My viewing habits: I was looking forward to watching two teams that haven't gotten a lot of hype but I think could find their way into the field of 65, La Salle and South Carolina. La Salle played well for the first 10 minutes but then South Carolina dominated and won, 78-68. The Gamecocks showed some good inside play with Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie, which is a good sign for them. This was a chance for La Salle to pick up a nice victory and the Explorers came up short. Freshman center Aaric Murray had some nice moments and La Salle's going to need him to grow up quickly.

Weird game: Kentucky beat Sam Houston State, 102-92. I saw most of the final 10 minutes and Sam Houston dominated a Kentucky team that looked like coach John Calipari was just letting run and up down like it was a Sunday afternoon at the park. Did you see where Coach Cal said he was ecstatic that his team trailed Miami of Ohio by 18 points the other night? Far be it for me to say Cal can be disingenuous but is anybody buying that? Last night, he seemed upset on the sidelines but not after the game.

A pair of duds: Disappointing night if you were expected some intense basketball in a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. Syracuse destroyed Cal, 95-73, which brings up the old West Coast softie issue; and North Carolina got out to a big lead and held on to beat Ohio State 77-73.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico: Villanova was lucky to get past George Mason, 69-68. The Wildcats will get better. Meanwhile Mason looks like a solid contender in the CAA. Dayton stamped itself as a legit Top 25 team by beating Georgia Tech, 63-59

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
Virginia 70, Rider 46: Virginia lost by 17 at South Florida; Rider had won at Mississippi State. What's real?

William & Mary 78, Richmond 71: Expectations are high at Richmond, this loss to a local rival has to be depressing. William & Mary lost to Harvard.

Kansas 94, Central Arkansas 44: The Jayhawks get their money's worth.

Seattle 85, Fresno State 84: It's the second year in a return to Division 1 for Seattle, Fresno has fallen pretty far. Maybe it's time to bring Tark back. Seattle honored Elgin Baylor, its all-time best player.

South Florida 65, Davidson 58: This was played in the Carolina Classic in Charleston. S.C. (surprisingly, Charleston is not in the tournament). South Florida is 3-0 (hello, there) including an easy win over Virginia. The Bulls might have something going on, we'll see tonight vs. South Carolina, however, there might be some issues. Davidson couldn't possibly be the same team without Stephen Curry.

UNC Wilmington 80, Penn State 69: The Nits always seem to do this to themselves. Wilmington was coming off losses to Appy St and George Washington.

San Diego State 86, Santa Clara 53: I would've have thought Santa Clara would be up a better fight. San Diego State was coming off an 80-58 loss to Saint Mary's.

Old Dominion 73, Liberty 41: Liberty was coming off a 79-39 loss to Clemson, so there was an improvement.

Mackenzy Bernadeau, the pride of Bentley University and Waltham High, will make his first start in the NFL tonight when the Carolina Panthers host the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman, the third-to-last selection in the 2008 NFL draft (7th round, 250th pick), will get the call at left guard as Travelle Wharton shifts to tackle to replace the injured Jordan Gross (torn ACL).

"He was here all year last year. I thought he was a fine, young prospect," said Panthers coach John Fox earlier this week.

"The offensive line is a little bit like quarterback in that it takes a little bit of time to get used to all of the calls and schemes. He's been our lineman in waiting so to speak all season long and he would have been our first guy in on any injury. Unfortunately, we did have that injury, so he steps in. He's a guy we feel good about, and I know he's excited about playing this week."

Bernadeau, a Globe All-Scholastic at Waltham High, started the first 37 games of his Bentley career before suffering a knee injury his senior year. Despite missing the final four games of the season, he was still a repeat selection as the Northeast-10 Conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was unable to play in any postseason all-star games, and was not invited to the NFL combine, but opened scouts' eyes at a pro day at Boston College.

"I had a guy (Carlton Haselrig) similar like that when we were in Pittsburgh. He didn't play college football; he was a wrestler that developed. He's (Bernadeau's) got good leverage; he's a good athlete; and he's a smart guy. Those are three good combinations. Our staff has done a good job with him, and he's done a good job of picking everything up and doing it at a high level."

