From the home office in Bristol, Conn., the weekly Top 20 List...

20 -- Soapbox moment
Mal Moore's heart probably did a Dick Cheney when the Alabama athletic director checked the afternoon mail last week and found a letter from the NCAA in the In Box. Needless to say, the NCAA wasn't requesting directions to Dreamland; it wants its enforcement people to talk to Crimson Tide coaches and players about possible rules violations.

Moore needs the NCAA notification like Katherine Harris needs more eyeliner. Here he is, fresh from canning his coach, suffering through a 3-8 season, losing to arch-rival Auburn and now comes a little something with an Indianapolis postmark.

Whatever Moore is thinking of offering Miami's Butch Davis, or Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, or whoever else he has on his coaching wish list, the price just went up. A lot.

Davis is making about $900,000 a year, but he already has a contract extension and raise on the table from UM athletic director Paul Dee. Dee doesn't screw around. When Moore called last Friday seeking permission to contact Davis, Dee basically told him to prepare for a bidding war. And the same holds true if Moore goes after Beamer, who is getting money-whipped by North Carolina, to say nothing of at least a $1-million offer from Tech.

That's the business side of it. The X-factor side is this: As of mid-last week, Moore said the university hadn't received a preliminary letter of inquiry from the NCAA. He also bragged that the school's own compliance department has been cited for its "proactive" stance in the past.

Wonderful. Davis, who endured the after-effects of NCAA ground zero at Miami, will be thrilled. This isn't to say Bama has done anything wrong, or that the NCAA will come swooping in with a search warrant, but the recent announcement does sound ominous and it certainly won't do much for Tide morale or Moore's hiring process.

And facts are facts: rival recruiters, many of whom have already hit the road to court high school players, will mention the latest developments at every opportunity. "Wonder why it's taking so long for Bama to hire a coach?" . . . "Do you want to go to a school where the NCAA is sniffing around?" . . . "You want to play for a 3-8 team?" That's what they'll say. . . and worse, especially if this NCAA thing blossoms into a full-scale investigation.

Alabama will survive this latest mess because the concrete foundation poured by Bear Bryant is 100-feet deep. But even concrete can only take so much. So Moore had better choose wisely and pay handsomely -- and the sooner, the better.

19 -- Calendar update

If Florida State does finish among the top two in the BCS rankings and receives an invitation to the Orange Bowl, the Seminoles will go 46 days between their last regular season game and the BCS Championship. That's a long time to try to stay sharp, but remember this: It gives FSU coaches that much longer to break down film and develop preliminary game plans for possible opponents (Oklahoma, Miami, long shot Washington), and it allows quarterback Chris Weinke time to finally recover from a nagging foot injury. The Seminoles are used to this sort of thing. In fact, so refined is Bobby Bowden's bowl preparation schedule, that son Tommy adopted it at Clemson.

18 -- Cactus country

Dick Tomey's decision to call it quits after 14 seasons at Arizona shouldn't come as a total surprise, especially after the way he vented steam during a recent interview. All he did was rip Arizona State for firing Bruce Snyder ("despicable" is the word he used to describe ASU's decision), deem Oregon State, not Washington, the best team in the Pac-10, and then take a not-so-subtle shot at Arizona locals for criticizing his own program.

"I think we have a great program," said Tomey. "I think our program is acknowledged to be a great program throughout the country, but not necessarily in Tucson. That pains me because I'm not sure Tucson in some sectors knows what a great program is."

Uh, huh, that's going to leave a mark.

You don't pop off like that unless you're looking for a fight, or you're tired of all the silliness, or both. Tomey, 62, is a no-nonsense guy and one of the most respected coaches in a business that has more than its share of phonies. A 6-6 record in 1999 and a 5-6 mark this season does nothing to change that, nor does the absence of a Rose Bowl appearance. Tomey won games (95-64-4), his players generally earned their degrees and there was never a whiff of impropriety. That has to count for something.

