The Wiz of Odds

Is Joe Paterno Ready to Call It Quits?

Is Joe Paterno's final home game as Penn State coach a little more than a week away?

Speculation continues that the legendary coach has had enough, his 84-year-old body battered daily by aches and pains. Physically, Paterno can't do the job anymore, and he spends little time on the field on game day, instead opting for a seat in the press box where he wears no headphones and doesn't call plays.

There's certainly nothing left to accomplish in football. Last Saturday, Paterno passed Eddie Robinson as the all-time wins leader in Division I with his 409th victory. He won't catch all-time wins leader John Gagliardi of Division III St. John's (Minn), who remains active and is college football's all-time leader with 482 victories.

Adding to the speculation is that Paterno's contract is up at the end of the season and there hasn't been any discussion — at least publicly — about an extension.

Snapshots of Week 9

A look at the week that was, thanks to 30fps. Click an image to enlarge.

Week 10

Welcome to the Mid-American Conference, whose teams will play any night of the week if your network promises to telecast the game.

MAC games will be among your viewing options four nights this week, starting with Tuesday night's matchup between Northern Illinois and Toledo. The Huskies trail the host Rockets by one game in the West Division standings. Toledo was a 7-point favorite at the time of this post.

On Wednesday, Temple and Ohio meet in a MAC East showdown. The Owls are favored by 4.5.

Three games on Thursday, with the featured matchup taking place on Chestnut Hill between Florida State and Boston College. The Seminoles are 16.5-point favorites. Tulsa and Central Florida hook up in a Conference USA game at Orlando. The Knights are favored by 1.5. The MAC game is between Akron and Miami, with the RedHawks favored by 15.5.

Two games on Friday, headlined by USC at Colorado. The Trojans are 22-point favorites. Central Michigan and Kent square off in the MAC game, with oddsmakers calling it a pick-em.

Saturday's games of note: Louisville at West Virginia (-13); Army at Air Force (-14.5); Michigan (-4.5) at Iowa; Texas Tech at Texas (-10); Texas A&M at Oklahoma (-14); South Carolina at Arkansas (-4.5); North Carolina (-4.5) at North Carolina State; Louisiana State at Alabama (-4.5); Notre Dame (-13.5) at Wake Forest; Kansas State at Oklahoma State (-21); Cincinnati (-2.5) at Pittsburgh and Utah State at Hawaii (-3.5).

For the latest numbers on all games, click here.

For the Week 10 broadcast schedule, visit Matt Sarzyniak's site.

For statistical breakdowns, visit cfbstats.com.

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Texas Tech Cheap Shot

Iowa State quarterback Jared Barnett absorbs a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit from Texas Tech's Cqulin Hubert.

Maryland Hits Bottom in Home Loss to Boston College

Wiz correspondent Greg Laughlin braved the elements in College Park, Md., on Saturday and took in the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup between Boston College and Maryland.

The Eagles secured a 28-17 victory behind Rolandan Finch's 243 rushing yards, the most this season in an ACC game. Although the announced attendance was 29,945, you can see from photos that no more than 10,000 were in attendance at Byrd Stadium.

To view Greg's full gallery, click here.

BCS Guru Says Title Chase Likely Down to Six Teams

The thinning of the herd continued on Saturday.

Kansas State and Clemson lost, leaving six unbeaten teams. Any hope the Wildcats or Tigers had of playing in the Bowl Championship Series title game likely came to an end.

But the outlook improved for Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State and Oklahoma, according to the BCS Guru.

The Guru projects that the order of the top six teams in the BCS standings will be Louisiana State, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State and Oklahoma. The official standings won't be released until Sunday night, but with LSU and Alabama playing this Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Oklahoma State likely will be in position to move into the No. 2 slot next week.

Can the Cowboys hold on and get a spot in the BCS title game? They play host to Kansas State on Saturday, then travel to Texas Tech and Iowa State before playing host to Oklahoma in the regular-season finale.

If they lose, well, then it gets complicated. This is far from over.