• I'm beginning to sense a theme ... And that theme is good old-fashioned suspension: The Big Ten spent September suspending players on a weekly basis for mildly dirty hits, the non-FloraBama story in the SEC the last two weeks has been its suspension of a controversial officiating crew, and when Lane Kiffin complained about the refs in Tennessee's loss at Alabama last weekend, the league threatened him with suspension on his next strike. Now the Pac-10 has joined the craze by suspending an unidentified official for failing to call a "blatant and dangerous" facemask on a gratuitous end zone hit by USC's Taylor Mays Saturday night against Oregon State's James Rodgers:

With the precedent set for player suspensions by the Big Ten, I'm surprised the Pac-10 didn't target Mays himself, who has made the vicious head shot over the middle something of a calling card. The conference made one good move in failing to name the official deemed to be at fault (members of the suspended SEC crew were bombarded with hate mail after their turn in the Florida-Arkansas game), but I'll restate my position: Once you go public with reprimands and suspensions, you'd better be prepared to apply it on a regular basis.

(On a somewhat lighter note, this is the second year in a row one of OSU's Rodgers Brothers has ended a play against USC with the ball but without a helmet.)

• Da Coach O donnalakda refree biyas! Since official-bashing is the order of the day, and since his head coach is already skating on thin ice where public criticism is concerned, Tennessee assistant Ed Orgeron took the ref-bashing baton from Lane Kiffin and ran with it Monday night:

"Seems like some people get the calls and some people don't," Orgeron said while speaking to the Knoxville Quarterback Club on Monday. "I've been in this league and I've been a part of that. Whether that's true or not, you can never prove that.

"I do know this: there were some very questionable calls in that game that could have went either way and they went Alabama's side. There were very questionable calls throughout the season and it seems they go for the better team. Whether that's true or not, we can never prove that but that's what it seems like."

Orgeron, however, refused to blame the officials for 12-10 loss.

Well, as long as he's not blaming the officials' corruption and incompetence for his team's record, let the man speak his Red Bull-addled mind. I'm sure the SEC office will receive Da Coach O's comments in the purely academic context they were intended.

• Go on, take the money and run. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford finally faced the media Monday about his decision to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery and enter the draft with a year of eligibility remaining, and said, yeah, the call was pretty much a no-brainer:

Bradford admitted that immediately after the second injury, he was still hoping to return this season. But the advice Bradford received was unanimous to go ahead with the surgery and enter the draft.

"I wanted to get as many opinions as possible," said Bradford, who has sought the wisdom of NFL quarterbacks such as the New York Giants' Eli Manning and San Francisco 49ers' Alex Smith, who have both had similar shoulder injuries. "I talked with as many people as I could to make the right decision. After talking to a lot of people, it seemed like this was the unanimous decision that everyone came to."

Assuming all goes according to plan with the surgery, Bradford intends to take online classes while going through the workout routine and preparing for the draft in the spring and should leave with his degree on time.

Quickly ... Minnesota receiver Eric Decker is day-to-day with an injured foot and may not play Saturday against Michigan State. ... Iowa running back Adam Robinson wasn't listed on the Hawkeyes' initial depth chart for Saturday's game against Indiana thanks to an injured ankle. ... Florida running back Jeff Demps is in a neck brace but expects to play against Georgia. ... In its never-ending crusade against gambling against all forms, the NCAA is cutting state lottery revenue from its count of "official" revenue in athletic departments, to the chagrin of both Oregon and Oregon State. "Student fees" will also be omitted from official counts. ... Has Nebraska lost the "hard edge" Bo Pelini brought in his first season? ... Mike Leach doesn't regret his "fat little girls" remark, a variation of Bear Bryant's "ugly little ol' girl" trope, after Texas Tech's loss to Texas A&M. ... Tennessee fans are openly comparing Lane Kiffin to Nick Saban. Okay. ... After a dismal night in scoring position at Mississippi State, Florida turns its focus to the red zone. ... And Tim Tebow talks to the media about not talking to the media.