NCAA Football FanHouse

Cal Is Getting New Duds

John Radcliff — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:20:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Pac 10

Fashion is all the rage in college football these days. Well, actually the changing of uniform designs for sales and marketing purposes isn't anything new at all. From the incredibly ugly Orange arm Florida and Va. Tech uniforms to the 230 million combination Oregon uniforms, schools are producing new uniforms on an almost yearly basis. Most likely for the purpose of selling more jerseys. But in some cases, like Cal, for a visual improvement.

The new Nike designs feature bear claw - eque slashes around the neckline along with the Cal Bear Claw logo on the neck. The claw slash look also appears on the side of the pants.

This could have gone so wrong if they would have made the claw slashes more like what a real slash looked like. For some reason I'm thinking Cincinnati Bengals bad here. But the design looks sharp for the most part. I'm not in love with the helmet design, but this is an improvement over the current uniforms.

This should be of particular interest to West Virginia fans, and ostensibly Michigan fans, as the Mountaineer uniforms have followed the Cal design since as far back as I can remember. Maybe it's just the similarities in the school colors that is sticking with me, but West Virginia didn't get gold jerseys until Cal did. Or maybe it's one too many times of walking in front of the TV thinking the Mountaineers were on, only to find out it was Cal. One thing is for sure, these two team should never play each other again! The chance for interceptions would quadruple for any quarterback that isn't color blind.

Cal Is Getting New Duds originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cal Hippies Lose Case, Can't Read, Are Named "Dumpster Muffin"

Brian Cook — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:24:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10

The momentus court decision has in Cal's Hippiegate has come and gone with both sides claiming victory. The U:

"This in no way affects our ability to build the center," said UC spokesman Dan Mogulof. "This is a great ruling for us."

The freakin' hippies:

"We are ecstatic," said Stephan Volker, attorney for the California Oak Foundation, which sued the university two years ago. "We believe this project is now dead."

Who's right? The blogosphere supplies answers where newspapers fear to tread because of law-talkin'. Over at California Golden Blogs two official law-talkin' guys break the decision down something fierce, one in the comments section and one in his own post.

The general sentiment is the judge has basically agreed with Cal on all points:

The Judge ruled in favor of UC in all material respects except the following: the three alterations subject to AP: (a) a grade beam to be installed along the CMS west wall; (2) alterations to staircases; (3) "floor slab penetrations" for purpose of installing SAHPC telecommunication system. 34. The Judge says that in order for UC to comply with AP, UC must value alterations and value of CMS. Judge also tells UC that it must explain why it has to double the events at the new CMS once the project is complete. This seems relatively easy ...

The Judge has retained jurisdiction for purpose of monitoring compliance with the order so to me this means that once UC does what the Judge ordered, everything will be clear for chainsaws and bulldozers.

There are three items that constitute a renovation or addition or something of Memorial Stadium, which is situated on a fault line, but they're highly unlikely to reach the prohibited threshold. There will be some further legal wrangling and the project is unlikely to get underway anytime soon, but hippie defeat is inevitable.

Also there is this:

In one of several tense moments Wednesday, a basket with two workers was lowered by crane to the trunk of a tall tree on top of which a screaming young woman was perched on a small wooden platform about 100 feet in the air.

The woman, identified by sympathizers as Dumpster Muffin, screamed and violently shook the precarious perch. The crane backed off, and the woman raised her hand in the air in a sign of victory.

That is all.

("Dumpster Muffin" link via Excuse Me For My Voice)

Previously on Fanhouse:

Cal Hippies Lose Case, Can't Read, Are Named "Dumpster Muffin" originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Urine for a Big Surprise if You Hate Trees

John Radcliff — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:35:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Campus, California

Not completely college football related, but the 18 month protest against the University of California at Berkley's plans to cut down trees near the football stadium to construct a sports training facility might finally be coming to an end. On December 1, 2006 the first of the protesters took up residence in the trees surrounding the stadium in protest. Now, the university is taking steps to remove the protesters. Well, maybe not remove the protesters, but certainly remove the supplies that sustain the protesters and the means for other protesters to join them.

Arborists hired by the university cut ropes that ran from one tree to another and removed supplies that protesters had stored in the branches, Mogulof said. They also removed at least one large structure that protesters constructed high in the trees, but several others remain.

Never let it be said that these protesters aren't fighting back with everything they have, though. And when I say everything, I mean everything!

About 9 a.m., two arborists ascending an oak tree were drenched with a bucket of urine dumped by one of the tree-sitters, to the cheers of about half of a crowd of 150 people that gathered behind police barricades. Other sitters dropped excrement, but none scored a direct hit, Mogulof said.

I wouldn't say that I'm a tree hugger, but I can certainly understand the need to stand up for what you think is right. But man, did we really need to go there? No matter their historical significance, it's still just a very few trees in the middle of an urban area. It's not like they are saving a rain forest. But when all this is over with, these folk are more than welcome to come to West Virginia to protest mountain top removal and try to save something truly worth saving. Although when the blasting starts, you might not want to be at ground zero.

Urine for a Big Surprise if You Hate Trees originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kevin Hart to Cal: KABOOM!

Brian Grummell — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:04:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Recruiting, The Word

At least, that's what one Cal fan thought when word leaked out that college football's confused Pinocchio had committed to their school.