Yes, it's rivalry week, but the rivalries that have tradition have little meaning this season in terms of impact on conference races. But if you had to pick and choose, the Pac-10 looks like the leader in the clubhouse, with upstart Oregon continuing its Run for the Roses.

Oregon at Arizona: The Ducks have only one conference loss, which puts them on top. Arizona can give them two, which would really complicate the matter, but Chip Kelly's guys look up to the task, which will take them to The Civil War vs. Oregon State in two weeks.
The pick: Oregon 34, Arizona 21

California at Stanford: It's THE Game, and Stanford has the game to beat Cal. Stanford can put away Notre Dame next week as well, which would be quite a year for the Cardinal, if it can beat Oregon, Cal, Southern Cal and the Irish in the same season
The pick: Stanford 38, California 31

Ohio State at Michigan: The Buckeyes clinched the Big 10 title last week. Now Terrelle Pryor and Company can ensure Michigan has its second consecutive losing season under Rich Rodriguez.
The pick: Ohio State 42, Michigan 14

Virginia at Clemson: Clemson needs to win this game to clinch ACC Atlantic Division crown Virginia needs this because . . . well, the Cavs need any win they can get. Not going to happen with C.J. Spiller running around. Sorry, Boston College.
The pick: Clemson 35, Virginia 10

North Carolina at Boston College: Carolina is playing as well as anyone in the ACC right now, other than possibly Georgia Tech. And with the Tar Heels' defense on a roll, that might be a tossup. BC has not lost a home game this season. They won't on Saturday, either, but it will be tough.
The pick: Boston College 17, Carolina 10

Last week: 4-1
Season to date: 35-20

My viewing habits: Utah and Utah State, the type of rivalry game I love to watch, tipped off at 6 p.m. Mountain Time and Utah's 15,000-seat arena was nearly empty. It filled in some, but it was quite a disappointment that more fans weren't interested. Utah lost its opener to Idaho, so maybe that kept people away. But the Utes rebounded last night. Utah State had control of the game but suddenly went cold in the second half and lost 68-67. This was the 222d game in the series, which Utah leads, 130-92. The best player on the floor was Utah State guard Jared Quayle, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds. He had a bad turnover late in the game, however, passing the ball forward across center court to a big man when he should have held onto the ball and moved to the center of the court. Utah State was missing starting guard Pooh Richardson and is probably the better team. The Aggies are on their way to Boston, where they play Northeastern Saturday at noon in Matthews Arena.

Another rivalry: UNLV beat Nevada 88-75 after trailing by 12. A big win for the Rebels, who are supposed to be in rebuilding mode since they lost one of my favorite players, Wink Adams.

The Minutemen: Derek Kellogg is truly in rebuilding mode and if you think of it in that context, the loss to Cornell Tuesday night is no embarrassment. The Big Red are experienced, smart, and pretty good. They'll be in the NCAA Tournament.

Life in the Bronx: Fordham beat Sacred Heart 76-66. That might not seem like a big deal but the Rams won only three games last season. This suggests some improvement. Freshman forward Chris Gaston had 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Sacred Heart's Corey Hassan, who started his career at BU, scored 33.

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
Hartford 75, Marist 38: This is Hartford's first win after two losses. What does that say about Marist?

Florida State 80, Stetson 38: The Seminoles held Stetson to 10 first-half points. Stetson coach Derek Waugh said it was "the longest 40 minutes of my life.''

Oral Roberts 83, Stanford 81: The game was in Palo Alto but was part of the Cancun Challenge. Oral had to play this one and then at Virginia Saturday before they get to go to Cancun. I know, it's strange, but if they get two wins on the road and stay at a nice all-inclusive resort, it'll be worth it.

Western Michigan 83, Virginia Commonwealth 67: The game was played in Kalamazoo, but I guess this is what happens when your coach, Anthony Grant, leaves (for Alabama) and one of your all-time great players, guard Eric Maynor, goes to the NBA.

