NCAA Football FanHouse http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com NCAA Football FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif NCAA Football FanHouse http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Dramatic Pac-10 Is Nation's Besthttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/dramatic-pac-10-is-nations-best/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/dramatic-pac-10-is-nations-best/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/dramatic-pac-10-is-nations-best/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

OregonTUCSON, Ariz. -- Here's hoping SEC fans stayed up to watch Oregon beat Arizona Saturday night. They got to see a few things their league hasn't had enough of this season.

Drama, bedlam, theatrics, tension, hilarity and near-riotous fun. And that just begins to describe the Ducks' 44-41 double overtime win.

It finally ended as the clock struck midnight back East. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli slithered into the end zone to crash what would have been the biggest football party Tucson ever threw.

All of which settled one thing. The Pac-10 is the best conference in America.

Before SEC fans gag on their grits, allow me to clarify. Best doesn't mean the Pac-10 has the most outstanding teams. It has the most outstanding competition, which is even better.

Out West, you never know what's going to happen. Down South, you know what to expect.

Florida will win. Alabama will win.

All meaningful drama has been on hold until the SEC Championship Game Dec. 5. Otherwise, the season's been a sideshow where fans just wait on Lane Kiffin's mouth to rev up or Les Miles' brain to freeze.

That stuff is amusing, but I prefer a death match for the league title. The Pac 10's quality depth was never more evident than Saturday when California beat Stanford 34-28. That would have been the Game of the Day (Non-Charlie Weis Death Watch Division), until the Ducks and Wildcats put on their pinball show.

"It was just good, hard football with a lot of emotion," Oregon receiver D.J. Davis said.

That's what you've gotten all year in the Pac-10. That's why four teams still had realistic shots at the Rose Bowl going into Saturday. And that's why 57,863 fans showed up Saturday night, most of them wearing red.

I know, 57,863 Alabama fans would show up to watch Nick Saban eat breakfast at Waffle House. I've lived in the South most of my life. I ate Golden Flake potato chips because Bear Bryant told me to. I plan on naming my first-born son Tebow if he's virgin birthed.

In other words, you'd have a hard time convincing me anything's superior to the SEC brand. Watching Masoli do his Doug Flutie impersonation melted my prejudice.

Masoli threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more. He led a fourth-quarter rally that led to one of the most satisfying and bizarre scenes of the year.

As the clock wound toward 0:00, fans spilled over the rails and flooded the sideline.

Cue LeGarrette Blount and Boise State flashbacks.

We all remember how Oregon's tailback responded the last time the Ducks lost a close one on the road. The Most Dangerous Man in College Football has since been reinstated, though he's stuck on the bench behind redshirt freshman sensation LaMichael James.
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Thousands of fans surrounded the Oregon bench, waiting to turn the field into a wild red sea. Talk about a target rich environment for Blount's right cross.

Fortunately, Masoli was not ready to be swept up in a red tide. He calmly drove the Wildcats 80 yards and hit Ed Dickson with an 8-yard score to tie the game with six seconds left.

"He's just incredible," James said of his quarterback. "He never got down out there."

The Ducks should finally crack the BCS top 10 now. They'll be the only Pac-10 team that high, but the league had five teams in last week's top 25.

The SEC had only three, though all were in the top 10. You can be sure LSU won't be after Miles frittered away a win at Mississippi.

That qualified the Tigers as the SEC's most disappointing team. Or is it Georgia or South Carolina or Auburn or Arkansas?

Let's face it, boys. It's a down year for almost every team outside of Gainesville and Tuscaloosa. The Pac-10 doesn't have a super team, but it has a half-dozen good ones. And if you want to get technical, UCLA thumped Tennessee and Arizona State almost beat Georgia in Athens.

And lest we forget, Pac-10 also-ran USC (how funny is that?) beat Big Ten champ Ohio State on the road. Let's see the fifth-place SEC team do that.

The SEC is like an auto company that has two great cars and a bunch of clunkers. The Pac-10 can roll out a line of impressive models. Oregon is the flashiest, but it still must beat Oregon State in two weeks to win the league crown.

The only bet I'd make on that game is that it won't be as amusing as watching thousands of fans have to slink back to their seats.

"I saw it and I actually smirked," Masoli said of Saturday night's gathering storm of humanity. "It was kind of funny."

Funny, decisive, chaotic and a mystery until the end.

SEC fans may finally experience those things two weeks from now. Pac-10 fans have been getting them all year.

Dramatic Pac-10 Is Nation's Best originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>David WhitleySun, 22 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST Ducks Bump Wildcats in Game of the Year Candidatehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/ducks-bump-wildcats-in-college-football-game-of-the-year/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/ducks-bump-wildcats-in-college-football-game-of-the-year/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/ducks-bump-wildcats-in-college-football-game-of-the-year/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It was arguably the game of the year in college football. It was certainly further evidence that the Pac-10 is back as a national conference.

After two overtimes and a touchdown with six seconds left in regulation, the Oregon Ducks outlasted Arizona 44-41 to take control of the Pac-10.

For a while, the stars seemed to align for Arizona. California upset Stanford during the the third quarter of the Wildcats' game, bumping one Pac-10 peer from Rose Bowl contention. Meanwhile, Arizona shrugged off a 14-0 deficit to take a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

However, Oregon then rallied with 17 points in the final frame, including a highlight-worthy touchdown pass from Jeremiah Masoli to Ed Dickson with six seconds left that deflated the home crowd and dispersed the students, who had emerged nearby to storm the field.

Perhaps still stunned by their defensive collapse, Arizona saw Oregon score a quick touchdown to open overtime. The Wildcats answered with a touchdown of their own but failed to move the ball in the second overtime and settled for a field goal.

The lack of offensive punch was costly as Oregon went 22 yards to the Arizona three on its first play and Masoli ran into the end zone for the winner three plays later.

With that, Arizona's magical night turn to nightmare as the only Pac-10 program never to have played in a Rose Bowl likely saw its Rose Bowl hopes dashed.

Of special intrigue, the Twitterverse was aflame with folks angry they were unable to witness the end of the game. Apparently ABC/ESPN switched to local programming in some parts rather than carry the game of the year to its conclusion. This only adds fuel to Pac-10 fans' fire when it comes to conspiracies about so-called East Coast Bias.

The Ducks now have two weeks to prepare for hosting "Civil War" rival Oregon State. With a win, they clinch the Pac-10 crown and a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1994. They deserve tremendous credit for overcoming a charged Arizona crowd and rallied late but their celebrated offense disappeared for a significant stretch of the game.

The highlight of the night was definitely receiver Jeff Maehl's circus catch in the back of the end zone in the first overtime Masoli dropped a pass into the back of the end zone, well contested by Arizona's best defensive back. However, Maehl muscled his way to the ball first and corralled it safely before hitting the turf. That play changed the game, not only sending it into a second overtime but demonstrating what team actually wanted this game more on a 50-50 play like that.

Ducks Bump Wildcats in Game of the Year Candidate originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jeff MaehlJeremiah MasoliLaMichael JamesBrian GrummellSun, 22 Nov 2009 00:49:00 EST Oregon Gets Wild Win Over 'Cats in 2OThttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/oregon-gets-wild-win-over-cats/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/oregon-gets-wild-win-over-cats/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/22/oregon-gets-wild-win-over-cats/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Jeremiah MasoliTUCSON, Ariz.(AP) -- Jeremiah Masoli tied it with a touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with six seconds left, then won it with a 1-yard run in the second overtime as No. 11 Oregon defeated Arizona 44-41 on Saturday night and took a big step toward the Pac-10 title.

Masoli threw for three scores and ran for three more as the Ducks rallied from a 24-14 deficit early in the fourth quarter.

The Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) will earn a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth with a victory over No. 20 Oregon State in a winner-take-all Civil War on Dec. 3 in Eugene.

After Masoli hit Jeff Maehl for a 4-yard score on Oregon's first overtime possession, Foles hit Juron Criner with a 3-yard strike to tie it at 38-38.

Alex Zendejas kicked a 41-yard field goal to give Arizona a 41-38 lead in the second overtime. But Oregon answered quickly.

Masoli hit Dickson for 22 yards, and three plays later the quarterback bulled over from a yard out.

Oregon tied it at 31-31 when Masoli hit Dickson in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard score.

That came after another minor miracle for the Ducks. Oregon had tied it at 24-24 midway through the final quarter on a 43-yard field goal by Morgan Flint - a line-drive kick that hit the crossbar and bounced through the uprights.

Arizona took a 31-24 lead midway through the fourth quarter on a 71-yard screen pass from Foles to Criner, who outraced the defense to the end zone, fighting off two defenders over the final 10 yards.

