NCAA Football FanHouse

For Irish, Finally Just a Game

John Walters — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame, Washington State, Daily Domer

FanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind.during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his latest dispatches on the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Washington State. What's the angle, you say? The Cougars have no manner of a long win streak versus the Irish a la Michigan State, USC and Boston College. There's no Ty Willingham connection a la Washington, no in-state pride a la Purdue. There's no season-opener anxiety, as with Nevada and there's no good-old fashioned mutual loathing, as with Michigan.

It only took eight weeks, but the Irish happen to be playing ... just a football game.

Sure, there's the neutral-site home game angle, the Halloween angle, and -- who are we kidding? This is a chance for the Irish to go Santa Anna on their overwhelmed foe, to have greater than a 10-point lead for the first time since Purdue, for Jimmy Clausen to put up big numbers and for a number of inexperienced players to get some air time. It has been almost two years since Dayne Crist threw his last touchdown pass, and strangely enough he aired it out at the Alamodome in the U.S. Army High School All-American Game.

Who caught it? Michael Floyd.

You won't see Floyd in action this weekend, but I expect Crist to christen his touchdown pass total as a collegian against the nation's third-worst pass defense.

Rankin' File

The top and bottom national statistical ranking that the Irish and this week's opponent, Wazzu, currently have:

Fighting Irish ... .No. 4 in Turnover Marging (+1.43 per game) and No. 117 in Pass Defense (282.43 yards per game)
Cougars.... No. 50 in Net Punting (36.51 yards per punt) and No. 120 (or last) in Sacks Allowed (5.0 per game)

Washington State is in the bottom 10 nationally in 10 different statistical categories:

Rushing Offense.......116th (72.57 yards per game)
Total Offense.........111th (293.71 ypg)
Scoring Offense.......116th (15.14 ppg)
Rushing Defense.......114th (215.43 ypg)
Pass Efficiency Def...113th (155.17)
Total Defense.........119th (499.57 ypg)
Scoring Defense.......115th (37.0 ppg)
Pass Defense..........118th (284.14 ypg)
Sacks.................112th (1.0 pg)
Sacks Allowed.........120th (5.0 pg)

In addition the Cougars have been outscored 112-3 in the first quarter this year or, as Charlie Weis put it, "They've struggled some in the first quarter." In short, even the Irish will find it difficult to keep this one close. My pal Alex Flanagan, NBC's pulchritudinous sideline reporter, will have her work cut out for her in the second half.

For the record, O'Lantern is not a common Irish surname

Notre Dame is 14-0 all-time on Halloween. Its most recent trick-or-treat triumph transpired 11 years ago, a 27-3 home win against Baylor. I don't recall it, either.

Making the Dome Their Home

Although Notre Dame has never played in the Alamodome, their de facto home this Saturday, 35 players on their roster played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl that is staged there annually. It appears from my research that no current Cougars are alums of the Army All-American Bowl.

And in case you are wondering, since this is being called a home game (and NBC is airing it), no, Officer Tim McCarthy of the Indiana State Police will not be flying to San Antonio. However, according to inveterate Irish associate athletic director John Heisler, McCarthy will record a driving-under-the-influence message that will be played before the start of the fourth quarter.

In Your Face

Weis had a good quote when asked about the propensity of freshman linebacker Manti Te'o to "run through" the player he is tackling. "I used to like linebackers who would run through somebody's face," Weis said. "That's what Manti does."

Charlie Goes Griswold

Do you remember how much time the Griswold family lingered at the Grand Canyon enjoying the scenic vista in "Vacation"? Well, it appears Weis and the Irish will do even less sight-seeing in San Antonio. When asked by a San Antonio-based writer if he had a trip planned to the Alamo, Weis replied, "I have a trip planned to my hotel room."

If you know the layout of San Antonio, by the way, that hotel room is likely within a quarter mile of the Alamo. Weis also said that if any of his players are out on the Riverwalk past 10 p.m., "then we have a problem."

Notre Dame's Junior Varsity

A few words about the Irish junior varsity, aka. St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. Earlier this week Aquinas running back Giovanni Bernard verbally committed to the Irish (ND's 17th verbal commit. Notre Dame already has four Aquinas alums on its roster (offensive tackle Sam Young, guard Dan Wenger, punter Ben Turk and snapper-of-length Jordan Cowart) and now they are hoping to add, besides Bernard, three more. Those would be cornerbacks LaMarcus Joyner and Cody Riggs and center (short-snapper?) Brandon Linder, who is No. 1 on the Florida Sentinel's Florida 100 list.

Like the Irish, the Aquinas football team dons gold helmets. Unlike the Irish, the Raiders have been utterly dominant the past half decade. Named national champions by USA Today last season, Aquinas has won the past two 5A state championships in the Sunshine State as well as 31 consecutive games.

The Raiders' coaching staff dwarfs that of the Irish and has greater star power. While Weis heads a staff of 12 coaches (two of them graduate assistants), Raider head coach George Smith, now in his 33rd season, is in charge of a staff of 16. The Irish have former NFL players Bryant Young (graduate assistant) and Ron Powlus on their staff. Smith has former NFL great (and possible future Hall-of-Famer) Cris Carter coaching up his wideouts and former Auburn safety Otis Mounds working with the cornerbacks.

The Guile of Giles

Not exactly sure what stunt Boston College defensive tackle Austin Giles pulled (it wasn't the type in which he criss-crosses with the defensive end on a pass rush) at the end of Saturday's game that so riled Irish center Eric Olsen, but it was probably legal. As Weis explained Sunday, "I think we were kneeing on the ball and the guy (Giles) over the right guard went full speed. There's no rule that says the guy can't go full speed on the last play, but you're kneeing on the ball to end the game right there, and I think that you never can say there's an unwritten rule to not go full speed, but I think everybody was kind of sticking up for our right guard on that one."

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Latest College Football Photos

In this booking photo released on Tuesday Oct. 27, 2009, by the University of Connecticut Police Department, Hakim Muhammad is shown. Muhammad, 20, of Bloomfield, Conn., has been charged with conspiracy to commit assault, in connection with the stabbing death of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard outside a school-sanctioned dance on Oct. 18. (AP Photo/UCONN PD)

University of Connecticut Police Department

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In this photo taken on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, Miami quarterback Jacory Harris hands off the football during a NCAA football game against Clemson in Miami. Only seven quarterbacks in the country have more interceptions than Harris, who had three interceptions in last week's loss to Clemson. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

In this booking photo released on Tuesday Oct. 27, 2009, by the University of Connecticut Police Department, John William Lomax III is shown Lomax, 21, of Bloomfield, Conn., has been charged with murder for the stabbing death of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard outside a school-sanctioned dance on Oct. 18. (AP Photo/University of Connecticut Police Department)

In this booking photo released on Tuesday Oct. 27, 2009, by the University of Connecticut Police Department, Jamal Todd is shown. Todd, 21, of Hartford, has been charged with a felony charge of falsely reporting an incident and a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment, in connection with the stabbing death of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard outside a school-sanctioned dance on Oct. 18. Police say Todd pulled the fire alarm that emptied the dance, triggering the fight. (AP Photo/University of Connecticut Police Department)

In this booking photo released on Tuesday Oct. 27, 2009, by the University of Connecticut Police Department, John William Lomax III is shown Lomax, 21, of Bloomfield, Conn., has been charged with murder for the stabbing death of Coonnecticut football player Jasper Howard outside a school-sanctioned dance on Oct. 18. (AP Photo/University of Connecticut Police Department)

Also, there is a chance that the Irish watched a replay of this incident involving Giles and Clausen from last year's game. Clausen had just tossed an interception that would be returned for a touchdown. Watch closely at the beginning. Clausen narrowly avoids a beheading. Think, too, how quickly Giles was thinking to consider going right for Clausen just a moment after the ball is picked off.

Legal? Unnecessary roughness? Depens on your vantage point, I suppose.

From Q & A to BBQ

At the end of Tuesday's presser Todd Burlage of Blue and Gold Illustrated wondered if Weis ever fires up the grill that is visible on the spacious second-floor deck of the Gug. Weis allowed that it does get used, more so in the spring, and that his assistants never turnd down a free meal.

Burlage set up Weis perfectly, inquiring if Charlie might be so inclined to, should the Irish "win a BCS game," grill up some burgers for the media. Charlie chuckled, thought about saying something else, then shrewdly replied, "You're on, Todd."

For Irish, Finally Just a Game originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Bad to Worst at Washington State

Lonnie White — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Washington State, Pac 10

LOS ANGELES -- Do you smell that? The foul odor coming from the northwest corner of the country? It stinks doesn't it?

Well let me introduce you to the likely source: Washington State's struggling football program, which arguably could be the worst in playing in a BCS conference.

Second-year coach Paul Wulff's team has not won a game this season and did not come close in ugly defeats to Stanford and Hawaii.

"Frankly, Central Arkansas is a much better team [than Washington State]," Hawaii center John Estes told the Honolulu Star-Review after the Warriors defeated the Cougars' 38-20 last week.

Washington State was dominated from the start, giving up 35 consecutive points in the first half before Hawaii began putting in reserves. The Warriors finished with 626 total yards and quarterback Greg Alexander passed for a career-high 453 yards and three touchdowns.

"All this stuff about struggling against an [FCS] team ... a football team's a football team," Estes said when comparing Central Arkansas to the Cougars. "We knew we were going to beat Wazzu. We should've put up 70, but we made a lot of mistakes."

Wow, that hurts. Especially when realize that Central Arkansas has a good but not great FCS program and lost, 25-20, to Hawaii in Honolulu to open the season.

There's no denying that the Cougars are a work in progress, which began last season when Wulff redshirted several key recruits and transfers. As expected, Washington State struggled with injuries and that kept Wulff from fielding a healthy lineup every week and the Cougars finished with a 2-11 record.

The Cougars entered this season with plenty of hope, thanks to a late season, 16-13, double-overtime win over rival Washington at Martin Stadium.

Washington State's optimism showed at the Pac-10 preseason media day when Wulff seemed excited just to talk about his program on the same day USC coach Pete Carroll spoke to reporters.

"This was a very productive day," a confident Wulff said with a smile in late July. "Just getting to talk about Washington State football on a national level."

Unfortunately for the Cougars, this positive outlook began to fade once they started to play real games. Stanford handed them a lopsided home defeat to start the season in Pullman, Wash., and then the Cougars were routed by Hawaii in a "special" home game played in Seattle's Qwest Field.

"We don't have locker-room lawyers right now," Wulff said about getting the Cougars to respond after their slow start. "If someone can step up and help the team, I think everyone is all for it."

Washington State has had issues on both sides of the ball. The Cougars are last in the conference in scoring offense, and third from last in rushing and scoring offense.

It's even worse when it comes to stopping opponents, where they rank 10th in Pac-10 in scoring, passing, rushing and total defense. In two games, Washington State has given up a combined 1,107 total yards and 77 points.

In attempt to shake things up, Wulff has decided to bench fifth-year senior Kevin Lopina at quarterback, who started the first two games of the season, in favor of third-year sophomore Marshall Lobbestael with true freshman Jeff Tuel at backup for Saturday's game against SMU at Martin Stadium.

Originally, Wulff hoped to redshirt Tuel, one of Washington State's top 2009 recruits, this season. He's audibled from that plan after two games.

"Our program is building and we've got a bright future because we have some outstanding young players," Wulff said when asked about going with true freshmen like Tuel this season. "Some of them are going to have to help our football team now.

"But I think that's an enticing thing as a young player. You have a chance to come into a program that is moving upward and you have a chance to play early in their career. That's a lot of reason why we are getting some high quality kids right now and Jeff [Tuel] is one of them. He'll get an opportunity to play and a chance to move our program forward."

Only time will tell whether Wulff gets a chance stick around long enough to see the Cougars' rebuilding process to the finish.

ARIZONA's GRIGSBY FOR HEISMAN?

Arizona running back Nic Grigsby needs to start being mentioned with the best players in the country. Although Grigsby played a little more than two quarters, he dominated in the Wildcats' 34-17 victory over Northern Arizona last week.

With 10:07 remaining in the third quarter, Grigsby already had two touchdowns and a career-high 207 yards rushing, including a personal best 94-yard gallop, when Arizona coach Mike Stoops gave him the rest of the night off.

"He's one of the most underrated players in the country," Stoops said about Grigsby, who is second in the nation in rushing at 162.5 yards per game. "Nic did it last year, rushing for over 1,100 yards and is off to a great start.

"He's kind of a home runner. He can go and create a play with his feet. He has the great ability to make people miss. He's a slasher. He's gained strength and size each year in increments that has enabled him to keep his great speed as well. ...The thing I love about Nic is his great competitiveness on the football field. He's become a very special player."

