by FOXSports.com

Comment

The punch line might not be clear. But Tennessee understands the premise and the target, and it clearly isn't pleased. Copies of a joke Memphis coach Tommy West told at a preseason banquet about Vols coach Lane Kiffin have been plastered around the locker room and the practice field since Monday. And though the story might not make too much sense or be all that funny, the Vols have made clear they're offended heading into Saturday's home game. -- Knoxville News Sentinel

Colorado's Dan Hawkins heading into fourth consecutive losing season

Unless Dan Hawkins transforms his 2-6 Colorado Buffaloes into the 2001 Miami Hurricanes this month, he will have his fourth consecutive losing season. There's no shame in that. He has plenty of company. Since 1980, 82 Division I-A coaches have come to a school and had losing seasons in their first four years. However, those who survived much longer are few and far between. Of the 82, 24 were fired soon after the season, or, in the rare case of Vanderbilt's Gerry DiNardo -- who scored a job at LSU -- went elsewhere. Of the 58 who survived past Year 4, 34 were fired after their fifth year. -- Denver Post

Gators' Urban Meyer awaits word from SEC on possible discipline

Florida coach Urban Meyer has yet to hear if he violated the SEC's newest policy. Meyer could face a possible fine or suspension by SEC commissioner Mike Slive after Meyer's comments during the SEC teleconference on Wednesday. But nothing has happened yet. "No. No, not at all," Meyer said Thursday when asked if the conference had contacted him about his comments. Slive announced last week that the league was going to start issue fines and suspensions to coaches who publicly criticize officials, foregoing the step of public reprimands. Meyer's comments are the first that could provoke a penalty from Slive. -- Fort Myers News-Press

Richt shrugs off questions about Georgia's strength

With Georgia's struggles on the offensive and defensive lines and problems running the football or bringing down opposing rushers, some critics have wondered if Georgia simply isn't strong enough this season. Mark Richt thinks that's just par for the course. Richt said across the board his staff works to keep up with the latest advances around college football, whether it be strength and conditioning, Xs and Os or simple coaching methodology. "Coaches go to conventions, strength coaches go to conventions, everybody goes to the seminars trying to stay on top of the cutting edge," Richt said. "Everybody gets together and they discuss the things they have, the things they do, what do you like and what don't you like. And everybody's got friends in the business where you can compare notes." -- Macon Telegraph

Saban promises change in Tide's red-zone offense

Nick Saban is promising some changes in what the third-ranked University of Alabama football team does in the red zone, but he's not saying what those changes are going to be. The head coach of the Crimson Tide said Thursday night on his weekly radio show that UA has tweaked its red-zone offense, but also said the real key is better execution. Alabama has kicked eight field goals and scored one touchdown when inside its opponent's 20-yard-line in the last three games. "I think there's two parts to that," Saban said. "Obviously we're going to do some things differently. I'm not going to tell you what they are, unless you just want me to call (LSU coach) Les Miles when the show's over and just tell him what we're going to do. "There's also something being said for what you do do, doing it better, because our failings in the red zone have not come so much from what the other team has done nearly as much as it's come from what we've done." -- Tuscaloosa News

Tim Tebow still barely Heisman frontrunner

The way Eddie George sees it, this season's Heisman Trophy race is a tight one. George should know. The former Titans running back won the award at Ohio State in 1995, pays close attention to the contenders each year, and has a Heisman vote. So who does he believe has a slight edge? A familiar Florida quarterback named Tim Tebow. "He is gritty and unconventional," George said. "He's not going to put up 400 yards passing, but he's going to do it running it and throwing it. You're not going to see gaudy stats; you're going to see more of his toughness. We're all enamored with the way he's done it this year. He's right there." -- Tennessean

KU's Mangino goes back to his coaching roots for O-line

Maybe the most alarming reason given for the benching of Todd Reesing last week was that Kansas coach Mark Mangino feared for his quarterback's safety playing behind a struggling offensive line. In response, Mangino has gone back to his roots this week. "I've hung out with the linemen a little bit," Mangino said. "It's fun for me. It's kind of a throwback to the old days. I kind of remember me teaching techniques and fundamentals that I taught 10 years ago. They still apply." -- KC Star

Vols' Kiffin won't comment if Jackson suspended for Memphis game

Lane Kiffin isn't about to start violating his personal policy about suspensions by talking about them publicly. But at this point, it wouldn't appear the Tennessee coach is exactly keeping them a secret either. Janzen Jackson spent practice Thursday watching from a distance, and for a healthy safety who's the reigning freshmen of the week in the SEC, that's about as official as it gets. With or without confirmation from Kiffin, it appears Jackson won't be in uniform to defend his latest award and an administrative issue will keep him out of the lineup against Memphis on Saturday. -- Knoxville News

Ole Miss OC Kent Austin working on offensive makeover

With only four games left in the regular season and Ole Miss still fighting to become bowl-eligible, offensive coordinator Kent Austin isn't concerning himself with playing the blame game. That would only add to the complications. Instead, he's trying to simplify. "We really went back and tried to do an analysis of what we do well," Austin said. "Not just at quarterback - but across the board. What we're executing well and what we're not. And if we're finding some common themes with things we're struggling with then we throw it out." -- Clarion-Ledger

Steve Sarkisian says Jake Locker will start

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said he saw enough good things out of Jake Locker today to announce the Husky quarterback will start Saturday at UCLA. Sarkisian said Locker, who suffered a deep thigh bruise, is still a little sore, but he won't be limited in terms of the playbook. -- Seattle Times

