Kansas State, Notre Dame continue move up, joined by LSU back in top 5

NEW YORK — No. 3 Kansas State and No. 4 Notre Dame each moved up a spot in the Associated Press college football poll, setting up a final four of sorts for the last month of the regular season.

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
K-State and Notre Dame continued their climb higher into the top five. Check out the full rankings.

Alabama is No. 1 for the ninth consecutive week and it is unanimous. The Crimson Tide received all 60 first-place votes. Oregon is No. 2 for the sixth consecutive week.
Florida’s 17-9 loss on Saturday to Georgia dropped the Gators five spots to No. 8 and allowed Kansas State and Notre Dame each to move up a spot after victories.
Now the top four are all undefeated and none will play any other the rest of the way.
LSU is No. 5, followed by Ohio State and Georgia, which moved up five spots.
Nebraska (No. 21), Arizona (No. 24) and UCLA (No. 25) all rejoined the top 25.

Making a statement
Call them the fantastic four. Or maybe the final four in the race for No. 1.
Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame hold the top four spots in the Associated Press college football poll released Sunday.
The Crimson Tide is No. 1 for the ninth consecutive week and the Ducks are No. 2 for the sixth consecutive week.
The third-ranked Wildcats and fourth-ranked Fighting Irish each moved up a spot after Florida lost 17-9 to Georgia. That dropped the Gators from third to eighth.
Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame are expected to be the first four in the BCS standings, too. Though not necessarily in that order.
The Tide, Ducks, Wildcats and Irish will spend the last month of the regular season competing against each other from a far, vying for two spots in the BCS national championship game. All of them could get to Dec. 2, BCS selection day, unbeaten.
The finish line is now in sight, but no peeking.
“It’s tough not to, knowing you’re so close, but man, you just have to focus in on next week, focus in on next game,” K-State wide receiver Chris Harper said after the Wildcats’ 55-24 victory against Texas Tech. “It’s really hard not to look ahead, but the position that we’re in, you can’t do it.”
Alabama and Oregon both face big tests Saturday. Emerging Heisman trophy contender AJ McCarron and the Tide go to Baton Rouge, La., to face No. 5 LSU in a game that could decide the SEC West.
The Pac-12′s game of the year was supposed to be Saturday as well. The Ducks will be at No. 18 Southern California, but the Trojans are coming off their second loss of the season. USC fell 39-36 at Arizona and hasn’t looked much like a team that started the season No. 1.
Still, Matt Barkley and crew figure to provide some resistance to an Oregon team that has yet to enter the fourth quarter of a game with the result in doubt.
Kansas State is home against Big 12 rival Oklahoma State. Notre Dame, coming off a 30-13 victory at Oklahoma, takes on Pittsburgh in South Bend, Ind.
A BCS mess looms. Alabama’s position as No. 1 is safe as long as the defending national champions keep winning. The other three will jockey for the position behind the Tide, and voters (both in the AP poll and the two used in the BCS standings) will parse scores and schedules, looking for the slightest flaws to separate the Ducks, Wildcats and Irish.
Good luck with that.

Moving up
Dismissed after getting thumped at South Carolina, No. 7 Georgia moved up five spots in the latest rankings and moved into position to win a second consecutive SEC East title.
The Bulldogs put together by far their best defensive performance of the season against the Gators. It really came out of nowhere. Georgia, with a lineup full of future NFL draft picks, had been allowing more than 200 yards per game on the ground across its last three.
All-American linebacker Jarvis Jones, who has been slowed by injuries, was spectacular with 13 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles. Florida ran for only 81 yards.
Georgia needs to beat Mississippi and Auburn to book a trip to the Southeastern Conference title game for the sixth time in 12 seasons under coach Mark Richt. Yes, the Bulldogs have benefited from a favorable schedule the past two seasons, missing the best teams from the SEC West. But you can only play the teams on your schedule and Georgia has beaten almost all of them.
Still, many Bulldogs fans have been exasperated by their team and coach in recent seasons. Georgia hasn’t won the SEC since 2005, and while Florida, Alabama, Auburn and LSU have won the last six national titles, Georgia hasn’t won any.
That’s a high standard to meet, but that’s where the bar is set for the top SEC programs these days.

