NCAA Football FanHouse

Recruiting Is Just Another Word For Bending The Rules

John Radcliff — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:40:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, West Virginia Football, NCAA FB Recruiting, South Carolina Football

If you think you know every ~~dirty~~ creative trick schools use to recruit athletes, you may be right. But I'm willing to guess that you don't. I think I learned at an early age about the sneaky ways of recruiting from reading "That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It", by Alex Hawkins.

When Hawkins, then a South Charleston high school senior, was being sought after by football and basketball college coaches, he chose football because it paid more money. "I was offered a farm to sign with the University of Kentucky but I was offered $1,500 a semester, a complete men's wardrobe and a new automobile to play football for coach Rex Enright at South Carolina.

Depending on how you look at it, those days are sadly over. Too bad I couldn't find the bit about the men West Virginia paid to make sure no other coaches talked to Hawkins. Because the South Carolina coaches had to sneak in the back door to make that offer. Undoubtedly, WVU's men were looking for new jobs that fall.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Recruiting always has been and always will be about getting access to the player, and what you can sell them in that time. Despite the NCAA's best efforts to control the contact coaches have with recruits, it seems there's always a loophole.

So when Oregon coaches identified their top 20 prospects for the class of 2005, Gilmore and his staff designed custom comic books starring each recruit as the hero who leads the Ducks to a national title. Because NCAA rules at the time only allowed programs to send letter-sized, black-and-white pages to recruits, Gilmore sent each prospect one page a week. After a few months, the recruit had the full comic book.

The practice of sending a recruit a comic book about themselves was nixed when the NCAA passed a rule that only material that was created by a coach could be sent to recruits. I would not be at all surprised to learn that Oregon offered a spot on the coaching staff to Stan Lee.

The more recent ban on text messages and the dead period on spring recruiting have just forced coaches to be more creative. Like Nick Saban's video conferencing, or Ron Zook speaking at high school coaching clinics, the NCAA is just making it's coaches better cheaters. As much as you want to think your coach isn't involved in any shady dealing or rule bending, I'd be willing to bet that they are. Good coaches are hell bent on being the best, and that attitude doesn't do a 180 when they walk off the field. It's a way of life. As for me, I'm still waiting on Bill Stewart to give me a call to write a song for a recruit, or one for why they shouldn't go to Ohio State.

Recruiting Is Just Another Word For Bending The Rules originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:40:00 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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Signing Day Video: What's Best for Undecided Quarterback Terrelle Pryor?

Brian Grummell — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:02:00 EST

Filed under: Michigan Football, Ohio State Football, Oregon Football, Penn State Football, NCAA FB Recruiting, NCAA FB Media Watch, NCAA FB Video

Good debate here between ESPN's Robert Smith and Jesse Palmer.

Palmer says Terrelle Pryor is raw as a passer, and would be better suited with his skills at spread schools Oregon and Michigan (welcome to the modern age, fellas). Ohio State's pro-style offense involves a fullback and tight ends and might be overwhelming for a guy that raw.

Smith makes it known Pryor simply won't redshirt and if he went to Ohio State, its offense would most certainly change. Lost in all that discussion: Penn State, the presumed favorite of Pryor's father. Good stuff.

Signing Day Video: What's Best for Undecided Quarterback Terrelle Pryor? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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College Football's Awesome Offseason: Oregon Player Cited for 'Maintaining a Drug House'

Brian Grummell — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:20:00 EST

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

College football's offseason is wonderful. It's a time when fans fret for upwards of eight months about how a team full of 18-21 year-olds will perform in a pressure-packed, abbreviated season while simultaneously taking classes* In the downtime, said players tend to get into trouble. Lots of it. The best of them entertain and/or frighten us.

Today's amusement comes from Oregon receiver Derrick Jones, last seen flying down the Michigan sidelines ~~(0:35)~~ (03:00) and proving once again Michigan's defense could probably afford to pull its safeties back against teams with vertical pass offenses. But we digress.

Jones was arrested last weekend for the unusual charge of "maintaining a drug house".

Less than an ounce of marijuana was found at the residence at the time of Jones' Jan. 25 arrest, Eugene police Sgt. Rich Stronach said.
Jones was taken to jail on a contempt of court charge for failing to appear for a Eugene Municipal Court hearing, Stronach said.
Jones, a sophomore from Gardena, Calif., also was arrested in October for driving with a suspended license and missed one game when coaches suspended him for the arrest.

How one gets cited for that when seemingly half the population of Eugene may in fact operate drug houses is beyond us. A swift booting off the Oregon team is likely since coaches tend to cut bait with guys whose legal troubles escalate instead of dissipate.

*One assumes
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College Football's Awesome Offseason: Oregon Player Cited for 'Maintaining a Drug House' originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hurray: Terrelle Pryor May Not Commit on Signing Day

Brian Cook — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:38:00 EST

Filed under: Michigan Football, Ohio State Football, Oregon Football, Penn State Football, NCAA FB Recruiting

Right: a certain subset of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State fans.

National Signing Day -- which is a holiday for that guy in your office who's constantly muttering about his stapler -- is February sixth. On that day, virtually every high school recruit in the country will sign a binding letter of intent to attend a particular college.

Those who hesitate risk being left out in the cold, unless you're the nation's #1 recruit:

"I'd say it's about 50-50 that I'll push things back," Pryor said.

Aw, Jesus. More waiting? More bated breath? More pictures with Corvettes? Pryor's stated reason for the delay is a potential visit to spread-friendly Oregon. This would seem to refute the rumors that Pryor is an Ohio State lock... though not much.