My viewing habits: Didn't get to see an entire game last night but only pieces of several, the biggest chunk being the final seven minutes of the Duquesne-Iowa game. The Duke won 52-50 when All-Sully nominee Billy Clark made a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. He's a gutty guy who's too small and too slow but gives ultimate effort. It was Duquesne's first victory over a Big 10 team since 1973. "Man, that's mind-boggling, to be honest," Clark said. "I didn't even know what to think when I was shooting it. I just had the team on my back, and I felt that I need to take the big shot to try and pull this victory off, make or miss." Iowa is 0-2 for the first time since 1970-71.

Other viewing: I also switched over at times to the New Mexico-New Mexico State game. This is a heated rivalry; you can see that by watching just five minutes and seeing the effort of the players and the reaction of the fans. New Mexico earned a huge win on State's homecourt, 97-87. The teams play again Dec. 5 in Albuquerque. How many in-state rivals who are not in the same conference play home-and-home every year? I'll need to do research but I know you won't be seeing that in the Big East. New Mexico State also plays home-and-home non-conference games with Texas-El Paso every year. the New Mexico State-UTEP rivalry flies under the radar but it's a good one.

The marathon: I didn't get to see much of ESPN's marathon, only a few minutes here and there. One thing that was interesting was that the fans seemed to come out for the early games at Saint Peter's and Niagara. Northeastern had a chance to get a big win at Siena but couldn't hold the lead. One things is clear, no one seems to be playing its best basketball right now. Things have been pretty sloppy.

Need to check him out: Brandon Paul of Illinois might be the first freshman to make a big impact. He's been the Illini's leading scorer the least two games.

Isiah wins: Isiah Thomas won his first game for Florida International last night as the Panthers beat Florida Memorial, 88-82. Just the opponent he needed.

Great story in USA Today on Villanova's Scottie Reynolds.

He's alive: Big things were expected when Eric Boateng transferred from Duke to Arizona State. He wasn't able to crack the starting lineup but now he's a senior and he had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Sun Devils beat TCU 52-49.

Surprising scores, amazing margins:
Campbell 74, East Carolina 68: The Pirates can't afford losing this type of game if they want to be a legit team.

Louisville 96, Arkansas 66: What a wipeout -- even if Arkansas was missing five suspended players.

Tennessee 142, UNC Asheville 49: Oh my. This was a school record for Tennessee for points scored but, on the other hand, Asheville didn't record a field goal until 3:18 remained in the first half.

St. John's 69, St. Bonaventure 68: Bonnie are improved but what's this say about the Redmen?

My viewing habits: Over the weekend, I took in the Notre Dame home opener against North Florida at the Irish's refurbished arena. On TV you won't notice a different but the regulars really like the new look. Bleacher seating has been eliminated and a lot of dark blue colors make it seem more intimate. The surprised for the Irish was Ben Hansbrough, Tyler's little brother. He's a guard, unlike his taller brother, but he's a dangerous three-point shooter with an unselfish game. He's going to really help ND. Luke Harangody looks like his usual steady, workman-like self but I didn't notice anything new from him. Sometimes player amp it up for senior year with a new wrinkle.

Tales of Isiah: Will Isiah Thomas make it to the end of the season as Florida International's coach? Isiah's squad lost to Tulsa 81-49 over the weekend, and with just under nine minutes left the second half, Tulsa held a 63-25 lead. Thomas asked Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik to take his starters out. Shouted at him according to the AP story. "It's a 40-minute game,'' said Wojcik. "I've never seen anything like it. It was very bizarre.''

Fire when ready or whenever: Our favorite chucker LaceDarius Dunn of Baylor took 27 shots (and made 11) and scored 29 points in the Bears' two-point win over Hartford. He was 6 of 16 on threes. In Baylor's opener, he was more economical, taking only 16 shots but producing 32 points. He's my early favorite to lead the nation in scoring although he really geared it back in Monday's win over Southern with just 13 points. I'm sure he'll make up for it.

