Out of 'Luck,' Gary Stevens gets back in the saddle

June 7, 2013

The comeback of Gary Stevens was never intended for a real Triple Crown race aboard a horse named Oxbow.

Pac-12 Conference looks to the safety of its athletes

June 4, 2013

The Pac-12 Conference is working on an initiative to improve the health and safety of its more than 7,000 athletes. The elements of the initiative include a "head trauma task force" and "football contact reduction."

Power conferences in college football gain even more strength

April 25, 2013

College football commissioners were going to end their three-day unity conference in Pasadena with a round of "Kumbaya" at the hotel's valet carport. That was before the consulting firm that dreamed up "College Football Playoff" suggested something more generic from "The White Album."

Cowboys Stadium to play host to first championship game in new format

April 25, 2013

Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will play host to the first championship game in the new College Football Playoff.

New college football playoff system gets a less-than-original name

April 23, 2013

The name for college football's new playoff system is … "College Football Playoff."

BCS leaders hone new college football playoff format

April 23, 2013

The last vestiges of the controversial Bowl Championship Series, conceived years ago on a cocktail napkin, will be phased out this week at a swank Pasadena hotel.

BCS leaders hone new college football playoff format

April 22, 2013

The last vestiges of the controversial Bowl Championship Series, conceived years ago on a cocktail napkin, will be phased out this week at a swank Pasadena hotel.

It's full speed ahead as Louisville beats Michigan for NCAA title

April 8, 2013

ATLANTA — Scoring is down, players leave early and the best action on television today is still probably 1980s replays of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Michigan-Louisville NCAA title game: Gratitude adjustment required

April 8, 2013

ATLANTA — Michigan will have three or four thank-you notes to hand out should it win Monday night's national championship game against Louisville at the Georgia Dome.

NCAA Final Four outcomes are not shocking

April 6, 2013

ATLANTA -- Florida Gulf Coast was a carnival cruise while it lasted and Wichita State was a hoot, but there will be nothing "mid" about the majors playing for Monday's national title.

Things could be stifling at the Final Four

April 5, 2013

ATLANTA -- This Final Four will be "lights out" on the scoreboard only if there's a second-half power outage at the Georgia Dome.

NCAA Final Four: Wichita State vs. Louisville

April 5, 2013

WICHITA STATE

NCAA Final Four: Syracuse vs. Michigan

April 5, 2013

SYRACUSE

Wichita State's Carl Hall is at heart of Shockers' surge

April 2, 2013

From passed out on a floor to the Final Four — it has been a pulse-rate ride for Carl Hall.

For Louisville, injury leads to inspiration in NCAA win over Duke

March 31, 2013

Tears are part of the NCAA tournament. They flow when teams win and flow when they lose.

Wichita State holds off Ohio State, 70-66

March 30, 2013

Wichita State is off to its first Final Four since 1965 with the appropriate nickname: Shockers.

Ohio State, Wichita State vie to be best in the . . . West?

March 29, 2013

Some West Regional final this turned out to be. The closest school left, Wichita State, is located 1,380 miles from epicenter court at Staples Center.

Wichita State scores an outsized victory over La Salle, 72-58

March 28, 2013

You could see it was going to be a problem for La Salle from the opening tip.

La Salle in the Sweet 16: Philadelphia story is no underdog's tale

March 27, 2013

The message was clear and it came with accent, attitude and a side of sauce:

If he's on his game, Mark Lyons could get Arizona the NCAA title

March 26, 2013

Florida Gulf Coast is a hot story and, gee, that old La Salle played great, but all of that may not matter.

Gregg Marshall's success at Wichita State isn't a Shocker to him

March 26, 2013

Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall can't wait to get the Shockers to Los Angeles for the West Regional at Staples Center.

True underdogs mix with pedigreed types in wide-open NCAA tournament

March 25, 2013

My dream of a West Regional foursome of Wichita State, La Salle, Harvard and Iowa State came only half true.

