Ah, the month of October.

The beginning of fall. The end of another baseball season.

And for some reason (maybe it’s just human nature), even if we haven’t been paying attention to Major League Baseball for the past six months, we huddle around the TV this time every year and zone in on a month-long run of postseason action.

Of course, there are plenty of you out there who rather stick to their network-series dramas, Thursday night sitcoms and non-stop 2008 presidential election news (which, like the rest of the political junkies, has put me on a regular diet of MSNBC and CNN coverage for the past two months).

Yet after hours with Chris Matthews and Wolf Biltzer (and you can only take so much after awhile), I’ve managed to watch enough postseason action to realize once again that baseball in October is just that much more exciting than in April, May, June, July, August and September.

It’s pretty simple. Because when the stakes are raised, there’s something just a little bit more exciting about baseball.

Baseball fans hear it all the time: “Baseball? How can you watch that? It’s so boring…”

That may be true for the first six months of the season, but in October, it all changes.

The same goes for the NBA playoffs and even the Stanley Cup finals (to a lesser degree).

Some years, admittedly, the postseason is better than others, and with no New York baseball in the playoffs this year, things probably seem a little out of place.

Even so, the defending champion Red Sox, who might as well be the new Yankees of baseball these days, are back in the hunt. So in the scheme of things, all is not completely out of wack this October.

But for the sake of TV ratings, no one here at FOX would be too thrilled about seeing Tampa Bay and Milwaukee square off in the World Series, and yet anything’s possible.

Of course, now that many of us have transitioned into baseball mode for the next few weeks, we also forget that the college football season is almost halfway over.

Yes, believe it or not, it’s Week 6 of the 2008 campaign and what have we learned so far?

Well, to be quite honest, after seeing three national champion contenders go down last weekend, I don't think we'll seeing anymore pundits consider any one team a favorite to win it all this year.

Yes, USC’s loss to Oregon State was more shocking than Florida's heartbreaker to Ole Miss, but the display that Alabama put on last Saturday in Athens, Ga., has the Crimson Tide as a legitimate national title contender now.

And who would have thought that in Nick Saban’s second year in Tuscaloosa?  

Not this guy.

For that, though, Saban has to be commended for turning things around so quickly.

I mean, we thought this would eventually happen, but this soon?

No way (José).

I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Anyway, in another month, I’ll be having even more fun with the college basketball season making its return.

So with not much time to go, I’m going to make more of an effort to get back to discussing some college hoops over the next month while we continue to watch the college football season unfold.

Because at this juncture, there’s no point in figuring out who will be this year’s BCS national champ. The landscape, for one, is a complete jumbled mess with Oklahoma and Alabama at the top.

Therefore, we shouldn’t even begin to think about crunching the numbers and letting the computers decide who will play on Jan. 8 in Miami — that fun gets started on Oct. 19 when the first BCS standings are released.

But it’s time for me (and hopefully some of you) to at least start thinking about college hoops a little more.

Syracuse Jim Boeheim, in particular, has to have some high hopes for this upcoming season after hearing that sharpshooter Eric Devendorf was granted an extra year of eligibility.

Devendorf, who missed 25 of the Orangemen’s 35 games last season with a torn ACL, will be recognized during the 2008-09 season as a junior (but academically ranks as a senior) and should provide a big boost for Boeheim after the loss of Donte Greene to the NBA ranks in June.

For UConn coach Jim Calhoun, however, the loss of highly-touted freshman Nate Miles could be even bigger.

The 6-foot-6 wing was expelled this week after violating a restraining order just 16 minutes after it was issued by assaulting a female student that he had begun dating in September.

One month into school and Calhoun already has a problem — should I be surprised?

Either way, while the Huskies will ultimately feel the loss of Miles this season, Calhoun’s squad will still be one of the top programs in the country with the return of 7-foot-2 center Hasheem Thabeet, power forward Jeff Adrien and a host of guards, including senior point man A.J. Price, two-guard Jerome Dyson and sixth-man Craig Austrie.

Furthermore, Calhoun still has two talented freshman guards at his disposal in Kemba Walker and Scottie Haralson, and with the two coming on board this season, the Huskies could be back in the Final Four picture after last year’s stunning loss to San Diego in the first round of the tourney.

Of course, after the off-the-court issues we’ve recently seen at UConn — from Dyson’s failed drug test and suspension last season to Miles’ expulsion this week — nothing’s ever certain under Calhoun’s eye.