Too bad several coaches went on the record claiming he wasn't even a D-I talent. I don't mean to berate the kid here, I'm simply using coaches' evaluations to contrast with how excitable fans can get a commit that nobody had heard of and say things like:

*Kaboom!*

And:

Yes I have seem him play. He's pretty good. Has college size, good skills. Good addition for Cal.

And:

Sounds like a great young man with D1 size and attitude! Players from the rural areas don't get the stars from the recruiting services, but the right ones sure can play......hello Ryan O'Callahan, who'll be playing on Super Bowl Sunday.

And:

I'm really excited about ... Hart

Kaboom indeed. The silver lining (Ha! Nevada's the Silver State, but I digress) in all of this is that Portland State coach Jerry Glanville is reportedly taking a look at Hart. Hope that all works out.

* Kaboom is a recruiting message board term coined several years ago to represent impact national players who are silent verbals who will make a, well, "kaboom" impact at the program.

Previously at FanHouse
Update: 'Duped' Nevada Recruit Made It All Up
Football Recruit Commits to Cal, Law Enforcement Gets Involved

Kevin Hart to Cal: KABOOM! originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update: 'Duped' Nevada Recruit Made It All Up

Brian Grummell — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:27:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Oregon Football, NCAA FB Recruiting, NCAA FB Scandal, The Word, Nevada Football

Puuuuuuuuuuuuure fiction.

Refresher: a high school football recruit out of Nevada named Kevin Hart made a commitment to California several days ago. Problem was, Cal hadn't recruited him. Neither had any other schools. That prompted an investigation and the involvement of law enforcement.

The story soon centered around a mysterious recruiter who allegedly duped the poor high school senior.

Turns out we were all duped. SportsByBrooks is reporting (via the Reno Gazette-Journal) that Kevin Hart has admitted making it all up.

"I wanted to play D-I ball more than anything. When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality. I am sorry for disappointing and embarrassing my family, coaches, Fernley High School, the involved universities and reporters covering the story."

Now the school district "continues to conduct its internal investigation into how so many people were duped by the high school senior."

I betcha that'll look good on his transcripts.

Previously at FanHouse
Football Recruit Commits to Cal, Law Enforcement Gets Involved

Update: 'Duped' Nevada Recruit Made It All Up originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Football Recruit Commits to Cal, Law Enforcement Gets Involved

Brian Grummell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:52:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Recruiting, NCAA FB Police Blotter, The Word

We're confused

You really need to read the entire article, but the story boils down to as follows:

An offensive lineman from Nevada named Kevin Hart committed to California Friday, staging a big announcing ceremony in front of his entire high school. Problem is, Cal apparently hasn't offered the kid or even contacted him.

"The Cal staff has had no contact whatsoever with Coach Hodges or Hart, and that they have not visited him; nor has Hart been on a recruiting trip to any school," recruiting Web site rivals.com reported.

Now, law enforcement is involved (fraud, we presume?) in investigating what happened. Further muddying the waters, Hart claims to have visited Oklahoma State, even though Rivals.com says he has yet to make an official visit anywhere. Hart also claims to have spoken extensively with Cal's coach Jeff Tedford, another of his handful of claims in dispute.

Looks like either the kid's got an active imagination or someone took him for a ride.

The Nevada Interscholastic Athletics Association is looking into the matter as well, and executive director Eddie Bonine told the Gazette-Journal, "It could be that someone was impersonating those schools."

Unfortunately things remain unclear because law enforcement isn't talking, the NCAA prohibits schools from speaking about recruits and his coach can only elaborate so much on what happened.

(H/T: EDSBS)

Football Recruit Commits to Cal, Law Enforcement Gets Involved originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Army All-American Bowl Liveblogging! (First Half)

Brian Stouffer — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:08:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Michigan Football, Minnesota Football, Notre Dame Football, Pittsburgh Football, Virginia Tech Football, NCAA FB Recruiting, NCAA FB Media Watch, Arizona State Football

Picture the scene... you're sitting around your house on a Saturday morning and your girlfriend calls you and asks if you want to have brunch with her family. Normally, you'd be fairly amenable to free silver dollar pancakes, even if it means enduring some awkward conversation, but today is not a normal day. It's the high-school all-star game. Sorry, tootsie, but home boy has a date with Tom Lemming today, and no amount of waffles or eggs Benedict can interrupt.

If any of this made sense to you, congratulations, you're a junkie.

Just to remind you all, this game is sponsored by the U.S. army, so the over/under on lame Army commercials is like a million.

A lot of these blue-chippers will be announcing their college choices. When that happens, I'll put the contents in bold face, so you can skip over my pithy commentary and get right to the commitments, if that's your thing.
And we're off to the races! Virginia running back Ryan Williams puts on the Virginia Tech hat. Not terribly surprising that he picked his hometown school over Rutgers and Boston College.

Michigan-bound Sam McGuffie takes the opening kickoff and does not hurdle over any defenders. You can almost hear the entire crowd sigh with disappointment. Now it's time to see Notre Dame commit Dayne Crist take over the West offense. The announcers said he went to the same high school as Jimmy Clausen in the intro, but that's not correct. Hooray, fact checking!

The West drive stalls, and we have a punt and our first two Army commercials. Zing. Now it's time to see Tyrelle Pryor, the presumptive number one recruit in the universe ever. Rich Rodriguez is somewhere, salivating.

