USC’s Pete Carroll says he’s over Stanford head coach John Harbaugh going for two when the Cardinal were already up 48-21 in the second half of their victory over the Trojans last Saturday. But Carroll also said that he wouldn’t forget about the play either.

From SPORTSbyBROOKS.com:

MASON: What do you think, now a couple of days removed, of Harbaugh going for the two-point conversion?

CARROLL: Well, really, even since the time that it happened, you know, I haven’t bothered with it, and I know everybody else has and taken a lot of time to kinda discuss it and all. I think, you know, it is what you think it is, you know, it’s a statement that you can take away that maybe they were trying to accomplish something that seems out of the ordinary, you know, I don’t really care, to tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter.

And when you look at it like, uh, they’re ahead in the game and they’re in command of it, they really get to do whatever they want to do, and it doesn’t bother me to worry about it anymore, you know what I mean? Jim came out and said what he wanted to say, you know, a couple different times about it and, you know, to me it’s dropped, I don’t care.
Will I forget it? No, I’m not forgetting it. But uh, you know, to me, it’s in the past.

What’s funny is that everyone is concentrating on how Stanford went for two to make a statement to USC, but what Carroll and everyone needs to focus on is that the Cardinal whipped the Trojans’ ass for four quarters. It wasn’t just one play; Stanford owned USC on the Trojans’ home field for 60 minutes. That’s the bigger deal.

So Carroll truly does need to forget about the one play (albeit, an embarrassing play) and concentrate on what has happened this year to his program. To hell with the two-point conversation: How does that once stout USC defense allow 36 (Oregon State), 47 (Oregon) and 55 (Stanford) points over the course of a four game span?

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Kansas head football coach Mark Manginio, who is facing allegations of verbal abuse and inappropriate physical contact against players, defended himself on a sports radio station in Kansas City on Thursday.

Per ESPN.com:

"We are sending kids out into the world prepared," Mangino told the radio station. "But I can't do the work of some parents, what they should have done before [the players] got to me. Some of these guys are bitter, they are bitter and [the allegations] are about that.

"There are some things that happen for 18 years of their lives that I can't change in four years of college. Can't do it. Can't change their behaviors, can't change their attitudes."

Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins has launched an investigation into Mangino allegedly grabbing, yelling at and putting his finger in the chest of senior linebacker Arist Wright, who had been laughing during a walkthrough or practice prior to the Colorado game on Oct. 17, two people briefed on the situation told ESPN's Joe Schad on Tuesday night.

Since then, several former Kansas players come forward with allegations of verbal abuse.

"There are people who want to embarrass the program for their 15 minutes of fame," Mangino told the radio station.

This isn’t the first time that the KU football program has come under some kind of investigation under Mangino’s watch.

In 2005, Kansas’ athletic department reported to the NCAA that several members of the football program had committed academic fraud under Mangino. In 2006, a graduate assistant was found to have supplied answers to correspondence courses being taken by potential athletes. As a result, the football team was limited for two years in its recruitment of junior college transfers and also lost two scholarships for each of the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Granted, Mangino said that he didn’t know anything was going on and did take responsibility for his staff. But one has to wonder whether or not these recent allegations will lead to his ousting at KU if he’s found guilty of any wrong doing.

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Draft Zoo.com writes that Stanford’s Toby Gerhart and Alabama’s Mark Ingram has seen their draft stock rise over the past couple weeks and now ranks them No. 1 and No. 2 on their Heisman Barometer.

1. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford
Once again, a guy who might not have a real shot at winning the award. Mark Ingram looks poised to become Alabama’s first Heisman recipient ever, and I’m not trying to take anything away from him, but I don’t think the Tide would struggle without him. Stanford, on the other hand, doesn’t beat USC without their junior tailback. He’s a deceptively quick bulldozer who has the Cardinal on the right track to getting back to the Rose Bowl. One loss from Oregon, and a Pac 10 title could be just enough help to give Gerhart the hardware. At the very least, he’s my number one.

