Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

Chirp, Chirp.

I have received that text message the past six Saturdays from my Ball State friend, and rightfully so.

No longer is Ball State only famous for "Boom goes the dynamite," the Cardinals are 6-0 and have one of the more impressive offenses in the country at the halfway point of their schedule.

The writers have sure taken notice, ranking Ball State at No. 25 -- the first such ranking in the program's 84-year history. The coaches haven't, as the Cardinals sit unranked in the USA Today poll.

Quarterback Nate Davis, pictured, ranks No. 9 in passing efficiency, throwing just three picks. Running back MiQuale Lewis has been outstanding in the first half, with 802 rushing yards (110 receiving) and 12 TDs. They're the main reasons Ball State has put themselves in position to make a bowl for the second time since 1996.

Head coach Brady Hoke is making sure the program is acting like it's been there before:

"It's flattering obviously, but there's so much season left to play," Hoke said via teleconference. "This is a long football season. We've got six more football games to play and we've got a lot of work to do. We've got the real teeth of our schedule starting this week."

By this week he means Western Kentucky, which will feature running backs lining up at quarterback and trying to hit grand slams with the run -- something Ball State has been susceptible to this year. The game that scares me most, however, is Central Michigan.

But you can't think that far ahead. Ask East Carolina...

BY MIKE ROSE

A quiet week with no major upsets. So not too much movement in the AP poll.

The key stat is this: the SEC and Big 12 each have six teams in the top 25. But the Big 12 has four teams in the top 10 and three in the top 5.

Just to have some fun for a moment, if the SEC and Big 12 had a challenge of games (similar to what's done in college basketball), here are what some of the matchups could look like:

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Alabama
No. 3 Missouri vs. No. 4 LSU
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 10 Georgia
No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 Florida
No. 16 Kansas vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt
No. 17 Oklahoma State vs. No. 20 Auburn

Oklahoma is still No. 1, followed by Alabama, which survived against Kentucky, 17-14.

Missouri, fresh off a 52-17 win over Nebraska in Lincoln, leapfrogged idle LSU into the third spot.

The second part of the top 25 is where we see the most movement.

Vanderbilt moved up six spots to No. 13, the Commodores' highest ranking since 1956.

South Florida, coming off a 26-21 home loss to Pitt, dropped nine spots, all the way to No. 19.

Speaking of Pitt, the 4-1 Panthers are back in the top 25, at 24. North Carolina is No. 22, Michigan State is No. 23 and Ball State is No. 25. Those are all new additions.

Fresno State, UConn, Oregon and Wisconsin all dropped out of the top 25.

Next week's polls should see more movement than this week. Among the games on tap for next Saturday: No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Texas in Dallas, No. 4 LSU at No. 11 Florida, and No. 6 Penn State at Wisconsin.

Also No. 17 Oklahoma State goes to Missouri.

Finally, USC and Missouri were awfully impressive late Saturday night.

USC blew past Oregon 44-10. The Trojans were tied with the Ducks 10-10 at one point. But USC scored 17 unanswered points in the final 4:29 of the first half.

Mark Sanchez shook off a less-than-impressive game at Oregon State to roast the Ducks. Sanchez completed 19 of 28 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns.

I was high on Missouri coming into the season and the Tigers aren't letting me down one bit.

Chase Daniel and Co. simply thrashed the Cornhuskers. The Tigers, which hadn't won in Lincoln since 1978, were up 52-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

Daniel was superb, completing a sizzling 18 of 23 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns.

Derrick Washington added 139 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and Jeremy Maclin caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Missouri has a tough little stretch coming up with that home game against No. 17 Oklahoma State and then at No. 5 Texas.

I hope we all get to see a Big 12 title game matching No. 1 Oklahoma and Missouri.

BY MIKE ROSE

Terrelle Pryor is a big-time player. His numbers may not blow you away, but watch him play.

He does so many great things with his athleticism. And he's one cool character. Granted, he drives Buckeyes fans crazy because he tends to hold the ball a little too long as he looks to make the perfect throw. Pryor will learn not to do that.

Pryor, just a freshman, led Ohio State on a game-winning drive in a hostile environment. He consistently found holes in Wisconsin's zone and made throws. He capped the win with a keeper from the 11-yard line to put Ohio State ahead with 1:08 to go.

Pryor completed 13 of 19 passes for 144 yards and an interception. But that final drive -- 12 plays, 80 yards that ate up 5:23 of the clock -- shows what a special player Pryor is.

Wisconsin quarterback Allan Evridge, who played well, was picked off by Malcolm Jenkins with 53 seconds left to seal it.

