A - ACC. The ACC hasn't exactly done an impression of a good football team all year, but this is ridiculous. They had three ranked teams going into last weekend. All three were humiliated. Miami lost to Georgia Tech by 18, and allowed four runners to gain at least 75 yards. UNC lost by 31 to NC State. At home. Maryland went a step further, losing by 34 at home to Florida State. All three teams have been bumped out of the rankings, and replaced by three others from the conference. How do we go about getting a league's automatic BCS bid rescinded?

B - B-States. It's the best of times and the worst of times for State schools starting with the letter B. Both Ball State and Boise State passed a tough test this week and moved perilously close to perfection. They are both 11-0, and both are playing well enough that an undefeated season seems more than likely. That's the good news. The bad news is that they will have nothing to show for it. Utah is still winning, and only one non-BCS team will make the big bowls, so these guys still get to toil in bowl obscurity despite not taking a single misstep.

C - Calgary Stampeders. My hometown boys are champions. The Stampeders beat the Montreal Alouettes, 22-14, to win the Grey Cup, the championship of the Canadian Football League. The game is supposed to be in a neutral site like the Super Bowl, but it was coincidentally in Montreal this year, so the team had to overcome even more than normal. The MVP was QB Henry Burris. The former Temple star toiled briefly for the Packers and the Bears, even getting a couple of lackluster starts, before returning to the CFL and finding his groove.

D - Dallas Stars. It has been a very ugly year in Dallas. A team that was picked by many to be a serious Stanley Cup contender is sitting dead last in their conference and showing few signs that this is just a temporary situation. And now things got even worse. Stars' captain Brenden Morrow is out for year thanks to a torn ACL suffered this week. Besides being the leader of the team, he was also key to the offense - he led the team in goals last year.

E - Elton Brand. Brand got his first chance to play his former team, the Clippers, this week, and he clearly didn't want to lose. He scored the winning basket late in the game to lift his new team to a one-point win over the one he walked out on. He finished with 17 points and eight boards in the game. Brand is getting more comfortable lately, and the team has won five of six, so it increasingly looks like he made the right decision. Not that getting away from the Clippers could really be a bad thing.

F - Florida Gators. The only thing I hate more than when major teams schedule games against hopeless patsies is when they schedule them in late November. I don't like it, but it's borderline acceptable for a big team to play a team like The Citadel in September to get warmed up and work out the kinks. Playing them now like Florida did, though, is a disgusting joke. Cowardly. It's a case of the athletic department wanting to find the path of least resistance through a tough conference schedule. Brutal.

G - Georgia Tech. Paul Johnson undertook a tough task in rebuilding Georgia Tech, but so far, so good. The Yellow Jackets beat Miami this week to move to 8-3, and they did it by ridiculously dominating on the ground. Georgia Tech ran for 472 yards - the second most ever against the Canes. All you need to know about the game, and Johnson's system, is that Tech ran the ball 56 times and passed it seven. The win briefly puts Georgia Tech at the top of their division, but they would need a big win at Georgia and a Virginia Tech loss to Virginia to stay there.

H - Hansbrough, Tyler. Last year's national player of the year finally made his season debut after a shin injury kept him out of the first two UNC games of the year. Psycho T returned as the Tar Heels played at UC Santa Barbara on their way to Hawaii. Hansbrough had a decent but not spectacular statistical night, but that is irrelevant against a team like this in November. What's more important is that he played 25 minutes and didn't seem to be in pain. He'll be able to relax in the next game - they open the Maui Invitational against host Chaminade, a Division II team that lost all five starters and their top six scorers this year.

I - Irish. If Charlie Weis hasn't called a real estate agent already then someone should do it for him. The shameful Weis era at Notre Dame hit new lows on Saturday as pathetic Syracuse, an unfocused, under-talented team with a lame duck coach, came into South Bend as massive underdogs and emerged with a win. On Senior Day, no less. Weis called the plays for his squad, and showed yet again that he is as far from competent as a coach can be. If Tom Brady was as successful as he was with Weis as his coordinator, just think what he could have done in those years with a real coach.

