Report: Notre Dame toMake Offer to Neuheisel

University of Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel has risen to the top of the Notre Dame wish list, several sources with knowledge of the school’s ongoing search told ESPN.com late Saturday, and a contract offer is being prepared.

The sources said university officials are working on the parameters of a contract offer, one that could be worth as much as $2.5 million annually, and that it could be presented to Neuheisel early next week.

Neuheisel’s salary this season is $1.212 million, and a buyout of his contract would cost only $100,000.

So far, Neuheisel has publicly affirmed his desire to stay at Washington, but has not denied having contact with Notre Dame.

“They’re going to get a great coach, it’s just not going to be Rick Neuheisel,” Neuheisel said Friday night after the Huskies landed in San Diego to begin Holiday Bowl preparations.

Contacted Saturday night by The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., Washington Athletic Director Barbara Hedges said, “It is simply not true, and ESPN can say that and anyone else can say that. It’s just not true.”

Asked directly if Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White had contacted her about talking to Neuheisel, Hedges was quoted as saying, “I can’t confirm it. You are going to have to ask Notre Dame.”

Washington plays Texas in the Holiday Bowl on Friday.

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Senior Bobby Pesavento, who engineered late-season victories over Nebraska and Texas, will start at quarterback for Colorado when the Buffaloes meet Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

Coach Gary Barnett made the announcement Saturday after a 90-minute practice at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo.

Sophomore Craig Ochs started seven of the first eight games this season but, felled by a concussion and a sprained ankle, gave way to Pesavento.

With both quarterbacks reasonably healthy, Barnett went with the hot hand, although he declined to discuss the reasons behind his decision.

Barnett said Ochs also might play in the game, but that the two quarterbacks would not alternate.

Pesavento, who also was a backup to Ochs for most of the 2000 season, played in nine games this season. He started five, including the last four.

He completed 61% of his passes for 1,234 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions.

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North Carolina football players Aaron Leak and Ronnie Bryant have been charged with stealing a car.

Leak and Bryant surrendered to Chapel Hill police Friday and were released on unsecured bonds, authorities said. Their next court appearance is set for Thursday.

Coach John Bunting suspended the players from the team. The Tar Heels will play Auburn on Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl.

Leak, a redshirt freshman, was the third-string quarterback behind Ronald Curry and Darian Durant. Bryant, a freshman defensive back, hasn’t played this year and was on his way to redshirt status, team spokesman Steve Kirschner said.

Leak and Bryant each were charged with felony counts of larceny and possession of stolen property after the investigation into the Oct. 7 theft of a 2001 Audi worth $40,000, according to police.

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Campus police have asked some Colorado football players to provide DNA samples as investigators look into a student’s claim she was gang raped at a party.

Officers talked to Barnett, the Colorado coach, on Thursday and explained players could voluntarily give DNA samples or face the possibility of receiving a court order to do so, Lt. Tim McGraw said.

“We’ve asked people we believe were there to supply us with some DNA samples,” McGraw said. “It is part of a thorough investigation. It can be used to place somebody there. It can be used to show they weren’t there.”

Only one football player with significant playing time on the nation’s No. 3-ranked team has been mentioned in connection with the accusations, Barnett said in a statement released by the athletic department. The coach did not identify the player and said he voluntarily took a polygraph.

“The results indicate that the student-athlete was not complicit in this alleged activity,” Barnett said.

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Furman Coach Bobby Johnson visited Vanderbilt a day after the Paladins’ loss to Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA title game.

Vanderbilt scheduled a news conference for today to announce its new coach, but would not confirm that Johnson was the choice.