Reporters Notebooks

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: Is the Bowl Championship Series making it up as we go along? Commissioners recently had to mediate a conflict in their own rule book and the clarification means three Big 12 teams could get BCS bids. The unlikely chain of events might knock USC to the Holiday Bowl.

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: The BCS computer rankings and how they work. No one associated with the BCS has the mathematical formulas for several of the computer rankings because of proprietary reasons, so BCS officials are not even sure how all of this works.

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports.com: Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) plans to resubmit a bill claiming that the BCS is an illegal restraint of trade.

Associated Press: Charges have been dropped in a 2007 fight in an Oklahoma City bar between an Oklahoma and Texas fan that nearly left the Longhorn fan castrated with an injury to his scrotum that required 60 stitches to close.

The Big Lead: So many media members have been inundating the Southeastern Conference office with requests for tickets for their wives to the league Championship game between Alabama and Florida Dec. 6 in Atlanta, that it prompted the league to issue a release saying no spouse tickets remained for the game.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: Washington is reportedly interviewing Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood for its coaching opening.

Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Colorado freshman running back Darrell Scott said rumors he might leave the team for another program are bogus.

Katie Thomas, New York Times: Richard McCormick, the president of Rutgers, failed to adequately oversee the university athletic director on critical issues like coach Greg Schiano’s salary and the hiring of a sports marketing firm that once employed the athletic director’s son, according to an independent review committee.

Pete Thamel, New York Times: Florida State safety Myron Rolle will go through his final interview Saturday and find out if he is among the 32 winners of a Rhodes Scholarship. Then he will board a private plane and fly 700 miles and play in the Seminoles' game at Maryland.

David Teel, Newport News Daily Press: Should Virginia Tech make defensive coordinator Bud Foster its head-coach-in-waiting? The answer is no.

John Adams, Knoxville News-Sentinel: It's Week 3 of Tennessee's search for Phil Fulmer's replacement and it's clear that the Volunteers aren't any closer to naming a new coach than they were in Week 1.

Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald: Florida junior quarterback Tim Tebow won't say if Saturday's game against Citadel will be his last at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Michael C. Lewis, Salt Lake Tribune: Executives at the Mountain West Conference are hoping the Brigham Young-Utah game will help sell its network, The Mtn.

Mike McGrane, San Diego Union-Tribune: Chuck Long, whose San Diego State team is 1-10, is looking at making changes to his staff. Defensive coordinator Bob Elliott and offensive coordinator Del Miller could be out.

Associated Press: The sluggish economy is turning the bowl business into bad business.