Sidelines

GATOR FACTOR
Miami junior quarterback Brock Berlin's girlfriend, reigning Miss Louisiana Brittney Rogers, won $50,000 on Fear Factor after she ate fermented squid guts, dived into a tub filled with 5,000 pounds of fish scales and hung on the back of an 18-wheeler as it careened down the highway at 50 mph. The challenges facing Berlin are even more daunting. All the Florida transfer has to is replace Ken Dorsey (38-2 as a Miami starter), win over Canes fans and beat the Gators on Saturday. Apparently some of Berlin's former teammates don't think he's up to the task. They say that in Gainesville, Berlin lacked self-confidence. "Brock played tentative sometimes," Gators corner Keiwan Ratliff says. "He'd get hollered at and get pulled." If such comments bother Berlin, he's not saying. "People are going to say what they want, but I'll go out and do my best," he says. "Let them talk after that." Berlin might pass on the squid, but he wouldn't mind feasting on some Gator.

ROCKIES RUCKUS
It doesn't have the hype of Auburn-Alabama, but Colorado-Colorado State has become one of the best rivalries in the country. The Buffaloes' 42-35 victory last Saturday was typical of the last few showdowns between the teams—full of subplots, momentum shifts and bone-rattling hits. Colorado sophomore quarterback Joel Klatt threw for 402 yards and four TDs in his first career start, and he set up the winning score by connecting with moguls skier turned wide-out Jeremy Bloom on a 33-yard pass. That came after Colorado State had tied the game at 35 on a 30-yard run by senior QB Bradlee Van Pelt. At least Van Pelt didn't spike the ball off a Buffs player as he did after scoring the game-winner in a 19-14 victory last year, an act the Colorado media guide calls "one of the most classless displays of sportsmanship the rivalry has ever seen." Such venom has lifted the series from a mundane intrastate affair to can't-miss status.

UCONN CAN
Connecticut christened its new stadium, Rentschler Field (a.k.a. The Rent), with a surprisingly easy 34-10 win over Indiana. The Huskies, in just their fourth season in Division l-A, got 166 rushing yards from sophomore tailback Terry Caulley and held Hoosiers quarterback Matt LoVecchio, a Notre Dame transfer, to 211 passing yards. Indiana, which plays Washington on Saturday, may be hard-pressed to equal last year's 3-9 record.

EXTRA POINTS

Nebraska calmed some of its nervous fans with a 17-7 win over No. 24 Oklahoma State. Under new coordinator Bo Pelini, the Huskers' defense forced Oklahoma State into five turnovers....

Virginia's hopes for an ACC title suffered a crushing blow in the opening series of the Cavaliers' 27-0 win over Duke when senior quarterback Matt Schaub injured his right (throwing) shoulder after taking a sack. Schaub will miss Saturday's game at South Carolina....

The Mike Shula era in Alabama started off with the Tide falling behind 17-7 to South Florida before scoring 33 unanswered points to win 40-17 A bigger test comes this week: Oklahoma.