This can't be good: Iowa lost its home opener to Texas San Antonio 62-50. The Hawkeyes had won 46 straight home openers and 32 straight openers. It's gone to be a long, cold winter in Iowa City.

The Big Red: The Ivy League race is over. Cornell opened with a victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. A friend of mine who likes to place an occasional wager loves to play Cornell. Harvard is now 2-0 after beating William and Mary in triple OT Saturday. Jeff Goodman of Foxsports has been predicting an Ivy title for Harvard ... in four years. Maybe it could happen sooner but not this year. Cornell appears too strong.

My guy: Herb Pope had 17 rebounds as Seton Hall (2-0) beat Monmouth. Coach Bobby Gonzalez biggest challenge will be incorporating Jeremy Hazell into a team concept. He was five for 14 on three-pointers in the same game.

The Friars: Providence is 3-0 but according to the astute Kevin McNamara in the Providence Journal it's a soft 3-0.

Scheduling change: The Rainbow Classic in Honolulu used to be one of the top Christmas tournaments with eight-team fields that often including Final Four contenders. Now, it's a November round-robin competition. Northern Colorado was the one team to win all three of its games including a victory over Hawaii Tuesday morning Eastern time which was part of ESPN's 24-hour marathon. The Diamond Head Classic will be played in the Rainbow Classic's old spot but even that's wrong because it's scheduled for Dec. 22-25 instead of post Christmas. Northeastern is playing Saint Mary's in the first round.

This changes everything: For Northwestern. The Wildcats, who had a chance to make a major step up this season, lost leading scorer Kevin Coble for the season because of a broken foot.

Surprising results, amazing margins:
Kentucky 72, Miami of Ohio 70: Miami was coming off a loss to Towson but it took a court-length drive and 15-foot jumper by hyped freshman John Wall to win the game for the Wildcats, who trailed by 18 at one point.
Richmond 103, VMI 59: VMI led the nation in scoring last season at 93.8 points per game, Richmond averaging 69.9. That's enough to call this result strange.
South Florida 66, Virginia 49: I can see this happening in football but Virginia is still in the ACC, correct?
Fullerton State 68, UCLA 65: This was double overtime but it looks like Ben Howland has some work to do. He's lost a lot of underclassmen to the NBA in the last few years.

Yale University has installed a new system for parking at Yale Bowl for Saturday's Harvard-Yale football game that aims to alleviate some of the massive traffic tieups that have plagued the event in the past, according to a report in today's New Haven Register.

However, it also requires planning ahead. There will be no general admission parking. People intending to park near the Yale Bowl must have prepaid parking vouchers ($15) and also hold at least two tickets to the game.

All others will be directed to downtown garages, where free shuttles will take fans to the stadium. According to the Register, Yale has more than doubled the free shuttle buses from campus, and the city has arranged for $3 all-day parking at the Temple and Crown street garages, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The game begins at noon.

By Peter Abraham
Globe Staff

Boston College has suspended two returning starters -- junior forward Corey Raji, and junior swingman Rakim Sanders -- for the first two games of the season along with junior backup Cortney Dunn. The three were disciplined for "violation of team rules" according to a release put today this afternoon before the season opener against Dartmouth.

Coach Al Skinner will not be made available to the media until after the game, which starts at 7 p.m. The suspensions leave the Eagles with only eight scholarship players.

The trio also will miss Tuesday's game against St. Francis of New York before returning next Friday to face St. Joseph at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

Sanders and Raji are being counted on to play crucial roles for the Eagles this season. Sanders, a 6-foot-5-inch junior swingman, averaged 12.9 points per game last season. Raji, a 6-6 junior forward, averaged 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds last season.

Dunn, a 6-8 junior forward, averaged 0.9 points per game last year.

The story was first reported by FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman.

