By Mike Lopresti
Gannett News Service

Flip the calendar while college football catches its breath. September was like driving bumper cars. Looking for stability and the straight road? Not here.

Consider this boomerang. Washington State squandered a 19-point lead and lost at Notre Dame, who was then slapped by Michigan, who was then upset at Oregon, who Saturday was wiped out by . . . Washington State.

Kentucky blew an 18-point lead at home to Florida, which earlier blew a 23-point lead at Miami.

Michigan State stuffed Iowa and Notre Dame back to back, but couldn't beat Louisiana Tech.

Ohio State never wins by much, but never loses, either. The Buckeyes are 5-0 as everyone expected. But so are Air Force and Minnesota, which weren't. And LSU, for the first time in 30 years,

There has been little comfort, even at the top. Of the current top 10 ranked teams, four already have been in overtime games. Plus, Miami had to hurry past Florida, and Florida State escaped Georgia Tech by one.

There already have been 14 overtime games, five last Saturday alone, including Tennessee over South Carolina, where it could be argued the star of the game was the Tennessee punter and his 51.7 average.

His name is Dustin Colquitt, but maybe we shouldn't mention it, because one of the worst things that could happen to a team or player in September was to get a little publicity.

Marshall was the toast of the nation when it took down mighty Kansas State. Seven days later, it lost to Troy State.

Michigan's Chris Perry was declared the Heisman frontrunner after shredding Notre Dame. The next week he got 26 yards against Oregon.

Oregon was then on the cover of Sports Illustrated for its two-quarterback system that had produced nearly error-free offense. The Ducks then had nine turnovers against Washington State.

"I told them after the game," said coach Mike Bellotti, "that we were going to toss this game where it belongs, and that's in the garbage."

Steady Southern California was accumulating rave reviews and rating points. Then the Trojans lost at California, which had not beaten a No. 3-ranked opponent in 52 years.

"I think they always take us lightly," said Cal wide receiver Jonathan Makonnen. "They really don't respect us. They're a talented team but they were lackadaisical out there."

USC coach Pete Carroll concurred: "I'll probably take some heat next week for not getting them ready."

The month's message seems pretty clear: Not being ready is deadlier than ever.

October begins with a muddled Heisman picture, 14 teams still with unbeaten records, and Oklahoma as the unquestioned No. 1.

The Sooners still seem the logical team to beat. Not that logic meant anything in September.

Stats of the week

• Nine teams that were in the preseason AP poll aren't ranked heading into October - the most teams to drop out since the poll went to 25 teams in 1989.

• These are cloudy days for the Sun Belt Conference. The league's eight teams are a combined 6-31, and the bottom half - Middle Tennessee State, Idaho, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette - is 0-19.

Thumbs of the week

• Down to basketball hotbeds. Duke lost its 27th straight ACC game; Kentucky was beaten by Florida for the 17th straight time; North Carolina has dropped 13 of its last 16 and is allowing nearly 43 points a game, and Indiana has now lost 27 of 28 to Michigan. Midnight Madness, anyone?

• Up to Bobby Bowden. Now just one behind Joe Paterno in victory race, 338-337. And down the stretch they come  . .

• Up to Virginia Tech. Scores on interception return, kickoff return and blocked punt. That makes 64 defense-special team touchdowns in last 116 games. The Blacksburg Phenomenon.

• Up to John David Washington. Rushes for 242 yards in Morehouse win over Johnson C. Smith. His dad's name might ring a bell - Denzel.