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An off week, so no travel adventures. Just a Saturday full of watching wall-to-wall football. So this week’s big blog will be all football. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Let’s go straight to the gridiron. 

BOWL BUSINESS

We’ll start a new feature this week. Analyzing the Big 12 bowl outlook. The Big 12 has eight bowl tie-ins. In descending order…

* Fiesta: Oklahoma. The champ goes here, unless it makes the Big Bowl in New Orleans. The Sooners could make the Big Bowl; they also could lose in San Antonio. But my bet’s on Glendale, Ariz. Most likely foe: USC.

* Gator: Texas. The Gator passed on the Big 12 in 2006, which means now the Jacksonville folks must take a Big 12 team two out of the next three years. A common theory says the Gator most covets OU or Texas. If the Longhorns win out to go 10-2, the Gator seems a good fit. If the Gator passes, the Sun comes into the rotation, but further down. Most likely foe: Virginia Tech.

* Cotton: Missouri. The Tigers never have played in the Cotton Bowl and have an excellent team; 8-1, with a 10-point loss at OU. Dallas would be a good spot for an 11-2 Mizzou team. Most likely foe:
Georgia.

* Holiday: Kansas. I’m assuming a Jayhawk loss to Missouri, but if KU beats Mizzou and goes to the Big 12 title game, then Kansas could be in Dallas. Of course, if Kansas keeps this up, it could be in Glendale. Heck, forget the desert. Kansas could make it to New Orleans. But I don’t think so. Most likely foe: Arizona State.

* Alamo: Kansas State. If OSU beats Texas and Kansas, the Cowboys would likely finish 8-4 and be prime for San Antonio. But at 7-5, the Alamo would probably make a play for K-State, which is 5-3 and more likely to go 8-4. Most likely foe: Illinois.

* Insight: OSU. The Tempe, Ariz., bowl hasn’t had the Cowboys and will be interested in letting OSU fans prove themselves as good travelers when they have to fly. And this is a good place to fly to. Most likely foe: Indiana.

* Independence: Texas Tech. Any bowl will take any team over Colorado. The Red Raiders likely are headed for a 7-5 finish. Most likely foe: Mississippi State.

* Texas Bowl: Colorado. Buffs are headed for a 7-5 finish, and Houston bowl organizers will have to scramble to sell tickets. Most likely foe: Houston U. 

TEN THINGS I LEARNED SITTING ON THE SOFA

10. Texas Tech is a fraud. The Red Raiders are 6-3 with victories over SMU, UTEP, Rice, Northwestern Louisiana, Iowa State and Texas A&M. Tech still has Baylor to play, so the Raiders will get to seven wins, but this is not a vintage Tech team. Colorado’s Terrence Wheatley covered Texas Tech freshman phenom Michael Crabtree much of the game. Crabtree had 12 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown  —  yet Wheatley won the duel that was as much fun as anything on TV all day. Wheatley’s three interceptions of quarterback Graham Harrell won the game.

9. Kid Nichol has a future at Michigan State. The OU freshman committed to Michigan State before switching to the Sooners; now Nichol is stuck behind Sam Bradford, who doesn’t seem likely to give up the job until, oh, 2011. So Nichol has a choice to make. Transfer, sit out and have three years eligibility remaining somewhere. Or be patient and likely be the OU quarterback as a fifth-year senior in 2011. Michigan State has a decent junior quarterback in Brian Hoyer, a 60-percent passer with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. But the Spartans will need a QB in 2009.

8. Barry Tompkins is the worst network announcer in America. Any sport. The Fox Sports Net play-by-play man called the USC-Oregon game; why he is the lead voice on Pac-10 telecasts remains a mystery.

7. Good news for Big 12 officiating. The zebras are just as bad everywhere else in college football. I saw two of the most horrendous calls I’ve seen in years. In the Mississippi State-Kentucky game, Mississippi State’s Derek Pegues was called for an out-of-bounds hit on scrambling Kentucky Andre Woodson. Trouble was, Woodson was not out of bounds. He was striving for the first-down marker, and Pegues hit Woodson in bounds and kept him from reaching the first down. Yet here came a flag. In the Arizona State-California game, Cal fumbled a punt and the Sun Devils recovered, but a Pac-10 official inexplicably whistled the play dead. Horrible calls. Just horrible.

6. Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart might deserve the Heisman. Stewart, who played awfully well in that duel against OU’s Adrian Peterson in September 2006, ranks with Arkansas’ Darren McFadden as the best tailbacks in college football. The demise of USC is vastly overstated; the Trojans held Oregon to 339 yards, though the Ducks won 24-17. Stewart’s 103 yards on 25 carries were all big.