NCAA favorites, that's you Arizona and Gonzaga, better be on alert

March 22, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY  -- Arizona is thrilled to be playing Harvard on Saturday on its way to next week's West regional in Los Angeles.

Little Southern comfort for No. 1 Gonzaga

March 21, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY — What a sight it was seeing Gonzaga star center Kelly Olynyk consoling a distraught opponent who fell just short of pulling off one of the great upsets in NCAA tournament history.

Looking for a basketball coach? Salt Lake's the place

March 20, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY — Top collegiate athletic directors need many things but should not live without a back-door office exit or a secret list of coaching candidates in advance of their next football and basketball openings.

A different kind of bluegrass statement on Selection Sunday

March 17, 2013

Kentucky is the top-seeded team entering this year's NCAA tournament that tips off Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, and ends on a Monday in Atlanta.

Cal Poly upsets Pacific to win Big West women's basketball final

March 17, 2013

Cal Poly overcame the loss of star forward Kayla Griffin on Saturday to upset top-seeded Pacific, 63-49, in the Big West Conference women's basketball tournament final at Honda Center.

Pacific defeats UC Irvine, 64-55, in Big West men's tournament

March 16, 2013

UC Irvine men's basketball team will not be making its first NCAA tournament appearance.

The agony and ecstasy of NCAA tournament Selection Sunday

March 16, 2013

The hours before Selection Sunday are what Lakers announcer Chick Hearn used to call "nervous time."

UC Irvine advances to Big West men's final

March 15, 2013

The school with the funny nickname is 40 minutes from becoming no joke.

Cal State Fullerton women fall short in Big West tournament

March 15, 2013

Cal State Fullerton's longshot bid to win the Big West Conference women's basketball tournament came up three points short.

Long Beach State grinds out win over Cal State Fullerton

March 14, 2013

Top-seeded Long Beach State versus injury-ravaged Cal State Fullerton went just as you might expect a game with that billing would go.

Long Beach State rides James Ennis into Big West Conference tournament

March 13, 2013

James Ennis was like the fifth Beatle on last season's Long Beach State basketball team, a back-beat junior in a Fab Four senior lineup led by lead slinger Casper Ware.

Conference tournaments take their chances in Las Vegas

March 12, 2013

The last Big East basketball tournament as we know it hits New York's stage this week at Madison Square Garden.

Tiger Woods plays golf with President Obama

February 18, 2013

Tiger Woods had a good reason for snubbing the Northern Trust Open again this year.

John Merrick, a son of Westwood, enjoys his day in sun at Riviera

February 17, 2013

The playoff that led to the payoff at Riviera Country Club was always so freeway close, yet it took seven years of weaving through all the traffic.

Bill Haas trying for two in a row at Riviera

February 16, 2013

Third-round leader Bill Haas is trying to become only the eighth player to win what is now called Northern Trust Open in consecutive years.

Bill Haas leaves field in his Wake with a 64

February 16, 2013

Saturday was moving day at the Northern Trust Open and no player was more moved than Bill Haas.

Local knowledge is a key, even off the course

February 15, 2013

The keys to playing Riviera Country Club as a PGA Tour pro don't just involve reading the greens and knowing what mid-iron to pull.

The names are there at Riviera

February 15, 2013

What an autograph-rush weekend it should be at the Northern Trust Open, with headliners such as Phil Mickelson, Bill Haas, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Fred Couples all ... well, making the cut.

Fred Couples can tell you some Riviera Country Club history

February 14, 2013

Ben Hogan bought the fairway to heaven, Humphrey Bogart no longer stands pickled and perched beneath the sycamore on No. 12 and member Jim Murray isn't around to describe Riviera Country Club, as he once did, as "like a coquettish woman who winks at you behind her fan."

Golf is more than a game to Padraig Harrington — it's a life's work

February 13, 2013

The top player in golf isn't in the Northern Trust Open field this week at Riviera Country Club and his name isn't Tiger Woods.