Well, for those of you who weren’t convinced that West Virginia’s national championship hopes were finished last weekend after a 24-3 loss to East Carolina in Charlotte, N.C., you finally have confirmation now.

Thanks to a 17-14 loss on national television Thursday night in Boulder, Colo., senior signal caller Pat White and the No. 21-ranked (not for long) Mountaineers won’t have to worry about playing in Miami Jan. 8 for the BCS national championship.

Hell, they’ll be lucky if they’re even playing in a BCS bowl game this season.

That, after all, would require winning the Big East championship, and after the way you saw the Mountaineers’ offense operate against the Buffaloes, an up-and-coming team in the unpredictable Big 12 North, I wouldn’t be so sure that a conference opponent (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Pitt or USF?) won’t hand WVU another loss later this year.

"There is a lot of heartache in that locker room," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said following the loss. "But they'll grow and get better and I thank the seniors for being such great leaders. It was a fantastic effort they gave and I'm just sorry that they came up short."

But at the Division I level, effort only counts for so much. Rather, it simply comes down to wins and losses.

And at this rate, don’t count on the Mountaineers taking out Auburn Oct. 23 when the Tigers travel to the Mountain State for another Thursday night clash on national TV.

Because to be quite honest with you, Stewart might be the most clueless head coach I’ve ever seen.

If you thought Karl Dorrell was bad UCLA fans, you might not have seen the worst.

Stewart, in fact, just might top them all.

For one, his clock management skills at the end of the game couldn't even pass at the Junior College level, and furthermore, the guy’s play-calling is absolutely horrendous.

I really don’t know if I’ve ever seen a coach mismanage a game worse than Stewart.

And when it comes to the play-calling, you don’t have to look any further than West Virginia’s lone offensive possession in overtime.

With some strong running from White and lighting-quick tailback Noel Devine, the Mountaineers did a nice job moving the ball against a stingy Colorado defense that made it tough for a WVU offense to break loose all night long.

Yet when WVU was faced with a third down and one from the 3-yard line, Stewart elected not to put Devine, who was having issues with his helmet, back on the field.

Instead, Stewart, after calling a timeout, elected to hand the ball off to Jock Sanders on a power sweep off the left side, which was sniffed out by the Colorado defense, leaving the Mountaineers short of the first-down marker.

But with the game on the line, why wasn’t Devine in the backfield?

Yes, his helmet was malfunctioning, but couldn’t a teammate, possibly Sanders or someone else on the sidelines, have loaned their helmet to Devine for one more play?

Even more, why was Stewart running the ball to the left side of the field rather than straight up the middle?

It’s another puzzling coaching move that ultimately cost WVU the game as Pat McAfee buckled under the pressure and somehow managed to miss a chip shot (23-yard field goal), tagging the left upright with his kick and leaving the door wide open for Colorado to march down on its overtime possession and seal the deal with a 25-yard field goal from Aric Goodman.

"I feel sorry for Patrick McAfee," Stewart said afterward. "I don't know what happened with the hold or the kick, but the ball just hit the upright."

The only thing that Stewart should really be sorry for is his coaching ability.

I guess we now know why West Virginia president Michael Garrison and the entire administration didn’t want Rich Rodriguez to leave last December when Lloyd Carr stepped down at Michigan.

Still, the administration didn’t have to hire Rodriguez’s knucklehead assistant, who is quickly showing why he’s not worthy of the job and why many questioned the move after Rodriguez had taken the program to new heights during his seven-year stint in Morgantown.

If so, the Mountaineers might not be sitting at 1-2 with their season already bound to be a disappointment.

"We came out here to get us a win and we fell short and I hate that very, very much," the first-year coach asserted.

The Buffaloes, meanwhile, are sitting pretty with a perfect 3-0 mark, albeit a Homecoming beat down could be coming in a couple of weeks when Texas comes to town, followed by a tough trip over to Lawrence, Kan., for a date with the Jayhawks.

“I think that they believe and that’s a critical component to anything,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said with regard to his young and improving team. “I think they totally believe in what we’re doing and why we do it, and that is huge. That confidence will grow.”

They’ll need that confidence to grow even more for next weekend’s battle in Jacksonville against Florida State.

But they’re in a lot better shape than Stewart or Rodriguez, whose Wolverines have also dropped to 1-2 after Notre Dame’s pummeling in South Bend last weekend.