5. The SEC East is grand fun. Georgia leads at 4-2. Vanderbilt and Kentucky are tied for last at 2-3. That’s 11/2 games separating first from last. Georgia still has to play Auburn. Tennessee controls its own destiny; it wins the East with victories over Arkansas, Vanderbilt and at Kentucky. But who knows what will happen in this crazy division.

4. Tennessee is a total mess. The Vols are like Seinfeld’s girlfriend in that episode when she alternately looked beautiful and hideous. Tennessee got routed in September road games at California and Florida, then whipped Georgia. But Alabama walloped the Vols on Oct. 20, and Phil Fulmer’s job security seemed shaky. Then Tennessee went up 21-0 on South Carolina on Saturday night. But the Gamecocks scored 24 straight points to take the lead, and the Volunteers needed a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left, just to send the game into overtime. There, Tennessee won and now is in control of the East. Totally unpredictable team.

3. Texas’ slump is not over. The Longhorns rallied to beat Nebraska 28-25, thanks to Jamaal Charles’ 216 rushing yards in the fourth quarter, but no way the Huskers should have extended the ‘Horns. Nebraska has been awful the last month; Texas should have rolled in this game. And didn’t.

2. Kansas saw Dead Poets Society. Robin Williams’ character urged his prep school students to “seize the day,” and the Jayhawks certainly have done that. They have taken advantage of a cream-puff non-conference schedule, a favorable conference schedule and a generally down year in the Big 12 to forge a 9-0 record. Give Kansas credit. The Jayhawks have won in Manhattan, Boulder and College Station. And get this; Kansas is a 19-point favorite this Saturday against Nebraska.

1. Ohio State is better than we thought. The Buckeyes routed Penn State in Happy Valley, and now it appears only Michigan can derail Ohio State’s return to the Big Bowl. 

TEN BIG LOSERS FROM WEEK 9

10. Rice: The Owls lost to Marshall 34-21 in perhaps college football’s dud game of the year; the 0-7 Thundering Herd vs. the 1-6 Owls.

9. South Florida: After beating Auburn and West Virginia, the Bulls now have lost two straight, to Rutgers and Connecticut, which is not as bad as it sounds but still is not kosher for a team that a couple of weeks ago had national-championship aspirations.

8. Phil Bennett: The SMU coach had to know he would get the axe, but the Mustangs wasted little time after SMU officially was eliminated from bowl eligibility. The Mustangs led Tulsa 23-21 late in the game and had first-and-goal on the TU 5-yard line. Somehow, that turned into a 29-23 defeat, and Bennett was fired the next day, effective the end of the season.

7. Mark Sanchez: The USC quarterback, with his chance to shine in relief of injured John David Booty, played not so well in a 24-17 loss at Oregon. Booty can’t get back fast enough for the Trojans.

6. Michigan State: The Spartans blew a 17-3 halftime lead and lost 34-27 in overtime to Iowa, and now 5-4 Michigan State might not make a bowl game.

5. Karl Dorrell: The UCLA coach just can’t get over the hump. The Bruins went to Pullman, Wash., controlling their own destiny in the Pac-10, 4-0 in the league with games against Washington State and Arizona next. But UCLA was dominated 27-7 by WSU, and now a bowl game might not even be in the cards.

4. Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles should be the class of Conference USA but were routed at home by Central Florida 34-17 and fell to 4-4.

3. Mike Leach: Another year in which the Texas Tech coach will fail to even challenge for the Big 12 South title. The Red Raiders are amazingly consistent, but after a 31-26 home loss to Colorado, Tech is headed for a fifth-place finish in the South, their worst in the Big 12 era.

2. Virginia Tech: Let’s see. Playing the nation’s No. 2-ranked team, on your home field, leading 10-0 with six minutes left, in rainy conditions, and you punt the ball away and never really get it back in losing 14-10. The Hokies could have been in the BCS race.

1. Tim Tebow: The Florida quarterback went from Heisman front-runner to beat-up quarterback as Georgia popped the Gators 42-30. 

TEN BIG WINNERS FROM WEEK 9

10. Turner Gill: I know I’ve lauded Gill before, but he’s got Buffalo U. 4-1 in the Mid-American Conference after a 26-10 win over Akron. If Gill keeps winning, Tom Osborne will have to look at him for the Nebraska job.

9. Mark Mangino: The leading candidate for national coach of the year. Kansas is 9-0 after winning at Texas A&M, and the Jayhawks figure to be 10-0 going to Stillwater.

8. Phil Fulmer: The Tennessee coach went from the hot seat to riding shotgun in the SEC East. The Vols beat South Carolina 27-24 in overtime after squandering a 21-0 lead. If Tennessee wins out (Arkansas, Vanderbilt, at Kentucky), the Vols reach the SEC title game.

7. Matthew Stafford: The Georgia quarterback upstaged Tim Tebow in the Bulldogs’ 42-30 upset of Florida. The sophomore looked good in beating Oklahoma State in September. He looked awfully good in beating Florida  —  11 of 18 passing for 217 yards and three TDs.