And Beanie Wells is back, gaining 168 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

BY MIKE ROSE

I don't see any big upsets coming in the late games -- but here's a stunning final.

Virginia 31, Maryland 0.

Virginia had looked horrible this season, while Maryland had strung together some nice wins.

This really turns the ACC into a wide-open race.

In the Atlantic, Wake Forest is the only unbeaten team in conference play at 1-0. Then you have:

Florida State, Boston College Maryland and Clemson at 1-1. North Carolina State is 0-2.

In the Coastal, Virginia Tech is looking good at 2-0. Georgia Tech is 2-1, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia are 1-1. Miami is surprisingly 0-2. The Hurricanes, I thought, would be a sleeper to make the title game.

So Maryland's loss really hurts the Terps. Maryland would have been alone at the top of the Atlantic standings.

BY MIKE ROSE

Well, the Red River Rivalry should be a great game next week.

No. 1 Oklahoma did its part earlier, beating Baylor 49-17.

And No. 5 Texas, which I picked to lose at Colorado in an upset, blew past the Buffaloes, 38-14 tonight.

The Longhorns, with Colt McCoy running things, rolled up over 400 yards of offense, and had a 21-0 halftime lead. It was 35-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

Chris Ogbonnaya had 73 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Quan Cosby contributed nine catches for 70 yards.

McCoy completed 23 of 30 passes for 261 yards and touchdowns. He also threw two INTs.

Ogbonnaya and Cosby make me feel better about Texas going forward. I was concerned that McCoy, which is obviously the team's leading passer but came into this game as the team's leading rusher, might not be able to carry the load once the heart of the Big 12 schedule got going.

The Longhorns will need all of their players to beat a loaded Oklahoma team next Saturday.

BY MIKE ROSE

That's right -- the Commodores did it!

Vanderbilt, ranked No. 19, beat No. 13 Auburn 14-13 in a stunner in Nashville. Vanderbilt is 5-0 for the first time since 1943.

Vanderbilt is in first place in the SEC East at 3-0, with wins over South Carolina, Mississippi and now Auburn.

Auburn took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, but was shut down the rest of the way.

Mackenzi Adams came off the bench and threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns, in place of starter Chris Nickson, who had some sort of a shoulder injury.

Vanderbilt will likely bolt into the top 15.

The Commodores have a non-conference game against Duke, an away game at Mississippi State, and a home game against Tennessee. Vanderbilt still has to go to Georgia, hosts the Florida Gators, and goes to play a tough Kentucky team. Vanderbilt ends the regular season with a game at Wake Forest.

It's not far-fetched to think Vanderbilt could go 8-4 or even 9-3.

BY MIKE ROSE

No. 2 Alabama hung on for a 17-14 win over unranked Kentucky at home.

I can't say I'm too surprised. Alabama was coming off that emotional 41-30 win at Georgia last week. And Kentucky is a good team with a solid defense.

Alabama's Glen Coffee continues to be very impressive. Coffee rushed for 218 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Not a great day for quarterback John Parker Wilson (7 of 17 for 106 yards and an interception).

Alabama scored a second touchdown on a Rolando McClain fumble recovery for a score. Kentucky quarterback Mike Hartline fumbled, resulting in the McClain score.

Kentucky definitely had some opportunities. Alabama turned the ball over three times. Coffee broke free late in the fourth quarter and was headed for the end zone, but he fumbled the ball. Kentucky was in great position to recover the ball around the 2, but the ball squirted away and out of bounds. Alabama retained possession and ended up getting a field goal that made it 17-7. Kentucky scored with 40 seconds to go, but it was too late.

No. 7 Texas Tech was awfully impressive on the road, beating Kansas State 58-28. I saw some predictions that had Kansas State winning this game.

I wasn't that bold, not with quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Harrell completed 38 of 52 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns. Crabtree caught nine passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.

Harrell will definitely end up going to New York City as a Heisman finalist and Texas Tech will be a major factor in the Big 12 title race. Mark it down!

Florida State hung on for a 41-39 win over Miami at Dolphin Stadium. The Seminoles had a 24-3 halftime lead.

These teams are not among the nation's elite, but both of these programs will be back soon. No longer a marquee matchup, but this was a great game. In fact, the highest-scoring game in the series.

Finally, Illinois, which I saw in person last week and impressed me, went into The Big House and handed Michigan a 45-20 beating.

Juice Williams is great to watch. He does so many things and has really developed into a good passer. Williams passed for 310 yards and rushed for 121 yards.

Illinois is a talented team with two losses -- to No. 4 Missouri and No. 6 Penn State. The Illini will end up in a Jan. 1 bowl, either the Capital One or Outback.