Moving down
USC, now that’s a disappointing team.
Even after losing at Stanford in September, the Trojans were No. 10 with a chance to work their way back into the national title race. Another sloppy performance led to their second loss of the season.
The Trojans had more than 600 yards, including 493 passing by Barkley, against Arizona. Star receiver Marqise Lee had 16 catches for a Pac-12 record 345 yards. But USC committed five turnovers and 13 penalties and let a 15-point, second-half lead slip away.
Coach Lane Kiffin’s talented team has been its own worst enemy all season. USC is the most penalized team in the country, averaging 10.3 per game for 84.6 yards. The Trojans are tied for 94th in the nation with 18 giveaways.
The irony is USC will still be front and center in the national championship chase.
The Trojans play Oregon on Saturday, and finish their regular season on Nov. 24 at home against Notre Dame. The Trojans still control their destiny in the Pac-12 South, and could reach the conference title game, possibly for a rematch with Oregon.
Playing spoiler, however, is not what the Trojans had in mind this season.

In and out
From undefeated to unranked.
Rutgers pulled off that trick with a ghastly performance at home against Kent State.
The Scarlet Knights committed seven turnovers and the Golden Flashes won 35-23 for the Mid-American Conference’s fourth victory this season against the Big East this season. For the second consecutive week, a ranked and unbeaten Big East team lost to a MAC team. Last week, it was Cincinnati losing at Toledo.
Rutgers, which only had six turnovers coming into the game, had been ranked 18th.
The silver lining for the Scarlet Knights is they are still in play for their first Big East championship. They play Army next week before finishing the season against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and No. 12 Louisville.
The Big East didn’t have much chance of sending a team to the national title game, but those nonconference loses have taken some of the luster off what was set to be an intriguing league race.
Elsewhere in the MAC, Ohio also went from unbeaten to unranked. The Bobcats, ranked for the first time since 1968, lost 23-20 to league rival Miami (Ohio).
MAC teams Toledo (8-1, 5-0), Kent State (7-1, 4-0), Northern Illinois (8-1, 5-0) and Ohio (7-1, 3-1) all received votes in the latest AP top 25.
Also falling out of the rankings was Michigan. Moving back in was No. 21 Nebraska, No. 24 Arizona and No. 25 UCLA.

From the archives
Louisville has not been ranked this high since it reached No. 8 early in the 2007 season, the year after Bobby Petrino coached the Cardinals to the Orange Bowl, and then bolted for the NFL.
Louisville fell out of the rankings in September 2007, and didn’t get back in until the start of this season.

Odds and ends
Newly ranked Arizona and UCLA play at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. … No. 16 Texas A&M is at No, 17 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, who were trounced by Alabama 38-7 on Saturday, will try to avoid a two-game losing streak after starting the season 7-0. At NCCA.com.

Week 10 BCS Rankings

Five undefeated teams fell back to reality on Saturday, highlighted by Florida's turnover-plagued loss to SEC East rival Georgia in Jacksonville.  
The Gators were joined by Oregon State, Mississippi State, Rutgers and Ohio in suffering their first loss of the season. Now, only five bowl eligible teams remain undefeated (Ohio State, 9-0, is under a one-year postseason ban) heading into November.
Meanwhile four of the BCS Top Five rolled to impressive victories. Top-ranked Alabama, Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame each won by at least 17 points on Saturday and all moved to a perfect 8-0.
Unfortunately, Week 10 won't bring any relief, only more pressure for the country's top programs as they look to survive the final third of college football's grueling regular season.

