A man who allegedly was with the man charged with killing University of Connecticut football Jasper Howard, has pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge. Twenty-year-old Hakim Muhammad entered the plea Friday in Rockville Superior Court on a charge of conspiracy to commit assault. Prosecutors say Muhammad, of Bloomfield, Conn., and his friend and co-worker, 21-year-old John William Lomax III, were...

The Game has lost a lot of luster. Ohio State has beaten Michigan five straight times, its best winning streak and the longest in the series since the 1920s. The ninth-ranked Buckeyes (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) have already clinched at least a share of their fifth straight conference title and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson agreed Friday to a one-year extension of his contract, which now runs through 2016. Johnson initially signed a seven-year contract worth about $11 million when he came from Navy before the 2008 season. The school gave him a new seven-year, $17.7 million deal after he led the Yellow Jackets to a surprising nine wins in his debut.

When Toby Gerhart arrived at Stanford in 2006 there was more talk about whether the Cardinal should field a major college football team than about the farfetched possibility of going to the Rose Bowl. Stanford went 1-11 in Gerhart's freshman year under coach Walt Harris, losing eight games by at least 21 points.

Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews has a vivid memory from the Ducks' last trip to Arizona Stadium -- a 34-24 loss to Arizona in 2007. "Their fans rushing the field," Matthews said this week. "We were ranked No. 2 in the nation and we came out on the losing side and it was tough. ... It crushed us as a team." The Ducks were contending for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series...

When Colt McCoy started his first game at Texas in 2006, the second pass of his career was a sign of things to come: a 60-yard touchdown in a rout of North Texas. He still calls it one of his fondest memories at Royal-Memorial Stadium. On Saturday night, McCoy will trot onto the home-field turf for the last time with a chance to grab a record of a lifetime.

Alabama's Rolando McClain, Florida's Brandon Spikes and Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon are once again finalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. South Carolina's Eric Norwood and Texas' Sergia Kindle also are finalists. McClain, Spikes and Weatherspoon were finalists in 2008, when Wake Forest star Aaron Curry took home the award.

The last time TCU played at Wyoming, the Horned Frogs lost. The last time they were 10-0, they lost. Be assured that coach Gary Patterson has reminded his team of that 2007 trip to Laramie, Wyo., where the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs play on Saturday. And the 2003 season when they won their first 10 games before losing at Southern Miss and even 2005, when after winning at Oklahoma to start the season...

Drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round, Brandon Weeden was a starting pitcher all the way. After giving up baseball, the strong-armed right-hander earned perhaps his biggest win as an ace reliever. Weeden, the third-string quarterback for No. 12 Oklahoma State, threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead the Cowboys back from an 11-point deficit for a 31-28 win...

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick plans to make a decision on the future of coach Charlie Weis within days of the season's end. Swarbrick said Thursday that how he made his decision last fall, when he met with Weis three days after the season ended and told him he would be back, would be "fairly representative of the timing" of what he does this year.

Star tailback Jahvid Best is eager to return to the football field after being sidelined by a frightening fall and concussion and has targeted California's season finale as a possible return date. Best gave his first extensive comments Wednesday following the injury that knocked him out and put a scare into his Golden Bears teammates.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez was handed a blue button with "Beat Ohio State" in maize letters when he was introduced as the new leader of college football's winningest program. Rodriguez said earlier this week he has kept the button on his desk. After being asked about the button later by a visitor to his office, Rodriguez had to do some searching.

Colt McCoy left the tiny town of Tuscola with dreams of being Texas' next great quarterback. Lingering below the self-confidence were words that stung his heart. Too small. Too slow. Weak arm. Those were his friends saying that. Great small-town player, they said, but Texas and the Big 12 were places for the big boys, not a player from the lower divisions of high school.

Embattled Florida State coach Bobby Bowden has a high-profile alumnus on his side -- Gov. Charlie Crist. The Republican governor said Wednesday the Seminoles coach has been great for the school and the 80-year-old Bowden deserves respect. Some of Bowden's critics have called on him to retire at the end of the season.

The Black Coaches and Administrators group is looking for creative ways to get more minority football coaches into college jobs. They'll consider almost anything -- more input from college presidents in coaching searches, NCAA help to measure diversity in hiring, advice from Tony Dungy, maybe even a lawsuit.

When Oklahoma State's current senior class arrived on campus, it was with the promise of better days. All that existed at the time were blueprints and drawings of what would be built during a renovation of Boone Pickens Stadium and the dreams of what the team could do on the field. Brick by brick, the stadium blossomed before their eyes.

Clemson's Dabo Swinney got where he is by dreaming big. With his 18th-ranked Tigers so close to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, Clemson's first-year coach won't let the players' hopes for success get in the way of what's important. Swinney tells his players all the time to enjoy their season's journey.

A fourth Tennessee football player has been charged with breaking the law in the last two weeks. Nyshier Oliver is facing a charge of shoplifting. The 18-year-old freshman defensive back was cited at 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 7, a few hours before the Volunteers hosted Memphis. He is scheduled to make a court appearance on Nov.

A bad year for the Kansas Jayhawks just got worse. The school said Tuesday that it is investigating an unspecified personnel issue involving coach Mark Mangino, the national coach of the year two seasons ago. And Mangino -- his team mired in a five-game losing streak -- conceded that he's lost the support of "some people around here." Mangino was not present Monday night when athletic...