FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. A clear-cut Notre Dame victory. Yes, the Irish are 3-5 and Coach Bob Davie’s future is going South (Bend), but that won’t stop us from guaranteeing a home win this week. OK, it’s Navy. If Davie can’t squeak out this one--the Irish have won 37 straight in the series--he ought to resign right after the postgame alma mater. Actually, Davie said he has no plans of stepping down. “None, zero,” he said. Of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t getting fired. There are rumors that Davie’s contract, which runs through 2005, has already been bought out.

2. Ted Tollner bows out against Wyoming. The San Diego State coach brought class to the program, but not enough wins. He’ll coach his last home game Saturday. In hindsight, Tollner never had a chance at San Diego State, and much of it was his fault. When Tollner arrived eight years ago, he pushed for a rigorous nonconference schedule but didn’t have the talent or recruiting tools to pull off enough upsets to build momentum. Tollner was 4-19 against schools from the six bowl championship series conferences.

3. The BCS conference races in a paragraph. Pacific 10: Oregon controls its destiny and all the tiebreakers; Washington State needs to beat Washington and hope Oregon loses to Oregon State. Big Ten: Michigan shares the lead with Illinois but won the head-to-head meeting. Ohio State can win the title with wins against Illinois and Michigan. Big 12: Nebraska at Colorado on Nov. 23 decides the North Division title; Oklahoma clinches the South with wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Atlantic Coast: Maryland clinches with a win at North Carolina State this weekend. Southeastern: Tennessee at Florida on Dec. 1 will determine the East Division; Auburn clinches the West by winning one of its last two games. Big East: Syracuse at Miami this weekend determines the conference title.

4. Jobs, jobs, jobs. In what’s becoming a trend, athletic directors are giving their coaches the early boot so they can get a leg up on the successor search. Kansas fired Terry Allen and has already made contact with Fresno State Coach Pat Hill (the Kansas AD once worked at Fresno State). Former Ohio State Coach John Cooper also is interested. California Coach Tom Holmoe resigned early to help facilitate the Bears’ next move. Cal would be wise to find a top-flight minority coach (Hey, Denny Green, you tired of Randy Moss yet?) to take advantage of the school’s great ethnic diversity.

5. The Heisman race. Ah, this race has been slowed under a caution flag. Will somebody please step up and put their arms around this trophy? Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey tossed four interceptions last week; Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch completed three of seven passes; off-the-field woes derailed the campaigns of tailbacks DeShaun Foster (UCLA) and William Green (Boston College); Northwestern’s Damien Anderson is out for the season because of an injury. Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington keeps leading comebacks but has been more effective handing off to Onterrio Smith and Maurice Morris. Which leaves ... Florida quarterback Rex Grossman, who throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns every week (except in that Auburn loss) but can’t rally Heisman support from his own coach.