Reporters Notebooks

Joe Person, Columbia State: South Carolina's Steve Spurrier wasted no time going on the offensive against Lane Kiffin, saying the new Tennessee coach broke an NCAA rule when he called a recruit a day before he was introduced as the Volunteers’ new coach. Dave Hooker on the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on the call.

BCS Guru: Could Texas and Oklahoma be headed for a rematch in the Bowl Championship Series title game? It's a possibility, given that Florida has considerable ground to make up to climb past Texas in the BCS standings.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Alabama's Nick Saban insists he wasn't trying to run up the score against rival Auburn.

The Big Lead: The Atlantic Coast Conference beat the Southeastern Conference, 6-4, in head-to-head matchups this season.

Mike Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will probably have surgery after the Big 12 title game to repair ligament damage in his left (non-throwing) hand but will not miss any playing time.

Tim Griffin, ESPN: Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell had surgery Sunday to repair nine breaks in his left hand. He is expected to be ready for the bowl game.

Tim MacMahon, Dallas Morning News: Here's a solution to the Big 12 tiebreaking procedures. Drop the divisions and have every team play the other 11 teams each season. Only one nonconference game, meaning interesting games in September and a controversy-free champion in December.

Berry Tramel, Oklahoman: A look deep inside the mind of a Harris Interactive poll voter. No, Penn State is not undefeated.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC's Pete Carroll, on Texas getting passed by the Sooners in the BCS standings: "That doesn't make any sense at all. That's wrong in my book."

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: What goes around comes around. Texas' Mack Brown lobbied successfully in 2004 to get his Longhorns into a BCS game over California. No such luck this time.

Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee: Fresno State's Pat Hill confirms he interviewed for the opening at Washington.