Pryor's visit with JoePa went "OK" according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which in normally effusive recruit-speak means "get that crazy old man away from me." Meanwhile, even Ohio State fans are getting on the preemptive sour grapes bandwagon.

Where's he going? Tune in Wednesday! Or sometime after Wednesday!

Hurray: Terrelle Pryor May Not Commit on Signing Day originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oregon Isn't a One-Man Operation

Brian Grummell — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:31:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Big East, Pac 10, Bowl Games, The Word, South Florida Football

Sure, things looked bleak when Dennis Dixon collapsed in a heap against Arizona and Oregon soon went on to three straight defeats. Oregon's quarterbacks looked like garbage and they were presumably left for dead against South Florida in the Sun Bowl.

I guess they didn't get the memo.

A nobody reserve named Justin Roper has been magnificent for the Ducks this afternoon, leading them to a 46-14 third quarter lead against an above average Bulls defense. Turnovers have helped, but Roper is 15/26 for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns in just three quarters of work. Not bad, huh?

I think Oregon got silly in sticking with its dropback veteran Brady Leaf instead of taking its lumps with the more mobile Roper and it cost them several winnable games and ultimately the Pac-10 championship. Contrary to the concerns of some, the spread can go on when a quarterback gets injured. Just like with more pro-style offenses it is up to a coaching staff to find and develop the appropriate style of quarterback to run the system in case a starter goes down.

In doing so, Oregon found its mojo in a big way as the run/pass game is clicking. Johnathan Stewart, aided by a functional quarterback for the first time in a few games has gone off for over 200 yards (a Sun Bowl record) including a 71-yard touchdown run.

Oregon Isn't a One-Man Operation originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UCLA Keeps Rose Bowl Hopes Alive

Scott Olin Schmidt — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, UCLA Football, Pac 10, Bowl Games

Although it seemed unlikely as their season unraveled earlier this month, the UCLA Bruins are still in the running for the Rose Bowl Game after defeating the beleaguered Oregon Ducks in Pasadena 16-0.

For the first half of the game, it looked like neither injury-riddled team wanted to win the ballgame. Converted wide receiver Osaar Rashaan completed none of his 7 passes in the start, resulting in Karl Dorrell bringing "emergency substitute" Ben Olson off the bench at haltime--providing a spark to make the UCLA offense look merely mediocre. Meanwhile, the Bruin defense showed just how important Dennis Dixon was to the Oregon Ducks.

If UCLA beats USC, Oregon beats Oregon State and Arizona defeats Arizona State next Saturday, the Bruins will have the tiebreaker in the four-way race, sending the 7-5 Bruins to the Rose Bowl Game, Oregon to the Holiday Bowl, USC to the Sun Bowl and Arizona State to San Francisco's Emerald Bowl.

Then again, the Oregon loss puts USC in the drivers' seat for the Rose Bowl game--win and they're in. Even if the Trojans lose to UCLA, they could back in to the Rose Bowl is Oregon and Arizona State also lose.

UCLA Keeps Rose Bowl Hopes Alive originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nation's #2 and #4 Teams Lose, Eeeeyawn

Brian Grummell — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:36:00 EST

Filed under: Oklahoma Football, Oregon Football, Big 12, Pac 10, The Word

That's kind of how it goes in this crazy college football season. I'd like to take credit for at least suggesting Arizona's seemingly improbable defeat of Oregon (and offering justification), but really Dennis Dixon's leg injury did more than enough that night to seal the Ducks' fate.

Elsewhere, BCS #4 Oklahoma was felled by swashbuckling Texas Tech. Oklahoma experienced a similar setback to Oregon as they lost quarterback Sam Bradford to a concussion and struggled offensively much of the night once he departed.

ESPN/ABC also brings us this great fact: an unranked team has defeated a top five team 11 times this season which is the most in college football history. This lays bare the obvious feeling that these upsets are almost trite at this point. Fortunately we're down to the nitty gritty of the season dominated by rivalry games and conference championship battles which give a new flavor to the 2007 mix. Oh, and there's also that simmering rivalry game between Kansas and Missouri that greatly affects the BCS Championship race.

Nation's #2 and #4 Teams Lose, Eeeeyawn originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dennis Dixon's Oregon Career Is Ovah

Brian Grummell — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:33:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, Heisman, The Word, Arizona Football

Finito. No mas. Retire the jersey time. Done.

Dennis Dixon completely tore the ACL in his left knee in Oregon's win over Arizona State on Nov. 3, and convinced Oregon's coaches and doctors to let him try and play in the Arizona game last night.

After leaving last night's loss in the first quarter when the knee faltered again, Dixon will now have season-ending surgery, bringing his UO career to a close. That was the word on a conference call featuring UO coach Mike Bellotti and team physician Dr. Bob Crist this evening.

It was fun while it lasted but that show just came to an end. Oregon's a different team without him and it showed last night. Their runaway Pac-10 Championship and BCS game hopes are now teetering. Dixon's Heisman Trophy crashed the minute he crumpled to the turf last night and Arizona's victory obviously ended their BCS Championship Game hopes.

What a cruel blow to both Dixon and the team. The senior was a middling draft prospect to begin with but this late-season injury will deeply interfere with his ability to train and test ahead of next April's draft. Fortunately for Dixon he has a minor league baseball opportunity to fall back upon, but even that won't last much longer unless he learns to hit the curve ball.

