NOMINEE	THE SKINNY
	Overrated	LSU	The Tigers, 3-0 and ranked in the Top 10 in September, went 1-7 the rest of the way, losing five games by six points or less. That many close losses speaks to a crisis of the spirit, not the flesh.
	Underrated	Oregon State	With all due respect to Texas A&M and Arizona, we salute Oregon State. Yes, the Beavers finished 5-6, but under second-year coach Mike Riley, the Pac-10's perennial punching bag nearly beat No. 3 UCLA and lost one-point games to Washington and Cal. Watch out for the Beavers next season.
	Annoying	Bill Snyder, Kansas State	Set new standards for autocratic behavior. In his zeal to prevent Michael Bishop from delivering weekly bulletin-board provocations to the Wildcats' opponents, Snyder muzzled Bishop at midseason. It deprived the QB a chance at the Heisman and cost K-State a shot at history.
	Breakthrough	Drew Brees, Purdue and Quincy Carter, Georgia	QBs Brees, a sophmore, and Carter, a frosh, each showed so much talent in his first year as a starter that fans forgave the occasional mistake. They won't have that luxury next season. Then again, they'll make fewer mistakes.
	Uplifting	Tennessee	The Vols won at Syracuse thanks to a fourth-down pass interference call by an SEC official. Then they beat Florida in overtime when the Gators missed a short field goal. Then came Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner's fumble. Nothing if not a sign of providence, and we ain't talking Rhode Island.
	MVP	Ricky Williams, Texas	Not only was Williams the leading rusher in the nation, but Longhorns coach Mack Brown called the senior his best defensive player as well. As long as Williams moved the chains, Brown could keep his young defense on the sideline.
	Storyline to Follow in 1999	The travails of the coaching Bowdens	Young Tommy, recently of Tulane, has ended up with a coaching job at a traditional football power (one in Clemson, S.C.) that plays in the ACC along with papa Bobby's Florida State. That will set up the father-vs.-son matchup that went poof! when Terry resigned at Auburn.