By far the most pivotal matchup on the schedule for this upcoming weekend is Alabama vs. LSU in Baton Rouge. Les Miles' squad can avenge its embarrassing BCS National Championship Game loss in January with a win over the rival Crimson Tide.
In other notable games, the 8-0 Kansas State Wildcats will host Oklahoma State, Oregon will travel south to take on USC, Notre Dame will play host to Pittsburgh in South Bend, and the lowest-ranked undefeated, Louisville, will look to move to 9-0 with a win over Temple.
The biggest winners of Week 9, Georgia and Florida State aren't out of the woods yet either. The Bulldogs will take on Ole Miss this coming weekend, while Florida State has a bye before it plays two straight conference games on the road followed by a home game versus rival Florida.
The lesson to be learned here is that there is still an entire month left in the college football season, and Week 10 is sure to feature plenty more opportunities for the nation's top teams to fall.
Here are the BCS standings after nine weeks of college football.

1. Alabama

2. Kansas State

3. Notre Dame

4. Oregon

5. LSU

6. Georgia

7. Florida

8. South Carolina

9. Florida State

10. Louisville

11. Oregon State

12. Oklahoma

13. Clemson

14. Stanford

15. Mississippi State

16. Texas A&M

17. USC

18. Texas Tech

19. Boise State

20. Nebraska

21. West Virginia

22. Arizona

23. Texas

24. Oklahoma State

25. Louisiana Tech

Handing out midseason awards

Given that most teams have six or seven games in the books, it’s time to distribute some midseason awards. Watching the annual end-of-season awards show always leaves me confused. I can’t be the only one, can I? Will someone explain why are there two trophies — Heisman and Maxwell — doled out to the year’s most “outstanding player” and another, the Walter Camp, bestowed upon the “player of the year?” There are two awards — Bednarik and Nagurski — for “defensive player of the year” and another, the Lott, for “outstanding defensive player.” There’s a quarterback award (O’Brien) and a senior quarterback award (Unitas). It reminds me of little league — everyone goes home with a trophy, a slice of pizza and a smile. Well, that’s not the case with these midseason awards — we’re keeping it simple. It’s limited to one fictional trophy that the players will never hear, or care, about, per category. The competition is high and the stakes are low. Good luck, gentlemen.

The Heisman typically doesn’t reflect the player who has dominated statistically. No, it’s often given to the running back or quarterback who has been the centerpiece of one of the nation’s top teams (Except for Peyton Manning). Among the remaining undefeated squads, no one has a better résumé than Klein, so the award is seemingly his by default. He doesn’t dazzle with long runs – he’s averaging only 5.1 yards-per-carry – but his punishing, yet nimble-when-it-needs-to-be, running style keeps the chains moving. And serving as his team’s best red zone option doesn’t hurt his case – Klein has 14 rushing scores on the year. Through the air, he’s completing more than 70 percent of his passes at just over 200 yards-per-game, not bad numbers for a man who relies on his feet. Leading the Wildcats through impressive road wins at Oklahoma and West Virginia pushed Klein to the midseason lead in the fickle race for the Heisman. Kansas State’s second-half schedule doesn’t relent – five tough conference games remain – but they’re all winnable and the typically-porous defenses of the Big 12 will keep giving the 6-foot-5 signalcaller chances to put up big numbers.
Other Candidates: Manti Te’o (LB, Notre Dame), Geno Smith (QB, West Virginia), Braxton Miller (QB, Ohio State)

Like I said, the Heisman is often given to the best player on one of the nation’s best teams – and no team this year has been better than Alabama. Yes, they’ve done it on the back of a defense that has led the nation in nearly every major statistical category from wire-to-wire, but McCarron is starting to step out of the shadow of that impenetrable 11. So far, he’s thrown 16 touchdowns and no picks, is completing 68.8 percent of his passes at a 9.6 yards-per-attempt clip and has quietly become the nation’s top-rated quarterback. Should Nick Saban start asking his quarterback to handle more of the offensive burden as teams stack the box against Bama’s potent run game, those numbers could improve. And should Alabama run the table, McCarron would be the quarterback of the nation’s best team, which has never hurt anyone’s Heisman chances.