Arizona appeared ready to run the clock out on its next possession. But Oregon's Talmadge Jackson III picked off a pass in the end zone, giving the Ducks one last shot.

They took over at their own 20 with 3:11 to play. With red-clad Arizona students ringing the sidelines, Masoli guided the Ducks downfield in 15 plays and 3:05, scoring with six ticks to spare.

Under pressure all night, Masoli ran for two scores and threw for two more.
Nick Foles threw four TD passes for Arizona (6-4, 4-3), which was eliminated from Rose Bowl contention.

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On a 70-degree night in the desert, Wildcats faithful packed Arizona Stadium for one of the bigger games in school history. But this was a matchup few had circled in September.

The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in a preseason poll of reporters regularly assigned to the conference. Oregon, meanwhile, seemed adrift after opening with a 19-8 defeat at Boise State - a loss that made national news when tailback LeGarrette Blount punched a Broncos player after the game and was suspended for the season.

Blount was reinstated this month, but the Ducks' ground attack didn't miss a beat with freshman LaMichael James, who entered the game with an Oregon freshman-record 1,193 yards.

Oregon had scored at least 40 points in six of seven Pac-10 games, including its last four, and the Ducks looked unstoppable on the game's opening possession. They marched 74 yards in nine plays, with Masoli snaking 14 yards up the middle to give Oregon a 7-0 lead.

Masoli made it 14-0 with another big play early in the second quarter. Masoli spun out of a sack, scrambled to his right and pegged the ball to Maehl, who caught it in the midst of three defenders and then dove into the end zone for a 9-yard TD.

Early in the second quarter, Arizona's defense came up with a play that turned the momentum. Free safety Cam Nelson deflected Masoli's pass, and linebacker Sterling Lewis intercepted at Oregon's 44.

Five plays later, Foles lobbed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Criner, who snatched the ball away from cornerback Cliff Harris in the back corner of the end zone.

Arizona stuffed Oregon on its next possession, and the Wildcats went 37 yards in 49 seconds, drawing within 14-10 on a career-long 47-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas as the first half ended.

Arizona took its first lead, 17-10, on an 8-yard run by fourth-string tailback Nick Booth five minutes into the third quarter.

The Wildcats made it 24-14 early in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard strike from Foles to Wright 1:03 into the final quarter.

The Ducks responded with a 10-play, 79-yard march that took only 2:54. Masoli walked in from a yard out to whittle the deficit to 24-21 with 10:57 to play.

Oregon Gets Wild Win Over 'Cats in 2OT originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>FanHouse NewswireSun, 22 Nov 2009 00:10:00 EST Stanford Passes on Victory Over Calhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/21/in-big-game-stanford-passes-on-victory/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/21/in-big-game-stanford-passes-on-victory/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/21/in-big-game-stanford-passes-on-victory/#commentsFiled under: , ,

StanfordSTANFORD, Calif. -- Jim Harbaugh talked a little bit about hubris early this week, the danger of thinking you are more than you are.

Did Stanford think that putting up 106 points in consecutive upset victories over Oregon and USC would guarantee another flurry of points and touchdown celebrations?

Did they think that being ranked nationally and favored in the 112th Big Game - unheard of occurrences since Tyrone Willingham left The Farm for Notre Dame after the 2001 season - gave them an advantage against California's Bears?

Did they think that throwing the ball on 2nd down at the Cal 13-yard line with 1:36 to go was a better option that giving it to Toby Gerhart?

Cardinal redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck dropped back less than 15 yards from an epic comeback victory and tried to get the ball to tight end Coby Fleener. But the redshirt freshman quarterback, who has shown remarkable poise and impressive accuracy all season, instead threw it into the arms of Cal linebacker Mike Mohamed and the Bears hung on for a 34-28 win Saturday at Stanford Stadium.

Cal celebrated its seventh win in eight years in this longstanding series.

The 14th-ranked Cardinal jogged off the field still bowl eligible, though eliminated from the Rose Bowl race, and with a great sense of the reality about who they are - a very good team, but not yet a great one. But not good enough to go away from what has worked for them all year.

Harbaugh said the game was filled with should-haves.

"[Luck] should have thrown it higher," Harbaugh said. "We should have given him a better play at the time, a better play on fourth-and-nine [when the Cardinal turned it back over to Cal on the Bears' 38 with 3:28 to go]. A lot of should-haves, offensively and defensively."

The offense should have kept its momentum after moving out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, instead of stalling out and forcing the defense on to the field for long stretches that allowed Cal to score on five of six possessions and take the lead with a 30-7 rally.
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The defense should have tackled better, made a few more plays, instead of allowing Bears sophomore tailback Shane Vereen to rack up 193 yards on 42 carries with three touchdowns.

Luck should have hit a few more receivers instead of missing short, long and wide on passes he'd been hitting much of the season, and certainly in the last two weeks.

And if he wasn't hitting, then the Cardinal should have handed off to Gerhart, the player who has taken Stanford to this place of renewal and excitement.

Gerhart, who finished the game with 136 rushing yards, a huge 29-yard pass reception on the play that preceded the interception and four touchdowns, admitted he would have liked the chance to carry the ball into the end zone a fifth time.

"I would've liked to have it," Gerhart said. "We had some time, it was second down, it would have been nice, but that's the way the game goes. They made a good play and things turned out the wrong way."

Harbaugh said his team was going to "go down swinging", but they way it worked out, the Cardinal might not have had to go down at all.

"We should have run the ball a couple of times when we got the ball inside the 15," Harbaugh said.

The fact is, Stanford was a longshot for Pasadena. The Cardinal settle into third-place in the conference standings, are in a bowl game and have a chance to finished the season with eight wins with the regular-season finale against a reeling Notre Dame team.

But there was a chance for something truly seismic to happen on Saturday evening. Stanford had the chance to cap its remarkable run of the past month with a huge win in its rivalry game, to put an exclamation point on the end of a memorable season.

If only the Cardinal had run the ball. They should have.

Stanford Passes on Victory Over Cal originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Andrew LuckJim HarbaughShane VereenToby GerhartMichelle SmithSat, 21 Nov 2009 22:33:00 EST Ducks' Blount Returns, Doesn't Playhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/15/no-blount-for-smoking-ducks/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/15/no-blount-for-smoking-ducks/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/15/no-blount-for-smoking-ducks/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Saturday was to be the college football return for embattled Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount, but a funny thing happened along the way -- the Ducks never found a need for him in an impressive 44-21 victory over Arizona State.

The 44 points marked the fourth straight game Oregon's red-hot offense has scored 42 or more. Meanwhile, the cold night at Autzen Stadium seemingly prompted the Duck coaching staff to give Blount -- suspended since Sept. 4 for punching a Boise State player and refusing to leave the stadium peacefully -- the cold shoulder.

One Duck tailback after another -- four in all -- notched carries Saturday, none of them Blount. Perhaps there was a message to him in that, or perhaps it was a reflection of his backfield mates' efforts. LaMichael James went over 100 yards for the fifth straight game, gobbling up 149 yards and claiming three touchdowns. Overall the Ducks rushed for 266 yards, more than enough to put away the struggling Sun Devils.

After replacing ineffective starter Danny Sullivan last week with freshman Brock Osweiler, Arizona State saw Osweiler suffer a mysterious injury that brought sophomore Samson Szakacsy into the game. He was mostly ineffective but did stuff two touchdown drives between the bookends of mediocrity in all other possessions.

Meanwhile, television cameras repeatedly found a smiling, ready, benched Blount. Teammates surrounded him throughout the game, perhaps anticipating that moment he'd get the call. That proved elusive, as coach Chip Kelly went in a different direction. Oregon fans roared at one point, confusing back No. 5 with Blount's No. 9, clearly hoping for a made-for-TV moment.

His next opportunity to play, and perhaps redeem himself, will be against Arizona next Saturday. It is a huge conference battle, with a loss dangerous to Oregon and probably fatal to Arizona if they want to get to Pasadena as Rose Bowl participants.
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Ducks' Blount Returns, Doesn't Play originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brock OsweilerChip KellyDanny SullivanLaMichael JamesLeGarrette BlountSamson SzakacsyBrian GrummellSun, 15 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST Arizona Likely Drops Out Of Pac-10 Racehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/arizona-drops-out-of-pac-10-race/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/arizona-drops-out-of-pac-10-race/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/arizona-drops-out-of-pac-10-race/#commentsFiled under: , ,

One of the best conference races in college football has been the one going down in the Pac-10. Heading into today, five teams were still competing for a shot at the Rose Bowl: Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, Arizona and USC. Stanford's wood-shedding of USC eliminated one contender in a big way, and Cal likely did Arizona the honors in bumping the Wildcats 24-16.