6. Dennis Dixon: Don’t rule out Dixon for the Heisman after he led Oregon to a 24-17 victory over USC.

5. Connecticut: Has ever there been a BCS contender that is no better than the third-most popular team on its own campus? UConn hoops rule in the state, both men and women, but make way for football after Connecticut took over the Big East lead with a 22-15 victory over South Florida.

4. Arizona State: Two momentum-changing calls went against the Sun Devils and still they beat California going away, 31-20, to remain undefeated. The Sun Devils won’t stay that way, but Dennis Erickson has Arizona State playing well.

3. Sylvester Croom: The Mississippi State coach got a big win, 31-14 at Kentucky, and suddenly the Bulldogs have a shot at 7-5, if they can win at Arkansas in two weeks.

2. Todd Boeckman: No, not Tim Beckman, the Oklahoma State defensive coordinator who came from Ohio State. Todd Boeckman is the Ohio State quarterback making Buckeye fans think of Craig Krenzel, who led Ohio State to the 2002 national title. Boeckman might do the same, if the 37-17 rout of Penn State is any indication.

1. Matt Ryan: The Boston College quarterback looked like anything but a Heisman contender for 55 minutes against Virginia Tech. Then Ryan looked like Brett Favre in delivering two touchdown passes that beat Virginia 14-10.

Tonight is Halloween, and I’m sitting home, passing out candy, trying to get some work done and watching some NBA basketball. Cavs-Mavs on ESPN, Hornets-Kings on Cox. I could have went out to Lloyd Noble Center and checked out the Sooners, who play an exhibition against Rockhurst College, but that was a pass.

Truth is, the NBA is a far superior product, and that was one of the great lessons taught by the Hornets. Pro hoops are much better than college. Almost every NBA game is competitive; there are a few exceptions, but for the most part, you don’t know who will win.  Not so with the college game.

OSU and OU have some decent December games, but OSU’s are mostly in Hawaii, OU’s in New York, should the Sooners get there.  Until January, the only watchable OU home games are against Tulsa and Arkansas, the only watchable OSU home game is against Washington. OU plays Gonzaga at the Ford Center, where OSU plays ORU in a brother matchup. That’s basically unacceptable.

Meanwhile, five minutes into the NBA games, we were reminded of why we loved the NBA so much. Most anything could happen. These games, even in October, were anything but scrimmages. Come back soon, NBA. Come back soon.

Clay Bennett’s bid to bring the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City has hit a muddy road, and that’s not at all surprising. Cities are not quick to let go of their major-league franchises.

Seattle went to court to force the Sonics to adhere to the lease that keeps the NBA team at KeyArena through spring 2010, and that’s to be expected. Few cities are glad to see major-league franchises gone. From what I’ve read, Charlotte was so disgusted with George Shinn, it said good riddance to the Hornets in 2001, but that kind of attitude is rare. Most cities will call out all options to keep their teams.

Going to court was a solid move for Seattle. Think this through. A judge is to decide whether a civil matter belongs in a civil court, his or someone equal to him, or before a panel of arbiters. Seems like a home-court advantage. Civil courts aren’t overworked like criminal courts. Give a district court judge a chance to get rid of cases, and he jumps at it. A civil-court judge has no such motivation.

So the Sonics will have to prove their case before a judge and likely won’t. And frankly, that’s OK. I’m no expert, and I could read that lease 50 times and make no more sense of it than I know now, but you have to assume it’s pretty clear. The franchise agreed to play at KeyArena through 2010. What’s unclear about that?

Here’s what must happen if the Sonics want to leave for Oklahoma City after this season. They must negotiate their way out of the lease. If you break the lease, you’ve broken a contract. The lease is binding. So negotiate. Let Seattle know that you are leaving one way or the other, if not now then in 2010, so let’s talk.

Emotions will flare, but business sense takes over at some point.

Seattle’s point is obvious. Keep the team in Seattle as long as possible, and maybe something will break on the arena that will keep the team in town. Excellent strategy.  Would the Sonics embrace an arena plan now that the deadline has come and nothing has transpired? I say yes. Bennett is too good a businessman not to lay aside his pride and accept what would be a financial bonanza for his franchise and the league.

But Bennett’s mission also must be to convince Seattle that the Sonics are leaving, later if not sooner. When Seattle finally believes that no way will the team stay, then it can enter a negotiating phase. The Sonics and Seattle had a devil of a time talking about a new arena. They will have a devil of a time talking about a buyout of the lease. But that must come, or else both sides lose. The Sonics lose time in getting out of town, and Seattle loses whatever gains it could squeeze out of Bennett at the negotiating table.

