Dan McCarney….Kirk Ferentz….Bill Snyder….Bobby Elliott….Bret Bielema….

And, oh, yes, Bobby Stoops and Mike Stoops, too.

They’ve become household names in collegiate football coaching.

All have ties to the University of Iowa.

Some have ties to Iowa State.

The names came up again today when McCarney, who is Iowa State’s head coach and formerly was an Iowa assistant after playing for the Hawkeyes, was talking about the Cyclones’ 6 p.m. game Saturday at 12^th-ranked Kansas State (7-2 overall, 3-2 in the Big 12).

Snyder, a former offensive coordinator on Hayden Fry’s staff at Iowa, will be going after his ninth consecutive victory over No. 21 Iowa State (7-3 and 4-2). His Kansas State team is a 10 ½-point favorite.

Snyder has done things at the school in Manhattan, Kan., school that few thought possible. He has turned it from a horrible coaching graveyard into a place where no opponent wants to play.

Many football people feel McCarney has modeled the outstanding rebuilding job he has done at Iowa State after what Snyder has done at Kansas State.

I know one thing. McCarney could have done a lot worse than model his program after Snyder’s.

After the Wildcats rolled past Iowa State, 42-3, last year in Ames, I asked Snyder about McCarney.

"Dan has done as fine a job as anyone in this league, and I honestly believe that,’’ Snyder said. ""I’ve known Dan for an awfully long time and he’s an excellent football coach.

"I know how hard it is to get kids to play, and (it’s happening at Iowa State) because of Dan McCarney. He gets the most out of everybody in his program, and that’s all you can ask."

"We had Barry Alvarez, who now is the head coach at Wisconsin; Kirk Ferentz, who now is the head coach at Iowa; Bill Snyder, who now is at Kansas State; Bobby Stoops, who now is the head coach at Oklahoma….we had some phenomenal times together. We learned things together."

McCarney will run into a couple more ex-Hawkeyes in Saturday’s game. Bobby Elliott and Bret Bielema, who both played and coached at Iowa, are co-defensive coordinators for Snyder.

Elliott left McCarney’s staff after the 2001 season, and said he wouldn’t become a Kansas State assistant unless Bieliema was also hired. The word is that Elliott – whose father, Bump, is a former Iowa athletic director – will be the eventual successor to Snyder as head coach.

And Elliott has McCarney to thank for getting him back into coaching.

While battling a serious blood disease, Elliott was working in an administrative job in Iowa’s athletic department when McCarney gave him a call.

"Bobby has talked about how you picked him up off the bone pile," a guy told McCarney today.

"I don’t know that I did that," McCarney said. "I appreciate Bobby saying that, but I knew his abilities and I knew he wanted to get back into coaching. Bobby would be successful in anything he did—whether it’s coaching or administration.

"I knew as a friend that he wanted to get back into coaching. Administration might be something for him down the road. It was a real easy decision for me to offer him the job (as associate head coach at Iowa State).

"I couldn’t wait to get him to Iowa State. I knew what he’d mean to me and this program. Everywhere he goes he has a very positive impact on the program."

McCarney said Kansas State’s defense continues to be strong.

"Regardless of who the coordinators have been—Bobby Stoops, Mike Stoops, Brent Venables, Phil Bennett and now Bobby Elliott (and Bielema)--they’re relentless. They’re tenacious. They play with great effort all the time.

"They have tremendous team, speed, they come to play in a bad mood every Saturday. They don’t like giving up first downs, much less points."

The fact that Elliott worked on McCarney’s staff isn’t expected to have a great impact.

"We went through that earlier this year with Nick Quartaro,’’ McCarney said. "Nick had been my wide receivers coach before getting a great promotion to be the offensive coordinator at Kansas. Frankly, I think (an assistant coach joining a conference rival) is overrated.

"Kansas State has a lot of great players on their team as they always do. We’re going to have to be at our best whether Bobby was here (at Iowa State) or not."

Deace thinks Notre Dame’s Tyrone Willingham will take the honor "hands-down."

Sorry, Steve.

I don’t agree.

My reasoning is that Willingham lost his chance when his Fighting Irish were upset Saturday at South Bend by Boston College, 14-7. That same day, Ferentz’s Iowa team improved its records to 9-1 overall and a sizzling 6-0 in the Big Ten by rolling past Wisconsin, 20-3.

