The Pac-10 Apostle

An Ugly Weekend in LA

2007-10-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Man, I don't think it's possible to have two worse losses on the same day in the same city. First USC blows its season to the lowly Cardinal, then the Bruins go and give the Irish their first win, thanks in no small part to seven(!) turnovers. To make matters worse, both starting quarterbacks got hurt. Ben Olson tore a knee ligament and John David Booty broke the middle finger on his throwing hand. The backup situation is much brighter at USC however, where wunderkind Mark Sanchez lies in wait. The Bruins have McLeod (no, not Connor) Bethel-Thompson, who just like you, no one else has ever heard of either. At least they hadn't heard of him until he gifted a two-touchdown win to a pathetic 0-5 team that only racked up 140 yards of total offense. UCLA gets a week off to prepare Bethel-Thompson for the Cal game on the 20th, but the Trojans already have Sanchez practicing with the first team for Saturday's game.

At least Arizona State still has some life in them. They're now 6-0 after escaping the Palouse with a last minute 23-20 victory, despite Alex Brink's best efforts. Rudy Carpenter is playing a lot closer to his 2005 form than 2006 and Ryan Torain continues to be a weapon out of the backfield. Oh yeah, that Dennis Erickson fellow probably has something to do with it too.

Things are a little less rosy down south, where Willie Tuitama is putting up big numbers, but not getting results. Willie is second in the conference in passing yards and TDs, but the Wildcats are dead last in rushing yards and 109th in the country. In their 31-16 loss to Oregon State, Arizona averaged .3 yards per carry. .3! Everyone is still waiting for Mike Stoops to turn this team around. Things don't get any easier, as they have to travel to LA and face an angry USC team.

Did that just happen?

2007-10-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

Really?? It did? USC just lost to this guy?

Guess I picked a bad day to debut the new look. Just in case you haven't heard, the last two weeks of the college football season have pretty much been the craziest ever. From the week four AP poll, #1 USC, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Florida, #5 West Virginia, #7 Texas, #9 Wisconsin and #10 Rutgers have all seen their bids for undefeated seasons come to an end. Week six was supposed to be "Gut Check Saturday," and USC, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Florida evidently all need to visit their gastroenterologist. Kudos to you, College Football, for another great Saturday. We'll be back later with a recap of the Pac-10's weekend. Also, leave your comments on the new design.

We're coming back soon

2007-08-13T08:40:00.001-07:00

I promise...

And Stanford Weasels Their Way In

2007-03-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

Boy, are the Cardinal lucky. Syracuse, Drexel and Air Force all missed making the cut, but Stanford's 18 wins were enough to get them in. Granted, it's only an 11 seed and they have to play Louisville in Kentucky (How did that happen?), but they still have a chance. Bruins have to be bummed they are only a 2 seed, but if you lose two in a row to end the season, you can't be too upset you missed that #1 seed. Oregon and WSU are both 3 seeds, while Arizona somehow managed to fanagle an 8 seed out of the selection committee. The Wildcats are talented, but only went 8-9 down the stretch and were only winning close games. Thought they would get lower, now if they make it past Purdue, they have to play Florida. Good luck. The biggest shocker to me though, was USC getting a 5 seed, despite getting destroyed by Oregon in the Pac-10 Tourney finale. Thought they were going to be a 7 or 8, so the 5 is a nice surprise. Until you realize that 12s beat 5s all the time, and that is the seed USC got. Yay. But, as long as they can beat Arkansas, they have a shot at playing Texas and getting revenge on the Longhorns for having Vince Young a year ago.

Pac-10 Tourney

2007-03-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

We're a little late to the party on covering this, though we have been watching the tournament. Still can't believe UCLA lost to Cal(!) on Thursday, but evidently they needed a wakeup call. Ayinde Ubaka led the charge at the end of the fourth quarter and in overtime with 29 points for the Bears. UCLA could have avoided the loss if they had made their free throws. They had 29 attempts, but only made 15, which is a terrible performance for anyone, let alone a national championship contender. The loss also means they probably lost their shot at a 1 seed, since Ohio State, Kansas, Wisconsin, Memphis and Florida are all still alive in their conference tournaments. Being a 2 seed is a nice consolation prize though.