Dixon's final line:

172/254 passing (.677), 2136 yards, 20 touchdowns, 4 interceptions,161.2 rating
105 carries, 583 yards (5.6 average) 9 touchdowns

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Dennis Dixon's Oregon Career Is Ovah originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We Called It: Arizona Over #2 Oregon

Brian Grummell — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:59:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, The Word, Arizona Football

Ok so we didn't believe it when we called it, but we saw the signs. Dennis Dixon's unforced leg injury made the upset a mere formality.

I don't credit this to parity, I think that's a lazy description for what's happening this year in college football. College football is a game with uneven matchups but so much more psychologically at play that provides this great variance that we see. And tonight that variance was an injury to Oregon's quarterback absolutely putting his team into a shell.

His backup tossed an interception that was returned for a touchdown, they surrendered a weird punt return touchdown and then basically quit until late in the fourth quarter. That's college kids for ya.

And now the red-shirted college kids are storming the field, reminiscent of Rutgers' upset over Louisville last year.

The effects are far-reaching. With Dixon's injury, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is the runaway favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He would be the award's first-ever underclass winner.

Elsewhere, Kansas is now the clear favorite to play LSU in the BCS Championship Game. Kansas! Heaven help us trying to sort things out if one or both of them lose any of their remaining games. This is big.

We Called It: Arizona Over #2 Oregon originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Half Live Blog: Oregon @ Arizona

Brian Grummell — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:46:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, Heisman, Arizona Football

Oregon @ Arizona | 1st Half | 2nd Half

Welcome back!

Lou Holtz is pep talkin' for Notre Dame. Go figure.

11:02 - Dixon's done.

11:08 - Ahh, memories. Since this game is slowing down a bit, I should tell you that I once attended an Arizona football game. I was visiting the aforementioned Victor, hanging out in Tucson and whatnot and then catching an Arizona/USC game. Because Arizona was so terrible at the time, we were able to get 50 yardline seats in the Arizona student section.

It's a nice, if small, stadium, and a fun place to hang out for a game. But their fans can be a little difficult. I took some heat because I was there in support for the opposite side, but nothing too bad until one immensely liquored up Wildcat fan harassed me for much of the second quarter. I kept my cool, the fan barely did. Eventually he grew tired of me and the game and left around halftime, but not before telling me "I better not see you at Dirtbags after the game"

Dirtbags is a Tucson institution, but also a severe dive. I didn't know what it was before that moment but Victor joked afterwards "don't worry, we wouldn't be going there anyway". And so it went. Anyway, Tucson's a unique town in its own way, cheap food and drink at least coming from the Los Angeles/San Diego area. Their student union is massive and overall it's a chill vibe to the place. It's your typical college town, but set in the Arizona desert.

11:14 - Sorry about that gap earlier, was taking a call from my friend Vicki who had texted just a minute earlier "holy crap". She saw Dennis Dixon run for the touchdown early in the game and turned away to watch some other stuff on TV. Switch back an hour later and it's 31-11 and she wants to know how in the world Arizona was leading. That took some explaining, obviously.

11:15 - Fumble, Arizona. Recovery, Oregon. Huge break there, fumble forced by one Kenny Rowe, a freshman defensive end from Long Beach Poly (CA) HS. Oregon ball at the 17.

11:16 - Touchdown, Oregon! Nice run Jonathan Stewart but there's a holding penalty. That's Oregon's night, in a nutshell. Ne'ermind.

11:20 - Chipping away . . . Field goal Oregon, Dennis Dixon in his weird Beanie thingy hat, cheerleading on the sidelines. Arizona 31 - Oregon 17 (third quarter)

11:24 - Tuitama nearly threw a pick there. Oregon's defense is starting to adjust. That or Arizona is doing what I call "The Relent"

11:25 - And then Tuitama throw a nice third down conversion pass there. Ne'ermind.

11:26 - Victor's still worried. "At least the clock's running now" Haha, great sign in the stands "PLAY BETTER".

11:29 - Another Oregon punt with 4:47 left in the third quarter. Can only do that so often.

11:34 - Oooohhhh, almost another pick by Tuitama just as Arizona enters midfield. As close as Arizona is to blowing this game out, they're nearly putting Oregon right back into it.

11:40 - Great watchdog role by ESPN. They're not catching any "talking" or emotion on the Oregon sidelines. The great teams get themselves into games, they don't just pout on the sidelines like that.

11:42 - Flutie: "The Oregon defense is holding up to their end of the bargain right now"

11:43 - This is THE opening for Kansas, no? I have no idea what to compare it to if they make the championship game. The closest, comparable program top of my head is Georgia Tech in what, 1990? Colorado around the same time? Kansas State nearly made it happen in 1998 but they'd done some things before that.

11:45 - HORRIBLE HORRIBLE timing. Oregon runs a Dixon For Heisman commercial late in the third quarter, two quarters after he injures himself and is out of this game, out of the Heisman Trophy race and likely out for the (regular) season. Someone please tell me you have that recorded and posted it on YouTube. Pretty please?!

11:49 - We've gone from Ryan Leaf sideline shots to Ryan Leaf sideline interviews. That's just bad mojo for Oregon.

11:50 - Oregon just magnificently executed a fake punt, making it down to the Arizona 25 yard line (or so) before perhaps fumbling the ball. The duck player was flipped before hitting the ground, but officials are saying Oregon got the ball anyway. Any now Arizona is ruled to have recovered the ball.

11:51 - First glance at the replay tells me this is an obvious fumble. This is not Oregon's night.

