1) How do you sort out the mess that is the Big 12 North? What is your predicted order of finish for those six teams?

Steven Lassan: If Nebraska can get consistent play from its offense, I like the Cornhuskers to win the Big 12 North. After that, its anybody's guess. Missouri has a favorable four-game stretch to close the year, so I'll take the Tigers to finish second. You could virtually throw Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas into a hat and draw which team will finish third, but I'll go with the Jayhawks, Cyclones and Kansas State to round out positions three to five, with Colorado finishing last.

Mitch Light: The Big 12 North enjoyed a bit of rebirth in recent years with Missouri and Kansas on an uptick and Nebraska seemingly on the verge of breaking through, but the 2009 season has been a disaster. The division deserves all of the abuse it is receiving. After a quick review of the schedules, I have four teams (K-State, Nebraska, Iowa State and Kansas) tying for first place with a 4–4 record, followed by Missouri in fifth and Colorado in sixth place.

Jake Veyhl: How about a random drawing to figure this one out? It’s anyone’s guess at the point. Kansas State looked terrible to start the year but actually looks like one of the more dangerous teams right now. Nebraska and Missouri have run the complete opposite course. Kansas looked good when Todd Reesing was healthy but its defense can’t keep anyone out of the end zone. Iowa State is having a great season by its standards, but that won’t equal a division championship. As for order, the lottery balls came out in this order: Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas State, Kansas, Iowa State, Colorado.

2) We’re getting to the point of the season where coaches start receiving their pink slips. Who do you think will be the first to go?

Steven: I think Memphis' Tommy West or UNLV's Mike Sanford will be the first to go. Louisville's Steve Kragthorpe is probably gone, but that decision may wait until the end of the year. UNLV and Memphis have been awful at times this season and neither is showing signs of getting better, with no easy wins remaining on the schedule. I am surprised both teams have waited this long to make a decision, but the ax figures to fall soon on West or Sanford.

Mitch: Virginia enjoyed its annual October surge, but the Cavs have lost back to back games at home to Georgia Tech and Duke to fall to 3–5. I would not be surprised to see Al Groh let go when the Cavs lose their seventh game to become eliminated from bowl contention. Dan Hawkins at Colorado is another candidate, but it appears that the school isn’t willing to spend the money to buy him out. Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe is another candidate.

Jake: I think Akron’s J.D. Brookhart and Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe are fighting for that right but I’m going with Kragthorpe. He entered a tough situation at Louisville with unrealistic expectations, but his team really hasn’t shown any improvement in two-plus years. I still can’t get over the fact that they Cardinals lost two consecutive games to awful Syracuse teams.

3) Speaking of coaches, which first-year coach has done the best job with his new program thus far?

Steven: I'm going to go with Oregon's Chip Kelly. Following the debacle against Boise State on Thursday night to open the year, I never expected the Ducks to destroy USC, 47-20, and rebound into national title discussion. Kelly deserves a lot of credit for righting the ship and he could be a candidate for a national coach of the year if the Ducks continue to win.

Mitch: There some solid options like Steve Sarkisian (Washington), Bill Snyder (Kansas State), Frank Spaziani (Boston College) and Lane Kiffin (Tennessee), but the nod has to go to Chip Kelly at Oregon. This team has rebounded from an opening-game debacle and is now in control in the Pac-10 race.

Jake: Chip Kelly looks like the obvious choice, but I’m going to throw my vote to Paul Rhoads at Iowa State. Winning in Ames has never been easy, but the Cyclones have already won five games (and lost two others by less than a touchdown) and could amazingly find themselves in a bowl at the end of the season. Turning a losing culture into a winning one is difficult but Rhoads has his players believing in themselves.

4) Barring a major collapse, it appears the longest running conference dynasty in college football is coming to an end with USC’s loss to Oregon. Is Pete Carroll losing his touch in Los Angeles or is this merely a one-year blip on the radar? How soon until the Trojans are back on top of the Pac-10?

Steven: I think this is merely a one-year blip on the radar and you could argue the Trojans may be an early favorite for the top spot in the preseason poll for 2010. Going into the preseason, most expected if there was a year the run could end in the Pac-10, 2009 was it. Replacing both coordinators and eight starters on defense has been too much for this team to overcome, but there is plenty of talent on the roster and more coming in the upcoming recruiting class for the Trojans to contend once again.

Mitch: One-year blip. No doubt about it — the Trojans will be the preseason favorite to win the Pac-10 next season (and the next...).

Jake: I don’t think he’s losing his touch at all. Carroll has had a plan for his program throughout the 2000s and I think mark Sanchez leaving early threw that plan out of whack. Still, with a freshman quarterback and a young defense, Carroll’s team is among the top teams in the Pac-10. I don’t think they’ll stay down for more than this year.

5) Each of the last three Alabama-LSU games has been decided by eight points or less. Do you foresee another close one this week in Tuscaloosa or will the Tide roll ahead?

Steven: I like Alabama to win and with both teams possessing so-so offenses and stout defenses, Saban Bowl III should be close once again. Although this doesn't figure to be a high-scoring game, I think Alabama's offense will play a little better than it did against Tennessee and South Carolina, especially with a bye week to make adjustments. The improvement by the Crimson Tide on offense should be the edge in this game.

Mitch: I do foresee a close game. The combination of Alabama’s recent struggles on offense and the fact that LSU appears to be finding its groove on offense should make this a very competitive game. I still expect Alabama to win, but I’d be surprised if the Tide win by more than a touchdown.

Jake: This one will most likely be another close, low-scoring affair, but I completely expect the Crimson Tide to continue their march to the SEC Championship game. Amazingly, Alabama hasn’t defeated LSU in Tuscaloosa since 1999, but I don’t see this one getting away from Nick Saban. LSU’s offense doesn’t have the firepower to keep its defense off the field, thus giving the Tide’s ground-churning game a big advantage.

Year Two of the Campus Challenge returns as Jake is out to defend his championship. The rules: Each person picks a quarterback, running back and wide receiver to make up his "team" for the week in an effort to amass as many passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards and total touchdowns as possible. Whoever has the best stats as the end of the year wins. All players selected must be from a BCS conference team playing an FBS opponent, and each editor can only use a player once during the season.