Willingham and Paterno fight for respect

This past weekend in college football pitted some questioned programs such as Notre Dame and Penn State against more successful teams. In the games, each continued their return to the upper echelon of Division I football and the rankings they deserve.

While rankings are often disputed, they are the difference between an Orange Bowl appearance and a lesser Music City Bowl showing.

An opening 2-0 record was only good enough to earn Notre Dame the 20th spot in the land. This past weekend was the test coach Tyrone Willingham and his staff had been waiting for _ the chance to crack the top 15 and finally earn respect. The only problem was the Irish had to go through the seventh ranked Michigan Wolverines, who were fresh off a last-second victory over Pac-10 favorite Washington Huskies.

As if Willingham's 9-3 record at Stanford was not good enough to earn him respect as a head coach, critics are forcing him to prove himself once again for the blue and gold of Notre Dame. Even with a kickoff classic victory against then-ranked Maryland, and a 24-17 win against in-state rival Purdue, skeptics couldn't bring themselves to rank the Irish in the top 15.

With much hype in South Bend, the game did not disappoint fans, and the back and forth battle that ensued ended with the Irish edging the Wolverines 25-23. In the defensive showdown, Michigan quarterback John Navarre was held to 230 yards and the game's leading rusher Ryan Grant (Notre Dame) barely cracked the century mark for 132 yards.

With lead changes a norm and Michigan with the ball at midfield with two minutes left in the game, it seemed almost certain that the Irish were destined to a fate similar to the Huskies a week earlier.

However, with a twist of luck only seemingly reserved for the Irish, Navarre misfired on a couple of open receivers, throwing away essential scoring opportunities. Fate eventually caught up with the Wolverines and a pass was deflected into the arms of Irish cornerback Shane Walton to seal the victory.

While this victory has not sent Notre Dame into National Championship talks, it does prove they can play with the big boys. Off to its first 3-0 start since '96, the Irish are now ranked 12th in the nation, while Michigan's first loss drops them to 14th in the country.

Though he started the season off-pace, coach Joe Paterno is now back on track to stay competitive with Florida State head coach, Bobby Bowden, as the all-time winningest coach in Division I college football history. After missing a bowl game last season (5-6) and the season before that (5-7), Paterno's Nittany Lions seem to be on the rebound this season.

Penn State stumbled out of the gates early, defeating Central Florida 27-24. With that narrow victory, many believed they had little to no shot against national powerhouse Nebraska. With the Huskers following its tradition of athletic quarterbacks in Jamal Lord, and power running backs in Derrick Diedrick, the Nittany Lions seemed set for a thrashing.

What was predicted to be either a Husker blowout, or a competitive game with Nebraska emerging on top, turned into a Penn State rout. Behind 259 yards passing by QB Zack Mills and 123 yards rushing by senior running back Larry Johnson, the Nittany Lions steamrolled Nebraska 40-7. Penn State upped its ranking to 15, while Nebraska sputtered to 19.

In other major games, the North Carolina State Wolfpack are proving that they are a legitimate threat after a 32-13 mashing of Wake Forest and have bettered their ranking to 16.

On Thursday night, the Virginia Tech Hokies spoiled Marshall QB, Byron Leftwich's coming out party. At 6-6, 250 pounds, Leftwich is a physical specimen of a pocket-passer. Although he passed for 406 yards, many dropped passes and squandered opportunities left the Thundering Herd trounced, 47-21. The combination of Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones in the Virginia Tech backfield was far too much for the Marshall D, as they were bounced out of the top 25