11:55 - Ooooohhhh, that woulda been ballgame. Arizona, perfectly designed downfield play, wide open tight end for what could have been a touchdown but he stumbled for a moment and couldn't haul the ball in.

11:59 - Arte Moreno's the latest sideline interview victim. At least he's an Arizona alum. Also a Wildcat alum? Bob Baffert.

12:01 - Second drop for Jaison Williams tonight. He does this from time to time, not shocked that Duck fans call him 50/50. Big play the next snap, hauling in a third down pass to move the chains.

12:02 - Credit to Dennis Dixon, he's trying to will his team on the sidelines while everyone else has their heads down. Follow the leader, Ducks. You learn this stuff in elementary school.

12:03 - Yikes. Derrick Jones just lost the ball, fumbling a reception along the sidelines. Replay makes it seem like it might have been ground caused. Devastating if Oregon loses this with 10:54 left in the 4th quarter.

12:06 - Oregon ball, correct call in my mind.

12:10 - Oregon is marching . . . and then nearly throws a pick.

12:14 - Huge run by Stewart, running inside for what looks like a first down on the two yard line. That was the 16th play of this drive! Yep, first down.

12:16 - TOUCHDOWN, Oregon. This is a one score game if they connect on the extra point. As Fowler notes, it was a 17 play drive taking 4:26, leaving 7:53 on the clock. Arizona 31 - Oregon 24.

12:20 - Amazingly, Craig James makes a good analogy. "We thought this was going to be a track meet between the two teams, but after halftime they went to the field events. Shot put ... " I can buy that!

12:22 - HUGE third down pass for Arizona, snaking that play with YAC into Oregon territory. That's 73 yards tonight for the Arizona tight end.

12:24 - Yet another incompetent Pac-10 officiating moment. Oregon just got away with the world's most obvious facemask. RIDICULOUS.

12:27 - Nice I formation run there by Arizona to net the first down. 4:55 left on that clock, deep in Oregon territory.

12:28 - My Arizona friend chimes in "tick tick tick tick tick tick tick"

12:29 - And Arizona just fumbled the ball right into Oregon hands. Good Lord what a mistake! Missouri, Kansas, West Virginia and LSU fans everywhere just had a heart attack. Er, this is under review. Arizona friend Victor chimes in "he's down, he's down". Yeh they need to overturn this, Arizona ball, but a short loss.

12:36 - Heeeeeeeyuge field goal for Arizona, taking a 34-24 lead with 3:20 left. The Pac-10 groans, everyone else is celebrating right now.

12:38 - Does Oregon have a comeback in them? First play was a short pass underneath . . . ehhh. Next play, incomplete near the first down marker to Jaison Williams. That's his third drop.

12:39 - pass goes to Williams for no gain, 4th down! 2:35 left (and counting).

12:40 - My Arizona friend has it right "this just cost the school $1.2 million". YEP.

12:40 - It wouldn't be an Arizona game without students storming the field, particularly with plenty of game left. Hilarious. And that is the definition of a party school. Oregon gets the first down.

12:41 - My friend Victor was very proud of the Arizona fans storming the field after a triple overtime victory over a bad Washington State team a few years ago. BTW little trivia here: that same game was playing in the background during a scene of the movie "You, Me and Dupree" Don't ask me how I know these things.

12:42- Interception ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! That is ballgame. Arizona has to just milk the last 1:55, but Oregon WILL go down. Half the stadium is literally on the sideline. This is surreal.

12:43 - So, to summarize. Oregon flew out to a nice lead, then Dennis Dixon injured his leg on a non-contact situation. His team absolutely flattened out after that. Arizona responded by intercepting Brady Leaf and returning it for a touchdown, scoring on a 40-yard touchdown play, then returning a punt for another touchdown. That, for all intents and purposes, was ballgame in the middle of the third quarter with Arizona leading 31-11.

12:44 - Our resident Gator is probably beside himself right now. Barring a disastrous performance, the Heisman Trophy will go to Florida's Tim Tebow, the award's first EVER sophomore winner. Kansas is now the front-runner to play LSU in the BCS Championship game. And yes, I sort of saw this coming, even if I refused to acknowledge it.

12:50 - FINAL: ARIZONA 34 - OREGON 24

Second Half Live Blog: Oregon @ Arizona originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Half Live Blog: Oregon @ Arizona

Brian Grummell — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:58:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, Heisman, The Word, Arizona Football

Oregon @ Arizona | 1st Half | 2nd Half

Whoah Nellie, we have the rarest of rare Thursday night opportunities here: not one but two Pac-10 teams are battling tonight.

It's not the sexiest matchup in the world, but there's certainly enough at stake for Oregon to make this dramatic if Arizona wants to make a game of it. The Ducks are closing in on a chance to play for the BCS Championship if they can hang on (a Kansas loss would help) and win out. Quarterback Dennis Dixon has the narrowest of leads over Florida's Tim Tebow in what could be one of the better down-to-the-wire Heisman Trophy races.

It's all there for them, and it's all here on FanHouse starting at around 9 Eastern. I'll be your host, so feel free to bookmark this and visit while simultaneously watching the game. Or, if you're more distracted by other Thursday night programming, just keep the laptop or computer nearby and check in with us to get a feel for what's going on.

We're here for ya.

Vitals, Pregame Notes and Live Blog after the jump . . .

Vitals

- Oregon at Arizona
- TV 9 Eastern ESPN
- Oregon is favored by 11.5

- Phil Steele Facts (Oregon): UA handed UO it's only loss of the season at Autzen LY. The visitor has won 6 of 8. LY marked the 1st time that UO has lost to UA in Eugene during the Bellotti regime.

