Reporters' Notebooks

Dan Zeiger and Scott Bordow, East Valley Tribune: After naming Sam Keller his starting quarterback, Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter changed his mind 48 hours later and gave Rudy Carpenter the job. The switch in plans appears to have come about after 19 players came forward to express their preference for Carpenter.

Chip Alexander, Raleigh News & Observer: Another piece on the controversial 3-2-5-e rule designed to shorten games. Again, the problem is not the game, it's too many dang commercials (registration).

Marcus Nelson, Palm Beach Post: Florida Atlantic, which opens against Clemson, should have a terrific scouting report on the Tigers. Tight end Paul Muse, who left Clemson on Wednesday, is transferring to Florida Atlantic.

Jason King, Kansas City Star: A key figure in the academic-fraud charges dogging Kansas said coach Mark Mangino had no knowledge that violations were taking place (registration).

Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: Former Miami linebacker Willie Williams appears headed to College of the Sequoias in California. It's the same junior college that former Tennessee and current Mississippi quarterback Brent Shaeffer attended last season (registration).

Doug Hensley, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech is talking about moving its 2007 game against Texas A&M to Dallas.

Iliana Limon, Albuquerque Tribune: Sorry New Mexico fans. You won't be able to go to your car for halftime tailgating and then re-enter University Stadium.

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A group of parents of Georgia Tech players has formed a $upport group for players (registration).

David Brandt, Clarion Ledger: Marcel Frost, the tight end who was suspended last week by Ohio State, has packed his bags and transferred to Jackson State. He follows running back Erik Haw, who left the Buckeyes last month and transferred to Jackson State.

Robert Andrew Powell, New York Times: Terrific piece on Noel Devine, a hotshot running back entering his senior season at North Fort Myers High (registration).

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Lou Holtz, in the midst of a promotional tour for his book, said he overstayed his welcome at South Carolina.

Bob Thomas, Jacksonville Times-Union: Three members of Florida State's team are veterans of the United States military (registration).

Burnt Orange Nation/John Lopez Blog: Ever wonder how a Houston Chronicle sportswriter gets interested in blogging? It started with a party at his house. Two links, same story: Burnt Orange link and Lopez link.

Sunday Morning Quarterback: Bad, bad Wiz. We earlier said that we were the first to find cfbstats. Not the case. Check out this piece from SMQ.

Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times: Journalist special: Who is calling the shots in newsrooms these days? Not corporate officers. It's fund managers and investors.

Columnists' Corner

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: With big-time college teams swimming in money, should donations to athletic departments remain tax exempt?

Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun: Those hotshot recruiting classes signed by Florida in 2003 and '04? Of the 49 players signed, only 23 remain in the program.

Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman: Can Texas do it again? The answer is a bold and definitive yes (registration).

Lenox Rawlings, Winston-Salem Journal: North Carolina State's Chuck Amato and Miami's Larry Coker need to have big seasons to save their jobs.

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A program gets only so many chances to prove its worth before it proves instead that serious consideration is unwarranted. Such is the case for Georgia Tech (registration).

Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Las Vegas safety Jay Staggs, a senior, has vowed not to cut his hair until the Rebels make a bowl game. He hasn't been to a barber in 18 months.

Taking Stock of a Different Market

The Wall Street Journal took a little detour into the dark and dangerous alleys of our beloved sport and devised something called the "College Football Success Index." We won't bore you with the details behind this rankings system, we will simply spell out the result: Florida State. Yes, the Seminoles rank at the top of the list of teams with successful "alumni" in the NFL. Other items of note: Oklahoma ranks 27th and Alabama 29th, behind such teams as North Carolina (10th), Texas A&M (15th), Washington (19th) and Virginia (22nd). Last season's BCS title game participants didn't score all that well. USC is 14th and Texas is 16th. Nebraska, the Trojans' opponent on Sept. 16, ranked 13th. And Notre Dame fans, your team didn't even make the top 10! Thanks to Kevin.

Now You're Getting the Wives Involved

That's Shelley Meyer, wife of Florida coach Urban Meyer. Deep South Sports recently ranked the top-five wives of Southeastern Conference coaches and Shelley was third. Of course, everybody has their taste when it comes to such matters, so the expected firestorm followed, with SEC fans issuing their complaints, Auburn fans to be specific. This resulted with the addition of a sixth wife, Suzanne Tuberville, whose husband Tommy coaches the Tigers. The fuss eventually got the attention of Mobile Press-Register columnist Paul Finebaum, who invited Erik of Deep South to be a guest on his radio show. ... Others have joined the fun. Golden Tornado has an entertaining review of mascots of BCS conference teams. The SEC mascots have been broken into two links: Part 1 and Part 2. Links to carping judgments of mascots of other conferences: Atlantic Coast, Pacific 10, Big Ten, Big 12 and the Big East.

A Stroll Down Weaponry Lane

Where will we be on Gameday? Well, we know where all the outlaws in Fresno will be — on the field, playing for the Bulldogs. Granted, every team has its share of problems. It just seems like Fresno has a much bigger slice of the pie when it comes to troubled athletes. For that reason, we're not sure how good of an idea it was to show a Bulldog player carrying a sledgehammer onto the field on a poster schedule. This would indicate that players are now carrying weapons on and off the field. A scary thought to say the least. ... Our featured list: Rice, Alabama, Oklahoma, Toledo, Vanderbilt-Tennessee, Washington State-Washington, Brigham Young-West Virginia-Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Northwestern, Louisiana State, UCLA, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida State, Florida, Iowa State and USC. Send your team's poster schedule to dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Just Try to Make Something Out of Nothing

Rice is one fine university with one really, really bad team. Maybe the idea behind celebrating 95 seasons of football is to remember the days when the Owls were actually competitive. That certainly wasn't the case last season, when Rice opened with 40-plus point losses to UCLA and Texas. So it's understandable why the Owls wanted to hit the mute button on creativity when the time came to conceptualize their poster schedule. After all, with more bludgeonings on the horizon in 2006, there's no need to try and call attention to all of this now, is there? Thanks to MoiseKapenda for sending the image. Send your team's poster schedule to dawizofodds (at) aol.com. The list of posters that have been featured: Alabama, Oklahoma, Toledo, Vanderbilt-Tennessee, Washington State-Washington, Brigham Young-West Virginia-Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Northwestern, Louisiana State, UCLA, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida State, Florida, Iowa State and USC.

At USC, They Give It Their Best Shot

To play through pain, it sometimes helps to have a little help. According to USC team physician James Tibone, each game 10 to 15 players request an injection of Toradol, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. Players interviewed by the L.A. Times say they are not pressured to take shots. "You wouldn't go to work with a headache, you would take some Motrin," defensive end Lawrence Jackson said. "You don't need it to play, but it eliminates aches and pains." Tibone said different types of medicines have been used at USC over the last 15 years and that the practice has not increased during the tenure of coach Pete Carroll. Several Trojan players have returned quickly from major injuries, including return specialist Desmond Reed, cornerback Terrell Thomas and safety Kevin Ellison. ... In another USC item, criminal defense lawyer Carmen Trutanich has returned to the family. Trutanich was once the focus of an investigation into his role with the team because he was retained so frequently by troubled Trojan players. Last spring, when his daughter was denied admission to USC, he severed ties with the university. But he said the football program asked him to speak to freshmen about legal matters this week and he was happy to help out.