BCS jockeying begins in Big Ten.

Byline: AROUND THE NATION By Bob Clark The Register-Guard

There were 19 unbeaten teams entering the weekend, but only one matchup of Division I teams with perfect records. That will be Saturday evening in Iowa City, where No. 13 Iowa plays host to top-ranked Ohio State in an ABC national telecast.

This could eventually decide the Big Ten title. It might put the winner into the Bowl Championship Series title game. It could be the game that earns Iowa a spot among the nation's elite teams.

Not that the Hawkeyes haven't had their moments there. The school has a Heisman Trophy winner, Nile Kinnick in 1939. Iowa has finished as high as No. 2 in the national polls, in 1958. And there certainly was a run at a national title in 1985, when the Hawkeyes were ranked No. 1 for much of the season, including a home win over then-No. 2 Michigan, but Iowa faltered at the end, losing to Ohio State and then UCLA in one of three Rose Bowl appearances in the coaching era of the legendary Hayden Fry.

Saturday night's visit by the Buckeyes will be only the second true night game in the 77-year history of Kinnick Stadium. The other was in 1992, when a Miami team ranked No. 1 beat the Hawkeyes 24-7.

That was one of 10 previous attempts Iowa teams have had at beating a team ranked No. 1, and all the Hawkeyes have to show for it was a 1953 tie with Notre Dame.

What if this time ...

`Obviously, there's a real buzz on campus right now, like you'd expect when the top team in the country comes to town,' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz told the Los Angeles Times.

Wrestling the Buckeyes

If Iowa is to upset Ohio State, the Hawkeyes are going to have to find a way to score. The Buckeyes held Texas to a touchdown, kept Penn State to a pair of field goals and have given up only 32 points in four games.

There's a familiar key to the Ohio State defense: the linebackers. And this after losing three linebackers drafted by the NFL last spring, two in the first round and another in the third.

The standout linebacker this season is James Laurinaitis, the son of Joe Laurinaitis, who was one of the `Road Warriors' of professional wrestling fame who toured with `Stone Cold' Steve Austin. James is making his own name, and was national defensive player of the week for his play against Texas.

The younger Laurinaitis leads the Buckeyes with 36 tackles and also has three interceptions and two forced fumbles.

`He's smart ... and he's committed physically,' OSU coach Jim Tressel said of his middle linebacker, who calls defensive signals. `He's very instinctive and I think he'll do nothing but keep getting better.'

Yes, James Laurinaitis credits good `genetics,' but he doesn't mean just his father. His mother, Julie, was a fitness model and a power lifting champion.

Big game in Big 12

It's not a matchup of unbeaten teams, but it will be close to that when Texas Tech (3-1) travels to Texas A&M (4-0) for a Saturday opener to the Big 12.

What a series it's been. The Aggies lead overall 34-29-1, but Tech has won eight of the past 11 meetings. Seven of the past 18 meetings have been decided by four points or fewer, and the last two games in College Station - where they play Saturday - have gone into overtime.

`We both have some animosity towards each other,' Texas A&M defensive end Chris Harrington said. `It's a good, healthy rivalry.'

Well, to a degree. There was the year Tech fans tore down a goalpost after a win and carted it through the A&M cheering section, setting off a melee. And there was that 56-17 win by Texas Tech, the largest margin in the series, that went over even worse when the Aggies read that Texas Tech coach Mike Leach had looked up in the stands before the game at the A&M Corps of Cadets and wondered out loud, `How come they get to pretend they're soldiers?'

As if in response, there was the 2002 A&M media guide referring to Tech's home city of Lubbock as `the barren stretch of dirt some West Texans call a city.'

And so on it goes.

What's it mean?

The bigger question might be whether either Texas Tech or Texas A&M is ready to challenge either Texas or Oklahoma in the Big 12 South Division.

Tech's wins are over UTEP, SMU and Southeast Lousiana and in its loss to TCU, it didn't even score a touchdown.

Then there's Texas A&M. The Aggies are unbeaten only because of a goal-line stand that held off Army, and the scheduler who lined up The Citadel, Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana Tech as the other three opponents.

Nice preparation for the Big 12, huh?

`I don't think there's anybody sitting around worrying about, `Have we been challenged enough?' ' A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. `I think we feel like we've been prepared.'

