• And I thought the Doobie Brothers halftime would kill. Friday's Virginia Tech-Cincinnati Orange Bowl on Fox was by the lowest-rated BCS game in the Series' 11-year history, shattering the previous low (a 7.6 for the 2007 Orange Bowl between Louisville and Wake Forest) with a 6.1 overnight rating, a little less than half the audience for the Rose Bowl that preceded it on ABC. Maybe the hungover masses who watched USC trounce Penn State fell asleep before they could turn over to Fox -- though the Rose Bowl's ratings were among its lowest of the BCS era, as well.

There are still two games to go, but it's not like falling BCS ratings are anything new. This year marks, what, the third year in a row? Texas-Ohio State tonight better bring it.

• We hardly knew ye. Surprising absolutely no one, Alabama lineman and soon-to-be first-rounder Andre Smith made his bid for the NFL official over the weekend, and his lawyer suggests we haven't heard the last of the widespread allegations that his suspension from the Sugar Bowl was related to contact with an agent:

"Andre has not made any contact (with an agent)," H. Lewis Gillis said in the first extended comments offered on Smith's behalf. "Going down the road of some agent is the wrong way to travel. There is nothing there."

Asked why Smith was suspended and sent home from the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Gillis said: "You have to ask somebody else. I can't get in the minds of other people."

If he's trying to get into Nick Saban's mind, maybe Gillis should contract with Kyle Whittingham.

Joining Smith in the early parade to the pros is fellow offensive tackle Eben Britton of Arizona, a borderline first or second-round pick, and Southern Miss linebacker Gerald McRath, who might not make the first day of the draft but has endured enough after five seasons in Hattiesburg, thanks to early, season-ending injuries and subsequent redshirts his first two years. UConn's Donald Brown will be throwing his name into the hat, as well, after putting up 2,000 yards in relative anonymity for the Huskies -- and telling the Hartford media a few weeks ago that he was coming back to school when he'd clearly made up his mind to leave. Sorry about that, guys, but y'all are used to it, right?

• Oh no he di'nt, etc. Oklahoma cornerback Domonique Franks kicked off the week in Miami right, publicly dissing Tim Tebow when he said "I think our quarterbacks [in the Big 12] are better." Oh my, whatever will the Tebow Child do in the face of stinging barbs and blah blah? His eyes will surely fill with blood and rage and whatever it is.

At least Franks can get some basic numbers right: Like a lot of people, he refers to Tebow as "a predominantly running quarterback." Uh, Domonique:

Tebow Runs in 2007 and 2008: 364 for 1,459 yards, 35 touchdowns.
Tebow Passes in 2007 and 2008: 618 for 5,801 yards, 60 touchdowns.

Alright, people who don't pay attention to college football may see Tebow as Eric Crouch, but this is ridiculous. Kid's in the top four nationally in pass efficiency for the second year in a row, and even people watching film don't seem to notice he puts it in the air about 68 percent more often than he runs it. I dunno, maybe that's his secret or something: The cloak of passing invisibility?

Quickly ... Bob Stoops, predictably, say he's not interested in the Broncos. ... Scott Shafer, self-proclaimed scapegoat for Michigan's collapse, will take over as defensive coordinator on Doug Marrone's new staff in Syracuse, Shafer's fourth different stop in as many years. ... Speaking of Michigan castoffs, Sam McGuffie appears ready to enroll at Rice. ... USC defensive coordinator Nick Holt is interviewing at Washington for his old SC colleague Steve Sarkisian, for some reason. ... For the hundredth year in a row, the Big Ten has to travel farther to bowl games than its opponents. Can't global warming help a conference out? ... Georgia Tech's Michael Johnson is watching his draft stock fall after a disappointing senior year, and face facts: Matt Stafford is all but gone from Georgia. ... And Mack Brown says "a season like this ... [exposes] some flaws we need to continue to look at" in the BCS. That looks like one crowded limb there, coach.