College Football | Oregon in rush or run over?

Day Six after the earth shook in Ann Arbor:

Following the cataclysmic loss to Appalachian State, the seat under Michigan coach Lloyd Carr is now sizzling, not just smoldering.

"I don't think worrying about all the [criticism] is part of the solution," Carr said. "Part of the solution comes from inside the team."

In other words, Michigan will still be Michigan, wearing navy blue jerseys and winged helmets when it hosts Oregon on Saturday.

And Oregon will still be Oregon, in all its nouveau richness.

A couple of weeks after Phil Knight pledged $100 million for a new basketball building, the Ducks flew to Michigan, any aches and pains salved by a new training facility. Daddy Greenbacks paid an undisclosed sum for it.

It's 14,580 square feet compared to 4,329 at the old one. Flat-screen TVs are everywhere. Oregon trainer Kim Terrell says more lighting will be added because too many players have been coming in and napping on the tables in an atmosphere that a reporter from the Eugene Register-Guard described as being like a nightclub.

Oregon administrators tripped to Louisiana State and Texas to check out their trainer's facilities, and, says Terrell, "There was this challenge that we can do better."

Among other amenities, the equipment is now there for dental care and optometry so the Ducks can bring in specialists rather than send players out. One whirlpool can hold the entire volleyball team. One room has three treadmill-equipped sunken pools that rise up to accommodate injured athletes.

The hope Saturday is that the Ducks won't be checked out for too many headaches administered by angry Wolverines "on high alert" after the upset, in coach Mike Bellotti's words.

Michigan must respect Dennis Dixon, who danced for 141 yards on the ground in the Ducks' opening win over Houston. Says Bellotti, "He's running the ball more by design. Last year, we had to talk him into running the ball. This year, I think he understands he can change the game with his feet."

But Oregon allowed 315 rushing yards to Houston, enough to invite Michigan to try to pound it. Says Bellotti, "The Houston backs and receivers can make you miss. We need to be better. [Michigan] won't be running around you, they'll be running over you if you don't make a play."

On the other hand, if you get run over, the training room back in Eugene is not a bad place to go.

Big Blue, take two

Thom Brennaman could get used to this college football stuff. He was play-by-play announcer for Fox on Boise State's classic upset of Oklahoma, and was also at the mike on the new Big Ten network on the App State upset.

Then there was the quarterback of the giant-killers, Armanti Edwards, who said when he checked his e-mail Sunday he had requests from 100 Ohio State fans who wanted to become his buddy on Facebook.

And this from curmudgeonly Joe Paterno, the Penn State coach, who couldn't understand all the fuss over the upset. Said JoePa, "They're replaying the greatest upset in the history of the world and the whole bit. I always thought when they put the devil down below, that was one of the greatest upsets of all time. The only trouble was, they didn't take newspaper people with him."

And what's more ...

• Arizona State has a chance to give Colorado redshirt-freshman QB Cody Hawkins his first loss as a starter since sixth-grade football. Since then, he's 60-0.

• The Pac-10-SEC debate burned a little hotter after a fan hired a plane to fly over the California-Tennessee game trailing the banner, "SEC Rules, Pac-10 drools." Scoffed Zack Follett of the winning Bears, "They wasted their money. You don't have to be flying planes around. I thought that was stupid on their part."

• Tough crowd: Some LSU faithful were e-mailing newspaper people last week, complaining that the Tigers weren't dominant enough. They only beat conference foe Mississippi State 45-0 on the road.

• Guru to the stars: Mark Helfrich, assistant at Colorado, successfully recruited four Division I-A QB starters who won openers last week: Hawkins, Rudy Carpenter of Arizona State, Sam Keller of Nebraska and Max Hall of BYU. Keller and Hall transferred from ASU, Helfrich's last stop.

• Tennessee LB Ryan Karl on Cal's speed: "It surprised me how fast they were. I don't know if we'll see a team this quick in the SEC all year."

• Arizona seems fated to have offensive problems. Coach Mike Stoops conceded the new coordinator, Sonny Dykes, got too conservative as the 'Cats lurched to three first downs and 93 yards in the first three quarters of a 20-7 loss at BYU.