Making the morning rounds…
• It was worth it. Last week's streak-busting, 10-7 upset over Tennessee was the only positive for Kentucky this season, and it's going to pay for it: The SEC fined the university $50,000 Wednesday for a violation of the league's "access to competition" policy — that is, for failing to prevent a horde of jubilant fans from storming the field — the maximum possible fine in the wake of Kentucky's fifth such infraction since 2006. After 26 consecutive years of heartbreak against their biggest SEC rival, the Wildcats ought to fill out the "Memo" line on the check with a photo of the scoreboard, above a stamp that says "It was worth it."
Anyway, doesn't this entitle them to at least one free field rush for the next decade? [Lexington Herald-Leader]
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• Just testing the waters. Don't panic yet, Trojan fans, but USC quarterback Matt Barkley has formally submitted his name to the NFL for evaluation of his potential draft stock in next April's draft, the clearest sign yet that he is serious about leaving a potentially blockbuster senior season on the table in 2012. "There's not really a timetable [for a decision]," Barkley told the Los Angeles Times. "If I were to leave it would be due to the fact that I would be a top-five pick, a top-10 pick, something I've dreamed of, something I've always wanted to happen. I think if I were to go it would be just that time in my life where I finished well at USC and I'm ready to move on." [L.A. Times]
• The captain's booty. The numbers are in for Mike Leach's new deal at Washington State, and they're not too shabby: The good cap'n will bring in $2 million a year in base salary, plus $250,000 in supplemental income, plus performance incentives — only possible for Washington State thanks to projected revenue from the Pac-12's vastly expanded television contract. It's not Urban Meyer money, but it's not too shabby.
Wazzu has also begun construction on an $80 million renovation to Martin Stadium that will add premium seating, luxury boxes and a new press box. They're also pushing a new, $60 million building to house football exclusively. [Associated Press]
• Defending Corwin Brown. An attorney for former Notre Dame assistant coach Corwin Brown told a judge Wednesday that Brown plans to defends himself against charges that he struck his wife and held her hostage earlier this year by claiming he has a mental defect caused by more than a decade of football at Michigan and in the NFL. Brown, 41, was arrested with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in August after a seven-hour standoff with police outside his home near South Bend. His family released a statement a few days after the incident claiming Brown suffered from the same brain trauma that afflicted Dave Duerson, the former Notre Dame and Chicago Bears star who committed suicide in February.
"We can't deny what happened. It's on camera," said Brown's attorney, William Stanley, who told reporters Brown has been undergoing psychological testing since his arrest. "So the whole issue is, what was his mental condition at that time?" [Chicago Tribune]
• Recommended reading. Ten years later, the Oklahoman takes an interesting look back at Nov. 24, 2001, a fateful night for Oklahoma State on two counts: One, the Cowboys' 16-13 upset over second-ranked, BCS-bound Oklahoma was the spark in a decade-long turnaround that has taken OSU from perennial Big 8/Big 12 doormat to the brink of a BCS title shot. Two, that night marked the final high school game for prolific quarterback Brandon Weeden, then a senior in Edmond, Okla., whose team fell short in the Class 6A semifinals. From there, Weeden went on to six years of pro baseball before working his way back to football in his mid-twenties.
"I left my shoulder pads on forever," Weeden said. "I left them on for a good 30 minutes. I thought, 'I'm never going to get to put shoulder pads on again.' When you're in high school, to even think about that is like, 'Man, this sucks.'" [The Oklahoman]
Quickly… Andy Staples stakes out Rich Rodriguez's first 48 hours in Arizona. … Montee Ball makes his move in the race for that one trophy they give out at the end of the year. … Braxton Miller is the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year. … Another running back is transferring from Maryland. … ESPNU de-Paternos its logo for Penn State. … And Hal Mumme is just livin' life, man.
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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.