Smith lost the Heisman when Collin Klein marched into Morgantown last weekend and snatched it from him, but that doesn’t mean his scintillating first-half should go unrecognized. Just in case the consecutive losses to Texas Tech and Kansas State made you forget about Smith’s early dominance, let me offer a refresher. This season he he’s averaging 344.9 yards-per-game (3rd-nationally), has thrown 26 touchdowns (2nd) to only two picks, has a 74.2 completion percentage (1st) and a 172.04 rating (4th). Those aren’t video game numbers – they’re Stephen-Hawking-playing-a-video game numbers. There’s no doubt that he’s been the nation’s most potent offensive weapon, but can he keep pace in the second half? In the past two games – both losses – Smith has mustered only two touchdown strikes and averaged under five yards-per-attempt. And, next week, he has to square off against an opportunistic TCU defense. Any more clunkers from Geno and the eight-touchdown performance against Baylor will feel like a relic from another season.
Other Candidates: Seth Doege (QB, Texas Tech), Nick Florence (QB, Baylor), Johnny Manziel (QB, Texas A&M)

Who? You ask. Well, after Geno fired his first two picks of the season against Kansas State on Saturday, Cameron became the quarterback who has thrown the most touchdowns (20) without tossing an interception. Not to mention, under the tutelage of Mike Leach disciple Sonny Dykes, he’s guided the Bulldogs to a 6-1 start, including wins against Illinois, Virginia, and a near-comeback against Texas A&M (more on that one later). In the second half, Louisiana Tech jumps into their WAC conference schedule. If the Bulldogs’ first conference game, a 70-28 win against Idaho last weekend in which Cameron threw for 400 yard and a pair of scores, is indicative of how they will fare against conference foes, expect the quarterback’s already impressive numbers (330 YPG and a 71.3 completion percentage) to spike. And can he finish the season pick-free?

While Te’o isn’t leading the nation in any major defensive statistical categories, that’s not his job. He’s the emotional, and physical, centerpiece of Notre Dame’s No. 2 scoring defense, which is only yielding 9.4 points-per-game. Earlier this season, both Te’o’s grandmother and girlfriend died within a six-hour period. Rather than crumble, Te’o has channeled his strife onto the field, pushing the 10 men around him to levels no one anticipated this season. Te’o’s four interceptions are tied for the most among linebackers and his seven passes defended stand third in the nation. But the linebacker and his elite defense have yet to face their toughest tests. The Irish travel to Oklahoma, which is averaging more than 50 points-per-game in its last three contests, this weekend and have to venture to Southern California in November to face a Trojan team stockpiled with weapons.
Other Candidates: Jadeveon Clowney (DL, South Carolina), Phillip Thomas (DB, Fresno State), Damontre Moore (DL, Texas A&M)

Confused? Don’t be. Verrett already has four interceptions. But that’s not the number I’m looking at – he’s tied for the national lead in passes defended with 15, so we know he’s able to make plays on the ball. And look at TCU’s remaining schedule: Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma. All of those teams, save, maybe, Kansas State, love to wing the ball all around the field, so Verrett will get tested repeatedly. Yes, he’s bound to get beat a few times – everyone does in the Big 12 – but all of those passes coming his way will offer more opportunities to bat balls and pick them off. I expect to see Verrett among the nation’s leaders – if not at the top – in interceptions by season’s end.

Is this guy’s movie deal in the works yet? Is it too late to add him to the ballot for president? When he retires, will he be in the Dos Equis commercials? That’s how much respect Snyder deserves. Look at his career arc: In 1989, he took over a Kansas State program that had been to exactly one bowl game, which it lost, in its 93-year history. The team had won a combined six games in the five seasons before he got the job, yet he pushed it to a bowl appearance in his fifth year and a 10-win season in his seventh. Twice, he led the Wildcats to 11-win seasons and a place in the national title discussion. Then he retired in 2005, and the forever-grateful program named the stadium after him. Nice career. Job well done, coach … but he wasn’t finished. After a three-year hiatus, during which the program was careening back towards mediocrity, or worse, Snyder grabbed the headset yet again. Last year, the Wildcats amassed 10 wins and they’ve won their first seven contests this year. In the second half, only two opponents ranked in the BCS – Texas Tech and Texas – stand between Snyder and his first undefeated season.
Other Candidates: Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Tommy Tuberville (Texas Tech), Sonny Dykes (Louisiana Tech)

