• This day in Brycemania: The man speaks. Bryce Brown -- nation's top-ranked recruit and longtime Miami commit -- broke his self-imposed isolation to talk to Rivals' Jeremy Crabtree on Tuesday, and Miami fans are rightfully hyperventilating:

Officially, Brown remains a Miami commitment. But these lines, in particular, don't sound like the enthusiastic musings of a future 'Cane:

On Oregon: "Oregon is the place I really just see myself at. At night, I try to imagine myself at each school, and you know, when I think about Oregon, I go to sleep, and I feel like that's the place for me."

On new Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple: "Inside, something tells me his philosophy, how he does things, is not really what I like."

Unless the kid is a completely unpredictable flake, which is always possible given the company he keeps (or maybe he just doesn't like riding buses). His last campus visit -- to USC, from the sound of it -- will be a few days later than expected.

• Speaking of Oregon running backs ... Even if you didn't see much of the Ducks last year, you might remember LeGarrette Blount from December's Holiday Bowl:

That was Blount's 17th touchdown run of the seasons, put him over 1,000 yards and might have vaulted the hyped JUCO transfer into vaguely All-American territory this fall -- if he makes it that far. Blount was suspended indefinitely Tuesday, along with Duck linebacker Terrance Pritchett, both for "failure to fulfill team obligations." Since there's no mention of an arrest, most likely, that means academic obligations: Blount has long been rumored to be struggling in (or perhaps getting to) the classroom, and Pritchett was suspended for two games last year before temporarily withdrawing from school (he returned for the bowl game).

The earlier a "suspension" is announced, though, the better chance a player has of returning in time for fall. If either kid is eligible to be back by the summer, he probably will be.

• Is ABC worried Texas Tech won't be any good? ABC got a classic with last year's undefeated vs. undefeated tilt between Texas and Texas Tech on Nov. 1, but why wait for lightning to strike twice: Tech's visit to Austin this fall has been moved from Nov. 7 to Sept. 19 at the network's request, before the preseason hype has time to thaw (especially, I suspect, on a much more average Raider outfit than the one that prevailed in the '08 thriller).

As part of the deal, UT swapped its date with Central Florida to Nov. 7. And the Longhorns' game with Texas A&M will be a Thanksgiving affair again, despite last year's snoozer.

Quickly ... 20-year-old Austin College player Zach Swirczynski collapsed and died Monday during a pickup basketball game following offseason workouts at the Division III school north of Dallas. ... Ex-South Carolina quarterback Tommy Beecher is transferring to Jerry Falwell U, aka Liberty. ... 20 years after he left UCLA for the NFL, Troy Aikman is getting his degree. ... The award for the best (probably false) recruiting tale goes to the L.A. Daily News' Scott Wolf. ... And why won't the headline writers of Pennsylvania think of the children?