Last Week’s Stats: 178 Rushing Yards, 3 TDs

2. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
He’s probably the realistic frontrunner right now, and it’s not like he doesn’t deserve it. 1297 rushing yards, 13 total TDs, and a 6.7 ypc average. Not bad at all, especially through only 10 games. But the biggest reason that Ingram’s looking like a lock to become the second sophomore to win the Heisman is the fact that his team is undefeated. One big test left against Florida in the SEC championship. Win that one and head to Pasadena for the big game and Mark can vote for himself next year.

As Draft Zoo points out, Gerhart is unlikely to win the award but the way he has come on as of late, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t at least deserve some mention.

If you haven’t see Gerhart play, you’re really missing out. He’s a load to bring down and looked damn near unstoppable against Oregon and USC the past two weeks. He’s one of those guys that can put his entire team on his back and carry them and it’s no wonder that more pundits are starting to talk about him as a legit NFL prospect.

People keep talking about how Tim Tebow is the front-runner to win this year’s Heisman, but I just don’t see it. Can anyone objectively say that Tebow has done enough to merit the award? Considering how much talent he has around him (and I’m not just talking about offense), I’m not sure you can.

Unless he comes out and puts on a show against Alabama and whomever Florida plays in the national championship if the Gators can beat the Tide in the SEC title game, then I don’t see Tebow taking home the hardware this season.

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Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh recently was asked on Sirius XM’s “Mad Dog Radio” if he would be interested in coaching at Michigan if things didn’t work out with current Wolverine coach Rich Rodriguez.

His response (via the Detroit Free Press):

Host Bruce Murray: “You are a hot prospect now in college football. You are going to be sought after. Do you have outs to go to other jobs should they present themselves in your contract?”

Jim Harbaugh: “Well, I love Stanford and I love the football players here and the coaches here. I’m not going to specifically discuss my contract but I hope to have the honor of coaching here, Bruce, for a very long time.”

Murray: “But you’ve heard the rumors and I’m not saying that you would entertain it. You know if something doesn’t work out with Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, as an alum you’re going to be called by them … ”

Harbaugh: “Let me just stop you right there, Bruce. This is big game week. This is Cal week, and as you would understand, all my focus and our focus has to be on that. So if we’re going to keep going into this I’ve got other things that are more pressing. … This week is just one of those weeks where the focus really has to be on the game we’ve got coming up.”

Good for Harbaugh for not getting roped into saying something that he would probably regret later. He didn’t come out and say that he wouldn’t coach at Michigan; instead he kept the focus on Stanford and its upcoming battle with Cal this Saturday. It wouldn’t be fair to his players or his fellow coaches if he stoked the Michigan-head coaching flames three days before a big game against a key rival. Furthermore, it would be disrespectful to Rodriguez for Harbaugh to talk about a job that isn’t his.

I know he has ties to Michigan because he played there, but I hope the powers at be put together a fair extension so that he can stay at Stanford. They were the ones to give him his first shot and it would be nice to see a college football head coach show some loyalty once in awhile (although one could argue that he has loyalties to Michigan, too).

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Last week was bitter sweet as I went 4-0 straight up but just 1-3 against the spread. Keep in mind that I try to only pick top 25 games, so they’re much, much harder to predict. Like, much harder. (Or at least that’s my excuse anyway.)

No. 8 LSU at Mississippi, 3:30PM ET
Both of these SEC teams will be looking to finish the 2009 season strong when they square off this Saturday in Oxford. The Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak to the Tigers last season but they haven’t won at home in his series since 1998. The public seems high on Ole Miss after the Rebs hammered Tennessee last Saturday, but keep in mind that the Vols were in the midst of some turmoil after three of their players were arrested for attempted armed robbery last week. Dexter McCluster went off on Tennessee for 282 yards and four touchdowns, but he’ll have a hard time repeating that effort against a stout LSU front seven. Something tells me that Les Miles’ team is still pissed off about what happened two weeks again in Tuscaloosa and will play this week with passion. I see a small upset for the Tigers and an outright win.
Odds: Ole Miss –4.5.
Prediction: LSU 20, Ole Miss 17.