While Snyder’s team may be playing at a higher level, it could be argued that Riley has done more with less this season in Corvallis. Oregon State was unranked coming into the season and didn’t even garner a single AP vote until Week 4. The 6-0 Beavers have already knocked off talented squads from Wisconsin, UCLA and Utah. They lost their starting quarterback for a pair of games, but won both. The second-half of the schedule toughens, though, with a trip to Stanford looming on Nov. 10 and what may be the most important Civil War battle since 1863 when the Ducks come to town two weeks later. If Oregon State can derail their big brother’s perfect season, Riley will have done the best coaching job of the year.

If you didn’t know who was getting this award, you’ve been spending your Saturdays watching reruns of House Hunters International on HGTV and shouldn’t be reading this column. The electric Johnny Football is 29th in the nation in rushing yards-per-game, averaging just over 100-per-contest, which is good for second among quarterbacks behind Michigan senior Denard Robinson. Well, he’s a pretty good running quarterback then. Wait, what? He’s 15th nationally in passing yards-per-game, averaging 279 through the air? I was just kidding around about the movie last week, but if he keeps this up, I legitimately do think Disney might make Grown Manziel: The Johnny Football Story within the year. He’s broken the SEC single-game total yardage record twice and he’s already amassed 24 touchdowns (14 passing, 10 rushing), putting him nearly on pace to match the best season from another famous SEC hybrid quarterback (the one who likes flat-top haircuts, jump passes and overenthusiastic first-down celebrations). Manziel did struggle for the first time when he had to face LSU last weekend and two more tough SEC defenses await when A&M has to travel to Starkville and Tuscaloosa. But Manziel will still have chances to shine against Auburn, Sam Houston State and Missouri.
Other Candidates: Brett Hundley (QB, UCLA), Todd Gurley (RB, Georgia), Devonte Fields (DL, TCU)

The Ducks haven’t asked much from their freshman quarterback – just get the ball to the track team and let it do the rest. As a team, Oregon has 371 carries this year, while Mariota has only thrown the ball 180 times. But he’s made the most of those attempts, tossing 16 touchdowns against only five interceptions. Plus he’s added a pair of scores and 356 yards on the ground. But in the second half, Oregon’s schedule – which has been a cupcakewalk until this point – toughens significantly. The Ducks fly south to USC in two weeks, host Stanford two weeks after that and have to fight the aforementioned Civil War in Corvallis in the season’s final weekend. The better opponents will work to take away Oregon’s run game and force the freshman to beat them. If he’s up to the task, his second-half numbers could rival those of Johnny Football.

Given that the Ducks have had an average halftime lead of 25.4 this season, Barner hasn’t had the chance to demonstrate what sort of numbers he could put up over an entire 60 minutes. But I’m not going to blame him for that. In his blowout-limited playing time, Barner has still managed 870 yards and twelve touchdowns. He’s averaging nearly seven yards-per-carry as the centerpiece of the Ducks’ exhausting attack. He’ll get more time to shine in the second half as the competition stiffens, but will have to battle against tougher defenses.
Other Candidates: Stefphon Jefferson (Nevada), Cody Getz (Air Force), Le’Veon Bell (Michigan State)

After recovering from an ACL tear, Bernard has missed two games – and the better part of a third – due to early-season injuries. But in the last three weeks, much to the dismay of ACC rivals, his health has returned. Against Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Duke, Bernard galloped for 582 yards and four scores. Though he’s 19th-nationally in rushing yards thanks to the missed time, he’s fifth in the nation in rushing yards-per-game, averaging 132.5. That figure is the best among backs who hail from automatic qualifying conferences. If Bernard can stay healthy, expect him to run rampant over UNC’s four remaining ACC opponents and to be the nation’s most dangerous ballcarrier in the second half.