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In this photo taken Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, Texas safety Earl Thomas is shown during pregame warmups before his team's NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns are set to host Texas Tech Saturday night, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

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In this photo taken on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, Texas safety Blake Gideon keeps his mouthpiece at the ready as he stands in sidelines during fourth quarter action in an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns host Texas Tech Saturday night. In last season's loss to Texas Tech, Gideon dropped a sure interception that likely would have given the Longhorns the victory. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno gestures as he answers a question during his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State plays Temple at home on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno answers a question during his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State plays Temple at home on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy speaks during a news conference in Stillwater, Okla., Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema screams during the second half of an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in Madison, Wis. It took two overtimes for a flu-ravaged Wisconsin team to defeat Fresno State. As the Badgers look toward Wofford this week, Bielema gives an update on how his team is handling the flu outbreak that affected 40 players last week. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo, Northwestern's Stefan Demos celebrates after kicking the game-winning 49-yard field goal against Eastern Michigan in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Evanston, Ill. Northwestern won 27-24. (AP Photo/David Banks)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, left, walks away after sacking Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus, right, during the second half of their NCAA college football game in State College, Pa. Lee was so active against Syracuse, it seemed like the Penn State linebacker spent all day leveling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Any lingering doubts about the health of his surgically-repaired right knee were erased in a dominating performance against the Orange. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo, Penn State linebacker Sean Lee (45) stands with assistant coach Tom Bradley on the sideline during the second half of their college football game against Syracuse in State College, Pa. Lee was so active against Syracuse, it seemed like the Penn State linebacker spent all day leveling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Any lingering doubts about the health of his surgically-repaired right knee were erased in a dominating performance against the Orange. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers rushes for a key fourth quarter gain on the wiining drive of the Beavers 23-21 win over UNLV in an NCAA college football game on Saturday Sept. 12, 2009 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Daniel Gluskoter)

PAC-10 NO HUDDLE ATTACK

--Oregon State's dynamic brothers, Jacquizz and James Rodgers have carried the Beavers' offense over the first two games. The Beavers, who will looking to stay undefeated with a key home game against Cincinnati on Saturday, have had the Rodgers brothers account for 67 percent of their offense. Between them, the brothers have 548 yards of total offense rushing and receiving.

--Arizona's Stoops should feel at home for the Wildcats' game at Iowa when you consider that he was a two-time All-Big 10 safety for the Hawkeyes in the early 1980s. Stoops, who also worked several seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa, will have the Wildcats looking for their first 3-0 start since 2001.

-- In jumping out to a 2-0 start California has been impressive in outscoring Maryland and Eastern Washington, 111-20. But both games were played in Berkeley and this week, the Bears will travel to Minneapolis to face the Big 10's undefeated Minnesota, which will be playing for the second time in their new outdoor TCF Bank Stadium. Last season, Cal struggled away from home with a 1-4 road record.

-- After splitting two road games to open the season, Stanford will host winless San Jose State to start an unusual seven-game homestretch.

From Bad to Worst at Washington State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac-10 Predictions: Can Rest of League Finally Bear Down on USC?

Gary Washburn — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10

So is this the year someone besides USC wins the Pac-10 title and gains the automatic BCS bowl berth?

If there is ever a year for USC to get chased from behind and caught, this is this year. The Trojans are breaking in a new quarterback in Aaron Corp and replacing several departed starters to the NFL draft.

So who's it going to be? Cal? Can the Golden Bears overcome early-season trap games and win the games they are supposed to and make it interesting? Can Oregon beat USC at home and win difficult road games and take the title? And how about Oregon State? Do Mike Riley teams always have to start 1-3 before getting into high gear?

And what about the rest of the field? Is this Stanford's breakout year? Is UCLA ready to become a Pac-10 factor again? And is Arizona really the third worst team in the conference as it was picked by the media? These are all intriguing questions that will be worked out in the coming weeks.

Our standings preview and records predictions are after the jump.

1. USC (10-2 overall, 8-1 conference). You have to knock out the champion to take the title and the Trojans are vulnerable but still strong enough to retain the crown. They may trip with an early season game at Ohio State. There are three difficult conference road games (at Cal, at Oregon and at Arizona State) and the Trojans will lose one of those, likely at Oregon.

2. Cal (10-2, 7-2). Cal tailback Jahvid Best said the team is ready for the opener at Maryland, but the question is whether the Bears will be prepared for the Oct. 4 matchup against USC followed by a road game at Oregon. The Bears still split those two games but will lose at Arizona State, a place where they have never played well. And the final two games at Stanford and Washington are trap games. The Bears will have to be careful.

3. Oregon (9-3, 6-3). The Ducks may be 0-1 before anybody else if they lose to Boise State in the opener. The good news is that all of their difficult conference games are at Autzen Stadium, a place they play extremely well. If you would ask any top-tier Pac-10 team, they would lose a road schedule of UCLA, Washington, Stanford and Arizona. So the Ducks, behind bruising quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, have a chance to grab the title.

4. Oregon State (8-4, 5-4). The Beavers have a chance to be 3-0 going into their conference opener at Arizona, but you know with Riley's team, matters won't be that easy. Oregon State plays at Arizona State, at USC and at Cal in a five-week span, all teams they were beaten at Reser Stadium last season and looking for payback. So it maybe rough for the Beavers to compete with the big boys, especially with an uncertain situation at quarterback between Lyle Moevao and Sean Canfield.

5. Stanford (6-6, 4-5). Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh knows he's close to producing a winner and Stanford could be 4-1 heading into a two-game road stretch at Oregon State and Arizona. Stanford has to win the early conference games because the Cardinal ends with Arizona State, Oregon, USC and Cal back-to-back. So it will be Stanford's first trip to a bowl in years but with a .500 record. Can Andrew Luck withstand the brutality of the Pac-10 as a redshirt freshman? Harbaugh is banking on that.

6. Arizona State (6-6, 4-5). Danny Sullivan takes over at quarterback for Rudy Carpenter, but the Sun Devils were really average last season with a lot of talent, so someone is going to need to respond to prevent another disappointing season. They will get their chins checked in week 3 at Georgia but like Stanford, the Sun Devils don't face the meat of their conference schedule until the end. So Sullivan will get a chance to gain experience before the really rough games. Look out for receiver Kyle Williams, the son of Chicago White Sox general manager Ken Williams. Kyle could be a first-team Pac-10 selection this season.

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Louisville receiver Trent Guy spins a football on his finger during the team's media day for the upcoming NCAA college football season in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Latest College Football Images

Nebraska's Kyler Reed (25), and J.T. Kerr work on blocking drills Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, during the first day of fall football practice camp in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

Nebraska's Menelik Holt catches a football on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, during the first day of fall training camp in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy speaks during a media availability Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Nebraska quarterback Cody Green, a freshman from Dayton, Texas, throws a football on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. during the first day of fall training camp in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh runs Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, during the first day of fall football training camp in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy speaks during a media availability Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Nebraska's Brandon Kinnie catches a football on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, during the first day of fall training camp in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee throws the ball on Saturday Aug 8, 2009, during the first day of fall football training camp. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

Texas head football coach Mack Brown speaks during a news conference Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Austin, Texas. The Texas football team reported to preseason training camp Saturday and received a message from coach Brown: Forget the BCS. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

7. Arizona (6-6, 3-6). It would be beneficial for Mike Stoops' team to nab early wins at Oregon State and Washington because the schedule gets no easier, and maybe that's why the media picks the Wildcats to finish eighth. Stoops has still not made a decision at quarterback - either Matt Scott or Nick Foles - and the Wildcats have never been a great offensive team, so there are some major questions. Arizona will have to rely on a tough decision and likely a ball-control offense.

8. UCLA (5-7, 3-6). The Bruins are getting closer but not quite ready yet for prime time. They have five conference road games, including four of their final six. Coach Rick Neuheisel named Kevin Prince as the starting quarterback, but the Bruins don't have any proven offensive compliments to help him out. They are still very young, so UCLA will take its lumps, but the pain is all means to an end. Look for the Bruins to pull off a Halloween Night stunner at Oregon State.

9. Washington (3-9, 2-7). We just don't know enough about Washington's talent to pick the Huskies in any games besides Washington State and Arizona at home. But that may change soon under Steve Sarkisian. The schedule starts with LSU and includes Notre Dame on the road. USC comes to Seattle in Week 3, so the theme may just to try to stay healthy in the early going to survive the season and make positive strides.

10. Washington State (3-9, 1-8). Second-year coach Paul Wulff has had to put out more fires off the field than on the field, which is a major issue in Pullman. Has he had enough time to concentrate on improving the Cougars or has he spent so much time ridding the program of bad guys? Who is the quarterback? Who replaces Brandon Gibson as their best offensive player? The Cougs have five road games in seven weeks, so their lone win may come in the opener against Stanford.

Pac-10 Predictions: Can Rest of League Finally Bear Down on USC? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac-10 Media Day Notebook

Gary Washburn — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10

LOS ANGELES -- USC was picked to win the Pac-10 football title for the seventh consecutive year by the media, and yet the coaches from all nine competitors -- including Arizona's Mike Stoops (right) and even USC coach Pete Carroll -- touched on the uncertainty of the Trojans this season.

USC received 28 of the 32 votes with California receiving three while third-place Oregon collected one vote. The Trojans will be breaking in a new quarterback and several new defenders since 11 players were taken in the NFL Draft. Perhaps this is the year another school emerges and takes the crown out of Los Angeles, but they approached Thursday precariously and with respect. There were no declarations that USC is going down or the reign is over -- not even from UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel.

"Eighteen months later, from the time I got the job we are athletic, stronger and more physical," Neuheisel said humbly after a 4-8 debut season in Westwood. "We're still relatively inexperienced. But I think great things are in store for our program."

Humility was the theme of the morning. There is a quiet confidence in many coaches that their programs have improved, but the proof will be on the field, and in the past seven years, USC has proven that it is superior -- winning many games with ease -- other than a couple of hiccups against Oregon State.

Has the rest of the field caught USC? Perhaps fans will see on Sept. 12 when USC visits Ohio State or maybe when Oregon kicks off the season at Boise State or UCLA faces Tennessee in Knoxville.

The uncertainty is apparent amongst other Pac-10 coaches because their teams -- like USC -- face inexperience at key positions. There is no team that appears loaded for a title run. Clubs such as Cal, Oregon and Oregon State will have to rely on newcomers immediately to puncture the USC aura, and the quest won't be easy.

Here are notes from each team's discussion with the media Thursday.

ARIZONA
Coach Mike Stoops said he could use two quarterbacks -- Nick Foles and Matt Scott -- entering the season and they will battle it out in fall camp. Stoops was not pleased being picked to finish eighth in the conference: "I think our lack of respect in this conference is built around maybe our ability to replace a very quality player in Willie Tuitama. I believe that we will be able to replace Willie with a couple of very able players."

Tight end Rob Gronkowski is a beast of a player who has drawn raves around the conference and could be a first-team All America this season.

ARIZONA STATE
The Sun Devils were picked fifth by the media but will use redshirt senior Danny Sullivan to replace the graduated Rudy Carpenter and will rely on gifted receiver Kyle Williams, bruising fullback Dimitri Nance and cornerback Mike Nixon. The question is whether Arizona State can respond from a highly disappointing season with games at Georgia, Oregon and UCLA. ASU does get Cal, USC and Arizona at home.

CAL
Coach Jeff Tedford said quarterback Kevin Riley is the starter heading into fall camp, but that doesn't mean Brock Mansion doesn't have a shot at the job. Tedford played roulette with his quarterbacks last season, benching both Riley and Nate Longshore. With the latter gone, Riley is the favorite, and Tedford would like to see one quarterback seize the job instead of a committee.

"I don't think there's any question if we achieve our goal, we need to be more consistent in the passing game," Tedford said. "Kevin has matured a lot. His experience puts him a step ahead. I am not a fan of quarterback by committee but I don't regret how we handled the quarterback situation last year because the bottom line is we have to be consistent. I don't know if we had one guy step up and handle it like they should. Hopefully we do have that this year."

OREGON
New coach Chip Kelly is excited about his potentially high-powered offense but the question is whether his wide receivers -- all relatively new -- will respond and catch passes. Rory Cavaille and Jamere Holland will be depended on to replace Jaison Williams and Terence Scott. The former duo have combined for six catches, but Oregon has reached a point of reloading, not rebuilding.

"Two years ago, people said we weren't going to recover after losing Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart and all of a sudden Jeremiah Masoli and LeGarrette Blount show up," Kelly said. "So we are excited about our guys and they have an opportunity to step up. If people are going to deploy themselves defensively to take Ed (Dickson) away then that's going to free up some of our other guys. So if you've got to devote two people to Ed, then someone else has got to win."

And Kelly made it clear that he and cornerback Walter Thurmond III voted for Tim Tebow for first-team All SEC.

OREGON STATE
Coach Mike Riley said the Rodgers brothers -- or Brothers Rodgers -- Jacquizz and James -- are healthy and will be 100 percent going into fall camp. Jacquizz Rodgers, the conference's offensive player of the year as a freshman, missed most of the final three games with a shoulder injury. His healthy return will be essential to the Beavers' success. Riley also revealed that quarterback Lyle Moevao is not completely recovered from right shoulder surgery, leaving the door open for Sean Canfield to perhaps be the starter when Oregon State takes on Portland State on Sept. 5.

Canfield was instrumental in wins at Arizona and the critical win over then-No. 2 Cal in 2007.