17 -- Bizarre factoid

Tomey's son is engaged to the daughter of Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood. That should be an interesting wedding ceremony.

16 -- Seeing red

Sobbing. Exultation. Angry, dramatic gestures. Men in tight pants. Another episode of Titans? No, another instant classic finish, this time between Colorado and Nebraska.

With the exception of Michigan-Northwestern and Nebraska-Notre Dame, there wasn't a more compelling ending than the one involving the Buffs and the Children of the Corn.

The first 3 1/2 quarters weren't much to watch, but the last 7 minutes or so were time capsule material. Eric Crouch faking CU defenders out of two pairs of jocks. . . Buffs freshman quarterback Craig Ochs playing as if it were Senior Day. . . CU coach Gary Barnett's can-you-believe-it decision to go for a two-point conversion rather than a tie with 47 seconds left -- and making it. . . Barnett's decision to squib kick on the ensuing kickoff (who knew the Husker up-back would make like A-Rod, field the thing on a short hop and return it to Nebraska's 41?). . . Crouch, sore shoulder and all, hitting 3 of 4 passes on the final drive. . . Josh Brown, a miserable 3 of 7 for the season, kicking the game-winning field goal as time ran out. . . Nebraska coach Frank Solich, under criticism by spoiled Husker followers, jumping like Vince Carter. . . Barnett, a 3-8 season in the books, reacting with disbelief, a flash of rage and utter frustration. . . Players crying. . . Players hugging. . . Nebraska's fans, among the country's most gracious, applauding the Buffs as they left the field.

Where's a blank VCR tape when you really need one?

15 -- Congratulations. . .

. . . to West Virginia for hiring Clemson offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez, a former Mountaineer. Smart move.

14 -- Stone Cold Lock of the Week

BYU 34, Utah 27.

You didn't think BYU would lose in LaVell Edwards' final game as Cougars' coach, did you? No way does BYU blow that ending.

13 -- Hypothetical

If and when Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Gary Crowton is hired at BYU, the question becomes, what's tougher: Replacing the legendary Edwards, or coaching the exasperating Cade McNown?

12 -- Player of the week

Ole Miss' Deuce McAllister.

McAllister played for his team and himself, but also for the memory of his 23-year old brother, who died after years of struggling with scoliosis and respiratory ailments about two weeks before the Thanksgiving Night game against Mississippi State. McAllister finished with three touchdowns, 121 yards and the gratitude of the rain-soaked Ole Miss crowd. McAllister, playing in his final game at home, gestured skyward after a score.

No explanation needed.

11 -- Rumor alert
It took about three minutes for assorted names to surface for the Arizona job. The supposed candidates: Boise State's Kick Koettner (who's name also has bubbled up for the Arizona State opening), San Diego Chargers' Mike Riley, Washington assistant head coach Steve Axman (he's a former Arizona offensive coordinator) and Purdue's Joe Tiller, whose name also has been linked to the Bama job.

As for other hot-button rumor alerts. . .

10 -- And the crowd went wild

Let's see, Miami is ranked No. 2 in the country, No. 3 in the BCS rankings and still can earn a place in the national championship game. . . but Saturday's game against Boston College draws an Orange Bowl audience of 49,715 (you could have held a moto-cross race in the upper deck and not run over anybody)?

Meanwhile, a mostly meaningless game between 3-7 Vanderbilt and 7-3 Tennessee draws 68,360 at Adelphia Stadium in Nashville.

9 -- Notre Dame wallets

Were Notre Dame's players obsessed with the financial ramifications of their game against USC? After all, the Fiesta Bowl pays $13.5 million, while the Music City Bowl pays $1.4 million and the Insight.com Bowl pays $750,000. Truth is, the players don't see a penny of the bowl money, nor does the school's athletic department. At Notre Dame the check goes directly to the university's general fund.

