Five Things To Look For

1. The prophet John (Robinson). The third-year Nevada Las Vegas coach made another bold prediction this week after his team fell to 0-4: “I think our team will finish 7-4 and will play in a bowl game,” Robinson said. How has Robinson done in the prediction business? In 1997, after USC fell to 2-3 with a loss against Arizona State, Robinson said, “If we don’t do better, then I won’t be here.” Robinson was fired at season’s end.

This year, Robinson said of his team’s second opponent: “Northwestern has a chance to do what Oklahoma did last year. They’re set up for it. They have a chance to win all their games.” Northwestern beat UNLV, is 3-0, and its remaining schedule does not present an opponent currently ranked in the Associated Press’ top 25.

2. Roy, Roy, Roy your boat. This week’s showdown, Texas vs. Oklahoma, will feature a matchup pitting Roy Williams against Roy Williams. One Roy starts at receiver for Texas, the other at safety for defending national champion Oklahoma. Both rank among the best at their position in the country. To be specific, Oklahoma’s Roy is Roy (Lee) Williams, while Texas’ Roy is Roy (Eugene) Williams. Texas’ Roy has 23 catches for 255 yards. Oklahoma’s Roy has intercepted two passes this year and forced a fumble. As if there weren’t enough Roy Williamses in the Big 12, Kansas basketball Coach Roy Williams remains the best coach not to have won a national championship.

3. Joe, Bobby, Bear with a twist: Um, hypothetically, let’s say Penn State Coach Joe Paterno’s team continues to struggle and wins only one game, Southern Mississippi at home on Nov. 3, in the coming weeks. And let’s say Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden wins all of his games through Nov. 10. That would set up a scenario in which Paterno and Bowden would be trying to break Bear Bryant’s major college victory mark of 323 on the same day, Nov. 17. You’d still have to give the slight advantage to Paterno. Penn State hosts Indiana on Nov. 17, while Florida State has to play powerhouse Florida at Gainesville.

4. Follow the bouncing bowl. The Tangerine Bowl is back, and this is nothing but terrific news for Notre Dame. Provided the down-on-their-luck Irish can crawl back from 0-3 to become bowl eligible at 6-5, they could play in the first Tangerine Bowl since 1982, when Boston College (with Doug Flutie) and Auburn (with Bo Jackson) ended the series. Why Notre Dame? The Tangerine Bowl will feature teams from the ACC and Big East and the Irish have bowl ties to the Big East once they are eliminated from major bowl consideration, which happened Saturday at Texas A&M.; A Notre Dame trip to the Tangerine would rank right up there with a 1997 berth in the Independence Bowl.

5. Virginia at Maryland. This is pretty much the way we all saw it, right, these juggernauts squaring off Oct. 6 with first place on the line in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Strange but true: Virginia (3-1, 2-0) and Maryland (4-0, 2-0) are the lone unbeaten teams in ACC play, not Florida State and Georgia Tech, the preseason favorites. As they say in the BCS business: Go figure. Virginia, under first-year Coach Al Groh, has won three in a row after a season-opening defeat against Wisconsin. Maryland, under first-year Coach Ralph Friedgen, is trying to go 5-0 for the first time since 1978. Trend-seekers note this is the 50th anniversary of Maryland’s 10-0 season in 1951.