Making the morning rounds.

• Choose your late night cruising friends wisely. As suggested by his quick release and ongoing status as "Tennessee football player" when his alleged accomplices were summarily booted from the team earlier this month, Vol safety Janzen Jackson has been effectively cleared of armed robbery charges by Knox County prosecutors, who dropped charges against Jackson and the alleged getaway driver in the high profile stick-up. The investigation determined that neither Jackson nor the driver not only didn't have any advanced knowledge of a robbery, but were still unaware anything had gone down when they started to pull out of the parking lot.

Legal clearance opens the door for the hyped freshman's official return to the roster, possibly in time for a bowl game. Booted teammates Nu'Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards, meanwhile, are scheduled for preliminary hearings this morning on felony counts; the driver will still face charges for marijuana possession. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]

• Wolverine arrested, not charged. Even with a strong vote of confidence from his athletic director, this isn't exactly what Rich Rodriguez needed hours after capping a seven-game conference losing streak with a lopsided loss to Ohio State: An unnamed Michigan football player was arrested for sexual assault Sunday morning on a complaint at a campus party. There are enough details -- the player is 18, a freshman who didn't play at all this year but was apparently expected to start in 2010 -- that Wolverine fans can probably guess the alleged culprit. Note, though, that no formal charges have been filed. [AnnArbor.com]

• No "that's a lot of twinkies" jokes, please. Following Notre Dame's lead, "sources who have been briefed on the financial details" of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen's contract told the Washington Post Sunday that Fridge's $4 million buyout won't save him from the chopping block on the heels of by far the worst season of his nine-year tenure. The Terps went down 29-26 Saturday at Florida State, their sixth straight loss and a possible prelude to the first 10-loss season in school history with another flop against Boston College in this weekend's finale. [Washington Post]

• This is not what we meant by "slingin' it." Along with his hair, ridiculous fashion sense, insistence on the deep ball and generally off-kilter flair, Miami quarterback Jacory Harris has wormed his way into out hearts despite (and in some sense, even because of) his status as the most interception-prone quarterback in the country. After this weekend, the cult of Jacory may also admire the sophomore's talent for pranking reporters: After passing for a career-high 348 yards with two touchdowns in a 34-16 win over Duke, Harris showed up to the postgame press conference wearing a sling on his throwing arm -- for no reason whatsoever. 'Cane coach Randy Shannon assured the room his quarterback -- who did play with a sore thumb under a layer of tape -- was "fine" and just "getting some of you guys." [Associated Press]

Quickly ... Oklahoma is probably headed for the Sun Bowl, which seems pretty generous at this point. ... Mike Leach says no way is he leaving Texas Tech any time soon. ... Charlie Weis' name still carries weight with the Kansas City Chiefs, apparently. ... And when did Mark Mangino get so nice all of a sudden?