No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford, 7:30PM ET
Stanford is playing as well as anyone in the nation right now. The Cardinal have scored 106 points combined against Oregon and USC the past two weeks and senior running back Toby Gerhart has almost been unstoppable. Without running back Jahvid Best, Cal squeaked by Arizona last week, 24-16. With Best sidelined again this Saturday, many expect Stanford to roll but don’t forget that Cal has the 19th best run defense in the nation and is capable of containing Gerhart and keeping things close. Quarterback Kevin Riley might be able to take advantage of a Stanford secondary that has been inconsistent this season, although without the threat of a running game the Bears’ offense might become too one-dimensional in the second half. I think Stanford will pull out the victory but this game will be closer than people think.
Odds: Stanford –7.5.
Prediction: Stanford 35, Cal 31.

No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan, 12:00PM ET
Michigan has the offense to contend with most teams in the Big Ten, but the Wolverine defense has been horrid this year while giving up over 400 yards a game. Michigan has been fine against the pass, but that’s only because opponents have been able to run the ball with success and don’t need to put it in the air. Unfortunately for them, Ohio State’s strength is its ground attack, which means Brandon Saine should find plenty of running room against a soft Wolverine front seven. Given how this game is in Ann Arbor and is the final regular season outing for both teams, Michigan may keep things close in the first half. But after a while, mistakes will start to add up and Ohio State should cruise after halftime.
Odds: Ohio State –12.
Prediction: Ohio State 34, Michigan 20.

No. 4 TCU at Wyoming, 2:00PM ET
This will likely wind up being a free win for my straight up plays, but I’m really adding this game for my ATS plays. TCU is coming off an emotional win over Utah last week at home and now has to go on the road to face an improved Wyoming team. The last time these two teams faced off in Laramie, the Cowboys beat the Frogs 24-21 in 2007. TCU is a juggernaut and looks unstoppable at this point, but can anyone say letdown?
Odds: TCU –31.
Prediction: TCU 30, Wyoming 21.

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SI.com’s Stewart Mandel compiled his projections for all 34 bowl matchups and this is how things shook out in the BCS Bowls:

BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas
Orange: Georgia Tech vs. TCU
Fiesta: Iowa vs. Boise State
Sugar: Florida vs. Pittsburgh
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon

Is it just me or are those some pretty lousy matchups outside of the BCS title game (Colt McCoy vs. ‘Bama’s defense is intriguing, I don’t care what anyone says)? I’m not saying that those teams aren’t deserving of those bowls, but I’m not entirely sure I’d like to see Iowa play Boise in one of the “big” bowls.

That said, a Georgia Tech-TCU matchup would be intriguing because I would love to see the Horned Frogs try and defense the Jackets’ potent triple-option. TCU has one of the fastest and most aggressive defenses in the nation and it would be a thrill to watch them try and contain Jonathan Dwyer for four quarters.

Something tells me an Ohio State-Oregon matchup wouldn’t be that bad either outside of the fact that the Buckeyes always lay duds in bowl games. OSU has a solid defense, although Jeremiah Masoli and company might tear them to pieces.

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Mandel’s projections (outside of the fact that he has 'Bama beating Florida in the SEC Championship Game, that is) is that he predicts Pittsburgh to beat Cincinnati in two weeks. The Bearcats can light up a scoreboard, but teams that can run straight at their defense have had success and the Panthers might be able to do that when the two teams square off next Saturday for the top spot in the Big East.'

For those of you who are like me that would rather see a playoff system determine the champion in college football, check out John Paulsen's breakdown of how a postseason would look like this season.

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Along with a complete list of odds for the top 25 games, here are quick-hit previews for some of the marquee matchups for Week 12 in college football.

