Reporters' Notebooks

Troy Phillips, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Tough 2006 for North Texas' Darrell Dickey. In February, he had his gall bladder removed. In June, he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. In October, he suffered a heart attack. On Wednesday, he was fired as coach.

Bill Cole, Winston-Salem Journal: No surprise here: Butch Davis has agreed to become the new coach at North Carolina, according to three sources.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Conference calls. A look at the bowl possibilities for the 11 I-A conferences, plus the independents.

George Schroeder, Oklahoman: Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith's winning Heisman moment? It came when Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone (registration).

Jim Polzin, Capital Times: Rest easy, Wisconsin fans. That 2007 game against UNLV in Las Vegas won't be moved to Lambeau Field.

Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch: With Michigan just around the corner for Ohio State, does former Buckeye coach Woody Hayes rest in peace?

Randy King, Roanoke Times: See what clean living will do for you? Virginia Tech has cut back on the penalties and the victories are piling up.

John Mackovic, Desert Sun: The former coach says sideline crashes like the one that took down Joe Paterno are difficult to escape.

Ted Miller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Pac-10 notebook. Is USC just a shell of its former self, or are the Trojans primed to break out against Oregon?

Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press: Opponents of building luxury boxes atop Michigan Stadium got a small victory in Tuesday's elections.

Associated Press: Joe Paterno will miss his first game since 1977 on doctor's orders. Gee, and what was the Wiz saying back on Monday?