I may or may not have flipped a blue-and-yellow coin on this one. On one side was Bailey; on the other, his teammate Tavon Austin, who typically draws more attention from opposing teams and has subsequently posted inferior stats to his teammate. Bailey leads the nation by a wide margin in touchdown receptions with 14. (Louisiana Tech’s Quinton Patton is second with 10.) He’s averaging 13.56 yards-per-catch and 114.3 yards-per-game. Baylor’s Terrance Williams has posted more impressive yardage totals – averaging a 168.8-per-game and 21.55 per-catch, but Bailey’s ability to flourish in the red zone has set him apart.
Other Candidates: DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson), Terrance Williams (Baylor), Quinton Patton (Louisiana Tech)

It’s tough to be a dark horse when you’re widely considered one of the most dynamic receiving talents – if not the most – in all of college football. But Marqise Lee, and the Trojans offense, have yet to hit the gear so many expected when they were anointed the coveted-yet-valueless preseason No. 1. If that’s going to happen in the second half – remember the Trojans averaged 43.6 points-per-game in their last five contests last season – then expect Lee’s numbers to jump. He’s already eighth-nationally in yards-per-game (112) with eight touchdowns, but his production stands to increase with games against the friendly defenses of Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA still on the schedule.

The 6-foot-6, 256-pound defensive end has taken up residence in opposing backfields all season. Even in the Gamecocks’ blowout loss to Florida last week, Clowney was constantly blowing up Gator offensive linemen. Though he frequently draws double-teams from opposing offenses, Clowney stands fourth in the nation with 14 tackles-for-loss and is tied for eighth with 7.5 sacks. More impressive than his numbers is his mere physical presence. Somehow, he stands out from the other 21 grown men on the field during SEC clashes – not an easy thing to do. The Gamecocks are through their toughest part of the schedule, so Clowney’s numbers should only get better through South Carolina’s final four games against Tennessee, Arkansas, Wofford and rival Clemson.
Other Candidates: Damontre Moore, Stephon Tuitt (Notre Dame), Scott Crichton (Oregon State)

The big German is tied for fourth nationally with eight sacks and leads the nation with 69 yards-lost on those quarterback takedowns. Like Clowney, Werner is a monster at 6-foot-4, 272-pounds. He relies more on brute strength to batter offensive linemen than most pass-rushers. As lines tire late in the season, that tactic should pay off against weary linemen unable to keep the giant at bay.

Oct. 3 — Texas A&M 59 – Louisiana Tech 57 — Box Score | Recap
After a full day spent in front of the TV and forgetting to feed either your children or your dog – or both – my guess is that you did what you could to avoid a visit from Social Services, turned off the TV and missed this one. It was tucked away on ESPNU and went on well past midnight, so I can’t blame you too much, but you likely woke on Sunday wishing you’d neglected your family for three more hours. Both teams, surprisingly, came in ranked with a pair of the nation’s most exciting offensive attacks. A&M stormed out to a 27-0 lead midway through the second quarter and it looked like Louisiana Tech’s Air Raid offense was nothing but a gimmick. Turns out, it’s quite the opposite. The Bulldogs stormed back, scoring 41 second-half points to turn the shellacking into a nail-biter. The Bulldogs drew within two early in the fourth when Shakeil Lucas picked off Johnny Football on the A&M five and went 15 feet for six points. But Louisiana Tech’s two-point conversion failed, which came back to haunt the team. It seemed like Manziel put the game away with two minutes remaining when he sprinted 72-yards for a score – he accelerated away from Bulldog players so fast that it looked like Usain Bolt running against a few Norwegians – that put A&M up 59-44. But Colby Cameron answered immediately with a 62-yard strike to Quinton Patton. That was followed up by a rare successful onside kick and another quick Louisiana Tech score. But, once again, The Bulldogs failed when they went for two. Kicking a pair of extra points in the fourth would’ve sent this to overtime, but hindsight is, of course, 20/20. Louisiana Tech lost the game, but gained respect and has maintained an AP ranking. And Johnny Football gained national notoriety with his 576 all-purpose-yard, six touchdown day.At ncaa.com.

