News of the day, 10/1

Hey everyone. Check below for today's information. The players take Monday off for the most part, so I don't expect much in the way of exciting news.

Thanks for setting aside some time to peruse the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

Auburn's Oct. 13 game at Arkansas has been picked up by ESPN2. Good news: It's on HD. Bad news: I have to fly out of Tulsa at 6 a.m. the next morning.

With DE Quentin Groves (toes) out for at least two weeks, a few lower-profile players will be thrust into a more central role. The first is someone you probably know: Antonio Coleman. He was a third-down rusher last season. He has expanded his repertoire this season to include reliable work against the run as well. His production has slipped during the past two weeks, though. Not sure why.

The second guy is freshman Antoine Carter. He took over for Coleman in that third-down role during the season's first month. Now he'll be that third guy (Sen'Derrick Marks and Coleman start) and will get a lot of playing time. Carter is fast and pretty refined when it comes to sliding away from blocks. The problem is that he's 17 years old. He told me Sunday that he's up to 240 pounds or so. Going against 330-pound offensive linemen is going to be a tall order.

Here is my weekly AP Poll ballot. It has been derided by Boston College fans, who think the Golden Eagles should be much higher. I'll concede that No. 20 probably is a tad too low. I think 12-14 is probably more accurate. I'll adjust accordingly if BC wins this week.

1. LSU
2. Southern Cal
3. Cal
4. Wisconsin
5. Ohio State
6. South Florida
7. Kentucky
8. West Virginia
9. Oregon
10. Missouri
11. Florida
12. Oklahoma
13. Georgia
14. South Carolina
15. Hawaii
16. Virginia Tech
17. Arizona State
18. Cincinnati
19. Texas
20. Boston College
21. UCLA
22. Purdue
23. Kansas State
24. Michigan State
25. Auburn