Arizona, of course, is the only team in the league not to have gone to the Rose Bowl. The fact has been a nagging itch for the Wildcat football program, desperate for consistency and a trip to Pasadena to hang their hat on.

The Wildcats likely won't get it in 2009.

Cal kept quarterback Nick Foles and the Wildcat offense in check throughout, limiting Arizona to just 17 first downs and 276 yards. Its a disappointing elimination for Arizona, which had won three in a row including a wild victory over surging Stanford, 43-38.

The Wildcats now stare out into the desert at a trio of toughies, hosting Oregon then traveling to rival Arizona State and at bruised USC. Their 6-3 record is good enough for bowl eligibility but another two to three wins would signal something of a return to the consistency of the Dick Tomey era and a final parting with the malaise of hard times under former coach John Mackovic.

Arizona Likely Drops Out Of Pac-10 Race originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Dick TomeyJohn MackovicNick FolesBrian GrummellSat, 14 Nov 2009 23:20:00 EST Stanford Whips USC in Record Fashionhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/stanford-drops-double-nickel-on-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/stanford-drops-double-nickel-on-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/stanford-drops-double-nickel-on-usc/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Like a star collapsing under its own weight, USC's football program is rapidly collapsing in on itselft under coach Pete Carroll.

For the second time in three weeks, USC was beaten. Badly. This time by Stanford, which walloped the Trjoans 55-21. The point total was the most ever surrendered at home by the Trojans; Pete Carroll's unbeaten November win streak went by the wayside.

Of course, the points surrendered record wasn't exactly something out of the yellowing pages of history. That record was an august two weeks old. Oregon beat Carroll by 27 on Halloween, 47-20 (tripling the previous record loss, 11 points, to Notre Dame in 2001). Saturday, Stanford did the Ducks eight points better.

What happened?

A flurry of turnovers certainly contributed to the mess, but Stanford was unstoppable behind the bruising runs of Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart and the scrambling and guile of quarterback Andrew Luck. Gerhart rumbled for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while Luck ran for 61 of his own to go with two passing touchdowns. The Cardinal punted just twice in one of the greatest offensive performances ever against USC.

USC's streak of seven consecutive Pac-10 crowns was speculatively over before Saturday, and confirmed early in the fourth quarter. Stanford gave the men of Troy their third conference defeat, the second most in a season under Carroll. After making the Rose Bowl a reliable season-ending trip, USC will now participate in some unimportant bowl, perhaps in El Paso or San Francisco, miles away from the real parties.
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Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh has revived Cardinal football, upending conference favorites Oregon and USC in consecutive weeks on the way to a 7-3 record and an outside shot at a Rose Bowl battle with Ohio State. Harbaugh even added significant color to the game, opting to go for two in the fourth quarter with Stanford leading 48-21. He was clearly angling for 50 points, but fell short on the conversion attempt.

Game commentators said Carroll then stared him down from across the field. No matter, Stanford added another late touchdown to get to 55.

Gerhart deserves strong Heisman consideration after his tour de force against Oregon and USC. Tacklers simply fall off him for the greater part of an afternoon, reminiscent of some nature special documenting the futility of say, lions attempting to drag down an elephant. He's too big, too powerful, too angry, and he'll leave a mark if you get too close.

Put plainly: send him to New York.

And if Oregon or Arizona stumble, send these guys to Pasadena.

Stanford Whips USC in Record Fashion originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Andrew LuckJim HarbaughPete CarrollToby GerhartBrian GrummellSat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:00 EST Stanford's Gerhart Battering Oppositionhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/stanfords-gerhart-battering-opposition/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/stanfords-gerhart-battering-opposition/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/stanfords-gerhart-battering-opposition/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Toby Gerhart spent so much time submerged in the cold tub Sunday that a Stanford athletic trainer joked Gerhart needed a snorkel. Thirty-eight carries and a school-record 223 rushing yards a day earlier against Oregon left Gerhart beaten and bruised.

He couldn't have been happier.
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Gerhart's physical style has set the tone and pace for the surprising Cardinal, who are back in the national rankings and need a victory at USC Saturday to likely end one of the great runs in the history of college football -- the Trojans' seven years atop the Pac-10. But there's so much more to this story.

Bowl eligible for the first time since 2001, beating the Trojans could thrust the Cardinal into the Rose Bowl hunt. And Gerhart, raised in Southern California, will also get his Heisman Trophy stage in the Coliseum against Tailback U, a program that recruited him as a blocking back and frowned on him playing baseball.

"So I told them I wasn't interested," Gerhart said.

All eyes are certainly on Gerhart and the Cardinal following last Saturday's 51-42 win over then-No. 7 Oregon.

Gerhart's old-school, hammering running style set a school single-game rushing record and it has also put together one of the best seasons in the country. The senior has rushed for 1,217 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns, placing him second in the nation in both.

Considering Stanford has scored 84 points the past two games against two of the nation's better defenses in Oregon and Arizona State, it could be an interesting afternoon for the Trojans. And let's not forget what happened last time Stanford waltzed into Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2007. The 40-point underdog beat USC 24-23.

Talk to us, Pete.

"[Gerhart] would be like playing the Bus [Jerome Bettis] the old days at Pittsburgh where you just knew you had a big war daddy coming back there at you down after down after down," said USC coach Pete Carroll, whose team has won six of the last seven games in the series after the Cardinal posted three consecutive wins from 1999-2001.

"Gerhart would be like playing [Jerome Bettis], where you just knew you had a big war daddy coming back there at you."
-- Pete Carroll, USC coach "There is a certain style to his running and all that and certain things you want to do to try to defend against that. I don't think there are many guys that had that kind of presence off-hand other than going all the way back to him [Bettis]."

Thick and sturdy at 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds, Gerhart has had an enormous impact on the Cardinal's success. He might not be a household name nationally and is considered a Heisman long shot, but he's not a secret on the West Coast. When Gerhart receives more than 20 carries, Stanford is 6-1. When he doesn't? Stanford is 0-2.

"They have a real obvious core of their offense in Toby Gerhart, just a hammer back there running the football," said Carroll. "They've built their style around his physical nature, and it's working very well for them."

Gerhart is just the second player in Stanford history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, and he has pushed his career total to 2,868 yards, good for third place on the program's all-time career rushing list.

Gerhart has carried the ball an astounding 233 times in nine games this season (about 26 carries per game), which is easily the most in the country and more than some entire teams.

Not bad for a California dude who might have more potential as a professional baseball prospect. The outfielder from Norco, Ca., southeast of L.A. off I-15, has hit .275 with 16 home runs, 24 doubles and 68 RBI over three seasons.

"Toby's been our shining star all year," Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh said.

"He's a man. He's a true warrior."

He's a team player, too.

The affable Gerhart might be slow when he lugs himself off the ground after a carry, but he's quick to spread praise to his offense line. The unit is a big reason why Stanford is averaging 520.6 yards (1,562 total) a game in total offense over its last three games against Arizona (584), Arizona State (473) and Oregon (505).

The Cardinal currently rank second in the Pac-10 and 14th nationally in total offense, averaging 443.0 yards per game.

"They do everything, and if it wasn't for those guys I wouldn't have any yards and any of this publicity," Gerhart said.

"Those guys just get after it -- the 'Tunnel Workers Union' as they call themselves. They all have their beanies or skull caps and their motto is they go to work every day and make holes. They get after it week in and week out, no matter how many guys are in the box trying to stop us or what kind of scheme the defense is throwing at us. They play physical and move people.

"They are solely responsible for the success we've had in the running game these last two years."

After stumbling to the finish line in past seasons, Stanford is determined (6-3, 5-2 Pac-10) to sprint across it this year. The Cardinal are ranked 25th in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll, marking the program's first national ranking since the end of the 2001 season when it was 16th.

Stanford is also 3-2 in its last five games against ranked opponents, including 2-0 this season after wins over No. 24 Washington and No. 7 Oregon.
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"There wasn't that feeling after the Oregon game, 'Oh my gosh I cant believe we won, this is one of the most exciting wins we've ever had.' It was more of a feeling that this is what we expected to do, it was just another win out of our last four, and this week is just another huge opportunity," Gerhart said.

"I didn't sense any extra sort of satisfaction in beating Oregon and being bowl eligible. The Pac-10 race is there and in our sights. If we win these next two and some teams beat up one each other, we could be in the Rose Bowl."

Gerhart also received an insider's tip on the Trojans from his brother Garth, a center at Arizona State. USC escaped from Tempe, Ariz., last Saturday with a 14-9 victory.