Notre Dame's Rocket Ismail spends 90% of time with his children

What is former Notre Dame star Raghib "Rocket" Ismail doing these days? "Ninety percent of my time is with my children. When I was younger, it was all about being a productive citizen, when I was coming up with my grandmother and everything (Ismail's father passed when he was 10). The push was always to be a good citizen and everything that entails. The main thrust of being a good citizen is treating people with respect and treat people the way you want to be treated. I noticed with the population, here in America, there was a shift sometime during my growing up, where we were no longer identified as citizens. We were identified as consumers. I think we've become too self-centered. And that can lead to arrogance and being "all about me." Instead of being productive citizens, their growth regresses. I don't want to raise consumers. I want to raise productive citizens." -- South Bend Tribune

No one wants to play Boise State

Here is one more brought to our attention Thursday: Major conference teams who have turned down an opportunity to host Boise State in 2011. According to Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson, that list is 10 deep. And Boise State, currently fifth in the Associated Press Top 25, seventh in the BCS standings and last in everybody's hearts, isn't even asking for a home-and-home agreement. "They're running into a situation where nobody will schedule them," Benson said. "Nobody will take them." -- SF Chronicle

Georgia's Richt happy to return home

Count Mark Richt among the folks who are happy that Georgia will play at home the next three weeks. The Bulldogs haven't played at Sanford Stadium since a 20-13 loss to LSU on Oct. 3, winning at Vanderbilt and losing at Tennessee and to Florida in the past month. "I like being 'Between the Hedges,' " Richt said. "I like being with our fan base. I like it when we don't have to go through all the travel. If you're home three or four games in a row, sometimes it's not bad to get away, and when you've been gone a long time, it's certainly great to get back home." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rutgers and Army to play first major-college game at new Meadowlands stadium

The Scarlet Knights will play the first Football Bowl Subdivision game at the new Meadowlands stadium, when they play host to Army. Rutgers stands to make $2.7 million by moving the game from Rutgers Stadium to the Meadowlands, as was first reported in The Star-Ledger. "This is a tremendous opportunity for Rutgers and we are thankful to our friends at the New Meadowlands Stadium Corporation, along with the Jets and Giants for their partnership," Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti said in a statement. "We have witnessed first-hand the construction of the New Meadowlands Stadium and we are looking forward to competing during the inaugural season at the state-of-the-art facility." The game will be played on Oct. 16. -- Newark Star-Ledger

Did You Know?

There are 619 college football teams across the country, and their games are attended by nearly 49 million people annually. Additional, millions watch the games of their favorite teams on television. -- PR Newswire

Maryland's Friedgen fosters 'sense of urgency'

With a record of 2-6 and with little chance of reaching a bowl game, even Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen admits something "crazy" would have to happen for his team to make something out of what's been a dismal 2009 season. But that doesn't mean the Terps are going to stop playing to win in their final four-game stretch, which starts Saturday at North Carolina State -- at least if Friedgen has anything to do with it. "There's a sense of urgency with me," Friedgen said this week when asked if the Terps' poor record had left the team lacking in motivation. "I don't know if you realize that or not, but I'm tired of losing. There's a big sense of urgency. That's one of the things I've been talking to our players about. We need to start winning." -- Daily Times

How About That?

Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers has never fumbled in 510 touches in college. -- Scout.com

Nike's Phil Knight can save the day for UCF Knights

It is time for the white Knight -- Phil Knight -- to swoosh in on his giant pair of Air Jordans and rescue UCF from the tyranny of adidas. It is the least Knight, the chairman of Nike, can do after adidas punted earlier this week on the $3 million apparel deal it has with UCF. It seems adidas is miffed because UCF freshman basketball player Marcus Jordan refuses to wear the school-issued adidas sneakers and instead is wearing his father Michael's famous Nike brand. Think of the billions of dollars Nike has made off Michael Jordan's name. Surely, the Swoosh can come up with a paltry $3 million to save Michael Jordan's namesake. Let's be honest, Michael Jordan and Phil Knight probably both have $3 million lying around in their couch cushions. -- Orlando Sentinel

How About That?

Friday, November 6th. The first intercollegiate football game was played on this date in 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The game, which resembled soccer more closely than today's college football, was won by Rutgers, 6 goals to 4. A few years later, representatives from Rutgers, Princeton, Columbia and Yale met to formulate the first intercollegiate rules for the increasingly popular game, including the number of players and the size of the field. -- PR Newswire

Notre Dame will use Braille coin in coin toss

The National Federation of the Blind announced that the University of Notre Dame will use a 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar in the coin toss at its football game on Saturday, November 7. The renowned Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who have been awarded more national championships than any other Football Bowl Subdivision school, will play Navy. -- PR Newswire

Listen to Ben Maller this weekend on the vast Fox Sports Radio Network. Ben's shows broadcast live from 1am till 6am (est) Saturday and Sunday's. Check your local radio listings for the FSR affiliate in your town, listen to XM Satellite Radio Channel No. 142 or online at FoxSportsRadio.com Say hi to Ben at Facebook.com/benmaller. Get special rumor updates and follow the life and times of Ben Maller on Twitter at Twitter.com/benmaller Interact with Big Ben's fans and talk sports on Ben Maller's forum Questions, comments and news tips can be sent to Ben via e mail at Ben@BenMaller.com.