Covaughn Deboskie, RB from Arizona announces... for Cal! At least I think he did. He had his (daughter? sister?) pick a hat, so he might not have had any say in the decision. Oh well. Meanwhile, Tyrelle Pryor has scored on a nifty little read option. He's 6'6", for you keeping score at home. 7-0, East.

Army commercial count: 3.

Brandon Smith, DB from New Jersey, picks... Michigan. Good pickup for Michigan. That kid's got quite the head of hair on him. Plus, the announcers said he might play QB for Rodriguez's spread if they don't get Pryor. Hmmm.

The QB for the West is Andrew Luck, heading to Stanford. They said his dad's name is Oliver. Oliver Luck. As in, "even with Oliver Luck, she couldn't avoid the falling piano."

Army commercial count: 4

No commitments after this commercial break, they're just interviewing somebody who looks like Abe Vigoda.

Touchdown, West. Gabbert (Missouri commit) on a pretty fade to Dan Buckner. 7-7.

East QB Star Jackson (no, not Star Jones) has thrown two passes... an interception and a 50 yard touchdown. East, 14-7. And now we are treated to a Brady Quinn commercial, bringing the Notre Dame blow job level up to critical mass. Hold on tight, lads.

West is running some Emory & Henry. Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist drops the snap and it is recovered by ND DL Sean Cwynar. Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame.

Marquis Gray, QB from Indiana chooses... Minnesota! Best of luck to him in the Twin Cities. A long field goal for the East has enough leg but sails wide. That was Notre Dame WR John Goodman holding. Notre Dame Notre Dame.

Sam McGuffie goes two more plays without jumping over anybody. The bloodthirsty crowd pelts the field with tomatoes and beer cans in a hail of boos.

Army commercial count: 5

Shane Hale, LB from Pennsylvania chooses... Pitt! My God, is there anything the Wannstache can't do? Nice catch! Meanwhile, West makes a field goal to pull within 14-10.

Army commercial count: 6

Gerrell Robinson, WR from Arizona chooses... Arizona State! Nooooo.... he spurns the Irish. The production crew is panicking. Shut this game down!

Army commercial count: 7

US Army All-American Bowl Liveblogging! (First Half) originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nice Knowin' Ya Nate Longshore

Brian Grummell — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Mountain West, Pac 10, The Word, Air Force Football

Remember Nate Longshore? The junior Cal quarterback. He beat Tennessee earlier this year. Started all last year. Rumor has it he's a pretty good football player.

Well . . . He's done.

This is nothing official, mind you, but I think it's over for him. Cal melted down late in the year and was staring at a 21-0 second quarter deficit against Air Force earlier today. Longshore then went to the bench and in a little over two quarters of work his backup Kevin Riley rallied the team to a 28-27 lead.

This is the same backup who was scintillating against Oregon State in another start earlier in the year (nevermind that boneheaded last play, if possible). Cal just seems to play better behind him and he's rescued them from a colossal embarrassment in a big way.

Final score today: Cal 42 - Air Force 36

Riley's line: 16/19 (.842), 269 yards, 3 TD/ 0 INT

That's twice now California's offense has played well behind Riley following shaky Longshore performances. Longshore's got a nice bond going with his head coach, but his backup makes it happen better on the field.

Nice Knowin' Ya Nate Longshore originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Longshore Injured Long Before Cal Collapse

Scott Olin Schmidt — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:12:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Injuries

Were it not for all the other wackiness in College Football this season, the collapses of California and Oregon Football would be among this year's major story lines. As both teams were poised to take over the number-one ranking in the country, their quarterbacks suffered injuries which sent their seasons on a downward spiral.

Oregon infamously refused to disclose the status of Dennis Dixon's knee during the bye week between games against Arizona State and Arizona, only to have their national championship hopes dislocated against the Wildcats.

But hiding a quarterback injury wasn't exclusive to the Ducks. California quarterback Nate Longshore played the nearly the whole season with a chipped bone in his ankle--hobbling him ever since the Bears beat the Ducks. Bears coach Jeff Tedford admitted yesterday, "There's a little chip in the back part of it there. I didn't get that it was a broken ankle. But Nate had talked to me about a little chip that was in the back there."

Since Longshore's injury, Cal won only one game out of seven.

But quarterback injuries have defined the Pac Ten season in 2007. Karl Dorrell most likely lost his job because his two quarterbacks--Ben Olson and Pat Cowan--were injured for most of the season, and John David Booty's broken middle finger led him to throw four interceptions in the second half against Stanford, costing the Trojans a bid in the BCS title game.

Perhaps the secret to Arizona State's miraculous turnaround in 2007 was that Rudy Carpenter stayed healthy all year.

Longshore Injured Long Before Cal Collapse originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week In Schadenfreude: The Horrible Nacho Threat of Ohio

Brian Cook — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Auburn Football, California Football, Michigan Football, Notre Dame Football, Ohio State Football

scha·den·freu·de /???dn?fr??d?/
-noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

[Origin: 1890-95; < G, equiv. to Schaden harm + Freude joy]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, (C) Random House, Inc. 2006.

Dude, your DTs can't make a play when they are not on the field. If you missed it, we had 3 down linemen (97, 84, 50) with Grant playing the Leo, our other 2 LBs, and 5 FREAKIN' DBs!!!! that whole last drive. Insanity, IMO, from Heacock. ...

The whole game - just like the NC game against FL - we made it easy for the opponent to do what they do best.

More of the week in spleen after the jump.

Before we leave the Buckeyes, we should consider this guy's plight:

MISERY? YOU WANT MISERY?

