• Welcome back to the dog days. And they're off!

Well, it was the first day.

It was for Georgia Tech and Mississippi State, anyway, who got a one-day head start Monday on most of their southern rivals. Quite a few more SEC teams hit the field today, including Georgia and Tennessee, where Lane Kiffin opens his first fall camp with a clear message for his team:

Kiffin has sent out the preseason mission statement loud and clear:

Unless your name is Eric Berry, you’re in a fight for your job.

As the Knoxville News-Sentinel says, that may be a slight overstatement, but not by much: Just glancing at the Vol depth chart, the only other dead-obvious starters are center Josh McNeil and linebacker Rico McCoy, who, like Berry, both became starters as freshmen, have held down their spots for two years running and seem safe as seniors; Gerald Jones and Wes Brown are unlikely to go anywhere at receiver and defensive tackle, respectively. Everyone else: You're on notice. (And yes, that means especially you, Crompton.)

• A tale of two busts. Ohio State fans already knew the Buckeyes would likely be without defensive end Rob Rose when OSU opens camp next Monday, something of a footnote considering Rose hasn't played much his first three years and wasn't listed on most of the Bucks' projected two-deeps going into the year. Now, though, it looks like Ohio State may also lose senior receiver/return man Ray Small to academic issues, a 1-2 punch that may not have any impact on the Buckeyes' on-field projections but must cue up the misty violins of the "What Could Have Been" overture in Columbus.

Rose and Small were both huge gets in the class of 2006, matched only by the hype for Beanie Wells among that year's incoming freshmen -- Rose was Rivals' only five-star defensive end in the country, and Small was a top-10 receiver prospect who turned down USC and Tennessee to follow high school teammate/de facto doppelganger Ted Ginn at OSU. And at least Small did play, grabbing 46 passes for three touchdowns over three years and leading the Big Ten in punt return average last year. After a promising start (3.5 sacks as a true freshman), Rose has notched 1.5 sacks the last two years, one against Kent State and a half-sack against Texas, and only a handful of tackles in very sparing duty.

Now, neither departure is a done deal; Small's dad (who's hardly been silent about his son's career to date) said he expects Ray to be in camp, which could still turn out to be the case. Even if he is, though, his role in the receiver rotation was already tenuous, and he's likely to matriculate with only the odd flash of the expected promise on his resumé. Rose, on the other hand, seems to have dog-housed himself out of any chance to play significantly in a crowded rotation.

• It's a Touchdown! Touchdown! What happened to my Soul?! Soul?! Wait ... hold it ... yeah, it's going to get retro for a second.

How financially strapped is the auto industry? Declaring bankruptcy and taking government bailout money is one thing, but the final blow could come this December if Detroit cedes title sponsorship of a bowl game to a second-tier pizza chain that I thought went out of business like a decade ago:

George Perles, the co-founder and CEO of the Motor City Bowl, told WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick Monday the title of the game will be changed because of the troubles in the auto industry.

"We're gonna be probably known as the Little Caesars Pizza, Pizza Bowl," Perles joked.

But it is definitely not a joke: Little Caesars -- the original business success for Mike Ilitch, now the filthy rich owner of the Red Wings and Tigers and an all-purpose Motown gentrifier -- will vote on sponsoring the game later this week, though the sublime title of "Pizza! Pizza! Bowl" remains up in the air. Even if the chain has shrunk by more than 2,000 stores since the early nineties, I guess it beats the carpenters and millwrights union.

Quickly ... How is the Big 12 going to keep pace with the SEC and Big Ten in the TV wars? ... After being suspended without pay by Hawaii, UH coach Greg McMackin was formally reprimanded by the WAC for his ill-timed slur during last week's media rounds. And did the assembled media egg McMackin on? ... The L.A. Angels remain persistent in signing Washington quarterback Jake Locker to a baseball contract. ... Rich Rodriguez bristles against the notion that defenses are catching up to the 'spread,' whatever that means at this point. ... A marijuana charge against Ohio State signee Jamaal Berry, already reduced to a misdemeanor, will be dropped if Berry completes a six-month diversion program. Meanwhile, senior Buckeye Doug Worthington recalls his own run-in with the law last year. ... The AP continues its fight for access to records on Florida State's appeal proceedings with the NCAA, which lurch forward with FSU's 14 vacated wins still in limbo. ... Jim Harbaugh slams patsy schedules. ... Earl Campbell's mother passed away. ... Mythbusting: John Wayne never saw the field at USC. ... And Happy Birthday, Mr. President. (If in fact it is your real birthday!)