- Phil Steele Facts (Arizona): Last year the Wildcats won in Autzen stadium for the 1st time since the 1986 season. UA held OU scoreless in the 2H (4th time in '06 they shutout a team in the final 30:00)

* * * * *
Pregame Notes (Continuously Updated)

. . . Dennis Dixon has the smack-talking baby in his corner. Too bad the kid's not old enough to (Heisman) vote . . .

. . . I should probably do an entry on this one: Arizona is better than you think. MUCH better. They've broken into the Las Vegas Sports Consultants' Top 30 this week at #30. In the eyes of Las Vegas they're all but equals with #27 Illinois (who toppled Ohio State last weekend) and #28 Kentucky (who toppled LSU several weekends ago) . . .

. . . Here is what Heisman Pundit says about tonight:

Well, obviously, the Ducks need to win. That's a given. A loss would be devastating to Dixon's Heisman hopes.

Otherwise, yards aren't hugely important, though I think having a high completion percentage while accumulating at least 180 yards with a minimum of two touchdown passes and no more than one pick will keep him copacetic in the eyes of voters. If he can throw for over 200 and a few touchdowns and add some dazzling runs on top of it, then he will have passed this test with flying colors. None of this is a given, of course, as Arizona's defense has the ability to give any team fits.

As for Dixon's quest, remember that there is a tendency for Heisman voters to 'want it all'. They want the guy they vote for to not only have good numbers, but for those numbers to produce meaningful results. They want that guy to be the catalyst in victories that lead to his team contending for the national title.

This is why voters have gravitated toward Dixon and have been a bit slower to flock to Tebow, despite his overwhelming stats. It's not just the simple equation that Dixon is the best player on a championship contender. It's that right now they believe his play is the reason Oregon is a contender. We are all searching for meaning in what we do, right? Heisman voters are no different.

Tonight, they will have a chance to validate, or to invalidate, that belief.

So no pressure or anything, Dennis. Just play football. Riiiiight . . .

9:06 - Um, touchdown Oregon! 4th and three inside Arizona territory, Dennis Dixon simply keeper right and there's absolutely no Arizona defense after that. WOW. Next play, keeper on the two point conversion run to the tight end. WOW.

Did I say wow? Wow. Effortless. Even the commentators are stunned. Oregon 8 - Arizona 0 (first quarter)

9:11 - Ha! Fowler: "(Oregon) caught the cats napping" Indeed.

9:12 - PICK. Arizona's giving this game to Oregon so far. Jairus Byrd on the pick, last year's Pac-10 co-frosh of the year (along with USC's Taylor Mays). Who says the Pac-10 doesn't play defense?

9:14 - Oregon has 7 touchdowns of 18 seconds or less this year. And as I type this Jaison Williams catches a third down pass and breaks some tackles, one more break from being a touchdown. Nice.

9:15 - Derrick Jones! Oregon's got its speed guy back on that reverse. He enrolled at USC once. Think they could use him?

9:16 - Interception! Arizona didn't deserve that, but they'll take it. Oregon had a touchdown there, but its receiver was a fraction late in catching the pass, deflected it and the loose ball ended up in Arizona's hands in the end zone. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Chris Fowler "that one you can blame on the receiver". Well, in the meantime the Heisman voters see Dennis Dixon recording his 4th interception.

9:18 - Um, touchdown (! ! !). Can't sleep on these Pac-10 games. Arizona tosses a screen to Mike Thomas, who shakes a tackle, darts along the sideline then shakes one more half-tackle for the 34-yard touchdown. Freebie, but the Cats will take it. Oregon 8 - Arizona 7. If you don't watch much Pac-10 football, basically ... this is Pac-10 football.

There's good defenses, but once the offenses do their thing, it just doesn't matter sometimes. You think Mike Stoops is thrilled with Oregon's offensive performance so far? No. But what can he do? Pray for a stop or two, that's what. And then engineer a touchdown drive. That's what he can do.

9:22 - One of my best friends Victor is an Arizona alum. I'll see if I can reproduce some of his text message reactions on here tonight.

9:24 - Jonathan Stewart was a broken tackle away from a 40-yard touchdown there. Block, Dennis Dixon, block! Heh.

9:25 - I asked Victor if the generic shots of the Arizona campus bring back memories . . . he responds "yes, and Erin Andrews doing Arizona games on TBS". Heh. Y'all remember TBS college football broadcasts? I'm not her biggest fan, but she's clearly a pretty gal and I remember one of TBS' first broadcasts at USC and noticing her walking through the USC stands and thinking on looks alone she'd go far.

9:27 - Dennis Dixon is DOWN. On a second down play, he had no options on a run left, stopped, turned his leg weird and crumpled to the ground. Hope he's alright but if he's got a severe injury a Heisman campaign ends NOW.

9:28 - Victor texts: "enter Brady Leaf". Someone's cheerful.

9:29 - Sideline shot, Ryan Leaf wearing an Oregon hat. Ummmmmmmmmmm, aren't you a Wazzou alum?

9:30 - Field goal Oregon. Awkward score of Oregon 11 - Arizona 7 (first quarter). What is this, baseball?

9:32 - Erin Andrews is saying Dennis Dixon has some tears in his eyes. Is his Oregon career over? Tim Tebow is all but sealed for the Heisman if true.

9:34 - Nice pass by Arizona to its tight end Rob Gronkowski. He was a major recruit who miraculously ended up at Arizona. What a name.