Oklahoma State’s bowl hopes don’t ride quite as much as we thought on beating either Texas or Kansas. The Cowboys now look like they can go bowling at 6-6. The Big 12 has eight bowl slots, and the only way a 6-6 team is eligible for a bowl is if it is needed to fill out those slots. A few weeks ago, it appeared the Big 12 might have at least eight teams with at least seven wins. Not so anymore.

Iowa State and Baylor have been mathematically eliminated from seven victories. And Nebraska has fallen to 4-5 and might not win again; it goes to Kansas and Colorado and hosts Kansas State. The Huskers will have to win all three to get to 7-5 and would have to win two of three to reach 6-6.

Kansas, Missouri, OU and Texas already have reached seven wins. Texas Tech is  6-3 but still has Baylor so should get there. That’s five berths.

Kansas State is 5-3 but still has Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri and Fresno State. All but Mizzou is on the road, but KSU should be able to go 2-2 and reach seven. Colorado is 5-4 and still hosts Missouri, but it also hosts Nebraska and goes to Iowa State. Win those two, and the Buffs are in. That’s seven.

So if OSU flirts with 6-6, its bowl hopes could come down to Texas A&M. The Aggies are 6-3 but will be underdogs the rest of the way; at OU, at Missouri and home against Texas. If A&M goes 6-6, coach Dennis Franchione is likely to lose his job. (Same with Nebraska and coach Bill Callahan.) If a bowl gets a pick between 6-6 OSU and 6-6 A&M, the Cowboys seem the obvious choice. The Aggies would be in turmoil, without a coach, and the season would not be considered successful.

A 6-6 season wouldn’t be reason to throw a parade in Stillwater, but at least no one is after Mike Gundy’s job. Put it together, and it looks like OSU does not have to beat Kansas or Texas to make a bowl. 

Sorry, but I don’t buy the theory that Saturday was a bad BCS day for the idle Sooners. So Oregon beat USC. Someone had to win; it’s in the rules. And if it had been USC that won, the Trojans would have jumped the Sooners in the BCS, and OU would be in the business of cheering against the Trojans instead of cheering against the Ducks.Same with Boston College-Virginia Tech on Thursday night. If V-Tech had beaten BC, the Hokies would have jumped the Sooners, I assume, and Boston College would have fallen like a bag of rocks.

Truth is, the weekend went well for OU, and here’s why. This crazy Big Bowl mess is all about staying in the race. This is a battle of attrition; who can stay standing. In years past, it’s been about staying undefeated. This year, it’s about having less than two losses. We entered the weekend with 14 teams, discounting Hawaii and Boise State, having fewer than two losses. We only have 10 coming out.

Think about that. In the BCS leagues, only 10 schools go into November with fewer than two losses. In the SEC East, the best division/conference in football, every team has at least two conference losses. The weekend dropped USC, Virginia Tech, South Florida and Virginia from the club.That leaves 9-0
Ohio State, 8-0 Kansas, 8-0 Arizona State, 8-0 Boston College and six 7-1 teams: OU, LSU, Oregon, Missouri, West Virginia and Connecticut.

The Sooners don’t have to scoreboard-watch against Kansas and Missouri. If OU stays in BCS contention, it will get its crack against the KU-Mizzou winner in the Big 12 title game. So that means the Sooners have to worry only about seven teams.

Oregon and Arizona State play each other in what figures to be an elimination game, and they have other losable games. West Virginia-UConn, same way, although the Mountaineers very well could go 11-1. LSU plays Alabama and the SEC title game. Boston College plays what amounts to five tossup games, counting the ACC championship, so no one really worries about the Eagles.

The point is, OU’s competitors are down to a manageable number, and now it’s a crapshoot, and a team that loses at Colorado in September can ask for little more.

Here’s something I already knew but was reminded of this week. Readers love to read about nicknames. It’s got to be one of the top five subjects, on a long-term basis, that I’ve ever written about. Anyway, I thought I’d share a few comments, including some ideas on nicknames, from readers.

Pete wrote, “Several weeks ago while watching OU and Sam (Bradford) play, it came to me. I remember the days of great nicknames in sports. For several weeks now, at least around my house, he is the Cherokee Kid. Thus I suppose he is Sam “the Cherokee Kid” Bradford. I see nothing there that has any disrespect to the tribes and he is Cherokee and is a kid.  Just seems to fit. Bob Stoops can keep on coaching, Ernie Els can keep his nickname and you can coach nicknaming. You are still doing a good job and I am hoping that Coach Stoops never hollers at Jenni. Like her writing also.”

I like it. I might use it. I might be rejected by editors. But I like it.

Mack wrote, “It seems that nicknames probably ought to apply to Sports Writer types also. How about ‘Kennel Blind’ for Scott Wright, ‘Poison Pen’ for Jenni  Carlson, and ‘EGO MAN’ for yourself. As you have said, ‘Don’t sugar coat it.

