joe Lee Dunn's fellas were clueless against Florida, giving up 52 points and 643 total yards. Think Steve Spurrier was making a point after last season's 47-35 loss to the Bulldogs?

One Hack's Weekly Elite
Honorary No. 1: Special Forces
1a. Miami: Scary good.
2. UCLA: Defense to go along with state-of-the-art offense.
3. Oklahoma: Better than last year?
4. Florida: So much for the Brock Berlin Era -- for now.
5. Fresno State: Not much between now and undefeated season.
6. Nebraska: Huskers looking like Big Red Machine of old.
7. Virginia Tech: Tag team of Burnell and Jones doing the job.
8. South Carolina: Holtz gives Gamecocks first-ever win vs. Bama.
9. Tennessee: Wins despite losing star D-linemen Henderson, Overstreet.
10. Texas: Red River rivalry up next.
Waiting list: Toledo, Washington, Northwestern, Kansas State, Oregon.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Movers and Shakers appears each Monday. E-mail him at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.