Stewart Mandel's Two-minute Drill

Despite sharing two Big Ten titles and winning 10 or more games three times since 2002, Iowa hasn't played in many high-profile games under coach Kirk Ferentz. This Saturday the 13th-ranked Hawkeyes (4--0) host No. 1 Ohio State in a prime-time showdown. "It's going to be a six-ring circus," says Ferentz. Iowa could pose the biggest challenge to date for the Buckeyes, greater even than defending national champ Texas, which started a freshman, Colt McCoy, at QB in its Sept. 9 loss to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes' quarterback is Drew Tate (above), a third-year starter who leads a balanced attack featuring All-- Big Ten running back Albert Young. That said, Iowa's offense has yet to get untracked. In last week's win over Illinois, the Hawkeyes scored 21 of their 24 points during a four-minute span in the second quarter. However, Ferentz's teams have a reputation for improving as the season goes on, and Iowa has won its last six conference home openers. "We're hardly a finished product," says Ferentz. "We're going to need to get much better in a lot of areas this week."

UNDER THE RADAR

On the day he was hired as Houston's coach in late 2002, Art Briles made one of his first calls to his former quarterback at Stephenville (Texas) High, Kevin Kolb. Last Saturday, Kolb, making his 40th consecutive start, finished 21 of 28 for 313 yards and four touchdowns in the Cougars' 34--25 win over Oklahoma State, the Big 12 school to which Kolb had committed before reuniting with Briles. Houston's career leader in total offense and passing yards, Kolb (above) has completed 69.6% of his passes this season for 1,193 yards, with 12 TDs and just one interception. "He's as hot as anyone in the country," says Briles. Kolb, considered one of the top five quarterback prospects in next spring's NFL draft, gets a showcase opportunity this Saturday when Houston, 4--0 for the first time since 1990, visits Miami. "The scouts think I'm kind of raw, like a Brett Favre," says Kolb. "Hopefully they can see the potential."

THREE AND OUT

1 For the second straight year Notre Dame (3--1) could reach a BCS bowl without beating a ranked opponent. The Irish's lone remaining ranked foe figures to be USC on Nov. 25. Even if Notre Dame loses that game, a 10--2 record would more than likely be enough to secure an at large berth.

2 Ole Miss never should have fired David Cutcliffe. The Rebels, who fell to Wake Forest 27--3 last Saturday, are 4--11 under Ed Orgeron, while Cutcliffe, Tennessee's new offensive coordinator, has helped the Vols improve from 90th in total offense last year to 30th.

3 USC coach Pete Carroll handed over his defensive coordinator duties to Nick Holt last winter, and the move appears to be paying off. The Trojans (3--0), who were mediocre on defense last season, have allowed just 9.0 points and 217.3 yards per game under Holt, the coach at Idaho the past two seasons.