As for some of the other games, Arizona probably shouldn't have lost by 19 to the Ducks, but they allowed Oregon to make 11 threes and couldn't make their own shots. I will be shocked if the Wildcats are higher than a 10 seed and wouldn't be surprised to see them bow out in the first round.

Oregon though, has been a pleasant surprise lately. After losing five of their first six games in February, they rebounded to beat the Cougars roll off another four straight wins. They manhandled Arizona and Cal, and have a chance to win the Pac-10 for the first time since riding the Lukes to the 2003 championship.

Speaking of 2003, the 2007 championship will be a rematch of the 2003 final, as Oregon will again play USC. The Trojans, who upset the Cougars last night, appear to have regained their early season form, at least for the time being. After going to OT against Stanford to start the tournament, USC had a much more impressive game against WSU. Gabe Pruitt was unstoppable for the Trojans, as he scored 26 points and made six of his seven three-point attempts. The defense was also there, as they held WSU to 36% from the floor.

This afternoon's game will be exciting. Oregon and USC both need wins to move up their seeding in the tournament. USC will either become the first team to lose the Pac-10 Tournament three times, or the sixth team in as many years to win it. A win could also move USC up to a 5 seed, which means they would probably lose to some lowly 12 in the first round. So for their sake, let's hope they only get a 6 and watch someone else flame out in the tournament's traditional upset spot. Oregon could also get a bump in seed if they win decisively.

So my seeding predictions if Oregon wins:

2 - UCLA
3 - Oregon
4 - WSU
8 - USC
11 - Arizona

And when USC actually does win:

2 - UCLA
4 - WSU
4 - Oregon
6 - USC
11 - Arizona

Enjoy the finale!

Trojans Down, Wildcats Up

2007-03-06T01:33:00.000-08:00

Not a good week for the Trojans. With a chance to move up to a 4 or 5 seed, USC tanked both its games in the Apple State. The Huskies downed them easily on Thursday in Seattle, thanks to the long range bombing of Ryan Appleby. They kept it close in Pullman on Saturday, going to a pair of overtimes before losing by two points to the Cougars. If USC had managed to keep Aron Baynes from making a shot just once, they could have won. But, he made all 10 of his shots and USC drops from the rankings yet again this season.

Washington had a great week. They destroyed USC and followed that surprise with an even bigger upset of #2 UCLA. And they looked good doing it. The Bruins shot only 31% from the field and the Huskies outrebounded them by 14. That was enough of a showing to even get a vote or two in the AP poll this week.

Even with the loss to UW, UCLA more or less locked up a #1 seed this weekend with the win over WSU. As long as they don't get embarrassed in the Pac-10 tourney, the Bruins will have themselves a favorable draw in the NCAA tourney.

Arizona probably locked up a spot in the tourney with their two victories this weekend, and much like UCLA, need to keep up the pace in the conference tourney to get the seed they want.

Oregon's Not Done Yet

2007-02-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to see them win after allowing the Cougs to shoot a mere 53% from the field while getting outrebounded. But, when you force twice as many turnovers as you commit and hit twice as many threes, its not as surprising. Aaron Brooks wasn't very sharp, but Tajuan Porter came up big yet again with 21 points and four three-pointers. Oregon needed the win to show their season wasn't over yet, while WSU needed it to show the selection committee they are a 2 seed. And now we know WSU isn't a 2 seed. In less important but still interesting games, Wazzu eventually beat the Beavers and Oregon outlasted the Huskies. Both SoCal teams swept the NorCal teams and the Wildcats barely topped the Sun Devils.

WSU gets a chance to redeem themselves this week with games against USC and UCLA, easily the best games of the week in the Pac-10.

2007-02-21T23:31:00.000-08:00

Big games in Eugene and Los Angeles tonight. The Trojans and Cardinal fight for third place in the Pac-10, while the Cougs come to McArthur to see if the Ducks can shake out of their slump. You know, now that I think about it, Oregon's basketball struggles this season seem eerily parallel to their football problems too. Win a few games early (one of which is a close game against one of the best teams in the country), get ranked pretty high and look like a great team, then watch it all crumble as their supposed "leaders" (Dixon and Brooks) play terribly and lose lots of conference games down the stretch. What is in Eugene's water???

Ohio St and Florida both won yesterday, which means the Bruins probably won't get a chance to break into the top 3 this week.

