With apologies to my friend Ryan McGee for stepping on his Bottom 10 turf, it has taken only six weeks this season to expose the Powers That Be as the Powers That Used to Be. Notre Dame, Stanford and Oregon all have plummeted out of the top 25, confirming on Saturday that their earlier poor play was no fluke. The Cardinal can cling to injuries as a reason for their demise, although their losses in the secondary and the offensive line have illustrated the lack of depth that has been a perennial bugaboo on the Farm. The Irish and the Ducks appear to simply not have the talent that their opponents have. Someones luck will turn this week: Stanford goes to South Bend. The home team has won the past four games in this rivalry, all by seven points or fewer.1. Michigans 78-0 defeat of Rutgers on Saturday night ranks as the second-largest road win by a ranked team in the poll era (1936-present), according to ESPN Stats & Info research. The margin fell a touchdown shy of the Wolverines 85-0 victory at the University of Chicago in 1939. The Maroons had one foot out the door that season. Even with the legendary Amos Alonzo Stagg as head coach, Chicago president Robert Maynard Hutchins decided he didnt want the university playing major college football anymore. Chicago abolished its program after 1939 and pulled out of the Big Ten in 1946.2. With that piece of history in mind, consider the plight of Rutgers, which has lost on consecutive weeks to No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan by a combined score of 136-0. And consider the plight of Boston College, which has extended its ACC losing streak to 10 games with losses to No. 25 Virginia Tech (on Sept. 17) and No. 3 Clemson by a combined 105-10. Toss in a rebuilding Syracuse (2-4, 0-2), which has shown sparks of renaissance under new coach Dino Babers, and its a mystery why the Big Ten and the ACC dismembered the Big East for parts. There may be a lot of TV eyeballs up here, but college football has fallen behind the rest of the country.3. Rutgers has tantalized one coach after another with the promise of success if he builds the proverbial recruiting fence around the state. And yet no one has ever done it. A generation ago, Penn State, Nebraska and Iowa built winners by taking Jerseys best players. Fast forward to two of the biggest stars from Saturday. Jabrill Peppers of East Orange, New Jersey, has become this years hybrid, a Michigan linebacker who made two tackles and ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns on only three carries against Rutgers. Minkah Fitzpatrick of Old Bridge, New Jersey, intercepted three passes for Alabama, returning one pick 100 yards for a touchdown.4. Speaking of Peppers, Im trying to decide what I enjoy most about Wolverines coach Jim Harbaughs discussion of his redshirt sophomore. It could be that Harbaugh began his comment by saying, In my humble opinion ... Or that Harbaugh, after some thought to compare Peppers to a versatile player of yore, came up with Jim Thorpe. Never mind that until the early 1960s, everyone pretty much played both ways. No, Harbaugh reached for Thorpe, the All-American at Carlisle, the 1912 Olympic decathlon gold medalist, the major league outfielder who also played pro football. The AP named Thorpe the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century. Harbaugh always thinks big. Its one reason he wins.5. Houstons 46-40 loss at Navy not only harmed the Cougars playoff chase, it may have doused quarterback Greg Ward, Jr.s chance at a major postseason award. Thats too bad. Ward threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 94 yards and another score. He threw two picks, one of them returned for a touchdown, but his QBR this season is higher (82.9) than last season (78.1), despite playing with a small tear in a shoulder ligament. Every time he throws a pass, it hurts, Houston coach Tom Herman said. It hurts less every day, because its healing. But thats the reality of it. What has Herman learned about Ward? I was a little nervous that he was not going to respond well to playing hurt. ... Ive seen a fiery competitor in him now that maybe I didnt last year.6. When Miami lost to Florida State by the margin of a blocked extra point late in the game, my first reaction was, if its a painful loss in that rivalry, then Mark Richt is on the wrong side of it. Richt was Florida States offensive coordinator from 1990-2000, which included Wide Rights I and II, and he was a graduate assistant on Bobby Bowdens staff from 1985-88, which included the epic 26-25 loss in 1987, followed by the Hurricanes 31-0 humiliation of the No. 1 Seminoles to open the following season. But it hasnt been all bad for Richt. Actually, during his years as offensive coordinator, Florida State beat Miami five straight times (1995-99) by an average margin of 22 points.7. It is a cliché as old as the postgame news conference: Ill have to look at the film/video. But theres a reason head coaches say that: The view from the sideline is not very good. If it were, thats where the coaching video -- and the TV cameras -- would perch. When Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was asked Saturday why the Buckeyes passing game had struggled in the 38-17 victory over Indiana, he said, Ill know more when I meet you guys [later in the week]. ... Id say 50 percent of the time Im wrong when I say something on a press conference. Air Max 97 Clearance . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Cheap Air Max Uk . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. http://www.cheapairmax97uk.com/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Cheap Air Max 97 Uk . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Cheap Air Max 97 Wholesale .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. In becoming Oregons loudest cheerleader on the bench last season, injured guard Dylan Ennis found his voice as a leader.He was a graduate transfer from Villanova when he arrived in Eugene last year, expecting to play his final college season for the Ducks. But a stress fracture in his foot kept him off the court.Ennis appeared in just two games before aggravating the injury. He learned he would need surgery, effectively ending his season -- and perhaps his college career.I was so shocked. I couldnt believe it when they told me, Ennis said. I thought that with a broken foot I wouldnt be able to walk.He could only watch as Oregon won a school-record 31 games while claiming the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles. The Ducks earned their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2007.Down the line I realized I had to try to help the team any which way I could, Ennis said. But those first couple times when we lost -- it wasnt the losses that hurt, it was how we were reacting. I knew I wanted to play so bad, and I started seeing things, like we took it for granted. Guys wouldnt come out and play hard every day, and they would tell you the same thing.So what did Ennis do? He started cheering. And yelling. And shouting. Whatever it took.What I realized being on the sideline was how big of a voice I could have, he said. Id been a vocal leader all my life, but doing it from the sideline was something different. With me coming back this year and playing, I think it really helped. And I think its been contagious: Dillon Brooks has started to be a more vocal leader, and Chris Boucher. Even Casey Benson and Jordan Bell.This season the Ducks are ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25. Theyve been selecteed to finish atop the league in the Pac-12s annual media poll for the first time in school history.ddddddddddddOregon returns four of five starters from last seasons team, including Brooks, a junior forward who led the squad with 16.7 points per game.Brooks is expected to miss a few games at the start of the season because of a foot injury. The Ducks open at home Friday night against Army.It is expected that Tyler Dorsey, who averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35 starts as a freshman last season, will start with Ennis and Benson, as the Ducks go with a three-guard lineup in Brooks absence.Weve got good depth at the guard spots, and I think those guys will look at that as a challenge to pick up the areas that Dillon would generally do, he said.Ennis relishes the challenge. He laughs when asked his actual position: He sees himself as a point guard, but hell play wherever hes needed.In fact, hes just happy for the opportunity.Oregon applied to the NCAA to allow Ennis to play one more season for the Ducks after the broken foot. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard had taken a rather circuitous route to Eugene, playing his freshman season at Rice before transferring to Villanova, then finding his way to Oregon as a graduate transfer.Currently pursuing a masters degree in conflict and dispute resolution, Ennis heard in June that he had received an additional year of eligibility.He called it one of the best days of his life.Im one of the stories where I wasnt a one-and-done, he said. I wasnt a big talent to come out of a big city. Im one of the ones that had to go the long route. Most people have to go the long route. Its all about perseverance. ' ' 'oing to happen again and Ill all for it. . But the overriding concern is he plays for us the rest of the year.La Stella, hitting .291, had been out since straining his right hamstring June 7.Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber also talked to reporters Wednesday, saying hes progressing well from season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee.Schwarber, who has shed crutches, hopes to start jogging soon. He also expressed thanks to team president Theo Epstein for publicly refuting reports Schwarber could be traded for bullpen help.I want to stay here, Schwarber. Obviously things are out of my control, but since he did say that, I take that to heart. It means a lot. ' ' '