Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden didn't wait to see a police report before suspending five wide receivers for their role in a midweek campus brawl.
Taiwan Easterling, Richard Goodman, Cameron Wade, Bert Reed and Corey Surrency sat out Saturday's game. And the Seminoles missed them, losing to Boston College, 21-17, at Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida State (7-3 overall, 4-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) needs to win out in league play and Wake Forest would have to lose to give the Seminoles a chance at winning the ACC's Atlantic Division and qualify for the conference title game.
But for now, Florida State has other matters to worry about.
Nineteen players have been held out of games this season, mostly for academic reasons. The Seminoles are also awaiting the NCAA's response on sanctions from a 2007 academic cheating scandal.
"If I'm sitting up there [at NCAA headquarters] in Indianapolis looking at this, I'd say 'Those guys down there aren't taking this thing very serious,' " said Jim Smith, a former Florida attorney general who chairs the school's board of trustees.
JoePa getting hip?
After spending the last seven weeks coaching from the press box, Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said he may have hip replacement surgery after the regular season.
The No. 7 Nittany Lions' (10-1) regular-season finale is Saturday against No. 18 Michigan State, with Penn State probably earning an invitation to the Rose Bowl with a win.
"I'm probably going to have to get something done with this thing," Paterno said.
Paterno has coached from the press box since Penn State's Sept. 27 home win over Illinois. He was injured while demonstrating an onside kick in a practice two days before the season started. Since then, he has monitored practice from a golf cart and walks with a cane.
Paterno's contract ends after this season and school President Graham Spanier has been noncommittal about the coach's future.
Paterno brushed off a question of whether he thinks the next game might be his final one at Beaver Stadium.
"Haven't even thought about it," said Paterno, who has coached at Penn State for 43 years.
Playoff backer
It may not be exactly his top priority, but President-elect Barack Obama said he will push to create a college football playoff to determine a national champion.
