20. A Soapbox Moment
Congrats to Boston College tailback William Green and UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster, who earned their letter sweaters for the All-Knucklehead team this past week.

Green, who began the weekend as the nation's leading rusher, missed Saturday's game against No. 2 Miami because he violated the always mysterious, all-encompassing "team rules." According to the Boston Globe, the junior running back ditched campus for a trip to hometown Atlantic City and didn't tell anybody about the visit. He missed school -- a no-no for former Marine and BC coach Tom O'Brien -- and was promptly instructed to take a seat for the big game against the Hurricanes.

This was a bit of bad timing, what with the Boston College sports information department picking the same week to send about 600 promotional mailings to sportswriters, etc., around the country pumping Green for the Doak Walker Award, all-America consideration and, without actually saying so, the Heisman Trophy. Everything was in place for a Green publicity extravaganza. ABC sent its A-team of Brent Musburger and Gary Danielson to Chestnut Hill to do the BC-Miami game. National bigfoots, as well as the influential local columnists, were coming to the game at cozy Alumni Stadium. If Green put up a 125-ish spot against the great Hurricanes, scored a touchdown or two, hey, who knows ... maybe he has a seat at the Heisman ceremony in New York.

Instead, Green was in street clothes in his dorm room as BC almost pulled off the upset of the season. And earlier in the day, The Globe reported that Green would be ditching campus forever at season's end, declaring himself eligible for the NFL rather than sticking around for a true Heisman run in 2002 and possibly a higher draft spot (although Green said Monday that he hasn't decided yet and will make a decision at the end of the season). Green supposedly has had it with O'Brien's tough-love mentality.

Then there's Foster, whose brain cramp cost him a crucial start against Oregon, probably any chance at the Heisman, and could hypothetically force the Bruins to forfeit several games. No wonder longtime UCLA athletic director Pete Dalis is retiring from the madness come June 30.

Foster violated the NCAA's "extra benefits" rule, which goes something like this: If you drive a Hollywood actor's leased SUV, you're going to get caught.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Foster was ratted out by a female friend with USC ties who knew an auto salesman who had something to do with the lease. Only in America.

The guy who befriended Foster is Eric Laneuville, whom you might remember from his appearances on the long-running TV series, "St. Elsewhere." That's exactly where Foster was Saturday -- elsewhere -- rather than on the Rose Bowl grass running around and through a suspect Oregon defense. By the way, Oregon won, 21-20. Think Foster might have been worth a point or two?

"Those of you who have children always tell them what's right and what's wrong and you try to educate them," UCLA coach Bob Toledo told reporters earlier in the week. "You tell them, 'The fire's hot, don't put your hand in it.' But a lot of times they want to find out for themselves and they put their hand in the fire."

Foster now has singe marks on those hands, which is too bad since he knew better. We talked to him about a month ago and asked him what he'd do when he got his NFL signing bonus cash.

"I'll take care of my parents," he said. "Whatever they want."

But what about himself?

"I don't know," he said. "I really don't need nothing."

What kind of ride did he have these days?

"A Chrysler Sebring," he said. "1996."

He wouldn't pull up to his first NFL mini-camp in a '96 Chrysler, would he?

"Might not," he said. "There's a good chance I might not. I know for sure I'll get a car."

He got one for a month. And it will cost him a lot more than the $600 lease payment.

19. Dumb and Dumber -- Part II
In an interesting twist, Foster was included on the recently released list of Doak Walker semifinalists, but Green's name was noticeably absent. The Doak Walker Award, which is presented to the country's top running back (self-disclosure time: we have a vote on the final ballot) not only takes into account rushing statistics, but academic standing and off-the-field status.

This is Green's second brush with O'Brien's law. He was suspended from last season's Aloha Bowl and essentially missed another bowl game Saturday against the mighty Hurricanes. His absence -- and its possible effect on the Eagles' chances against Miami -- wasn't a popular postgame question with O'Brien.

"It didn't hurt at all," said O'Brien in a voice so cold that it could have chilled a bottle of Dom.

18. Hurry Up and Wait
It seemed like a good idea at the time: Switch The Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1. Oregon was loaded, had the $250,000 Billboard Boy (quarterback Joey Harrington) and looked like it could enter the game with a 10-0 record. Oregon State was the chic preseason No. 1 pick, had tailback Ken Simonton and a huge buzz from the previous season. Better yet, they were one of only a handful of games originally scheduled for that day.

