Gene Chizik

at No. 1 Florida 62, Charleston Southern 3: Tim Tebow accounted for two touchdowns as the Gators opened a season of great expectations with a nearly perfect performance. at Tennessee 63, Western Kentucky 7: Jonathan Crompton threw five touchdown passes, leading the Volunteers to their largest margin of victory in nine years in Lane Kiffin's coaching debut. at Arkansas 48, Missouri State 10: Dennis Johnson returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Razorbacks set a school record with 447 yards passing.

After 30 years as an assistant coach in the college and pro ranks, Greg Robinson realized his career goal of becoming a head coach by accepting the job at Syracuse. A year to the day after resigning as the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs and after a short, successful stint at Texas, Robinson was introduced Tuesday as the coach of the Orange. Robinson, 53, spent 15 seasons in the college ranks before jumping to the NFL for 14 seasons.

No. 21 Nebraska (3-1) at No. 24 Missouri (4-0) Tonight, 6 PDT, ESPN It's about time the race got started for the Big 12 North title as two of the favorites finally open conference play . . . against each other. Nebraska's only loss was a 16-15 heartbreaker at Virginia Tech, while Missouri's toughest nonconference game, strangely, turned out to be a seven-point win against Bowling Green. The pick: Missouri No. 3 Alabama (4-0) at No. 20 Mississippi (3-1)

Five things to watch this week in college football: 1: Next Sunday's final release of the Bowl Championship Series could swing from predictable if Oregon and Auburn win on Saturday, to dramatic if one or both schools lose. That could send Texas Christian to the BCS title game against Oregon, Auburn or?Stanford? 2: The Civil War. Each of the last two seasons, Oregon State needed only a victory against Oregon to earn its first Rose Bowl berth since the 1964 season. Oregon State lost both times, but now gets the satisfaction of trying to knock Oregon out of the national title and into the Rose Bowl.

Phillip Livas returned a kickoff 97 yards, Daniel Porter rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown and Louisiana Tech won the Independence Bowl by beating Northern Illinois, 17-10, on Sunday in Shreveport, La. It was Louisiana Tech's first postseason win since the 1977 Independence Bowl and the Bulldogs' seventh come-from-behind win of the season in what was essentially a home game. The Bulldogs (8-5), from nearby Ruston, hadn't won eight games since 1999.

Alabama is again in the market for a coach, its fourth in six years, after Athletic Director Mal Moore announced Mike Shula's firing on Monday. Moore said that defensive coordinator Joe Kines would serve as interim coach for the bowl-eligible Crimson Tide. After a 10-2 record in 2005, Alabama had given Shula a six-year contract in May worth $1.55 million per year. The deal extended his contract two years through early 2012, with a raise of $650,000 plus a $200,000 signing bonus.

Texas' Michael Huff is a senior All-American safety. He e-mailed The Times on Saturday, writing about first-year defensive coordinator Gene Chizik and how he and the Longhorn defense have fared against their toughest opponents. * Coach Chizik is a great coach. He has changed our defense a lot. We use a lot of the same schemes as before he was here, but he brings so much extra intensity, enthusiasm and fire. The main thing he preaches is focusing on fundamentals.

Offensive coordinator Steve Axman interviewed with Texas El Paso officials Thursday morning in Westwood for their football coaching vacancy. Axman met with UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull and said he expects the school to make a decision sometime next week. "Every time I've come out of an interview, I always think that I could have done better, but I thought I answered all their questions well," said Axman, in the first year of his second stint as UCLA's coordinator. "I had a pretty good plan..