Irish Insights

Finishing out the Virtual Season...Bowl Game

For those who have forgotten -- and we understand if you have, we'll take you back to what has been a horrid virtual Playstation season for Notre Dame.

Some things to catch you up on: Notre Dame plays Oregon in the Insight Bowl. Troy Smith won the virtual Heisman as well, only this time Reggie Ball finished second and Brady Quinn wasn't in the Top 5. Senior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija won the Biletnikoff Award, beating out Cal's DeSean Jackson and Michigan State's Matt Trannon. Senior Ryan Harris won the best offensive lineman award. Center John Sullivan finished fourth for the Rimington Award. Samardzija and Harris were both first-team All-Americans. Kicker Ryan Burkhart ended up as a freshman All-American.

As far as its bowl game, Notre Dame ended its bowl losing streak, defeating Oregon 32-20. Senior quarterback Brady Quinn completed 19 of 30 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns in his final game, two of them to Samardzija. Notre Dame finished its virtual season 8-5, worse than its current real-life mark of 10-2. And if you were curious, Oklahoma won the national championship.

Quinn also set a new NCAA record for quarterback rating, finishing the season with a 203.4 rating, smashing the old record held by Shaun King, who had a 183.3 rating according to the game.

We hope you enjoyed the virtual season we ran and are curious on your feedback. Feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season -- Air Force

We've heard the complaints and apparently the PlayStation received the message. Be more realistic, to an extent. Well, the machine responded this week as Notre Dame faced Air Force.

As usual, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit selected Notre Dame as their choice for the game in Colorado Springs, Colo. The first play from scrimmage was an incomplete pass from senior quarterback Brady Quinn to senior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija. It was about the only mistake Notre Dame would make.

Quinn and Samardzija hooked up four times in the second quarter and five times throughout the game, which became a beating before halftime. Even backup quarterback Evan Sharpley got in the show, throwing a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to sophomore wide receiver David Grimes. Behind what would be a Notre Dame-record seven touchdown passes from Quinn, the Irish rolled, 56-7, and moved to 6-4 in the virtual season.

Statistical Leaders:

Notre Dame -- Passing: Quinn 21-28-1-419, 7 TDs; Sharpley 1-1-0-20, 1 TD. Rushing: Walker 3-27; McConnell 1-3. Receiving: Samardzija 9-165, 5 TDs; Grimes 5-81, 1 TD; McKnight 2-94, 1 TD; Walker 1-11, 1 TD. Defensive: Laws 3 tkl., 3 TFL, SK; Frome SK.

Air Force -- Passing: Carney 4-4-0-92, 1 TD; Ewing 2-4-0-35. Rushing: Kendrick 16-49; Carney 5-22; Hall 4-(-10). Receiving: Thompson 2-80, 1 TD; Hall 2-12. Defensive: N. Smith 7 tkl.; Madrid 1 tkl., INT.

After Week 11:

BCS Standings: 1. Oklahoma; 2. California; 3. West Virginia; 4. Virginia Tech; 5. Ohio State.

Coaches poll: 1. Oklahoma; 2. California; 3. West Virginia; 4. Virginia Tech; 5. Ohio State.

Media poll: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Virginia Tech; 5. Ohio State. ... Notre Dame also receiving votes.

Heisman Trophy: 1. Troy Smith, Sr., QB, Ohio State; 2. DeSean Jackson, Soph., WR, California; 3. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 4. Thomas Brown, Jr., RB, Georgia; 5. Adrian Peterson, Jr., RB, Oklahoma.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season -- UNC

OK, so we've actually gotten e-mails now saying how PlayStation has it out for Notre Dame and is the only thing worse for the Irish this season than the Associated Press media poll. While we don't agree about the AP poll -- we consider some of the voters on the poll friends and know they don't have bias toward or against ND -- we can understand why readers would hate the PlayStation.

But, hey, Notre Dame has UNC coming up so it can't be that bad, can it? Umm....