"He said they should have beaten them," said Gerhart, who hails from an athletic family. (Dad was an all-conference running back at Cal State Fullerton and played professional football, while Teagan and Kelsey, a pair of triplet sisters, are freshman softball players at Stanford).

"He said, 'their defensive lineman get off the ball pretty quick but I think you guys are going to be able to pound the rock on them, you'll be able to have your way running the ball.' "

That's just the way Gerhart wants it.

In fact, as he spent last Sunday submerged in a cold tub, Gerhart remembered one of his carries last season when he was stopped cold at the line of scrimmage by USC's Rey Maualuga and Taylor Mays.

"It was the first time my momentum was completely stopped, and put backwards on my butt," Gerhart said.

"I was, 'All right, this is what these guys are supposed to do.' It kind of got me excited. They were whoopin' and hollering. It makes it more exciting, I want to get back at them.

"It gets me fired up."

Stanford's Gerhart Battering Opposition originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>jim harbaughJimHarbaughPete CarrollPeteCarrollToby GerhartTobyGerhartJim HenryThu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST Oh, the Humility for Trojanshttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/ducks-humiliate-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/ducks-humiliate-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/ducks-humiliate-usc/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

There's no other way to put it. Oregon's football program unequivocally demolished longtime Pac-10 overlord USC 47 to 20 on Saturday, effectively putting the brakes on two major, likely never to be repeated feats the Trojans had accomplished.

USC's record streak of seven Pac-10 championships is likely done, as is its even more impressive run of never losing by more than 11 points in the Pete Carroll era (and never by more than seven points once things really got rolling in 2002).

The Ducks finished with a 27-point winning margin and it easily could have been more. It was a two-sided wholesale destruction few outside of Autzen could have reasonably anticipated given the nature of USC's run these last few years. As a USC guy I knew it had to happen eventually, but I was thinking something like a 14-point loss, something reasonable.


But 27? That's put-your-head-in-a-blender inexplicable. That's just not how USC has ever handled things under Carroll, rarely surrendering 30 points thanks to unprecedented hauls of talent and a system Carroll (and mentor Monte Kiffin) developed to be the vanguard of NFL defenses. Oregon didn't give two hoots and went out there and sent USC's entire aura packing.

Needless to say, the Ducks are now Pac-10 favorites and USC is left likely scrambling to secure a Holiday Bowl or Sun Bowl berth, its first non-BCS appearance since an embarrassing Las Vegas Bowl defeat to Utah after the turnaround 2001 season.

If you're looking for some long-term prognosis here, good luck. At first impression, it sure looks like Oregon's coaching and system is plain better than USC's at this point. Football is a game that constantly evolves but certain fundamentals hold true over time. USC's generally clung to those fundamentals in running straightforward pro-style offenses and defenses. But perhaps that's just a little old school for the moment; even as the trendy spread offenses appear to have waned, here comes Oregon.

Coach Chip Kelly's spread and shred approach has worked wonders since the opening week embarrassment at Boise State, notching a 39-point victory against California, a 46-point victory over Washington State, a 14-point victory at UCLA, a 24-point victory at Washington and now Saturday's 27-point thrashing of USC.

Oregon has violently and aggressively lashed out since the Boise State defeat, emerging as the best non-USC Pac-10 team since the Cal Bears of 2004 who were wrongly left out of the BCS thanks to shameless politics out of Texas coach Mack Brown.

They must now soldier forward with a level head and not embarrass themselves in a tough final stretch again Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona and Civil War rival Oregon State. This is too rare a treasure to squander.

Oh, the Humility for Trojans originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brian GrummellSun, 01 Nov 2009 00:32:00 EST No Defense for Trojans as Ducks Romphttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/no-defense-for-trojans-as-ducks-romp/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/no-defense-for-trojans-as-ducks-romp/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/no-defense-for-trojans-as-ducks-romp/#commentsFiled under: , ,

OregonEUGENE, Ore.(AP) -- Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and the No. 10 Oregon Ducks ran past No. 4 USC 47-20 for the Trojans' worst loss since 1997.

Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 184 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pacific-10) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans, who came into the game with the fifth-best rush defense in the nation, allowing an average of just 79.9 yards a game.

Southern California (6-2, 3-2) had not lost a game by more than a touchdown since a 27-16 loss to Notre Dame in 2001, Pete Carroll's first season as Trojans coach. It was USC's worst lost since a 35-7 defeat to Arizona State on Oct. 11, 1997 and the most points allowed by the Trojans in Carroll's tenure.

Oregon remained alone in first and undefeated in the Pac-10, threatening USC's hold on the league championship for the past seven years.

Oregon fans were decked out in special black ``Fright Night'' T-shirts with a duck-and-crossbones motif to commemorate the Halloween night game - billed as the Pac-10's biggest game of the season. Afterward the fans swarmed the field, while a ring of blue-jacketed security guards circled the goal posts.

It turned out to be a Fright Night for USC's defense, which allowed 613 yards.

The Ducks have won seven straight games since an embarrassing 19-8 loss at Boise State in the opener, a game that got uglier when running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Broncos defensive end as he was leaving the field.

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Blount was suspended for the season and Oregon moved on without him. James was his replacement.

USC freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who earlier this week predicted he would feed off Autzen's deafening noise, completed 21 of 38 passes for 187 yards and two scores. He was intercepted once.

Masoli completed 19 of 31 for Oregon, which had never before scored as many points against the Trojans.

USC went up 3-0 on the its first series of the game on Jordan Congdon's 28-yard field goal. Oregon answered with Morgan Flint's 32-yarder, but the Ducks had squandered their opportunity after Kenjon Barner's 77-yard kickoff return.

Masoli scored on a 3-yard run to put the Ducks up 10-3 late in the first quarter. USC tied it with Barkley's 3-yard pass to Ronald Johnson early in the second.

Oregon went ahead again on Andre Crenshaw's 1-yard scoring run. And USC tied it again at 17 on Barkley's 4-yard pass to Damian Williams.

Masoli found Jamere Holland with a 17-yard touchdown pass to put the Ducks back up 24-17 at the half.

From that point, USC couldn't keep up.

After Oregon extended the lead with Flint's 35-yard field goal, USC narrowed it with Congdon's 39-yarder.

James scored on a 5-yard run and fellow redshirt freshman Kenjon Barner ran for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 41-20 at the close of the third quarter.

Flint had a pair of field goals from 22 and 23 yards out to pad Oregon's lead in the fourth quarter.

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who was at the game, said he planned to stay in Eugene to meet with Blount and school officials over possible reinstatement.

Scott says he'll meet with Blount, Oregon counsel, university president Richard Lariviere, athletic director Mike Bellotti and coach Chip Kelly and members of his staff.

He says the university has not made formal moves to reinstate Blount and his role ``completely depends on the university and whether they want the penalty revisited.''

The Trojans have lost four straight in the state of Oregon.

No Defense for Trojans as Ducks Romp originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>FanHouse NewswireSun, 01 Nov 2009 00:08:00 EST Oregon-USC Live Blog: How Can You Tell If the Ducks Are in Costume?http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/31/oregon-usc-live-blog-how-can-you-tell-if-the-ducks-are-in-costu/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/31/oregon-usc-live-blog-how-can-you-tell-if-the-ducks-are-in-costu/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/31/oregon-usc-live-blog-how-can-you-tell-if-the-ducks-are-in-costu/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Oregon DucksEUGENE, Ore. -- Greetings from Autzen Stadium, where just moments ago I was "looking live at Brent Musberger" as we rode up the elevator together. Brent is 70 years young and he hasn't lost an ounce of energy. It's funny. Earlier today ESPN Classic aired a replay of the 1983 NCAA basketball final (Houston-N.C. State), for which Musberger did the play-by-play (on CBS).

That was 26 years ago. And Brent is still getting the primetime gigs. I am an unabashed, unapologetic Musberger fan.

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The weather in Eugene? Cloudy but comfortable. Autzen's press box provides one of the country's prettier views, especially with the backdrop of the fall colors. Notice, by the way, that USC's and Oregon's colors all are in sync with the various hues of leaves this time of year. That is, unless the Ducks wear black this evening.

Hope you have time to follow the Twick-or-Tweets tonight. Happy Halloween!
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Oregon-USC Live Blog: How Can You Tell If the Ducks Are in Costume? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>John WaltersSat, 31 Oct 2009 20:03:00 EST Chip Kelly's Oregon Comeback Nearly Storybook Perfecthttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/30/chip-kellys-oregon-comeback-nearly-storybook-perfect/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/30/chip-kellys-oregon-comeback-nearly-storybook-perfect/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/30/chip-kellys-oregon-comeback-nearly-storybook-perfect/#commentsFiled under: ,

Chip KellyEUGENE, Ore. -- Those football coaches who at least make an attempt at opening a book whose primary letters are not X and O often reach for biographies. Famous military leaders are popular.