Mississippi, no joke, makes a big splash on football signing day

February 6, 2013

The Southeastern Conference conducted its annual player draft Wednesday in advance of winning its eighth straight national title next season.

Mississippi, no joke, makes a big splash on football signing day

February 6, 2013

The Southeastern Conference conducted its annual player draft Wednesday in advance of winning its eighth straight national title next season.

Tiger Woods' Torrey Pines cruise hits a few bumps, but he wins

January 28, 2013

LA JOLLA — Only Tiger Woods could so dramatically breeze to victory. Leave it to Woods to make things interesting at Torrey Pines even when the outcome was so under-par inevitable.

Fog forces third round of Farmers Insurance Open to be postponed

January 27, 2013

— The boxing adage "you can't hit what you can't see" was applied to golf Saturday as the combination of pea soup fog and white balls forced a third-round postponement at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Tiger Woods takes the lead at Torrey Pines

January 25, 2013

LA JOLLA — Sun-dripped Torrey Pines disappeared Friday as umbrellas outsold sunscreen, sand traps turned to koi ponds and temporary rivers replaced par-five fairways.

Brandt Snedeker shares lead at Torrey Pines

January 24, 2013

LA JOLLA — As one millionaire golfer considers leaving San Diego in order to make financial ends meet, Brandt Snedeker might consider the opposite and seek full-time residency in the Lodge at Torrey Pines.

Torrey Pines still special to Tiger Woods

January 22, 2013

LA JOLLA — For Tiger Woods, the memories rush back in memorable and monumental torrents … of knee pain.

Phil Mickelson backs off on tough tax talk

January 22, 2013

LA JOLLA — Phil Mickelson, an expert at applying backspin on the golf course, issued a statement clarifying comments he made Sunday indicating he might move out of California because of the state's income tax laws.

Chip Kelly will lend creativity to a stale NFL

January 16, 2013

Chip Kelly's about-face decision to accept the Philadelphia Eagles job immediately makes the National Football League more interesting and college football less interesting.

Chris Dufresne's top 10 college football moments for 2012 season

January 8, 2013

The end of this season means there's only a year left of the snaggle-toothed Bowl Championship Series, a cartel dreamed up by Satan that has been infuriating college football fans since 1998. We can't wait for the new four-team playoff starting in 2014 that would have solved this season by picking Oregon as the clear-cut No. 4 team. Or, wait, should it have been Stanford? OK, so maybe the controversies won't end, but that shouldn't stop the sport from continuing to be rip-roaring fun.

It's a title wave as Alabama pummels Notre Dame in BCS rout

January 7, 2013

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The only quarterback in the stadium Monday night who knew how to defeat Alabama wasn't allowed to take a snap.

Notre Dame is grounded by Alabama

January 7, 2013

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Notre Dame's final stat line in the Bowl Championship Series title game wasn't pretty. The Fighting Irish had only 32 yards rushing.

Luck has been, and could be, a factor for Notre Dame and Alabama

January 6, 2013

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It is easy to embrace the thought Alabama will defeat Notre Dame in Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game at Sun Life Stadium.

Loved the Rose Bowl? Notre Dame-Alabama might have similar scent

January 6, 2013

If you loved the Rose Bowl, you might also enjoy Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game between Notre Dame and Alabama.

Memories of 1973 Sugar Bowl remain sweet and sour

January 5, 2013

People to this day buy Robin Weber bar drinks.

Nick Saban, Brian Kelly hint they are not heading to the NFL

January 5, 2013

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nick Saban and Brian Kelly dropped strong hints Saturday they would be coaching at Alabama and Notre Dame beyond Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game.

For Oregon and Kansas State, Fiesta Bowl is nothing but a consolation game

January 3, 2013

— The bumper sticker for this year's Fiesta Bowl could be: "They have only themselves to blame."