For the umpteenth straight week, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit selected the Irish to win the game. On the first ND play, it didn't look too promising. Fullback Ashley McConnell fumbled away the ball, which would lead to points and a 13-7 UNC lead in the fourth quarter.

Then Brady Quinn returned to form, completing his final 20 passes of the day and throwing two touchdown passes in the final 1:02 -- a 43-yarder to Jeff Samardzija and a 20-yarder to Rhema McKnight with six seconds left to give the Irish a 22-19 win over the Tar Heels, who are having a better season on the PS2 than in real life. Notre Dame moved to 5-4 with the win.

Statistics

ND -- Passing: Quinn 25-26-0-379, 3 TDs. Rushing: McConnell 2-6; Walker 8-3. Receiving: Samardzija 7-135, 2 TDs; Grimes 5-50; McKnight 4-75, TD; Anastasio 4-58; West 3-38. Defensive: Abiamiri 3 tkl., SK; Wooden 5 tkl.

UNC -- Passing: Dailey 15-22-0-239, 2 TD. Rushing: McGill 14-51. Receiving: Holley 4-107, TD; Foster 4-48; Hamlett 2-18, TD. Defensive: Mapp 5 tkl., SK; Taylor 3 tkl., 2 TFL, SK.

Notre Dame remained unranked.

Polls:

BCS: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Virginia Tech; 5. Ohio State

Coaches: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Virginia Tech; 5. Ohio State

Media: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Virginia Tech; 5. Ohio State

Heisman: 1. Troy Smith, Sr., QB, Ohio State; 2. DeSean Jackson, Soph., WR, California; 3. Thomas Brown, Jr., RB, Georgia; 4. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 5. Graham Harrell, Soph., QB, Texas Tech.

Award Semifinalists for Notre Dame:

Best Quarterback: Brady Quinn

Biletnikoff: Jeff Samardzija

Best Offensive Lineman: Ryan Harris

Rimington Award: John Sullivan

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season, Navy Week

We're starting to think the Playstation either is demented or really, really doesn't like Notre Dame. It picked wrong again last week -- although if real-life Brady Quinn-to-Jeff Samardzija hadn't happened, it'd have been the smartest videogame system in the land.

Well, this week it's taking an even bigger chance.

With Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picking Notre Dame again, the Irish appeared to be easy winners in this game, especially after Quinn found Samardzija for 15 yards on Notre Dame's first offensive play. Quarterback and receiver found each other again for a 56-yard score on the opening drive of the game. For No. 21 Notre Dame, it was as good as it would get. Navy scored 23 of the next 26 points and shut the Irish out in the second half. The Midshipmen knocked Quinn out of the game and controlled the ball on offense to keep Notre Dame's offense off the field.

The final score, 23-10 Navy, snapping a 42-game losing streak and shocking everyone in South Bend.

Statistical Leaders:

Notre Dame: Passing -- Quinn 10-13-1-137, 1 TD. Rushing -- Walker 4-26. Receiving -- Samardzija 5-98, 1 TD; McKnight 3-40. Defensive -- Abiamiri 4 tkl, TFL, Sack.

Navy: Passing -- Bryant 5-9-0-81. Rushing -- Ballard 19-95; Hines 3-49, 1 TD; Campbell 4-11; Bryant 10-1, 1 TD. Receiving -- Campbell 2-39. Defensive -- Thrasher 3 tkl., INT; McGown 3 tkl., INT.

After Week 9:

Notre Dame 4-4, unranked.

Polls: BCS: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Louisville; 5. Virginia Tech. Coaches: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. Louisville, 4. California; 5. Virginia Tech. Media: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. Louisville; 4. California; 5. Virginia Tech.

Heisman: 1. Troy Smith, Sr., QB, Ohio State; 2. Adrian Peterson, Jr., RB, Oklahoma; 3. DeSean Jackson, So., WR, California; 4. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 5. Chris Leak, Sr., QB, Florida.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season -- UCLA

Notre Dame fans better hope PlayStation is wrong again. It's going for the upset.

Even though virtual Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit selected Notre Dame to win, UCLA started out hot with a Patrick Cowan 42-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Junior Taylor and then followed with a steady running game focusing on junior tailback Chris Markey, who had three touchdowns.