Hey, what did Scott Wright ever do to anybody?

David thought the nickname column was “great. I help coach a 9-year-old football team. When we started this team 5 years ago, the other coaches and myself would give players nicknames based on their personality.  As the players got older, the nicknames stuck and most are known by them at home, school and on the field.  It has become a right of passage on our team to earn a nickname.  Our roster lists all of our player’s nicknames (on the team website).

Some of the highlights: ‘Cheese;’ his first name is Colby, so you have colby cheese.  His brother is named Mackinzie and is nicknamed Mac. So you have Mac and Cheese. ‘Wheels,’ who is a running back. ’Bulldog,’ a little guy, but what people don’t see is that under that uniform he is all muscle and nothing but power and strength. ‘Boomer,’ the first time he kicked off this year he boomed a kick deep. ‘GQ,’ who is our QB. This kid changes clothes 10 times a day. He freaks out if his undershirt clashes with his jersey.  He is the first to point out to his teammates if their under armor shirt doesn’t match the uniform. Shoot, our kids go by their nicknames so much, that I had to start putting them in our highlight videos because most of the parents don’t know the first names of the kids on our team.”

As a lover of nicknames, I must salute David. I thought I was reading about the Bronco Nagurski Bears. Of course, one big difference. The Monsters of the Midway never had a web site or a highlight video.

Robert wrote, “Your mention of Doctor Strangeglove stirred childhood memories. What a great nickname! It captured not only Stuart’s fielding ineptitude but played off a classic film that helped define that era. It might be fun sometime to come up with an all-time nickname team for the sports. My vote for that club’s first baseman wouldn’t be Stuart, however, but for my al-ltime favorite nickname, Irv “Foursack” Dousack.”

I pride myself on baseball history, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve never heard of Foursack Dousack. So I looked him up. Alas, I couldn’t find a reference to the great Irv “Foursack” Dousack. Perhaps a sandlot legend who never made it big.

Frank attributed the dearth of nicknames to political correctness: “It was with great sadness I read your article concerning the demise of the great past time of conferring nicknames on sports figures. However, I believe I can shed some light on the lack of such. PC. Yep, that insidious disease that has invaded every nook and cranny of our society today. I’ll quickly run down your published list and explain.

“1. Wahoo McDaniel – sounds too much like ‘Wahoo! I won the jackpot!’. Can’t have a gambling slant, now can we? 2. Mule Train Heath – Come on now, the PETA crowd is going to be all over this. Poor mules. How dare we hitch these poor animals up and work them, like, well mules. 3. Indian Jack Jacobs – I really shouldn’t have to explain who’s comin’ after you on this one. Can’t have our Native Americans (what does that really mean anyway? Didn’t the ‘Native’ Americans come across the Bering Sea land bridge during the last ice age? So why are they ‘Native’?) 4. Snorter Luster – What’s he been snorten’? Send him to the labs for testing!!!! Ban him for life! Has he been hangin’ with that Williams kid? 5.Cactus Face Duggan – Oh man, are you insensitive. Poor Gilford. I’m sure he was scared for life by this one. Didn’t he land on skid row somewhere?

“No, Mr. Tramel, sadly it isn’t that we have ‘lost the touch’, we have ‘lost the will’ to stand up for what we think and be willing to defend our rights to tell others to mind their own damn business. Wow, this is all pretty insensitive of me, isn’t it? Got to go, I’m going to enroll in some sensitivity training right now!”

Frank ‘ugler than the south end of a Missouri mule’

Frank made me laugh out loud. Let me make two points. Anyone who calls themself  “Frank, uglier than the south end of a Missouri mule,” I’ve got to see for myself. Sounds like he could make Cactus Face a looker. And while Frank is either extremely funny or extremely angry, he’s got a point. PC does prohibit us from calling guys certain nicknames. For instance, Indian Jack Jacobs in 1940 was OK. Indian Sam Bradford, not going to happen.

Alan wrote, “My uncle played for OU from 1939-41 and was known as ‘Tree Top’ Sharpe because of his height. No one seemed to know that his name was Lou. It seems like everyone on the team at the time had nicknames, not all of them were flattering. One example was a player named Shadid that they called ‘the goat’ because he was so ugly.”

I didn’t understand the Shadid-goat connection, but then again, my farm experience is sort of like B.J. Hunnicut on M*A*S*H*. I stepped in some manure once.

Jim wrote, “I also like the names Jake the Snake (Plummer) and Blue Moon Odom.  Blue Moon worked for me at a Xerox plant in Southern California in the 1980’s. At the time of the plant closing I think he got arrested for drugs. I got his autograph on a box of whiskey he got me for a present one year.”

Blue Moon was on the 1971 Oakland pitching staff with Catfish Hunter and Mudcat Grant, forming quite likely the greatest collection of pitching nicknames ever assembled.

