The Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. - Former Georgia football coach Jim Donnan is the leading candidate to become Kentucky's new coach.

The Wildcats hope to introduce their new coach at a news conference today. Guy Morriss left UK earlier this month to become coach at Baylor.

On Tuesday, Southern Cal offensive coordinator Norm Chow withdrew from consideration. Central Florida coach Mike Kruczek is the Wildcats' other top candidate. Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart also interviewed New Orleans Saints assistant Mike Riley, Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris and Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe, but they withdrew from consideration.

Donnan, 57, coached at Georgia from 1996 to 2000, compiling a 40-19 record, including 4-0 in bowl games. He was fired before the 2000 Oahu Bowl in Hawaii.

Georgia paid Donnan more than $2.3 million to buy out the final three years of his contract. He lives in Athens, Ga., and does television work for ESPN.

Donnan went 5-6 in his first season with the Bulldogs but put together four consecutive winning seasons. He signed highly regarded recruits, including current NFL players Champ Bailey, Quincy Carter, Olandis Gary, Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud.

But Donnan was 6-14 against Georgia Tech, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida.

Whoever replaces Morriss will inherit a program that has two years of NCAA probation remaining. UK can sign 18 recruits in 2003 - seven fewer than the NCAA maximum of 25 - and 22 in 2004.

The Wildcats, 7-5 this season, will be eligible to play in a bowl game next season.

COLORADO: Freshman tackle Will Down was sent home and will not be with the team Saturday for the Alamo Bowl following his arrest on public intoxication charges in San Antonio.

Down and senior linebacker Drew Wahlroos were charged and ordered to appear in court Jan. 7. Down also was charged with failure to identify himself to police.

"There were different, varying stages of what they did," said school spokesman Dave Plati, referring to why only one player was sent home. He would not elaborate.

Down, 18, didn't play for Colorado this season. Wahlroos, 22, is third on the team in tackles with 85.

IOWA: Running back Fred Russell is enjoying Iowa's long break before the Orange Bowl after coming out of the Hawkeyes' regular-season finale at Minnesota Nov. 16 with an aching left shoulder.

Russell leads Iowa in rushing with 1,219 yards - the fourth-most in school history - and is averaging 5.8 yards a carry. He returned to practice last week, when he began his preparations for Iowa's Jan. 2 game with Southern California.

"My shoulder feels real good right now," Russell said. "I've been able to get back out and do the things that I expect to do."

IOWA STATE: The team is off to Idaho and the Humanitarian Bowl, and, despite words by some to the contrary, the Cyclones insist they're excited to be going to Boise.

"A couple of us said some things they didn't mean. They were just speaking without thinking," center Zach Butler said.

Six weeks ago, the Cyclones had openly expressed the hope of going to a warm-weather bowl. But after losing five of their last six games, the Cyclones (7-6) will play No. 18 Boise State (11-1) Tuesday.

NEBRASKA: Cornhuskers fans typically go in droves to the team's bowl games. But not this year.

Few Cornhuskers fans are heading to Shreveport, La., where Nebraska plays Mississippi in the Independence Bowl on Friday.

They blame the timing. Or the economy. Or the team's 7-6 record, its worst in 41 years.

Only 5,000 to 8,000 Huskers fans are expected at the game; about 20,000 to 25,000 usually show for a bowl, said Marc Shkolnick, associate executive director of the university's Alumni Association.

"It won't be quite the sea of red," he said. "It'll be the pond of red."