Stanford marches, or plods, past Wisconsin to end Rose Bowl drought

January 1, 2013

Some people probably think quarterback Jim Plunkett led Stanford to its last Rose Bowl victory.

Stanford-Wisconsin not exactly a matchup made in Rose Bowl heaven

December 31, 2012

The Rose Bowl pregame weather has been about as crummy as the seven combined losses for Stanford and Wisconsin.

Coaching at Rose Bowl never gets old for Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez

December 29, 2012

Barry Alvarez had trouble adjusting his chair at Saturday's Rose Bowl media day but eventually settled in without even spilling his coffee.

Shayne Skov talks it, walks it and tackles it for Stanford

December 28, 2012

Stanford survived its 2011 season just fine without injured inside linebacker Shayne Skov.

So Wisconsin's Curt Phillips doesn't throw much — he can manage

December 28, 2012

Curt Phillips was asked Thursday, by the only reporter interviewing him, how far he could walk outside his downtown hotel without being recognized.

'Traditional' Rose Bowl? Look a little closer

December 27, 2012

This is being called a "traditional" Rose Bowl because the football champions of the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences just hit town, went to Disneyland, plan to eat wheelbarrows of prime rib and then play in the sacred Jan.1 post-parade time slot.

East is West and up is down in college conference realignments

December 21, 2012

Tired of tracking the conference whereabouts of your favorite school?

Seven Big East schools considering leaving conference

December 13, 2012

The exact timing of the Big East's imminent implosion is not particularly important.

Chris Dufresne's look at the season's college football bowl games

December 12, 2012

ESPN's "Octomom" family of networks hopes you enjoy this year's cavalcade of commercials and center snaps as it furiously tries to secure the two games it doesn't broadcast.

Despite its record, Georgia Tech poses problems for USC

December 7, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Don't get defensive about Heisman vote

December 5, 2012

Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te'o is not going to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is poised to become the first freshman to win in the award's 78-year history.

College football rankings with bowl-game twist

December 5, 2012

Rankman and SportsBusiness Journal have teamed up for a first-they-have-heard-about-it collaboration based on SBJ's seventh annual analysis of bowl gifts provided to players. This year's most popular gift is the Fossil watch, provided at 19 of the 35 bowls. USC is too lousy at 7-5 to crack Rankman's top 25, but part of the Trojans' Sun Bowl gift package will include a Helen of Troy hair dryer. Meineke Car Care participants from Minnesota and Texas Tech will receive a 32-inch flat screen, a belt buckle, T-shirt, lapel pin and backpack. This bowl bounty proves college players are already highly compensated and should never ask again to share in the profits of a multibillion dollar industry.

The bowl system has sealed the deal, but odor still leaks through

December 3, 2012

You might rather know what goes into the sausages at "Barry's Floor Scraps & Other Deli Delights" than know what goes into making college football's postseason.

As usual, SEC claims ownership of BCS

December 2, 2012

ATLANTA -- No one down here in Southeastern Conference country was surprised Sunday when the final Bowl Championship Series standings confirmed Alabama would be playing Jan. 7 for the national title.

Alabama wins SEC crown as time runs out on Georgia

December 1, 2012

— Alabama will play Notre Dame for the national championship in the game everyone wants to see, but only after playing the game no one wanted to end.

USC idle; Lane Kiffin still center of attention

December 1, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Alabama-Georgia game looks like BCS title-game tuneup

December 1, 2012

ATLANTA -- Alabama and Georgia haven't played in football since 2008 but won't be completely startled when they bump into each other at the Georgia Dome on Saturday.

USC and Notre Dame prove that football rankings can be wacky business

November 28, 2012

Notre Dame began the season unranked in the Associated Press media poll and is now No. 1; USC started No.1 and is now unranked.

