Oh, how far the mighty have fallen!
In Lincoln, Nebraska tomorrow, the Texas A&M Aggies take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in what has been dubbed “the Buyout Bowl,” because of the tenuous hold that Aggie coach Dennis Franchione and NU coach Bill Callahan currently have on their jobs. In trying to handicap the game, Wann Smith can’t figure out who to favor:

Texas A&M at Nebraska (-2). This game is a real poser. Since someone has to win, we’ll pick Nebraska at home. But waitÖNebraska’s home field advantage has been a joke this season hasn’t it? So, I guess we’ll take the Aggies and the points. Just a minuteÖhold the busÖFranchione has somehow managed to blow both of his road games this season, and by a ton of points each time. Hang on a secÖ I’d better consult the Magic 8 Ball. The 8 Ball, when asked if Nebraska would win repliedÖ ‘Hazy Now, Ask Again Later.’ When asked whether Texas A&M would win, it replied ‘Ask VIP Connection.’ We tried that but our link was directed instead to firedennisfranchione.com.
Aggies by 3

Meanwhile, over in Florida, nostalgic thoughts about when the annual game between Florida State and Miami actually meant something on the national stage prompted Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel to observe the following about this year’s FSU-Miami game, the first in which both foes are unranked since 1977:

This is like showing up at your 25-year reunion and finding out that the couple voted ìBest Lookingî in the high school yearbook has somehow turned into Paul Shaffer and Yoko Ono.