This week's top 20:

20. Cupcake cha-ching

First-year Savannah State athletic director Sterling Steward Jr. ought to be ashamed of himself for scheduling money-grab games against Oklahoma State and Florida State.

Sure, Steward will cash game checks totaling $860,000 -- enough to help fund a nice portion of the Savannah State athletic department budget -- but at what cost? (And not to pile on, but I spoke to a college administrator with extensive experience in scheduling who said Steward should have negotiated for higher paydays, that the total should have been north of $1 million. Messages to Steward were not returned Monday.)

Anyway, the school's website might have underplayed the final outcome of Saturday night's game at Oklahoma State just a teensy-weensy bit: Savannah State Falls In Season Opener.

The Tigers "fell," 84-0. And that's the good news.

"Hard to believe," said Savannah State coach Steve Davenport, shortly before Monday's practice, "but it could have gotten a lot worse. [Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy] kind of slowed things down."

Gundy mercifully pulled large numbers of starters from the game and called lots of plays that chewed up the clock. Otherwise, this could have become a triple-digit nightmare.

"Our ones [starters] and twos [second-teamers] are kind of beat up," said Davenport.

Beaten up and semi-humiliated by a decision that valued money over sanity and, without realizing it, perhaps player safety, too.

19. Cha-ching -- Part II

Savannah State is an FCS program with little recent football pedigree. Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe starred at the school in the late 1980s, but the Tigers have won only 12 games during the past seven seasons. Davenport is the fifth different head coach since 2005.

The Tigers had no business signing up for matchups against 2011 Big 12 champion Oklahoma State or against a Florida State team that has been picked by some to reach the BCS Championship Game. Asked if he was consulted about this season's Savannah State schedule, Davenport paused and said, "You have to define, 'consulted.'"

Davenport understands why Steward agreed to these games -- the athletic department needs the money. But with only about 50 scholarship players available (he's funded for 63; compared to 85 for a major FBS program), Savannah State has zero chance to compete against college football sumo wrestlers such as Oklahoma State and Florida State.

"There's a real possibility we're going to face the same thing this week," said Davenport, referring to another 84-0 rout, or worse.

Florida State was originally scheduled to play West Virginia, but then had to go into scramble mode when the Mountaineers kneecapped the agreement at the last minute. FSU eventually settled on Savannah State and a $475,000 payout.

"In retrospect, we probably bit off a bit more than we could chew," said Davenport.

But Savannah State does get that combined $860,000 infusion of cash. And its players (at least, the guys still in one piece after this brutal one-two scheduling punch) can someday tell their kids they faced mighty Oklahoma State and Florida State in consecutive weeks.

So, I asked Davenport, is it worth it?

"No," he said. "I think embarrassment lasts a lot longer than $860,000. I might have said something different a week ago."

The scary part? Steward is interested in similar future arrangements.

18. Heisman Trophy race

Seated in the front row at Best Buy Theater:

USC quarterback Matt Barkley -- On the first play of the USC season, Barkley and Marqise Lee connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass. That's how you begin a Heisman campaign. He finished 23-of-38 for 372 yards and four TDs in the convincing win against Hawaii.

Wisconsin running back Montee Ball -- This is why the Badgers' coaching staff had a no-tackle rule when it came to Ball during spring and fall camp: 32 carries, 120 yards, one TD in Saturday's squeaker win against Northern Iowa.

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith -- Last season's game against Marshall was called early in the fourth quarter because of lightning. This season's opener could have been called because of Smith. I know Marshall isn't going to win the BCS championship, but it was a bowl team in 2011. Smith put up killer numbers (32-of-36 for 323 yards and four TDs) against the Thundering Herd. He also had 65 rushing yards and a score.

Keep a coat and tie handy:

Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson -- I'm not going to go all wooooooo-pig-sooie just because Wilson put up big stats against Jacksonville State. His Heisman clock officially starts on Sept. 15, when the Razorbacks face Bama.

South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore -- Ask Vandy's defense if Lattimore's reconstructed ACL is OK.

Michigan State running back Le'Veon Bell -- If I'm reading this right -- and I like to think that I am -- Bell had 50 touches in the opening win against Boise State (44 carries, 210 yards, two TDs, six receptions for 55 yards). Plus, he was a Spartan Stadium seat usher before the game.

Semi-sleepers:

Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas -- Whatever it costs for VT season tickets, Thomas is worth it.

Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas -- I'm not ashamed to admit it: I've got a man crush on a Duck.

Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei -- Is he going to win the Heisman? No. Would I want to try to block him? No. In the season opener against admittedly dreadful Northern Colorado (winless in 2011), Utah recorded its first shutout since 2007. Northern Colorado never crossed midfield, except for the pregame handshake.

Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel -- FSU scored seven rushing touchdowns in the blowout of Murray State, so Manuel didn't have to do much. Too bad his non-interception streak has ended. He threw his first one in 128 passes.

Thanks for stopping by the booth:

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson -- No matter what he does the rest of the season -- and he'll deliver some jaw-dropping performances -- it will be hard to forget what happened Sept. 1 against Alabama. I know: first game ... facing Bama ... no Fitzgerald Toussaint. But it's hard to win Heismans with an 11-of-26-for-200-yards stat line. And he had two interceptions. And just 27 rushing yards. And a belly flop performance on national television. That's not a good combo platter.

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones -- OU looked sluggish in its opener against UTEP. Jones was OK (21-36-222 yards, two TDs), but for now, he's on Heisman nonfactor alert.

17. 500 words or less

The new playoff system, which becomes operative in 2014, will mark the end (cue the confetti) of a BCS selection process that is almost always good for a laugh. Or a primal...