My viewing habits: Watch the first half of Robert Morris-Syracuse. The Orange looked better than they did in their opener. Bobby Mo was overmatched but coach Mike Rice transfuses his intensity into his team. The Colonials will contend in the Northeast Conference. Syracuse will play Cal in the next phase of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden next week. The 2K Classic used to be a real tournament with winners advancing but this year it was declared the Syracuse, Cal, Ohio State, and North Carolina would play each other in New York (that will be a tournament format) and the games on campus sites were just preliminaries. God forbid, you get an underdog at MSG.

Some things are looking up in Dayton: Dayton, Ohio has been hard hit by the economy, General Motors closed its plant in the city; DHL Express moved to Kentucky; and National Cash Register moved to Atlanta. Despite that, Dayton has sold a record number of season tickets (9,754). Dayton's a great basketball town, heck, they support the NCAA play-in game, and they'll be out in force this year with the Flyers nationally ranked and picked to win the Atlantic 10. The Dayton Arena, home to many NCAA tournament games, is a fun place to see a game. Of course the one time I was there I spent some time on The Flight Deck (a bar overlooking the court) with my old friend who's a long-time season ticket holder. We'll get quality, objective updates from him on the Flyers.

Not off too a good start: Shamari Spears, who transferred from BC to Charlotte, where big things are expected from him, is suspended for one game for undisclosed reasons. No details in the Charlotte paper.

This won't end well: Tubby Smith's marque recruit at Minnesota is in a heap of trouble.

It started for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame in Pittsburgh five years ago with a big upset victory. Will it be the beginning of the end for Charlie Saturday night at Pittsburgh. We think it very well could be.

The picks:

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh--Panthers are chasing a Big East title and BCS berth. Notre Dame game won't change that, but beating Notre Dame is still beating Notre Dame And if Navy can do it, so can the Panthers

The pick: Pittsburgh 28, Notre Dame 23

Utah at TCU--TCU needs this game to keep its BCS dreams alive, as well as the long shot possibility that the Horned Frogs could leap all the way into the BCS title game with some luck.

The pick: TCU 27, Utah 13

Clemson at North Carolina State--Clemson needs to lose to keep Boston College's hopes of winning its third consecutive ACC Atlantic Division title alive. NC State can't stop Clemson and C.J. Spiller, but Russell Wilson and company can slow them down.

The pick: NC State 35, Clemson 31

Iowa at Ohio State--The game is for the Big Ten title. Iowa has no Ricki Stanzi at QB, the game is in Columbus and Iowa is coming off a loss to Northwestern which exposed the Hawkeyes weaknesses. Ohio State and Terrell Pryor will do that again and again.

The pick: Ohio State 31, Iowa 14

South Florida at Rutgers--In terms of the Big East race this game doesn't mean a thing. But Rutgers is going after a possible 10 win season and is playing at home. That should be just enough.

The pick: Rutgers 19, South Florida 16

Last week: 2-3
Season to Date: 31-19

My viewing habits: Watched Cal-Murray State on Tivo, the game was played Monday night. Mark Blaudschun, a seasoned veteran if there ever was one, often says November college basketball doesn't count. I think his theory applies to this game. Both teams were sloppy and obviously still coming together. I still like Cal very much and it was noticeable that coach Mike Montgomery worked some new players into the game, hoping to build some depth, which the Bears need. Murray is going to be one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley and it wouldn't be surprising if they end up in the tournament come March. Mark Gottfired, the former Alabama and Murray coach, made a nice observation, saying that Murray is just the type of team Cal could find itself matched up against in the NCAAs. I'm sure both teams will be playing better at that time.

How good is Kansas?: Scary good. Coach Bill Self said this about his freshmen Xavier Henry, Thomas Robinson and Elijah Johnson after his team won an exhibition game, "They're better than I thought they'd be. Everybody thought Xavier would be a great prospect and he is, without question. I don't know if everyone thought Thomas and Elijah would be the players they are this early." Obviously, the Jayhawks are a legit No. 1, everybody's back and now you've got these three freshmen.

A quick offensive opinion: In the few minutes I've seen so far, officials are still going offensive fouls directly under the basket even though a point of emphasis is supposed to make the call an automatic blocking foul if the defender comes from the weak side. We'll see how this develops. For those who don't know, I hate all offensive fouls.