Earlier this season Chip Kelly was reading, even committing to memory, a children's book. On the coffee table in his office here, the first-year Oregon coach kept a copy of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

Certainly Kelly can relate. In his sideline debut Kelly, 45, had a terrible, horrible, no good, cable-news-channel-attention-getting, very, very bad day.

And he has not had one since. But we are getting ahead of the story.

Thursday night, Sept. 3, Boise, Idaho. There, Kelly endured the most disastrous first day on the job anyone has experienced before a prime-time, national television audience since Lucy and Ethel tried to wrap chocolates on a conveyor belt. That Kelly had never been a head football coach at any level and that Boise State had won 50 of its previous 51 home games only augmented the curiosity factor. Would the man whom current athletic director Mike Bellotti handpicked to be his successor be a success or not?

At halftime the Ducks still had not scored a point. They had yet to even gain a first down -- and Kelly's area of expertise was supposedly offense. In the moments after the 19-8 Duck loss, on a night in which players from both teams had met at midfield before the coin toss to partake in a handshake to demonstrate sportsmanship, Duck tailback LeGarrette Blount sucker-punched Boise State defensive end Byron Hout .

After only 60 minutes, Kelly had failed to demonstrate that he could put a competitive team on the field or that he had command of his team. The Blount incident, which has been replayed more frequently this season than even Tim Tebow's concussion, was particularly ugly.

The following week, Oregon alumnus Anthony Seminary, '96, e-mailed Kelly (which anyone can do; Kelly's e-mail address is right there on Oregon's athletic site on his bio page) to express his displeasure. "I was so angry with the game [even before the post-game melee]," Seminary, who lives in Portland, wrote, "I am sending you an invoice for my trip to Boise. The product on the field Thursday night is not something I was at all proud of, and I feel as though I'm entitled to my money back for the trip."

Seminary included an invoice for $439. Kelly's reply was succinct. "What's your address?" By week's end Seminary was holding a check for $439 from one Charles Kelly.

The transformation has been incredible. In eight weeks, Kelly has gone from a guy who seemed to be in utterly over his head on opening night to a coach who has done nothing but win games and admirers.

Winning games helps, certainly. Since the Boise State debacle the Ducks, minus their leading rusher of a year ago in Blount, and with their starting quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, often out due to injury, have won six straight games. They've ended the nation's longest win streak (Utah's, which was 16 games at the time) and then positively embarrassed then-No. 6 Cal, 42-3. If Oregon, now No. 10, beats No. 4 USC on Saturday here, Kelly's heroes will have the inside track to the Rose Bowl. They'd still even be in the running for the BCS championship game.

How Kelly has handled Blount -- first suspending him for the rest of the season, in effect ending his collegiate career, and then three weeks later holding out an olive branch of potential reinstatement -- is more impressive. On Oct. 1, it was reported that Blount, whom Kelly had swiftly and decisively suspended for the entire season just a few days after the Hout incident, might possibly be reinstated for Oregon's final four games if, according to Kelly, he met certain agreed-upon conditions.

Kelly, blathered the sports-talk heads, was compromising himself by failing to honor the sentence he had originally imposed. Showing favoritism to a stud player who could help the Ducks in the thick of the Pac-10 race.

That afternoon Kelly appeared on "Pardon the Interruption." He calmly explained to the hosts, Kornheiser and Wilbon, that he had always intended to reinstate Blount. However, if he had set a possible reinstatement date then he would never know if that was the sole reason for a suddenly contrite Blount, who'd had behavioral issues before. Kelly's plan was to not dangle a carrot and see if Blount reformed for the right reasons.



You can choose not to believe that -- especially if you attend school in Corvallis. I am going to take Kelly at his word. What has come across as self-evident since that night in Boise is that he is not influenced by outside opinion. The New Hampshire native has a manner of doing things his own way, even though his boss (Bellotti) happens to be the most successful coach in school history.

Less than a year into the job, Kelly appears enthused, committed and balanced. He will personally step into a lecture hall once a week or so to take attendance with his players. He runs a detention hour on Friday evenings in the offseason (and Monday nights in season) that is basically an extended sweat session for players who miss meetings or are late to practice. It may be punitive, but at the end of the session Kelly will assemble everyone for a "team photo." He'll discuss an episode of "Entourage" with as much passion as he will what uniform colors the Ducks should go with in a particular week (after all, what coach has more choices?).

It is shaping up to be a terrific, happy, not bad, very good season for coaches named Kelly: Brian in Cincinnati and Chip in Eugene. The question is, Who among us ever thought we'd be saying that about both after that Thursday night in Boise?

Chip Kelly's Oregon Comeback Nearly Storybook Perfect originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>chip kellyJohn WaltersFri, 30 Oct 2009 15:53:00 EST Pac-10 Suspends Official for Missing Obvious Facemasking Callhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/pac-10-suspends-official-for-missing-obvious-facemasking-call/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/pac-10-suspends-official-for-missing-obvious-facemasking-call/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/pac-10-suspends-official-for-missing-obvious-facemasking-call/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The Pac-10 has suspended one of its officials for failing to throw a flag on a facemasking penalty committed by USC safety Taylor Mays on Oregon State receiver James Rodgers, the latest in a long line of high-profile missed calls by college football officials this year.

"We have taken this action in light of the blatant and dangerous nature of the missed call," Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "We have full confidence in our highly trained and qualified staff of football officials, but they, like the coaches and players, are accountable and must meet the high expectations placed upon them."

Although Mays obviously should have been flagged, it's surprising that the Pac-10 is reacting so harshly as to suspend the official (who hasn't been named publicly). Missed calls happen every Saturday, and suspensions of officials are rare.

But this official had the misfortune of missing a call on a big play during a game that was broadcast on network television, and of having his missed call replayed several times while the announcers questioned what the official was thinking. That kind of bad publicity forced the conference to act, just as bad publicity about missed calls in this season's Florida-Arkansas game forced the SEC to suspend the officiating crew that worked the game.

Mays is a hard hitter who has been called for a number of personal foul penalties. But he's also one of the best defensive players in the country, and he said it was important to him that people know he's not a dirty player.

"I didn't mean to rip the dude's helmet off," Mays told the Los Angeles Times. "Right after it happened, I got up and said, 'Hey, I wasn't trying to be dirty.' ...That's how I understand the game is to be played -- it's physical," Mays said. "I'm not trying to hurt anybody. I'm just trying to hit somebody as hard as I can."

And the Pac-10 is just trying to crack down on a problem that is plaguing college football.

Video via The Wiz of Odds.

Pac-10 Suspends Official for Missing Obvious Facemasking Call originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>James RodgersJamesRodgersTaylor MaysTaylorMaysMichael David SmithTue, 27 Oct 2009 05:30:00 EST Believe It or Not: Arizona Is Rankedhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/believe-it-or-not-arizona-is-ranked/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/believe-it-or-not-arizona-is-ranked/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/believe-it-or-not-arizona-is-ranked/#commentsFiled under: ,

On Sunday morning, after waking up and throwing back a glass of H2O, I did what I always do ... opened the laptop and checked the college football rankings. It's a habit of mine, for no particular reason at all. I'm not a huge fan of a big powerhouse, sans my affiliation to my home state Texas teams.

This Sunday was different. I was pulling the rankings up with a purpose. I was going to see something I'd never seen in all my years as a football fan. My school would be ranked. My college was going to matter.

The University of Arizona is ranked in all the major college football polls for the first time since I set foot in Tucson, as a clueless 18-year-old hoping that I made the right choice with my selection. (Turns out, beautiful weather, all the golf I could ask for and a female student body that rivaled John Mayer's groupies is the recipe you want in a four year school.)
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I went to Arizona for a reason only sports fans could understand ... I wanted to be a part of a powerhouse. Of course, the Wildcats were that in basketball. I went when the team was preseason number one, outfitted with a sneaky quick point guard (Jason Gardner), a lock-loaded forward (Luke Walton) and a freshman class that was as talented as anything you could find in the country (Hassan Adams and Andre Iguodala). Of course, Gardner forgot how to shoot, the Wildcats couldn't get passed an equally stacked Kansas team in the Elite Eight and the curse of Wildcat athletics began. True story -- my junior year was the first time a senior class didn't make it to a Final Four under Lute Olson.

So, did we turn to football? Yeah, not so much. The pigskin team I was given as a undergrad was as pitiful as late night Los Betos. How bad was the squad?

