Agents, lawyers, John Blake ... accusations are swirling around North Carolina as the Tar Heels try to ignore it all and focus on their season opener against LSU.

The Yahoo! report was well researched and connected some dots to reveal a not-so-pretty picture for the Tar Heels, but the bottom line is that the only people who know what direction this is heading work at the NCAA. And until those people make their ruling public, North Carolina remains a team capable of beating LSU -- that is, of course, if those within the program can focus on that game and not on the investigation.

That has to be mission impossible at times, as athletic director Dick Baddour said "every minute of every day is involved with this process."

The staff and students must be made available to the NCAA on demand. The NCAA expects UNC officials to schedule meetings and assist in gathering records on demand. And the NCAA also expects UNC to stay quiet.

"I pressed them on that issue," Baddour said, noting faculty, support groups, university administrators and many others want to know what's going on, what the timetable might be.

Baddour said the process is "very complicated, very detailed," and it is taking "a lot of time and a lot of work to sort it out."

Meanwhile, there's nothing Butch Davis, his staff or players can do but cooperate fully with the investigation and prepare for LSU. It's no secret that defensive tackle Marvin Austin and receiver Greg Littleare part of the investigation. And you don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to realize that without them, it will be more difficult to defeat LSU. It will be even more difficult, though, to beat LSU and then have to forfeit those wins if it's later discovered ineligible players were used.

All of that, though, returns us to speculation.

Unless the NCAA makes a ruling that changes North Carolina's starting lineup, I'm sticking with my pick for UNC to beat LSU in Week 1.