My viewing habits: Saw most of the first half of Syracuse-Albany last night. Brandon Triche is a freshman from Jamestown, N.Y. (home of the Lucille Ball Museum) and is the Orange's starting point guard. He's not your typical point, rangy at 6-feet-4-inches and capable of getting to the hoop, as opposed to the water-bug type like Jonny Flynn, last year's point guard. Triche has genetics on his side. His uncle, Howard, and his cousin, Jason Hart, both played for Syracuse. Wesley Johnson, a 6-7 forward, is another key new player for the Orange. He's a transfer from Iowa State and looks like he'll fit into Jim Boeheim's uptempo attack. Seems to be a high-flyer. It was hard to gauge more than that because Albany was overmatched. Albany coach Will Brown has a lot of new players so it remains to be seen if the Great Danes can contend in America East. Cal-Murray State was too late for me; TiVo will show it to me tonight.

History lesson: Loved the throwback uniforms North Carolina wore. Check them out here and here. The letters were spaced farther apart and in an arc. Only thing missing were the old high socks with the numbers on them worn by Larry Miller and Bobby Lewis . . . and the short shorts.

Uh-oh: I think Seton Hall is going to have a big season but the Pirates have hit their first bit of adversity when guard Keon Lawrence, a transfer from Missouri, was arrested for DWI.

How come this hasn't happened before? There might a problem with the age of one of Villanova's top freshmen.

All-Sully Preason

First of all, I reserve the right to change my mind by the end of the season but I'm anticipating that I still really like the way these players play. What makes you an All-Sully: Good team play, great passing, a commitment to defense, some personality, someone who breaks the mold in someway, overachievers and underdogs. I watch the games and sometimes I just get attached to certain players.

Here's this year's opening list.

First-team
Stanley Robinson, UConn
Matt Howard, Butler
Jackson Emery, BYU
Devin Downey, South Carolina
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia

Second-team
Patrick Christopher, Cal
Bill Clark, Duquesne
Dan Geriot, Richmond
Tyrone Lewis, Niagara
Juice Thompson, Northwestern

Just missed
Evan Turner, Ohio State
Reggie Jackson, Boston College
Soloman Alabi, Florida State

I'm going to wait on this but I'd be really surprised if Seton Hall's Herb Pope isn't All-Sully but the end of the season. He's a great story, overcoming a lot of problems in his hometown of Aliquippa, Pa., to make it to college. That's part of being All-Sully too.

Must reading: Pete Thamel of the NY Times (always does great work) writes about Jeremy Tyler, the kid from San Diego who dropped out of high school to play basketball in Israel. Things are not going well.

Let it fly: Five players who like to have the ball but they won't hold it long ... because they're going to shoot it. My favorite five chuckers (as we used to call such a player back in the old days in Jersey). I love players like this which is hypocritical of me since I feel team play is the sport's most important asset. Shooters without conscience are charismatic, however.

LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor: He's capable of amazing streaks and, unfortunately, there is the opposite of that sometimes.
Jonathan Tavernari, BYU: He doesn't have the look of a basketball player. Sometimes it's gone so quickly it barely touches his hands.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall: This season he'll be playing with a higher-caliber of teammates so it's going to be a test for coach Bobby Gonzalez to make him fit it. Last season, they needed him to bomb away.
Rotnei Clarke, Arkansas: He came off the bench most of last season. This season, he's got the all-clear. Hit four of six three-pointers in the Hogs' exhibition game.
Jon Diebler, Ohio State: Sometimes he's criticized for not making enough threes but I think he's going to have a big year behind the arc. In his senior in high school, he averaged 40 points per game.

OK, it's put up or shut up time for the backers of Alabama. For the past few weeks, the Tide's critics have been mounting as Coach Nick Saban's team has won one-dimensional (all defense) close games.

After a week to regroup, the unbeaten Tide deals with a team, LSU, that can beat them -- even in Tuscaloosa. But will they?

