Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe. :: AP

• Thayer Evans, New York Times: A look at the recruitment of Jamarkus McFarland, a defensive tackle prospect from Lufkin, TX. The process started with an offer for an interest-free loan for his mother, a wild party in Dallas where "girls were acting wild by taking off their tops and pulling down their pants," a ride in a Hummer stretch limousine, a meeting with a
university president and recruiting hostesses sitting prospects' laps.

• Eric Crawford, Louisville Courier-Journal: Two years ago, Louisville was preparing to play in the Orange Bowl. Will the Cardinals ever reach such heights again? Plus, an interview with former Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger.

• Matt Hinton, Dr. Saturday: More trouble at Indiana, where four players are allegedly involved in a robbery case.

• Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: The Hawaii Bowl drew a record 43,487, but coming up with an encore will be difficult because of a tie-in with the Pac-10 and the hometown Warriors' increasingly difficult nonconference schedule.

• Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: New Washington coach Steve Sarkisian might be rethinking some of the scholarship offers the previous coaching staff made.

• Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: With the Sugar Bowl a week away, some Alabama fans who purchased tickets through Utah have yet to receive their tickets by mail.

• Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Aiona Key will play in two BCS games with two different teams. The receiver played for Boise State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl and will compete for Utah in next week's Sugar Bowl.

• Chris Talbott, Associated Press: Teams are frequently spending more than $1 million annually on academic support for athletes, with some spending hundreds of thousands of dollars more in 2008 than they did in 2004.

• Mel Bracht, Oklahoman: Big hat no cattle does not apply to Craig James. The broadcaster is a rancher in Texas and one of the state's biggest hay producers.

• Maurice Patton, Tennessean: Vanderbilt's players are learning about all of the perks involved in a trip to a bowl game.

• Ken Tysiac, Charlotte Observer: The last time North Carolina State played a bowl game in Birmingham, the opponent had a quarterback named Brett Favre.