Hlist: What's your deal?

OPENING KICKOFF

“What's your deal? What's your deal?” - USC Coach Pete Carroll to Stanford counterpart Jim Harbaugh after the Cardinal's 55-21 win over the Trojans, according to people who overheard their midfield postgame discussion.

“What's your deal?” Harbaugh reportedly replied.

“Now there's the brevity of wit for you,” wrote Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle. “It is also evidence of what will be a lingering dislike-a-thon between the two men, punctuated by Harbaugh's impish yet gratuitous two-point conversion attempt after Stanford's seventh - yes, seventh - touchdown. It looked like what it was, Harbaugh putting a knee in Carroll's exposed coaching nethers.”

FIRST DOWNS

1. Frogs Have No Warts: Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham said after his Utes were trounced at unbeaten TCU, 55-28:

“I have been a coach for five years and that is the best team I've faced.”

That includes 2008 Alabama. Whittingham's record at Utah is 45-16 (13-0 last season), so he knows a little about good teams.

The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice isn't as keen on the Horned Frogs.

“It's easy to get excited about TCU because TCU is something new,” Justice wrote. “But don't try to make a case for 10-0 TCU being better than 10-0 Texas.

“TCU fans can wear their anger as a source of pride. Then they can watch Texas win another national championship.

A mythical national championship.”

2. Still Kicking at 61: You know Uncle Leo from “Seinfeld,” right? He's bald, mustachioed, 60-something.

At Division III Austin College in Sherman, Texas, Uncle Leo has a sort-of look-alike in Tom Thompson. He's bald, mustachioed, 61. He made an extra-point kick for the Kangaroos Saturday against Trinity University.

Thompson is a graduate student who was a backup kicker in high school more than 40 years ago. His first and perhaps only college kick was good.

Austin Coach Ronnie Gage said Thompson had “gone through a lot of hard work and a lot of pain to be able to do this.”

Alas, Austin lost, 44-10. It wasn't Thompson's fault.

FUMBLES

1. Trojan Virus: We'll let USC's people tell the story of their humbling loss to Stanford and their 7-3 season.

“It's like everything turned bad,” linebacker Malcolm Smith said.

“To be a senior and leave a legacy like this is sickening,” safety Taylor Mays said.

“I never imagined in my whole life that this could happen,” said defensive tackle Armond Armstead.

“I'm not of a clear mind right now,” Carroll said. “I'm not really sure how to deal with this.”

2. Sorry, Charlie: The Charlie Weis Era at Notre Dame is drawing to an end. The Irish are 6-4 after losing to Pittsburgh. They need to beat either Connecticut or Pittsburgh to avoid landing in the Papajohns.com Bowl.

From Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times: “(Oklahoma Coach Bob) Stoops has made it known that he would be interested in the job.”

From Jake Trotter of The Oklahoman: “Stoops would be a good fit at Notre Dame for a number of reasons. He's Catholic, and he knows the area, growing up in western Ohio, which is in the middle of Notre Dame's traditional recruiting base.

“But Florida, a plum job, couldn't lure Stoops away from Norman a few years ago.

“Could Notre Dame?

“If any college job could, maybe Notre Dame is the one.”

POSTGAME

“Having a better team. We'll win more of these games and other games when we have a better team than the team we're playing.” - Rich Rodriguez, the coach of 5-6 Michigan, when asked Monday what it will take for the Wolverines to turn things around.

The Hlist is happy Rodriguez has it figured out.