Sad But True

2007-02-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

Still smarting over the USC loss to Arizona State. I only caught the last few minutes of the game, but wow what an embarrassing loss for the Trojans. ASU had lost 15 in a row and were 0-14 in conference play and USC was coming off a big win in Tucson. Then USC goes and loses to a team that barely breaks the top-200 in the Sagarin Ratings. Bravo, USC. Bravo. But, since Florida lost on Saturday and Wisconsin followed that up with a loss on Tuesday, it almost doesn't hurt as much. Then again, the Gators and Badgers didn't lose to one of the worst teams in the country. So it looks like USC still has something to prove in the conference tourney.

In other Pac-10 news, the Cougs went cradle robbing and got a verbal commitment from a 14 year old. Now they only have to wait four or five years for that investment to pay off. You would think a top-ten team would be able to at least recruit upperclassmen.

Weekly Recap

2007-02-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

Rough week for Arizona, losing to both USC and UCLA at home, after already losing both games they played in LA in January. Hell, it has been a rough 2007 for the Wildcats, who are only 6-8 since the calendar turned. This is a team that was as high as #7 before they began their tumble in the standings. But since beating then #20 Washington to start the new year, Arizona has gone 1-6 against ranked teams with their other two losses coming against the now ranked Cougar and Trojan squads. They have three games left and a chance to hit 20 regular season wins, but they'll have to knock off the suddenly impressive Cardinal on the road in their season finale to do it.

Speaking of Stanford, they are now fourth in the conference, ahead of both Oregon and Arizona, after a nice win against the Ducks. Brook Lopez had another nice game for the Cardinal with 26 points and 9 boards as Oregon continued their collapse. Aaron Brooks finally returned to form with 25 points on 10 of 19 shooting, after making less than 30% of his shots in the last five games. But he didn't get much help as Tajuan Porter was the only other Duck in double figures and the bench didn't contribute a single point. Just like Arizona, Oregon got as high as #7 in the polls, only to go 2-6 in their last eight games and may even fall out of the top 25 in this week's polls.

And finally, congratulations to Vandy for knocking off Florida. Gotta love it when an unranked team takes out the #1 team in all the land, especially when it's an SEC team. Congrats also to the Washington Huskies, who managed to lose to two top-ten teams by exactly the same score this week, 65-61. I am impressed by that consistency, but I would be more impressed if you actually ended this disappointing season with 20 wins. Of course, that means running the table and beating Oregon, USC and UCLA in the next two weeks. Impress me, I dare you.

Looks Like USC Is In A Little Trouble...

2007-02-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

So not only is the Reggie Bush house donation saga still continuing, now he may be improperly talking to potential recruits, specifically one Joe McKnight. Thanks, Reggie. Even if the NCAA does hand down a punishment upon USC, it evidently won't be very severe. Add to that the fact that basketball recruit OJ Mayo just got suspended three games for bumping a ref, and USC's recruiting is not looking too good this week. Fight on?

...............And We're Back

2007-02-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of updates, life has been busy lately. Anyways, football came back into the fold for one day, and it was once again important for USC. They signed ESPN's #1, #2 and #3 players in RB Joe McKnight, LB Chris Galippo and RB Marc Tyler and came away with yet another "recruiting title" from ESPN. Plus USC pulled it out without the services of recruiting czar Lane Kiffin, who is keeping himself busy trying to gain Randy Moss' respect, easily my favorite subplot of the offseason. The fine folks over at Rivals nearly agreed, as USC gets second place in their rankings behind the National Champion Florida Gators. Other Pac-10 teams didn't fare so well. The only other team in ESPN's Top 25 was Oregon at #23. Rivals put Oregon at #11 and Cal at #22. The SEC wins the conference recruiting title, as USC, Notre Dame and Texas are the only teams to make Rivals top 10 that are not from the SEC. ESPN only puts five SEC schools in their top 10. Either way you slice it, the SEC puts on a show when it comes to signing day.

Nice to see no 5-star players going to any Pac-10 school besides USC. And while I love seeing USC get great players, I just don't see how all of them figure they are going to play. I mean the Trojans had one of the great RB hauls in recent memory last year with Emmanuel Moody, Stafon Johnson, and CJ Gable and now they add the two best running backs in the country to the mix? I am guessing that means at least two backs have to transfer before the season starts and I'll put my money on Johnson transferring to UNLV, following in the footsteps of Eric Wright and Rocky Hinds. Seriously though, USC now has McKnight, Tyler, Moody, Johnson, Gable, Michael Coleman, Desmond Reed, Chauncey Washington and a few more guys you've never heard of. Plus, there are two other high schoolers (Malcolm Smith and Broderick Green) who accepted scholarships to be running backs this year. Does the rest of the conference combined even have this much RB talent? Which begs another question: how stupid are all the running backs at USC if they all think they're going to start? Good luck with that, Pete.