No. 8 LSU at Ole Miss, 3:30PM Saturday
The Tigers travel to Oxford this Saturday to take on an Ole Miss team that has won four of its last five games. LSU’s excellent front seven will have its hands full with running back Dexter McCluster, who is coming off an eye-popping four-touchdown, 282-yard rushing performance against Tennessee last weekend.

No. 12 Ohio State at Michigan, 12:00PM Saturday
This rivalry has certainly lost a lot of its luster over the past two seasons as the Wolverines continue to flounder under Rich Rodriguez. One would think that this game would be over by halftime, but never underestimate the power of a rivalry. For the most part, the Buckeyes struggled with a depleted Iowa team last week, so you never know if Tate Forcier and company can rise to the challenge and shock Jim Tressel’s team. Michigan certainly has more than enough offense to contend, but its defense has often been abused this season and might suffer a similar fate this weekend. (Of course, if Tressel continues to play things ultra-conservative with his offense, then maybe the Wolverine defense can keep UM in the ballgame.)

No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford, 7:30PM ET Saturday
Of all the games on the Week 12 schedule, this might be the best matchup, although Cal will once again be without star running back Jahvid Best (concussion). Jim Harbaugh has his team playing as well as anyone in the country right now and is coming off impressive back-to-back wins over Oregon and USC. Running back Toby Gerhart has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Cardinal while compiling 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns on 262 carries. Can the Golden Bear defense stop Gerhart or will they be yet another victim?

Top 25 Odds:

Thursday, November 19
Colorado +16.5
No. 12 Oklahoma State –16.5

Friday, November 20
No. 6 Boise State -24
Utah State +24

Saturday, November 21
Florida International +43.5
No. 1 Florida –43.5

Chattanooga
No. 2 Alabama

Kansas +28
No. 3 Texas -28

No. 4 TCU -31
Wyoming +31

No. 8 LSU +3.5
Mississippi –3.5

No. 10 Ohio State –12.5
Michigan +12.5

No. 11 Oregon -6
Arizona +6

Minnesota +10
No. 13 Iowa -10

No. 14 Penn State -3
Michigan State +3

North Carolina State +21
No. 15 Virginia Tech -21

No. 16 Wisconsin -7
Northwestern +7

No. 25 California +7
No. 17 Stanford -7

No. 19 Oregon State –32.5
Washington State +32.5

Duke +19.5
No. 20 Miami –19.5

San Diego State +17.5
No. 21 Utah –17.5

Air Force +10
No. 22 BYU -10

Virginia +20.5
No. 23 Clemson –20.5

Memphis +23.5
No. 24 Houston -23.5

For expert picks and daily free picks, visit HSI Sports!

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Notre Dame should fire head coach Charlie Weis at the end of the season and I don’t write that only because the Irish lost to Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

Anyone that has watched a decent amount of Big East football this year knows that PITT has a good team – much better than Notre Dame anyway. The Panthers’ passing attack might not be as potent as ND’s, but they can certainly put points on the board and they play much better defense.

So it isn’t surprising that the Irish lost last weekend in Pittsburgh. What would be surprising is if Weis kept his job now that one of his teams is once again underachieving.

At Notre Dame, everything is set up for the Irish to at least make some kind of a run at a BCS Bowl bid – if not a national championship. They play a cupcake schedule (more than other collegiate teams, that is), they play most of their games at home and they play on national television every week so that voters can overrate their performances.

But despite all of these benefits, the Irish continue to flounder under Weis. It’s not enough for the Irish to lose at home to Navy, but they also lost to a dysfunctional, horrible Michigan team in Ann Arbor and were never really in the game against Pittsburgh even though the final score would indicate otherwise.

Oh, they did have a chance to tie and possibly beat USC this year. But big freaking deal. The past couple weeks have proven that this is the worst Pete Carroll-led Trojans team ever, so sniffing a win against USC is hardly grounds to keep Weis for another season.