In 2003, when the eventual national champion LSU Tigers came to town, I was the beat reporter for the school newspaper, set to cover the football team, and we played so poorly I gave the "Player of the Game" award to a cop that laid a perfect form tackle on a drunk student that ran out on the field in the second quarter. (And, honestly, if that police officer hadn't been in his 40s, the Wildcats may have thought about adding him to a defense that was kilometers away from the once herald "Desert Swarm".)

As you probably expect, Arizona playing this well is a treat. We have a coach that is as passionate as anyone in the country on the sidelines, basically bringing Olson's intensity to the gridiron. We have an offense that can move the ball. Our defense is top rate. I actually uttered the words, "You know, if we take down USC ..." before being slapped in the face by a friend.

The defeat of UCLA was something Wildcat fans haven't come to expect. The team played poorly, made a bunch of mistakes, didn't have their best stuff, and still won. Two years ago, with that effort, Arizona would have been stomping back to the lockers, heads hanging, with the fans grumbling yet again about how this team just doesn't have it.

Coaches have come to the Old Pueblo in unison, proclaiming how they'd be the guy to take the Wildcats to their first ever Rose Bowl. It's a joke ASU fans constantly hide behind, because it scares them to think that U of A is actually better than them at their own game. (Sadly, it's true ... the Wildcats are a better football team than the Sun Devils, tenfold. It isn't even close at this point.) Now, for the first time in years, a Rose Bowl visit isn't out of the question, albeit damn difficult. The last three games will be against Oregon, ASU and USC. Those are three games the Wildcats usually drop. It's in our nature to fail at the end of the season. That's what Arizona does.

But maybe it's different. Maybe, just maybe, this is a real football team. Maybe the win last year in the Las Vegas Bowl wasn't a mirage, but some sort of foreshadowing to what is to come. Maybe Arizona will stop sucking, finally, and people will begin buying football tickets for more reasons than just to get themselves in the basketball ticket lottery.

It still wouldn't be Arizona fans without this comment I heard Saturday night while basking in the glory of our 5-2 record. A friend, commenting on the upcoming schedule, started to complain about the Wildcats. It seems we've become too good, and if we continue down this path, we won't get another invite to the Las Vegas Bowl.

Welcome to the University of Arizona ... where the tailgate will always be more important than the score.

Believe It or Not: Arizona Is Ranked originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Shane BaconSun, 25 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST Inside the Pac-10: Stanford's Gerhart Mows Down UW's Defensehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/inside-the-pac-10-stanfords-gerhart-mows-down-uws-defense/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/inside-the-pac-10-stanfords-gerhart-mows-down-uws-defense/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/inside-the-pac-10-stanfords-gerhart-mows-down-uws-defense/#commentsFiled under:

One week after gaining national attention with an upset victory over USC, the Washington Huskies crashed back to the Pac-10 middle of the pack with a disappointing 34-14 loss to Stanford at The Farm on Saturday.

The defeat gave Washington a 1-1 record in the competitive, wacky Pac-10 standings, which looks headed for the final weeks of the season before any bowl bids are determined.

That shouldn't be unexpected In a conference that features true round-robin play where every team plays each other during the season. Currently, Stanford sits alone in first place with a 2-0 in-conference record followed by 1-0 Oregon and 1-0 Arizona. UCLA (3-0 overall) and Arizona State (2-1 overall) have yet to play a conference game.

Preseason conference favorites USC and Cal are tied with Washington at 1-1, while Oregon State (0-1} and Washington State (0-2) are still seeking their first conference win.

"You never have a gimme in this conference,"' said Washington quarterback Jake Locker, a hero in the Huskies' win over the Trojans last week but completed only 16-for-31 passes for 190 yards with three turnovers against Stanford. "You can't sleep on anybody. We had a good week of practice and I felt good about where we were. We just couldn't get it done."

That was not a problem for Stanford power back Toby Gerhart, who dominated the Huskies' overmatched run defense with 27 careers for a career-high 200 yards and a touchdown.

Gerhart's physical style carried Stanford's offense from the start. He had rushed for 89 yards in six carries by the end of the first quarter and had 156 yards in 12 carries by halftime. By the time Stanford had opened up a 27-14 third quarter lead, Gerhart had 171 yards in 19 carries.

"It's just a mindset,'' Gerhart said when asked about how easy Stanford controlled the line of scrimmage against the Huskies, the same defense that effectively shut down USC for stretches a week earlier. "Watching on film, teams got some yards on them. We felt we could do the same thing if we went straight downhill on them. It worked out."

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, whose team would be undefeated if not for a fourth quarter collapse in Wake Forest, said Stanford has played well enough to be ranked this season.

"When I vote tomorrow, I'll put us in the Top 25," Harbaugh said after Stanford's win over the Huskies on Saturday.

Next up for Stanford? Undefeated UCLA, which had the week off and could have true freshman quarterback Kevin Prince back in the lineup for Saturday's game at The Farm.

For Oregon, this weekend's 42-3 beat down over Cal sent a major message throughout the conference.

The Ducks, who wore retro green and yellow uniforms for the game, not only showed that they will be a force in conference play, but also found their offensive rhythm under veteran quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who passed for over 350 yards and completed three touchdown passes to tight end Ed Dickson, who had been a forgotten target in the Ducks' offense.

"There's always critics -- and it always falls on the quarterback," Masoli said after his breakout game against Cal. "You try not to think about it, because nobody on the outside really has anything to do with it."

The Ducks' defense also stepped up with a solid performance against Cal's Jahvid Best, who ran for just 55 yards after rushing for more than 200 yards and five touchdowns in the Bears' win at Minnesota last week.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly could not have asked for a better turnaround after the Ducks' dismal start to the season. Oregon lost at Boise State in a game that featured a high-publicized, post-game punch by LeGarrette Blount, who was suspended for the remainder of the season.

"For us to win in this league, our best players have to have good games," Kelly said about the Ducks, who will host Washington State next week. "The rankings don't matter to us. We knew we were going to win this game, we just made it happen. It's all about preparation."

Getting his team ready to play next week will be a high priority for Cal's Jeff Tedford, who suffered the most lopsided defeat since he took over as Bears' coach in 2002.

With USC coming to town, it will be interesting to see how Cal bounces back. Either the Bears rally back into the Pac-10 race or lose ground to up and coming programs like Stanford UCLA and Arizona. It's up to them.

"A couple years ago, we were No. 2, and when we lost, in the locker room it felt like the end of the world," Cal linebacker Mike Mohamed said. "... The Pac-10 is still wide open."

And only time will tell if the Bears have what it takes to make a serious run for the conference title this season.
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Inside the Pac-10: Stanford's Gerhart Mows Down UW's Defense originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Lonnie WhiteSun, 27 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST Battle for Respect Turns Into Cal-amityhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/cal-not-all-its-quacked-up-to-be/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/cal-not-all-its-quacked-up-to-be/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/cal-not-all-its-quacked-up-to-be/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Take a big thick red marker and draw a line through California on the list of top Pac-10 football teams looking to gain some national respect this season.

Isn't that what you do to fraudulent programs that fail to show up in statement games?

Well, that's what happened to Cal, who entered the weekend undefeated and ranked sixth in the AP poll but got hammered by unranked Oregon, 42-3, in a game that wasn't even that close at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.

While Cal blew a chance to step up in the national landscape, the Ducks took full advantage of their opportunity.

After basically being written off at the start of the season following a disappointing loss at Boise State, which was overshadowed by LeGarrette Blount's post-game punch and season-long suspension, Oregon has now won three games in a row, which include back-to-back wins over ranked teams (Utah and Cal).

"The rankings don't matter to us," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said after the Ducks accounted for 524 total yards and held Cal to 206. "We knew we were going to win this game, we just made it happen. It's all about preparation."

To say that the Ducks gave Cal coach Jeff Tedford's mysterious team a beat down would be a major understatement. It was the Bears' most lopsided defeat ever under Tedford and the program's worst since USC beat Cal, 55-14, in 2001.
"The rankings don't matter to us ... We knew we were going to win this game, we just made it happen. It's all about preparation."
-Chip Kelley
"It all came down to us executing," Cal offensive lineman Mike Tepper said. "We'll take a look at film and learn from it. I've never been shut out before. This is definitely a huge learning experience.

"[Oregon's] guys were lighter and faster. But in the end, we shot ourselves in the foot left and right ... we just got beat. We got beat bad."

The Bears, who dropped to 3-1, looked good early when they forced an Oregon fumble on the opening kickoff and capitalized on the turnover to take a 3-0 lead.

But then everything seemed to fall apart for Cal on both sides of the ball and the player who hurt the Bears the most was Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli.

Starting with his struggles at Boise State to open the season, Masoli's stock had dropped considerably heading into Saturday's game: the Ducks had the Pac-10's worst passing offense, averaging 128 yards per game, and Masoli had completed less than 50 percent of his passes without a touchdown this season.

