• We Hardly Knew Ye. There was plenty of intrigue Monday around the sudden, unexplained exit of Syracuse receiver Mike Williams just a few days after he was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in the country. Williams has a winding history at SU: An instant-impact type as a true freshman, he was All-Big East as a sophomore in 2007 before being declared academically ineligible in 2008; after working his way back into school and onto the roster under new coach Doug Marrone, Williams was making the best of his second chance by leading the conference in receiving, but was also suspended for undisclosed reasons in the Orange's Oct. 24 win over Akron. He returned to catch four passes last Saturday against Cincinnati, but even before the suspension, there were ominous warnings to the world on Williams' Facebook page, which the student Daily Orange reported last week:

"I HATE COLLEGE I CANT SEE ME DOING THIS FOR LONG……..HINT HINT.-0 LMAO"

That message was eventually replaced with the athletic department line: "Everyone Im (sic) staying in school to get my degree sorry for the faulse (sic) information every one getting." But the initial message, in addition to being more grammatically convincing, was very accurate: For whatever reason -- if there is a reason beyond an aversion to exerting effort under someone else's direction -- Williams is gone from 'Cuse for the second time in two years and this time won't even be offered any hoops to jump through to return to the fold.

• Mickey Mickey, you're so retired. In more sentimental departure news, longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews is expected to announce his future plans today, which almost certainly include retirement at the end of the season. Andrews has been the architect of consistently great FSU defenses over the last 25 years, but the writing has been on the wall for some time now as the Bobby Bowden era has begun its tumultuous descent, Andrews has consistently referred to spending more time with his family after the sudden death of his son two years ago and the 'Nole defense has deteriorated into the worst in the ACC this year. More to come later today based on Andrews' announcement.

• Trojans paralyzed by cognition. Pete Carroll is still very much in the midst of his own legendary run at USC, but he's never been beaten like he was Saturday night at Oregon, a loss he put squarely on the coaches overburdening the players mentally:

Carroll said the game plan he and the staff put together overburdened the defense, preventing the players from playing fast and free.

"We messed it up," Carroll said. "We probably tried too hard. Our guys, mentally, were bottled up with the stuff we were doing. We tried to scheme too much. We made mistakes that we normally wouldn't make, and we didn't play the way we normally play. It was just a disastrous outcome."

After Oregon scored 47 points and gained 613 yards, Carroll said the plan USC used is "going in the can."

"I like the stuff that we tried to do," Carroll said. "But I don't like the way it showed up on game day."

He may have drawn up a bad plan, but at least he's adapting. Watch the Trojans at Arizona State Saturday to see if they play any more "fast and free," although, opposite the Devils' moribund offense, it would be kind of hard not to.

• Can't choose your family. Speaking of moribund Pac-10 offenses, it's becoming increasingly difficult for Rick Neuheisel to shake off the mounting criticism accompanying UCLA's 0-5 start in conference games, with crotchety columnists and the student newspaper among those beginning to bear down. That's to be expected when things are going poorly, but when parents of current players start going off in public forums, the wheels are coming off:

Brian Theriot, the father of seldom-used reserve fullback Trevor Theriot, took it a bit further on Facebook over the weekend:

"The sad state of UCLA football," Theriot posted. "My gosh…..I have never seen more misuse of talent and a greater degree of offensive stagnancy on play calling and use of personnel….we have the players.

"UCLA under Coach Rick (Neuheisel)….is horrible. Wayne Moses the running back coach is horrible. The sets are Pop Warner in movement, motion, and slots. I mean a Pop Warner type offense that Tim Tebow would laugh at. UCLA is playing with great athletes but giving great athletes boys and girls club sets. Norm Chow and Wayne Moses are old school and gone. ..."

Theriot goes on to suggest he planned to show up at Monday's practice, "step out of the ‘parents’ section of the stands and coach the backfield" himself -- beginning with, shockingly, installing his seldom-used son as the starting fullback -- which would have been quite entertaining if UCLA held Monday practices, which it does not. Neuheisel was diplomatic in his response: "Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. That’s just a part of the deal." Everybody's entitled to their opinion, unless he happens to be a Bruin player criticizing his coaches online, in which case his Twitter feed will be discontinued immediately.

Quickly ... Embattled senior Joe Cox is still Georgia's starting quarterback after a "unanimous" vote of confidence from the Bulldog staff, but he won't have A.J. Green in the lineup Saturday against Tennessee Tech. ... Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey is out for the season with a torn MCL. ... Tennessee linebacker Savion Frazier, in the lineup after starter Nick Reveiz went down with a torn ACL, will also miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, wreaking havoc on the Vols' linebacker depth. ... Washington quarterback Jake Locker says he will play with a deep thigh bruise Saturday at UCLA, but coach Steve Sarkisian isn't so sure. ... Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes issued an apology for the eye gouge that will cost him the first half against Vanderbilt. ... The Pac-10 is still waiting on a recommendation from Oregon before the conference approves the reinstatement of suspended running back LeGarrette Blount. ... Former Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis plans to transfer to East Carolina and compete for the Pirates' starting job next year. ... Minnesota freshman Michael Carter was arrested for underage drinking and resisting arrest after an altercation with another pair of students on campus. ... The black Halloween jerseys Tennessee wore in its win over South Carolina may be auctioned. ... Former Michigan State coach George Perles plans to run for governor. ... Bo Schembechler's son is suing his stepmother in a dispute over a trust set up by the legendary Michigan coach. ... Another old Big Ten coach, cigar-chomping Iowa legend Forest Evashevski, is dead at the age of 91. ... Comedian Richard Lewis, an Ohio State alum, is a Jim Tressel fan, to say the least. ... And Idahoans are already making a list of AP voters who ranked Oregon again of Boise State. Hope there's plenty of room on it to add names if the Ducks keep winning.

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