college football

The way the schedule worked Saturday night, every other Pac-10 team besides Washington State was off or done playing in time to watch the Oregon-USC game. And just imagine how much those coaches and players enjoyed seeing the Trojans, the bullies of the conference, get run around in circles by the Ducks.

Two questions gnawed at me Saturday as I watched top-ranked Florida crush arch-rival Georgia 41-17 in college football's annual outdoor cocktail party in Jacksonville: Are the Gators that good? Or is the Southeastern Conference that bad? Here's what I've come up with.

Yes.

And yes.

The Southeastern Conference has won three consecutive national championships, and its long-term television hook-ups with CBS and ESPN are the envy of every conference in college football. So how much better could it get?

You should find out when the bowl bids are announced this December.

University of Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is not one to get flustered, whether it be with the game on the line or dealing with an early season slump or this Saturday's Halloween treat, No. 4 USC (6-1) visiting Autzen Stadium to face the No. 10 Ducks (6-1).

Capsule previews for Saturday's top college football games. All times Eastern and all rankings Associated Press.

INDIANA (4-4) at No. 7 IOWA (8-0), Noon, ESPN.

FAVORITE: Iowa by 17.

COACHES: Bill Lynch (14-19 in third year at Indiana) and Kirk Ferentz (78-53 in 11th year at Iowa).

LAST WEEK: Indiana lost at Northwestern, 29-28. Iowa won at Michigan State, 15-13.

What next for those heart-stopping Houdini Hawkeyes?

Survivors of four college football cliffhangers already, Iowa's master escape artists still have four more regular-season performances on tap. How in the world they're going to top their last act in East Lansing, Mich. is anybody's guess.

An October surprise has hit the Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy poll.

Just two weeks after Florida quarterback Tim Tebow appeared to be in charge of the race, Alabama running back Mark Ingram grabbed the lead in a jumbled vote that saw six different players receive first-place votes.

Capsule previews for Thursday and Friday's college games. All times Eastern and all rankings Associated Press.

THURSDAY:

NORTH CAROLINA (4-3) at No. 14 VIRGINIA TECH (5-2), 7:30, ESPN.

FAVORITE: Virginia Tech by 15.

COACHES: Butch Davis (16-16 in third year at UNC) and Frank Beamer (182-91-2 in 23rd year at Va. Tech).

A gift arrives Saturday with a full slate of college football excitement set for Halloween. The on-field bedlam of this unpredictable season might just be matched by the -- shall we say -- colorful activity in the stands and tailgates.

So with that in mind, here are the season's five scariest statistics so far:

Every Monday has become the same old routine this football season at Southeastern Conference headquarters in Birmingham.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive talks to a football coach angry over officiating, tells the coach to shut his yapper and then issues a public reprimand.