Reporters' Notebooks

Scott Cacciola, Memphis Commerical Appeal: More than 1,500 people were on hand to greet new Mississippi coach Houston Nutt. An estimated 500 people had to be turned away at the door. Nutt has a four-year deal valued at more than $7.4 million.

Donnie Webb, Syracuse Post-Standard: Greg Robinson, 7-28 in three seasons, will be back as Syracuse's coach.

Jerry Hill, Waco Tribune-Herald: Art Briles is Baylor's coach. He left Houston for a seven-year deal that will pay him up to $1.8 million annually, including incentives.

Eric Connor, Greenville News: The American Civil Liberties Union has accused Clemson's Tommy Bowden of abusing his authority by imposing his religious beliefs on players.

Randy Rosetta, Baton Rouge Advocate: Louisiana State quarterback Matt Flynn's sore throwing shoulder might not allow him to play against Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference title game.

Adam Kilgore, Washington Post: For the second season in a row, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game will give off an embarrassing appearance on television — swaths of empty teal seats at Jacksonville's Municipal Stadium.

Bob Clark, Eugene Register-Guard: Because it's never too early to look ahead, a glance at how the Pacific 10 race is shaping up for 2008.

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Confident Hawaii, which plays Washington on Saturday night, is planning to invite fans to a nationally televised celebration of its bowl pairing as part of Fox Sports' selection show Sunday.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: University of Arizona police received numerous noise complaints from homes surrounding Arizona Stadium. The Wildcats pumped in crowd noise during a two-hour practice for Saturday's game at Arizona State.

Christian Swezey, Washington Post: The Congressional Bowl — a proposed 2008 game for the Washington D.C. area — is aiming for one of the participants to be a service academy team, starting with Navy in 2008 and Army in 2009.

Luciana Chavez, Raleigh News & Observer: South Carolina's Steve Spurrier was spotted in Durham talking with Duke athletic director Joe Alleva, likely giving his opinion on who the Blue Devils should consider for their coaching opening.

Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas receiver Dezmon Briscoe is due in court on Jan. 2, which is the date of the Fiesta Bowl, the expected postseason destination of the Jayhawks.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: It's time to implement a plan for the post-Bobby Bowden era at Florida State.

Jack Stripling, Gainesville Sun: Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade and a University of Florida professor, died Tuesday morning. He was 80.

Today's not so mystery link: Video of the recent Bobby Knight shooting incident. For background, click this link.