And It All Comes To An End...

2007-01-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well, with the Gators finally winning the long awaited national championship game, the football season comes to a close. USC ends the season #4, Cal at #14, and Oregon State at #21. Oregon and ASU were huge disappointments, OSU was a big surprise and USC and Cal finished just a little lower than expected. Now it's prepare for the draft season for all the graduating players, as well as underclassmen Marshawn Lynch, Dwayne Jarrett, Zach Miller and Chris Henry, who have all declared their intent to play in the NFL next season.

In addition to losing Jarrett, USC could potentially lose Pete Carroll as well. While on vacation in Costa Rica, Carroll met with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga. He didn't take the job, which says something because Huizenga is willing to "do anything" to make the Dolphins win. He says he's not leaving now, but we have already heard that from Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban in the last couple of weeks. Huizenga is one of the few owners who would give Carroll total control over the team, but what has Carroll done to deserve that? He proved before that he's a mediocre NFL head coach and now he's suddenly qualified to draft players and work within the salary cap? Don't go pro yet Pete. You can still win a couple more national titles and go back to the NFL later to prove you weren't that bad. Besides, all the teams with head coaching vacancies aren't as close to a title as your Trojans.

In other news, Dirk Koetter has moved on. Now he's planning on continuing his run of mediocrity with a mediocre NFL team, as the offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Koetter takes over for former USC coach, Carl Smith. Koetter could have filled the same position at the University of Miami, but evidently the lure of the NFL is too strong, even for an unremarkable coach like Dirk.

R.I.P. Mario Danelo

2007-01-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

I was going to write something about the UCLA-Oregon game (How do they beat the #1 Bruins at home and lose to unranked USC at home?), but this story about Mario Danelo is more important. In the wake of the Denver Broncos losing Darrent Williams, tragedy now comes to the USC family. Danelo apparently fell from a rocky cliff and died earlier Saturday. Our condolences go out to the Danelo family.

Bowl Day in Review

2007-01-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

What a great day for college football, probably for Boise State more than anyone else. I still can’t believe they how they won the Fiesta Bowl. The hook and ladder to tie the game was one thing, but the Statue of Liberty to beat Oklahoma was simply amazing. I rewound the game about five times looking at how they pulled that off. Congratulations to the Broncos for pulling that win off. Their undefeated season will likely add more fuel to the fire over getting a playoff system in the “Bowl Subdivision,” though I can't imagine a mid-major would ever be good enough to win a playoff.

The Gator Bowl between Georgia Tech and West Virginia was another great game. Calvin Johnson really put on a show in the first half with 100-some receiving yards and a pair of TD catches to help give GT a 28-17 lead at the break. Of course, GT blew it all later when they allowed WVU to score 21 unanswered points in the third after opening the quarter with a TD drive. The Mountaineers scored their first TD on a a trick play where none of their offensive linemen moved after the snap. Of course, every GT defender was confused and Pat White found a wide open receiver for a 50 yard score. And naturally, after scoring more than 70 points in the first three quarters, no one scored in the fourth and WVU won.

So the Gator Bowl was exciting, through the first three quarters, and the Fiesta Bowl ended up being incredible, but the Rose Bowl was the game that most people were looking forward to watching. If you were a USC fan or Michigan hater, the Rose Bowl sure didn’t disappoint.

USC 32, Michigan 18
Just a dreadful start to this game. Neither team could score or move the ball in the first half and it was only 3-3 going into the third quarter. That was when the light went on for USC. Given how good the Michigan run defense had been, they abandoned the run and went balls to the wall with passes. Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith took over from that point and embarrassed the Wolverine secondary. Leon Hall was one of the better corners in college football this year and Jarrett made him look like a little girl with 205 receiving yards and a pair of TD catches. When Jarrett is healthy, he's the best receiver in the country not named Calvin Johnson. After watching Johnson have a monster game earlier in the day, it was nice to see Jarrett follow suit with the biggest game of his of his career. Now it looks like Jarrett can leave USC and compete with Johnson to be the first receiver taken, though Johnson will likely win that competition easily. (Note to Matt Millen and Detroit: Don't draft another receiver, even if it is someone as good as Johnson or Jarrett.) Smith also went over 100 yards with a TD and John David Booty ended up with almost 400 yards and four TDs. Of course, these kind of numbers are only possible if your O-line gives the quarterback time to throw. Sam Baker and Kyle Williams looked nothing like the tackles they were against UCLA, choosing this week to keep LaMarr Woodley and Co. at bay, which was the key to winning this game.