Times college football rankings: Five California schools make the list

November 28, 2012

Rankman has rarely been this excited about two recently "dropped out" teams playing on a Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J. The showdown between Rutgers and Louisville now features two teams representing three different conferences. Rutgers is joining the Big Ten in 2014 and Louisville just announced it is leaving the Big East for the Atlantic Coast. The Big East doesn't bother these days to stitch member names on its lettermen's sweaters — it uses Velcro. There is so much upheaval and mediocrity at the bottom of these rankings that Slippery Rock made it to the second-to-final cut. Five schools from California cracked the list but uthere was no room at the Top-25 Inn for hobos USC and California. Also, note the team at No. 20. This is the highest Rankman has been on Utah State since he used to put beer on ice in the sink while lodging at the Logan Motel Baugh.

Among California schools, USC football is in a very sorry state

November 27, 2012

The USC Trojans, ranked No. 1 in this year's preseason Associated Press poll, have dropped all the way to No. 6 . . . in the state.

College football's Big Three all have their issues

November 25, 2012

Not one of the Three Amigos left in this year's national title race should be confused with the greatest teams in history.

Notre Dame prevents BCS bedlam

November 24, 2012

Notre Dame is a religious school with a storied history of priests, playbooks, prayer books and spiritual advisors.

Does the SEC play fair in college football?

November 23, 2012

The Southeastern Conference has been accused of a lot of things through the years — but a scam?

A few points, very few, to make about USC and No. 1 Notre Dame

November 23, 2012

Question: Where do you put USC's chances of knocking Notre Dame off?

College football TV lineup for Saturday

November 22, 2012

MORNING

The Times' top 25 college football rankings

November 22, 2012

This could be a first in the history of Rankman — two teams in the top 25 with the nickname Aggies: Texas A&M (11) and Utah State (24). Throw in Kansas State (8) if you count the nearby "Aggieville" bar scene. Missing the Aggies cut: North Carolina A&T, New Mexico State, UC Davis. Our mythical national title game this week is Notre Dame vs. Ohio State, just to irritate Alabama fans who don't know Ohio State is ineligible for postseason play. It's the closest we may get to a nonconference Notre Dame vs. Big Ten Conference game as Notre Dame moves mostly to the Atlantic Coast Conference for football and Jim Delany's Big 14 staff begins work on concocting goofy trophy names for fabricated rivalries such as Rutgers-Indiana and Maryland-Purdue.

Notre Dame better cover its bases to avoid another upset loss at USC

November 22, 2012

Let's see if I've got this straight or crooked: Notre Dame needs one win to get to the national title game and Sports Illustrated puts the Irish on this week's cover?

Notre Dame loss could throw BCS system into chaos again

November 18, 2012

Play it forward: Week ahead in college football

November 18, 2012

Five things to watch this week in college football.

A South'easter roars over college football

November 18, 2012

Saturday is the reason they play the regular season all the way to the end.

Brett Hundley appears poised for great things

November 17, 2012

They used to say you lost a game for every freshman you started, but that game has changed.

UCLA fans want the front page, but team has to earn it

November 17, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Bystander SEC gears up for nonconference weekend

November 16, 2012

The Southeastern Conference is, for now, a helpless Bowl Championship Series bystander as it monitors three undefeated outliers competing for this season's title.

Johnny Manziel is muzzled, but college coaches prattle on

November 15, 2012

Texas A&M won't let Johnny Manziel talk to the media this year because it has a policy against freshmen doing interviews.

The Times' top 25 college football teams

November 14, 2012

The Southeastern Conference, taken out of the national title hunt for as long as three non-SEC teams keep winning, mostly takes the week off as it openly cheers for upsets of Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame. SEC schools bully up to play seven 1-AA schools this week, which is seven more than Notre Dame, USC and UCLA have ever scheduled. The SEC is believed to be the first league to stage an exhibition season inside a regular season, but the scary part is Alabama A&M might beat Auburn. And if Florida thought Louisiana Lafayette was tough last week, well, watch out for Jacksonville State. In keeping with the SEC's time-honored November tradition, Rankman has scheduled mostly 1-AA level comments this week.

