Looking Ahead

? SYRACUSE (8-3) AT MIAMI (5-5)
With Syracuse 's path to the Big East title now clear, you can almost hear coach Paul Pasqualoni tightening the screws on his Orangemen . Businesslike is too frivolous a word for Coach P, especially when the stakes are this high. Syracuse is winless against Miami in Big East play, but the Orangemen 's defense should slow the Hurricanes' running game, allowing quarterback Donovan McNabb to run and pass Syracuse into the Fiesta Bowl .

? ARIZONA (5-5)AT ARIZONA STATE (8-2)
An Arizona win would knock Arizona State out of Fiesta Bowl contention, but the Wildcats most likely will come up short. Their Desert Swarm defense long ago deserted them, and the surging Sun Devils have averaged 38 points during a five-game winning streak.

? OLE MISS (6-4) AT MISS. STATE (7-3)
The Egg Bowl is here, and speaking of eggs, the Bulldogs laid one last week against Arkansas . The incentive to beat Ole Miss may overcome State's disappointment over having played itself out of the SEC championship game, but the Rebels , behind fifth-year quarterback Stewart Patridge, don't beat themselves. That's bad news for the mistake-prone Bulldogs.

? PENN STATE (9-1) AT MICHIGAN STATE (6-4)
The longest five weeks of coach Nick Saban 's career ended when his Spartans defeated Illinois 27-17 last Saturday for their first win since Oct. 11. But the Nittany Lions , who smell a Sugar Bowl berth, have looked like their September selves in blowouts of Purdue and Wisconsin . The talent level tips in Penn State 's favor.

? NEBRASKA (10-0) AT COLORADO (5-5)
This game is on Friday because it's the Big 12 's marquee matchup. That explains the conference's ills nicely. The Buffaloes , hurt by injuries on defense and by quarterback John Hessler's happy feet, aren't in the Cornhuskers ' class.