9:35 - Another ESPN close-up of Dixon. He looks shattered. Tim Tebow, this is your Heisman.

9:36 - "Dennis Dixon has a twisted left knee, he is done for the night. If it's any indication, his father is being brought down from the stands"

9:37 - Doug Flutie: "judging by the reaction of everyone on the sidelines, Dennis Dixon may be done for a lot longer than tonight"

9:39 - Field Goal Arizona. They're keeping it close. Oregon 11 - Arizona 10 (first quarter)

9:47 - The difference between Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf? Leaf just threw a ridiculous interception on third and three, returned by Antoine Cason for the world's easiest 40-yard touchdown. Arizona 17 - Oregon 11. Dennis Dixon matters.

9:49 - Quoth Victor (about Dixon relative to Leaf's interception): "that might win him (Dixon)) an award. Ugh.

9:50 - Oregon's trying to hit up the run game. Give it two quarters, hard to tell how effective that is right now. And then Jaison Williams drops a poorly thrown but still executable third down catch. Oregon's confidence is faded.

9:56 - And as I type this CSI is getting rid of its "Sarah Sidle" character. I reallllly don't want to talk about that right now. Best to focus on football. thank God for DVR.

9:58 - Engineering grad comes through. Victor informs me of the talk amongst Arizona fans that if Mike (Stoops) wins, Bob Stoops benefits. Arizona drops, Oklahoma moves up to #2 in the BCS. Gotta love brotherly love, except you can't love Philadephia. Or the whole Cain/Able thing.

9:59 - Touchdown Arizona! ! ! Terrible tackling, Oregon defense. That was a nice pass play, but c'mon, make a tackle. Arizona's passing score goes for 46 yards there and ESPN introduces a timely shot of Dennis Dixon limping down the sideline, head down. Big story emerging here. Arizona 24 - Oregon 11 (2nd quarter)

10:01 - Seriously, if Arizona wins tonight the Pac-10 is going to leave flaming bags of dog doo doo on their doorsteps. This is a 10+ million dollar loss for the conference if Oregon loses and the Pac-10 only places one team in the BCS bowls.

10:03 - Victor informs me that Arizona gets $1.2 million if Oregon wins and makes the BCS title game. That money could go towards the buyout of coach Mike Stoops. This is just terrible for the Pac-10 right now, but at least it confirms just how deep the competition is within the conference.

10:04 - Oregon was averaging 9.6 yards/play before Dennis Dixon's injury. After it? 3.8 yards/play. Credit to ESPN for the stats.

10:13 - Chris Fowler is an idiot (but we love ya, sorta . . . let's talk about that playoff stuff later). Pac-10 teams want Arizona to beat Oregon? ! Hayllllll no. Oregon owns the tie-breaker over USC and Arizona State, the Pac-10's other BCS candidates.

If Oregon loses, Oregon probably goes to the Rose Bowl and not the BCS Championship game and only one Pac-10 team gets a BCS bowl bid. EVERYONE in the Pac-10 (including the Arizona administration) is cheering for Oregon tonight. What an idiotic statement.

10:15 - Finally Fowler says something right. "#2 is in deep, deep trouble in the desert." Antoine Cason returns a punt for an easy touchdown against Oregon, turning this game into an Arizona laugher right now. Arizona 31 - Oregon 11. Ballgame? Cason now has a punt and interception return touchdown tonight.

10:21 - I saw Cason play (on TV) in high school when I was living in Los Angeles. He played at a loaded Los Alamitos program that included a nationally regarded safety who ended up getting busted for some kind of drug offense. Cason was fairly ignored by USC and UCLA and ended up at Arizona, a recruiting mistake by both programs. Another teammate, Orlando Scandrick ended up at Boise State is now a corner with the Broncos.

10:38 - Field goal Oregon. Arizona 31 - Oregon 14 (second quarter).

See you at the Second Quarter Live Blog

First Half Live Blog: Oregon @ Arizona originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trend Watch: Can Arizona Upset Oregon?

Brian Grummell — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:47:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, Arizona Football

Personally, I don't see it happening but let's take a look at something interesting here.

What jumps out at me is this Las Vegas Sports Consultants' Top 30 ranking. Scroll down the list a bit. Ok, maybe scroll down all the way. See that, right there at #30? That's Arizona (! ! !)

They're not a terrible team, but Arizona clearly has its issues as their coach may get fired and as recently as three games ago lost 21-20 to Stanford. However, Las Vegas obviously sees something in them and even more notable is the company they keep.

Nearby to them in the rankings are two solid teams who have already knocked off a #1 team this year. There's #28 Kentucky who knocked off #1 LSU a few weeks back. There's also #27 Illinois, victors over #1 Ohio State last weekend. Hmm . . .

Not convincing enough? Well, keep in mind that Arizona is at home and they're red-hot these last two weeks, scoring 48 and 34 points in victories over Washington State and UCLA. As noted by the wise guys, Arizona has turned things around with their offense in a hurry and they are dangerous.

Normally, total overhauls like this take at least a season or two to start showing progress - see Nebraska. However, in Arizona's case, the year-over-year difference is obvious. The Wildcats offense has scored almost 13 more points per game this season, going from 16 points last year to 28.5 points this year.

Finally, this is a weird setting for both teams. The Pac-10 doesn't play very often on Thursday nights so the unfamiliar prep times may cause sluggish play for one or both teams. The last time we saw a Pac-10 team on Thursday, Oregon State was getting manhandled by Cincinnati. Anyway, just something to keep an eye on. This season has been madness and an Arizona victory over Oregon - improbable as it seems - only adds to the insanity. Be sure to stop by our First and Second Half Live Blogs of tonight's game.

