college football

The 2008 football season began with Arian Foster closing in on Tennessee's career-rushing record. But the team struggled, and so did Foster.

He finished his career with 2,964 yards -- 114 yards short of Travis Henry's school record.

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

NORTHWESTERN (5-4) at No. 8 IOWA (9-0), Noon, ESPN.

FAVORITE: Iowa by 16.

COACHES: Pat Fitzgerald (24-22 in fourth year at Northwestern) and Kirk Ferentz (79-53 in 11th year at Iowa).

Nearing the quarter poll of the BCS title chase, college football handicappers must be poring over their preseason power ratings trying to figure out what they missed.

Sure the three favorites -- Florida, Texas and Alabama -- are leading the pack. But four teams making a move on the outside -- Iowa, Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State -- weren't even supposed to be contenders.

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

THURSDAY:

No. 23 VIRGINIA TECH (5-3) at EAST CAROLINA (5-3), 7:30, ESPN.

FAVORITE: Va. Tech by 12.

COACHES: Frank Beamer (182-91-2 in 23td year at Va. Tech) and Skip Holtz (34-25 in fifth year at East Carolina).

In a little more than a month, the 75th Heisman Trophy will be awarded in New York City. And right now, the race could not be more wide open.

LOS ANGELES - Woe are the University of Southern California Trojans.

How will they go on? Is football really worth pursuing anymore? Should the team even bother going to Arizona State this week, or would it be better off attending a Tony Robbins seminar to rediscover the merits of their existence?

November is the cruelest month for coaches. And since no one has been officially axed yet, here's a list of who will in the coming weeks.

GOOD AS GONE

Top-ranked Florida solved one half of the Southeastern Conference football puzzle by beating Georgia on Saturday, 41-17, to clinch the Eastern Division title.

The Gators captured the Eastern championship earlier than anyone in the division since the Gators on Oct. 29, 1994. The last SEC West team to clinch the division earlier was Auburn on Oct. 30, 2004.

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.