Aside from giving the Michigan defense a real pounding, USC's defense also made Mike Hart look ordinary. For the first time all year, he was held below 90 rushing yards and never had an impact on the game. He finished with only 47 yards and didn't make it to the end zone. But, the Wolverines did get some offense from Chad Henne, who threw for more than 300 yards for the first time all season and almost made the game interesting in the fourth quarter. But he and Steve Breaston proved to be too little, too late and Michigan couldn't come back from a 21 point deficit. The Trojan defense harassed Henne all day, with Brian Cushing leading the charge with a couple sacks and a forced fumble.

The Rose Bowl also wrapped up the bowl season for the Pac-10, which finished with a 3-3 record. Thankfully, our three best teams this season all won their games. Even though it was weak to watch Oregon, ASU and UCLA all lose by at least 17 points, Cal and USC were dominant in their games, while the Beavers won one of the more exciting bowl games with the gutsy 2 point conversion call. Not a horrible showing for the Pac-10, but it should have been better.

All in all, a very nice rebound from the December disappointment at the Rose Bowl. It also kept alive USC's streak of not losing back-to-back games for the last five years. A great season for the Trojans; we lost two Heisman Trophy winners and nine others to the NFL, watched our fullbacks get stricken with Ken Griffey/Fred Taylor disease, played the toughest schedule in the country and throttled a team in the Rose Bowl that many thought had earned a spot in the national championship game. Now, it's likely that USC will be ranked #1 to start next season. Fight on!

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

Everyone have a great start to '07. Enjoy all the bowl games, the Rose Bowl in particular. Best stat I think I have heard all year: USC hasn't allowed a TD play of more than 10 yards this season. Let's hope that continues today. Fight On!!!

The Granddaddy of Them All Preview

2006-12-31T10:50:00.000-08:00

Michigan vs USC (+1)
This is it. The last bowl game for the Pac-10, and a disappointment for both teams to be playing in it. The Trojans had pipe dreams of playing Ohio State in the national championship game, until they remembered they had to score on the Bruins if they wanted to make it there. The Wolverines were hoping to play the Buckeyes a second time, to see if Ohio State truly is the better team on a neutral field. Instead, Florida hopped into #2 and Michigan has to play USC in Pasadena as a consolation. Really, it’s the best consolation in college football, but neither team can win the national title this year which truly is anticlimactic. But for the rest of us, at least it’s the Pac-10 vs Big Ten in the Rose Bowl instead of seeing LSU or Notre Dame playing out here.

The Michigan Wolverines have a dangerous offense. Chad Henne doesn’t turn the ball over and isn’t afraid to spread it around either, with Mario Manningham and Steve Breaston being his favorite targets. But Mike Hart is the focal point of the Michigan offense. His 1500 rushing yards this season place him eighth in country, though he does have the lowest yards per carry of any back in the top 10. That said, he still averaged 5 ypc and he should get some holes to run through courtesy of Jake Long and the Wolverine O-line. That’ll give him the chance to meet Rey Maualuga and company at the second level. If Hart can get past them and into the Trojan secondary, USC will struggle to win this game. While Henne and Manningham can be a dangerous QB-WR duo, Michigan relies on their rushing attack much more. As long as USC can keep Hart from moving the chains too frequently, they can contain the Wolverine offense.

Michigan’s LaMarr Woodley and Alan Branch probably make up the best DE-DT tandem in the country. That’s the bad news for the Trojans and their offensive line. After seeing what UCLA’s DEs were capable of in USC’s final regular season game, Woodley must be chomping at the bit to go against Kyle Williams. But if USC can keep Booty from getting pressured too much, he shouldn’t have trouble finding Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett open down the field. The good news for USC is that Michigan’s defense can be scored upon if you have a good offense. All you have to do is look at the OSU game to see that. So even seeing how dominating Michigan’s run D was most of the season, a good offensive line can still open up holes and give the running backs room to break off some long runs. Sam Baker and Ryan Kalil will have to create space for Moody, Gable and Washington if they want to keep the Wolverine defense off balance.