J - Jon Fitch. Sports are big business these days, and the business side is getting in the way of the sport in the UFC these days. The organization has cut Jon Fitch, the No. 3 ranked welterweight and a talented fighter with a 17-3 record. The issue isn't his performance, it's licensing. The UFC wants all fighters to sign a lifelong merchandise deal, and they are willing to fire every fighter who won't do it. Fitch was the first casualty, but it seems like he won't be the last.

K - Kevin Garnett. Garnett and his Celtics traveled to Minnesota this week - the first time they have been there since Garnett ripped the basketball heart out of the state with his departure. To the surprise of no one, Garnett and company cruised to an easy win. The fans were mostly happy to see their long-suffering hero, but it wasn't exactly a homecoming on the other sideline - only four of the 16 players on the Minnesota roster were there a year and a half ago when Garnett was in town.

L - Loss. There will be no perfect team this season. More disturbingly for fans of the Titans, though, Tennessee looked more like a team that was 0-10, not 10-0, for much of their 34-13 blowout loss to the Jets. New York was able to completely shut down the previously potent Tennessee running game, and that forced the team to try to win through the air - a difficult task for the ancient Kerry Collins. Thanks to the outcome, New York is now a legitimate contender, and Tennessee is relieved that they only have to play Detroit next time out.

M - McNabb, Donovan. Things are going to get really ugly in Philadelphia. For the last three of four years there has been an ongoing debate about the future of McNabb. The QB didn't help his own cause on Sunday. He was absolutely brutal against Baltimore - so bad that he was pulled at halftime in favor of Kevin Kolb. He was 8-of-18 with two picks and a lost fumble. He has already been named the starter for Thursday, but it seems increasingly unlikely that he has a future with his first team beyond this season. It's one of those cases, though, where a change in scenery would likely help both the player and the team.

N - New York Knicks. The Knicks served notice that they plan to be a major player in the juicy 2010 free agent market this week. In two trades they got rid of big long contracts for Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford in favor of shorter ones that will be off the books by the end of next year. They added Al Harrington and Cuttino Mobley, but that hardly matters - this is a team that clearly intends to tread water until they add a superstar. With so many teams looking towards the 2010 free agent bounty it only makes sense that a few teams will be left with all sorts of money and no one to give it to. If I was a fan and I spent two years watching a lousy team only to miss out on the promised influx of talent I sure wouldn't be happy.

O - Oden, Greg. Barring any unforeseen situations, the NBA's No. 1 picks from the last two years will be superstars who play each other for years to come. The first round in that battle goes decisively to Greg Oden. Portland absolutely crushed Chicago in Oden's home debut, winning by 42 points. Oden only played 17 minutes, but he made the most of it, scoring 11 and pulling down 10 boards. Rose played 30 minutes but was the least effective he had been all year - six points, one assist and three turnovers.

P - P.J. Carlesimo. I hope P.J. didn't buy a place in Oklahoma City yet. Carlesimo was the victim of a truly brutal 1-12 start for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The coach was fired this week even though it wasn't really his fault that he wasn't able to win NBA games without an NBA-worthy roster. He can look on the bright side, though - at least he didn't get choked by anyone before he left this time. He can also take comfort in the fact that he isn't alone - Eddie Jordan was cut lose in Washington after a 1-10 start.

Q - Quinn, Brady. The fairytale story didn't go exactly as planned this week. Fresh off of a Monday night win, it was reported that Quinn had a broken index finger on his throwing hand and some tendon problems. He tried to play anyway, but to the surprise of no one it went badly. He was 8-of-18 with two interceptions - the same stat line as Donovan McNabb - before getting benched. It's not clear what will happen now, but if Quinn is still healthy enough to play then there is likely no better man than coach Crennel to shatter the youngster's confidence.

R - Rule change. Major League Baseball made a tweak to their rules this week. It was small, but this year showed that it is also very significant. From now on, no playoff game can be shortened by weather. Theoretically, Philadelphia could have been given the World Series in the rain shortened game if Tampa Hadn't scored late to tie it up before the delay. That would have been ridiculous, and now it can't happen. It's a good change, but it seems incredible that it wasn't the rule before now.

