Associated Press
The college football notebook …
DURHAM ó Duke finally has something it didnít have just a few weeks ago ó momentum.
The Blue Devils donít seem to mind that their current two-game winning streak has come against two of the worst teams in the Bowl Subdivision. All those wins count the same, and this weekend they will try to win three in a row for just the second time since their last bowl appearance in 1994.
ěItís almost kind of a new feeling for us,î Duke linebacker Kelby Brown said. ěHaving two wins after Week 4 is a great feeling, something weíre going to ride and kind of use to our advantage.î
Duke (2-2) visits a Florida International team that opened the season with three straight victories before a home loss.
SLIVE ON SEC
ATLANTA ó Commissioner Mike Slive tried to temporarily quell the “enormous speculation” about whether ó or more likely when ó the SEC will add a 14th member to join Texas A&M.
Slive said that SEC presidents and chancellors are not currently considering any other schools for admission and that Texas A&M was the only one to submit an application. He reiterated that he anticipates having just 13 members in 2012-13.
Slive said the SEC will begin negotiations this fall with ESPN and CBS to upgrade the current 15-year contracts with both networks. He said league athletic directors would meet in the next few weeks to begin considering options such as scheduling.
LSU BAR FIGHT
BATON ROUGE, La. ó A grand jury has reduced charges against Jordan Jefferson to a misdemeanor for his involvement in a bar fight and his suspension from the top-ranked Tigers has been lifted.
Jefferson is now charged with simple battery.
BARKLEYíS MOUTH
LOS ANGELES ó The Pac-12 reprimanded Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley on Tuesday for referring to Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict as a dirty player.
Barkley, who played against Burfict during high school in the Los Angeles area, didn’t back down from his words Tuesday before the reprimand was announced.
Barkley called Burfict a dirty player several days before the Trojans’ 43-22 loss to the Sun Devils last week.
USC coach Lane Kiffin agreed Barkley’s comment wasn’t appropriate.