College Football Notebook: O'Brien vs. Boston College has a different feel in Year 2

In this July 31, 2008 file photo, North Carolina State football coach Tom O'Brien directs his team during practice in Raleigh, N.C. This is a big week for Tom O'Brien, and not just because North Carolina State is playing host to his former Boston College team for the first time since taking over the Wolfpack two years ago. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Associated Press

The college football notebook ...

RALEIGH — Some names on the Boston College depth chart remain familiar to Tom O'Brien, but when the North Carolina State coach leads the Wolfpack against his former team, it'll be different this time.

Most of the novelty — and the awkwardness — has disappeared for the winningest coach in BC history.

"I don't know if it's old hat, but it doesn't seem the same as last year," O'Brien said Monday. "A lot of people that I still know (are) there, but it certainly has a much different feel to it now that I've been here for a year-plus."

LAST WEEK'S CRAZINESS

The craziness of the weekend's college football results call for some historical perspective:

- USC, Florida and Georgia all dropped eight spots in the Associated Press rankings: None of the three is out of the national-title chase, nor is any team currently in the Top 25.

- Northwestern is 5-0: The Wildcats have not won their first five games since 1962, when Ara Parseghian was their coach.

- Vanderbilt is ranked No. 19: The Commodores have not been ranked higher than that since 1958.

- Mississippi beat Florida in Gainesville: The Rebels had lost nine straight SEC games, dating back to 2006, and had not won an SEC road game since 2004.

- Duke beat Virginia: The Blue Devils had not won an ACC game in four years, and Saturday's win ended a streak of 25 ACC losses. The Blue Devils' 3-1 record represents their best start since 1994, and not since 1995 have they lost fewer games in a season than the Duke basketball team.

- Alabama has climbed 23 spots in the AP poll in five weeks: That's impressive, especially the way the Tide dominated both then-No. 9 Clemson and then-No. 3 Georgia.

- Rice beat North Texas 77-20: Not only was it the most points ever scored by a Conference USA team, but it was the most scored by Rice since 1916, when the Owls put a 146-3 whupping on Southern Methodist.

— Prairie View A&M is 4-0: This is the Panthers' best start since 1964, the year Sam Cooke released "A Change is Gonna Come." Last year, the Panthers went 7-3, their first winning season since 1976, and 10 years ago, Prairie View beat Langston to end an 80-game losing streak, the longest in NCAA history. Now the Panthers rank second nationally among Championship Subdivision teams in scoring defense.