I have been complaining all season about the fatties in C Deck. Lo and behold this week two of the biggest women I have seen all year show up - sitting two seats to my left.

And they were loud.

And they are wearing bright frckin' orange.

And they were eating nachos.

That's life in the Midwest for you: there is always the threat of someone who's the size of two seats plopping down next to you, carbohydrate death in hand.

BIG TEN

Michigan. Fair's fair, and when Michigan loses they have to take their lumps in this space. A quick survey of the comments at MGoBlog:

michigan death sentence = qb with two legs
gmb | 11.10.07 - 1:14 pm | #

So Michigan would be fine against Bryon Leftwich in that one game his OL carried him down the field. Note to Bill Martin: schedule 1999 Marshall.

JESUS H F*** MAKE F***ING TACKLES YOU F***ING F***S I COULD'VE TACKLED THAT MOTHERF***ER
bluewolverine | 11.10.07 - 1:28 pm | #

This, for the record, was not me, even if it was something I said verbatim six times.

On a separate note, are they EVER going to stop running this asinine Dr. Pepper commercial? It feels like they've been airing it since 1997.
Steve | 11.10.07 - 1:16 pm | #

The one with the lineman celebrating at touchdown? WORD.

I'm going to weep on my bathroom floor for a while. Later.
Manninghands | 11.10.07 - 3:38 pm | #

Sorry, this bathroom floor is full. Also full are the rest of bathrooms in Southeast Michigan. Please try Canada.

Notre Dame. It's a second straight loss to a service academy, and this one wasn't even close. Several reports hold forth that one of the planes that orbit football stadium with banners in tow had this message for the team:

"Beat the rush, transfer today."

Full marks: devastating, witty, and brief. Meanwhile Notre Dame fans are busy reinforcing the general opinion of them:

Do we have a birthright to dominant, winning football?

F***yes, we do.

That's who we are. [TWIS would also have accepted "overweight 40-year old accountants." -ed]

And, we do not accept losing. We do not accept Charlie continuing to face down sportswriters with "It's my fault." Yeah, Charlie, we f***ing know it's your fault. FIX IT.

We wrote a letter for change. We don't give you any more passes, Charlie. You don't care about breaking the winning streak against Navy?

F*** you, Charlie. We do. We did.

Super genius no more, Charlie. The faithful are renouncing:

I turned off the TV when AFA went up 17-10.

I could not take it anymore. I know the team must be demoralized, but they cannot be more demoralized than I am. BTW, we will be awful next year as well. There is no evidence of progress or improvement from game to game. There is no fire. Just a bunch of people, coaches included, going through the motions.

Is anyone coaching these kids? There is no evidence that they have been taught anything. ...

I was going to the Duke game, but I have cancelled those plans. I hope NBC cancels its plans to televise ND's '08 season. If that happens, I might go to a game or two down there.

I hope word of this guy's defection didn't reach the sidelines; the blow to morale would have been staggering.

PAC 10

Cal. The halycon days of "#1 for two hours" now seem so long ago. The Bears are now 6-4 and headed for a rinky-dink bowl devoted to nuts or something. And they're taking it out on both the team ...

Run defense: F+. Question: How do you lose a game after giving up 200 yards on the ground? Answer: By giving up 239, that's how! What a fiasco. ... On 3rd and short, USC was five for five, including a 36 yard TD scamper by Washington. Excuse me while I puke.

... and the opposing fans:

USC fans: Fail. Your lives suck. Your band is obnoxious. Your Song Girls waggle. And your "fans" who show up to gameday are pimply-faced elitist douchebags who retain no social life outside of pissing off opposing fanbases like "Cal was my safety!" and "El Paso has plenty of Mexican hookers". ... I hope the next time there are wildfires in Southern California, it burns down your worthless campus, your craptastic stadium, and your bandwagoning poser ******* fans.

Hey, at least it's good for traffic:

Anyway, in the last hour of the game and the hour after it was over, we got hits from the following search engine queries:

"nate longshore sucks"
"california golden blogs"
"longshore sucks"
"cal longshore sucks"
"nate longshore sucks"
"2008 cal football schedule"
"i hate nate longshore"
"nate longshore sucks"
"nate longshore sucks"
"longshore sucks!"
"what is wrong with nate longshore"

I see a pattern developing. Can you spot it?

Uh ... something Longshore. Is a fish. Is a duck. Is ... I'm drawing a blank.

SEC

Picture via Hey Jenny Slater, which points out that UGA has beaten all four I-A teams in Alabama raw over the past two years.

Auburn. Auburn, housed by Georgia, is now a 4-loss team. The Joe Cribbs Carwash surveys a host of possible responses, including "Orson-style unholy stream of profanity," "uncontrolled sobbing," and "heads-will-roll rage" before settling on All Of The Above. The upshot:

A performance like Saturday's over the final 25 minutes is flat unacceptable and it's even less acceptable--into, like, the negative realms of acceptability--given that the exact same thing happened in this game last season.

"Tubby to LSU/A&M/wherever" seems less threatening than it did a mere week ago. But never fear, Tigers, at least you aren't...

F'ing Alabama. When was the last time an SEC team lost back-to-back games to Mississippi State? Were said contests played on Gondwanaland? Was Joe Paterno ten? Well, no. Disappointingly, Kentucky managed the trick in 2000 and 2001. But that's a pretty long time; Alabama fans are probably pretty pissed off.

