Reporters' Notebooks

Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle: Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg says the possibility of the financially strapped Houston Bowl being played this year is a "50-50 proposition."

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: Missouri needs to secure its borders. Top-flight prep players continue to head out of state.

Jerry Hill, Waco Tribune: Baylor, which is making the move to the spread offense, is trying to corner the market on receivers.

Kurt Caywood, Topeka Capital-Journal: Former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is slowly adjusting to life away from the game.

Alan Trubow, Austin American-Statesman: Two more players have given oral commitments to coach Mack Brown, bringing Texas' non-binding commitment number to 21 for the class of 2007 (registration).

Randy Kenner, Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee is on the verge of a huge marketing deal that could exceed $80 million (registration).

Cecil Hurt, Tuscaloosa News: Alabama safety Chris Keys and cornerback Travis Robinson are no longer members of the team (registration).

Richard Cirminiello, College Football News: One man's opinion on teams that routinely are overrated or underrated.

Following the Political Money Trail

Tuesday is election day in many parts of the country (for our friends in Chicago, vote early, vote often) and we thought it would be appropriate to provide a link to federal campaign contributions of notable sports figures since 1978. The list, compiled by Newsmeat, has the scoop on Florida State's Bobby Bowden ($14,500 to the Republican Party), Lee Corso ($1,320 to the Democrats), new Notre Dame radio voice Don Criqui ($1,700 to Repubs), Penn State's Joe Paterno ($7,300, 14% to Dems, 73% to Repubs, 13% to special interests), former ABC sideline reporter and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann ($10,800, 19% to Dems, 81% to Repubs) and former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer ($2,000, 75% to Dems, 25% to Repubs). There are many, many more and the list is an interesting read. And while we are on the topic of politics, what might happen in Alabama if Auburn's Tommy Tuberville ran against Alabama's Mike Shula?

What's in a Name? Plenty

One of our regular stops each day is the terrific EDSBS, which never fails to entertain. EDSBS had us chuckling with its writeup of the arrest and suspension of Tennessee backup quarterback Jim Bob Cooter, who got popped last weekend for allegedly driving under the influence. After a series of incidents last year, Volunteer players had been on good behavior until the past month, with three players getting into trouble. It's one thing to have players raising hell after a 9-3 season, but the locals tend to take a different look at matters if the previous campaign was a disappointing 5-6, which happens to be the case in Knoxville.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minnesota safety Brandon Owens will miss the season and the status of running back Gary Russell remains questionable (registration).

Lafayette Courier & Journal: Purdue began installing the Bermuda sod in Ross-Ade Stadium and the main practice field.

Maria Burns, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: A trail date of Aug. 23 has been set for Indiana receiver James Hardy, who faces a series of charges.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC quarterback Mark Sanchez said he had been reinstated by the university and will rejoin teammates in workouts.

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: As expected, San Antonio was selected as site of the 2007 Big 12 title game (registration).

Rick Starr, Tribune-Review: West Virginia has parted ways with two running backs and a defensive linemen.

Charles Hollis, Birmingham News: SEC sports information directors have tabbed Auburn and Louisiana State as favorites in the SEC West and Florida as the team to beat in the SEC East.

Michael A. Lough, Macon Telegraph: Hard to believe, but Georgia can actually win games without and indoor practice facility.

DeKalb Daily Chronicle: Northern Illinois and Iowa will open the 2007 season at Soldier Field.

In 1976, Bruins Left Buckeyes in Ruins

What were the odds? Ohio State rolled into Pasadena for the 1976 Rose Bowl with an 11-0 record and No. 1 ranking. One of those victories came in the fourth game, a 41-20 thrashing of UCLA at the L.A. Coliseum, which in those days was the home turf of the Bruins. It was the fourth consecutive appearance in the Rose Bowl for Ohio State, which featured a powerhouse backfield of two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin and battering ram Pete Johnson. UCLA had rebounded from the loss to the Buckeyes to go 8-2-1, win the Pacific 8 title and secure the rematch. They teed it up and Ohio State controlled the ball for all but four minutes of the first half, yet trailed, 3-0. The Bruin offense, which gained only 48 yards in the first half, took control in the second, and UCLA stunned Ohio State, 23-10. "It was probably the biggest upset in the history of the Rose Bowl," said Dick Vermeil, left, who was in his second season at Westwood. It also was the last Rose Bowl for Buckeye coach Woody Hayes, the other guy in the photo. Two weeks after the game, Vermeil was gone, off to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. This past week, former Bruin players and coaches gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their upset of the Buckeyes. Also included is commentary from the superblog, Bruins Nation.

Sign of the Times?

As promised, here is a look at the billboard Iowa State will put up next month on Interstate 380 between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, which happens to be in the heart of Iowa Hawkeye country. Iowa is often called "the Hawkeye State," but with the Cyclones still gloating over their 23-3 victory over the Hawkeyes last fall in Ames, ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard decided to get in one last jab before this year's game, scheduled for Sept. 16 in Iowa City. Hy-Vee is an area grocery chain and Cyclone players are pictured carrying off the Cy-Hawk trophy, which goes to the winner of the annual game. The Des Moines Register reports that the new contract Iowa awarded Kirk Ferentz puts the coach at No. 3 on the salary list of college coaches. Ferentz, whose salary will be $2.7 annually, ranks behind only Crewcut Charlie Weis ($3.3 million) of Notre Dame and Pete Carroll ($3 million) of USC. Iowa State counterpart Dan McCarney was paid $978,225 in fiscal 2005. Mike McCarthy, who was hired earlier this year by the Green Bay Packers of the NFL, reportedly earns $2 million a year. One columnist has an idea how Ferentz can give back to the university.

Reporters' Notebooks

Pete Thamel, New York Times: The NCAA is expected to release its first list of high schools lacking proper academic rigor, which means those schools' transcripts will no longer be accepted by the governing body (registration).

Ron Higgins, Commercial Appeal: ESPN has approached Mississippi about moving its opener against Memphis to Sept. 3, a Sunday (registration).

Jim Beseda, Oregonian: Oregon and Oregon State have agreed to move their game to Nov. 24, the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: The Big 12 will announce Monday that it will play the 2007 title game in the Alamodome.

Evan Woodbery, Mobile Press-Register: Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is considering moving two weekday practices to mornings.

Chris Low, Tennessean: The Southeastern Conference distributed approximately $116.1 million to its 12 schools for the 2005-06 fiscal year.

Jeff Metcalfe, Arizona Republic: The Arizona State-Arizona game, scheduled for Nov. 25 in Tucson, will be broadcast nationally by FSN and played under the lights.

Rob Biertempfel, Tribune-Review: Pittsburgh kicker David Abdul will have open-heart surgery June 12 to correct a congenital and potentially life-threatening abnormality.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A look at five burning questions about the SEC as we enter summer (registration).