Consider the alternative, Franchione suggested. And end up like Colorado, at 0-4 after losses to Colorado State, Arizona State and Georgia followed that opening upset by Montana State.

`They're sitting there trying to piece it all together,' Franchione said of the winless Buffs. `We're sitting here in a completely different frame of mind.'

Dollars and sense

Money always matters in college football. It's why Notre Dame's comeback against Michigan State (or was it Michigan State's fold against Notre Dame?) is so important to the Irish.

It might allow the Irish to get back in the national title race. It at least keeps them in the running for a big paycheck from a BCS game, because remember, if Notre Dame is in the top eight of the final poll, the Irish are guaranteed a BCS berth, and if the Irish are ranked at least 14th, they are eligible for a BCS game, and what BCS bowl won't pick them?

Then there's the money to be made that isn't directly related to wins and losses.

To celebrate the 100th year of Florida football, the Gator Gala tonight is expected to raise $5 million, all of it going toward an athletic fund to endow scholarships. Each table at the banquet costs $50,000, with 10 people per table.

Florida would like to follow Stanford's example of having all of its scholarships paid for by endowment money.

Then there's Michigan, where the Wolverines are considering a plan to add luxury boxes to Michigan Stadium, which currently has a seating capacity of 107,501. There's an alternative plan, to add about 15 rows of seats at the top and increase capacity to 117,001.

The latter idea would cost about $66 million while the plan for luxury boxes has an estimated cost of $226 million. But which idea would lead to more revenue? You know it would be the luxury boxes.

Meanwhile, players pay

Penalties are expensive at Virginia Tech. Every time a Hokie is flagged for a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct, it will mean the loss of $100 from his bowl stipend, along with running 1,500 yards on a Wednesday at 6 a.m.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer also has a point system that keeps track of class attendance, being on time for team functions, working with tutors and other aspects of a player's performance off the field. Building up too many points can result in the loss of complimentary game tickets, earlier curfews and loss of playing time.

`I just thought it was playing time or money' that mattered most to players, Beamer said. `That's where you hit them the hardest. If you want to get the point across, you go to things that will get the point across.'

Finishing up

Of the 19 unbeaten teams, one is Houston. Of the 11 winless teams, one is Rice. In the season opener, Houston beat its crosstown opponent 31-30 ... Two other winless teams are Florida International and Florida Atlantic, both in the struggling stages of moving up to Division I-A. Florida International is 0-4 with the losses by a combined 11 points, including a pair of one-point defeats and a 14-10 loss at Maryland, while Florida Atlantic's four defeats are by a combined 172 points, the closest loss by a 45-6 count at South Carolina ... Baylor has rushed for 119 yards this season. Total. There are nine players averaging more than 119 rushing yards per game ... Wisconsin punter Ken DeBauche was a Big Ten player of the week, yet didn't earn praise from his own coach. DeBauche punted 11 times for an average of 46.7 yards against Michigan, but what Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema remembered were two times when DeBauche was told to kick out of bounds but didn't. The results were returns of 22 and 27 yards by Michigan's Steve Breaston that led to fourth-quarter points.

Coaching does matter

Wonder how important a coach is to a program?

There's North Carolina, where the Tar Heels are 42-57 since Mack Brown left for Texas. North Carolina had won its way into the top 10 under Brown.

Or take Mississippi. David Cutcliffe posted five winning seasons in six years with the Rebels, and got fired for it.

Ole Miss brought in Ed Orgeron, an assistant at USC, to replace Cutcliffe and the Rebels went 3-8 last year. They're 1-3 this season, and Orgeron said, `We haven't gotten better since (the opening-game win), and it's a combination of talent and our coaching.'

Maybe Army had a better idea, luring Bobby Ross out of retirement. Ross has won everywhere, in college and the NFL, and he's got Army to 2-2, the first time the Cadets have been at .500 this late in a season since 1996.

`I think it's a good step because we're playing a tough schedule,' Ross said. `It's got to help us confidence-wise, but we'll only be as good as the next game.'

That would be Saturday, against winless Rice. Army has been there, too, finishing 0-13 as recently as 2003, but Ross took them to a 4-7 finish last year.

Could a bowl game follow? The Cadets are guaranteed a berth in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego if they can finish 6-6. It's possible Army could win four more games, with Rice followed by VMI, UConn, TCU, Tulane, Air Force, Notre Dame and Navy.