STANFORD
Redshirt freshman Andrew Luck is the starting quarterback entering fall camp but coach Jim Harbaugh doesn't expect incumbent Tavita Pritchard, who led the Cardinal to its program-changing victory over USC two years ago, to give up the job.

"Tavita has started 19 games for Stanford and he is just not going concede to Andrew," Harbaugh said. "I would say this is far from settled but Andrew will be given the first chance to win the job and start at Washington State."

Toby Gerhart, a redshirt junior, could be Stanford's most physical runner since Tommy Vardell and is coming off a school-record 1,136-yard season.

UCLA
Neuheisel endorsed Kevin Prince as the team's new starting quarterback and he seems to be well adjusted for a redshirt freshman. Prince excelled during spring drills and appears to have won over his more experienced teammates.

"I think being a redshirt freshman, he was very composed out there (at spring practice)," linebacker Reggie Carter said. "We talked a lot of trash and said some crazy things to him. He did what he had to do and make some smart decisions. Once he gets the ball to where he needs on time, he will be a great player."

Also, running back Christian Ramirez, who missed last season because of academic ineligibility, will be the starter.

USC
Coach Pete Carroll said he has not given up on trying to find a way for freshman Frankie Telfort to play football. The freshman linebacker was advised to quit football because of a heart condition.

"We aren't going to give up on him," Carroll said. "We talked with his family about it. He's a good kid. He was unusually gifted as far as understanding football. I can't tell you we had anybody who knew so much about football as Frankie did."

Carroll revealed that weakside linebacker Malcolm Smith had surgery on his esophagus and is not 100 percent while strongside linebacker Luthur Brown may not be academically eligible.

WASHINGTON
Coach Steve Sarkisian was brimming with enthusiasm during his first media day as a head coach and said the Huskies are going to be "excited" for the season opener against LSU at Husky Stadium.

"I'm 35 years old, I'm crossing the 520 bridge, I'm staring at Husky Stadium and I'm the head coach at the University of Washington football program. This is an unbelievable honor," he said. "There's an aura about that place that is exciting. We're not the same football team [as eight months ago]."

Running back Chris Polk, highly touted before missing most of last season with shoulder surgery, should be back in the mix. Sarkisian said he still is waiting on the status of five junior college transfers.

WASHINGTON STATE
Quarterback Marshall Lobbestael is recovering from knee surgery but will compete with Kevin Lopina for the starting quarterback job. Weakside linebacker Louis Bland hurt his knee in spring drills and is still not completely healthy. Coach Paul Wulff said the Cougars wants to play a no-huddle offense to prevent injuries and increase depth.

2009 Pac-10 Preseason Media Poll:
1. USC (28) 316
2. California (3) 277
3. Oregon (1) 250
4. Oregon State 216
5. Arizona State 155
6. Stanford 150
7. UCLA 145
8. Arizona 142
9. Washington 74
10. Washington State 35

Pac-10 Media Day Notebook originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Year of Transition in Pac-10 Lead to USC's Ouster?

Gary Washburn — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10

LOS ANGELES -- Perhaps there was a reason Pete Carroll pleaded with Mark Sanchez to return to USC for his senior season. He knew his Trojans would lose their gorilla grip on the Pac-10, and that is the enduring theme entering the conference's media day Thursday at the LAX Sheraton Hotel.

The Trojans are not the prohibitive favorites, but the precarious favorites with a slew of teams chasing them. But there's one major catch in their pursuit, most of the conference teams -- outside Washington -- are breaking in a new or less experienced quarterback. USC should be voted the favorites Thursday, but who is second?

Cal? The Bears have talent, including Heisman Trophy candidate Jahvid Best, but will quarterback Kevin Riley play consistently enough to lead them to big victories?

Oregon? The Ducks lost immense talent to the NFL draft and need a No. 1 wide receiver.

Arizona State? Rudy Carpenter is finally gone (didn't he back up Jake Plummer?)

Arizona? The Wildcats will be breaking in a quarterback who tossed 11 passes last year. Assuming he holds off the other candidate that tossed seven passes two years ago.

Oregon State? The Beavers have a dynamic running game but not much to pass.

So it will be a wide-open conference race, and this may be the year USC is brought down. Carroll named Aaron Corp the starting quarterback heading into fall camp and his responsibility will be to manage games and allow the superior rushing attack and defense win games.

Also, there has been no decision on the NCAA investigation regarding Reggie Bush, and that may be hovering over the program, but Carroll has overcome adversity before and the Trojans, who, with their perennial top-5 recruiting classes, reload, not rebuild.

California has to shake the tag of being a pseudo-power that shrinks in big games. The Bears haven't beaten USC in six years and were soundly beaten by Arizona on the road last year. Best is a brilliant running back but has durability issues and Cal will have to replace a trio of productive linebackers.

Oregon bullied Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl and found its quarterback in the process, Jeremiah Masoli. The Ducks have a new coach in Chip Kelly but lost a group of key players on offense and defense -- including Jeremiah Johnson, Jaison Williams and Patrick Chung. LeGarrette Blount turned in a rather quiet 1,000-yard season but will be depended on to thrive in Kelly's offense. The question with Oregon is the offensive line and a defense that returns just five starters.

The Beavers have the brothers Rodgers at running back but a quarterback controversy with Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao and have to replace productive wide receiver Sammie Stroughter.

Arizona is coming off a job-saving bowl win for Mike Stoops but lost four-year starter Willie Tuitama and will counter with sophomore Matt Scott and top-notch tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Wildcats will be a dark horse team but will have to mature fast.

Arizona State is coming off a disappointing losing season and will hand the quarterback reigns to Danny Sullivan, but Kyle Williams -- the son of Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams -- is an all-conference candidate and will be depended on to spark the offense.

Stanford is making great strides under coach Jim Harbaugh and has a shot at a bowl game. Tailback Toby Gerhart is a tough runner who will set the pace for the offense, and the Cardinal hope newcomers Andrew Luck is more consistent than Tavita Pritchard.

UCLA is going to take some time to challenge USC but quarterback Kevin Prince could be a future star. The Bruins have to find a starting running back and more talented skill players than in recent years. Senior defensive back Alterraun Verner is the best in the conference.

Latest College Football Images

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy answers questions during Big 12 Media Day in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy presses his lips together as he listens to a question during Big 12 Media Day in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Texas Tech offensive lineman Brandon Carter is shown during Big 12 Media Day in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Kansas State quarterback Carson Coffman is shown during Big 12 Media Day in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford talks to the press during the Big XII media day in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (Louis DeLuca/Dallas Morning News/MCT)

MCT

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops signs his autograph on some commemorative footballs during the Big XII media day in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (Louis DeLuca/Dallas Morning News/MCT)

MCT

Baylor head coach Art Briles autographs a commemorative helmet during the Big XII media day in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (Louis DeLuca/Dallas Morning News/MCT)

MCT

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops talks with the reporters during the Big XII media day in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (Louis DeLuca/Dallas Morning News/MCT)

MCT

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is shown during Big 12 Media Day in Irving, Texas, Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is shown during Big 12 Media Day in Irving, Texas, Tuesday, July 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

That leaves us with the Washington schools, both of whom are in major transition. The Huskies have new coach Steve Sarkisian and returning quarterback Jake Locker, and have to be better than last year, when they finished 0-12 under Tyrone Willingham. Locker is an improving quarterback with great skills but he will need help for Washington to be competitive.

WSU coach Paul Wulff has dealt more with off-the-field issues than on-the-field since his tenure began, and the Cougars may not win a conference game.

Will Year of Transition in Pac-10 Lead to USC's Ouster? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to Program the Pac-10 Network

Clay Travis — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:19:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10, Fans, General CFB Insanity

Pity the poor Pac-10; its revenues are barely half of the SEC, Big Ten, and, shudder, the ACC.

As a result, the Pac-10 is exploring a route that has already made it rain on the SEC and the Big Ten, starting their own network. The Big Ten started their own network in conjunction with FOX and netted $66 million from the network last year. Rather than start their own network, the SEC partnered with CBS and ESPN. Beginning this year the SEC will bring in -- wait for it -- $205 million a year just from television rights. Why does that matter? The Pac-10 conference had revenues of just $88.78 million in 2007. Yep, by 2009, the SEC will triple the Pac-10 in sports revenue. That's a huge deal in the arm's race that is major collegiate sports.

Fortunately, as a lover of all things college football, I'm here to help the Pac-10 ensure their network is a hit. How do we do that? Programming, baby, it's all about the programming.

Some people think Pac-10 fans don't care about football. That's a shameful stereotype. People in the Pac-10 care an awful lot about football. If they didn't care a lot about football, would 77,715 people turn out to watch spring games? That's an average of almost 8,000 per game! And it's just 18,007 fewer people than the 95,722 who showed up to watch Ohio State's spring game. So there. Pac-10 football rules. Face. End of argument. Except, you know, at Washington State. Where just 400 people showed up. Seriously, 400? I've had more people at one of my book signings. And that's in the South, where most people can't even read.

Plainly, people aren't showing up for Pac-10 spring football because the conference isn't selling itself well enough. There needs to be more zest, more verve, more feeling ... in short, Pac-10 network, better programming.

With that in mind, I've drafted a series of can't miss shows for your network to be.

1. Pete Carroll shirtless -- Watch as Carroll tweets, adds Facebook friends, talks on the phone with recruits, and goes for jogs in Southern California. All shirtless.

2. LenDale White's Taste of the Town -- Piggybacking on the insane popularity and extreme awkwardness of Todd Blackledge's Taste of the Town segment during ESPN football telecasts, White brings the experience to the Pac-10. Opening video montage shows LenDale trying to squeeze a live, wriggling octopus between two giant Oreo cookies, explaining that the best fish tacos feature twinkies, and closing with his catchphrase, "If I won't eat it, it ain't food."

3. Washington State football highlights 2008 -- Watch as the band executes complicated turns on the field! Meet a ticket-taker who always rips perfectly along the perforated edges! Is that Ryan Leaf waving from the crowd? All of this leads up to the game of the century, Washington vs. Washington State for all the marbles.

4. USC Song Girls vs. UCLA cheerleaders-- Bikini quiz bowl. Opening question: Which of these is an oxymoron? A) A Pac-10 sellout, B) Spencer Pratt, C) Jumbo shrimp or D) everything but B?

Second question: What is the plural of boob job? Debate.

5. "ElimiPete," Pac-10 coaches discuss the biggest game from every year, the time they upset USC -- Watch as former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell, Oregon State's Mike Riley, and Stanford's Jim Harbaugh take us through upsets for the ages. Harbaugh: "I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not sure my team could have scored against air. Certainly not a strong air, like a bad wind that whipped up dust, no way."

6. How Bad USC Would Have Beaten You: Fired Pac-10 Coaches explain how bad you would have lost if you'd had to play USC -- Fired Washington State coach Bill Doba explains: "Your team would have lost 148-0. At least, maybe 248-0."

Latest College Football Images

In this Nov. 1, 2008, photo, Boston College's Mark Herzlich plays against Clemson in an NCAA college football game in Boston. Herzlich, the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year, has cancer. Herzlich said Thursday, May 14, 2009, he was diagnosed earlier this week with Ewing's Sarcoma after feeling pain in his leg and will undergo more tests in his home state of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Josh Halter is swarmed by family and friends after being named the drum major for The Ohio State University Marching Band in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (Jeff Hinckley/Columbus Dispatch/MCT)

MCT

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno speaks to reporters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Taylor Stokes wears his letter jacket on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 1, 2009. Stokes was the first black scholarship football player at Vanderbilt, and has returned 40 years later to finish his degree. He will graduate on May 8. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Taylor Stokes wears his letter jacket on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 1, 2009, in front of a statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the founder of the university. Stokes was the first black scholarship football player at Vanderbilt, and has returned 40 years later to finish his degree. He will graduate on May 8. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, and West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, right, are sworn in before giving their testimony before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. Also testifying on the panel are, from left, West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, President and CEO of Valero Alamo Bowl Derrick Fox and Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier, right, testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. Also testifying on the panel are, from left, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, and President and CEO of Valero Alamo Bowl Derrick Fox. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

7. The Sellout -- Coaches reconstruct exactly what it was like to play in front of a sell-out crowd (Stanford and Arizona State excluded). "I remember I looked into the stadium, and there were no seats empty. I couldn't see a single seat! And I thought, my God, everyone on Earth is in the stadium. Right now, the whole Earth."

8. The Civil War starring former Oregon right tackle Geoff Schwartz and Civil War Journal's Danny Glover -- A fantastical melding of football with history. For 14 minutes, Schwartz, the self-professed largest Jewish man on Earth, takes us through the annals of Oregon and Oregon State. Then, just as you realize you don't really care, bang, Glover arrives and we all go on a walk along the sunken road at Antietam.

9. Cheat Like a Pro, Starring Reggie Bush -- Bush: "Some people say cheaters never win. I say, look at me, b***h." In each episode Reggie explains how to cheat in every sport, from spitballs in baseball to lead weights in the toe of your shoe for kickball. In the end it's all about making sure your family can live a life of luxury in Southern California.