Problem is, there's zero buzz about 4-5 Oregon State ... Oregon is 9-1 and will need to Bob Beamon its way over Nebraska, Miami, Oklahoma, Florida, probably Texas and maybe Tennessee to secure a spot in the BCS Championship ... the more compelling Big 12 Championship is being played the same day ... and who knows how rusty the Ducks will be after a 20-day layoff.

That said, there still remain a few worthwhile subplots. For instance, Harrington is a top three Heisman candidate and could influence votes with a strong late showing. Heisman ballots don't have to be in the hands of Deloitte & Touche until 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7.

And we'll just throw this out there for consideration or instant disposal, but what happens if Notre Dame decides to can Bob Davie between now and The Civil War? Would ND athletic director Kevin White, who has Pac-10 ties, give Oregon coach Mike Bellotti a call? We would. Anyway, more possible intrigue.

And finally, anytime you can see a game at the decibel den that is Oregon's Autzen Stadium is fine by us.

17. Obligatory Follow-up Notre Dame Note
Even if Notre Dame wins its last three games (0-8 Navy -- yes; at 6-2 Stanford -- doubtful; at 5-3 Purdue -- 50-50 chance) and squeaks into some meaningless bowl game, we still don't like Davie's chances to retain his job. That's because White hasn't exactly tripped over himself to issue any ringing endorsements. Silence from the higher-ups is never a good thing when you're a coach in limbo. Or as one assistant coach from a major program recently told us, "If you think you're in trouble, then you already are. And if you know you're in trouble, then it's probably too late. Coaches are always the last to realize they can't fix it."

Again, nothing has leaked out of Golden Dome Land that would suggest a decision has been made on Davie's future. The Irish could win those three games, get a bowl invitation, win that game, make some real noise on the recruiting front (it isn't sexy, but Notre Dame needs help on the offensive line), recover next season and re-establish themselves as national players. NBC, which has a deal to broadcast all Notre Dame home games through the 2005 season, would love that, especially since the network's average rating for the ND games has done a Nestea plunge, from 6.7 in 1993 to 2.3 this season.

The Irish could do all those things, and maybe they will. But we'd have a better chance of building a supercollider in the basement workroom than Notre Dame has of doing all the above.

What's next? More rumors. The latest (or actually, a revival of an earlier rumor) has Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin bolting the NFL for South Bend. Watch Coughlin on the sidelines and he looks as if he's performing a hernia operation on himself. He's all grimaces and fury, which is maybe what Notre Dame needs these days -- a control freak guy who sweats the small stuff's small stuff.

16. Players of the Week
Kentucky's Jared Lorenzen.
The Wildcats' big lug completed 26 of 37 passes for 453 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions in Kentucky's win against poor Vanderbilt. It was only UK's second victory of the season.

Runners-up

Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury.
The junior quarterback completed 44 passes for 440 yards and zero INTs in Tech's beating of Oklahoma State. It was the Red Raiders' sixth win of the season.

Indiana's Levron Williams.
Williams had 251 yards and three touchdowns in the upset of Michigan State.

Oregon's Joey Harrington.
Captain Comeback does it again, this time against UCLA. It was the ninth fourth-quarter comeback of his Oregon career.

Illinois' Eugene Wilson.
The Illini cornerback had three picks in the comeback win against Penn State. Wilson entered the game as the nation's leader in pass breakups.

Honorable Mention

BYU's Luke Staley, San Jose State's Marcus Arroyo, Fresno State's David Carr, Marshall's Brandon Carey, Harvard's Carl Morris.

15. Coach of the Week
Wake Forest's Jim Grobe.
The Demon Deacons overcame a 24-point deficit at Chapel Hill to beat North Carolina and improve their record to 5-4. And Wake still has home games against schizo Georgia Tech and Northern Illinois.

This is Grobe's first season at Wake and he inherited a program that had the second-lowest all-time winning percentage in Division I-A and a five-year victory record that read like a prime number festival: 3-5-3-7-2.

But Grobe, who came to Winston-Salem after reviving Ohio University's program, has a saying: "You just keep chopping wood."

Grobe did pretty well with the ax this season, losing to Maryland by just seven points, beating Virginia and Carolina, which had won five of its previous six games before facing the Deacons.