S - Steve Asmussen. In terms of sheer volume, horse racing has an undisputed king. Asmussen, the trainer of Curlin, has broken his own record for wins in a year. He secured numbers 556 and 557 on the year on Sunday to beat the mark of 555 he set in 2004. That is just a staggering accomplishment - Asmussen has 2,698 starts this year, and a horse only runs once a month or so, so you can imagine the massive scope of Asmussen's operation. He's like the CEO of a mega-corporation.

T - Texas Tech. So much for Cinderella. Though I believed in the Red Raiders, I knew they were in tough playing at Oklahoma. I wasn't prepared, though, for the Massacre at Norman. It seems hard to believe that a team that looked so good against Texas and Oklahoma State could look so much like the fifth place team from the Sun Belt conference against Oklahoma. Absolutely nothing went right for the Red Raiders, and Bob Stoops proved yet again why he is as good as there is. Perhaps the biggest surprise was how completely the Sooners were able to shut down Michael Crabtree.

U - Utes. The Holy War looked like it was going to be close for a while, but in the end it really wasn't. Utah doubled up on hated rivals BYU, 48-24, to finish the year undefeated and all but guarantee themselves the second BCS bid in school history. Utah's defense was ruthless in the game, forcing six turnovers including five interceptions from the usually reliable Max Hall. Utes QB Brian Johnson, on the other hand, was virtually perfect - 30-of-36 for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see who and where they play next. A return to the Fiesta Bowl is one solid possibility.

V - Very rich. Matt Cassel picked a very good time to become a free agent. The New England QB is looking eerily similar in replacing Tom Brady as Brady did in replacing Drew Bledsoe. Cassel put up his second straight 400-yard game against a division rival, and he has his team in solid wild card position. Cassel looked like a game manager, and not much of one, early on in the season, but now he looks like a star. New England likely won't franchise him, and they obviously won't give him a big, long contract, so he is about to get paid very handsomely to take the reins of a new team. After his success all sorts of players will be looking to get stuck on the bench at major college programs.

W - Wolverines. Few schools needed something to cheer about more than my beloved Michigan, and they got it from a very unlikely place. John Belein led his rapidly developing basketball team past No. 4 ranked UCLA in a huge upset. Michigan isn't yet anywhere near the caliber of the Bruins obviously, but it was very comforting to see that they were able to play without being intimidated, and that they shut down a very good team. Bright days are ahead. The win dulled a little of the pain that came from getting annihilated by Ohio State on Saturday to drop five straight to the Buckeyes for the first time in history.

X - Xavier. Regular readers of this column know that Xavier holds a special spot in this column. They are the mascots, and the X spot is secured for them throughout the college basketball season. This is their debut for this year, and they clearly wanted to make sure that it was a special one. Xavier is unranked, but they won't be for long after securing an impressive win over 12th ranked Memphis on Sunday. The win moves them to 5-0, including solid wins over Virginia Tech and Missouri. The true test of their progress will come starting Dec. 20 when they play Duke and then follow it up by facing Butler three days later.

Y - Yikes. The AFC West is an awful, stinking mess. Denver has a two game lead, in the division and seem destined to make the playoffs, but in no way do they look like they deserve to be there. A playoff team really can't be losing to the Raiders, and they certainly can't be doing it by three touchdowns. Jay Cutler was brutal, completing only 43 percent of his passes for the listless, confused Broncos. JaMarcus Russell deserves credit - he completed 10 of 11 passes, and he avoided making mistakes.

Z - Zoom. It was a very quick trip back to respectability for Trent Edwards. The Buffalo Bills quarterback had struggled for more than a month after suffering a concussion, and his team had lost four in a row. His critics weren't thrilled, but they had to be impressed with his performance on Sunday - he completed 75 percent of his passes, tossed two touchdowns, and ran for two more as his Bills got a much needed win over Kansas City. It was a shootout, too - the Bills won, 54-31.