Notre Dame's BCS prospects are not quite golden

November 11, 2012

Top-ranked Alabama's stunning-if-you-say-so home defeat Saturday narrowed the national-scope scenarios but also raised the gun barrels of anxiety — especially in South Bend.

Texas A&M's speed bottles up a slow Tide

November 10, 2012

Everyone wondered what a team like Oregon would do if it met Alabama on a field that could also serve as a laboratory beaker.

Little annoyances could add up to big trouble for USC

November 10, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Patterns have Notre Dame, USC attention

November 9, 2012

We combed the hills and scoured the wires for this batch of weekend tidbits:

College football rankings: Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State, Notre Dame

November 8, 2012

Rankman's steadfast "Never play on Election Tuesday" rule came back to bite Toledo when the Rockets forfeited their poll position by joining Mitt Romney in the loss column. Toledo, located in swing-state Ohio, lost to Ball State. Otherwise, it was "throw the bums out" week, as several schools lost their rankings seats. It took a lot of sock-drawer sifting to find worthy replacements. We elected to recast Texas in a more favorable light after the Longhorns' defense held somebody to fewer than 55 points. And San Diego State was extended a Blazing Saddles' "laurel and hearty" welcome after the Aztecs stunned Boise State on the blue field.

College fooball: Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame better watch out

November 8, 2012

November is "Nervous Wreck Month" on the College Channel as highly stressed coaches contemplate the trap doors and trip wires that can turn a sensational season sour.

Darrell Royal dies at 88; noted University of Texas football coach

November 8, 2012

Darrell Royal, the legendary Texas coach who led the Longhorns to three national college football titles and 11 Southwest Conference titles in a 20-year tenure that ended in 1976, died Wednesday in Austin after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, the university announced. He was 88.

Louisiana Tech and up-tempo offense: Change football can believe in

November 7, 2012

RUSTON, La. — The triggerman for the highest-scoring college offense this side of Oregon can't be found anywhere in this week's NCAA passing statistics.

Top college football teams survive scares but all have issues

November 4, 2012

Only the presidential candidates had to make their closing arguments over the weekend.

Screen play a hit for Alabama in 21-17 win over LSU

November 3, 2012

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Until they break up the Bowl Championship Series in two years, the only thing left to do is shake it up.

Taking it on faith that Notre Dame's 8-0 record is real

November 3, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

College football: Alabama vs. LSU could sort out BCS, SEC gridlock

November 3, 2012

BATON ROUGE, La. — The traffic jam Friday on Highland Road near campus was a reminder of the gridlock we've come to expect whenever Alabama plays Louisiana State in football.

Taking it on faith that Notre Dame's 8-0 record is real

November 2, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

College football TV lineup for Saturday

November 1, 2012

MORNING

USC is still a player in national championship picture

October 31, 2012

The University of Illegal Formations impaired its national title chances with an eight-penalty loss at Stanford and then abandoned the Bowl Championship Series ship with last weekend's 13-penalty defeat at Arizona.

Four-team playoff could be necessary this season in college football

October 29, 2012

This weekend's very impatient, 6-year-old kid-like, takeaway question is: Why wait?

Play it forward: Week ahead in college football

October 29, 2012

Five things to watch this week in college football.

It's not a great day for good teams in college football

October 27, 2012

It was a rotten day to be undefeated, or USC, or the BCS standings, which suddenly got indigestion.

Oddsmakers favor Oklahoma; history favors Notre Dame

October 26, 2012

It is a matchup dripping in tradition, pitting a team from the industrial Midwest against a wind-swept prairie powerhouse.

Lane Kiffin of USC finds more controversy, by the numbers

October 26, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Kansas State's Bill Snyder may get shot at redemption for 1998

October 25, 2012

Mike Riley is an obvious coach-of-the-year choice given the double-double (with fries) charge he injected into an Oregon State team that finished 3-9 last year.

Play it forward: The week ahead in college football

October 22, 2012

Five things to watch this week in college football.