... what the hell Wilson? Are you kidding me? How can you play so poorly this late in the season? The offense's regression is beyond Shulaesque. At least with Shula we knew we were going to suck all year long, but this season we had least had a glimmer of hope that we would keep improving over the course of the year. This was just awful. Just flat awful. Fourteen points off of two idiotically bad decisions, and we lose to Mississippi State TWO YEARS IN A ROW?

Uh ... yep. Yep, pretty pissed off. "Beyond Shulaesque"! Forty-six billion dollars a year just doesn't buy what it used to.

BIG EAST

Louisville fans have moved on to basketball season. UConn fans are just happy to be above .500, and everyone else is just like, "whatever" at this point. But we'll always have the crying children of Syracuse.

BIG TWELVE

Holy God. Again. Nebraska has been a steady feature in this space in the last days of the Callahan Empire, but, um ... this time it was the Cornhuskers putting up 70. A ton of weird stuff has happened this year. Is NU giving up 70, then putting up 70 the weirdest? Maybe. As you might imagine, Kansas State fans are apopleptic:

Mizzou is going to have to put in the Chi Omega flag football team to keep from putting up 100 on us next weekend. Fresno State isn't all that good, but they can damn sure run the ball, and really any offense who puts the ball in play is likely to score a lot on us considering we can't tackle a turtle right now.

73 points folks. Seventy-freaking-three points.

Good thing Maryland's not on the schedule, I guess.

ACC

Miami closed the Orange Bowl with a bang, Hindenberg-style: they lost 48-0 to Virginia. Apparently you do just walk into the OB these days. The Miami Sports Blog thinks maybe the Orange Bowl was a little peeved at being abandoned:

Meanwhile, the team gets straight Fs from Hall of Canes:

Demolition of the OB is set to occur in April.

Demolition of this current Canes team can't wait that long. Coach Randy Shannon needs to clean house. Offense, defense and special teams - they've all been terrible this season.

Shannon, of course, was the Miami hire largely because he was cheap. Unless the 'Canes draw way better at Pro Player than they did at the Orange Bowl, they may not be able to afford a replacement who's any better.

This Week In Schadenfreude: The Horrible Nacho Threat of Ohio originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac Ten May Not Fill Bowl Slots

Scott Olin Schmidt — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:06:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Oregon Football, UCLA Football, USC Football, Pac 10, Bowl Games, Arizona Football

Although it is considered by many to be the second-toughest conference in College Football, the Pac Ten looks like it will not fill all of its bowl allotments in 2007.

The Pac Ten has arrangements this year with the Rose, Holiday, Sun, Las Vegas, Emerald and Armed Forces Bowls. That is six bowls before you consider that either Arizona State or USC will likely get a BCS at-large invitation if either team wins its final two games.

Five Pac-Ten teams are already bowl-eligible: Oregon, ASU, USC, California and Oregon State--but coming up with a sixth--or even seventh--will be much more difficult.

Already, Stanford and Washington are mathematically eliminated from bowl contention. Arizona must beat both Oregon and Arizona State--the conference's top two teams--to become bowl eligible, so count them out, which leaves two teams fighting for one or two bowl bids...

UCLA only needs one more win--but their final two games are against Oregon and USC--and the Bruins are running on empty in the skill positions.

Washington State must beat Oregon State and Washington to make it...which seems possible.

However, if USC and Oregon both win their remaining games and earn BCS bids--at-large, Title or otherwise--then the Pac Ten will mathematically not be filling its contractual bowl agreements in 2007.

Pac Ten May Not Fill Bowl Slots originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cal Gets Pounding from Rain, Trojans

Scott Olin Schmidt — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:47:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, USC Football, Pac 10

In what had to be one of the slipperiest, most miserablest evenings of football in California memory, the USC Trojans turned to the run game to defeat the California Golden Bears in Strawberry Canyon, 24-17.

When USC receivers were dropping the slippery balls during practice, you'd have thought that Trojan offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian would have come up with a mostly-running game-plan.

After a back and forth game, USC had several chances to send their fans back to the warmth and dryness of their San Francisco hotels in the third quarter but sloppy play and an insistence on trying to pass the ball left the Beard handing around until the fourth quarter.

It took three quarters of solid running by Chauncey Washington before the Trojan coaching staff decided they should just hand the ball off.And hand the ball off, they did, giving it to Chauncey Washington 29 times for 221 yards, while quarterback John David Booty threw but 20 times for a mere 129 yards.

Cal Gets Pounding from Rain, Trojans originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cal's Tree Sitters Go Bye Bye

Brian Grummell — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:39:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10

Maybe.

UC officials can remove all the tree-sitters at Memorial Stadium, even if they can't identify the protesters by name, a judge said today in a tentative ruling.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller's ruling, which is expected to be made final after a court hearing this afternoon, amends his order a month ago that gave UC police the authority to remove only tree-sitters who were identified by name.

Amazingly, this is only one hurdle to be overcome for Cal as they try to build new athletic facilities and relocate their football stadium which currently lies on a fault line.

The protesters have been perched in part of an oak grove next to the stadium since December in an attempt to block the university's plan to cut down about two-thirds of the grove to build a $125 million athletic training center.

Another Alameda County Superior Court judge is expected within the next few weeks to rule whether plans for the training center can proceed.