10. Arizona State explains that they are, in fact, a member of the Pac-10 Conference -- Dennis Erickson takes us on a tour of campus. Included highlights: the football stadium and a Pac-10 banner flying from the upper deck, "I'm telling you, they don't just let you fly a Pac-10 flag for fun. You've got to be in the Pac-10."

11. "Back When I was Awesome," starring Lane Kiffin -- "Okay, I want you to be still for just a second, okay? Do you even know how awesome I was? So awesome I didn't even call the plays and got all the credit, okay. So awesome that if Clay Travis was calling the plays we would have averaged 40 points a game, okay. So awesome. A, okay, W, okay, E, okay, S, okay, O, okay, M, okay, E, okay..."

12. The Mountain West Conference Owns Us: Paid Programming -- Watch as MWC teams that the Pac-10 won't allow to join their conference, explain what it was like to go undefeated against the big, bad, Pac-10. As a special bonus, BYU gives 59 reasons why UCLA is godless.

13. It's Hard Out Here For An Asian: Norm Chow hustles his way to a head coaching job -- Opening monologue features Chow talking about his strengths, "I have the greatest calves of any offensive coordinator, I wear glasses, my voice is impeccable and deep, I sound like the whitest man on Earth. I don't understand why no one will hire me to coach."

Then Chow raps:

You know it's hard out here for an Asian
When he tryin' to get that money for the head coach
For the Philip Rivers' and the Carson Palmer's
Cause a whole lot of b***hes coachin' Tennessee

14. What football seems like under the influence of weed laced with other hallucinogenic compounds, starring the students of Cal-Berkeley -- Watch as drug-addled Cal students attempt to describe the best running plays of the year featuring Jahvid Best. "Best is like the best. He takes the football, and for just a minute he stands still, and then he's like, he lifts the football to the sky and all these scorpions are coming to take the football and Best is like, 'No, scorpion, you can't have my football. I'm going to run with it and then if I get hungry I might eat it and use it to feed all the people in Africa without food. Or I'm going to take a nap and curl up in the football, and then when the ladybugs knock on my door, I'm going to let them come inside too and we're all going to roll around in the grass where everyone touches down."

How to Program the Pac-10 Network originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 18 May 2009 16:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac-10's Nine Dwarves Aspire to More

Brian Grummell — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Since 2002, the Pac-10 has been derisively called USC and the nine dwarves. Its more than a little unfair, but that's the prevailing wisdom. Although the conference is consistently among the deepest and most competitive around, USC's monopolized that top spot. Any chance of that changing this year begins with decisions those programs make this spring.

For Arizona, the spring challenge is finding a quarterback to replace longtime starter Willie Tuitama. Athletic sophomore Matt Scott has a narrow lead over the heftier Nick Foles while trying to master Sonny Dykes' high frequency pass attack. Seven starters do return on defense but they failed to find any strong vocal leadership among the returnees.

Up north in Tempe, Arizona State is also working to replace a departed quarterback. Thanks to a pair of recent transfers, the job has gotten easier for coach Dennis Erickson who is now down to three scholarship passers. The candidates are senior favorite Danny Sullivan, sophomore Samson Szakacsy and 6-foot-8 freshman Brock Osweiler. Fans are drooling at the novelty of Osweiler and he may have scared away two other competitors but the veterans obviously appear to have the lead.

Whoever emerges, he'll have this guy to throw to.

Sticking with a winning theme, Cal must also replace departed quarterback Nate Longshore. Incumbent Kevin Riley has the deep experience edge having started several games with occasional fits of brilliance like his off-the-bench bowl rescue job against Air Force. However, he has been unable to completely fend off the awesomely named Texan Brock Mansion or Beau Sweeney.

The position has been dodgy at best ever since the departure of Aaron Rodgers and Cal fans are itching for a return to the kind of play that had them nearly atop the college football world in 2004.

At stuffy Stanford, yet another quarterback battle is going on with what appears to be a mild upset. Incumbent Tavita Pritchard beat USC in 2007 but has been far from consistent or dominant to the point where Stanford followed a Woody Hayes styled run attack model last year. Enter redshirt freshman Andrew Luck who has folks buzzing after his 352-yard showing in their recent scrimmage. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he would be their starter if a game were played tomorrow.

Another team, another quarterback battle. UCLA remains unsatisfied with last year's emergency starter Kevin Craft and has mulled pulling the trigger for redshirt freshman Kevin Prince or true freshman Richard Brehaut. Prince pulled ahead last week only to fall back in several practices and scrimmages.

The Bruins are looking for improvement over the entire offense after the 2008 disaster and must now replace skilled defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker who left to coach New Mexico State. At least two performers -- defensive tackle Brian Price and cornerback Alterraun Verner -- could be Pac-10 first-teamers but openings abound nearly everywhere else.

Across town, juggernaut USC returns anywhere from three to five defensive starters but like nearly everyone else they have a quarterback battle getting most of the attention. We'll say quickly that the defense is loaded with stud recruits who ballhawk like its going out of style in reserve time and have impressed beyond expectation.

The offense simply needs to replace quarterback Mark Sanchez and things appear to be going smoothly with sophomore Aaron Corp all but securing the job at least through the summer. However, true freshman Matt Barkley may actually meet the hype, exceeding expectations and likely pushing the competition into at least the early fall particularly if he can cut down on turnovers.

One final quarterback battle is at Washington State who is looking for someone, anyone, to pilot them after a wasted 2008 for now second-year coach Paul Wulff. We have no idea whats going on there and it won't likely matter if the Cougars cannot piece together better lines to secure the trenches.

For those counting at home, that's seven quarterback battles among ten teams. It is both frightening and hope-filled for all these programs in a conference where teams quite often live and die with quarterback performance.

Apple Cup rival Washington is also looking to put an even worse, winless 2008 behind them. New coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Nick Holt are bringing a ton of energy and enthusiasm (local columnists are rightly groaning) but nothing saves coaching souls like warm bodies. They've got quarterback Jake Locker and some decent linebackers to work with while little else is secure.

I'm not sure Sarkisian's program will be a winner there, but anything will surpass the malaise that followed good guy former coach Tyrone Willingham.

The always-lurking Oregon State Beavers have been at their best sticking to the program with coach Mike Riley. Less sizzle, more steak, the focus is probably on continued development of the overlooked talent on campus. That said, offensive understudies have had a bonanza of opportunities with the departure of both starting receivers and injuries to quarterback Lyle Moevao, tailback Jacquizz Rodgers and back/receiver brother James.

Unknown receiver Darrell Catchings put together a monster scrimmage recently with six catches for over 250 yards and two touchdowns.

Finally at Oregon, the Ducks are finishing the first spring under new coach Chip Kelly who moved from offensive coordinator to head coach after Mike Bellotti's retirement. Bellotti is still on the field serving as quarterback coach through the spring while Kelly sorts out the entire program.

Pac-10's Nine Dwarves Aspire to More originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Washington St. QB Lobbestael Gets Alcohol Charge in Police Parking Lot

Brian Grummell — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:17:00 EST

Filed under: Washington State

We're not quite sure if this is altruistic or stupidity, but Washington State quarterback Marshall Lobbestael was arrested Saturday after being discovered passed out in a pickup truck at the police station.

Being 19, he picked up a minor in possession charge. In response, Washington State has suspended him from the team.

We like to think the cause of his drinking was living with such an unwieldy last name -- then again mine's no work of simplicity -- or having to be the quarterback on a terrible team, pick 'em. Whatever the cause, he was considered a favorite for the Cougars' starting job this year.

Washington State saw all three of its quarterbacks battered last year. Lobbestael went down with a knee injury, but not before racking up a spectacular 103.1 rating to go with his four touchdowns and 571 pass yards.

This story has the feel of a 1980s football movie, doesn't it? Starting quarterback on a terrible team finds creative ways to get drunk and suspended. Played by someone pushing 30 in real life, of course.

Anyway, not good. Sort of like the state of Washington State football.

Athletes in Trouble With the Law

Feb. 21: Marshall Lobbestael, expected to compete for the starting quarterback job this season, picks up an alcohol charge after being found asleep in his pickup truck in a police parking lot. Click through for more athletes in trouble with the law.

Dean Hare, AP

Feb. 20: Lazare Adingono, seen here in a 2001 photo when he played for Rhode Island, faces a felony charge of second-degree assault and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

Jeff Gross, Getty Images

Feb. 20: Steelers kicker Jeff Reed pleads guilty to disorderly contest and criminal mischief after police say he broke a towel dispenser in a convenience store.

Gene J. Puskar, AP

Feb. 15: Jason Richardson of the Phoenix Suns is arrested and charged with reckless driving, excessive speeding and failure to use a child seat. Police say they clocked him at 90 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Barry Gossage, NBAE / Getty Images

Feb. 11: Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was arrested in Southern California on a weapons charge. Police say they found a loaded firearm - as well as multiple marijuana cigarettes - in a 2006 Mercedes-Benz occupied by Lynch and two other men.

David Duprey, AP

Feb. 8: Former Atlanta Falcons star Jamal Anderson was booked on a felony charge of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor marijuana charge.

Jim Mone, AP

Feb. 5: Former Cowboys star Terry Glenn faces public intoxication and marijuana possession charges from his arrest on Jan. 25.

Tony Gutierrez, AP

Feb. 5: Chiefs rookie tight end Michael Merritt was arrested after being caught rolling a marijuana cigarette in a Florida parking garage.

Getty Images

Jan. 29: Miami guard Eddie Rios was arrested on grand theft and burglary charges. He was suspended by the team on Jan. 12 for undisclosed disciplinary problems.

Andy Lyons, Getty Images

Jan. 27: A warrant for the arrest of former NBA player Jason Caffey is issued for his failure to pay child support.

Lucy Nicholson, AP

Washington St. QB Lobbestael Gets Alcohol Charge in Police Parking Lot originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Washington State Takes Battle With Washington to the Legislature

Chas Rich — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:52:00 EST

Filed under: Washington, Washington State, Pac 10, Campus, General CFB Insanity

The University of Washington wants to renovate Husky Stadium. They estimate the cost to be roughly $300 million. Naturally, the school would like the state to kick in $150 million by extending the taxes the state legislature levied in King County for the construction of Safeco Field and Qwest Stadium.

A contingent of Washington State alumni are doing what they can to derail it.

Athletic Director Scott Woodward and noted Huskies booster Ron Crockett, owner of Emerald Downs racetrack, told legislators that the stadium, built in 1920, needs substantial repairs for basic safety that shouldn't be the responsibility of private donors.

But the unofficial group of WSU alumni, who have launched an e-mail campaign urging lawmakers to vote against the project, said UW should turn to its wealthy base of donors, not taxpayers, for the project, especially since the state is facing a deficit of at least $5 billion.

"We think that they have the capacity at the University of Washington to fund their own stadium," said Glenn Osterhout, a WSU alum who noted that WSU's Martin Stadium is also in the middle of a renovation, which has not received state money.

The Washington State alum view see no reason that the state should fund the renovations which would only serve as a further advantage to the Washington football program in recruiting and marketing. This is when you know that there is a heated in-state rivalry. Everything is fair game.

Washington State itself is taking no sides in this little battle since the WSU Athletic Director admitted that if UW succeeds in getting the money, the Cougars would consider a similar proposal. That seems to be the nature of these things -- whether it is partisan politics or rival schools. Spread the money to both sides, and everyone is happy.

Washington State Takes Battle With Washington to the Legislature originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week In Schadenfreude: LSU Descends Into a Maelstrom of Self-Hatred

Brian Cook — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:44:00 EST

Filed under: Florida State, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Washington State

scha·den·freu·de

-noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

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

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 in 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.

I don't think a winning team has ever pulled down the Tears of Unfathomable Sadness award, but we have history this week. LSU fell behind against the Troy Trojans of Troy (We're From Troy!) 31-3, causing a mass exodus from Death Valley and a truly epic message board war. This is the nuclear bomb:

At this point LSU fans just need to STFU. We are largely irrelevant, living off past glory, full of self-congratulatory bluster. Even now, some tard (sorry PJ) is on my radio talking about Nick Saban. Saban ? We don't believe in our team, we don't believe in our coaches, it's not important to us anymore to even stay at the stadium. We have made second-guessing an art form and have a juvenile view of reality. We bitched our way through a National Freaking Championship and now we are sniveling through a 9/10 win season. THAT IS WHO WE ARE. Snivelers. Whiners. Crybabies. With a ridiculous sense of entitlement.

I'm not blaming us or even asking for change, I'm just acknowleding the Truth.

Uh. Wow. And then you've got the first response:

It was either leave or kill the wife to stop the whining and there were too many witnesses to do the right thing.

Yes, what they say about LSU fans is true: they smell like corndogs and are complete lunatics. (Just kidding LSU fans! Please don't dip me in batter and fry me!) The rest of the week in spleen after the jump.

BIG TEN

Michigan, well... at this point Michigan fans are mostly numb after the events of the season and if they weren't numb already they definitely were after sitting outside in 35 degree sleet watching their team lose against Northwestern. The Wolverine Liberation Army is actually encouraged by this turn of events but post tags are the window to the soul:

your soul is only crushed if you let it be crushed i saw that in a mexican fortune cookie

Coincidentally, I saw "post tags are the window to the soul" in a Mexican fortune cookie, too.

