Making the morning rounds.
? What was he thinking? Part one. USC coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday he was "shocked" that Notre Dame sat on all three timeouts in the fourth quarter of a 31-17 Trojan win, which ended with USC running off the final 6:48 on ten straight runs by tailback Curtis McNeal. "I didn't know what was going on," Kiffin said. "Obviously we were happy. I was scared they were going to call them, and I didn't know what we were going to do kicker-wise. ? The game was far from over. But I'm not complaining." Linebacker Chris Galippo was somewhat more straightforward: "They just quit. That's what Notre Dame football is all about. They're not anything like 'SC."
"I don't know if that's the case," Kelly said in response to Galippo. "To the victors go the spoils. We probably would have said the same thing last year [after Notre Dame's upset win over USC in Los Angeles]. How we evaluate our players, we didn't play the kind of football we wanted to play." [Orange County Register, Chicago Tribune]
? What was he thinking? Part two. In other late time-out news, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Doug Lesmerises defended Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema's decision to use two timeouts on defense in the final minute of the Badgers' loss to Michigan State, giving the Spartans time to pick up an additional first down and throw up the game-winning Hail Mary as time expired. "At that point, Bielema was operating with what he should have thought was one of the best teams, and certainly one of the best offenses, in the nation," Lesmerises writes. "Getting quarterback Russell Wilson the ball with any time on the clock would have been worth it. The Badgers were too good to play scared and settle for overtime.
" 'We were going for the win,' Bielema said afterward, and really, that's all that needed to be said." [Cleveland Plain-Dealer]
? D-Day Rock M-Day. Today could mark the beginning of the end for Missouri and the Big 12, according to PowerMizzou.com, which cites three separate, anonymous sources who say university chancellor Brady Deaton will announce the Tigers' official withdrawal from the conference at a Big 12 Board of Directors meeting in Dallas. On Friday, Mizzou's Board of Curators authorized Deaton to act on conference realignment and execute all relevant contracts with a new league ? presumably the SEC ? and Deaton is scheduled to attend this afternoon's meeting in person.
"On Saturday, and again today, I've talked to all sorts of people familiar with the situation both at Missouri and elsewhere," wrote the Kansas City Star's Mike DeArmond on Sunday, "and every single one anticipates Missouri and the SEC will announce Mizzou as the 14th member of the SEC at some point this week." [PowerMizzou.com, Kansas City Star]
? One of us, one of us. In somewhat less solid speculation, the Big East is reportedly being asked to consider joining the forthcoming Mountain West-Conference USA merger to create a sprawling superconference incorporating between 28 and 32 teams. According to a document (origin unknown) obtained by the Boston Globe, the plan would divide the country into four seven or eight-team divisions ? the West, Mountain, Central and Big East ? whose winners would then stage a mini-playoff for the league's automatic bid to the BCS. The Big East would actually consider this in order to ensure it keeps its automatic bid to the BCS.
Notably absent from both the 28 and 32-team versions of the plan? West Virginia, which is presumed to be first in line to replace Missouri in the Big 12. [Boston Globe]
? Tate calls it a year. Maryland linebacker Kenny Tate, an All-ACC pick last year as a safety and likely a future draft pick, will undergo season-ending surgery for an undisclosed injury and seek a medical hardship to return for a fifth year in 2012. Tate led the team in tackles through four games but has missed the last three ? all Maryland losses ?�for reasons the school isn't clarifying.
"It is certainly a blow to our team to lose a player and leader of Kenny's caliber, but we want to do what's in his best interest," said coach Randy Edsall, who expects Tate to miss six to nine months. "Our medical staff determined that surgery was the best way to proceed so that's what we are going to do." [Washington Post]
? Tragedy. As rumored on Saturday, the body of an Akron student was found inside the university's stadium on Saturday morning, an apparent suicide. A spokesman for Akron said the body was found in the stadium's bleachers around 10 a.m., but declined to release his identity or any details of the ongoing investigation. The Zips' game against Ohio kicked off as scheduled at 3 p.m. the same afternoon, ending in a 37-20 Ohio win. [Associated Press]
Quickly? USC running back Dillon Baxter may have missed the Notre Dame game to be with his girlfriend as she was giving birth. ? Three new injuries Saturday could leave Virginia Tech's defense without five opening-day starters for Saturday's trip to Duke. ? Police responding to a noise complaint use a stun gun on two Montana players. ? ACC officials teach Florida State an incorrect lesson about punt returns. ? Steve Spurrier calls his flap with local writer Ron Morris "history" and says Morris will be allowed at regular press conferences. ? Virginia Tech adds another gravestone to its cemetery of road wins over ranked teams. ? FX had had some minor technical difficulties at the start of the Oklahoma State-Missouri game. ? And Bill Blankenship sings OMC.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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