Shannon wrote, “Just a couple of suggestions for nicknames to be used in headlines referring to the Great Sam Bradford. Shotgun Sam and Wham Bam, Thank You Sam! If I think of anymore, I’ll send them on. By the way, I thought Sudden Sam was a pretty cool name.”

Splendid email. Endorsing one of my nicknames (Sudden Sam), giving me one even better (Shotgun Sam) and giving us a great headline for the future.

Eric wrote, “Interesting column on nicknames. I’ve been very impressed with the play of the Sooners’ d-end Auston English this season. If I had to give him a nickname, it would be something like, ‘Sonic Boom.’”

I think opposing quarterbacks would agree.

I wrote about nicknames yesterday, and how they aren’t as good as they used to be. I came up with the 10 best college football nicknames ever, a list that in no way do I claim is encyclopedic. A sport as historic and tradition-rich as college football will have hundreds of pockets of teams and players that don’t immediately spring to mind.

I do think, however, that anyone will be hard-pressed to beat The Galloping Ghost as a nickname. Or Crazy Legs.

I mentioned in the column this morning and the video yesterday that I had produced a top-10 list of OU football nicknames. Here are the 10:

10. Claude “Little Tub” Tyler:  Little Tub wouldn’t go over today, but it’s a great name for 1919.

9. Raymond “Sugar Bear” Hamilton: I love nicknames that are opposites. There was nothing sweet about the way Ray Hamilton played defense, either at Douglass High School or OU or the New England football Patriots.

8. Forest “Spot” Geyer: OU’s first great passer, in 1915, nicknamed for his pinpoint passing. Hey, “Spot” Bradford has a nice ring to it.

7. “The Boz”: Pretty much sells itself.

6. “Bugger” Paul Parker: You know, I never have heard why Paul Parker was called “Bugger.” Doesn’t sound very nice.

5. Dewey “Snorter” Luster: Another opposite. Snorter was a mild-mannered coach.

4. Indian Jack Jacobs: Great quarterback from 1940. You never could get away with that today. Indian Sam Bradford?

3. Gilford “Cactus Face” Duggan: Same deal. If I called someone Cactus Face today, I might get a Mike Gundy rant out of Bob Stoops.

2. Leon “Mule Train” Heath: On second thought, this might should be No. 1 and probably deserves to be on the college football 10. Mule Train. Just a fantastic nickname.

1. Ed “Wahoo” McDaniel: I don’t know what it means, but I know I love the nickname of this 1958 linebacker.

My old friend Ed Frost wrote me today about this subject. It was good stuff:

“Agreed, today’s nicknames aren’t as good as yesteryears’.  The question that interests me is: why?  Are Americans less creative now?  Are we falling victim to making everything shorter and quicker — and less interesting?  Is it part of the technology and speed process?  You know, like it happened with songs.  Some of the old folk ballads used to have 20 or more verses and endless variations.  But when records came along and disc jockeys, the radio stations didn’t want songs that lasted more than about three minutes.

“Anyway, I enjoyed the column today, and it brought back memories, like a kid in Hobart who played ball and was known as Booger Red.  Don’t know why.  His real name was William Lee, I think.  And he is deceased, so we can’t ask him. ”

All I can say is, bye, bye, Miss American Pie.

Question of the week

Who should OU fans cheer for tonight when Virginia Tech hosts Boston College? The obvious answer seems BC. But maybe not. The 7-0 Eagles are No. 2 in the BCS; 6-1 Virginia Tech is No. 8 in the BCS. The Sooners are sixth in the BCS.

If BC loses to the Hokies, they almost surely would fall below OU. But Virginia Tech almost certainly would rise above OU. So it could come down to this: Who is more likely to lose after Thursday, Boston College or Virginia Tech? Let’s look at the schedules.

BC: Florida State, at Maryland, at Clemson, Miami. I’d say all winnable, all losable.

V-Tech: at Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami, at Virginia. Wild, isn’t it, how similar are those schedules. Both host Florida State and Miami; both have two interesting road games. That
Virginia game is a bear; the Cavaliers are 7-1, but they’ve been scraping by.

Here’s my suggestion. Cheer for Boston College. In times like these, where who knows how the rankings will end up, the goal is to get two losses on every team and remove all doubt. If Virginia Tech beats Boston College, they still both could lose. If BC wins this one, I don’t see them losing two more. 

TEN BIG WINNERS FROM WEEK 8

10. Oklahoma State: Cowboys kept alive Big 12 South title hopes with rousing 41-39 win over Kansas State.

9. Michigan: Wolverines, given up for dead eight days into September, have won six straight and still could make the Rose Bowl after a 27-17 win at
Illinois.