Oh, and let it be known that Oregon isn't alone in these worries - Kansas better be on the lookout as well.

Trend Watch: Can Arizona Upset Oregon? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Heisman Trophy Race Is Close as Can Be

Brian Grummell — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:36:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Football, Oregon Football, Pac 10, SEC, Heisman, The Word

For all the grousing about the Heisman Trophy award being predetermined, this year's race has been a breath of fresh air.

Nearly every qualified candidate has had his bumps along the way, leaving the field wide open right up until the final few weeks where we have finally see some narrowing of the field.

Heisman Pundit's Straw Poll released today has Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon leading Florida quarterback Tim Tebow by just a single point. This thing's going down to the wire folks, with late-season individual performances certain to dictate the outcome. In other words we have a flash back to the 2005 battle between Reggie Bush and Vince Young.

Bush famously carried USC on his back in torching Fresno State for over 500 all-purpose yards. Young had his chance to answer the following Friday against Texas A&M and stumbled. He eventually led his team to victory but had one of his worst showings all season, symbolized by sitting on the bench with a towel over his head much of the afternoon. Bush sealed the deal with another 200+ yard rushing performance against UCLA including a famously photographed leaping score.

Young won the national championship and got the bigger prize, but the Heisman is a regular season award and hopefully we'll be treated to some great performances by both Tebow and Dixon these last few games. Dixon is playing for a shot at the national championship. Tebow's playing for a very narrow shot at the SEC Championship Game. There's intense pressure on both to deliver for their teams which might lead to something special . . . or it might lead to one of them cracking.

Whatever happens, no billboards will have been necessary this time around.

The Heisman Trophy Race Is Close as Can Be originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:36:00 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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Dennis Dixon's Heisman Candidacy Leading Among the Diapers Demographic

Brian Grummell — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:11:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, Heisman

He's got a smack-talking baby in his corner. Creepy stuff, but the diaper dandy makes some good points about consistency (Darren McFadden), guys not playing two full games (Mike Hart) and bad numbers (11 interceptions for Matt Ryan).

Dennis Dixon's Heisman Candidacy Leading Among the Diapers Demographic originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Worm Turns in the Heisman Race

Ryan Ferguson — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:20:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Football, Oregon Football, SEC, Heisman, Arkansas Football

Who is it?

Who do you think is college football's most outstanding player in 2007?

Is it the best player on the best team?

Or is it the best player regardless of his team's record?

Does it matter if he's a senior, a junior, or a sophomore?

With three weeks of football left, the Heisman race appears to have narrowed -- at least temporarily, to a field of three: Dennis Dixon, Darren McFadden, and Tim Tebow.

As such, this year more than ever, the "10 Heismandments" created by Heisman Pundit are being put to the test.

In particular, Heismandments #2 and #5, groaning under enormous pressure, are starting to show stress fractures. They are:

2. The winner must be a junior or senior.

... and:

5. The winner must be one or more of the following three:

a. The top player on a national title contender.

b. A player who puts up good numbers for a traditional power that has a good record.

c. A player who puts up superlative single-season or career numbers on a good team, or numbers which are way out ahead of his Heisman competitors.

Two of 2007's top Heisman contenders are cross odds with those rules.

Dennis Dixon: If it walks like a duck...

Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon is having a Heisman-quality year and is therefore most likely your Heisman frontrunner. Dixon has thrown for 20 TDs, run for 8 more, completes 67.9% of his passes and has only thrown 3 INTs. More importantly, he doesn't violate either of the two key Heismandments: he's a senior, and he plays for a team which is currently in the hunt for a BCS title. Even nursing an injury, he threw for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns this past weekend against unbeaten Arizona State.

What he needs to do to win: Securing a berth in the BCS title game ought to more or less guarantee the Heisman for Dixon at this point -- assuming he keeps piling on the stats. He might win it even if Oregon suffers a second loss.

Why he might lose: Oregon is not a "traditional football power" and as such won't be granted much leeway if the Ducks lose a second game. Dixon also has to keep pace with Tebow and McFadden lest he lose in a game of "who has the gaudiest stats."

Darren McFadden: #5 is alive

Arkansas' Darren McFadden was given up for dead just a week ago but after a record-tying 321-yard rushing performance against South Carolina, the preseason favorite for the Trophy is suddenly right back in the mix. Although his stats don't pack the knockout punch of his two closest contenders -- McFadden has rushed for 1,316 yards and 12 TDs, plus passed for 2 more -- it's the sheer poetry of what he does on the football field that makes millions of jaws drop every Saturday. Simply put, Darren McFadden is the kind of generational talent at his position that can't be matched for another 15-20 years. He's the best running back the SEC has seen since Herschel Walker.

What he needs to do to win: McFadden's surrounding cast is the biggest impediment in his Heisman campaign. Arkansas can't win the SEC at this point, but winning out will keep #5 alive in the Heisman race. He needs another monster game -- perhaps against LSU on Nov. 23rd? -- to put an exclamation point on his season. Hitting the 2,000 yard mark (hey, is it really so unlikely?) would definitely cinch it.

Why he might lose: The Razorbacks' 3 losses hurt McFadden more than anything else. Simply put, the Hogs' performance against South Carolina nothwithstanding, Arakansas is not a contender for a national title, conference title, or even a divisional title. McFadden also shares carries with another future NFL RB, Felix Jones, which hurts his stats.

