NOBODY WOULD VOLUNTEER FOR THIS : WHAT A LONG, STRANGE YEAR IT'S BEEN FOR THE DEFENDING CHAMPS.

Byline: Scott Wolf College Football

Tennessee may be the defending national champion, but this season is becoming more checkered than the end zones at Neyland Stadium.

One of the team captains has been arrested, four players face allegations of academic fraud and the Vols have underachieved on the playing field.

It's enough to drive coach Phillip Fulmer mad, even by the nutty standards of Knoxville, Tenn. So Fulmer took out his frustration on a tackling dummy during Monday's practice, demonstrating a flying body block.

``He was definitely more into the practice today,'' said Bernard Gooden, a reserve offensive guard.

A stress release, perhaps, but that won't make any of Fulmer's problems go away. He is trying to deal with an investigation into the Vols' academic support staff and the Sunday-morning arrest of preseason All-American cornerback Dwayne Goodrich.

Fulmer suspended Goodrich, who went from the cover of the Vols' homecoming program Saturday afternoon to the Sunday police blotter.

One of six team captains, Goodrich was arrested on The Strip in Knoxville at 3:20 a.m. on charges of disorderly conduct. According to the police report, an intoxicated Goodrich grew loud and threatened officers when asked to leave a market.

``There's nothing we can do about all this, so we can't let it be a distraction,'' said senior left tackle Chad Clifton, another of the Vols' team captains. ``All we can do is focus on (this week's opponent) Auburn.''

Fulmer has refused comment on the academic investigation, but wasn't afraid to comment about the Vols' lackluster 17-16 victory over Memphis.

``I'm past aggravation, I'm PO'd,'' Fulmer said. ``We're going to get it fixed.''

Quick chat: So what did Washington coach Rick Neuheisel and Colorado coach Gary Barnett talk about in the 10 seconds they stood together after the Huskies' 31-24 victory?

``Good game, good luck . . . I was going to stay and chat - at least I intended to,'' Barnett said.

Barnett said he was ``relieved and disgusted'' about the weekend: ``I'm relieved that all the stuff that went into it about Rick and me over the last six months has been put to rest. . . . I'm disgusted we had so many chances to win it but didn't.''

Just the facts: Stanford is racing toward the Rose Bowl, and if nothing else the Cardinal seems to have luck on its side. But that's something every conference champion seems to need at some point.

Let's consider the Cardinal's good fortune:

The schedule gave them lowly Washington State after a drubbing at Texas (69-17), enabling them to regain confidence.

The Cardinal faced Arizona with co-starting quarterback Keith Smith still slowed by an ankle injury.

They played UCLA without starting quarterback Cory Paus and starting cornerback Jason Bell. The latter injury left the Bruins starting a redshirt freshman and a true freshman at the corners, and quarterback Joe Borchard of Camarillo High dissected them with ease.

Oregon is not on the schedule this season.

USC will not have quarterback Carson Palmer when the teams play Oct. 23.

Oh, and last, but not least, the conference is a joke.

Add Stanford: Troy Walters, the Pacific-10 Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week, is putting together a video to remember the season.

Last Saturday, Walters had nine catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns, including a 98-yarder that broke the school and Pac-10 record. He also broke the school record for most receiving yards in a game.

So there he was afterward, with his video camera, filming all the post-game festivities.

Said Walters: ``It's just a little documentary. I videotape the locker room after the game to capture the mood. It'll just be memories of my life here. And hopefully, a Rose Bowl appearance.''

Boller update: Former Hart High quarterback Kyle Boller led Cal on two late-scoring drives in its 24-23 victory over Arizona State.

``It was cool. Sometimes you're standing on the sidelines and don't think it can happen,'' Boller said. ``But anything can happen in college football.''

In a groove: Steve Spurrier is on the loose again. The Florida coach has been downright docile for the past year or so, but he was back to being the media's best friend last weekend, ripping and quipping.

He bashed SEC officiating during Sunday's teleconference; wondered aloud how badly the Gators might have beaten Tennessee if they hadn't committed five turnovers; and fired off a one-liner at his partner in passing, Kentucky coach Hal Mumme.

Spurrier was asked after Florida's 38-10 victory if he knew Mumme had a street named after him.

``In Valdosta?'' Spurrier asked, then added: ``Does (former Kentucky coach) Bill Curry have a street named after him, too?''