Honorable mention

Florida's Steve Spurrier.
Sometimes we take The Ballcoach for granted. But Spurrier's play-calling in the blowout win against South Carolina was masterful, especially since the Gators' running game continues to be limited by injuries to the tailbacks. Still, Spurrier hung 54 points on the Gamecocks, the most points given up by South Carolina since Lou Holtz's arrival in 1999.

Yeah, you can throw a hissy fit every time Spurrier calls a pass play with the game well in hand. He did it again Saturday night against the Gamecocks, but Holtz seemed to understand. That's Spurrier. He believes in air travel, not take-a-knee stuff. And anyway, it didn't look as if he was trying to rub it in as much as was trying to get backup quarterback Brock Berlin a few quality minutes.

Indiana's Cam Cameron.
Two weeks, two wins -- the latest a 37-28 victory against Michigan State. Cameron still isn't out of pink slip danger, but these consecutive wins help. A lot.

14. Rumor of the Week
Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson, last season's Outland Trophy winner, can't seem to shake the whispers of NFL scouts who wonder if, well, he's jaking it this season and purposely nursing himself through the schedule. Never mind that he returned for his senior season, even though he would have been a high first-round pick in last year's draft.

Or that he suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener against Syracuse and wasn't close to being 100 percent until late October. Or that Henderson is often double- and sometimes triple-teamed.

"I think he's playing well," says UT defensive line coach Dan Brooks. "People are doing things to him that he didn't see the year before. He's very rarely singled [in blocking]. He knew it was going to happen."

Vols defensive end Will Overstreet isn't as diplomatic. Told of the scouts' reservations about Henderson, Overstreet reacted in disgust.

"That's what scouts say, but I don't believe that for a second," Overstreet says. "He didn't have to come back. But he wants to wear a [championship] ring. He's come with everything he has. To all those guys, whatever they want to think, they can think. But they're wrong."

13. Double Dating
After briefly falling off the Heisman Trophy map in October, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman no longer needs directions to short-list status. Grossman had those four interceptions in the earlier loss to Auburn, but has since re-established himself as a tri-favorite for the bronze statuette. A solid performance against Florida State this week and against Tennessee two weeks later should guarantee Grossman an invitation to New York for the awards ceremony.

But here's the rub: The Heisman presentation is Dec. 8, the same day as the SEC Championship in Atlanta. Barring a loss to the Vols Dec. 1, Grossman will be in the Georgia Dome rather than the Big Apple.

12. Stat of the Week
It's a number Boston College could do without, but since O'Brien's arrival five seasons ago the Eagles are 0-20 against ranked teams.

BC had its chances Saturday against the No. 2 Hurricanes, but missed a semi-chippy field goal in the fourth quarter that would have pulled the Eagles to within two points. Instead, they needed a touchdown to win -- and were threatening to score it until Brian St. Pierre's slant pass to Ryan Read caromed off the knee of Miami cornerback Mike Rumph and into the arms of defensive tackle Matt Walters. And there it stayed until safety Edward Reed pulled it from Walters' grip and ran 80 yards for the bizarre game-clinching touchdown.

This was Walters' first ever interception ("It took about a half hour for the ball to fall," he said). Ten yards into his return Walters heard Reed's voice. "Man, give it to me!" Reed said. "Give it to me!"

So Walters let go of the ball and happily watched Reed outrace the remaining Eagles for the score. (Though a nice round of applause goes to BC tailback Derrick Knight -- Green's replacement for the day -- who nearly chased down Reed on the play.)

"I'm just trying to make him some money," said Walters of his buddy Reed afterward.

Not to worry. Reed is going to do just fine in the pros, though he'll think twice about trying the stunt he pulled against BC. Miami didn't need the score as much it needed to run out the final 20 seconds of play. A fumble on the exchange, a BC recovery and return would have put an end to Miami's dream of playing for a BCS championship ring. The same goes if the hustling Knight had been able to make up just one more step and strip the ball.

"I don't think it was a smart play at all," said Reed of his ball tug.

O'Brien and the fellas were bummed, and they should have been. Playing without Green, as well as starting defensive end Antonio Garay and offensive tackle Marc Colombo, the Eagles were in a position to move ahead of Miami twice. But first came the missed 28-yarder from Kevin McMyler and then the weird carom play. It's hard to jump on McMyler too much, what with him coming to BC as a punter. As for Miami's late touchdown, it was a fluke, pure and simple.

