Lame ND excuses, Another Longhorn busted and more

By Phil Guidry

Notre Dame has always been a trendsetter in college football, and it's once again leading the way with this newest fad: blame the coach you fired three years ago.

Charlie Weis shakes the hand of the man responsible for all of Notre Dame's current struggles -- Ty Willingham. AP

Ty Willingham's poor recruiting, the theory goes, left the cupboard bare and set the stage for this debacle ... conveniently ignoring that every team in the top ten has underclassmen who start and/or play significant roles (see USC's Kris O'Dowd, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Florida's Tim Tebow). So if the Irish struggles are Willingham's fault, then Washington's improvement this season can only be credited to the much-maligned Keith Gilbertson. And John Blake, Ron Zook and Paul Hackett want to know where they can get fitted for national championship rings.

Game of the Week

South Carolina at LSU. Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks may have taken down the Georgia Bulldogs, but even the Visor has to admit that the Tigers are a completely different animal (one's a dog, one's a cat). And if Virginia Tech is any indication, LSU's defense is good ... as good as East Carolina's and Ohio's, apparently. (LSU by 17)

Game of the Weak

San Jose State at Utah State. These two teams, which are a combined 0-6, were beaten by a combined score of 91-3 last weekend. Even more embarrassing, one of those beatdowns was handed out by Stanford. (Utah State wins 4-2 on a last-second safety.)

Jim Harbaugh Prediction Watch

USC's march to fulfill Jim Harbaugh's prophecy as the greatest college football team ever continues in Los Angeles, where the Trojans host Washington State. Not merely satisfied with winning games, Pete Carroll's team has added an impressive degree of difficulty: they're attempting to become the first team ever to win the BCS championship without a passing game. (USC by 24)

Les Miles Juggernaut Schedule Award

Even the smallest of Ole Miss fans will be rooting for the Rebels to upset No. 3 Florida. Bill Frakes/SI

As the SEC continues to back up Les Miles' claim that USC has an easier title game road than if they played in Dixie, defending champion Florida finally plays its first game outside the Swamp ... and it's at perennial conference doormat Ole Miss. So far, the only Gator opponent with a winning record is I-A newcomer Western Kentucky. That's one way to get your quarterback on the early Heisman short list. (Florida by 22)

GE/NBC Investment Tracker

Tracking the fortunes of college football's greatest corporation, Notre Dame, we find the stock to be ... down, as they prepare for Saturday's home matchup against Michigan State. It's too bad the Irish never did join the Big Ten when they had the chance, because they could easily finish ninth in the conference this season. Heck, with a few breaks, maybe even eighth. (MSU by 13)

Did You Know?

Charlie Weis, whose Notre Dame team ranks dead last in virtually every offensive category, once coached Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense?

Uniformly Awful

It seems only fitting that this week's selection for the ugly uniform game involves Oregon. And to put it into perspective, the unis' of the Ducks' opponent, Stanford, aren't bad at all. Can the same be said for their band and mascot? Probably not. (UO by 17, and looks unstylish doing it.)

Cops: Collegetown

This section is in danger of being permanently renamed 'Cops: Austin' because once again, the Longhorns are the team battling both an on-field opponent and the long arm of the law. Safety Tyrell Gatewood was arrested last Wednesday for drug possession after authorities allegedly found marijuana, Xanax and a baby bottle full of cough syrup with codeine in his car. You know what means: no matter how the 'Horns fare against Rice, the post-game party is at Tyrell's. (Texas by 38)

The Colt Brennan Heisman Contendin' Stat Extendin' Showdown

Charleston Southern at Hawaii. There are reports that Colt Brennan is injured, but let's be realistic: he's no doubt humiliated by his pathetic 296-yard, five-touchdown (three rushing) performance against UNLV and will be looking for redemption on Saturday. You know how in video games, you can get into a groove and score so many points and throw so many touchdowns that the whole thing seems like kind of a joke? If Brennan plays, this one will be much worse than that. (Hawaii -- by a lot.)

Odds and Ends

Oklahoma's game at Tulsa should be interesting, since the Golden Hurricane has something no other Sooner opponent has so far this season: an actual offense. And a pulse ... And speaking of mediocre OU opponents, Miami hosts Texas A&M this weekend. You could say it's a must-win game for Aggies coach Dennis Franchione, but really, isn't this guy on his 20th must-win game by now? If the school with some of the most passionate fans in the country hasn't fired him by now, rest assured the guy's never going anywhere ... Alabama's a nice story but is probably a year away from real title contention, while Georgia has already played itself out of the conversation. So there must be only one reason for ESPN's College GameDay to broadcast from Tuscaloosa this weekend: Dreamland BBQ ... Cheer up, Nebraska; You may have gotten crushed and you're still not "back," but your first-string offense did manage to outscore USC's second-string defense 14-0. So you've got that going for you, which is nice.

And finally, Weekend Primer will leave you with...

The real tragedy was that 15 (books) hadn't been colored yet."
-- Steve Spurrier, then-Florida head coach, upon hearing that a fire at Auburn's football dorm had destroyed 20 books