Good riddance. Hopefully Cal gets everything they want and those squatters disappear. Unfortunately the Bears' football team has gone south, apparently timed with their recent legal maneuverings:

Cal was undefeated before The Man started seriously messing with the tree-sitters. Now they have lost 3 in a row. Way to go The Man. You all should have listtened to me and not messed with the tree-football mojo.

When in doubt, blame The Man. Sigh.

Cal's Tree Sitters Go Bye Bye originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Arizona State Gaining Legitimacy

Brian Grummell — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:15:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10, Arizona State Football

Ok so a victory over Cal isn't worth what it was a few weeks ago, but Arizona State is now 8-0 with a semi-significant win. A few more of these and they're deeply in BCS Championship discussions.

Two angles here: 1)Is ASU legit? 2)Cal's implosion

ASU ... just lost a very good tailback for the year in Ryan Torain. So far so good from his replacements, though. They're not as reliable down-to-down, but Keegan Herring and Dimitri Nance combined for over 180 yards and three touchdowns in putting the Bears away during the second half.

ASU looked like garbage early in trailing 13-0 in the first quarter and 20-14 at half. But as has been pattern, they dominated the second half and particularly the fourth quarter. They picked off Nate Longshore twice and methodically built a 31-20 lead. This is clearly a good team, but "how good" cannot be answered until a few more games are played.

Their remaining schedule: Oregon, UCLA, USC and rival Arizona. That's tough sledding no matter what you think about the Pac-10.

As for their opponent - Cal's implosion is complete as the Bears have likely plummeted out of the rankings just weeks after nearly ascending to the #1 spot. Their run defense has been exposed and quarterback Nate Longshore is regressing before our very eyes. It is an unexpected and precipitous decline for a team with more than enough talent on offense and capable defensive coordinator to contend.

Arizona State Gaining Legitimacy originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week In Schadenfreude: Fear the Blue Devil, Seminoles

Brian Cook — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:07:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Florida State Football, Nebraska Football, Notre Dame Football, South Carolina Football

scha·den·freu·de /???dn?fr??d?/
-noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

[Origin: 1890-95; < G, equiv. to Schaden harm + Freude joy]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, (C) Random House, Inc. 2006.

On This Week In Schadenfreude we explore the sputtering rage, gibbering condemnation, and resigned ennui of the college football fan who has recently undergone humiliating defeat. Because even your darkest hour, someone else is suffering too, and probably worse than you. Unless you are a Michigan fan who has just finished watching the Appalachian State game.

The shooting gallery that is the top five this year claimed another victim, but it's really hard to get mad when you're USF and find yourself being upset in dramatic fashion. Also, there aren't really any USF blogs out there. So they are not our Tears of Unfathomable Sadness victor.

For that we turn to a nearly top-five team that finally succumbed to that big upset Vanderbilt's been threatening for a few years now: formerly #6 South Carolina, limp 17-6 losers to the commodores. Garnet And Black Attack:

I need a bucket of kittens.

A big bucket.

Why? Well, those kittens aren't going to kill themselves. More of the week in spleen after the jump.

BIG TEN

Iowa... Jesus. I don't think anyone outside the Minnesota-Wisconsin-Iowa triangle of hate has any enmity for the Hawkeyes, but if you're developing a tolerance for this stuff and want some really hard-core schadenfreude, Captain Kirk and Co just died against Purdue 31-6. Black Heart Gold Pants:

Evidently, Ken O'Keefe got into the Seagram's and started downing gimlets like they were stem cells and he was Michael J. Fox. While we can certainly appreciate his tastes in tipple, perhaps a road game in which Iowa had three scholarship receivers dressed isn't the right opportunity for Christensen to throw the ball 40 times.

The Iowa implosion continues to be simultaneously very, very explicable -- a surfeit of injuries and suspensions has forced Ferentz to start sixth graders at many positions -- and inexplicable: 31-6! Against Purdue!

Notre Dame. Aaron Taylor, last seen on ABC talking exclusively out of one side of his mouth and proving that a Notre Dame degree can't be that hard to acquire, now has a blog of his own. And he's not happy:

I'm so pissed off and frustrated right now at what I saw over the weekend. As a former player, captain, and alum, I was embarrassed for those players out there. They were getting hit in the mouth and couldn't do anything about it. And then I hear, "They better enjoy it now, while they can." Or what? Nothing. That's what.

Ouch. That quote references Weis E. Coyote's post game press conference, making Taylor the second former Irish player to call out Weis this season.

The Irish have a bye, then start what promises to be the most fascinating four-week stretch in the history of 1-7 teams. Will Notre Dame lose to Navy? Will they have the worst offense of the millennium? Will the BCS select them anyway?

PAC 10

(Via Bears Necessity)

Cal spent two hours as a de facto #1 last Saturday before Kevin Riley's brain imploded and the Bears finished losing to Oregon State. That kind of sucked. Also sucky: losing to bipolar UCLA, now unbelievably 4-0 in the rough and tumble Pac-10 despite losses to Utah and Notre Dame. Some Cal fans have had it with this "losing" crap -- this is Cal! We don't lose games at Cal! -- and declare Tedford on notice:

There is no excuse for losing this one. But we did.

For me, five remarkable years into the Tedford era, the honeymoon is over.

All of college football save USC, Ohio State, and Florida would like to extend a kindly invitation to take Tedford off your hands. No, really. There's no thanks necessary. We're just doing what we can for our fellow man.

