You may recall that Georgia Tech was Notre Dame's opponent in the climactic scene of Rudy, which makes me wonder: If the Irish's current players were to march into the coach's office like that, do you think Charlie Weis would just say, "I've got four Super Bowl rings, I'll win with or without you"?

Jerry Seinfeld once said that, because of sports teams' constant changeover of players, fans are essentially rooting for uniforms. Such is the case with the Trojans. Reggie Bush and LenDale White are gone, replaced by a new set of guys in cardinal-and-gold running really, really fast.

David Cutcliffe may be the first coach in history to earn savior-like status by getting fired. Seriously. The same guy Ole Miss fans ran out of town is now considered by Tennessee fans to be the answer to all their problems. He's good, all right, but he can't catch the passes.

Last year's stinker included a botched field-goal snap, two muffed punt returns and a self-inflicted goal-line stand, but it did launch Jenn Sterger's rise to stardom. This year I'll settle for a few more completed passes, a running play longer than 10 yards -- and more shots of Jenn and her pals.

I'm not sure Ohio State could have picked a worse opening opponent. If the Buckeyes lose (entirely possible), their season is shot. And even if they win but their young defense gives up a bunch of yards to Garrett Wolfe (more probable), mass panic will ensue heading into the Texas game.

Tommy Tuberville is a beloved man on The Plains. After years of questions about his job security -- and a foiled secret-ouster attempt -- he finally won over the faithful with a 13-0 season. So how quickly would that plane be back in Louisville if he loses to a 4-7 team from the "soft" Pac-10?

At long last, the great Ben Olson will be unveiled to the masses. One of the top quarterback recruits in 2001 before redshirting a year at BYU, going on a two-year Mormon mission and sitting out a year at UCLA, he'll square off against, of all teams, his old archrival.

Little-known fact: The long-downtrodden Bears were a win away from bowl eligibility last season and lost to Texas A&M and Oklahoma in overtime. Their new offensive coordinator has installed Texas Tech's famed "air raid" passing attack. The Horned Frogs will never know what hit 'em.