Forget the schedule, all the home games and the national TV spotlight for a second: What has Weis done to improve his team? His offense is good, but the man clearly can’t recruit defensive talent. Anyone who watched that game Saturday night saw an Irish defense that can’t tackle, is slow on all three levels and one that can’t generate much pressure. I could only imagine what Texas, TCU or Boise State would do to that defense.

Weis’ time in South Bend is over. I don’t know what further proof the University needs to make a change at the end of the year, outside of it being chained down by his big contract. (Although money has never been an issue for Notre Dame, so I don’t know why it would be now.)

Notre Dame should cut its losses and move on – especially if Jimmy Clausen decides to turn pro after the season. I’d hate to see what a Clausen-less offense would look like under Weis.

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USC’s reign over the Pac-10 is officially over after Stanford obliterated the Trojans, 55-21 in Los Angeles on Saturday.

This was the first time USC has lost in November under Pete Carroll, who was 28-0 coming into this game. It was also the first homecoming loss for USC under Carroll and the worst loss in the Carroll Era, topping a 47-20 defeat at the hands of Oregon two weeks ago.

USC found out today what most of the Pac-10 already knew: That Toby Gerhart is pretty freaking good. The senior running back gained 178 yards on 29 carries for a 6.1 YPC average and also scored three touchdowns. Much like he was last week against Oregon, Gerhart served as a Mac truck and often ran threw USC defenders. His draft stock has risen dramatically the past two weeks.

Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley had a rough day for the Trojans. He turned the ball over four times, which lead to 28 points for the Cardinal. He never looked comfortable and it showed as he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a defensive touchdown.

Barkley clearly has a ton of talent, but he needs time to develop. This turned out to be a horrible year by USC standards, but at least he gained a lot of experience. He’s a gunslinger by nature, but he needs to cut down on the turnovers if he wants to take his game to the next level.

On the other side, Jim Harbaugh has something great building at Stanford. His team competes every week and while they’ll lose a lot when Gerhart graduates after the season, it’s clear that he has this program moving in the right direction.

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Ohio State edged Iowa 27-24 in overtime to win at least a share of their fifth consecutive Big Ten title and essentially book a trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl. It’ll be the Buckeyes first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1997.

I’ll be honest, I expected more out of the Buckeyes today, who were 17-point favorites over a depleted Hawkeyes team. I figured OSU’s stingy defense would harass freshman quarterback James Vandenberg, who struggled mightily last week when Ricky Stanzi suffered an injury in Iowa’s loss to Northwestern.

But give credit to Vandenberg, who was awfully impressive while completing 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He found Marvin McNutt for a 10-yard touchdown pass with less than three minutes remaining to tie the game at 24-24 and force overtime.

The problem is that Vandenberg also made a ton of freshman mistakes, which led to three Ohio State interceptions. The Buckeyes actually picked him off a fourth time and returned it for a defensive score midway through the fourth, but OSU was called for offsides and the touchdown came off the board. Vandenberg was also lucky another one of his passes wasn’t intercepted on Iowa’s game-tying touchdown drive, as the ball was deflected into the air around multiple OSU defenders but a Hawkeye receiver caught it for a first down.

Vandeberg’s counterpart, Terrelle Pryor, wasn’t asked to do much in the passing game. He completed 14 of his 17 pass attempts for only 93 yards and no scores. Jim Tressel played things ultra-conservative and allowed Brandon Saine and the running game to take over. Saine finished with 103 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

Iowa was the No. 4 team in the country heading into last weekend’s action, had the inside track to win the Big Ten title and at the very least, had a trip to the Rose Bowl almost locked up. After today, they’ll be lucky to be ranked in the top 15 when the new polls are released on Sunday and will likely head to the WhoCares.com Bowl.

On the flip side, everyone was ready to write Ohio State off after they lost to Purdue last month and now it looks like they’ll be crowned Big Ten champs again. It’s amazing how quickly things can change in college football from week to week.

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