Oddly, most of the comments at The Band Is Out On The Field -- linked above -- make Tedford sound like a stodgy old Big Ten coach: run run throw punt in the fourth quarter, inability to close out a game, etc. Sounds perfect for Michigan.

SEC

Tennessee. The Vols were clubbed by the Great Saban, proving themselves thoroughly mediocre and basically defenseless; Phil Fulmer now hangs by a thread. Check out the most stereotypical fan analogy in the world:

He's like a nascar driver now, that has stayed too long and gets lapped and runs on provisionals. IMO a sad end for a man that took the Vols to the promised land that gave every Tennessean so much pride and joy.

Chances this person owns a vehicle sporting a window decal of Calvin pissing on something: 100%.

South Carolina. Actually, the attitude amongst South Carolina fans is still fairly positive, as you might imagine for a program that Corso said wouldn't win the SEC in 400 years earlier this season. In the catfight that is the SEC East, having two losses at this point in the season ties you for the lead. The knives will come out when/if championship hopes get dashed. Given the Vandy game, this could be next week. Stay tuned.

BIG EAST

Louisville has become a near-constant fixture in this space since the (less and less) shocking Syracuse game, but this time the Cardinals got an assist from the worst call of the year. Card Chronicle is done:

I'm no longer sad, I'm not disappointed, and I'm not overly pessimistic about the rest of the season anymore; I am completely and utterly furious.

I'm mad at Charlie Stubbs, who continues to show that he is the worst play caller this side of my deceased great great grandmother. I'm mad at the Big East officiating crew that botched a call worse than I've ever seen during a Louisville football game, and completely shifted the momentum of the contest. And I'm mad at Steve Kragthorpe, a man who - there's no reason to beat around the bush anymore - I have absolutely zero confidence in as a head coach.

This can't be saved anymore. The most anticipated season in the history of Louisville football is officially a complete abomination.

This promises to be one of the most intriguing storylines of January: will Kragthorpe get axed only one year into the job?

BIG TWELVE

The Buyout Bowl -- a 36-14 Texas A&M victory in Lincoln -- came and went and with it went any hopes Nebraska fans had for the year save one: the hasty firing of Bill Callahan. Corn Nation highlights Bill Callahan responding to a press conference question:

Question: What kind of adjustments could you have made?

Callahan: Oh, I think it's probably too technical for you.

...is he talking to Sam Keller? Because... yeah. Things are too technical for Sam Keller. Also the rest of the Huskers. Corn Nation's reaction:

Why didn't he just come right out and say what he was thinking? "We must have the dumbest fans in America."

Meanwhile, everyone else is thinking "Nebraska must have the second- or third-dumbest coach in America."

ACC

Nobody watched unranked Miami beat unranked Florida State except what fans both schools have that haven't moved on to other pursuits like polishing their Camaros; the Seminole contigent wishes they had stuck with the original plan and just bought more turtle wax. Some are even looking at next week's Duke clash nervously:

WHO SEE'S A DUKE LET DOWN COMING

Reply

Every season it's the same thing over and over again on this board!Enough is Enough Why do we put ourselves through this.Just wait until next week when we lose to Duke this board just mighT shut all the way down.

This scares I think the players will pack it in and you all knoW DUKE can score and we can't!I think this team may not show up nex tweek guys.If that happens someone will roll! After tough back to back losses.I'm just saying watch out.God let me be wrong.

That post is obviously very, very sic. Crazy rumblings quickly shot down? Not so much. The first four responses:

Let down? I don't see a loss to Duke as a let down, it is a real possibility.

Question: Based on our play, what makes anyone think that we are actually a better football team than Duke is at this point?

Answer: Nothing.

I think it is a strong possibility that we lose to Duke. If that does happen do you think Bobby steps down?

We will lose to them, I predict 35-20. We never get fired up for Duke and with BC waiting the following week don't you think we might be looking ahead. I think this is the game to play DVo as number one and get ready for next year.

If anyone had "2007" in the "year FSU fans worry about losing to Duke," you are a filthy liar and should be ashamed of yourself.

This Week In Schadenfreude: Fear the Blue Devil, Seminoles originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Karl Dorrell Really Wants His Job

Brian Grummell — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:03:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, UCLA Football, Pac 10

Much to the chagrin of the pitchfork and torch crowd

Flash back to last week: Cal's a seemingly easy win over Oregon State from ascending to #1 in the polls. Unfortunately for the Bears, they coughed up the victory in embarrassing fashion and saw their national title dreams minimized.

Flash forward to today: UCLA just ripped the Cal Bears, embarrassing them all afternoon. It was actually a close game (on the scoreboard) between the football squads of two of this country's finest institutions. UCLA was just better. They ran the ball better, they were better in pass defense and made fewer dumb mistakes.

Cal still had a chance trailing 23-20 in the fourth quarter, but gimpy quarterback Nate Longshore tossed an interception to UCLA's great cornerback Alterraun Verner. Verner did the rest, taking it back 71 yards for a touchdown and a 30-21 lead.

Longshore tossed one more desperation interception, his third, for good measure. That effectively ended the game and puts UCLA atop the Pac-10 standings.

Amazingly, the 38-point defeat at the hands of Utah seems well forgotten nationally. Like him or hate him, you gotta give Karl Dorrell credit as that cat has nine lives. He coached his way into another year in Westwood after beating USC last year and with this victory and maybe another victory over USC it will be all the more difficult for his detractors to get rid of him.