8. Sonny Lubick: Venerable Colorado State coach ended a 13-game losing streak with 48-23 win at UNLV.

7. Temple: Kicked out of the Big East, the Owls might have found a home in the Mid-American Conference, a reputable league of upstarts. Temple beat Miami-Ohio 24-17 to raise its record to 3-2 in the MAC.

6. Kansas: Jayhawks won another Big 12 road game, 19-14 at Colorado, and now we’ve got to get serious about 7-0 KU running the table.

5. Rutgers: Scarlet Knights popped South Florida 30-27, signaling again that Greg Schiano has put together a solid program at the University of New Jersey.

4.  Tim Tebow: The Florida sophomore won a quarterback derby royale in a 45-37 victory over Kentucky. UK stud Andre Woodson completed 35 of 50 for 415 yards and five touchdowns. But Tebow completed 18 of 26 for 256 yards and four TDs, ran 78 yards on 20 carries, and solidified himself as the Heisman favorite.

3. UCLA: Don’t look now, but the Bruins are 4-0 in the Pac-10 after a 30-21 victory over California. UCLA has proven it’s not a powerhouse, not with a blowout loss to Utah and being Notre Dame’s only victim. But staying in Pac-10 contention into November is a solid feat.

2. Jonathan Stewart: The Oregon junior looks like a big-time pro prospect  —  we saw him excel against the Sooners a year ago  —  and showed it Saturday against Washington, rushing for 251 of Oregon’s school-record 465 yards.

1. North Dakota State: Coach Craig Bohl was a big winner, too, after a 27-21 victory over Minnesota that will elevate Bohl into consideration for the job at Nebraska, his alma mater. But North Dakota State, which left the comfort of NCAA Division II to compete in I-AA, made a big name for itself and thrilled more than 30,000 of its fans who made the trip to Minneapolis. This will rank as one of the 10 biggest moments in North Dakota sports history.

ZANY ZEBRAS

Big East commissioner Mike Transghese this week called the University of Louisville, saying officials erred in allowing a Connecticut touchdown on a punt return. Seems UConn’s Larry Taylor waved his right hand above his head, appearing to make a fair catch signal, then caught the ball and ran 74 yards for a touchdown.

Connecticut won 21-17, and Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe was livid at the non-call. I didn’t see the play. But that’s just horrible officiating. This wasn’t holding or a bang-bang pass interference. This was a signal made in the open, not in a split-second situation. And still the officials couldn’t get it right.

College football officiating is mostly terrible. First off, there are too many convoluted rules, and these weekend zebras can’t possibly stay on top of every situation. Also, not enough leagues are like the Big East and publicize transgressions; the Big 12, for instance, operates in virtual secrecy on its officiating errors. Better to come clean and let the public know how the sport is dealing with its arbiters.

A play in the Jacksonville-Indianapolis game Monday night showed the vast difference between college and NFL officiating. A Jacksonville runner went up the middle, was tackled just shy of the end zone, then scooted across the goal line. The umpire stepped right in, without looking for help from either of his side officials, and pointed at the ground, indicating no touchdown.That’s exactly what was needed in the 2005 OU-Texas Tech game, when Tech’s Taurean Henderson was ruled to have scored on the last play of the game, but by the sideline official who waited several seconds to make the call, by which time Henderson had crawled well into the end zone.

At Lubbock that day, the Big 12 crew needed an umpire who would stick his nose into the act. In Jacksonville this week, the NFL had an umpire willing to do just that. 

SWEET 16

This could be the season we have a two-loss team in the Big Bowl. It almost happened in 2001, when 10-2 Colorado finished fourth in the BCS. Only 16 teams in Division I-A have fewer than two losses, and we’ve still got a Saturday left in October, much less the nail spikes of November.

We can throw out 7-0 Hawaii and 6-1 Boise State. The Rainbows could make the BCS, but they’re not making the BCS title game. So that gets us down to 14 teams still eligible to beat two losses:

Boston College 7-0: Likely record, 11-2. As you saw earlier, lots of tossup games, plus we didn’t even count a potential ACC title game. BC is leading the Atlantic Division.

Virginia 7-1: Likely record, 10-2. Can the Cavaliers keep skating by? They’ve won their last three games by four points total and they’ve won five of their last six by five points or less.

Virginia Tech 6-1: Likely record, 10-3. I saw Virginia Tech try to keep up with LSU in September; I can’t believe the Hokies have improved enough to be national-title contenders.

UConn 6-1: Likely record, 8-4. The biggest fraud on this list. Connecticut’s victims include Duke, Maine, Temple, Pitt and Akron. Only Louisville was a good win, and that was referee-tainted.

South Florida 6-1: Likely record, 11-1. The Bulls have road games left at UConn, Syracuse and Pitt. Don’t discount USF to be back in the Big Bowl.

West Virginia 6-1: Likely record, 11-1. Mountaineers play at Rutgers and Cincinnati. I don’t see them losing again.

