Each of the five new rules instituted over the summer by the N.C.A.A. were visible over the season’s opening weekend, though no one change more so than the alterations to the existing kickoff rule – kickoffs now take place from the 35-yard line, and instead of being spotted at the 20, touchbacks are now moved up to the 25. When it was first announced, the rule suggested one of two alternatives: teams could either kick it deep, going for the touchback, or kick it high and short, hoping that their coverage squads could get downfield in time to prevent a return from reaching the 25-yard line. So what route did most teams take through the first week of games?

Last fall, 32 teams in the F.B.S. ear

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The Department of Education and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the new gainful-employment rules, saying the department’s procedures in adopting the regulations were “fully consistent with applicable law.”

In a tersely worded response filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Mr. Duncan and the department “deny that the regulations were unduly influenced by any external group,” as the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities claimed in its July lawsuit.

They also argue that the suit should be dismissed because the federal court lacks jurisdiction in the matter, that the association failed to exhaust all of its administrative remedies, and that the lawsuit failed to state a claim the court could remedy.

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