UCLA led 17-0 at half and 31-0 before Notre Dame mounted any sort of comeback. Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes -- one to senior fullback Ashley McConnell and one to senior wide receiver Rhema McKnight -- but they weren't enough as the Bruins upset virtual No. 11 Notre Dame, 31-15.

Statistical Leaders:

ND: Passing -- Quinn 23-28-1-294, 1 TD. Rushing -- Walker 2-0. Receiving -- Grimes 7-78; McKnight 6-106, 1 TD; Samardzija 3-60; Carlson 3-22. Defense -- Zbikowski 8 tackles; Crum 6 tackles; Abiamiri FR.

UCLA: Passing -- Cowan 15-19-0-203, 1 TD. Rushing -- Markey 19-120, 3 TDs. Receiving -- J. Cowan 6-93; Taylor 4-88, 1 TD. Defensive -- T. Brown 5 tackles, INT; Horton 3 tackles, 2 FF.

After Week 8:

BCS: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Louisville; 5. Virginia Tech...22. Notre Dame.

Polls: Coaches -- 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. Louisville; 4. California; 5. Virginia Tech...21. Notre Dame. Media -- 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. Louisville; 4. California; 5. Virginia Tech...21. Notre Dame.

Heisman: 1. DeSean Jackson, So., WR, Cal; 2. Troy Smith, Sr., QB, Ohio State; 3. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 4. Graham Harrell, So., QB, Texas Tech; 5. Joe Tereshinski III, Sr., QB, Georgia.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season, Week 6

PlayStation got it right last week, finally getting off of a three-game losing streak and bumping virtual Notre Dame's record to 3-2. The PlayStation also doesn't account for Stanford's many, many injuries, so the virtual Cardinal are 3-2 as well entering Saturday, although both Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picked Notre Dame.

The first play -- a Brady Quinn incompletion.

The Irish offense got off to a fast start again with a Quinn-to-Jeff Samardzija 81-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game and a 4-yard Darius Walker touchdown run later in the first quarter to give the Irish a 14-7 lead. A Quinn-to-Marcus Freeman 15-yard touchdown with less than a minute left in the second quarter gave Notre Dame a 21-14 lead it wouldn't abandon en route to a 34-21 Irish win.

Stats:

Notre Dame: Passing -- Quinn 19-27-0-358 4 TDs. Rushing -- Walker 10-48 1 TD. Receiving -- McKnight 6-118 1 TD; Samardzija 4-157 2 TDs; Grimes 4-29; Freeman 1-15 1 TD. Defensive -- T. Thomas 5 tkl., TFL; Talley 2 tkl. TFL.

Stanford: Passing -- Edwards 17-26-0-336 3 TDs. Rushing -- Kimble 9-26. Receiving -- Moore 5-79 1 TD; Bradford 5-196 1 TD; Danahy 4-44 1 TD. Defensive -- Sanchez 4 tkl., TFL.

After Week 6:

Top 5s:

Coaches -- 1. USC; 2. Oklahoma; 3. West Virginia; 4. Louisville; 5. California; 14. Notre Dame.

Media -- 1. USC; 2. Oklahoma; 3. West Virginia; 4. Louisville; 5. California; 14. Notre Dame.

Heisman Watch:

1. Brady Quinn, Sr., QB, Notre Dame; 2. DeSean Jackson, So., WR, California; 3. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 4. Will Proctor, Sr., QB, Clemson; 5. Chris Todd, RFr., QB, Texas Tech.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season, Week 5

It's been a bad stretch for Playstation2, three weeks in a row incorrectly predicting Notre Dame games and pushing the Irish to a 2-2 record instead of its real-life 3-1 mark entering Purdue. Despite the .500 record, Notre Dame is ranked No. 16 in the Playstation2 universe facing the 2-2 Boilermakers.

For the fifth straight week, both Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picked Notre Dame to beat Purdue. First play: Completion from quarterback Brady Quinn to wide receiver Rhema McKnight for 32 yards. The drive ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Quinn to tight end John Carlson and a 7-0 lead.

