At Auburn, Tommy Tuberville's honeymoon is over after Mississippi State made him pay for ultra-conservative endgame strategy and rallied in the final four minutes.

The entire Pac-10 coaching community is taking heat (except, ironically, Rick Neuheisel, whose Huskies are playing the steadiest football in the downtrodden league). Visit some USC, UCLA, or Arizona State chat room if you want to shatter your notion of laid-back West Coast fans. Anger is overflowing.

So, when he places a "gag order" on his team the week of Ohio State's visit... there's a purpose. Sure, it ticks off the writers. Paterno doesn't care.

My opinion: he's partly trying to counter the obvious motivational ploy of John Cooper, who spent the early part of the week telling his troops (through the media) that they'd need a "perfect game, a fanatical effort, a lights-out 60 minutes" to stay with the Mighty Lions. The Buckeyes have so far responded the way Coop hoped they would: with anger. We'll see how it translates on Saturday. Back to JoePa. He also senses that his team is capable of playing for a national title, if they can hurdle Ohio State. He knows that certain guys (like Mr. Arrington) are certainly capable of popping off -- or giving quotes that can be twisted -- and provide even more motivation to the Bucks. Like a lot of coaches (including his pal, Bobby Bowden) Paterno cringed last week when he read (and he reads a lot) Peter Warrick's "It's not like I killed the President" off-handed remark in the wake of Warrick's arrest.

Lions, Buckeyes and sandbagging
Paterno may be the best sandbagger in the business, in years when he's got the goods. And this year, he thinks he's got them. He sees this as perhaps his last, best chance at a third national title.

This Lions team has played very well when challenged with a quality team and a sense of urgency. When they've gotten leads (like vs. Miami and Indiana) they've let up -- reverting to a passive zone defense.

Against out-manned opponents, Paterno will substitute freely, searching the two-deep for the right combination of players. As a result, the Lions may lack consistency in some games. But there's always a method.

If you buy this, Penn State is ready for another break-out performance Saturday. But here's the key: will the Lions be turned loose to play the aggressive, smothering syle that they like best?

I think so. Too often, they haven't been. But there's always a method. And watch for the return of last year's leading rusher Cordell Mitchell and leading receiver, Corey Jones. Both were healthy enough to play last week but were held out until the big game. That's another Paterno tactic.

Watch for ...
Penn State's defense ... is it attacking ... sending LaVar Arrington after the passer ... calling blizes that make opponents pay for double teaming the unblockable-by-one-guy Courtney Brown?

When they play a nickel defense, and drop Arrington into coverage, Brown is often smothered by double teams (not to mention held, wrestled, and gang-tackled). Passive Penn State ploys have helped opponents like Pitt, Miami, and Indiana get the passing game going in the second halves.

Watch for: Penn State's offense ... can they handle the Buckeyes up the gut, with a true freshman ex-walkon at center? Yep, Joe Iorio from Toledo is likely to be at the heart of the Penn State O-line!

He's named Joe and has four vowels in his last name, but that's not why he's getting P.T.

Iorio sparked the Lions' beatup interior against Iowa and has practiced well. The Lions are still seeking an old-school ground game.

Forget the stats, PSU has not been a good "conventional" run team. Many of the yards and rushing TD's have come on reverses and that flanker hand-off play. Eric McCoo's 100-yard game Saturday happened only because he busted one long run.

It's tough to be a real strong run team when you spend about 80 percent of the time in single back.

I think we could see some more I-formation Saturday, with more emphasis on McCoo and less shuttling of players in and out.

Here's why: The last two weeks, Vick has thrown for 470 yards, rushed for 108 and thrown more touchdown passes (5) than incompletions (3)! It's absolutely freaky.

I keep waiting for inexperience to betray him. Maybe it'll happen Saturday night. The Syracuse defense is counting on it, and Syracuse is counting on its defense to have any chance of an upset.

The Orangemen are frankly stating that Vick has not seen a "good" defense, yet. He will this week.

Syracuse has a defense that is more impressive on the field than it is on video. It's athletic and mobile. The stud is linebacker Keith Bulluck, perhaps the best defender who is virtually unknown outside of the Big East.

The Orangemen are also adept at confusing quarterbacks. Just ask guys who have faced them. Michigan was held to just one offensive TD. Tulane's passer Patrick Ramsey said he the 'Cuse "messed (me) up on my reads." The Green Wave had no running game to help Ramsey out, but the point is this: Syracuse could be tough on Vick.

The defense had better be tough, because the Orange sure can't expect to score many points in Blacksburg. They rarely have. Their last visit was a "Woodshed" beating 31-3. The time before it was 31-7.

Grass fields (besides the big win at Michigan last year) have been the scenes of several SU drubbings in recent years. This is the first game on grass this season.

Simply put: a sluggish, narrow win over a 12-point underdog Saturday night hurts the greater cause. This is a rare national TV showcase for Frank Beamer's program. The Hokies need to sieze it, and I think they sense it.

Having said that, Virginia Tech's only chance to play for a national title, is to get help. Upset losses in recent weeks by Florida, Texas A&M, and Michigan have boosted them into the top five. They also need losses by two of the current top three: FSU, Penn State, and Nebraska. If Michigan State somehow runs the table it would almost certainly earn the Spartans a spot in the Sugar Bowl.

And another loss by Florida wouldn't hurt Tech's cause, either. Should the Gators beat FSU and win the SEC title, many voters would likely vault them past an 11-0 Hokie bunch. Tech must win convincingly... and hope its opponents don't go in the tank. Virginia's loss to previously winless Duke doesn't help the Hokies' cause.

My top five
My current AP ballot starts with ...
1) Florida State. Wow, what a shock, huh? Minus his favorite target, Chris Weinke simply hits 11 different targets to beat Miami!
2) Nebraska. Still get a strange feeling the trip to Austin next week won't be the Woodshed job most are forecasting.
3) Virginia Tech. How well the Hokies handle Syracuse determines if they can hold this ranking.
4) Penn State. The Lions have been a "big game" team so far. This is a big game.
5) Florida. Slight edge over Tennessee based on head-to-head win. Gators still basically control their destiny for the title game (because of date with 'Noles) and DO control for the SEC East, because of tie-breaker.

What about the Spartans?
Michigan State fans must be wondering why the Spartans don't crack my top five, after I watched them beat Michigan. Many of my fellow pollsters disagree with me, giving MSU its first AP top five ranking since the end of the fabled 1966 season.

Well, there's time. Polls don't mean much when you're facing games with Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Penn State. The Spartans themselves could care less. And that's why they have a reasonable chance to keep it going.

Get through the next couple weeks, fellas, and you'll be in everybody's top five.

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