Oregon keeps winning, and falling in BCS standings

October 21, 2012

Oregon can't afford to keep winning like this. A few more lopsided victories and the Ducks could finish last in the BCS and end up playing in the Toilet Bowl.

USC needs to root for the enemy Notre Dame up until it plays them

October 20, 2012

No one seriously believes Notre Dame can get to the national title game with eek-out victories over Purdue and Brigham Young parlayed with replay-reviewed goal-line stands against Stanford.

Oregon vs. Alabama: Can Ducks swim against the Tide?

October 20, 2012

Unbuckling the mailbag:

Things are heating up in college football

October 19, 2012

Here is some weekend pigskin to chew on:

College football TV lineup for Saturday

October 18, 2012

MORNING

The Times' top 25 college football rankings

October 18, 2012

The SEC (a.k.a., BCS) standings were released this week and it was a surprise to see that former Big 12 Conference member Texas A&M is the only Southeastern Conference school ranked between 13th and 25th. The SEC really needs to upgrade its developmental league. Sorry, but Oregon is Rankman's No. 2 for as long as the Ducks keep winning and the checks keep clearing. Watch out for Oklahoma, up five spots this week to No. 8. The Sooners have recovered from the "Kansas State Flu" and appear perfectly positioned and poised to ruin Notre Dame's perfect season in two weeks. We think Louisiana Tech is the first team to be dropped from the poll after scoring 57 points. Frank Solich, Ohio's 68-year-old coach, joins the top 25 to rehearse for a stage adaptation of "Cocoon" with Bill Snyder (73) and Steve Spurrier (67).

Half a college football season has already been full of surprises

October 18, 2012

USC would break offensive air-speed records, Matt Barkley was a lock for the Heisman Trophy and Oregon State Coach Mike Riley needed thicker pants for the hot seat he was sitting on.

Play it forward: Week ahead in college football

October 15, 2012

Five things to watch this week in college football.

First BCS standings don't quite add up for Oregon

October 15, 2012

Oregon fans have been advised to stay away from sharp objects following their beloved Ducks' disturbing No. 3 debut in the first Bowl Championships Series standings.

Stanford hits a wall at Notre Dame

October 14, 2012

Stanford ripped a page out of the Titanic-era playbook to help Notre Dame advance another precious step on what is suddenly becoming an improbable national title run.

USC vs. USC? U Simply Can't find a football rivalry … so far

October 13, 2012

Handicapping the season's first BCS standings

October 13, 2012

There is one problem in trying to project Sunday's first release of the Bowl Championships Series standings:

Saturday's college football TV lineup

October 12, 2012

Break out the chips and cold drinks, but let Chris Dufresne handle the remote. Each Friday, the Times' national college football writer handicaps what's worth watching, and skipping, on Saturday's menu of games.

It's Louisiana Tech's turn to try to crack BCS elitism

October 10, 2012

Time is running out to champion a worthwhile cause. "Death to the BCS" is settled law and "Save the WAC" didn't seem worth gumming up a car bumper.

Play it forward: Week ahead in college football

October 8, 2012

Five things to watch this week in college football.

A couple of USCs — one surprising, one not — are making noise

October 8, 2012

Handshakes and helmet stickers go out to the two schools known as USC in this week's top 10 — we could not be more thrilled for the players and their families.

In the SEC, the sun smiles on South Carolina and Florida

October 7, 2012

Top-ranked Alabama rested at home as four other undefeated top-10 teams from the Southeastern Conference jumped straight to 2014 and staged their own four-team playoff.

As USC gets it in gear, yes, title-game talk is possible

October 6, 2012

Urgency replaces spectacle this weekend in college football

October 6, 2012

Last weekend was a football carnival with jugglers, clowns, cotton candy, flamethrowers and sword swallowers.

College football on TV

October 5, 2012

Break out the chips and cold drinks, but let Chris Dufresne handle the remote. Each Friday, the Times' national college football writer handicaps what's worth watching, and skipping, on Saturday's menu of games.

