10 THINGS TO WATCH

By Matt Hayes

updated 11:43 a.m. ET Nov. 8, 2008

Matt Hayes

Utah and Ball State already won this week to remain unbeaten. On Saturday, the other four perfect teams -- Boise State, Alabama, Texas Tech and Penn State -- try to keep the undefeated six-pack intact.

Ten things to watch this weekend:

1. The Golden Parachutes
We lead this week with the unloved and unemployed. And the unbelievably fortunate.

Where else -- not including, I don't know, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac -- can you get fired for not performing and get a seven-figure parachute? We give you the unfortunate souls, with a combined buyout of $11.85 million:

• Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee ($6 million).
• Tommy Bowden, Clemson ($3.5 million).
• Ron Prince, Kansas State ($1.35 million).
• Tyrone Willingham, Washington ($1 million).

The only difference between the four -- other than the amount of payoffs -- is Bowden gets his dough to play golf. The other three have to play out the season.

One of those three (Willingham) still hasn't won a game. As bad as it has been at Washington -- how about worst-team-in-school-history bad? -- things won't get much better this weekend against struggling Arizona State.

The Sun Devils have lost six in a row since beginning the season with back-to-back victories. But a closer look at those losses shows Sparky has played the four best Pac-10 teams (it's all relevant, people) over the last month.

It has come to this for Washington: The unholy weekend that will be the Apple Cup is Ty's last chance at victory -- and the Huskies' last chance to avoid their first winless season since 1890.

2. Seven more figures
Kodi Burns says he feels better in the Auburn offense than he has all season. He's excited, he's confident, he's ready to lead the Tigers to 40-plus points against the big, bad Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks.

Meanwhile, Aubie coach Tommy Tuberville is one loss to either Georgia or Alabama -- or, heaven forbid, the Skyhawks -- from joining the Golden Parachute Club. You think $11.85 million is bad, wait until the Auburn Board of Trustees peels off $6 million to get rid of Tubs.

That's $17.85 million for five coaches to not coach. What a gig.

3. Big man, big impact
Apparently, the Great Wall of Cody is ready to play. That can't be good news for LSU.

No. 1 Alabama at LSU Great of Wall of Cody returns for 'Bama Alabama players sick over last year's game Saban returns to LSU with top-ranked rival Glier: Alabama can ugly their way to title Predictions 101: No. 1 Alabama will survive

And the Tigers were concerned about Nick Saban returning to the Bayou? Now that nose tackle Terrence Cody is ready to play again after missing the last three weeks with a knee sprain, Alabama is ready to play like it did earlier this season.

It's no coincidence that the Tide looked very beatable the last three weeks (even with two easy wins) without Mount Cody. He's impossible to block in the middle, and can force LSU quarterbacks to make plays.

And I think we all know what happens when the LSU quarterbacks are forced to win games (see: Florida, Georgia).

4. No finer whiner
I don't get it. Every year we go through this dance of what if this team loses and this team doesn't? Because this team is better than that team, and because this team's loss isn't nearly as bad as that team's loss.

It's enough already. Patience, people. It all works out in the end -- and if it doesn't, that's what college football is all about: arguing.

Somehow, calm, cool Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll got caught up in the mess this week. And this is what I don't understand.

I hope everyone understands that should Oregon State win out -- at UCLA, California, at Arizona, Oregon -- the Beavers (not USC) win the Pac-10 and the league's automatic spot in the BCS.

So not only is USC battling human and computer polls, it needs someone to beat Oregon State. Because how in the world could the No. 2 team in the No. 5 BCS conference play for the national title?

5. The Wildman of West Texas
True story: Texas Tech has about 7-10 plays on offense.

Really, it does. But genius coach Mike Leach uses so many different formations to free up receivers and isolate mismatches, it looks like 100.

"Instead of doing a bunch of things decent," Leach says. "What not do a few things perfect?"

Sounds good to me. Unfortunately, perfect ends here.

I'll take Oklahoma State tailback Kendall Hunter and a ball control offense to throw the Big 12 into a bigger mess than it already is. Ah, sweet chaos.

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