Reporters' Notebooks

Dirk Facer, Deseret Morning News: Utah coach Kyle Whittingham now regrets his decision to attempt an onside kick with a 43-0 lead in the third quarter against Wyoming that drew an obscene hand gesture from Cowboy coach Joe Glenn.

Austin Ward, Casper Star-Tribune: The Mountain West Conference will review Glenn's one-finger salute to Whittingham.

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: Texas Tech's Mike Leach should expect a stiff fine for his criticism of officiating in his team's game against Texas.

Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: By dismissing the work of referee Randy Christal's crew as "a complete travesty" and describing the league's replay review system as "a sham," Leach has guaranteed some lively debate on this topic at the 2008 spring meetings.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: From Dan ("It's Division I football!) Hawkins to Mike ("I'm a man, I'm 40!") Gundy to Dennis (VIP Connections) Franchione to Mike ("Hell, yeah, I'm condemning the crew!") Leach, the Big 12 has become a spirited conference.

Pete Thamel, New York Times: College football needs to figure out a way to deal with an increasing number of helmet-to-helmet hits.

Scott Wright, Oklahoman: Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, whose team likely needs an Oregon loss to get a berth to the Bowl Championship Series title game, acknowledges that he has been talking Ducks to brother Mike Stoops, whose Arizona Wildcats play Oregon on Thursday (second item).

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: No team gets Arizona fans as angry — or acting as ugly — as Arizona State. But if you ask around Tucson, Oregon is a close second and gaining.

Willie T. Smith III, Greenville News: Steve Spurrier on what is wrong with his Gamecocks: "It's pretty simple. When you get shoved around on the line of scrimmage too much, it’s hard to win."

Jorge Milian, Palm Beach Post: Ten games into his tenure as Miami's coach, the honeymoon may be over for Randy Shannon.

Alexander Park, Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas students camped out Sunday to ensure they get the best seats available for the Jayhawks' Nov. 24 game against Missouri in Kansas City.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: The forecast for Big 12 bowl teams remains mostly cloudy.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Could Troy Calhoun, who has engineered a stunning turnaround at Air Force, soon be courted by a big-name team?

Dick Weiss, New York Daily News: Passing on Sylvester Croom continues to haunt Alabama.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: Michigan needs quick fixes if it hopes to have a chance against Ohio State.

Mark Tupper, Decatur Herald & Review: Illinois' Ron Zook is trying to get his team settled down after beating Ohio State in order to prepare for Saturday's home game against Northwestern.

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