Deciding punishment for Oklahoma-Oregon fiasco a tough task

Three weeks ago, I waded past some 2,500 recreational vehicles at Auburn, a good many arriving on Wednesday before the college-football opener with Washington State.

If that number doesn't resonate, consider that Washington, which knows a little about game-day surroundings, issues permits for 375 RVs.

A week later, it was on to Oklahoma, where the school president from 1943 to 1968, George Cross, uttered a now-famous line: "I would like to build a university which the football team could be proud of."

Big football down there. If we didn't know it before, it was hammered home this week in the Sooners' bombastic reaction to the hosing they got in Oregon's 34-33 victory in Eugene last week.

The Sooners got jobbed, it's a fact. But the Oklahoma president, David Boren, wanted the Big 12 to strike the score from the record books. Like that would solve anything. Get the BCS to do it, and you're getting somewhere.

Bob Stoops, the coach, said Monday the Sooners were moving on. Well, not quite, because Tuesday he took the ludicrous tack of threatening not to return Washington's game scheduled in Seattle in 2008.

The Pac-10 suspended the officials involved for one game. What does Oklahoma want from them, life in prison without parole? To put them in public stocks on the Sooners' campus, while fans beat them with foam fingers to recordings of "Boomer Sooner"?

So how do we make the seething Sooners feel better?

Voting in The Associated Press poll late Saturday night, I kicked Oklahoma from No. 18 to No. 14 despite the loss, impressed with the position they put themselves in at Oregon (albeit not with a defense that functioned like a New Orleans levee). I moved Oregon from No. 14 to No. 11, largely on the strength of attrition above.

I'll probably give the Sooners a couple of spots' credit for the loss, and I might be about that jaded regarding the Ducks.

It's probably not a majority position, but not unpopular, either. Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic said he voted the Ducks No. 12 and Oklahoma 16th (they're 13th and 17th, respectively, in AP) and that he'll probably adjust his vote this week, bringing them closer together.

Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram argues it the other way, saying, "A loss is a loss. I think the precedent was set in 1990. Colorado won the national championship that season, largely because the Buffaloes scored their winning touchdown in the Missouri game on fifth down."

Voicing agreement, Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian said, "I didn't see anyone vote Miami No. 1 after the (2003) Fiesta Bowl when the Hurricanes got the raw end of a call against Ohio State."

PR and the Pac-10

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez told Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com. that said split crews were done away with because "the Pac-10 guys protected their teams. It's still not uncommon, obviously."

Coach candid

Nobody tells it like it is quite like Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, especially when his team is struggling. After the high-scoring Raiders were stunted 12-3 by Texas Christian, Leach said, "We're just a team that talks about what used to be in the past. We had guys saunter around like they were prima donnas. With our pretty-boy little attitude ... we got what we deserved."

Weis has Irish up

Notre Dame (2-1) visits Michigan State (3-0) in a rematch of MSU's overtime win last year, after which the Spartans planted a school "S" flag in the middle of Notre Dame Stadium.

"There's one incident in particular that I'll use as motivation," promises Irish coach Charlie Weis, referring to the flag.

Michigan State coach John L. Smith says part of the problem is that Notre Dame didn't bring the rivalry hardware — the Megaphone Trophy — to the game last year. Said Smith, "I think they didn't plan on losing it, so they didn't bring it."

Saturday morning fever

It's not uncommon for players to see ESPN's popular College GameDay program before competing — nor to take offense at something said. Florida linebacker Brandon Siler says the Gators bristled at Lee Corso's suggestion that Florida was too soft to beat Tennessee on the road.

"We were angry," said Siler, whose team won 21-20. "How dare anyone think about us like that?"

Kill the columnist

That's what South Florida coach Jim Leavitt wanted to do to the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi. Before South Florida beat Central Florida last week, Bianchi wrote: "Leavitt's program is an embarrassment and has become a rehabilitation clinic and halfway house for dregs and druggies ... a victory for USF is sickening affirmation for all that's wrong with college football."

Uh, about that memo ...

Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg suggested to teams in his league after last season that they needed to try to beef up nonconference schedules. Last weekend wasn't a great advertisement for the idea, as the Big 12 went 5-7, its worst nonconference Saturday in history.

And what's more ...

• Colorado, whose 23 points in three games marks its worst opening production since 1964, visits Georgia, which has posted two consecutive shutouts. Says Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, "No one likes to be 0-3, least of all me. I knew I was going to be thrown in and gas poured on me and flame-throwers lit. If I wasn't ready for that, I wouldn't have come here."

• USC has expanded by 600 its seating for students at the L.A. Coliseum after an unruly gathering at a single gate resulted in one arrest and at least one woman needing medical attention before the Nebraska game. The Trojans had dropped student seating by 4,000 after last season.

• Southern Illinois kept getting motivation to beat Indiana — which it did — from the referee. In announcing penalties, he first referred to the Salukis as "Illinois State," then as "Illinois."

• After Miami (1-2) fired up Louisville by jumping on the Cardinals' logo at midfield, the home team won, 31-7, inspiring two great quotes. "It's fake hype, and I'm tired of it," said Miami quarterback Kyle Wright. Said Louisville AD Tom Jurich, when someone noted that Louisville has outscored opponents 257-35 in the five games when the visitors jumped on the logo: "I want to take that bird on the road. My next purchase is going to be a 25-foot bird to take with us."

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com