Tim Tebow: The Baby Rhino

If Florida was coming into November with one loss rather than three, QB Tim Tebow would be comfortably leading the Heisman race despite his status as a sophomore and first-year starter. Now that the Gators have dropped 3 games, he's on the outside looking in, but just barely. His ticket to New York City is all but assured, but Florida will need some breaks to make it to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Statistically, Tim Tebow is the total package and then some, on track for a positively absurd year: a 68% passer, Tebow has thrown for 2,228 yards, 21 TDs and 4 INTs. He's also rushed for an additional 598 yards and 14 TDs.

Florida fans can take comfort in the fact that if Tebow doesn't win it in 2007, he'll be the overwhelming favorite in '08. Somehow, though, I don't think that will appease them.

What he needs to do to win: Tebow can't allow his team to lose another game. Winning an SEC title would dramatically improve his odds of winning, as the game will garner national attention after the regular season is completed. 50 total touchdowns, or 4,000+ yards of total offense would also do the trick.

Why he might lose: Tebow violates two of the above-referenced Heismandments: the Gators are no longer title contenders and he's not yet an upperclassman.

Let's not forget the outliers -- Michigan's Mike Hart has faded due to injury issues, but might yet snag a ticket to NYC, particularly if Michigan manages to beat Ohio State for a conference title. Matt Ryan is still hanging around, but after losing to FSU voters are unlikely to give him a second chance. And players like Pat White, Chase Daniel and Colt Brennan are technically still in contention but are for all intents and purposes have been eliminated.

The Worm Turns in the Heisman Race originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watching Dixon's Knee

Charles Rich — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:57:00 EST

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

Oregon's Dennis Dixon, statistically didn't have an overwhelming night against Arizona State. Only 189 passing yards but he made them count with 4 TD passes. The scariest thing, though, was that Dixon twisted his knee in the 4th quarter. He was kept out of the game after that and said it wasn't serious. Safe bet that there will be lots of monitoring and treatments. The good news, is that Oregon has a bye next week to give Dixon extra recovery time.

Oregon, though, didn't take any chances. Not only was he kept on the sideline for the rest of the game, but as the game neared the end it was apparent that the students were going to storm the field. The Ducks sent Dixon off to the locker room before that, to avoid any further risk.

Arizona State kept the game close in the first half, but kept having to settle for field goals despite piling up yards. In the second half, the Sun Devils just couldn't stop the big play. Jonathan Stewart had a 33-yard TD run and Dixon torched Arizona State on the next drive with two runs for 13 and 15 yards before tossing a 19 yard TD pass.

Watching Dixon's Knee originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTubesDay: Oregon's Palace

Brian Grummell — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:05:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, Pac 10, The Word

I ain't never seen nothing like this. It's something else

Quoth Dennis Dixon. Nike money does some great things for the Oregon football program, such as helping build its amazing treatment center (video below). It also does some not-so-amazing things like design the Ducks' ridiculous uniforms. Good with the bad, such is life eh?

Anyway, enjoy a brief tour of the facilities with Oregon quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon.

YouTubesDay: Oregon's Palace originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week in Bad TV Deals

Bruce Ciskie — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:10:00 EST

Filed under: Ohio State Football, Oregon Football, Wisconsin Football, Big 10, Pac 10, Arizona State Football

Over the years, things really have improved for college football fans. More and more games are available on television, and marquee games are typically given to at least 75 percent of the country (if not broadcast nationally on an over-the-air network).

However, no system is perfect, and we have no better illustration of the imperfections of television deals than this coming weekend.

You all know about the Big Ten Network by now. It's not a perfect operation by any means, but it seems to be sticking around. Unfortunately for the network, they still can't get on any major cable systems. Therefore, fans all across "Big Ten country" have been shut out of numerous games so far this season.

Well, for the first time, fans are going to be shut out of a marquee matchup with national appeal. Top-ranked Ohio State hosts Wisconsin Saturday, and it was announced over the weekend that the game would be carried by the Big Ten Network.

Ouch.

Buckeye fans won't get to watch tOSU's last notable test before the season-ending showdown with resurgent Michigan, unless they are among the few who get BTN. Badger fans in Wisconsin, where no cable provider carries BTN, are left searching for a place to watch the game, too.

How did this happen? Well, it appears ABC chose to air Michigan-Michigan State, leaving Wisconsin-tOSU twisting in the wind. We can question the wisdom of ABC making that decision, but it could also be argued that the potential of a blowout is much higher with the Wisconsin-tOSU game.

Meanwhile, the Pac-10 may actually have a worse TV deal than the Big Ten does. Saturday's marquee matchup, worthy of the ESPN College GameDay presence, is Arizona State visiting Oregon.

You'd think such a game would be on ABC.

Nope. ABC picks UCLA-Arizona.

Surely, then, FSN would pick it up for one of their Saturday games.

Nope. FSN takes Washington State-Cal.

Evidently, these decisions were made before the season started. What? Haven't you people heard of "flex games"? They're all the rage now.

If you get FSN Arizona or FCS Central, you're in luck. You'll see the game live at 6:30pm ET. If you don't get one of those outlets, you'll be stuck with all those Big Ten fans.

UPDATE: ESPN and FSN have reached an agreement to get the game to a national audience. If you don't live in the markets of FSN Arizona, FSN West, FSN Northwest, or the Oregon Sports Network, you'll get the game on ESPN.

This Week in Bad TV Deals originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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