GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Will Muschamp walked out of The Swamp with both fists in the air, acknowledging the cheers of a freshly adoring fan base. This was his moment.

For the first time in 18 games as head coach of the Florida Gators, he had done something Urban-esque. Or Spurrier-esque, if you prefer. Those comparisons to Ron Zook can stop now, thank you.

“We haven’t really gotten any exciting wins, by (the fans’) perception,” Muschamp said.

Will Muschamp does the 'gator chomp' after Florida beat LSU 14-6. (Reuters)

There had been victories over Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, but there were zero wins in five tries against ranked opponents. That changed emphatically Saturday. Muschamp’s first “exciting win” was over No. 4 LSU – a credibility game for the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division against the previously dominant West, for Florida as a program, for Muschamp, and for the Gators’ manhood.

The low point of a 7-6 season last year was a winless October against SEC competition. And the low point of October was a 30-point punking in

Read More »from Will Muschamp earns first signature Florida win with smashmouth victory over LSU

Geno Smith has nearly as many touchdowns (20) as incompletions (28) this season. (AP)

Twenty years ago, Dana Holgorsen was an underwhelming wide receiver at an undersized school (Iowa Wesleyan), playing for a man with an oversized imagination.

That man was Hal Mumme, the unlikely progenitor of an offensive style that has outgrown its inventor and become the most powerful weapon in college football. The offense is the Air Raid, built on the BYU notion that throwing the ball all over the yard can equalize a talent deficit. Like most revolutionaries, Mumme started small: He nurtured his project amid the tumbleweeds of Texas on the high-school level, then got his break in college coaching at Iowa Wesleyan in the late 1980s. That's where Holgorsen came under his wing.

An unabashed contrarian and certified know-it-all, Mumme would ultimately ride his offensive scheme to the Southeastern Conference, where he made perennial punching bag Kentucky respectable. Then it would all crash down amid an NCAA scandal that helped return him to the small-school level from which he

Read More »from Geno Smith becomes Air Raid's greatest disciple – and college football's most powerful weapon

Bemidji State players and coaches celebrate by jumping into Lake Bemidji. (BSU Athletic Media Relations)

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (unedited game film sold separately in Columbus):

GO JUMP IN A LAKE

When the final horn sounded at Chet Anderson Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the victorious Bemidji State Beavers (1) shook hands with the visitors from the University of Minnesota, Crookston. Then equipment started flying everywhere.

 "It basically looks like some kind of carnage happened," said Dax Larson, assistant director of athletic media relations at Bemidji State. "There's helmets and pads all over the field."

The Beavers then made a mad dash for one end of the stadium, proceeded down a small slope and, with fans cheering them on, splashed into Lake Bemidji (2) in various stages of undress and/or game dress. This was the 13th iteration of one of the greatest unknown traditions in college football: the homecoming lake dive at Bemidji State.

The Dash knows all about burning spears in Tallahassee and Midnight Yell Practice in

Read More »from Forde-Yard Dash: Look before you leap

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (pirate gear sold separately in Pullman, at newly reduced prices):

FIT TO BE (BOW) TIED

The conspicuous consumption by Ohio State (1) president E. Gordon Gee, as reported by the Dayton Daily News, is more a university matter than an athletic matter. But given Gee's interest and influence in sports, this is fair game for The Dash.

E. Gordon GeeIt's not enough that Gee is easily America's highest-paid president of a public university. It's all the other trappings of sultanhood that come along with his $1.9 million a year salary. As the Daily News reported this week, the $7.7 million in expenses he's charged Ohio State since 2007 is what truly separates Dr. Bow Tie from his comparatively austere colleagues. (By comparison, the Daily News cited expense spending that was a mere fraction of that by Texas president Bill Powers and Michigan prez Mary Sue Coleman.)

The line item that jumped into the headlines Monday was the

Read More »from Forde-Yard Dash: Figuring value in the head-scratching world of college football

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Erik Manuel Sr.'s voice was reduced to a hoarse whisper, but that was fine with him. The game ball was in his left arm and a smile was on his face.

