College Football Notebook: Take a bow, Vanderbilt

Associated Press

The college football notebook ...

Vanderbilt takes a bow and JoePa takes a seat. The Big 12 threatens to overtake the Southeastern Conference as best in the land. The other coach Stoops can take it easy, his job at Arizona seems safe.

Week 6 of the college football season brought a return to normalcy — everywhere except Nashville, that is.

The Big Story

Revenge of the nerds, SEC style.

Vanderbilt did it again, finding a way to beat Auburn 14-13 on Saturday night and upping its record to 5-0 and earning a curtain call from its fans. The last time to the Commodores were 5-0 was 1943, when they played a shortened schedule because of World War II that included two victories over Tennessee Tech.

The latest victory helped push Vanderbilt up to No. 13 in the AP Top 25. Which means Vandy now ranks higher in the AP football poll than it does in U.S. News and World Report's list of top academic universities, where it's tied for 18th with Notre Dame.

Vandy is 3-0 in the SEC and leading a division with Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Somewhere Dan McGugin is smiling. For those who don't keep up with turn of the century SEC coaches, McGugin ruled over Vandy's greatest gridiron success.

From 1904-34, he went 197-55-19 — and the Commodores just haven't been the same since. The 16 coaches who have followed McGugin are 284-468-24.

Current Vandy coach Bobby Johnson knows his history. When it was suggested by a reporter that the Auburn victory was the greatest in school history, he reminded everyone about McGugin's teams.

"I don't know where this one ranks. Back when Dan McGugin was the coach, his teams beat teams 150-0," Johnson said.

PATERNO'S PERCH

At 81 years old, coming off a broken leg and nursing a sore hip, Joe Paterno is having a difficult time roaming the sideline.

JoePa watched his team's 20-6 victory over Purdue from the press box Saturday. It's the second time this season he's had to take to the box because standing was too uncomfortable.

Sitting at No. 6 in the nation, Penn State (6-0) is poised for a run at the Big Ten title. The stage is perfectly set for Paterno to walk away on top after this season.

QUICK HITS

While Bob Stoops has his Oklahoma team No. 1, little brother Mike has to be feeling better about his job status at Arizona. The younger Stoops' team is 4-1 and seems on his way off the hotseat and into a bowl for the first time in five seasons with the Wildcats.

- The worst team in major college football? How about North Texas? Only the Mean Green and Washington remain winless after Army beat Tulane.

LOOK AHEAD

The Big 12 is making a serious run at the SEC for title of best conference. Both leagues have six teams in the Top 25.

The SEC teams have already started to beat each other up, which dropped Auburn, Florida and Georgia in the rankings over the last few weeks.

BEST GAME YOU DIDN'T SEE

UTEP 40, Southern Miss 37 in double OT.