Equally disheartening is that BC held the Hurricanes without an offensive touchdown, the first time that's happened to Miami in 52 games. The Eagles frustrated UM quarterback Ken Dorsey with a well-conceived and executed package of zone coverages, causing the Heisman candidate to throw four interceptions (he had a total of four entering the game) and make mistake after mistake.

"I'm pissed right now," said Dorsey later. "I'm going to have to learn from this."

11. Miami vs. BC -- Part II
Walters meant to fall down and let the Hurricanes offense run out the few remaining seconds left on the clock. But that was before he heard Reed pleading for the ball, and saw all that open field, and realized Reed had a much better chance than a 262-pound defensive lineman.

What he doesn't realize is that Reed's touchdown helped push the margin to 11 points, which looks a whole lot better to the poll voters than the 5-point win it should have been.

"It might make the difference," says Walters of Reed's TD. "You never know. But I still think if we win all our games by even just one point, then we'll be in the Rose Bowl."

10. Quote of the Week
"I'm questioning everything about what we're doing."
-- Northwestern coach Randy Walker during his postgame appraisal of the Wildcats' 59-16 sleepwalk loss to Iowa. In the last four games, all defeats, the Northwestern defense has given up 38, 32, 56 and 59 points.

9. Ivy League Serenade
We don't normally do much Division I-AA stuff, but we make an exception for Harvard vs. Penn. Saturday's game was the last regular season matchup of two unbeaten teams and it ended with Harvard overcoming a 14-0 first quarter lead against the best defense in I-AA.

Afterward, the Crimson players celebrated the 28-21 victory by collecting on the steps of Dillon Field House and belting out a couple of verses of "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard," which beats, "Who Let the Dogs Out" any day of the week.

They'll be singing again next Saturday if they beat Yale in The Game. A victory at New Haven would give Harvard its first undefeated season since 1913 and the Ivy League championship.

8. IU Revival -- Sort Of
Indiana is now 3-3 in the Big Ten, but still is underwater when it comes to its overall record. The modest resurgence can be traced to earlier in the season, when coach Cam Cameron realized The Grand Experiment (switch Antwaan Randle El from quarterback to receiver) was a grand mistake. So Cameron junked the position change and tweaked offense and returned to the familiar sight of Randle El taking the snap and terrorizing defenses with the option.

Why did Cameron waste time with the Randle El experiment in the first place? Well, the Hoosiers were only 11-22 during his Randle El's time at quarterback, so why not try something different. Plus, IU coaches weren't even sure if Randle El would be eligible this season. As an academic partial qualifier, Randle El had to earn a degree before he could return to the field this season. The question of Randle El's availability, combined with his desire to play wide receiver, combined with the time and effort put into the new offense explains why Cameron gave the whole thing and early-season go.

So what happened? Indiana lost its first three games and the Cam-Must-Go campaign picked up speed. But Cameron has never been afraid to take chances, so he went back to IU Original Recipe, but with a twist. Plus, what's the worst they could do to him -- fire him?

The Hoosiers' offense is a little less predictable, a little more creative. Meanwhile, Randle El keeps piling up the numbers. In the win against Michigan State the senior star became the D-IA career rushing leader among quarterbacks with his 149-yard performance.

7. Looking for Mr. Right
It wasn't much of a surprise that Woody Widenhofer put himself out his misery by submitting his resignation at Vanderbilt. Widenhofer is 15-37. . . and counting during his five seasons at one of the worst programs in college football.

School officials say they want a new guy in place by Jan. 1, but we wouldn't wait that long, not with recruiting season getting ready to begin in a few weeks. And whoever they hire, he had better be able to work a living room.

Says a former SEC assistant coach: "That Vandy job is a recruiting job."

Translation: Not many big-time high school prospects put their head on their pillow at night and dream of playing at Vandy.

6. FSU Blues
Florida State's loss to N.C. State was the first-ever ACC defeat at Tally-Town for the struggling Seminoles. Doing the whupping was none other than former FSU assistant Chuck Amato, a Bobby Bowden loyalist if there ever was one. The Seminoles are 75-4 in ACC play since joining the league nine seasons ago, but two of the losses came this year, courtesy of North Carolina and North Carolina State.

5. Happy Birthday
This is a pretty good way to celebrate a birthday. Tennessee wide receiver Donte Stallworth caught three TD receptions on his 21st birthday as the Vols rolled over Memphis 49-28.