The second quarter didn't provide much fun for Notre Dame. Purdue scored twice and Notre Dame lost senior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija for the game with 2:51 left in the first half.

In the second half, Purdue scored two of the first three touchdowns to give the Boilermakers a 14-point lead.

Then came the comeback, one almost as exciting as the real-life one against Michigan State. With 50 seconds left in the third quarter, Quinn found David Grimes for a 9-yard score to cut the Purdue lead to 28-21. A Ryan Burkhart field goal cut the Boilermakers' lead to 28-24 with 3:43 remaining in the game.

With four seconds left, Quinn drove his team to the Purdue 24-yard line. He rolled right and threw toward the end zone. The pass tipped off Purdue sophomore cornerback Zach Logan and into the hands of Irish freshman wide receiver George West with no time left, giving Notre Dame a 30-28 win in South Bend.

It moved Notre Dame to 3-2 for the year and dropped Purdue to 2-3. In real life, though, the game isn't expected to be this close. Notre Dame fans can only hope the Playstation finally becomes correct again.

Stats:

Notre Dame: Passing -- Quinn 24-33-0-393, 4 TDs; Walker 0-1-0-0. Rushing: Walker 4-19; Schwapp 1-2. Receiving: Grimes 6-62 1 TD; McKnight 6-171 1 TD; Carlson 5-82 1 TD; Samardzija 3-23; Anastasio 2-26; West 1-24 1 TD; Bragg 1-5. Defensive: Abiamiri 4 tkl., 4 TFL, 2 SK; Laws 4 tkl., TFL; Crum 2 tkl., TFL.

Purdue: Painter 17-21-0-319, 3 TDs; Elliott 3-3-0-43, 1 TD. Rushing: Sheets 7-46; Elliott 2-18. Receiving: Lymon 7-140 2 TDs; Orton 5-40 1 TD; Bryant 3-106 1 TD. Defensive: Baker SK; King 6 tkl.

After Week 5:

Top  5's: Coaches Poll -- 1. USC; 2. Auburn; 3. Oklahoma; 4. West Virginia; 5. LSU; 15. Notre Dame. Media Poll -- 1. USC; 2. Auburn; 3. Oklahoma; 4. West Virginia; 5. LSU; 16. Notre Dame.

Heisman Trophy Top 5: 1. Brady Quinn, Sr., QB, Notre Dame; 2. Kenny Irons, Sr., RB, Auburn; 3. Steve Levy, Sr., QB, California; 4. Drew Stanton, Sr., QB, Michigan State; 5. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season Week 4

For the second straight week last week, our virtual PlayStation season guessed wrong, predicting the Irish would beat Michigan. PS2 does have the correct record, though, entering this week's game against Michigan State, 2-1. It also has Notre Dame ranked higher (No. 9) than the actual polls do.

But a game in East Lansing is always interesting, so here we go.

For the fourth straight week, both Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picked Notre Dame. The Irish took the ball first and quarterback Brady Quinn completed an 18-yard pass to wide receiver Jeff Samardzija on the game's first play. It would be one of the only positive plays for Notre Dame the entire first half.

Michigan State's Drew Stanton came out impressively like he did in 2005, leading the Spartans to two first half touchdowns -- one to senior Jerramy Scott for 76 yards and and another to senior Matt Trannon for 84 yards and a 17-0 halftime lead.

Stanton and Co. made it 24-0 after a completeion to tight end Dwayne Holmes but like in 2005, Notre Dame made a comeback.

Quinn found Samardzija for a 24-yard touchdown pass and a two-point conversion from Quinn to wide receiver Rhema McKnight cut the score to 24-8. Quinn found McKnight early in the fourth quarter for another score and then a 20-yard scoring pass to tight end John Carlson to cut the Spartan lead to 24-21 with 33 seconds left.

Notre Dame tried for an onside kick, but MSU recovered and escaped with a 24-21 win, dropping the Irish to 2-2 and elevating the Spartans to 4-0.