Masoli and the Ducks' offense rediscovered their game against the Bears, who looked confused and unprepared for most of the contest.

Masoli completed 21 of 25 passes for 253 yards with three touchdowns going to tight end Ed Dickson, who finished with 11 catches for a career-high 148 yards. Oregon also ran the ball well with LaMichael James rushing for 118 of the team's 238 yards gained on the ground.

"On offense the sky's the limit for us," Masoli said after the game. "We're the only ones who can hurt us. These last couple of weeks we've been in a funk, but today we moved past that."

Getting the ball to Dickson early and often played a key role in Oregon's passing attack. Listed at 6-5 and 243 pounds with 4.5 speed in the 40, Dickson is a matchup headache for any defense. But until Saturday, Dickson had been missing in action this season.

That was not the case against Cal.
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"I think he is the best tight end in the Pac-10," Kelly said about Dickson, who had only four catches in three games prior to Saturday. "He is a game-changer at that position."

Cal's game-changer, Heisman Trophy candidate Jahvid Best, was never a factor against the Ducks. After rushing for a career-high five touchdowns in Cal's win at Minnesota last week, Best was limited to 55 yards against Oregon, which limited him from any breakaway runs.

And with Best held in check, the Bears turned into an average team with a suspect quarterback in Kevin Riley, who completed only 12 of 31 passes for 123 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Fortunately for the Bears, they will not have to wait long to redeem themselves because they host USC next week in Berkeley.

"I still have confidence in our guys," Tedford said about his team. "We'll go back to work this week with a good attitude and a lot of focus. I love this team, and I love our kids. It's one loss. It's a tough loss so we'll make sure we work extremely hard next week."

Battle for Respect Turns Into Cal-amity originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Lonnie WhiteSat, 26 Sep 2009 23:16:00 EST Duck! Oregon Dismantles No. 6 Calhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/duck-oregon-dismantles-no-6-cal/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/duck-oregon-dismantles-no-6-cal/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/duck-oregon-dismantles-no-6-cal/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Cal might've been looking ahead to next week's showdown with suddenly vulnerable USC, but they certainly sucked all the excitement out of it after getting whipped by the throwback jersey-wearing Oregon Ducks, 42-3.

They probably did just as much harm to Jahvid Best's Heisman campagin. The Ducks shut down the star running back, holding him to 55 yards and also battered Bears' quarterback Kevin Riley into a feeble 123-yard outing.

Saturday's victory is part of a stunning turnaround for Oregon, following its opening night embarrassment against Boise, a game marred by offensive ineptitude and LeGarrette Blount's sucker punch heard 'round the world. Since then, Oregon has beaten Purdue, Utah and now California. Amusingly, the Ducks dominated Cal in a manner similar to how Boise State handled them.

The takeaway here is that Cal's shaky passing game was thoroughly exposed, with Riley looking like another link in the chain of suspect Cal quarterbacks since the departure of Aaron Rodgers after 2004. The Duck defenders harassed him all afternoon and he made little headway in connecting to a mostly anonymous group of receivers.

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But it all started with shutting down Best. His afternoon wasn't a complete flop but 55 yards on 15 carries just won't cut it when he's such a critical part of the Bear offense. Most will likely write his Heisman hopes off, but he still has a shot. Much depends on the other candidates, however and both Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy have done little to suggest they won't be in New York.

The Ducks have clearly moved past the Blount situation, riding freshman back LaMichael James to a 118-yard afternoon, his second 100-plus yard outing in as many games. Even more impressive, quarterback Jeremiah Masoli went off, hitting 21 of 25 passes with three touchdowns in an extremely efficient effort. Oregon's passing game was supposedly exposed by Boise State, but perhaps it was merely dormant as Masoli struck early, before the run game was firmly established. His main target was versatile tight end Ed Dickson who had a career outing, catching 11 balls for 148 yards and all three of Masoli's touchdowns.

He shredded the Bears defense, reminiscent of recent USC tight end Fred Davis, who had several 100-plus-yard games of his own his senior year on the way to the Mackey Award.

The trio of name victories should be sufficient to launch Oregon into the polls this week, as the Ducks look forward to games against Washington State, UCLA, Washington and USC in October.

Duck! Oregon Dismantles No. 6 Cal originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Aaron RodgersColt McCoyEd DicksonFred DavisHeismanJahvid BestJeremiah MasoliKevin RileyLaMichael JamesLeGarrette BlountMackey AwardTim TebowBrian GrummellSat, 26 Sep 2009 20:43:00 EST Despite Flexing Some Muscle, Pac-10 Still Takes Step Backhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/despite-flexing-some-muscle-pac-10-still-takes-step-back/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/despite-flexing-some-muscle-pac-10-still-takes-step-back/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/despite-flexing-some-muscle-pac-10-still-takes-step-back/#commentsFiled under:

LOS ANGELES -- Only the Pacific 10 Conference can show some muscle but take a step back on the same day.

Highlighted by Washington's victory over No. 3 USC on Saturday, the Pac-10 proved once again that it's not a conference dominated by one team. It was the fourth consecutive season that the highly-regarded Trojans -- who are 33-1 in their last 34 games against non-conference opponents -- were knocked off by an underdog Pac-10 squad.

For Washington, which improved to 2-1 overall, the victory will likely lead to a few votes in next week's national polls. A major turnaround for a program that finished 0-12 last season and ended a 15-game losing streak only one week before facing USC.

"When was the last time U-dub was ranked?," Washington linebacker Donald Butler asked reporters after the Huskies defeated USC for the first time since 2001. "I will remember this game forever ... It's something I'll be telling my grandkids about."

The Pac-10 also got a lift from No. 8 California, UCLA and Oregon, which won profile games outside league play on Saturday.

Let's start with the Bears, who played at Minnesota and trounced the Golden Gophers, 35-21, behind five touchdown runs by Jahvid Best. Although Minnesota may not be respected as a national power, coach Jeff Tedford's Cal team improved to 3-0 and showed that it may be a legitimate force this season by winning a non-conference game on the road.

"It's great to play a tough game and to be able to play well in the fourth quarter and make plays when you need to make plays," Tedford told the Oakland Tribune when asked about Cal's 1-8 record in its previous nine road games before Saturday. "Yes, I think it will give us a boost."

UCLA is another conference team that made a strong statement over the weekend. Despite playing without quarterback Kevin Prince, who led the Bruins to a 2-0 start before being sidelined because of a broken jaw, UCLA took care of Kansas State, 23-9, at the Rose Bowl. The victory not only gave the Bruins their first 3-0 start since 2005, but also improved coach Rick Neuheisel's record at UCLA to 3-0 against non-conference BCS teams.

"It's a fun place to be," Neuheisel said after the game. "But we have to keep it going."

For the Ducks, beating No. 8 Utah in Eugene not only ended the Utes' 16-game winning streak (the longest in the nation heading into play this weekend) but it also may help move them back into the national picture after losing at Boise State to open the season.

The man for Oregon was redshirt freshman running back LaMichael James, who rushed for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

With quarterback Jeremiah Masoli passing for only 95 yards with one interception and no touchdowns, the Ducks needed James and a big play defense to defeat the Utes.

"Our defense has played unbelievable, and they did today," Oregon coach Chip Kelly told reporters after the game. "The one thing those guys do is they play with maximum effort. It's encouraging when you've got those guys and they're all on the same play and they know the scheme."

Now, here's the bad news for the Pac-10.

While Cal, UCLA and Oregon got the job done in three key games against non-conference foes, previously unbeaten Arizona and Oregon State did not take advantage of the same opportunities.

After two home victories to start the season, Arizona traveled to Iowa and lost, 27-17. Coach Mike Stoops' defense played well but the Wildcats' inability to find a passing game to compliment running back Nic Grigsby proved to be their downfall.

Quarterbacks Matt Scott and Nick Foles combined to complete only 10 of 25 passes for 105 yards with one touchdown and an interception, which was not good enough.

"We had a tough time doing a little bit of everything today," Scott told reporters after the Wildcats lost their seventh game in a row to a Big 10 opponent. "I had a couple of open passes that I missed and that kind of hurt us."

For Oregon State, which had a 26-game home winning streak against non-conference teams end, the story was how the Beavers could not slow down Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike, who led the 18th-ranked Bearcats to 28-18 victory in Corvallis, Ore.

"Nobody wants to have this feeling after a game," Oregon State cornerback Tim Clark told the Corvallis Gazette-Times after Pike passed for 332 yards and two touchdowns against the Beavers. "I feel disappointed. We missed an opportunity. I thought we could do something big and we let it slip through our fingers."