Carolina Panthers fire general manager Marty Hurney

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said after Carolina's latest crushing loss that "something had to change." It didn't take long.

The Panthers announced Monday morning that General Manager Marty Hurney has been relieved of his duties. He's run the team since 2002.

"This was an extremely difficult decision," said owner Jerry Richardson in a statement. "Marty made every effort to bring success to the Panthers and took the team to a Super Bowl and two NFC championship games. Unfortunately, we have not enjoyed the success we hoped for in recent years. I have the greatest respect and admiration for Marty and will always appreciate the way he tirelessly served the organization."

The Panthers had their share of success under Hurney, but it was never sustained. They followed up their Super Bowl year with a 7-9 season. They followed up their '08 12-4 season with an 8-8 mark. Hurney was never able to deliver back-to-back winning years.
Things really went south after 2008. Hurney doubled down on Jake Delhomme's contract, which put his team in a huge hole. He got the Jimmy Clausen pick wrong. Outside of Cam Newton, the Panthers have very little to show for the last few drafts.
Hurney went on a spending spree before the 2011 season to poor results. They have the highest paid backfield in the league with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. Their rushing attack is 24th in rushing attempts despite giving $43 million guaranteed to their top two backs.

Whether it was John Fox or the current coach Ron Rivera, Hurney and the coaching staff didn't always seem to be on the same page.

"I am very fortunate to have been a part of one of the best organizations in the NFL since 1998," Hurney said. "As General Manager I will always regret not helping us win the Super Bowl or having back-to-back winning seasons. I hope this change starts accomplishing the direction to those goals. I understand this decision by Mr. Richardson and will always have an extremely close relationship with him. I consider him the best owner in the NFL. I am responsible for everybody in coaching, the players, the scouts and everybody in football operations. After six weeks, we are 1-5 coming off a 6-10 season."
It is a very unusual to fire a general manager in the middle of the season, but this is Richardson's signal that change is coming to Carolina. It's also a reminder how difficult life in the NFL can be. The Panthers have lost four games by one score.
If they complete another pass or two, Hurney still has his job. More information at NFL.com.

Men`s Basketball Rankings

Week 9 BCS Rankings

The second official BCS poll has been released with a few shifts occurring near the top of the poll. Taking a look at the latest release, this is the breakdown of Week 9’s Top 25 teams.
The biggest winner of the weekend was Kansas State with its 55-14 drubbing of conference foe West Virginia. A number of other teams had big shifts as well with huge wins and huge losses.
The BCS picture is beginning to take shape with half the college football season behind us. Let's take a look at what teams are in the conversation and the breakdown of each BCS Top 25 team.

No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide

No. 2 Florida Gators

No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats

No. 4 Oregon Ducks

No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

No. 6 LSU Tigers

No. 7 Oregon State Beavers

No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners

No. 9 USC Trojans

No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs

No. 11 Mississippi State Bulldogs

No. 12 Florida State Seminoles

No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks

No. 14 Texas Tech Red Raiders

No. 15 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

No. 16 Louisville Cardinals

No. 17 Stanford Cardinal

No. 18 Clemson Tigers

No. 19 West Virginia Mountaineers

No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies

No. 21 Boise State Broncos

No. 22 Michigan Wolverines

No. 23 Texas Longhorns

No. 24 Ohio Bobcats

No. 25 Wisconsin Badgers

Men's Basketball News Midnight Madness returns for 2012-13

Josh Thompson made Midnight Madness a real family affair.

The senior forward for Wagner College drew plenty of national attention at last season’s opening practice when he dunked over his mother to win a contest among his teammates.

It isn’t just the major powers who entertain their fans to open the season. Quite of few of the nearly 350 Division I programs have some sort of showy scrimmage and almost every one includes a dunking contest.