With that in mind, interesting times lie ahead for both coaches, and whether we’ll be lucky enough to see Stewart finish out the season before fans start calling for his head will continue to be a mystery.

After last night’s loss, though, the thought has had to have crept into more than just a few WVU fans’ minds by now.

Because if they have to watch any more of what I witnessed Thursday night against Colorado, they’ll be quickly losing their minds by season’s end.

So what is it about quarterbacks named Ben just not knowing when it call it quits on their collegiate careers?

First it was UCLA's Ben Olson, who's now rehabbing from his second broken foot in the last two months and hoping to make a return to the field before his fifth and final season runs out.

And now it's Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk, who is appealing for the fourth time the NCAA's decision to not grant him an extra year of eligibility.

There's no question that Mauk is a quality quarterback — just look at the numbers if you don't believe me.

After suffering arm and shoulder injuries at Wake Forest in 2006, the guy threw for 31 touchdowns and over 3,100 yards last season, leading the Bearcats to a No. 17 ranking in the final AP poll.

But has he not gotten the message? Does he not understand that the NCAA has made up its mind on this one?

While I commend Mauk for his bravery and persistence in challenging the NCAA's ruling again and again, at some point you have to cut your losses.

That point, unfortunately, is now.

After all, if the NCAA already rejected his three earlier appeals, what's going to change their mind this time around?

Whatever Mauk brings to the table, it better be some pretty convincing evidence.

That evidence is in regard to a foot injury that he sustained during his freshman season at Wake Forest, and while the NCAA works this weekend to review the new information that's been submitted to them, I find it hard to see Mauk taking snaps under center in a Cincy uniform next week. Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, in fact, hasn't even allowed Mauk to attend practice this summer in fear of violating NCAA rules and costing his team wins and potential bowl money.

Thus, it's time to let this one rest, Ben. It's time to move on to the next point in your life, whether it contains football or not.

Because as the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," and for Mauk, that just happens to be now.

For instance, after dislocating his kneecap last week in practice, USC starting quarterback Mark Sanchez says he's feeling "optimistic" about playing in the Trojans' season opener at Virginia on Aug. 30.

"I'm optimistic about it, we're ahead of schedule," he said on Monday. "Everything [sic] felt good. That's a good sign. If it were up to me, I'm playing. [But] I want to be ready for the whole season. It's a marathon, not a sprint."

And he's right.

If I were Sanchez, I wouldn't be in any rush to start against the Cavaliers with a perfectly good backup in Mitch Mustain. I mean, he did win eight straight starts as a true freshman at Arkansas after all, and remember, we're talking about victories over SEC foes like Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi and South Carolina.

That's not too shabby for a guy that didn't even get a crack at LSU and Florida, either (Houston Nutt probably wishes now that he let him).

So sure, Sanchez has a reason to be anxious. He wants to show that he's USC's No. 1 quarterback after he and Mustain battled all throughout the spring in what became one of the bigger college football stories during this offseason.

Because with no more John David Booty, the question on USC fans minds as the Trojans won the Rose Bowl last year was who will Pete Carroll hand the torch to next?

His previous quarterbacks in Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Booty have all recorded spectacular numbers in addition to leading their teams to national and conference championships, so who would the Trojans call on next to do the same?

For Carroll, that guy is Sanchez.

And it still will be even if the junior sits the first game out and leaves it to Mustain to take care of business against a team that shouldn't pose any threat to USC's speed, swarming defense and crisp passing game.

"It's painful to try to flex it too much, bend it all the way," Sanchez further offered. "It's more uncomfortable than anything. The swelling is mostly gone. For me to play against Virginia, I've got to be back Monday or Tuesday of next week. It's very possible. I can't not practice all week, do my rehab, fly to Virginia and play. I'll say Tuesday at the latest.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to play. That's the way I've got to look at it. We'll be fine either way."

Carroll should know that. The Trojans might be playing 2, 500 miles away from home, but they're in a whole different league when it comes to playing a team like Virginia, who finished last season at 9-4 overall after losses to arch-rival Virginia Tech and Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl.

And with some smart scheduling by Carroll to give the Trojans a bye week after returning from Charlottesville, Va., Sanchez should have enough time to get ready for USC's big Sept. 13 date with Ohio State at the Coliseum — a game that's got national championship indications written all over it in the third week of the season.

"He's getting close," Carroll said with regard to Sanchez's return. "We'll see what happens. He's on course to make a recovery by next week."

So if the Trojans want to beat the Buckeyes in front of their hometown faithful and preserve a chance at winning a national title in 2008, they might be best going with their No. 2 guy even if Sanchez says he's ready to go on game day.

After all, shouldn't we be letting the doctors make that call?

Here's a funny thought: UCLA has a starting quarterback for its season opener before USC does.

Well, it's not like Rick Neuheisel had much of a choice.

The Bruins, if you forgot, are without Patrick Cowan (torn ACL) and gimpy backup Ben Olson (broken foot), leaving Neuheisel to pick from two redshirts: junior Kevin Craft and freshman Chris Forcier.

But so far it's been Craft who has impressed Neuheisel the most, naming the JUCO transfer the Bruins' starter for their season opener at home against No. 18 Tennessee in what could be an early-season eyesore (bloodbath?) in Pasadena.

"He's earned it with his consistent play and he has the best mastery of the offense at this point," the first-year head coach said.

Neuheisel, after all, was a quarterback himself at UCLA before going on to coaching.

So between him and offensive coordinator Norm Chow, you'd imagine that the Bruins will be able to get things right sooner or later this season.

Still, it's going to take a few bumps in the road through the first half of 2008 before that progress begins to shine through.

Neuheisel understands that, and Craft could just happen to be the guy to do it.

Between his days at Mt. San Antonio Junior College and San Diego State, he has the experience to know what it will take to make the Bruins a contender in the Pac-10.

Whether he'll put what he's learned in practice to use in the games, we'll just have to wait and see...

Since we're talking about quarterbacks, we might as well bring up the Ben Mauk saga and the issues that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is facing right now a week before the week..

Most of those issues, of course, point directly to Mauk, who claims he deserves another year of eligibility after lost playing time while he was at Wake Forest.

And now he's gone so far as to sue the NCAA less than a week after his final appeal for extended eligibility was rejected.

"Despite being a model student-athlete (and person) for the NCAA and despite having earned the NCAA significant revenues, the NCAA hsa wrongfully, arbitarily and capriciously denied Mr. Mauk's request to participate in a fourth year of athletic competition for reasons completely beyond Mr. Mauk's control," the lawsuit states.

But even with Hardin County Judge William Hart granting a temporary restraining order on the NCAA to allow Mauk to practice with the Bearcats, Kelly isn't taking any chances by letting the senior take snaps under center.

"That's ludicrous to even think that we would put him on the field and put our football team in harm's way," he told The Cincinnati Enquirer.

As Kelly knows, the Bearcats would be forced to forfeit games and give bowl money if they were to let an ineligible player participate.

At this point, though, with the NCAA already having rejected two of the quarterback's appeals and turned him down during a visit to the association's reinstatement committee, you can bet that it's a hopeless act of faith for Mauk.

At least Dustin Grutza, back in his starting QB spot after losing it to Mauk last year, sure hopes so.

Grutza isn't the only one relishing his No. 1 spot on the depth chart.

Senior Stephen McGee is also enjoying the pronouncement last week of his starting quarterback role at Texas A&M.

"Everybody wants to play," he said. "I want to play football for as long as I possibly can. I'm excited to be in the huddle again."

McGee can expect not only to be in the huddle, but also to be airing it out to his receivers this fall.

While the spread option was what former coach Dennis Franchione stuck by during his tenure with the Aggies, new head man Mike Sherman's pro-style offense is something that's resonated a lot more with McGee's style of play.

"In the end, Stephen was the most consistent," Sherman said. "It was day-to-day stuff going back to the spring. I tried to be oblivious to last year. I wanted to see what he could do."

For Sherman, it was enough to name him the starter after McGee failed to throw an interception in fall workouts.

Don't think, though, that if McGee can't get the job done Sherman won't look elsewhere for help.

"Nothing is just set in stone, other than the fact that he is the starter in the first ball game," Sherman admitted.

But with McGee gaining more confidence and growing to like Sherman's new offensive system more and more throughout fall camp, he could be starting the 11 — and potentially 12 — games remaining on the Aggies' schedule this season.

And luckily for McGee, it would be all fun and games then.

Joe Paterno is 81-years-old, but he's still knows something about discipline and character.

Just ask Penn State defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor, who were kicked off the school's football team Wednesday by Paterno.

While no information was provided as to why they were dismissed, both Baker and Taylor had a history of off-the-field problems during their playing days in State College, Pa.

Last year, the two were involved in off-field fights and had to be suspended for a game by the school and Paterno.

Then in May, Baker earned two years of probation in Centre County court for his role in two separate fights, yet was still allowed to work out with the team in preparation for the 2008 campaign.

Taylor, on the hand, received one year of probation for his role in a separate campus fight and wasn't expected to rejoin the Nittany Lions (9-4 overall, 4-4 Big Ten in 2007) until Aug. 16, just two weeks before Penn State's season opener vs. Coastal Carolina at home.

Despite handing down the dismisals, Paterno had said last week that no final decision had been made on the players' status for the regular season, but now a decision has been made, and the Nittany Lions will be moving into a new season without Taylor or Baker.

I guess when it came down to it, their play on the field didn't outweigh their off-the-field antics.

Taylor, after all, recorded 20 tackles (12 solo), three sacks and two fumble recoveries in 2007, while Baker finished with 37 tackles (16 solo) and 4.5 sacks in 12 games.

Maybe, though, Paterno is trying to send a message to his team and more importantly, to those treasured alumni and boosters.

Thanks to a report from ESPN's "Outside the Lines" this week, 46 Penn State football players had criminal charges filed against them since 2002 and 27 have either pleaded guilty or were convicted.

That's not exactly the kind of track record that JoePa wants to be remembered for when he finally does call it quits — whenever that may be — but don't expect a resignation any time soon.

"I don't know," the legendary coach said about the timing of his retirement at Big Ten Media Day. "I don't know. Let me spell it. I, D-O-N-T, and final — I don't know. How many times can I say it?"

Well, once would have been enough for me, Joe.

Well folks, it's seems like we keep seeing the same stories pop up every day or two, and unfortunately there aren't many other headlines to discuss, so this is what we've got to work with at the moment.

And for that you can thank Joe Mazzulla and Cameron Thoroughman, two members of West Virginia's basketball team who were arrested Monday night for underage drinking and fighting with police at PNC Park during a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game.

According to the criminal report, the incident started after police smelled alcohol on the two players and asked to see their IDs. But when the officers requested identification, Mazzulla and Thoroughman both began arguing with them.

Thoroughman, for one, said that he did not have his ID with him, but police say that he lied about his age and even threatened a security guard. It wasn't long before, though, that he was tossed to the ground after refusing to put his hands behind his back.

Mazzulla, meanwhile, thought it would be good idea while his teammate and friend getting handcuffed to shake things up by throwing a punch at the police sergeant (did Bob Huggins teach them that move in practice?).

Anyway, the 6-foot-2 junior from Johnston, R.I., who helped lead the Mountaineers to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament this past year, was charged with aggravated assault, hindering apprehension and underage drinking, while Thoroughman, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Portsmouth, Ohio, was cited for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and underage drinking.

Of course, what else do you expect from a Bob Huggins program after what went down at Cincinnati through the mid-90s and then Kansas State less than two years ago.

Well, in case you forgot...

Over his 16 years at Cincinnati, Huggins graduated roughly 30 percent of his players. In 1998, the Bearcats were placed on probation for lack of institutional control.

In August of 2005, Cincinnati president Nancy L. Zimpher forced Huggins to resign, claiming that his program did not fit in accordance with the school's academic plan. But the other reason that Zimpher wanted Huggins out was his DUI conviction in 2004.

After taking a year off from coaching yet still staying busy on the recruiting trail (Huggins was close with O.J. Mayo, Bill Walker and Michael Beasley throughout their high school basketball careers), he returned to the sidelines in 2006 to take over a struggling Kansas State program. While the Wildcats finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 23-12 overall record, the team fell short of an NCAA Tournament berth before Huggins would abruptly leave Manhattan, Kan., for a chance to take over at his alma mater, West Virginia. But what transpired in a matter of days left many KSU fans disgusted and bitter at the longtime coach for giving up on their program so quickly.

With that said, I think that's all you need to know about Huggins at this point.

In other college basketball news...

Jordan Crawford is the second Indiana recruit to transfer to Xavier in the last three months after accepting a scholarship with the Musketeers Monday.

As a freshman in Bloomington, Ind., Crawford averaged 9.7 points and 2.3 assists and will join Terrell Holloway, a highly-touted talent from Harmony Prep School in Cincinnati who initially committed to the Hoosiers but then went against his decision when coach Kelvin Sampson resigned amid his infamous phone-call recruiting scandal.

In the meantime, let's wish the best of luck to first-year Indiana head coach Tom Crean because after all, he's sure going to need it with Kyle Taber standing as his only returning player.