Oh, the agony in Bruinland if that happens.

Karl Dorrell Really Wants His Job originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTubesDay: Cal's Quarterback Loses His Mind

Brian Grummell — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:21:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Pac 10

Ok so not everyone up at Berkeley is a rocket scientist.

If somehow you're living under a rock and didn't hear the news, soon-to-be #1 ranked California lost at home to Oregon State on Saturday. Thing is, it didn't have to be that way. Their run defense went in the tank as slow little Yvenson Bernard tore them up all evening.

Cal did have a shot at redemption, though, and rallied by driving the ball deep into Oregon State territory. With no timeouts left and :14 to play, Cal called one last pass play to try and get the winning touchdown. The assumption was that if the pass attempt was incomplete, they'd still have time left to line up for the game-tying field goal.

Someone (makes pointing gesture at quarterback Kevin Riley) didn't get the memo.

Watch and see one of the most inexplicable moments in all of sport. It's not quite Chris Webber calling a phantom timeout, but it's somewhere in that vicinity of sports brain locks. Jeff Tedford's slamming of his play sheet says it all.

YouTubesDay: Cal's Quarterback Loses His Mind originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Versus Hates Pac-10 Favorites

Brian Grummell — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:18:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, UCLA Football, USC Football, Pac 10, The Word

There have been four stunning Pac-10 losses this year:

Stanford 24 - USC 23
Oregon State 31 - California 28
Utah 44 - UCLA 6
Cincinnati 34 - Oregon State 3

Three of those games were televised on the Versus network, all but the Cincinnati - Oregon State tilt.

Curiously, Versus basically replaced TBS in grabbing a handful of Pac-10 games. The same TBS that televised USC's loss to Kansas State in 2002 and USC's near-loss to Stanford in 2004. Those were USC's only TBS appearances. In other words, televised appearances on marginal sports networks are pretty much terrible news for USC and now Pac-10 favorites in general.

Weird, huh? It's not quite the Lou Holtz pep talk curse, but close.

Versus Hates Pac-10 Favorites originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cal Didn't Want To Be #1 Either

Brian Grummell — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:51:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Oregon State Football

I see you Kentucky over LSU, and I raise you Oregon State over California.

A linear, predictable season is just not in the cards for college football v. 2007. I'm all for an upset now and then but this is getting to be ri-gosh-darn-diculous.

If you've ever coached football, you don't even want to know how Cal's otherwise heroic backup quarterback ended his team's hope late in the game. Let's just say it was a Chris Webber-like moment. With 14 seconds left, trailing by three with no timeouts and ball inside the 20, Cal lined up to attempt one last pass before they planned to line up for a tying field goal.

That all went bust when quarterback Kevin Riley scrambled instead of attempting a pass or throwing the ball away. The clock then ticked down as he randomly ran off the field with the ball instead of attempting to spike it.

The collection of geniuses (well, mostly, in theory, maybe?) that comprise the Cal student body refuses to leave the stands they're that stunned at the stupidity of the moment. Coach Jeff Tedford's reaction was agonizing and horrible and sad all at the same time.

Oregon State 31 - California 28

And so this very weird 2007 season goes on.

Cal Didn't Want To Be #1 Either originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Four Things Worth Reading: 10/11

Brian Cook — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:22:00 EST

Filed under: California Football, Georgia Football, Iowa Football, Nebraska Football

1. Flowcharts! Everyone loves flowcharts; Big Red Network brings us a glimpse into the mind of the Husker fan. As you might imagine, it's heavy on the torches and pitchforks, light on the puppies and sunshine. After this bit...

...it gets ugly.

2. I've got a chip on my shoulder about analysts who think "he's got a chip on his shoulder" is actual analysis.

So does Braves & Birds, specifically in relation to former darling Kirk Herbstreit, who explained Tennessee's clobberation of Georgia by citing Tennessee's "emotional edge":

Herbstreit's mode of analysis is a cop out. His job should be to watch games and then explain what happened in such a way that someone who didn't see the game can understand why it played out the way it did and someone who did watch the game will learn something that they might have missed. Instead, Herbstreit takes the easy way out.

He doesn't have to watch or analyze the game to say that Tennessee played with more passion than Georgia on Saturday. He doesn't have to do the mental heavy-lifting of noting that Tennessee ran a terrific series of plays on its first several possessions that exposed the Georgia defense time and again and were evidence that Tennessee used its bye week well. He doesn't have to explain why Georgia was unable to run the ball on Tennessee after the Vols' first four opponents all had success on the ground. Any mediocrity with a degree from an average state school can say that "Tennessee played with more passion."

Michael takes aim at the plague of this sort of thinking affecting pundits nationwide. Whatever happened to talking about, you know, football?

3. Hey, how about this, actual media people? Cal Golden Blogs takes a bye-week opportunity to review some plays from the Oregon-Cal game, showing how Cal tipped a halfback pass and set up a rolling pocked for Longshore in step-by-step detail. Meanwhile, ESPN talking heads are talking about Cal's chip on its shoulder. It's goddamn huge!

4. Why does Iowa suck? Because they really, really do. They suck. Black Heart, Gold Pants is sorting through the ashes of the season and has come up with two possible explanations: 1) the departure of offensive line coach Joe Philbin and 2) a metric ton of suspensions, transfers, and injuries including six starters and six second-stringers in a year that the Hawkeyes were already young.

Four Things Worth Reading: 10/11 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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