University of Texas football coach Mack Brown doesn't wear the ring from his team's 2005 national championship. "That's part of the past," he explains sagely. "Now we're trying to win with this team."

After the No. 1 Longhorns' 56-31 annihilation of 11th-ranked Missouri in Austin Saturday night, it seems undefeated Texas is well on its way.

Having friends over to watch the game, priceless.

We're all feeling the pinch of the current economic downturn. So instead of making the trip to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry pitting No. 1 Oklahoma against No. 5 Texas, I decided to throw my own tailgate party and invite a bunch of friends over.

"Charlie Brown Wins!"

This could have been the headline in The Tennessean after the 19th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores beat No. 13 Auburn 14-13 in Nashville Saturday night.

For years, the Lucys of the Southeastern Conference snatched the ball away just as Charlie (a.k.a. Vandy) Brown was about to achieve success. But on this night, the SEC's perennial whipping boys finally sank a football powerhouse to go 5-0 for the first time since World War II. As improbable as it may seem, it's now the Commodores who are sitting proudly atop the SEC East.

As I sped through the darkness Saturday night racing toward my next assignment, I hit the seek button on the radio over and over again. I was hoping to hear a broadcast of the Alabama-Georgia game delivered by UGA's snarling, growling play-by-play announcer, Larry Munson.

But that was not to be.

For the first time in more than 40 years, the University of Georgia took the field at Sanford Stadium in Athens without the legendary Munson behind the microphone. No wonder the Dawgs wore black.

This was big-time college football at its best. No. 6 LSU at No. 10 Auburn. Tigers vs. Tigers.

Virginia Tech escaped with a 20-17 win over Georgia Tech Saturday evening thanks in large part to Tyrod Taylor's legs.

The recently unredshirted quarterback scrambled for 74 yards on 15 attempts, scoring a touchdown on a two-yard keeper late in the first half. Though Taylor completed only 9 of 14 passes for an anemic 48 yards, his happy feet seemed to energize the orange-clad crowd. "See!" exclaimed the man in front of me, who turned around each and every time the fleet-footed playmaker sprinted across the field. "Sean Glennon could never do that."

This good-natured ribbing occurred because I foolishly declared a desire to see senior quarterback Sean Glennon play after interviewing him over the summer. Because his team offers little pass protection and a lack of talented receivers, the strong-armed Glennon is useless to the Hokies and was left sitting Saturday.

Of course, Taylor had some help from Georgia Tech's mistake-riddled offense. The 'Jackets tallied 387 yards total offense, but coughed up the ball three times, twice turning over the ball. They also had eight penalties for 61 yards and one interception. The Hokie faithful breathed a sigh of relief when the last play ground to a halt, and most felt lucky to end the day with a win.

I was tripped up by Hanna.

In a perfect world, I would have gone to Jordan-Hare on Saturday to watch Auburn manhandle Southern Miss. Instead, I sat on the tarmac in Philadelphia, suffering a long, miserable "weather delay" supposedly caused by fast-moving Hurricane Hanna.

I was downright blue...until I discovered the free wireless connection in the Atlanta airport (while waiting for yet another weather-delayed plane to take me to Birmingham). Soon I was surfing cyberspace, hunting down football-themed treats to accompany the perfect tailgate or football party.

Follow my search, and add your own.

The band never quit.

That's about the best thing that can be said about Virginia's painful 52-7 loss to Southern Cal at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville Saturday. That and the record crowd of 64,947 may have seen the national champions play.

Still, I love the first day of football season. Every team is undefeated, and fans are drunk on high expectations. When players go to sleep on Friday night, visions of national championships dance in their heads. It's sunshine and roses on every campus in America.

Until the game starts, anyway.

On an early morning walk this week, I glimpsed the first promise of fall.

Dew clung to the summer-brown grasses and lacy fog hugged the river bottoms, both damp reminders of a late night thunderstorm. As I marched briskly along the fence rows, something from above caught my eye. I stopped to watch as a single yellow leaf, released from its home high atop a poplar tree, floated gracefully on the morning breeze and settled in the meadow below. Excitement coursed through my veins as I instantly began to count—less than two weeks until college football begins!