Punt

USC quarterback Mitch Mustain apparently just needed a few kicks to move up the depth chart. Mustain, now the Trojans' No. 2 quarterback behind Matt Barkley , said Tuesday that his recent stint working as a punter helped him focus and perform better at his primary position. "Actually having something to do that was at least halfway constructive helped a lot," he said. Mustain is clearly buoyed by his elevated status, which was evident last week when he took most of the second-team snaps during the Trojans' off week.

at No. 2 Texas 38, Colorado 14: Earl Thomas returned an interception 92 yards for a touchdown and Ben Wells recovered a blocked punt for another score to help the Longhorns (5-0 overall, 2-0 in Big 12 Conference) pull away from the Buffaloes (1-4, 0-1) in the second half. Jordan Shipley returned a punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Longhorns. Colt McCoy completed 32 of 39 passes for 265 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Texas, whose 313 yards was its lowest output this season and 200 yards below its average.

. -- Iowa slugged out an ugly win in soggy Happy Valley to upset Penn State for the second straight year. Adrian Clayborn returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and the Hawkeyes beat mistake-prone No. 5 Penn State, 21-10, on Saturday night. A year after a stunning 24-23 win knocked the Nittany Lions out of the national title race, the Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) took down Penn State (3-1, 0-1) again, this time in a drenching rainstorm. "It was a team loss. No one person, or one play lost it," said Penn State Coach Joe Paterno.

at Pittsburgh 27, Navy 14: Dion Lewis and Ray Graham each scored a touchdown and the Panthers (3-0) quickly turned a bizarre failed punt by the Midshipmen (1-2) into a pivotal touchdown. at Syracuse 37, Northwestern 34: Ryan Lichtenstein kicked a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game, giving the Orange (1-2) a win over the Wildcats (2-1) and rookie Coach Doug Marrone his first victory. at South Florida 59, Charleston Southern 0: Quarterback Matt Grothe directed three scoring drives before leaving a victory by the Bulls (3-0)

Are you ready for some football? Not as ready as Roger Goodell is, trust me. You might tire of all the non-football NFL news of the last several weeks, but at least you're not living it. The commissioner must long for the days when "Cable fight" meant trying to get the NFL Network in more households, not trying to pry apart Oakland Raiders coaches. Goodell is fond of saying the NFL is the "ultimate reality show," and who can argue? Not with every other story having to do with Michael Vick coming back, Plaxico Burress going away and Brett Favre doing a little of both.

The Dallas Cowboys were hoping to raise the roof Friday when they unveiled their new stadium. Turns out, they might have to raise the video board, which is in the line of fire for punts. Or the league could be forced to examine its rules immediately. "It's something we're going to have to look at in the next week," Mike Pereira, the NFL's director of officiating, told The Times today. "We need to see if there's anything further we can do to make sure there's equity involved if it happens again."

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints committed so many blunders, not even Reggie Bush's record-tying two punt returns for touchdowns could make up for them in a 30-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. Gus Frerotte passed for 222 yards and a tying touchdown to Bernard Berrian with 7:10 to play, and Ryan Longwell's 30-yard field goal with 13 seconds left gave the Vikings the comeback win.

Part of the reason the Dallas Cowboys wanted Adam "Pacman" Jones was for his dazzling punt returns. Through three games, he's yet to dazzle. Jones has a total of 32 yards on eight returns, an average of 4.0. The longest went 8 yards. He's also fumbled one away. "We have a guy back there that can make things happen," coach Wade Phillips said. "That is an area we need to keep working on to get him loose, to give him an opportunity and for him to get a feel for where we are setting up the blocks and so forth."