To close out the Pac-10 day, Arizona State (2-0) did what was expected and rolled over Louisiana-Monroe, 38-14, and Stanford (2-1) beat down San Jose State, 42-17.

But maybe the best thing to happen for the league was Washington State's come-from-behind 30-27 overtime victory over Southern Methodist.

After being blown out in their first two games of the season, the Cougars rallied from a 24-7 third quarter deficit behind quarterback Marshall Lobbestael, who got the call in place of previous starter Kevin Lopina.

Lobbestael, who finished 24 of 52 for 239 yards, sent the game into overtime with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jared Karstetter with 28 seconds remaining in regulation. Nico Grasu won the game with a 39-yard field goal in overtime.

Although SMU quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell passed for 424 yards and the Mustangs had 504 yards of total offense, can you believe it was the Cougars' defense that won the game.

"They kept us in the game and scored points too," Grasu told reporters after Washington State's defense scored two touchdowns and forced five turnovers. "What more can you ask for?"

Only in the Pac-10.

Despite Flexing Some Muscle, Pac-10 Still Takes Step Back originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Donald ButlerJahvid BestJeremiah MasoliKevin PrinceLaMichael JamesMatt ScottNic GrigsbyNick FolesTony PikeLonnie WhiteSun, 20 Sep 2009 10:06:00 EST Sarkisian Groomed for Upsets Like Thishttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/sarkisian-groomed-for-triumphs-like-this/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/sarkisian-groomed-for-triumphs-like-this/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/sarkisian-groomed-for-triumphs-like-this/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Steve SarkisianFor those who know Washington's Steve Sarkisian and have followed his journey from unknown junior college quarterback to first-year Pac-10 head coach, the Huskies' 16-13 victory over USC on Saturday should not come as a surprise.

That's because Sarkisian is a true idealist and competitor who had prepared himself for this moment for years.

And USC coach Pete Carroll -- the ultimate optimistic who loves every challenge -- knew this as well as anyone.

For seven seasons, Sarkisian worked under Carroll as an offensive assistant for the Trojans and although they may not have been best friends, the coaches grew close enough to respect the other's will to compete.

How could they not after spending so much time together?

From eating late night meals and holding team meetings to traveling on recruiting trips and playing pick-up basketball, it was always Sarkisian and Carroll.

A lot of time to get to know each other's tendencies and for people like Sarkisian and Carroll, that's the definition of competition.

"As far as the relationship going into this game, there's nothing I've liked more than playing against people that I really love, and friends and people that I've worked with," Carroll said prior to Saturday's game. "For whatever sordid reason that is, I don't know. I can't explain it, but it's fun to go against our guys. It will be fun to match up with a program that is similar to ours."

Unfortunately for Carroll, years from now it's likely that Sarkisian will remember Saturday's matchup as fun.

Early on, however, it certainly didn't look like it would end up that way for Sarkisian and the Huskies.

With third-year sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp making his first start due to an injury to true freshman Matt Barkley, USC featured a punishing ground game and took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.

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SEATTLE - SEPTEMBER 19: Wide receiver Devin Aguilar #9 of the Washington Huskies just misses this catch at the goal line against Josh Pinkard #36 of the USC Trojans on September 19, 2009 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The Huskies defeated the Trojans 16-13. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Pinkard;Devin Aguilar
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    TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 19: Runningback Ryan Bass #1 of the Arizona State Sun Devils rushes the ball for 5 yards against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks during the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on September 19, 2008 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Warhawks 38-14. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ryan Bass

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"Early in the game, you would have thought we would have gotten beat, 50-0," Sarkisian told reporters after the Huskies defeated USC for the first time since 2001 and avenged last season's 59-0 loss to the Trojans at the Coliseum.

The Huskies definitely looked like an overmatched team. Washington's defense was getting chopped up and the Trojans' running backs Joe McKnight and Stafon Johnson ran through holes big enough to fit Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming at the same time.

But Sarkisian did not panic and his team responded. Once the Huskies figured out Carroll's conservative approach with Corp, Washington concentrated on shutting down USC's rushing attack on running downs.

A tactic that worked to perfection when the Trojans kept to the ground and failed to take advantage Corps' mobility (his biggest asset as a quarterback) by keeping him in the pocket.

"We didn't throw the ball very well today," Carroll said after the game. "It was obvious. We threw the ball for 110 yards and couldn't get the ball down the field. We rarely get in that situation."

Throughout the game, USC seemed content not to take chances passing the ball and this allowed Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt, who spent six seasons as an assistant working under Carroll at USC, to dictate play for much of the final three quarters.

Even when the Trojans had the Huskies on the rope, their conservative approach hurt them. That was the case late in the fourth quarter.

With Washington leading, 13-10, USC drove the ball to the Huskies' 11, thanks to two misdirection runs by McKnight and Johnson. But after catching Holt's defense off-guard for big gains, two of USC's next three plays were similar runs behind the right side of the line, which forced the Trojans to settle for a field goal to tie the score at 13-13 setting the stage for Sarkisian's biggest competitive move of the game.

With the Huskies needing only a field goal to win, Sarkisian did not force things with his play-calling on the Huskies' final drive. Instead of looking for big pass plays down the field, Washington quarterback Jake Locker was given plenty to work with underneath and that was a big plus against the Trojans' aggressive defense.

Yet, early in the game-winning drive, USC still had Washington's offense under control when the Huskies were stuck with a third-down and 15 from their own 28-yard line.

Following a time-out called by Carroll, who was looking to get the ball back to win the game, Sarkisian outguessed his mentor. Knowing Carroll's tendency to play it safe with a two-deep safety coverage in situations like this, Washington called on a pass play in the middle of the field.

With USC opting not to blitz and rush only four players, Locker had enough time to complete a key 21-yard pass to tight end Jermaine Kearse for a first down to keep the Huskies' drive alive.

The rest is history. Even though Washington made a couple of more big plays that led up to Erik Folk's game-clinching 22-yard field goal, the true turning point was Sarkisian's third down call to find Kearse.

It's a play that Carroll will remember and a moment Sarkisian likely had envisioned before.

That's what competition is all about.

Sarkisian Groomed for Upsets Like This originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Lonnie WhiteSun, 20 Sep 2009 01:43:00 EST Yet Again, USC Ends Up Roadkillhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/19/pac-10-road-offense-woes-derail-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/19/pac-10-road-offense-woes-derail-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/19/pac-10-road-offense-woes-derail-usc/#commentsFiled under: , ,

USC once again followed a tired pattern Saturday, losing its Pac-10 road opener to Washington thanks to a bevy of offensive problems. Sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp, starting in place of injured freshman Matt Barkley was ineffective, tossing a pair of interceptions inside the Washington 30-yard line as USC fell to the Huskies 16-13. Washington kicked a 22-yard field goal with seconds remaining to eclipse the No. 3 Trojans.

USC's Pac-10 troubles are well established, having lost to Oregon State in 2008, Stanford and Oregon in 2007, UCLA in 2006 and Cal in 2003. The road openers have been predictably troublesome, with the Cal and Oregon State losses in that mix. Of particular embarrassment, USC coach Pete Carroll lost to disciple Steve Sarkisian, who only last week snapped a 15-game losing streak for the troubled Washington football program.

In the pantheon of strange USC conference losses of the Carroll era, this is right up there with the UCLA and Stanford games, as the USC offense yet again wasted an above-average defensive outing to total just 13 points.

After an outstanding open to the 2009 season when USC rushed for over 300 yards against San Jose State, back-to-back road starts with inexperienced quarterbacks were just too much, barely escaping Ohio State last week before turning in that 18-point effort into an even worse 13-point showing this time around. Keep in mind this is the program that once set an NCAA record for most consecutive games with 20 or more points.

Massive credit of course must be directed at Washington, which stood toe-to-toe with a deeper, more talented opponent. Husky quarterback Jake Locker's scrambling and well-timed passes kept drive after drive alive. On the other side, Husky defensive coordinator Nick Holt, last seen as USC's defensive coordinator, got his revenge in holding the Trojans to 360 yards and a ridiculous zero-for-10 conversion rate on third downs.

The Trojans are in desperate need of a staycation, and they'll have it with a get-well home game next week against hapless Washington State in their near-impenetrable fortress that is the Coliseum. Once again USC wasted a great opportunity, as it was gaining ground on No. 2 Texas in the rankings only to falter like everyone anticipated it would. Nobody knew when or where, but the Pac-10 stumble was inevitable, and here it is. Soak it in.
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Yet Again, USC Ends Up Roadkill originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Aaron CorpJake LockerMatt BarkleyNick HoltPete CarrollSteve SarkisianBrian GrummellSat, 19 Sep 2009 19:12:00 EST