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Stage set for top-ranked Oklahoma vs. FSU

Bob Stoops won a national title in 2000, his second season at Oklahoma, by taking the Sooners from 7-5 to 13-0. The same Sooners who hadn't had a winning season in the five before he arrived under Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellengerger and John Blake.

Bob Stoops won a national title in 2000, his second season at Oklahoma, by taking the Sooners from 7-5 to 13-0. The same Sooners who hadn't had a winning season in the five before he arrived under Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellengerger and John Blake.

Since then they've made it to the championship game three times without winning another. They were in position to make it there three other years but were upset late. They also lost five straight BCS bowls, including the Boise State and West Virginia Fiesta fiascos.

Yet here they are again, sitting atop the polls. That doesn't mean they'll be one of the teams in New Orleans on Jan. 9. It does, however, elevate the anticipation level once more.

Which brings us to Saturday's visit to fifth-ranked Florida State, where Jimbo Fisher was finally allowed to take over for Bobby Bowden and went 10-4 in his 2010 debut. The Sooners will face no shortage of potential minefields in the Big 12, which now has no title game (and, shortly, maybe no conference): Missouri, Texas in Dallas, Texas A&M, dare we say at Baylor and the finale at Oklahoma State. But if they can get past this one, there's every chance they could at least still be and-0 entering November.

The Seminoles lost 12 months ago in Norman, by 30. They've only beaten OU once, in six tries. And that was in 1965. But this is the first time they've ever met in Tallahassee. A decade ago, OU beat FSU for the title in the Orange Bowl, 13-2.

Since 1989, No. 1 (in the media poll) has gone 12-6 as a visitor against top 10 opponents.

FSU goes to Clemson next week and closes at Florida. It gets Maryland, Miami and Virginia Tech - those last two also in November - at Doak Campbell. It took Bowden the longest time to finally win it all. But it's been way too long since the program was a national factor.

This is the second time in 3 weeks that Top 5 teams have crossed paths. Louisiana State opened with a win over Oregon in Arlington, Texas. Now Oregon is 12th. No contender wants to be playing from behind like that.

This is also a perfect stage for quarterbacks Landry Jones and EJ Manuel to seriously enter that Heisman Trophy conversation.

Otherwise, nothing much on the line. And fall hasn't even officially arrived yet.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT

Frank Beamer just won his 200th game in his 25th season at Virginia Tech. With one more victory he'll catch another man who coached at one Division I-A program. Name him. Hint: He's been retired for a while but is still around. See Answer Man.

HAVE YOU NOTICED?

-- Tennessee soph Tyler Bray, who's 6-1 as a starter heading to Florida, just became the first Vol to throw for over 400 yards since Peyton Manning threw for more than 500 in 1997.

-- James Franklin is the first Vanderbilt coach to start 2-0 since Fred Pancoast in 1975.

-- Notre Dame's 1,021 offensive yards are the most it's had in two games since 1974. That Irish team, though, was 2-0, having beaten Georgia Tech and Northwestern by a combined 80-10. They would lose the next week (at home to Purdue) and finish 10-2 in Ara Parseghian's last season.

SMALLS STUFF

On the bus ride out to Theil for Saturday's 44-14 win, Widener coach Isaac Collins had his team stop at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa.

"If you've never been there before, it was amazing," he said. "To watch the look in our kids' eyes ... It puts things in perspective, how blessed they are to be living in this country, and playing this game.

"What was even neater, we scored our first touchdown in the second quarter at 9:11."

ANSWER MAN

That would be Vince Dooley, who paced the Georgia sidelines from 1964-88.

SPOTLIGHT ON JACORY HARRIS

At Miami's Northwestern High, Jacory Harris led his team to a 30-0 record and two state titles as a starter. So he came to Coral Gables with obvious expectations. As a freshman he split time with Robert Marve, who then transferred to Purdue. In an interview before the 2009 season Harris said he was going to pick up his Heisman Trophy wearing a pink suit with a "pimp cup" in hand. In the exchange he earned himself a new nickname: Afro Buttercup.

It hasn't quite worked out that way. He suffered a shoulder injury and concussion last season, and Stephen Morris started the Hurricanes' last four games. Harris got the job back for the Sun Bowl against Notre Dame, but was yanked after tossing three interceptions in what became a 16-point loss.

So long Randy Shannon, enter Al Golden.

Harris was suspended for the opening loss at Maryland, for his involvement in the Nevin Shapiro scandal. Now he's back atop the depth chart as Miami, coming off a bye, gets ready to host No. 17 Ohio State, which has been dealing with some personnel issues of its own. The Buckeyes won last September at the Horseshoe by a dozen.

Harris has thrown for 49 touchdowns. He's also been picked off 39 times. Four were against OSU. Morris, a sophomore, was 19-for-28 for 195 yards and 2 INTs against Maryland. For the U to be an elite team this season, Harris has to play more like the guy he was projected to be.

"It's a great opportunity for him," Golden said. I think he's earned this, with his body of work, his experience. What we needed [at Maryland] were really the things Jacory can give us at this stage."

MAC ME UP

-- Toledo hosts No. 4 Boise State tomorrow. It's the highest-ranked opponent to play in a MAC facility.

-- Eugene Cooper tied a Bowling Green record with 4 TD catches in a 58-13 win over Morgan State. Jeff Groth had done it in 1978.

-- Eastern Michigan is 2-0 for the first time since 1989.