College football Thursday

Big 5 futures

BYU — Buy: Cougars should get their swagger back after SDSU

Utah — Buy: Put up or shut up time for the Utes

Utah State— Sell: Momentum from win will disappear into blue turf

Weber State— Buy: Undefeated Wildcats vs. winless Bengals

SUU — Hold: Should be a close game in Grand Forks, N.D.

Player of the week

Diondre Borel, QB, Utah State — There are a lot of questions surrounding USU's future, but the Aggies may have found their quarterback. In the last two games, he has thrown for 416 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also rushed for 161 yards and one TD.

Game of the week

TCU at Utah — Rice-Eccles Stadium attendance record may be broken tonight.

Talk of the subdivision

Big 10 Conference

Michigan first-year coach Rich Rodriguez has kept his composure this season despite leading college football's winningest program to its first losing season in four decades.

But Rodriguez seemed to approach a breaking point earlier this week.

"Y'all want to make everything so much drama," Rodriguez snapped at reporters. "This is unbelievable. Every time there's something said, everybody wants to make a big deal out of something and make so much drama about everything.

"That's why I don't tell y'all too much. You think I tell you a lot. I think I've been pretty transparent, but sometimes I don't because I don't know what y'all are going to take and make a big deal out of a wee little thing," he said. "Seems like for nine, 10, months that's happened. Oh, he said this. Let's psychoanalyze this, psychoanalyze that.'

"We're not going to a bowl game, but do you think we're going to pack it in? You think the guys are a bunch of quitters? I don't think we've got any quitters. You think the coaches are going to pack it in, not show up for work? Golly."

The once-mighty Wolverines (2-7, 1-4 Big Ten) have lost five straight — since rallying from a 19-point, second-half deficit to beat Wisconsin — and will have to win at Minnesota, against Northwestern and at Ohio State to avoid a school-record eighth loss. — Associated Press

Quotable

"Big games, the number of teams in the top 10, it makes it very difficult as a coach. But I'm sure as a fan, it's a lot of fun." — Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State