We say not this week.

The picks:
LSU at Alabama: Mark Ingram revives his Heisman Trophy chances and the Tide continues its roll toward the SEC title game against Florida
The pick: Alabama 14, LSU 10

Oregon at Stanford: Some people are crowning Oregon as the best team in the country after the Ducks demolished USC last week. Not so fast, my friend. Oregon is good, Stanford is dangerous at home. But this week, at least, it won't matter.
The pick: Oregon 42, Stanford 28

Ohio State at Penn State: In August, this one looked like a potential Rose Bowl berth/BCS title game berth matchup. The BCS thing won't happen, but the Rose Bowl is a possibility for the winner, if Iowa stumbles or stops getting calls in its favor from Big Ten officials. Playing at home will be the difference.
The pick: Penn State 21, Ohio State 17

Vanderbilt at Florida: The Gators seem to have regained focus and momentum. Don't count on Florida coach Urban Meyer to take the foot off the pedal as Gator Tim Tebow continues his Heisman campaign.'
The pick: Florida 56, Vanderbilt 21

Oklahoma at Nebraska: Remember when this used to be THE game in not only the Big 12, but the rest of the country? You're not that old? Never mind. Oklahoma is playing for pride and beating up on Nebraska (the Huskers lost to Iowa State at home) will help.
The pick: Oklahoma 41, Nebraska 14

Last week: 4-1
Season to Date: 29-16

Josh Haden is going home to Maryland this weekend to visit his family. And then he might go down to Florida to see his older brother Joe play for Florida against Vanderbilt.

Other than that, Haden, the sophomore running back from Boston College who left the team last week and announced his decision to transfer, said he wasn't quite sure what his future plans would be

"You don't understand how wide open it is right now,'' said Haden this afternoon as he left Conte Forum, where he had completed paperwork to make his transfer complete. "I want to go to a bigger school, with a little more people. Don't get me wrong., there's nothing wrong with Boston College, but it wasn't the right school for me. I would never tell anyone not to come here, but it just wasn't for me. I wasn't having the time I imagined I would have.''

Haden came to Boston College as a high-profile recruit who was expected to elevate the Eagles' running game.

Haden, along with Montel Harris, who also happens to be one Haden's best friends, did that as a combination. But while Harris developed into the Eagles' primary running back this season, Haden had problems -- on and off the field.

He was bothered by a series of nagging injuries and the feeling of not quite fitting in nagged at him.

"I loved the BC college football team,'' he said. "And I didn't want to leave halfway through the season, but there was just a lot of stress with me and the school and everything.''

Haden said the feeling of unease had lingered for awhile. "It's been like that since last year,'' he said. "I talked to my Dad and he said to try and stay in school for another year. But another year came and then I was hurt. I had all kinds of injuries to my pinkie, my wrist, my ankle.''

All of it finally came to a head two weeks ago when he went to BC coach Frank Spaziani and told him of his decision to transfer. Although Spaziani and other Eagles officials tried to tell him to spend more time thinking about the decision, Haden felt he had enough. It was time to move on.

"I could go to another school and redshirt a year, and then I would still have two years left,'' said Haden, whose older brother Joe is finishing his career at Florida and his younger brother Jordan is enrolling in January.

"My options are open,'' he said, although he did rule out going to another ACC school (which would require a two-year wait before he could play) and indicated joining a Football Championship Division school, where he could play immediately, is unlikely. "I thought about that,'' he said. "It's still an option. But I don't think so.''

Haden said he will finish his academic requirements at BC in the next month and then he will be gone, looking for a fresh start.