Notre Dame didn't actually lose, but they really tried to, fumbling on the four up 27-7 and proceeding to let Navy score a touchdown, recover an onside kick, score another touchdown, and recover another onside kick before finally recovering and preventing the Middies from really, truly murdering the Weis era.

Rakes of Mallow goes with the all caps:

Look, my girlfriend is in the Navy. Her sister is in the Navy. Their father and grandfather were also in the Navy. I've got nothing but respect for the Navy...

BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T PUT IN YOUR BACK-UPS WHEN YOU'RE ONLY UP 20 WITH NINE MINUTES LEFT IN THE GAME!

As I started to write this I couldn't remeber exactly how much time was left when we put Sharpley in. I thought it was 7 minutes tops. Then I went back to espn.com's play chart and OH MY GOD THERE WAS STILL NINE MINUTES LEFT IN THE GAME!

EXPLETIVE! EXPLETIVE EXPLETIVE EXPLETIVE!

Actually, of all the indefensible things Charlie Weis has done in an effort to prove he's smarter than the world, isn't yanking the starters up 27-7 with the ball and nine minutes on the clock way down the list? I mean, if the fourth-string running back doesn't fumble we're not even having this conversation.

Pac-10

"Man, you look like your dog died" is something Washington State fans have probably heard all year. The Cougars are 1-10, winless against I-A competition. They've been shut out three times and lost to Stanford by 58. They may be the worst Pac-10 team in history.

So... yeah, that's bad. But this just happened to Sedihawk, the lead guy on the only consistently updated Washington State football blog out there and therefore possibly the biggest Coug fan among us:

Sadly, we had to say good-bye to the best dog ever yesterday, as he finally lost his battle with lymphoma. He was initially diagnosed in the spring, and we decided to fight for him by going the chemotherapy route. It was expensive and emotionally draining, but to us, it was worth it. ... Barkley was closing in on his 9th birthday, and while 8 years and 9 months might seem like a good amount of time for a dog, well, to us he was taken far, far too early.

His dog actually died. That's rough.

SEC

There's not much to say when you're South Carolina and get smashed 56-6, except maybe "Verne Lundquist I hate you":

I don't even want to talk about the lateral on the kickoff return. The call was foolish, especially on a wet field. Moreover, it reeked of desparation. Not much else to say about it, other than that Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist's response to the official review of whether the guy who recovered the fumble scored or not proves yet again that these two are among the most biased, unprofessional pricks in broadcasting.

Dude, Verne Lundquist? Of all people? Verne Lundquist is like the nicest man on the planet.

I'll give you Danielson, I guess. I actually have a theory on him: CBS has instructed him to praise everything that has ever happened in an SEC game. I've seen him praise the defense for causing false starts, praise a quarterback throwing it directly at four linebackers, praise a fumbled snap. Every fumbled snap he announces is magnificent because it is an ESS EEE CEE(!) fumbled snap.

BIG EAST

Syracuse 14, UConn 39. Cue the crying child:

Also cue the Greg Robinson firing. Is this the end of the crying children? No! No, say it isn't so!

Last year's Schadenfreude-man-an award made up for the "This Year In Schadenfreude" wrap up post-was new Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe, who immediately cratered Bobby Petrino's program and was tossed around as a guy who might get fired after one year. He did not, but he's not exactly off the hot seat:

With all due respect to Cincinnati - a team that will almost certainly prove itself fully capable of handling Syracuse in two weeks - that was an awful football game. In fact, this has been a season loaded with almost nothing but awful football games. Even in the tight tilts where I've been near completely focused on willing the Cards to victory, there's always been a moment where, "wow, this is pretty bad" has crept into the back of my mind.

Agro-Krag's antics are no longer meeting with approval (and by "no longer" I mean "never did but continue to get more annoying"):

So apparently Brian Kelly's blowing off Kragthorpe after the game was the product of Krag making a fuss over the Bearcat players praying around midifeld before the game.

That's awesome. You get the feeling sometimes that the guy goes out of his way to invent stuff to get worked up about with the hope that he can minimize the lack of intensity criticism.

Louisville fans with hope for the future are now comparing Kragthorpe to... Rich Brooks?

One of my big donor friends said half-heartedly, 'Hey, look at what Brooks has done. Give K time."

I said "Do we really want to wait 4-6 yrs and see if we can even get a Rick Brooks and some Motor City Bowls out of this guy."

I'm with that guy. When your best case scenario is Rich Brooks, you have erred. Repair your err.

BIG 12

Texas A&M may be angrier at Mike Sherman than they ever were at Dennis Franchione, and that's saying something. Check it, and mind the [sic]:

Fran had some pretty damn low points, but to give Sherman the alltime TD leader, an uquestionable leader & (hopeful) dual threat QB, a LIGHTS OUT back with 2 more in the pipeline? BEing an Ex-O-LINE COACH AND SUCK THIS BAD UP FRONT?? Retire right now before it gets worse Sherman.

Yes Fran brought us to an ABYSMAL def status, but he did about as good as anyone available couldve holding his own in recruiting against LSUberforehead & Mack Brown. We couldve turned up the heat on Franny enough to make him toss Darnell & hire someone serious about D.

And then there's this variation on the FRANKLIN=DEATH meme:

hiring franny = death penalty

I think we're decided on this. 2008=DEATH.

Finally, I don't even know what this is about:

Ever since I have been associated with A&M (cerca 2002) I have made a bet with myself for the annual tu game:
If A&M wins, I will grow a mustache.

This year, since we are such dogs, I will spice it up:
If A&M wins, I will grow a mustache & mullet/rattail.

This man's username is "RedassAustinSawHorn60," FWIW. Of course it is.

ACC

Last week I surveyed the ACC, found it boring, and declared that Florida State needed to get hammered. Check and mate, it's rantin' time at Tomahawk Nation (emphasis mine):

This team is reeling. The administration must do whatever it can to keep Fisher. If that means firing Mickey Andrews, Jody Allen, and Chuck Amato, then it needs to be done. If that means getting rid of our head coach who looked pathetic on national television proclaiming "everyone has problems", then do it. This is a fractured leadership dynamic and it is killing Florida State. Jimbo should leave if he is not given the reigns for 2009-- nothing less. Seminole Nation must do whatever it takes to end this joke. When is enough, enough? Leadership starts at the top. Fans should not support a product that is less than whole. We might as well print tickets to the 2009 Bowden and Co. Clown Show if the administration and the boosters don't finally pull the plug. We can no longer afford to take a 0 at the head coaching spot. We cannot afford to start over. If Jimbo is our guy (and right now, we won't do better), show it. Axe Bobby. Axe Mickey. Axe Jodey. Axe Chuck. We're not getting back to the elite dragging Bobby and Mickey around. We cannot afford to start over.

Usually I'd chop something that long down, but that is one nasty, blunt paragraph right there.

The comments to it are about the same, and we get bonus Why Did I Do This To My Body schadenfreude:

I don't have much else to say other than I feel sick. I am embarrassed. Embarrassed to have a Seminole tattoo inked onto my body. Pathetic. Disappointed. Once again my hopes were sky high as I cheered loudly and threw beer across the room as NC State defeated Wake earlier today. Excited that we held our own destiny.

ACCCG goodbye. Emerald Bowl, hello.

As much as I love him, BB needs to go.

Also, I have no idea what this feels like:

At this point... I'd celebrate a 21 point loss to Florida the same I would a win. UF is going to be a bloodbath.

Nope, not at all. No idea whatsoever. (Help me I have to watch the Ohio State game next week someone send morphine please morphine morphine morphine.)

This Week In Schadenfreude: LSU Descends Into a Maelstrom of Self-Hatred originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week In Schadenfreude: Welcome Back, Notre Dame, We Missed You So

Brian Cook — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Kansas State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia

scha·den·freu·de

-noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

Notre Dame fans were okay-ish with a loss to Michigan State and upset but understanding after coin flips with North Carolina and Pitt that went against them. A 17-0 blanking by Boston College in which the Decided Schematic Advantage(tm) racked up under 300 yards of offense and turned the ball over five times? Eh, not so much:

I now consider us a Div II program
by FLBOB73 (11/08/2008 23:12:46)

...I truly believe that Navy will have their own streak begin with their second win in a row. We will lose to USC and others. Maybe we can beat Syracuse, but I'm not even sure we can reach bowl eligibility at this point. I am sick in my heart. Don't talk to me about next year, don't talk to me about learning curves and the talent that's coming. Bulls---. We're medicore and we're coached like a high school team. We play without emotion, without a plan and without any determination. We talk trash and that's it. ...

Elsewhere, Domers are offering up youtube clips of "The End" for Weis. In the eyes of the faithful, it's over: Notre Dame is dominated with discussions about the new coach. (One particularly outstanding suggestion: bring in Holtz for one year. Please let this happen.) Newly D-II Notre Dame, you are the Tears of Unfathomable Sadness award recipient.

The rest of the week in spleen after the jump.

BIG TEN

Back to Notre Dame, now just about fed up with Weis E. Coyote. At times like these, ND Nation, home of the most lunatic fanbase on the internet-and I have scoured the internets lo these many years to arrive at this conclusion-is the very essence of schadenfreude. Case in point:

From where I type this, I look out on a gray, overcast day. Gray, the color of ashes; ashes, the taste in my mouth.

I am thinking that next Sunday will likely to be no different. Navy will have lengthened the streak begun last year, our exhausted defense unable to cope with Navy's powerful Division II offense.

We've gone from "Notre Dame is Division II" to "Notre Dame cannot compete with Division II."

This guy's anger management issues are good for something, at least:

I embedded the remote in the wall next to the hole that I kicked last year over I don't remember what. Could have been a million reasons.

I drop-kicked the dog out the door for barking during a Clausen interception replay. It was a kick Maust would have been proud of, if he only he knew how to kick.

Thank god while the season is over, there are only three games left to endure.

His wall is going to look like Swiss cheese if Weis coaches the duration of his eleventy-billion year contract.

And just in case you needed reminding of why you hate ND:

Notre Dame football, among other things, represents the superiority of the indomitable spirit. We are the Catholic underdog, the Fighting Irish. We have a tradition of excellence in spite of so many who would deny it to us.

Use your hate! Let it flow through you!

Penn State's got three extra timeouts next week* but they've also suffered a last-second, game-winning Iowa field goal. Their national championship hopes are dead, but if one intrepid fan has his way he won't remember that:

Self Lobotomy instructions Reply

I just want to forget about this game. I woke up at like 4A after going to sleep around 12A and just cant stop thinking about it. How do you have and 18/19 play drive (cant remember which) and NOT get a touchdown? It's almost unfathomable.

... Still a great season, as I think PSU recovers and gets the Rose Bowl, but what a blown opportunity....Going to get my drill!

I had no idea Darren Aronofsky was such a big Penn State fan.

*(not really)

PAC 10

One of the most grimly epic games in recent college football approaches in two weeks: The Apple Cup. In this year's edition, winless, hopeless Washington State and winless, coach-less Washington will face off for the right to not be the worst team in Pac-10 history. Unless, of course, one of them wins next week. But let's be serious.

One intrepid internet person has summed up this upcoming battle of the titans so excellently that we have special authorization to resort to old meme:

If you don't know what this is all about:

Wow. I didn't know John McCain read the FanHouse.
For the love of God, John, don't google it.
Google is a popular "search engine."
"Search engines" are things to find other things on the "internet."
The "'internet"... aw, forget it.

Old people are old!

SEC

This is a little late due to a login-related snafu that locked out your intrepid correspondent for the past couple of weeks, but as you all know Tennessee fired longtime coach and program alum Phil Fulmer last week, then promptly lost to Wyoming.

I've mentioned UT blog Fulmer's Belly in this spot a few times before, as they adopted TWIS Coping Tactic #45 (have a psychotic break and pretend you're someone else) in entertaining fashion, and I'm going to mention them again, but for a different reason. They've done something I don't think I've ever seen before on the harsh, post-apocalyptic dust bowl that is the internet.

They were truly, openly sad their coach got fired. They redid the site colors all in black, dubbed themselves "the saddest site in sports... really :(" and vented:

Don already posted the sad news, and I felt the need to write something as well, but it took me a few minutes to ~~stop crying~~ log in to the site to write the post.

Honestly, this is sad on more than one front. Obviously, now this site is dead and no one will ever need to come back here ever again (in fact, what are you doing here now?). On the other hand, it's sad that basically one of the only to coaches I've ever known to coach for Tennessee (Johnny Majors being the other obviously), is now history.

I got nothing snarky on this one. I'm a little sad for Tennessee fans now, and my only interaction with Tennessee has been UT's laydown against Nebraska in '97 that cost Michigan half a NC, the Woodson-Manning kerfuffle from that same year, and getting housed by UT in the-yes-Citrus Bowl a few years later.

BIG EAST

Syracuse 17, Rutgers 35. Cue the crying child:

Later, rinse, repeat.

