• Beware the tau, Tate. After two weeks of endless Tebow updates, the most alarming study yet about long-term dementia in players and Malcolm Gladwell's frightening New Yorker piece on the cumulative toll of the game on the brain, Michigan fans no doubt felt the hairs on their bodies rise in unison Monday when the team reported quarterback Tate Forcier had suffered a concussion (albeit a supposedly "mild" one) in the Wolverines' loss at Iowa, turning the precocious freshman from this before the game to this by the end, when he was physically pulled off the field by his coach in favor of Denard Robinson for the Wolverines' last-gasp drives.

But the decision to go with Robinson instead of Kid Comeback with three minutes to play had nothing to do with Forcier's health, according to Rich Rodriguez, who said he wasn't aware of the concussion when he sent out the scatter-armed Robinson for the ill-fated finish and doesn't expect any controversy going forward: If Forcier's headaches have receded in time for him to practice on Wednesday, he'll be the quarterback against Delaware State. Considering Forcier is also dealing with pain in his shoulder and hand in addition to his tender teenage brain, though, it's a good bet that Robinson will never be far from the field for the rest of the year. (And might be able to stay there if he develops any competency as a passer.)

• The sky is not falling. The rope will hold. Predictably, ominous schools of red and black sharks were circling Monday night during Mark Richt's weekly radio show, putting the coach at pains to convince the faithful that the Bulldogs' season isn't unraveling as rapidly as it seems after Saturday's catastrophe at Tennessee. Absurdly premature "hot seat" chatter is not even worth bringing up where Richt is concerned, but the coach's first priority this week is staving off the incessant demands -- not all of them coming from call-in wingnuts from Stone Mountain -- to fire one or both of his coordinators:

"I think a lot of people expect blood. They want somebody to be let go and fired and all that kind of thing and maybe that's what needs to be done," Richt said to one critical caller. "But at this point right now, we're going to do what we know is the best thing to do and that is to focus on this game this week [at Vanderbilt]."

His next priority: Standing by his senior quarterback. Patience, Georgians: Y'all only have to deal with six more games of Joe Cox under center and (probably) of Willie Martinez guiding the defense, and then the sunshine of fresh blood and offseason optimism can shine in again.

• We're just going to take it one crisis at a time. A couple lingering issues are expected to be resolved today when suspended Oklahoma State receiver/Deion Sanders protegé Dez Bryant pleads his case to the NCAA in Indianapolis and New Mexico announces its intentions in dealing with embattled coach Mike Locksley, who could be suspended or possibly fired for punching an assistant coach in a heated argument last month. Whatever its decision there, at least the university won't have to deal with that other Locksley-related issue anymore:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico coach Mike Locksley has resolved "all legal claims" involving a former football administrative assistant, although details were scarce in a statement issued Monday by the university.

According to a plaintiff's attorney, Locksley told Sylvia Lopez she was too old to be attractive to recruits, prompting the 25-year university employee to file an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against the coach in April.
[...]
But the EEOC complaint has gone away, with the parties indicating they "have worked together to resolve any misunderstanding."

"All legal claims, including the EEOC charges, have been withdrawn," the statement said.

J.B. Gerald, the assistant coach Locksley allegedly punched, has also left the program. So if he manages to remain on the job after today, the only issue hanging over Locksley's head will be somehow reversing his team's disastrous 0-6 start on the field. Baby steps, coach.

• Police: USM player's fatal gunshot wound was self-inflicted. The final verdict on the shooting that killed Southern Miss punter Peter Wilkes last Friday morning is an apparent suicide, according to Union City, Tenn., police. Wilkes, a freshman walk-on, didn't travel with the team for its game at Louisville, instead returning home to Tennessee during the university's fall break to help his family pick a headstone for his father, who died of a heart attack in August accompanying Wilkes to USM's freshman orientation.

Quickly ... Mitch Mustain has officially passed Aaron Corp as the No. 2 quarterback on USC's depth chart going into Notre Dame. ... Texas running backs Vondrell McGee and Tré Newton weren't listed on the Longhorns' initial depth chart for Oklahoma. On the other side, the Sooners will be without one of their starting guards, Brian Simmons, but might get top receiver Ryan Broyles back to lead a badly depleted receiving corps. ... Florida's own thin group of receivers probably won't benefit from the return of Carl Moore, who'll probably use a redshirt year to recover from nagging back problems. ... Miami linebacker Jordan Futch, who'd been starting in place of injured Colin McCarty, is out for the season with a knee injury, and cornerback Ryan Hill is done with an "upper extremity injury." ... Florida State tight end Caz Piurowski is out for the season with a knee injury. ... Sergio Kindle's dad wants to know where the sacks are. ... And it sounds like Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh can expect a full-court press from the national media after last Thurday's dominating effort against Missouri.