As far as special teams go, Michigan doesn’t have the greatest special teams, but neither do the Trojans so we’ll consider this one a wash, though Troy Van Blarcom and his mad kickoff skillz will be missed.

So the greatest disappointment bowl of all time is about to happen. Michigan wants to prove it was cheated out of a spot in the title game and USC wants to prove it isn’t as bad as UCLA made them look. The Trojans also haven’t lost back to back games since the 2001 season. So come on Pete. Show us your stones and don’t let this streak end this season as well.

The Pick: USC (+1)

And yes, I am a homer, but I think USC should win.

Sun Bowl Recap (Mike Riley's Enormous Balls Edition)

2006-12-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

Oregon State 39, Missouri 38
Man, did that decision by Riley take some serious stugats. Going for two with less than a minute left. Make it and you win, miss it and you lose. Kudos to Riley for taking that chance and actually calling a play that made it to the endzone. A great end to a great comeback. It was a pretty incredible game to watch. More than 1,000 yards of offense, lots of points and plenty of big plays.

Tony Temple was the star of the game. With 194 rushing yards and 2 TDs, it was the best game of his career and he kept the Tiger offense going when Chase Daniel wasn't lighting up the Beaver secondary. Daniel had a nice game with 330 yards and a pair of TDs, plus the Tigers got another score on a double pass from TE Chase Coffman to put them up by 14 in the fourth quarter. The Beaver's coverage continually broke down and allowed plays like Coffman's pass, Danario Alexander's 74-yard TD catch and big runs from Tony Temple.

Thankfully for the Beavs, Matt Moore and Yvenson Bernard were up to scoring some points as well. Moore had 356 yards passing and four TDs plus a TD run and Bernard had 166 total yards and a score to lead the Beavers to victory. Once the Tigers took their 14 point lead and given how OSU had played up to that point, I figured the game was over. But Moore and Bernard proved me wrong. The Beavers feed Bernard the ball down the stretch, as he was the target on 9 of OSU's final 14 plays and also carried the ball into the endzone to get the two point conversion. The last two drives were pretty incredible. Only one third down, which wasn't converted and turned into a fourth down that was, and a great job by the receivers of getting open. When Joe Newton caught the touchdown pass to bring the Beavers within one, I assumed Riley would kick the extra point and go to overtime. Instead, Missou took a timeout and Riley decided to go for two and the win. I couldn't believe Riley would make such a ballsy call, but it worked when Bernard plowed over the goal line.

I also can't believe that Riley admitted to Sam Ryan after the game that Yvenson Bernard convinced him to go for two. What!? Like Jake over at Building the Dam, I wonder just what Bernard said to Riley that made him take that chance. I assume it was something about the pictures of Riley that Bernard has in his possession. A solid end to a solid season for the Beavers. Ended the Trojan's Pac-10 streak, won the Civil War and topped it off with a big bowl win. So congratulations Beavers! Your coach has some serious huevos and now the Pac-10 is one Rose Bowl away from a .500 bowl season. Now Pete Carroll needs to show us that he too has some rocks.

Sun Bowl Preview

2006-12-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

Missouri vs Oregon State (-3.5)
Let’s make it two in a row for the Pac-10! After seeing Cal destroy a Big 12 team yesterday, it’d only be right for OSU to drop another today. The Beavers have been on a pretty good streak, having won seven of their last eight games. The Tigers have done pretty much the opposite, losing four of their last six games.

Missouri has a very good offense, led by sophomore quarterback Chase Daniel. They finished 12^th in the country in total offense, though only 25^th in scoring. OSU is of course led by the enigmatic Matt Moore and finished 50^th and 42nd in those categories respectively. Tony Temple is a solid running back, as he average about 5 yards per carry. But Yvenson Bernard is more of a workhorse, as he had 100 more carries and twice as many touchdowns. Sammie Stroughter will provide the big plays for the Beavers receiving corps, as William Franklin fills the same role for the Tigers, albeit not as frequently as Stroughter.