I also think Willingham’s team will lose its regular-season finale to Southern California.

"He’s already won the award no matter what he does at USC,’’ Deace said.

Sorry, Steve.

I don’t agree.

The Notre Dame coach—whatever his name is—should be a candidate for National Coach of the Year every season. [Sorry about that, Bob Davie]. Notre Dame has been getting the best high school recruits even before somebody bought Knute Rockne his first coaching whistle.

Consequently, Notre Dame’s coach—whether it’s Frank Leahy or Tyrone Willingham—should always have a talent-laden team that’s in contention for the national championship.

That’s why I think Ferentz deserves this year’s coaching award. The guy inherited a cupboard that, if not bare, was lightly-stocked when he took over in 1999 for Hayden Fry. The recruiting had obviously slipped in Fry’s final years, and the records showed it.

Ferentz managed to survive 1-10 and 3-9 seasons, and now has the program once again among the nation’s best.

If Iowa beats Northwestern and Minnesota, he should be National Coach of the Year.

And he should be Big Ten Coach of the Year even if he doesn’t beat Northwestern and Minnesota.

Regardless, it was a tough weekend around the midwest.

First of all, there was the situation involving Jermelle Lewis, the Iowa running back. Iowa City police charged Lewis with fourth-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

That was about 11 hours after Lewis finished running for 81 yards in 25 carries in Iowa’s victory over Wisconsin. It was his first career start for the Hawkeyes.

Police said Lewis kicked another driver’s car, causing more than $200 in damage.

As the Wisconsin State Journal pointed out, "The Badgers lost a game and possibly their starting quarterback. Their injured star receiver, who is also a captain, was arrested on a tentative drug charge and their leading rusher was stabbed."

Not bad for openers, huh?

Hours after Wisconsin’s players and arrived back in Madison after the game in Iowa City, Badger running back Anthony Davis was stabbed in the left thigh during what was called a "domestic dispute."

Police were called to a Madison apartment at 5:30 a.m. after a report of a disturbance. They found Davis with a deep puncture wound in the middle of his thigh. A 22-year-old woman was arrested on a tentative charge of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.

In Iowa’s victory over Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes’ defense held Davis to a career-low 16 carries for 34 yards. His previous low was 11 carries for 46 yards against Penn State.

That came after receiver Lee Evans, who is lost for the season with a knee injury but continues to serve as a team captain, was arrested Friday night while driving to the Iowa-Wisconsin game.

He was pulled over on a traffic stop and taken into custody on a tentative charge of marijuana possession, before posting a $100 bond on the misdemeanor charge.

Evans’ situation was the first thing Coach Barry Alvarez talked about in his postgame press conference at Kinnick Stadium.

"We were made aware of Lee Evans’ situation this (Saturday) morning,’’ Alvarez said. "Lee has been a model citizen in our program for four years. I had a chance to visit with him this morning. We will let the legal system run its course…."

Brooks Bollinger, Wisconsin’s starting quarterback, was knocked out of the Iowa game late in the first half after being tackled by defensive back Derek Pagel. His future status is uncertain.

Tailback Dawan Moss was dismissed from Michigan State’s roster Sunday by beleaguered Coach Bobby Williams after being arrested and accused of dragging a police officer with his car following a traffic stop.

Moss, one of the Spartans’ captains, was charged with fleeing and eluding a police officer—a felony—as well as misdemeanor drunken driving and having an open container of alcohol.

Last month, Williams suspended two players—quarterback Jeff Smoker and defensive end Greg Taplin—for violating team rules. Two other players quit the team.

On Sunday, the school and Smoker’s family released a statement saying the quarterback is battling substance abuse and has sought help.

Finally, former Iowa quarterback Jon Beutjer is again in the news—but not for the same reasons as Lewis and some of the others listed above.

Illinois Coach Ron Turner said Beutjer will start Saturday’s game against Wisconsin. He earned the job for the second time this season after completing 19 of 28 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown last week against Penn State.

"I’m ready,’’ Beutjer told the Chicago Tribune. "I wake up at night and I’m itching to play."

It was the second tie Vandever has been given the conference honor.

Vandever has thrown a school-record 65 career touchdown passes. He also is Drake’s career non-scholarship record-holder in passing with 7,500 yards and total offense with 8,818 yards.