Tonight, Miami coach Larry Coker will feast with his players and assistants on turkey and the trimmings. On Thanksgiving night, he will run through the Orange Bowl smoke for likely the last time. Coker is expected to be dismissed by the university as early as Friday morning.
-- Miami Herald

Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio has been mentioned prominently as a candidate to become head coach at Michigan State. He coached there from 1995-2000 as an assistant, finishing his stay there as associate head coach. UC athletic director Mike Thomas said he has had discussions with Dantonio about what needs to be done to keep him at the school.
-- Cincinnati Enquirer

Though no front-runner for the Orange Bowl game's at-large bid was established at Monday's committee meeting, Louisville and West Virginia (if they win their final two games) have emerged as strong candidates, with at least one of those two likely to be on the board when the OB picks.
-- Miami Herald

A member of the USC football staff jogged over to the side during practice to make sure an out-of-town reporter wasn't jotting down game strategy for Notre Dame. That was nothing compared with the Trojans fan who pointed to a helicopter hovering above the practice field and said, "Must be Notre Dame up there spying."
-- Chicago Sun-Times

Despite widespread rumors and media reports to the contrary, board members from the University of Alabama insist they have heard nothing, nor suggested anything, regarding the status of Crimson Tide football coach Mike Shula.
-- Montgomery Advertiser

Although Joe Paterno is hobbled, the Nittany Lions don't foresee any problems in his attending the Outback Bowl game in Tampa, Fla.
-- Philadelphia Inquirer

Joakim Noah, the Florida player who might have been the top pick in last June's NBA Draft, was a spectator for much of the first half Tuesday night. Not because of foul trouble. It was effort and intensity trouble. Coach Billy Donovan wasn't happy with what Noah showed of either against Prairie View A&M and sat him for 12 minutes. And then let him have it at halftime.
-- Florida Times-Union

If Ben Olson's knee injury continues to improve, there's a good chance that the UCLA sophomore quarterback will start against USC on Dec. 2, according to Coach Karl Dorrell.
-- Los Angeles Times

There has been speculation Indiana sophomore James Hardy might enter the 2007 NFL draft, but coach Terry Hoeppner said Tuesday he expects his star receiver back next season.
-- Indianapolis Star

A week after the UC regents postponed plans to retrofit Memorial Stadium and build a parking structure and a training center, Cal coach Jeff Tedford chimed in Tuesday on the potential delay. Tedford noticed what he was up against this summer as out-of-state prospects took unofficial visits to Berkeley and were disappointed to see the facilities.
-- San Francisco Chronicle

Last season, coach Rick Barnes called A.J. Abrams one of the worst defensive players he's ever had at Texas. He challenged his starting guard again in practice earlier this week. Barnes put the Longhorns (4-1) through two grueling workouts this week after returning from the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, where they split games against Michigan State and St. John's.
-- Houston Chronicle

In danger of having its consecutive home sellout streak snapped at 32 games because most students had gone home for Thanksgiving, Illinois came up with a novel solution Tuesday night. Athletic boosters paid for the 1,200 unsold tickets, which were distributed to some of Illinois' 5,500 foreign students who responded to an e-mail invitation.
-- Chicago Sun-Times