BONUS: There's also this from "The Saltine Warriors," and, yea, verily it captures the spirit of TWIS:

F************************

...................... CUE THE CRYING CHILD.... OK, I'm gonna be honest.... I sure didn't watch this game. I was instead at the MELTDOWN WHEN TENNESSEE LOSE TO F********** WYOMING FOR HOMECOMING.

I'll analyze the stats for you tomorrow. I'm not happy. WTF.

Seriously. This SUCKS... I need a beverage.

Peace Greg.

Greg is one with the freude.

It was only a matter of time before West Virginia message boards exploded in the aftermath of another inexplicable loss to a team without Pat White, and that time is now. We have your standard "would you take Rodriguez back?" and "Fire Stew Petition" threads.

The former will no doubt be posted after every WVU loss for decades to come, until it's just one of those inexplicable traditions. At some point in 2102 when West Virginia loses to East Jupiter State, someone will post "would you take Rodriguez back?"

The latter projects to have a much shorter shelf-life. West By God Virginia is airing grievances:

Just when we thought the offensive coaching had turned the corner, Mullen calls a game where even I, being half-drunk, could recognize any play coming. There was simply nothing original about the game plan, unless the plan was supposed to look completely inept. Then again, it's not that original when you've been doing it all season.

The stats tell most of the story: four of twenty on third down and 98 total rushing yards. 98. That is the first time in seven years - SEVEN YEARS - that we failed to reach the 100 yard mark. Mullen deserves a pat on the back for that. Good job, buddy.

But of all the spleen vented on WVU boards the last couple days this is by far my favorite:

If you idiots at WVU are going to employ windowlickers for coaches in the WVU football prgoram, I either want my money back for the season tickets and gas I paid for to drove to morgantown to watch you TRY to play ball, OR I WANT YOUR JOB!

My stroke ridden grandfather could coach a high school team to beat Cinci! ! ! !! ! ! ! !

What a joke this is. What kind of coaching staff has a team like WVU and LOSSES to Cinci???? YOU STEW! GOLLY GEE!

If you, like me, are wondering what a "windowlicker" is, the Urban Dictionary's topmost definition declares it to be "A retard who sits in the back of the sunshine bus, licking the window whilst staring at you."

So there you go.

BIG TWELVE

Ron Prince is fired and no one expected moribund Kansas State to stay with Missouri and Chase Daniel and etc., but holy pants, this is the saddest cheerleader ever. I can't actually post it because that's probably a newspaper photo and the suing will happen, but if you really hate Kansas State cheerleaders I urge you to click as fast as you possibly can.

Now that is some pure visceral sadness right there. Weber State fans angered by year after year of 600-0 blowouts at Bill Snyder's hands, drink deep.

ACC

You know, I looked, but the ACC is freakin' serene this week. Virginia lost, but the Sabre has nothing more entertaining than "a five million dollar buyout for Al Groh should be a fireable offense" which like duh. Maryland lost to Tech, which surprises no one except in the sense that whenever Maryland does something that makes any sense you're shocked. Clemson continues to flail but with Bowden out the door everyone's busy with the coaching search and couldn't care less about the rest of this year.

This is all I've got on Georgia Tech:

When Paul Johnson does his coaching evaluations after the season, one thing he will have to address is this special teams by committee coaching staff. When coaching special teams is your #2 priority like it is with all coaches involved in special teams, you get inconsistent to poor performances every week. Hire a special teams coach in '09.

And your other loser is Duke. So, yeah, I got nothing in the Conference of Low Expectations. Florida State needs to get hammered, and quick.

This Week In Schadenfreude: Welcome Back, Notre Dame, We Missed You So originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chill Out Ever'body! USC Didn't Run Up Score in 69-0 Win Over Wazzu

Ryan Ferguson — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:12:00 EST

Filed under: USC, Washington State, Pac 10

Saturday was a painful, agonizing experience for hapless Washington State. The Wazzu Cougars lost 69-0 to mighty USC, prompting analysts on other networks to make unflattering comments about Southern Cal head coach Pete Carroll. The insinuation from Tim Brando and Verne Lundquist, in particular, was that Pete Carroll felt the need to run up the score to earn a few style points for his team's BCS hopes.

It was a total mismatch of teams. Washington State put up a meager 116 yards of offense to USC's 625. It could have been much worse. Had Pete Carroll been in a record-setting mood, I suspect the Trojans could have put up yardage in the four-digit range. Scary thought, huh?

But a very cursory examination reveals that despite the shutout, USC had no intention of embarrassing Wazzu any more than they were already embarrassing themselves.

But here are a few facts to consider before throwing Carroll under the bus. From the L.A. Times' Adam Rose:

-- Joe McKnight didn't suit up. Sure, he had turf toe, but he said earlier this week that he would have played if this game wasn't against Wazzu. He later took it back, but we all know better.

-- With the ball in the red zone, USC ran out the clock to end the half. The first half.

-- Starting quarterback Mark Sanchez stopped throwing the ball with 32 minutes left in the game (translation: first half). He was left in for the first series of the second half, evidently to practice his handoffs and didn't even throw on 3rd-and-19. His day ended three minutes after the second half kickoff.

-- Mitch Mustain, USC's No. 2 quarterback, was only allowed to throw the ball once. It was the only passing attempt of the second half.

Rose goes on to list 10 reasons total. But of final note is the play which undoubtedly got the attention of Lundquist and Brando. Facing 4th-and-5 in the fourth quarter, Carroll was faced with a difficult decision. Should he kick the field goal, and thereby "run up the score"? Should he kneel on the ball and possibly insult his opponent that way as well? Or should he just half-heartedly run the ball and hope the other team could stop him on downs? Carroll chose door No. 3 and was 'rewarded' with a conversion followed by a touchdown. Carroll's expression on the sideline said it all. He wasn't thrilled to score another touchdown.

What we have here is your old-fashioned butt-kicking. And despite every possible effort to keep the game from getting out of hand, at some point the Cougs needed to step up and stop the Trojans' third-stringers and walk-ons from scoring. That is their obligation as an FBS team, a group of boys and men who made the conscious decision to play big boy football. They couldn't do it, and voila, 69-0. Pete Carroll should have no difficulty sleeping after this one.

Chill Out Ever'body! USC Didn't Run Up Score in 69-0 Win Over Wazzu originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Washington State May Be Historically Bad

Brian Grummell — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:33:00 EST

Filed under: Washington State, Pac 10

It ain't pretty. On ESPN's Pac-10 blog today are two links to stories about Washington State's near-historic ineptness. I noted earlier that they are 40+ point underdogs against USC this weekend -- although that may be worse for USC than the Cougars.

Some numbers for you:

Washington State is allowing 55.6 points/game through four league games and faces mighty USC next. The Cougars are 116th in scoring at 15.9 points/game despite playing the No. 100, 69, 68, 66, 55 and No. 27 scoring defenses as well as lower division Portland State. Overall in conference play against the impotent Pac-10 this year they have been outscored 223-33. Among those scores was a defensive touchdown, a garbage-time score and a field goal on a drive that went for negative four yards.

This is pathetic stuff.

Worse, the Cougars are likely to get worse before they get better. They may play a walk-on fifth-string quarterback this weekend against USC if injured starter Kevin Lopina's fractured lower back isn't fully healed.

In their final six games, the Cougars must face USC, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington and Hawaii. At least three of those teams will likely go bowling, so, except for the Washington game, a win may be hard to come by.

The Pac-10 conference marks to avoid: 47.3 points/game in conference play (set by Washington State in 1970) and 42.6 points/game overall (held by Oregon State in 1916). Right now Washington State is at 55.6 and 45.1 for those keeping track at home.

This season has certainly redefined "Cougin' it." But hey, at least they've got their flags at ESPN College GameDay every Saturday, right?

Right?

Washington State May Be Historically Bad originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ruh Roh: USC 40+ Point Favorites Again

Brian Grummell — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:30:00 EST

Filed under: USC, Washington State, Pac 10, General CFB Insanity

Almost a year ago to the week, Stanford toppled USC in one of the most ridiculous upsets in college football history. Staring down a ticked off Pete Carroll, the Coliseum crowd, a 41-point underdog status with gamblers and working with a backup quarterback who had only attempted a handful of passes, Stanford did the impossible: 24-23.

I get heartburn writing about it. The darn event even has its own Wikipedia page.

So it gives me no great pleasure to be reminded that USC is once again massive favorites -- 42 to 43 points at last check -- to possibly an even worse Pac-10 foe, this year's Washington State Cougars. How bad is Washington State? The Cougars have already surrendered 60-plus points to opponents three times this season (66 to California, 63 to Oregon and 66 to Oregon State). College football doormat Baylor pasted them 45-17. UCLA's pathetic offense managed to beat then 28-3. Just terrible all around.

Not unlike Stanford last year.

Heading into the USC game, Stanford had surrendered 35, 55, and 41 points to conference opponent.

But all of that mattered not when USC's grab bag offense showed up. Last week's pedestrian effort -- defense withheld -- against Arizona State, capped by five straight second half turnovers makes me not one bit comfortable about a game that should otherwise be a "get well" blowout on the order of USC's thrashing of Oregon 44-10 this year.

Sometimes past is precedent though, and despite all evidence to the woeful state of Washington State football, this Trojan's nervous. I watched USC's offense for most of last week against Arizona State in horror, not unlike the entire first, second and fourth quarters against Oregon State.

USC's offense has a bad habit of disappearing when it shouldn't and despite mountains of evidence (13-9 to UCLA, being down 33-10 against Oregon State in 2006, the first half shutout against Oregon State this year, the flurry of turnovers against Arizona State this year, the second half turnover bonanza and game-long inability to run the ball against Stanford last year) USC and its mountains of offensive talent have never seen fit to remedy their unusual predicament.

And so what should be one of the gimmiest of gimmies should cause even the most sound of USC backers to at least raise an eyebrow. We're talking to you, Kirk Herbstreit. And you too, Mark May. Chances are USC puts this game away early, but its no longer a sure thing as USC keeps proving in all its recent sure thing games.

Ruh Roh: USC 40+ Point Favorites Again originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week in Schadenfreude: Ohio State's Got a Script. It Sucks, but They've Got It

Brian Cook — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:37:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona State, Auburn, California, Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA, Virginia, Washington State

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]

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 in 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.

Your Tears of Unfathomable Sadness victor for this week is blindingly obvious: Ohio State. Unfortunately, the massive OSU message board at The O-Zone expires posts after only a day or so, so I can't link to the source of this, but one Buckeye fan provided a script for Ohio State versus Non Big Ten/MAC/I-AA Opponent:

By meckbuck on 23:12:26 09/13/08

1. Start of game: Big play and/or Big Drive which throttles complete irrational exuberance including misguided phone calls to other fans with quotations such as "..and WHO said we were going to get our butts kicked this game? - HA HA!!"
2) 1Q/2Q: Irrational exuberance replaced with mass panic as defense breaks down and stupid error spikes - opposing team dominance officially sets in now firmly setting the tone for the rest of the game
3) End of 2Q: Praying to your God for halftime to come as soon as possible so beating (which has usually reached a pinnacle by now) can at least cease for a few minutes
4) Halftime: Glimmer of hope slightly returns due to ancient halftime rituals and slogans which no longer hold true in the modern work [probably means 'world' -ed] - such as "still a lot of football to be played" - "need to make slight halftime adjustments"
5) 3Q: Opposing team dominance returns with a fury. All halftime adjustments officially unwound. Mass panic numbed with large quantities of alcohol or OTC drug-induced sleep
6) 4Q: I'm not sure even what happens in the 4th Q. At this time announcers are talking about local food joints, future schedules of the winning team, and various Heisman situations in order to hold onto any remaining viewership who have not switched over to Simpson reruns.
7) Next day at work with other non-OSU fan - pure torture

If these weren't Ohio State fans we were talking about, someone, somewhere, might be experiencing the tiniest shred of sympathy. Since we are talking about OSU, a nation says "Buckeyes, your tears are so yummy and sweet."

The rest of the week in spleen after the jump.

BIG TEN

Yes, Virginia, the entire conference sucks and will continue to do so until Rich Rodriguez gets Michigan back on its feet and Joe Paterno yields to someone else.

With that out of the way: Michigan barfed up six turnovers in a hideous, rain-soaked loss to Notre Dame. I usually give the alma mater a fair bludgeoning here, but Michigan fans are just happy to see their quarterback complete a forward pass and there's not a whole lot of spleen out there. First year coaches make for slim pickings.

We do have this from The Only Game That Matters:

Allow me to begin with the following: un-****ing-believable.

Unfortunately, the rest of it is this:

Make no mistake, as a Wolverine fan I'm disappointed, and I'm mad, but I'm not worried, ours was the better football team today. Michigan's offense continues to look better each week, the defense wasn't gashed, and short of a missed a tackle and a blown coverage, they controlled the Irish offense.

There's no fun to be had here, folks.

The other reaction: what 1-2 start?

The truth, comrades, is that the enemy Irish committed suicide at the walls of our offensive and defensive lines. When we attacked, they retreated, when we pounded the ball with Grady and threw the ball with Threet, they retreated even deeper. As we called off the dogs and allowed them to escape the field intact, the evil liar Charlie Weis, showing the wounds of battle himself, took to the press microphones for propaganda purposes.