It'll be interesting to see if PlayStation gets off the two-week losing streak this week.

Stats Leaders:

ND: Passing -- Quinn 27-40-0-334, 3 TDs. Rushing -- Walker 6-40. Receiving -- Grimes 8-92; Samardzija 6-72, 1 TD; Carlson 4-82, 1 TD; Anastasio 3-30; McKnight 3-37, 1 TD; West 2-14. Defense -- Crum 7 tkl., TFL; Talley 2 tkl., 2 TFL, 2 SK; Zbikowski 4 tkl., TFL, SK, 2 FF; Brockington FR.

MSU: Passing -- Stanton 16-20-0-325 3 TDs. Rushing -- Caulcrick 10-28. Receiving -- Trannon 6-138 1 TD; Scott 4-119 1 TD; Holmes 3-41 1 TD. Defense -- Adams 7 tkl.; Long 2 TFL, SK; Ryan SK; Smith FF; Herron FF, FF; Corey FR.

After Week 4, some extras:

Polls: Coaches -- 1. USC; 2. Auburn; 3. Oklahoma; 4. West Virginia; 5. LSU. Others...16. Notre Dame; 24. Michigan State. Media -- 1. USC; 2. Auburn; 3. Oklahoma; 4. West Virginia; 5. LSU. Others... 15. Notre Dame; 18. Michigan State.

Upset: Penn State beats Ohio State, 34-28.

Heisman Top 5: 1. Brady Quinn, Sr., QB, Notre Dame; 2. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 3. Chris Todd, Fr., QB, Texas Tech; 4. Jeff Samardzija, Sr., WR, Notre Dame; 5. DeShan Jackson, So., WR, California.

Injuries: Purdue senior DE Anthony Spencer out for season with broken tibia.

Purdue is up next week for virtual Notre Dame.

-By Michael Rothstein of the Journal Gazette

Virtual Season, Week 3

Playstation2 was wrong last week, as it had predicted Notre Dame to fall to Penn State. Luckily, human (i.e., Irish Insights) disagreed with Playstation and moved to 2-0 on the year in picking.

Despite being 1-1, Virtual Season moves on to Week 3 against Michigan. Notre Dame fans, you'll be glad to see Playstation is back to thinking Notre Dame is good.

Both Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picked the Irish, ranked 12th, over No. 13 Michigan, which entered the virtual game 2-0.

First play: Brady Quinn threw an incomplete pass to David Grimes. That would be about the only miscue on the day for virtual ND. Brady Quinn threw for over 450 yards and four touchdowns, including two second quarter strikes to Rhema McKnight and one to Jeff Samardzija for a 21-0 halftime lead.

Michigan tried to come back with a quick third quarter score from quarterback Chad Henne to Mario Manningham to cut it to 21-7. That would be as it got and Quinn found Samardzija for a second time. Notre Dame coasted from there to jump to 2-1 with a 34-13 win over Michigan.

Stats: ND: Passing: Quinn 24-33-0-455, 4 TDs. Rushing: Schwapp 4-14; Walker 4-(-3). Receiving: Samardzija 10-224, 2 TDs; McKnight 4-132, 2 TDs; Grimes 3-15; Carlson 2-24. Defensive: Zbikowski 5 tackles; M. Thomas 3 tackles, 2 TFL, Sack; Laws FF; Wooden FR.

Michigan: Passing: Henne 15-24-0-222, 2 TDs; Hart 1-1-0-10. Rushing: Hart 14-49. Receiving: Ecker 6-78; Manningham 4-124, 1 TD; Hart 2-2 1 TD; Breaston 1-10. Defensive: Barringer 5 tackles; Branch 2 TFL, 2 Sacks.

Since it's a large weekend in college football, we decided to check how Playstation called some of those other games to turn out, too. In random order: Rice 17, Texas 7; Clemson 34, Florida State 19; Iowa State 49, Iowa 17; Louisville 27, Miami 20; Auburn 23, LSU 17; USC 30, Nebraska 13; Tennessee 14, Florida 13; Texas Tech 21, TCU 17; Oklahoma 38, Oregon 35.