Missouri has an above average D that can get to the quarterback and cause trouble in the backfield. OSU is even better, as they were fourth in the country in sacks and eighth in tackles for loss.

The Beavers have a huge edge on special teams, where Sammie Stroughter and Gerard Lawson are among the best in the country at returning kicks. That field position and/or TDs could be the difference against a solid Tiger defense.

In all four of their losses, the Tigers scored 20 or fewer points. Of course, the same can be said for OSU, who didn’t score more than 14 points in any of their losses. If the Beavs can contain Daniel with their pass rush and keep the touchdowns off the board, which has been commonplace for Missouri lately, they can win this game. I say Daniel gets hit more today than he has all season.

The Pick: OSU (-3.5)

Holiday Bowl Recap

2006-12-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

Cal 45, Texas A&M 10
Finally, a damn win for the Pac-10. After three sad showings from the Ducks, Sun Devils and Bruins, the Bears actually won a big game and showed the Big 12 what Pac-10 football is really about. Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett both ran for over 100 yards, Nate Longshore barely let a pass hit the ground and Desmond Bishop and Co. punished Stephen McGee and the rest of the Aggie offense.

I really thought that 275 pound Jorvorskie Lane was going to get more than seven carries for A&M, but evidently Dennis Franchione didn’t feel the same way. Cal is used to seeing quick tailbacks like Mike Goodson in the Pac-10, not Rosie O’Donnell-type beasts like Lane. So why did Goodson get twice as many carries? I don’t know. Lane never went down on the first hit and usually was dragging a couple Bears behind him before hitting the ground. But they leaned on Goodson and never tired the Cal defense enough to break off any big plays. Goodson ended up with 62 yards and Lane had 36, which wasn’t enough to set up much of a passing game. Cal’s defense didn’t dominate the Aggies’ offense, as they gave up 349 yards, but they limited the big plays and stopped A&M three times on fourth down. They also laid out some big hits, particularly on Stephen McGee, with Daymeion Hughes and Desmond Bishop doing the most damage. McGee popped right back up, but never could get the Aggies back into the endzone after scoring on their opening drive.

The big story was the Bear ground game, which totaled 241 yards and accounted for five of Cal’s six touchdowns. Lynch ended up with 20 carries for 111 yards and 2 TDs while Forsett had 124 yards and a score on only 8 attempts. Basically, the Bears offensive line ripped open huge holes in the Aggie “Wrecking Crew” and gave Longshore time to pick apart their secondary. He averaged almost 10 yards per pass and completed passes to eight different receivers in route to leading Cal to almost 500 yards of total offense. It was a quintessential beating, with 31 straight points to end the game. This is what Cal should have done against Tennessee. At least they saved some face for themselves and the Pac-10 with this game.

Holiday Bowl Preview

2006-12-28T15:04:00.000-08:00

Texas A&M vs Cal (-3)
I don't know how to say it more clearly, Cal must win this game! For the sake of the Pac-10, we cannot see the conference get shut out of the bowls. I realize that Tedford has come up short in almost every recent big game, but this is for more than just the Bear faithful, it's for the entire Pac-10. So please Coach, don't prolong the embarrassment.

As for the real preview, this should definitely be an interesting game. Cal's big play offense goes up against A&M's dominant running attack. Going by the numbers, the big difference between the teams is on defense. Where Cal's has good athletes but sub-par performance, the Aggies actually had a good defense. Of course, TAMU didn't play a very tough schedule and Cal did, so that probably distorts the numbers a little. Either way, the fact that the spread is only three points points to how close this game should be. So hopefully Lynch gets running lanes, Longshore doesn't get pressured, A&M throws at Daymeion Hughes and punts at DeSean Jackson. That'd pretty much guarantee a win for the Bears and the Pac-10.

