Fighting (Jeff) Tedfords,

Vandy is 3-0 and tied for the lead in the SEC East. Looking at their upcoming schedule, they should be 5-0 before hosting LSU on October 8th. Go Commodores! Suddenly the SEC media doesn't look so crazy for selecting Jay Cutler as their preseason all-conference QB over Chris Leak.

The Jim Tressel coaching move of the week goes to Tennessee's Phat Phil for his rendition of musical quarterbacks during the UT-Florida game. The Gators look decent but still need to improve their ground game if they expect to win the SEC. 247 total yards on offense won't git ur dun. It doesn't get any easier for the Vols next week as they travel to Death Valley to take on LSU.

Ohio State looked shaky in their victory over San Diego State. I actually went to an SDSU home game while in California. Their mascot accidentally set the field on fire during the pregame festivities. Good times. Things don't get any easier this week when Iowa visits Columbus. Troy Smith will likely be getting the majority of snaps in practice this week. Buckeye fans and administrators hope he is not receiving the majority of the booster money this week, as well.

Illinois fell to Cal after a 4th quarter special teams breakdown. Thankfully (if you can say such a thing after a game-changing screwup) it was because of poor kick coverage and not the result of using a stupid ass blocking scheme during a punt attempt. Probably didn't help that the Illini gave up 294 yards rushing. Ouch! That's not going to cut it in the Big Ten. However, the Illini are 16-for-16 in scoring opportunities in the red zone this year. Lloyd Carr should be taking notes.

In the washed-up NFL coaches bowl (guest joke of the week brought to you by Balijeet), Nebraska outlasted Pittsburgh in a 7-6 barnburner in Lincoln. ... I'm guessing Houston Nutt wishes he would have taken the Nebraska job after roaming the sidelines during the no-holds-barred shellacking given to the Hogs by the Trojans. ... Texas Tech looked like they were playing Nebraska during their 80-21 victory over Sam Houston State. You know your schedule is weak when you are playing teams named after a person rather than a state or city. The Red Raiders should schedule the Oral Roberts, Lewis & Clark, and George Washington trifecta.

Georgia Tech put the hurt on UConn (I'm still in shock that they have a D-1A football team) in spite of Yellow Jacket QB Reggie Ball missing the game because of viral meningitis. ... Speaking of teams without a quarterback, Florida State gave BC a rude welcome to the Atlantic Coast Conference. ... Notre Dame crashed and burned at home against Sparty. MSU is 9-1 against Top 10 opponents in their last ten tries. Too bad they can't beat anybody else. ... Oklahoma took it on the chin in Pasadena against UCLA. The Sooners will be lucky to make a bowl game if they don't improve quickly.

Tough week for directional Michigan as they were outscored by a combined score of 123-37, although Western managed to squeak out a victory over the Salukis (Southern Illinois). This week's directional schedule is of the pillow fight variety, as Eastern hosts Central and Western travels to Temple. ... Speaking of pillow fights, Kentucky fell to Indiana in a battle of perennial conference cellar dwellers. Lexington males were extremely distraught, as the Kentucky Kitten will not be removing any articles of clothing for a new billboard picture this week.

Brent Musburger drinking game. I defy anyone to play this and remain upright by the end of the 2nd quarter, especially if it's an Ohio State or Michigan game.

And apparently Brent likes to unwind after games with something other than Dr. Pepper.
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Buena suerte to all, and Go Illini!

Jack Arute