Five players who will have breakout seasons and become stars:

Soloman Alabi , Florida State: The Seminoles' 7-1 center really came on at the end of last season. His low-post game is a rarity these days, he's also a good shot blocker
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest: It was probable that the Demon Deacons' 6-9 forward would only play one season and head to the NBA. He didn't and now he'll be the main force in Winston-Salem. Great All-around game.
Herb Pope, Seton Hall: A 6-9 forward who transferred from New Mexico State, he's talented and rugged and will help the Pirates become an NCAA team.
Damian Saunders, Duquesne: He originally was supposed to play at Marquette but ended up in Pittsburgh after some academic troubles.. Now, he has a chance to take the Dukes to the next level with his lethal mid-range game. Great leaper too.
Kemba Walker, UConn: When Walker entered a game last season as a freshman it seemed to instantly make things better for the Huskies. Now, he's going to have the ball most of the time.

Random thoughts: Syracuse lost an exhibition game to LeMoyne 82-79. I guess Jim Boeheim is glad his team got that out of their system and won't lose to somebody like Saint Bonaventure. The most interesting thing from the game, Wesley Johnson, a 6-7 transfer from Iowa State, scored 34 points for the Orange. I guess you'd have to like LeMoyne's chances in Division 2 this season.

All-Americans

The top 10 players in the country:

First team:

Cole Aldrich, Kansas: A big-man (6-11) with an actual low-post game.

Robbie Hummel, Purdue: Tremendous all-around player who makes his teammates better.

Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia: A 6-7 glider who does all his damage within the confines of the offense. So you won't see some outrageous crossover dribble or resounding, posterizing dunk but at the end of the night he's got 20 and his team wins.

Evan Turner, Ohio State: Another 6-7 glider who led his team in every important offensive category.

Jerome Randle: Cal: He's listed at 5-10 but some say he's smaller. He's a point guard but he's looking to score without forgetting about his teammates.

Second team

Manny Harris, Michigan: A 6-5 guard who's a natural scorer.

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame: You could argue he's under-sized at 6-8 for the way he plays but no one tries harder and is more resourceful.

Devin Downey, South Carolina: At 5-9, his most effective play his dribbling into the lane where he score over bigger players or find teammates.

Raymar Morgan, Michigan State: He was slowed by illness last season, I'm expecting a big offenisve breakout season for this 6-8 forward.

Scottie Reynolds, Villanova: Not a great shooter, but he's a player that embraces the big moment. He always finds a way to score.

The depth chart at running back at Boston College became even thinner this afternoon when BC coach Frank Spaziani announced that freshman running back Rolandan Finch had mononucleosis and would be sidelined for three to four weeks. Spaziani said that the doctors would then re-evaulate Finch, a 5-foot-10 inch 201 pound freshman who became ill last week before the Notre Dame game. Without Finch and without Josh Haden, who announced his decision to transfer from BC on Tuesday, the Eagles have to reshuffle their backs.

Spaziani said that senior Jeff Smith and senior James McCluskey would pick up additional playing time for Saturday's game against Central Michigan. Spaziani also listed middle linebacker Mike McLaughlin (leg) and right tackle Rich Lapham (shoulder) as doubtful and defensive left tackle Kaleb Ramsey (shoulder) and left defensive end Alex Albright (ankle)as questionable.

Final Four: A weekly projection of the Final Four teams will continue to be a part of Sully's Court. Here's the first one. What do these teams have in common? Experience, unselfish play, and a commitment to defense.

Kansas: Deservedly the nation's top-ranked team. Everyone returns, most notably center Cole Aldrich and point guard Sherron Collins.
Purdue: Injuries detrailed the Boilers last season. This is a group of players that thrive because they play together and guard enthusiastically.
West Virginia: Coach Bob Huggins will push and prod this team to success. Replacing graduated guard Alex Ruoff will be a key factor.
Cal: The Bears were a disappointing first-round loser in the NCAA's last season but they should learn from that with just about everyone returning. Guard play wth Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher is the Bears' strength.

Two other projections:
Breakthrough team: Seton Hall. The Pirates have a coach, Bobby Gonzalez, with a will to succeed and two really talented transfers, forward Herb Pope (New Mexico State) and guard Keon Lawrence (Missouri).
Most overrated team: Kentucky. Coach Cal has in incredible freshmen class but the best of them, point guard John Wall, isn't even eligible yet. Meanwhile, the returning players weren't good enough to make the NCAAs.