FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. A Penn State revival. Funny how fast things change at traditional powerhouses. USC, one of college football’s storied programs, is giddy after qualifying for a bowl game with a 6-5 record. Penn State (4-5) is using the same spin, talking excitedly of winning its last two games and going to a bowl. Everything is relative, of course. USC rebounded from a 1-4 start to finish fast, while Penn State has won four of five games after an 0-4 start. Penn State needs to beat Michigan State this weekend and Virginia on Dec. 1 to get bowl qualified, no easy trick, but watch for the Nittany Lions next year. And USC too?

2. Memories that linger. Two years ago, 12 Texas A&M; students were killed when the traditional “bonfire” constructed before the annual Texas game collapsed. Today, with Texas returning to College Station, 12 Aggie students will wear shirts that spell out “Remember Them” as they stand in the stands at Kyle Field (Texas A&M; students don’t sit during games). The name of each victim will appear on the back of a shirt. The 90-year-old bonfire tradition was suspended after the tragedy but may return next year in a limited form.

3. A return to Salad (Bowl) Days. Let’s hear it for North Texas, which ended the longest bowl drought among Division I schools by beating Idaho last week to qualify for the Dec. 18 New Orleans Bowl. The Mean Green has not dipped its toe in postseason waters since its 1959 Sun Bowl appearance. Denton Die-hards will recall North Texas also played in the 1946 Optimist and 1948 Salad bowls. Who could ever forget? And we won’t bust North Texas on a technicality if the New Orleans Bowl isn’t going to. You see, North Texas is 5-5 and still has a Dec. 1 game against Troy State, meaning the Meanies could finish the season without the six wins required for participation. The New Orleans folks have graciously granted the Mean Green an exemption. This is a one-time-only comp, so don’t get any ideas, California.

4. More closures to come? Cal State Northridge became the latest Division I California school to drop football, joining the likes of Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and University of the Pacific. There is no shame in this. In fact, we recommend it highly to San Jose State, which should pull the plug on its football team. Why schools think they need to play Division I football we’ll never know. There is too much competition and not enough capital to sustain Division I programs in California. We say take the money saved on football and build a nice basketball program. You can ask Gonzaga how well it can work.

5. Arkansas at Louisiana State. Some team has to win the West Division of the Southeastern Conference because, well, it’s in the bylaws, although we’re not sure anybody deserves it. The SEC continues to be heavily tilted toward the East, where Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina roam. Auburn had a firm grip on the West and lost it, leaving the title issue unsettled. The way it works now is this: the loser of Arkansas-LSU today is eliminated. The winner advances to the Dec. 8 SEC title game provided LSU beats Auburn next week. Beyond that, we think the SEC tiebreaker could come down to a game of rock/paper/scissors.