The ball was a gift from his son, E.J., who had just completed the finest performance of his life. The Florida State quarterback has taken a lot of hits in his career as a Seminole, physically and emotionally. Injuries and inconsistency have kept him from living up to his pre-college hype, but this was a payoff night.

For E.J. Manuel and the entire Florida State program. It's been a long time coming.

"This has always been in him," Erik Manuel said of his son. "It just showed at the right time."

Here's what was in him Saturday night against No. 10 Clemson: a career-high 380 yards passing and two touchdowns; a career-high 102 yards rushing; and a 49-37 track-meet victory that ranks as the biggest the Seminoles have had since the program's glory days faded more than a decade ago.

[Watch: Jimbo Fisher

Read More »from E.J. Manuel keeps Florida State in national title conversation with brilliant outing vs. Clemson

So there is an out-of-court settlement in the Lance Thomas jewelry charade.

Mike Krzyzewski guided Duke to the 2010 national title with Lance Thomas on the roster. (AP)The lawsuit brought against the former Duke basketball player by jeweler Rafaello & Co., will never go to trial. That's convenient.

Except it really isn't convenient at all. Not if Duke still wants to be what it bills itself to be and Mike Kryzyzewski still wants to be who he says he is.

Honest. Playing by the rules. A cut above the dirty, conniving mainstream.

The settlement reached between Rafaello & Co. and Thomas, who allegedly failed to finish paying off nearly $100,000 in jewelry purchased while still playing college basketball, ostensibly gives both parties NCAA cover. Nobody on either side is likely to be compelled to cooperate with the joint investigations by Duke and NCAA Enforcement into how then-senior Thomas paid 30 grand for bling in 2009, with nearly $68,000 more in credit. Especially if a confidentiality agreement was part of the settlement.

Nobody with a functioning brain needs

Read More »from Mike Krzyzewski owes it to Duke – and himself – to investigate Lance Thomas' jewelry purchase

Hall of Fame basketball coach Roy Williams underwent surgery Wednesday morning to remove a tumor from his right kidney.

Roy Williams has won two national titles as North Carolina's coach. (AP) The tumor was discovered during a physical earlier this month and the procedure took 3 ½ hours, according to a release issued by the university. Williams, 62, is also expected to coach when the Tar Heels begin practice for the 2012-13 season on Oct 13. The coach may have a second surgery to remove a tumor from his left kidney at a later date which could be sidelined for a few practices.

"The surgery went well and according to plan," said Dr. Eric Wallen, professor of urology at UNC, who led the surgical team. "Coach Williams did great. I fully expect him to coach this season and for years to come. He could miss some practice time if we perform another procedure sometime in October, but he would be able to resume his coaching duties prior to the start of the regular season."

[Also: How much did Magic Johnson pay for his share of the Dodgers? $50 million]

Read More »from North Carolina coach Roy Williams undergoes kidney surgery

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (white flags sold separately in Boulder):

KICKER CRISIS

Utah State misses a last-second field goal. (AP)Just three weeks into the season, The Dash has seen enough from America's field-goal kickers.

Enough snap hooks. Enough pushed fades. Enough low-trajectory blocks. Enough kicks that doink off uprights, or don't even reach them.

College football officially has a kicker crisis. There apparently are not enough scrawny kids with strong legs on campuses from sea to shining sea. Or at least not enough of them willing to join their football team.

The numbers don't lie. According to NCAA statistics, FBS kickers have made 67.8 percent of their field-goal attempts this season. That's on pace to be the lowest accuracy percentage since 2004, and the first time accuracy has slipped below 70 percent since 2006. It is 6 percent lower than the accuracy record set in 2010 and 2.6 percent lower than last year's number.

If that 2.6 percent decline holds up, it

Read More »from Forde-Yard Dash: College football kickers mysteriously missing their mark