If you thought to yourself "I bet this post is accompanied by a picture of the Iraqi Minister of Information" you win a nickel:

Here's a nickel, kid.

PAC 10

Yeesh... can we pick the whole conference? No? Where to start, then? How about a team with a Scout site that wonders if Jerry Glanville can pull off a second straight upset of a Paul Wulff-coached team and causes the reader to wonder "would that really be an upset?" Washington State, come on down!

How bad is it in Pullman? Let's check in with CougZone.com:

By agreeing to reschedule with Baylor, was Sterk conceding the season?

That was my thought when I heard they agreed to fly in Friday afternoon and play that night. That is basically unheard of, and would put any team at a big disadvantage. Especially, when there were a fair number of players on their first real "road game".

Meanwhile at CougFan.com, one poster has a radical solution to the dire football being played in the state:

It's time for the merger.

With WSU at an all time worst for football, looking to go 1-11 and Huskies MAYBE 1-11, it is time to proceed with a merger of the two teams.

We can provide a quarterback. Well, that's about it. You can provide a wide receiver. Well, that's about it.

We can be arrogant and obnoxious half the time. The other time, jealous and assaultive. We can all agree to a need to change our coaches. We'll keep your hot blonde cheerleaders and add our exotic asian ones.

The dog can lead the charge out of the tunnel. The Coug can lead the fans in the stands. We can get rain soaked and then snow blown. We'll mix the beers with the martinis.

And we can convince ourselves we never liked college football anyway.

UWSU sounds like a winning idea.

Meanwhile, UCLA got smashed into little tiny bits by BYU. Then BYU tracked down the tiny bits and smashed them into tinier bits. Then the second half started.

The obvious go-to place for violent internet retribution is Bruins Nation, the SBNation UCLA blog that spent much of last year in a spittle-flecked rage over Karl Dorrell's continued existence. Surely there will be some good eats over the--

Right now ... we don't need outsider's "pity" or calls for "gut check" who in their cursory interest in writing about our program never really cared to deal with with facts and failed to recognize what our program has gone through this past decade. Let the MSM types cackle all they want. We need to stick together with this team and with each other.

Aw, goddammit. Fans in year one of the rebuilding project are never any fun.

Wait... wait, okay, here we go:

IIRC despite having one of the most talented teams in the country last year we had a very disappointing season. The year before (again IIRC) after having a medicore regular season we made a run during the tourney.

It looks like we are off to another horrible start this season not in par with the tradition of UCLA soccer.

What the heck is going on?

Looks to me that we are seeing signs of a pattern of underachievement from Salcedo's program.

Any thoughts?

Soccer is basically football, right?

And then there's Arizona State, which gacked up a game against UNLV. Pitchfork Nation has half of the mob equipment covered, and they made a quick run to Tempe Torch & Pitchfork, Inc., for the torches:

So, after all that, where does blame lie? Frankly, I don't have an answer to that yet. Last night was such a completely pathetic performance in all aspects of football that I don't even know where to start.

The play calling was atrocious. Rudy Carpenter's field awareness was miserable. The defense simply missed players. Mike Nixon said after the game that having to stop Frank Summers 22 times was not just physically demanding but "mentally exhausting." How are you going to stop Knowshon Moreno when stopping the running back from UNLV was physically and mentally impossible?

Good point. We might be revisiting the Sun Devils in the near future.

Cal lost to a Maryland team that had just been soundly beaten by a school so obscure it couldn't even get a cardinal direction for its name, and while normally TWIS concerns itself with fan reaction ("let us never speak of it again" ), in this case Cal running back Jahvid Best said it all on Saturday:

Gatorade or is Best an alien? Inquiring minds want to know.

SEC

Auburn got a stoppage-time winner from HA HA THAT WAS A LOW SCORING GAME WASN'T IT. Uh, yeah, they beat Mississippi State by the sublime score of 3-2.

Tiger fans are handling this rationally:

END THIS NOW!!!

by justinsch3 on Sep 13, 2008 8:30 PM CDT
FIRE TONY FRANKLIN!!! He promised but can not fulfil his promises. Now we have lost Brad Lester. It is too upsetting watching our team fall apart. With the call that was made to get Tony Franklin, Tubbs needs to be blamed if we don't suceed. Today we will lose our #9 spot win or lose. And Tony Franklin has done it to us.
Sorry...but so far we have been sorry...we were better with Cox as a QB and that should say something.

The rest of the conference went according to form, and South Carolina fans got all their bile out last week.

BIG EAST

Syracuse 13, Penn State 55, crying child:

Lather, rinse repeat.

Holy hopscotching hell, what happened to Rutgers? They lost to North Carolina 44-12? Insert "Greg Schiano should have taken Michigan job" reference here.

We have an understandably brief liveblog from Bleed Scarlet that starts off much like a Wes Craven movie:

8:46 - I'm getting a very uneasy feeling. The offense is out of rhythm, the special teams are horrible, and the defense just let UNC capitalize on a short field.

And ends pretty much like a Wes Craven movie:

9:55 - I have no mouth, and I must scream.

But at least Rutgers students are from the classiest state in the union:

You can't chop wood with that, son.

BIG TWELVE

Kansas lost to USF, which is a totally respectable sort of loss if you have any memory whatsoever of Kansas football before 2007. This dip doesn't:

Old Smoke, and Mirrors will have to work doubly hard to get half of the results this year.

Outmanned against USF, is an understatement. Almost against La Tech.

How will that play against a real Big XII opponent. As the eternal optimists blather on, or as years of conditioning to KU FB have taught us.

Dude... dude. I don't even know where to start. Someone find that man, dip him in honey, and place him outside Magino's office.

ACC

Virginia is not good. They are very, very not good. You can tell because they lost 45-10. To UConn. I really hope the proprietor of Dear Old UVA didn't root for or bet on the Buckeyes...

We Are Terrible
It is halftime. And I feel like vomiting. We are down 28-0. We have run 23 plays on offense. The defense has given up over 300 yards, and pretty much hasn't had a single positive play. Tyler Lorenzen has yet to throw an incomplete pass. This is the worst that I have ever seen a Virginia team play. I'm going to watch the OSU-USC game.

...because dude probably went Jahvid Best all over his living room

This Week in Schadenfreude: Ohio State's Got a Script. It Sucks, but They've Got It originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac 10 Preview: East Coast Bias Strikes Again

John Radcliff — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona State, California, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10, FanHouse TV

As FanHouse previews each BCS conference, the college football songbook will cast an unflattering light on each conference in the only way we know how. We're looking at you Pac 10.

Video Link

Photo Credits:

onepeat.com

bukotime.blogspot.com

Getty Images

Pac 10 Preview: East Coast Bias Strikes Again originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bringing Back the Seattle Bowl

Chas Rich — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:56:00 EST

Filed under: Washington, Washington State, General CFB Insanity, Bowl Games

Ah, Seattle in December. The wind, the rain, the bowl game. Yeah, here we go again.

[The executive director for the Seattle Sports Commission, Ralph] Morton said his group is putting together a business plan for a new bowl game at Qwest Field that could apply for NCAA certification in 2009 and debut in 2010. "We're just taking this one step at a time," he said Tuesday. "We still have a long ways to go."

Hey, if you are going to dream, go big. The group wants to tie-in with the Pac-10 -- which already has seven bowl tie-ins -- and wants to be a high-tier bowl which means offering the big pay-out.

The late, unlamented Seattle Bowl lasted two seasons, but the Seattle Sports Commission swears this is unrelated. As beautiful a city as Seattle may be, December is not when it is at it's best. That is unless you think an average temperature of 41 degrees, wind and rain for almost 2/3 of the days is a big draw.

In that respect, having a big payout may be a necessity to get teams to show. The problem would be convincing fans to travel to Seattle for the game. The idea of a bowl game is to draw in fans from outside of the area to supposedly provide a boost to tourism and hotels.

If this bowl game were to happen, it would push the total up to 35 bowl games. At this rate, how soon until the NCAA lets 5-7 teams play?

Bringing Back the Seattle Bowl originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac 10 Preview: Shoe Filling Time

Sean Hawkins — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:29:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Washington State, Pac 10

As is the norm, there are big names who have moved on down the road in the Pac 10. From bowl-winning QB's to standout running backs, the list is a long one. But clearly one of the most exciting things about an upcoming season of college football is always the element of the unknown. What young players are waiting in the wings? What hotshot recruit with all the whispers that he is going to be special will finally be unleashed for public consumption? But as is usually the case, the young replacements come in to take the spots of some pretty established players who leave a large body of work behind them. With that, we look at the five biggest Pac 10 shoes that must be filled and the candidates to replace them.

JOHN DAVID BOOTY, QB, USC

The QB position for USC is always a glamor spot, and a perfect place to start. John David Booty came into the 2007 season as everyone's Heisman favorite, and for good reason. Booty was coming off a 2006 breakthrough performance, throwing for over 3300 yards and 29 TD's. But while USC went 11-2, won a share of the conference title, and Booty capped off his senior season with a fine performance in a Rose Bowl blowout of Illinois, still, things didn't quite work out. He threw for nearly 1,000 fewer yards in 2007 than he had the prior year. A broken finger on his throwing hand had a lot to do with it, and he even missed three games due to the injured digit. But that said, Booty was more about stats. He was a leader and a winner, and could be more difficult to replace than originally thought.

This year we find out if Mark Sanchez is the answer. Or will we? Sanchez, as was reported last week, suffered a dislocated knee cap during non-contact drills. While still not 100% officially ruled out for the season opener at Virginia, the latest report has his status very much up in the air. Meanwhile, Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and redshirt frosh Aaron Corp will run the offense in a job that suddenly appears wide open.

It could be worse though. Mustain didn't go completely bananas at Arkansas, throwing for a modest 894 yards in eight starts as a true frosh year in 2006. But he did go a perfect 8-0 as a starter, so, he's got that going for him. Which is good.

DENNIS DIXON, QB, OREGON

One of the top players in the conference last year and a legit Heisman candidate until a blown-out knee destroyed his season, Dennis Dixon fit the new Oregon offense like a glove. Long, lean, athletic beyond belief and most of all an unbelievable feel for the spread read-option, Dixon made all the right decisions early and often. You have to wonder what could have been had the knee held up, because Oregon was a few victories away from BCS title game consideration. Of course, Dixon went down, and the season went with it.

Nate Costa and Justin Roper are in line to take the reins at Oregon, but things still need to shake out. Costa has the buzz as the next good one at Oregon, an athletic, heady kid who appears to be a perfect fit in the offensive system. But Costa has barely played, with only a handful of snaps as in 2006 and then he tore his ACL last year, missing the entire season. So not only is Costa green, but coming off a major injury.

Roper is still in the mix, and he did show some promise in the Sun Bowl last year, throwing four TD passes in a runaway win over South Florida. Whether it's Costa or Roper, the winner of the job will have his hands full in trying to replace a presence like Dennis Dixon.

ALEX BRINK, QB, WASHINGTON STATE

The top passer in WSU history, Alex Brink departs WSU as a major stat guy, throwing for over 10,000 yards in his career. He also has those three wins in four tries against hated Washington, the only WSU QB to pull that off.

But fair or not, a lot of blame has been laid at his feet in regards to the team not getting back to it's winning ways established at the beginning of the decade, when the Cougars had three straight ten win seasons. Brink wasn't widely recruited by BCS schools coming out of high school, and looked more like a cross-country runner than big-time QB when he first stepped foot in Pullman. While Brink wasn't the most gifted guy around, he did manage to get the most out of what he had.

But it is a new beginning in Pullman with Paul Wulff and offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy. The one-back offense implemented way back by Dennis Erickson and continued on with Mike Price is history, as WSU will implement a no-huddle offense with multiple looks. Senior QB Gary Rogers finally gets a shot after backing up Brink the last three years. But despite being a senior, Rogers hasn't been on the field a whole lot, attempting just 16 passes last year in mop-up duty. Rogers has the tools NFL scouts dream of, a huge guy at 6-7, 235, surprisingly mobile for a guy his size, and blessed with an absolute rocket of a right arm. But will he fit with the new offense? As the backup last year, Rogers was just about the most popular guy on the team among fans who dreamed of seeing the next Drew Bledsoe or Ryan Leaf (the college version anyway). We'll see if the "brinkhaters" were right about Rogers.

JONATHAN STEWART, RB, OREGON

After starting off his career as a flashy player but not quite breaking through, Jonathan Stewart exploded to a school record 1722 rushing yards last year. Stewart was fast, physical and fit perfectly in the new read option offense employed by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Maybe the most impressive thing about Stewart was not just his rushing totals, but even with 280 rushing attempts, he still averaged 6.2 yards per carry. That, my friend, is big time.

There is a decent pool of candidates to replace Stewart, but most likely it will be a committee approach vs. just one feature guy. Senior Jeremiah Johnson gets his shot after generally playing the understudy to Stewart the last several seasons. But while Johnson played well last year, he is coming off a torn ACL suffered midway through 2007. Reports are good thus far on his progress, but we will see how he holds up. Junior Andre Crenshaw came off the bench for 414 yards and five TD's last year, and he should get plenty of carries. But the big wildcard here is JC transfer LeGarrette Blount. Blount is a 6-2, 235lb monster of a tailback who enrolled early and impressed everyone in Oregon's spring game. Some have said he looks a lot like Washington's Corey Dillon, the former Husky great who ran around and through Pac 10 defenses.

