Reporters' Notebooks

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: ESPN officials have approached Oklahoma State about possibly moving the Cowboys' Oct. 4 home game against Texas A&M to Oct. 2, a Thursday night.

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: If you're a Big 12 fan, you'll want to read this. A detailed look at all the changes to staffs since season's end.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: New Southern Methodist coach June Jones has a lot of catching up to do in recruiting, but he's not worried. "A lot of guys now have an interest in SMU because I'm here," he said. "By the time it's said and done, we're going to steal some guys who can play."

Marty Cook, Northwest Arkansas Times: Former Michigan quarterback Ryan Mallett, awaiting for his transfer to Arkansas to be approved, has moved into a dorm with Razorback tight end Ben Cleveland.

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads is expected to be named the new defensive coordinator at Auburn.

Ron Maly: No more bad-mouthing the Big Ten Network. He's impressed by the quality of the telecasts.

Dwain Price, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Texas Tech's Mike Leach remains upset with Tulsa for backing out of an Aug. 30 game in order to schedule Arkansas. “It’s obviously a very lame thing to do, but at any rate we’ll move on,” he said.

Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: New Hawaii coach Greg McMackin, without the help of an agent, secured not only a five-year contract worth $1.1 million annually, but promises of substantial raises for his assistant coaches.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: The legal problems of Penn State players Chris Baker and Navorro Bowman appeared to deepen when a judge ordered them to stand trial in connection with a fight last year.

John Pruett, Huntsville Times: Few realized how big the recruiting business would get.

Alan Trubow and Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman: It's official: Major Applewhite is now Texas' running backs coach.

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: Insiders say Applewhite wasn't ready to be an offensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference, which explains why Nick Saban tried to hire Jimbo Fisher, Jason Garrett, Rob Spence and one or two others before he settled on Applewhite.

Baton Rouge Advocate: Louisiana State, which just jacked up ticket prices, is now selling commemorative footballs at a cost of $99 each. The goal is to raise up to $40,000, with some of the proceeds going toward construction of a new band hall.