MARK EDWARDS

No holes in press box this time

The last time Alabama and Florida State faced off was 1974, and the Crimson Tide won 8-7.

Though it's hard to believe now, considering FSU's fortune since then, but that nearly became one of the two biggest upsets in Crimson Tide history.

Alabama was 4-0, had won the UPI national title the previous year and entered that game having won 36 of its previous 37 regular-season games. FSU was 0-4 and had lost 17 straight.

The Crimson Tide was without its top two quarterbacks, Richard Todd and Gary Rutledge, because of injury. The Seminoles scored a touchdown in the opening quarter, and Alabama entered the closing minutes behind 7-3.

FSU faced fourth down deep in Alabama's territory, and instead of punting, the Seminoles took a safety to cut the advantage to 7-5. After receiving the free kick, the Crimson Tide drove for a field goal in the last minute.

The FSU head coach, Darrell Mudra, who later had great teams at Eastern Illinois and Northern Iowa, managed his team from in the press box. His nickname was "Dr. Victory" because of his record at small colleges, definitely not at FSU.

When Alabama made its field goal, Mudra kicked a hole into the press box wall. Legend has it that Alabama coach/athletics director Bear Bryant sent Mudra a bill for the damage.

Bobby Bowden replaced Mudra two years later and built one of the nation's best programs.

The Crimson Tide narrowly avoided what would've been a monumental shocker. So the biggest upset in Alabama history remains its 7-7 tie with Howard to begin the 1935 season. Alabama had won the Rose Bowl the previous season, and Howard was a small school that later became Samford.

This time, Florida State isn't as bad as it used to be, but it isn't as good as it used to be, either. ... Alabama 24, Florida State 23.

Auburn (2-2) at No. 4 Florida (4-0): The Gators average more than 49 points a game, and they're liable to come close to that Saturday against an Auburn team that has had its struggles. ... Florida 42, Auburn 27.

Mississippi State (3-1) at South Carolina (3-1): The Bulldogs already have matched or exceeded the victory total of the past six MSU teams, but they're having trouble scoring against decent teams. ... South Carolina 24, Mississippi State 10.

No. 2 LSU (4-0) at Tulane (1-2): LSU beat Mississippi State 45-0. Mississippi State beat Tulane 38-17. ... LSU 50, Tulane 6.

Ole Miss (1-3) at No. 15 Georgia (3-1): Ole Miss doesn't run the ball well or stop the run, and the Rebels have had trouble developing consistency at quarterback. ... Georgia 27, Ole Miss 13.

Florida Atlantic (3-1) at No. 14 Kentucky (4-0): Florida Atlantic has scored wins over Middle Tennessee State 27-14, Minnesota 42-39 and North Texas 30-20, but believe it or not, Kentucky has a good team. The Wildcats are 10th in the nation in scoring and rarely turn over the ball. ... Kentucky 42, Florida Atlantic 20.

Eastern Michigan (2-2) at Vanderbilt (2-1): The Commodores have had a week off, and they're facing a team with wins over Northern Illinois 21-19 and Howard 38-15. ... Vanderbilt 30, Eastern Michigan 10.

North Texas (0-3) at Arkansas (1-2): The Razorbacks' Darren McFadden leads the nation with 173 rushing yards a game, and he's the only reason to pay attention to this one. ... Arkansas 35, North Texas 14.

No. 5 West Virginia at No. 18 South Florida: We would rather you attend a local high school game than watch this one on ESPN2, but it should be a great game. West Virginia went 11-2 last year with one of its losses coming at home to South Florida 24-19. ... West Virginia 24, South Florida 17.

No. 6 California (4-0) at No. 11 Oregon (4-0): Cal has scored in the 40s three times this year and 34 in the only game it didn't. Oregon has scored 39, 48, 52 and 55 points. ... Oregon 45, California 42.

Last week: 8-2.

Overall: 34-6.