Wagner, which is expected to challenge for the Northeast Conference title this season, is no different.

To go that extra little bit that makes every dunking contest different, Thompson jumped over his mother and father on Friday night at Wagner’s ”Madness before Midnight.”

”He didn’t know anything about it,” Thompson said of including the other parent in his family flyover. ”He had his camera and I told him to put it down. He said ‘Why can’t I take pictures?’ and I told he was going to be with my mother and he gave me that smile and said ‘All right.’ “

Asked why he didn’t tell them about being involved in the dunk, Thompson said, ”They would have turned right around and headed home.”

Thomspon stood his parents, Josh and Diane, back to back at an angle in the key. He took a couple of dribbles, then took off, clearing both before he dunked, just grazing his father with his right leg.

”My dad was excited like a player. He was an athlete himself,” the younger Thompson said. ”My mom had her eyes closed and she must have asked my five times, ‘Did you do it? ‘Did you make it?’ I told her I made it.”

Thompson, however, did not repeat as dunk champion at the Staten Island, N.Y. school. Freshman guard Dwaun Anderson, a transfer from Michigan State, didn’t have any family members in the lane. He just soared.

”First of all, Dwaun is an incredible athlete and he is so exciting to watch once he takes off on a dunk,” Thompson said. ”He did some kind of 360-degree windmill dunk and put the ball between his legs. Just say it was some crazy dunk.”

Connecticut’s annual ”First Night” was the opening event in the career of coach Kevin Ollie and he was welcomed with a video from Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun, who retired as coach of the Huskies last month. Ollie’s first season will be one with no Big East or NCAA tournament because of academic reasons.

It wouldn’t have been ”Late Night with Roy” at North Carolina without Roy Williams — and the Hall of Fame coach looked thrilled to be back after his recent cancer scare. In his first public appearance on the Smith Center sideline since the scare, Williams received three distinct, extended standing ovations from the crowd. Williams watched his team’s 20-minute informal intrasquad scrimmage from the scorer’s table and then came the usual fare of dance moves by players and a few assistant coaches.

North Carolina State officials stopped the public scrimmage when the grandfather of senior Scott Wood fell ill at courtside and was carried away on a stretcher. Team spokesman Dwayne Harrison said Wood’s grandfather was taken to a hospital for evaluation, but he was alert and conscious. The scrimmage was part of the ”Primetime with the Pack” event that included second-year coach Mark Gottfried entering by riding a zip line down to the court from the second level of the PNC Arena.

Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness featured a group of Wildcat legends raising the school’s eighth national championship banner to the Rupp Arena rafters. A capacity crowd was introduced to the much-heralded freshmen class that includes big men Nerlens Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein, forward Alex Poythress and guard Archie Goodwin. Transfers Julius Mays and Ryan Harrow also debuted.

Kansas had a little scare in ”Late Night in the Phog” when the lights suddenly faded during the women’s team scrimmage. According to the campus fire marshal, someone at the scorer’s table hit the wrong switch instead of a buzzer. Then, amid the fog and drone of plastic noisemakers, Kansas unveiled new Big 12 championship and Final Four banners which makes 55 and 14, respectively. The Jayhawks bring in seven freshmen and two redshirts in trying to follow last season’s run to the national championship game.

Baylor’s Deuce Bello earned perfect 10s from all four judges in the dunk contest after jumping over 7-foot-1 freshman Isaiah Austin in the opening round. Bello, a 6-4 sophomore, did a back flip when he was introduced with his teammates at the start of the event.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim entered the court for ”Orange Madness” in a U.S. army vehicle and was joined by soldiers from Fort Drum military base. Boeheim showed the crowd his gold medal from this past summer at the London Olympics, where he served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team, and thanked the soldiers for their service before the scrimmage began. The final event of the night was a dunk contest that women’s team freshman Brittney Sykes. The 5-foot-9 Sykes was last to go and the McDonald’s All-America attempted to dunk multiple times, but she struggled to get to the rim and fell short on each attempt.

 At ncaa.com.