8 -- BCS analysis

Florida State has an on-campus computer geek who provides in-depth analysis of the weekly BCS rankings. Here's guessing Miami, Oklahoma and Washington have similar help.

7 -- NFL bound

There's been no official announcement, but don't be the least bit surprised if junior Quincy Carter made his last appearance at Georgia's Sanford Stadium. An injured Carter didn't play in the regular season-ending loss to Georgia Tech.

6 -- Quote of the week

"A lot of the rumors are started today by the competition. I used to follow coaches (into recruits' homes) and I'd go in at 8:30 and they had been there at 7 o'clock and they had swore to the kid that, 'I know for a fact he's already accepted a contract and he's going to be next head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles or wherever.' It's nothing but a lie."
-- Miami coach Butch Davis on rumors of his imminent departure.

If he thinks it was bad in past years wait until opposing recruiters start making the rounds this week. Davis' name is supposedly in play for at least two NFL jobs, Alabama and who knows where else?

5 -- Heisman Trophy race

Invite to Downtown Athletic Club: Oklahoma's Josh Heupel, Florida State's Chris Weinke, TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson, Northwestern's Damien Anderson, Purdue's Drew Brees.

4 -- The 2001 early Heisman list (amended)

Virginia Tech's Michael Vick (if he leaves, put him on the NFL Rookie of the Year Watch), Michigan's Drew Henson, Auburn's Rudi Johnson, Nebraska's Eric Crouch, UCLA's Freddie Mitchell, Miami's Ken Dorsey, Northwestern's Damien Anderson, Wisconsin's Michael Bennett, Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler and. . . Texas' Chris Simms. Of course, that's only if Major Applewhite doesn't beat him out during the spring and Simms doesn't redshirt.

But after last Friday's 3-touchdown, 383-yard performance against Texas A&M, we like Simms' chances to play in 2001.

3 -- Money sort of well spent

TCU paid huge bucks on its LaDainian Tomlinson Heisman campaign. It was an interesting investment, but in essence, the school spent tens of thousands of dollars for the world's most expensive visit to the Downtown Athletic Club. Tomlinson did his part. He became only the eighth player in NCAA history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. But money couldn't overcome TCU's Charmin-soft schedule and lack of national television exposure.

Barring some miraculous voting results, Tomlinson also will become the third player to rush for 2,000-plus yards and not win the statuette. The others: Iowa State's Troy Davis (he did it twice) and Texas Tech's Byron Hanspard.

2 -- Whatever happened to. . .

. . . to the Nebraska "fan" who recently confronted Cornhusker kicker Josh Brown and called him "a loser."

One hack's weekly elite
Oklahoma (11-0) -- You're pushing it, fellas. Heupel's stats during the last three games: 71-for-116 (61 percent), 665 yards with six interceptions and just three TDs.
Miami (10-1) -- Played like OU in the first quarter of Boston College game, then turned on the afterburners.
Florida State (11-1) -- No team, including Sooners or Canes, finished season hotter than Seminoles.
Washington (10-1) -- Rose Bowl not a bad BCS consolation prize.
Oregon State (10-1) -- Arizona's Tomey says OSU, not Washington, is the best team in the Pac-10 (and look what happened to him).
Florida (9-2) -- Faces Auburn in SEC Championship.
Kansas State (10-2) -- Honey, pack up the Dodge Dart -- we're going to Kansas City! And don't forget the parkas.
Notre Dame (9-2) -- Bob Davie bashers have gone into hibernation.
Nebraska (9-2) -- Big win against Colorado should stop fan unrest. For a week.
Virginia Tech (10-1) -- Carolina on Beamer's mind.
Waiting list: Purdue (8-3), Auburn (9-2), Oregon (9-2), Michigan (8-3), Georgia Tech (9-2).
Honorary Elite: Colorado (moral victories allowed).

Gene Wojciechowski's Movers and Shakers appears every Monday.