Top 5 entering Week 4:

Coaches: 1. USC; 2. Auburn; 3. Oklahoma; 4. Ohio State; 5. West Virginia...Notre Dame is 9th

Media: 1. USC; 2. Auburn; 3. West Virginia; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Ohio State...Notre Dame is 7th

Top 5 Heisman: 1. Quinn; 2. Peterson; 3. Samardzija; 4. DeSean Jackson, Soph., WR, California; 5. Rudy Burgess, Jr., WR, Arizona State.

We'll be back with my prediction later today.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season, Week 2

So we're in Week 2 of the Virtual Season now -- remember, the PlayStation2 version accurately predicted a Notre Dame win here(http://jgwebblogs.typepad.com/notre_dame/2006/08/the_virtual_sea.html#comments) although the score was different. Well, Notre Dame fans better hope the PlayStation2 version of NCAA 07 is wrong this week -- and to reader Bob Drake, yes, it'll pronounce names if you plug them in. If you have a PS2 or XBox, buy that version as there are more options although the XBox 360 has superior graphics. Anyway, onto the game. My real-life prediction and some links will come later today:

Week 2 hosting Penn State: Analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picked Notre Dame for the second consecutive week as the No. 3 Irish took the field. Penn State took the early lead on an Anthony Morelli touchdown pass to Jordan Norwood. Notre Dame wide receiver David Grimes fumbled the kickoff return and PSU running back Tony Hunt scored on a four-yard run to give the Nittany Lions a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Notre Dame drove down to the Penn State 1-yard line, where Irish running back Darius Walker fumbled, costing ND another scoring chance. Penn State capitalized with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Morelli to Derrick Williams and a 21-0 lead. Two Penn State fumbles led to two touchdown passes from Brady Quinn to Jeff Samardzija to bring Notre Dame back into the game. Penn State leads 28-14 at half.

Hunt opened the second half with a 13-yard scoring run and on the next drive, Irish fans nationwide gasped as Quinn sprained his shoulder and left the game. Good news, though, he was only out for a quarter. As the fourth quarter started Morelli found Deon Butler for a 9-yard touchdown pass and a 42-14 lead en route to a 49-35 Penn State win. The Irish dropped to 1-1 and Penn State improved to 1-1.

Key Stats:

Passing: PSU -- Morelli 15-17, 295 yards, 4 TDs. ND -- Quinn 27-39 330 yards, 4 TDs; Sharpley 8-13, 87 yards

Rushing: PSU -- Hunt 12 carries, 52 yards, 2 TDs. ND -- Walker 7 carries, 28 yards, TD.

Receiving: PSU -- Williams 4 rec., 130 yards, 2 TDs; Norwood 4 rec., 77 yards, TD; Butler 3 rec., 48 yards, TD. ND -- Samardzija 8 rec., 136 yards 3 TDs; Walker 6 rec., 23 yards; McKnight 6 rec., 57 yards; Grimes 6 rec., 87 yards; Carlson 4 rec., 56 yards; Schwapp 2 rec., 44 yards, TD.

Defense: PSU -- Harriott 7 tkl.; King 6 tkl., TFL, FF; Alford 2 tkl., Sack; Fentress 4 tkl, FR. ND -- Ndukwe 5 tkl., FF; Zbikowski 4 tkl., FR; Talley 2 tkl., Sack, FF, FR.

After Week 2:

Top 5: Texas, USC, LSU, Florida, Auburn ... Notre Dame drops from No. 3 to No. 12.

Key Game: Texas 59, Ohio State 21

Heisman Top 5: 1. Quinn; 2. Peterson; 3. Troy Smith; 4. Brian Crum, Sr., OLB, Florida; 5. Limas Sweed, Jr., WR, Texas.

Key Injuries:

Michigan DE Rondell Biggs out for ND game with bruised shoulder; BC quarterback Matt Ryan out six weeks with a dislocated knee; Ole Miss quarterback Brent Schaeffer out eight weeks with a broken jaw.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette