• Haters be hatin', but these are some powerful haters. Florida State has lost two in a row to unranked teams, has a losing record in October for the first time since 1976, sits at 0-2 in the ACC for the first time ever, and the vultures circling Bobby Bowden's tattered tenure in Tallahassee are beginning to swoop in for the kill. There have always been the anti-Bobby blogs, of course, but the weekend brought out the bigger guns -- the Tallahassee Democrat decided Sunday it was time to call for the old coach to be put out for pasture at year's end, and the chair of the university's Board of Trustees called up the paper to say, publicly, that he completely agrees:

"My hope is frankly that we’ll go ahead, and if we have to, let the world know that this year will be the end of the Bowden Era,” said Smith, who has served as Secretary of State, Chief of Staff in the Governor’s Office and State Attorney General. "… I do appreciate what he’s done for us, what he’s done for the program, what’s he done really for the state of Florida.
[...]
"But I think the record will show that the Seminole Nation has been more than patient. We have been in a decline not for a year or two or three but I think we’re coming up on seven or eight. I think enough is enough."

New university president + Bigwig booster/trustee calling for a coach's head in the newspaper = said coach's head on a platter by December, every time. Barring a full-scale turnaround and an extremely unlikely ACC championship, every meeting of boosters, alumni, administrators, media, fans and local crows will be devolve into a civil war if Bowden is back in 2010.

The civilized course of action, with a succession plan already in place in the form of offensive coordinator/coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher, is to let Bowden gracefully "resign" after the finale with Florida, since there's a good chance this was going to be his last season, anyway, and have a final go-round in the bowl game (if there is a bowl game, which is not the certainty it's been for the last 30 years). But if Florida State's not headed to a BCS game, this is Bowden's last Christmas in the boss' chair. When the majority of a beleaguered fan base is nodding along with the chief trustee, you can book it.

• Hasta la vista, Juice. Ron Zook said on Sunday that he considered benching four-year starter Juice Williams during Illinois' 35-17 home loss to Penn State, in the midst of a 22-possession streak without an Illini touchdown. He didn't, hoping for a "spark" that hadn't been present at any point this season, but after watching the film and attempting to sleep on one of the hottest seats in the country, Zook decided he doesn't have a choice:

Illinois coach Ron Zook has benched four-year starting quarterback Juice Williams and replaced him with junior Eddie McGee, making a major shakeup on a team that has been a major disappointment this season.

Zook announced the move on his morning radio show Monday, stressing that he doesn't blame Williams alone for the Illini's 1-3 start, but saying he thinks McGee can give the team a spark.

Thus relegating the school's all-time leader in total offense to the bench for the rest of his senior year. Juice could help out at running back or receiver, but the learning curve for a player who hasn't played or regularly practiced either of those positions in three -and-a-half years is a little steep for a team that needs instant help.

Juice has been stagnant as a passer since the impressive sophomore leap from his train-wreck debut as a true freshman in 2006, and actually seems to have regressed this year (zero touchdowns until the fourth quarter of Saturday's blowout, compared to four interceptions), but his feet might be missed more than his legs: McGee has played and has always been considered Williams' equal as a passer, but probably isn't good for another 50 yards per game on the ground.

• Welcome to the Quarterback Ward. Other notable starters are resigning from the lineup for health reasons: Both Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis and Hawaii quarterback Greg Alexander, who was leading the nation in passing yards and efficiency before getting knocked out of last Wedneday's loss at Louisiana Tech, are done for the season with ligament damage in their foot and knee, respectively. After a 3-0 start, my alma mater is officially falling apart at the seams: USM lost to UAB last Thursday for the first time in a decade of conference rivalry without offensive stars Damion Fletcher and DeAndre Brown; Davis' exit might submarine a very promising season for good.

In less definitive injured quarterback news, Texas Tech QB Taylor Potts was knocked out of the Raiders' win over New Mexico with a concussion, and his return for Saturday's game with Kansas State is not looking good. And Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who didn't suit up for the second half of the Ducks' rout over Washington State, is "day to day" with a knee injury, putting his status at UCLA Saturday up in the air.

Quickly ... Local columnist John Rohde defends Bob Stoops' (former) rep as "Big Game Bob." ... Jim Leavitt thinks the Big East is tough. How tough? Really frickin' tough, ok? ... Charles Scott's winning touchdown run in Athens has some Georgia fans feeling nostalgic, if that's the word for last-second misery. ... And I'm sorry, but I still can't get over the Houston-UTEP box score. I was blind most of Sunday morning.