This is strong group of backs who will try to fill Stewart's shoes, but it will be difficult to replace his outstanding production.

YVENSON BERNARD, RB, OREGON STATE

Easily one of the most overlooked players in the Pac 10 the last several years, Yvenson Bernard simply got the job done at Oregon State. Bernard turned in another outstanding season last year with 1214 yards and 13 TD's, once again finishing in the upper half of the Pac 10. Even more, Bernard's production last year was especially good considering the QB situation at OSU. The Beavers were breaking in two new starters in Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao, and neither guy excelled as they split a lot of the snaps early on. In fact, the two QB's combined to throw 21 interceptions compared to just 11 touchdowns. Every week Bernard faced defenses designed to take him out of the game, yet time and again he got the job done with seven 100+ yard games.

Oregon State will attempt to fill his slot with a stable of replacements, led by true frosh Jacquizz Rodgers and redshirt frosh Ryan McCants. Jacquizz's older brother, sophomore James Rodgers, burst onto the scene last year with 586 rushing yards as a speedy compliment to Bernard. But James Rodgers is actually a wide receiver, and the vast majority of his carries came on motion sweeps from the WR spot. Both McCants and Jacquizz Rodgers will share the load, and the good news is both have looked strong in camp. But neither guy has a division I carry, so you have to wonder what will happen in actual game situations.

Sort of like rival Oregon, the Beavers also have a decent group of candidates to try and fill a departed rushing star in Bernard. But it will not be an easy task to make up for what they have lost.

Pac 10 Preview: Shoe Filling Time originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac 10 Preview: The Dregs

Sean Hawkins — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:09:00 EST

Filed under: Stanford, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10

So we come to the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. The less-than-mediocre,
the outhouse, bottom-feeders, however you want to word it is fine. It is what it is.
And in the Pac 10, the climb out of Dregs-ville can be a long, slow, steady incline
vs. the hope of quickly sprinting up the ladder. Of course there is always hope for
the Dregs, but reality usually hits once things get going as the season rolls on.
With that, we present the Dregs of the Pac 10.

WASHINGTON HUSKIES

It is hard not to like the future of Jake Locker. Big, strong, and exceptionally gifted, Locker has a set of tools rarely seen at the quarterback position. But Locker isn't all the way there, at least not yet. While he was fantastic as a running QB last year, nearly turning in a 1,000-yard season (986), throwing the ball was another matter. Locker completed a conference-low 47% of his pass attempts last year, and his QB rating of 105 placed him only ahead of Tavita Pritchard among Pac 10 passers. The worry for UW is the talent around Locker. While there is promise among a group of youngsters in Anthony Boyles, Devin Aguilar, Curtis Shaw and others, seven of the top eight receivers from last year have graduated. Factor in the loss of Louis Rankin, the first UW running back to top the 1,000-yard mark since 1997, and you can see there could be some serious growing pains early.

Defensively, UW was a mess last year. 446 yards allowed per game in '07, only the worst in school history. But UW didn't sit still, firing defensive coordinator Kent Baer and bringing in former NFL coordinator Ed Donatell. But while the buzz so far has been positive on the new defensive look, there are still some big holes. The defensive line is young and inexperienced, and now we have word that leading tackler EJ Savannah is out for the time being with academic issues. Factor into everything the schedule, which includes an opener at Oregon, plus out-of-conference matchups against BYU, Oklahoma and Notre Dame? And five Pac 10 road games to boot? It looks like another year down the ladder for UW.

STANFORD CARDINAL

I know, we should probably lay off Harbaugh's heroes after last year's shocker over USC. Couldn't that victory have carried them out of the bottom region of the conference? After all, Stanford did improve from 1-11 in 2006 to 4-8 in 2007. Is it outside the realm of possibility that Harbaugh and company could squeeze out a few more wins and approach bowl-eligibility?

Well, anything is possible. The Cardinal do boast big-play WR Richard Sherman, a physical 6-3 specimen who led the team in receiving yards, yards per catch and TD's. The QB situation is still unsettled, and a starter will have to emerge from the group of Tavita Pritchard, Michigan transfer Jason Forcier, or true frosh phenom Andrew Luck from Texas. But overall the offense is a major work-in-progress. 102nd running the ball, 105th in scoring offense, and overall, 107th in the nation in total offense. That's good for "bottom ten" in the country.

The defense should be improved, as nine starters return. The defensive line is experienced, and middle linebacker Clinton Snyder is a force inside, racking up 96 tackles to go with a team-high eight sacks. But like the offense, there isn't anywhere to go but up for the defense. 107th against the pass, 98th in total defense.

The schedule will probably keep Stanford down in 2008. Combine all their offensive and defensive issues with the idea that they have seven road games this year, well, it's not a stretch to expect another four-win season. But Harbaugh has them pointed in the right direction. The down times may not last much longer.

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

It is a new era in Pullman. Favorite son Paul Wulff has returned to his old stomping grounds, ready to change the culture in Pullman where losing had become acceptable and hard work not necessarily the norm.

Wulff has his work cut out for him. QB Alex Brink is gone, the passing yardage and total offense leader in the conference last year. Brink graduates WSU as not only the leading passer in school history, but the only WSU QB ever to beat UW three times as a starter. Senior Gary Rogers finally gets his shot after serving as Brink's understudy the last few years, but there is a real unknown element here. Rogers has had very little in-game experience in his career, and was just 4-for-16 for 18 yards in limited duty last season. With a brand new no-huddle offense installed by Wulff, it could be a bumpy ride early on for the new regime.

Rogers will have some weapons however, as both Dwight Tardy and Chris Ivory are back to share the load at running back. The offensive line looks solid with four returning starters, but best of all, top WR Brandon Gibson returns for his senior year. Gibson flirted with the NFL last year, but decided to stay for one more shot at improving his draft stock. Gibson led the Pac 10 in receiving yards, yards per catch and yards per game, the only Pac 10 receiver last year to average at least 100 yards per game (107).

The defense leaves a lot to be desired. The Cougs were 93rd against the pass, 97th in scoring defense and 85th in total defense, giving up 418 yards per game. Andy Mattingly is a potential breakout star for 2008, as he moves to defensive end. Mattingly had a team-high 91 tackles and eight sacks last year, and is the biggest impact defensive player on the roster. All told, eight of the top nine tacklers are back from last season, so improvement is expected.

The schedule is unkind. 13 games total, with just one bye in the middle of the season. They open with Oklahoma State in Seattle, then host Cal. Later in the month Oregon comes to town. With a lack of depth all around and a new effort to change the culture, it could be a long, tough first season for Paul Wulff.

Pac 10 Preview: The Dregs originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pac 10 Preview: 2007 Recap

Sean Hawkins — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:38:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Pac 10

As the 2008 season approaches, fans are officially in preview mode. Everyone, everywhere, has their thoughts on the upcoming season of Pac 10 football. Now it's time for FanHouse to weigh in. And what better place to start than to look back at the biggest stories from 2007.

Most Ridiculous Moment

Have you heard the one about the 41-point underdog, on the road against mighty USC, yet somehow managing to win the game? Talk about ridiculous, but seriously, it happened. And there's some juicy back story here too. Seems that Stanford's hot shot new coach, Captain Comeback Jim Harbaugh, started a mini war of words between himself and the rockstar of rockstars, Pete Carroll. Harbaugh even floated a not-so-secret rumor making the rounds that Carroll wouldn't mind a return to the NFL. Who is this rookie Pac 10 coach to say such things? Carroll will keep his foot on the gas pedal from kickoff to QB kneel-down. They might as well not even get off the bus. Stanford will be fed to the lions in front of 90,000 blood-thirsty fans in the Coliseum.

Wait, there's more. USC played uninspired football the week before, only beating Washington by three points in Seattle. The win actually dropped them from number one to number two in the polls. Surely they would use that slight as even more motivation against Harbaugh. Meanwhile, Stanford was just 1-3 on the season and coming off an absolute beating from ASU, 41-3, in Palo Alto.

Well, funny thing happened on the way to the guaranteed blowout. It never materialized. Despite USC out-gaining Stanford 459-235 in total offense, the Trojans were sloppy this evening in LA, turning the ball over five times to just once for the plucky Cardinal. Stanford hung around and hung around, and finally topped USC 24-23 on a last-minute TD pass. The stunner of all stunners, USC fans are still sifting through the wreckage of this moment that clearly defines the term ridiculous.

Most Disappointing

Whether or not you are a fan of Oregon, it's hard to get past what happened to their 2007 season. The Quack Attack were a legit BCS title game contender as late as the 10th game of the season, sitting at number two in the BCS polls. They were 8-1 and just three wins away from a date with destiny, but it all amazingly fell apart on one simple play against Arizona. Dennis Dixon went one way, his knee stayed planted in the Arizona Stadium turf, and that was it.

Oregon would go on to not only lose against Arizona that evening, but also lose the rest of their regular season games, forced to swallow the bitter pill that is the Sun Bowl in El Paso. Not that the Sun Bowl is the worst thing in the world. But when you are a few wins away from playing for the national title, well, you can imagine what fans were feeling when the bowl pairings were announced. Oregon did get up off the mat, however, and took out their frustrations by steamrolling South Florida 56-21 in one of the biggest blowouts of the bowl season. But Oregon fans will always wonder what could have been if Dennis Dixon stayed healthy.

Most Improved

When ASU suffered through another mediocre 7-6 season in '06, enough was enough for Sun Devil fans. Here you had a program in Tempe, with great weather, excellent facilities, the Phoenix media market, the list just goes on and on. But the football program couldn't take the next step. Then AD Lisa Love relieved Dirk Koetter of his job, and stunned many by going out and landing the ultimate hired gun, Dennis Erickson, away from Idaho. The Sun Devils are now poised for a new era of sucess on the football field.

How's it working out so far? Not too shabby. ASU broke through to a 10-3 record in 2007, including their first Co-Pac 10 title since 1996. QB Rudy Carpenter had a breakout season with over 3200 yards and 25 TD passes. Even though ASU was blasted in the Holiday Bowl by Texas, there is major momentum building behind the Sun Devils, as fans and alumni have cleary caught the Erickson excitement. The honeymoon is still on in Tempe.

Biggest Fraud

Through the first five games of 2007, the Berkeley Bears of Cal were as good as anyone in the country. They opened the year by getting some revenge against Tennessee at home to make up for an embarrassing wipeout in Knoxville to open 2006. But even more impressive was Cal's road win at Oregon in week five, a victory that had them sitting at number two in the rankings. Even better, Cal was actually poised to take the top spot in the polls the following week when USC was shocked by Stanford. All they had to do was beat a reeling Oregon State team in Berkeley, and Cal would be number one.

But Cal blew their chance when backup QB Kevin Riley suffered a brain lock against the Beavers, failing to stop the clock at the end of regulation when a short field goal could have sent the game into overtime. Had Cal won that game, not only would they have been number one the following day, they would have been the first Cal team to be 6-0 in 57 years. But it was not to be.

The season spiraled down the drain from that point forward, as Cal would lose five of their last six regular season games, including a blowout loss to Washington and to Stanford for the first time in six seasons. Cal did circle the wagons to win the Armed Forces Bowl over Air Force. But considering where they were halfway into the season compared to where they finished, it's hard to argue against Cal as the biggest fraud of 2007.

Best Player

Not such an easy choice here, and there are a lot of different ways this could go. How do you define best player? Oregon's Jonathan Stewart was the best running back, running for 1722 yards and 11 TD's. Yet when they lost QB Dennis Dixon, Oregon's season fell apart. ASU QB Rudy Carpenter led the Devils to 10 wins, but after starting the year 8-0, ASU did go 2-3 to close the season, including losses to USC and Oregon. Oregon's Nick Reed led the conference in tackles for loss (22 1/2) and sacks (12), but was he the best player? QB John David Booty led USC to an 11-2, Rose Bowl winning season, but he missed three games due to injury and, oh by the way, tossed four interceptions in that horrible loss to Stanford. USC Linebacker Rey Maualuga gets a ton of ink for his huge hits and intimidating style, but his numbers, while strong, weren't out of this world with 79 tackles and six sacks. Of course Maualuga has first-round NFL talent in front of him, next to him and behind him, so it's hard to separate yourself from the pack with pure stats.

But all that out of the way, let's go with QB Dennis Dixon. Through the first nine games of 2007, nobody was better in the conference. Dixon led the Pac 10 with a fantastic 161.2 passer efficiency rating, completing over 67 percent of his passes. He threw 20 TD's to only 4 interceptions. Dixon was also a threat on the ground in the new spread read-option offense, rushing for 583 yards and nine more TD's. But the biggest proof is what happened to Oregon after Dixon went down on that fateful night in Tucson. Oregon couldn't rally without Dixon, their MVP and legit Heisman candidate, and a season of dreams disappeared.

Pac 10 Preview: 2007 Recap originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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