It's kind of amoot point at this juncture

3.If the Bearcats can't make it in to this year's championship game, the future looks bright and next year's team will be a legitimate top 10 ranked team.Losing quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Marty Gilard to graduation seems overwhelming. It's strange to think that loosing a Heisman Trophy candidate and one of the best receivers in the country will not set the Bearcats back one bit, but that's just the case.When Pike got hurt, he was replaced by Zach Collaros in the South Flolrida game and everyone was given a preview of Cincinnati's future. After four games, and a resounding quarterback rating of 195, the country assumed the Bearcat's had a quarterback controversy on their hands.Collaros threw 10 touchdowns in that span and only threw two interceptions. He completed 75 percent of his passes and he did what Pike was unable to dohe ran. In the South Florida game, Collaros ran for 132 yards andamassed over 300 rushing yards in the four games he subbed for Pike.Loosing Gilard's 1000 yards of pass receptions, 10 touchdowns, and the great kick and punt returning will be tough but the Bearcats are returning their No 2 and No 3 receiversand they are good!6'4" Armon Binns is a junior and has caught 51 passes for 755 yards and 9 touchdowns this season. Sophomore D.J. Woods has caught 40 passes for 533 yards and 3 touchdowns.Cincininnati's leading rusher is freshman Isaiah Pead. Pead has rushed for 682 yards and 8 touchdowns. He gains 6.5 yards/carry and he can catch the ball out of the backfield.The skilled positions are set and there are only 16 graduating seniors in the entire program this season. Unlike last year, when Kelly had to replace 10 starters on the defense, he'll only have to replace five or six next year.That's not the only reason Kelly will realize he's in the right placenext year's recruiting class will be the best in Cincinnati's history and will get stronger before nationalsigning day.There's another reason that Kelly will staythe schedule. Next year, the Bearcats will not have to worry about being disrespected by the BCS. Along with a strong Big East schedule, they have a Sept. 25 showdown with Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium.And it's not just about 2010! In 2011 the Bearcats play at Tennessee. In 2012, they'll play the toughest non-conference schedule in the country: Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and Miami, FL.The plan is set; win 10 games on a regular basis, win the Big East, and play in a BCS bowlhopefully the National Championship game. That's not happening at Notre Dame anytime soon, and Brian Kelly knows it.Kelly's in a great bargaining position with the university. He's got leverage! He's getting more leverage each time his name is mentioned as the leading candidate for Charlie Weis's jobbut he's not leaving Cincinnati.Kelly will think about leavingit's only natural. He'llfantasize being the head coach of the Fighting Irishbecause it was probably a dream of his at one time. He'll be tempted by the big money they throw at him.The fans of Cincinnati football are going to get a little anxious. People don't like to lose what took them decades to find. But Brian Kelly will sit down, sometime soon, and realize he can win aNational Championship atCincinnati much sooner than he can at Notre Dame.. Right now there are five six-win teams looking to fill two slots.

LouisianaLafayette and LouisianaMonroe are not particularly attractive options for bowl committees, especially for something like the Humanitarian Bowl. Conference USA has a contingency agreement to fill the EagleBank Bowl should Army lose this week, allowing six-win Marshall to go bowling That leaves Notre Dame and UCLA. The Irish are a more attractive option, for sure.The question now becomes whether or not Notre Dame will accept an invitation to a lesser bowl during a very likely coaching transition. If the Irish turn-down a bid, then its likely the Humanitarian Bowl will invite UCLA.

The spoiler right now is Hawaii.After upsetting Navy at home this week, the Warriors get a crack at seven wins against Wisconsin, and a guaranteed slot in the Hawaii Bowl should they pull another upset.That would leave an at-large, seven-win WAC team, which would then cascade a number of bowl changes, leaving no place for UCLA. This article is also featured on regulatory review ofthe controversial cholesterol drug Vytorin, made by Merck & CoInc (MRK.N) and Schering-Plough Corp SGP.N, found the drugworks and should still be used, but the positive finding may betoo late to win back patients. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said itreviewed the company-sponsored study, known as Enhance, andfound Vytorin effectively reduced levels of so-called badcholesterol more so than Zocor alone. Levels of low-densitylipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, fell 56 percent in Vytorinpatients compared to 39 percent in those given Zocor, theagency said. It also found no significant difference in the thickness ofpatients' arteries a sign of possible heart disease ineither set of patients in the study, the FDA said. Research has shown patients who reduce their LDL can reducetheir risk of heart attacks and stroke.

As a result, the FDAhas allowed companies to use studies that a drug effectivelylowers LDL, rather than studies that prove a drug actuallyreduces the risk of heart attacks and stroke. "Based on current available data, patients should not stoptaking Vytorin or other cholesterol lowering medications andshould talk to their doctor if they have any questions aboutVytorin, Zetia, or the Enhance trial," the FDA said. But some analysts said the FDA's support was unlikely toturn Vytorin around. "I don't think this helps them generate sales, but itprobably prevents a massive major erosion" of sales, said JonLeCroy, an analyst with Natixis Bleichroeder. "It's kind of amoot point at this juncture." FDA said it expected further data from another ongoingtrial called Improve-It, which is looking at the risk of death,heart problems and strokes in patients given Vytorin or Zocor.