LSU 7-1: Likely record, 11-2. Only one tough regular-season game left, but it’s a holy war  —  at
Alabama and former coach Nick Saban. Then there would be an SEC title game matchup against perhaps Florida, which should have won in the Bayou a few weeks ago.

Arizona State 7-0: Likely record, 9-3. Sun Devils have avoided the top four teams in the Pac-10. That changes beginning Saturday, against Cal. Then comes at Oregon, at UCLA, USC and finally a breather in
Arizona.

Oregon 6-1: Likely record, 10-2. The Ducks get USC and Arizona State at home this week and next. If they go 2-0, watch out. The schedule lightens up after that.

USC 6-1: Likely record, 9-3. The Trojans have a brutal path to New Orleans. At Oregon, home to Oregon State, at California, at Arizona State, home to UCLA, which don’t forget is unbeaten in the Pac-10. If USC goes 11-1, they deserve the No. 1 seed in America.

Ohio State 8-0: Likely record, 11-1. Buckeyes don’t have an easy game left. They hosted Michigan State last week and won 24-17. Every team left is better than the Spartans. At Penn State, home to Wisconsin, home to Illinois, at Michigan.

Kansas 7-0: Likely record, 10-2. I don’t like the Jayhawks. Nothing personal, I just think they’ve scheduled themselves to success. But you know what? They could win out. Their toughest game left is Missouri on a neutral-field in Kansas City. Next toughest is at Stillwater.

Missouri 6-1: Likely record, 11-2. I think Mizzou wins out, if the Tigers can get past Kansas State in Manhattan. How about this showdown  —  OU vs. Missouri in a Big 12 title game that is a virtual national semifinal? It could happen.

Oklahoma 7-1: Likely record, 12-1. The Sooners have a breeze until they get to Lubbock. It won’t be easy to win at Texas Tech, but OU always defends the Red Raiders well.

So, if my likely records pan out, here’s your final BCS rankings:

1. Ohio State. 2. Oklahoma. 3. West Virginia. 4. South Florida. All of which means two things:

* Watch out for Florida. If the Gators win out, they would be 11-2, as SEC champs and victories over LSU, Kentucky, Florida State, Tennessee and South Carolina.

* The Big 12 title game would be a great blessing to OU (or Missouri, or even Kansas). Rip it all you want, but the game can help a team as often as hurt it. This year is a perfect example. The Sooners need all the good games they can get on their schedule. 

GOOD EATS

I’ve got to start paying more attention. We used the drive-through at the Stillwater Arby’s about midnight Saturday, and there were two lanes to order in, which merged into one to go past the windows.

It’s all marketing. It doesn’t speed up the process; in fact, it slows it down, because the guy in the window has to ask which order is yours. It’s all a way to make you think the line isn’t as long as it really is. But as long as I get plenty of Arby’s sauce, I won’t complain too much. 

TEN BIG LOSERS FROM WEEK 8

10. Oklahoma: Style points count when the BCS is this crazy, and OU’s 17-7 squeaker over Iowa State cost the Sooners some in the human polls as well as the computers.

9. Cincinnati: The Bearcats had a chance to go deep into Big East contention, but a 24-17 loss at woeful Pitt brought Cincy back to reality.

8. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders have laid a lot of road eggs, but fewer bigger than a 41-10 loss at Missouri. Until Tech starts playing better away from Lubbock, it won’t be a Big 12 South contender.

7. Tulsa: After looking strong for awhile in a loss to OU, the Hurricane had visions of going 11-1. But losses to UTEP and Central Florida have Tulsa scrambling just to get a Conference USA bowl berth.

6. Gary Patterson: The luster is off the TCU coach, who has produced three 11-win seasons in the last four years. After a loss to Utah, the Horned Frogs are 4-4.

5. Bobby Bowden: Hard to believe, but the Florida State-Miami game was an afterthought on the national scale. Sort of like OU-Texas in the mid-90s. Florida State’s 37-29 loss to Miami  —  how did those two teams score so many points?  —  left Bowden at 370 coaching victories and susceptible to Joe Paterno, who is at 369 and gaining.

4. Phil Bennett: The ex-OU defensive coordinator is dead man walking at SMU, especially after a 41-34 overtime loss to hapless Tulane. SMU now is 1-6, and no one believes Bennett can save his job.

3. South Carolina: The Gamecocks were a little bit of a fraud at No. 6 in the nation, but the clock shouldn’t have struck midnight at home against Vanderbilt. The Commodores not only won, they dominated.

2. Phil Fulmer: The Tennessee coach always wins more than enough to keep his job, but a 41-17 loss to Alabama can’t make the Vol Nation happy.

1. South Florida: The Bulls are likely to win out, which makes their 30-27 loss at Rutgers sting all the more.