Times Change

Sometime between Bobby Bowden's simple breakfast at Howard College and his elaborate dinner at Florida State, college football evolved from amateur sport to insatiable business.

Coaches became millionaires. Teams became programs. Schools became brands.

Florida State is a brand. Florida State once was a powerful program, the winner of two mythical national championships, the annual king of the ACC sweepstakes.

The power evaporated. The program dissipated. The results: 7-6 each of the past two seasons and 7-9 in conference games during that period, with a constituency divided over the urgency of Bowden's gradual stroll toward retirement.

But the brand remains strong, so strong that people should wonder if the oddsmakers are delusional (not likely, given realities of an actual free market) or if the fans who bet on college games are irrational (quite likely, given the quicksand economics of wagering money on the frolics of overfed teens).

Assorted oddsmakers made Florida State the favorite tonight over No. 18 Wake Forest by a margin somewhere between a field goal and a touchdown. That might reflect the power of home-field advantage, unless anyone recalls Wake Forest's 30-0 picnic in Tallahassee two years ago. A few folks actually remember that game and the Deacons' 24-21 win last season, yet the spread sits there on the big board, a testament to a brand.

Maybe the incongruous gambling line reflects the breathtaking strength of the Seminoles' two wins, by scores of 69-0 and 46-7. But those scrimmages came, respectively, against Western Carolina and Chattanooga, the worst teams in the Southern Conference.

FSU plays in the bowling-for-dollars division, yet FSU shamelessly scheduled two weak links in the lower playoff division. FSU bought two wins and created a phony statistical mountain. Pollsters bought the scam -- No. 24 in the AP poll this week -- and they weren't alone.

The whole cabled world will find out tonight whether the new quarterback, sophomore Christian Ponder, can approach the production of Wake Forest's Riley Skinner, a junior who has completed 466 of 665 passes to become the ACC career leader in accuracy (70.1 percent).

Spectators will learn whether coordinator Jimbo Fisher, Bowden's heir apparent, has improved the offense. Despite the hullabaloo over his hiring and the booster buyout of son Jeff Bowden, FSU actually scored fewer points last season (303) than the year before (345).

Fans will also discover whether linebacker Aaron Curry, distressed over Wake Forest mistakes during a 30-28 win over Mississippi, cajoled his teammates into developing a tighter defense during two practice weeks.

In the boundaries of North Carolina, the Wake Forest football brand ranks No. 1. The only credible challengers recently have been East Carolina and playoff prince Appalachian State, not the other three ACC members.

ECU, ranked 15th after wins over Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Tulane, will put its fresh reputation on the line at N.C. State. The Pirates are playing for a BCS bid, with Brigham Young as the shadow competition from another outsider conference. Either team probably needs a perfect record to seal the deal.

The Wolfpack has been perfectly horrible against bowling-for-dollars opponents, going 13 consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown. The only break in the chain, a 34-24 squeeze past William & Mary, impressed almost nobody.

Tailback Andre Brown has averaged 69 yards a game, fourth in the offensively challenged ACC, but injuries have sidelined partners Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene. The first two tight ends are hurt, along with top receiver Donald Bowens, defensive tackle Alan-Michael Cash and two safeties. Ouch.

Duke will take the weekend off as it prepares for a pivotal game against Virginia next week. The Blue Devils (2-1) look like a football team in the first month under new coach David Cutcliffe, and they should improve as the players master his offensive system.

Duke fans actually sit in every section this year, comfortably spread out but still on site, a radical departure. The Blue Devils' comeback needs the credibility of an ACC victory, which hasn't happened in the 25 games since Duke beat Clemson 16-13 on Nov. 13, 2004. Virginia could offer the antidote.

North Carolina, often wandering in the wilderness since Mack Brown joined the Texas rodeo 11 years ago, returns to the spotlight against unsteady Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels set this stage with a romp at Rutgers, their first out-of-state win since Alaska joined the union, or thereabouts.

An aberration against a fading Big East pretender? A sign of things to come under Coach Butch Davis? The Virginia Tech showdown will nudge the Kenan Stadium customers toward answers.

Anything could happen. If that anything ends in victory, the Carolina brand will return to the shelf, although nowhere close to the top shelf just yet.

■ Lenox Rawlings can be reached at lrawlings@wsjournal.com.