Mumme was the head coach at Valdosta State before replacing Curry at Kentucky.

Footnotes

SCOTT WOLF'S TOP 10

1. Florida State (4-0) - Peter Warrick is running (and juking) away with Heisman.

2. Florida (4-0) - Gators' season may be meaningless until Nov. 20 against FSU.

3. Penn State (5-0) - Week off for Paterno to find fault with team.

4. Nebraska (4-0) - Offense's histrionics overshadow nation's ninth-rated defense.

5. Michigan (4-0) - Wolverines welcome Purdue back from two-year absence.

6. Texas A&M (3-0) - Only school in history with three kickers in 60-yd. field-goal club.

7. Tennessee (2-1) - Something's rotten in Knoxville, and it's not the orange uniforms.

8. Purdue (4-0) - Will Boilermakers be able to Brees past Michigan?

9. Georgia Tech (2-1) - Why does Maryland think it can win this game?

10. Ohio State (3-1) - Almost fell to second-best team in Ohio behind Cincy.

Five more to watch: 11. Kansas State (3-0); 12. Georgia (3-0); 13. Virginia Tech (3-0); 14. Texas (4-1); 15. Arkansas (2-1).

THE LIST

Mount Union, a Division III school in Ohio which is 109-6-1 in the 1990s, is closing in on Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak, the longest in college football history. A look at college football's longest winning streaks:

Team Division Streak Years

Oklahoma I-A 47 1953-57

Mount Union III 45 1996-99

Washington I-A 39 1908-14

Yale I-A 37 1890-93

Yale I-A 37 1887-89

Augustana III 37 1983-85

Say What?

``This was a big test for us. We failed . . . F-minus.''

- Colorado linebacker Ty Gregorak on the defense's performance against Washington.

Best Bet

No. 11 Purdue (4-0) at No. 4 Michigan (4-0))

A few interesting facts before Purdue gets a reality check. The Boilermakers' 10-game winning streak over two seasons is the longest since an 11-game steak from Nov. 17, 1928 to Oct. 4, 1930. They haven't played Ohio State or Michigan the past two seasons. The last time they went 5-0 was in 1945. This year, Purdue's opponents sport a 4-12 record.

SATURDAY'S MUST-SEE TV GAMES

Maryland at No. 9 Georgia Tech

Today, 5 p.m., ESPN

Don't get much of a chance to see a Joe Hamilton play every day. The head Yellowjacket is the nation's top percentage passer and second on the team in rushing. Maryland has its best team in years.

No. 4 Michigan at No. 11 Purdue

9 a.m., ESPN

Drew Brees, er, the Boilermakers have a 10-game winning streak, but they haven't seen a team like Michigan, the first of four top-25 teams in a row they will face. Gulp.

No. 23 Oklahoma at Notre Dame

11:30 a.m., NBC

Think NBC (Notre Dame Broadcasting Network) figured the Sooners would be the ranked team in this game? Oklahoma can score and the Irish can't stop anybody. ``SaMved By The Bell'' reruns, anyone?

UCLA at Arizona State

12:30 p.m., Ch. 7

Hey, how did two unranked teams get in here?

Oregon State at USC

3:30 p.m., FSW2

The much-improved Beavers are honored to be playing a team that just rewrote the Pac-10 record book. Wow, 21 penalties, more flags in one game then OSU's had victories since '91.

No. 25 Oregon at Washington

7:15 p.m., FSW

A week after the catharsis with Colorado, Rick Neuheisel told by ball boy that there are indeed other games scheduled this year. C'mon dude, you're joking. Right?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

``We would like it over in a day. But that is not realistic, is it?'' - Carl Asp, a member of Tennessee's internal review board, which is looking into academic fraud allegations against the Vols' football program.

STAT OF THE WEEK

0- Heisman Trophy hopeful Ron Dayne's second-half rushing total in Wisconsin's 21-16 loss to Michigan last week. He finished with 88 yards on 22 carries, his lowest output since the Wolverines held him to 53 yards last year.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 4 boxes

PHOTO (1) Drew Brees

(2) no caption (football scrimmage)

BOX: (1) Footnotes (see text)

(2) Saturday's must-see tv games (see text)

(3) Quote of the week (see text)

(4) Stat of the week (see text)