"I was joking around with (freshman running back) Derrick Tinsley about scoring 21 for my 21st," Stallworth said.

Stallworth, who broke his wrist in the season opener and missed the next three games, had his best game of the season, finishing with seven catches for 142 yards.

4. Strange Sight
Do not adjust your agate page conference standings. Yes, that's Maryland, not Florida State atop the ACC standings. Beat N.C. State this Saturday and the Terps win the conference outright for the first time since 1985.

3. Heisman Trophy Race
Bring a coat and tie to the Heisman Trophy Announcement: Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Oregon's Joey Harrington, Florida's Rex Grossman.
Moving up: Texas' Chris Simms, Indiana's Antwaan Randle El.
Staying same: Fresno State's David Carr.
Slipping: Miami's Ken Dorsey, Tennessee's Travis Stephens.
Thanks for stopping by the booth: UCLA's DeShaun Foster, Boston College's William Green, Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler, Illinois' Kurt Kittner, Michigan's Marquise Walker.

2. Whatever Happened To. . .
. . . Northwestern?

The Wildcats have gone from preseason Big Ten favorites and top 20 residents to doing a "Shallow Hal" cannonball in college football's kiddie pool.

Saturday's 59-16 loss to Iowa was Northwestern's fourth consecutive defeat, two of which came in the stunned purple silence of Ryan Field. This latest flop came after a players-only meeting earlier in the week, called in part to show that the Wildcats hadn't given up on their season or their coach, Randy Walker. A lot of good that did.

Unless the Wildcats beat Bowling Green (no gimme these days) and Illinois at Champaign (good luck), they'll be home for the holidays for the fourth time in the last five seasons. And even if they finish with a bowl-eligible six wins, we're not sure they deserve a postseason invitation.

Some of the Wildcats' problems were predictable enough. You don't watch a teammate collapse and die -- as these players did with senior safety Rashidi Wheeler during a preseason workout -- and simply shrug off the memory of it all. There is no question Wheeler's tragic death and the predictable controversy and lawsuit that followed have had a lingering effect on the Wildcats, Walker and his staff. To think otherwise is denial personified.

As for the football side of it, we offer a few observations:

The defense, a point of offseason emphasis for Walker, is flag-football awful. The Chicago Bears could do a Brian Urlacher lend-lease program with Northwestern and it still wouldn't be enough to save the Wildcats. The defense was a Big Ten statistical bottom feeder last season and is equally dreadful this time around, maybe worse. Northwestern has speed and quickness on its defense, but the Black-and-Blue Bunch, it isn't.

The spread offense, Walker's little pride and joy, is no longer a mystery to opposing Big Ten coaches. Teams loaded up on tailback Damien Anderson and the run and dared gutty Zak Kustok to beat them. He couldn't do it.

Before his season was effectively ended by a dislocated shoulder Nov. 4 against Indiana, Anderson didn't have a 100-yard game in Big Ten play. Goodbye Heisman chances. Goodbye Northwestern's season.

"Everybody's onto their act a little bit," said one Big Ten coordinator. "When you have a little bit of success, you should try to keep a low profile. You don't go around the clinic circuit saying how you're a genius."

Some of that is spread-offense envy, some it has a slice of truth to it. Whatever it is, opposing coaches made sure to get the notes from those clinics.

One Hack's Weekly Elite
Honorary No. 1: George "Let's Roll" Dub-Ya.
Nebraska: If NU beats Colorado Nov. 23, Huskers in Big 12 title game.
Miami: Hurricanes came thisclose to seeing BCS dream go poof.
Oklahoma: _Sooners doing the NASCAR thing. . . drafting the leaders.
Texas: Bevo the only Texan who didn't play in rout against Kansas.
Florida: Mighty Gators now face not-so-mighty Florida State. Still. . .
Oregon: The Comeback Quacks need one more to clinch Pac-10.
Tennessee: UT loves Nov.: 2-7 Kentucky next, then 2-7 Vandy.
Washington State: Cougars' Mike Price deserves Coach of Year votes.
Maryland: Ralph Friedgen looks good wearing glass footwear.
BYU: State of the art offense, state of disarray defense.
Waiting list: Syracuse, Illinois, Michigan, Stanford, Louisville.


Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Movers and Shakers appears each Sunday during the college football season. E-mail him at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.