The absence of Texas A&M senior tailback Courtney Lewis becomes more mysterious each week. Lewis gained more than 1,000 yards as a freshman in 2003, but he has not played in the last two games and has missed four of the seven games this season. Lewis said Tuesday he is dinged up "like everyone else," but not to the point where he can't play.
-- Houston Chronicle

Texas has prided itself on depth, but there is clearly a drop-off in the secondary when starting safety Marcus Griffin and cornerback Tarell Brown are out of the game. Griffin has missed three games and Brown two. There's no assurance they'll play Saturday at No. 17 Nebraska, which uses a West Coast passing attack.
-- Dallas Morning News

UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan can barely speak, the result, he says, of a blow to the throat he took during Saturday's game at Oregon. So will it be possible for him to lead the Bruins against Notre Dame at raucous South Bend, Ind., four days from now? At practice Tuesday, the Bruins were using alternative play-calling systems just in case.
-- Los Angeles Times

USC quarterback John David Booty said his surgically repaired back is sound, but he will take fewer repetitions this week. "It's a good time for me to rest my arm a little bit and come back out next Monday ready to go for the second half," he said.
-- Los Angeles Times

Former University of Georgia basketball coach Ron Jirsa benched a player after he refused to change his major when his class schedule conflicted with practice, former UGA center Robb Dryden said this week. Georgia senior associate athletic director Dick Bestwick confirmed Dryden's account Tuesday.
-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Boston College coach Tom O'Brien announced yesterday he has reinstated junior kicker Ryan Ohliger. Steve Aponavicius, who struggled with the length of his kickoffs, will continue to handle all field goal and extra-point attempts, while Ohliger will handle the kickoffs against Florida State.
-- Boston Globe

Kansas center C.J. Giles' future at Kansas is in jeopardy following Tuesday's suspension for off-court issues. Kansas coach Bill Self declined to specify what led to the disciplinary action, saying only that it didn't involve legal problems. Self said Giles will not be allowed to practice with the Jayhawks. Asked whether Giles' chances of rejoining the team were strong, Self said, "There are no guarantees."
-- Kansas City Star

Stanford's disappointing season took another major hit Tuesday when it was announced that quarterback Trent Edwards will miss the final five games of his senior season because of a foot injury. Redshirt junior T.C. Ostrander, who has started two games in his career, is expected to start Saturday against Arizona State.
-- San Francisco Chronicle

Minnesota football coach Glen Mason made it clear he took offense to fans booing the Gophers in a loss to Penn State two weeks ago and said alcohol might have contributed to negative reaction from fans.
-- Minneapolis Star Tribune

Miami coach Larry Coker said freshman Colin McCarthy or sophomore Spencer Adkins will likely start in place of weak-side linebacker Jon Beason on Saturday at Duke. Coker listed Beason, who was walked off the field Saturday with ice on his left knee, as doubtful with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
-- Miami Herald

Taking advantage of an apparent increase in its recruiting budget, the Vanderbilt men's basketball program has received a verbal commitment from Australian post A.J. Ogilvy. The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder will sign with the Commodores during next month's early recruiting period and will be part of the 2007-08 freshman class. Ogilvy also considered Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico and St. Mary's.
-- The Tennessean