The Times' college football rankings

October 4, 2012

Louisiana State can't afford to keep winning like this. The Tigers are 2-0 the last two weeks and are dropping faster than a first-time drinker at Mardi Gras. Oregon State is No.1 in two of the six Bowl Championship Series computers and also in the "bias free" Corvallis Chamber of Commerce Index. We pulled out hair keeping USC ahead of Stanford, but you can't go head-over-heels about head-to-head if one of the teams looked completely discombobulated in a Thursday night loss at Washington. We'd also like to welcome in No. 25 Louisiana Tech, which is 4-0 after consecutive wins at Illinois and Virginia. Some voters must think the Western Athletic Conference has already disbanded. In other news: the kickoff tee retriever in Morgantown, W.Va., ended his three-day holdout and agreed to work weekends when West Virginia is out of town.

West Virginia's Geno Smith more than passes as Heisman favorite

October 3, 2012

We had most of it right. This year's early Heisman Trophy favorite was correctly identified as the quarterback with "unfinished business."

Alabama a clear No. 1 in college football

October 1, 2012

We exit September with the understanding that Alabama, in football, is first and fundamentally foremost.

West Virginia, Baylor put on a 70-63 show

September 29, 2012

The Milan Puskar Stadium scoreboard has been condemned until electricians can repair all the short circuits, while three volunteers working Saturday's press box have already filed for stat-man's compensation.

Cardinal's sinful loss bad news for Pac-12, USC title hopes

September 29, 2012

Law of probability may catch up to some college football unbeatens

September 29, 2012

The only thing more endangered than being Arkansas' head coach is being undefeated.

The Times' college football rankings: The top 25

September 27, 2012

Monday night's NFL outrage with the officials reminds me of the time in 2010 that "replacement Rankman" put Boise State at No. 1 and kept the Broncos there until the Friday night after Thanksgiving. This week's standings offer their own controversial finish, with four Big Ten Conference schools bunched in the basement for what should be an exciting playoff two years in advance of college football's new format. The winner gets the Floyd of Rankman trophy, presented by John Deere, at imaginary Grain Silo Stadium. Bump-of-the-week goes to Kansas State, which rockets 10 spots to No. 6 after last week's triumph at Oklahoma. Coach Bill Snyder called from his Little Manhattan project to wonder why Rankman was not this excited about his 1998 team.

Big Ten gets an ESPN 'GameDay' close-up, deserved or not

September 27, 2012

It must be a slow week if ESPN's "GameDay" is headed to the Big Ten Conference, which doesn't have a title-eligible school ranked among the top 19 of the Associated Press media poll.

Play it forward: The week ahead in college football

September 24, 2012

Five things to watch this week in college football.

Let's really assess these score values

September 24, 2012

You've seen the score, but do you really know it?

Wait for it college football fans ... it's the ACC!

September 22, 2012

This column will be devoted almost entirely to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Oregon vs. Arizona features spread-option masterminds

September 22, 2012

Mike Bellotti saw the future of Oregon football almost a decade ago.

Trojans can run but Lane Kiffin can't hide

September 21, 2012

Don't give USC the 10-count just yet

September 19, 2012

USC can get back in the national hunt only if it adopts our 10-step self-help program.

Penn State is no match for heavy hand of the NCAA

September 8, 2012

The NCAA's plan to cripple Penn State as it humiliates innocent players could not be working out better.

Joe Paterno dies at 85; transformed Penn State into football power

January 23, 2012

During a six-decade career, Joe Paterno transformed sleepy Penn State University into a national football power, creating a legacy that no one thought could be beaten — or tarnished.

Joe Paterno dies at 85; transformed Penn State into football power

January 23, 2012

During a six-decade career, Joe Paterno transformed sleepy Penn State University into a national football power, creating a legacy that no one thought could be beaten — or tarnished.