The Pick: Cal (-3)

Emerald Bowl Recap

2006-12-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Florida Stage 44, UCLA 27
Thanks, UCLA. Another day, another Pac-10 loser. We now stand at a tremendous 0-3 in the postseason, with three bad losses to three teams we should have beaten. Even though Chris Markey ran through the Seminole defense like Charlie Weis goes through a box of donuts, the well-hyped DeWayne Walker and the Bruin defense couldn't stop the offensive machine that is commanded by lame duck coordinator Jeff Bowden. FSU had the 73rd ranked offense in the NCAA this year and evidently, that was more than enough to continually burn UCLA's 32nd ranked defense. The player responsible for most of that burning was tailback Lorenzo Booker, one of the few Seminoles that had actually been to California before this week. Booker is from Ventura County and needed 130 tickets for the game, and he surely didn't disappoint his friends and family. He accounted for half of FSU's offensive yards and a pair of TDs to lead the offensive charge. Drew Weatherford also had a solid game for the Seminoles. He hit the 300 yard passing mark for only the third time all season and after missing Greg Carr the first seven or so times he threw in his direction, finally began completing passes to him in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Of course, the blocked punt FSU returned 25 yards for a score as well as Cowan's terrible redzone pick-six didn't make it any easier for the Bruins to win. Chris Markey led UCLA with 144 rushing yards and reached the 1000 yard milestone for the season as the Bruins put an exclamation mark on another disappointing season. Now the Pac-10's hopes to get a bowl win this week rest on the shoulders of the conference's other ursine team.

Emerald Bowl Preview

2006-12-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Florida State vs UCLA (-4)
Can the Pac-10 finally win a freaking bowl game? I don't want to see the conference start out 0-3, but UCLA is just maddeningly average enough to leave San Francisco a loser. The Bruins are coming off quite a high note, but does that mean they can finish the season with a win? At least this game pits two disappointing teams against one another instead of a non-BCS school with something to prove. In fact, UCLA and FSU are surprisingly close matched. Both score somewhere around 20 points a game, are 79th and 80th in total offense, have pretty solid defenses and have below average quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. Seems like it should be quite an exciting game. Plus, its such an exclusive bowl that both teams will be sharing the sidelines! Maybe the Seminoles can bring a little of the UM-FIU fire with them to the Bay and bring some thrills to the poor souls who have to watch this game.

The Pick: UCLA (-4)

Hawaii Bowl Recap

2006-12-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good Christmas, because Dirk Koetter sure didn't.

Hawaii 41, Arizona State 24
Guess Dirk Koetter didn't want to have anything to lord over Lisa Love. And any time your defense gives up almost 700(!) yards, you don't get bragging rights. Colt Brennan went berserk, throwing for 559 yards and 5 TDs to set the records for passer rating(185.96) and TDs(58) in a single season. He also has the second most passing yards and is only the third player to ever top the 5000 yard mark. Besides those marks, Warriors receiver Jason Rivers had 14 catches for 308 yards and 2 TDs and Ryan Grice-Mullen also topped 100 yards with a pair of TD receptions.

In short, it was a dismal showing for ASU. If Koetter wasn't a lame duck heading into this game, the Sun Devil faithful would be calling for his head now. Even though ASU had the lead at halftime, they let Hawaii score the next 24 points and put the game out of reach. Even with 200 rushing yards and a 70 yard advantage in penalty yardage, ASU couldn't stop Hawaii's run and shoot. Every time Brennan threw the ball, it went for a first down. Just a sad day for another outmatched Pac-10 defense as Koetter finishes his ASU career with another loss in a big game.

Hawaii Bowl Preview

2006-12-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

Arizona State vs Hawaii (-7)
This is Dirk Koetter's final game as the head coach at Arizona State. After an up and down season, the Sun Devils are hoping to give Koetter two big wins to end his ASU career. After surprisingly beating Arizona in Tucson, Koetter now has a chance to win his third straight bowl game with ASU. The Sun Devil offense was pretty disappointing this season, though Koetter did finally find some magic with a running attack in the second half of the year. That's what got Koetter fired though: not being able to meet expectations. Of course, switching starting quarterbacks at the last second doesn't exactly set you up for success. But none of that matters now, it's all about this Christmas Eve game. Rudy Carpenter and Ryan Torain both had big days against the Wildcats and should be able to continue that success against the Warriors.

Hawaii ended the season on a sour note. After winning nine games in a row, the Warriors were stopped in Honolulu by Oregon State. It was the first time in ten games that they were held under 40 points. Of course, ASU also got to play the Beavers this year and were absolutely pasted by them. I'd be remiss to not mention the staggering numbers that Hawaii QB Colt Brennan has put up this season. 4990 yards, 72.1% completion rate, 53 TDs to only 11 INTs and a quarterback rating of 182.8. Just unreal. I mean he passed for 400 yards and 2 TDs against OSU and it was a bad game for him. June Jones just does crazy stuff out there in the Pacific. With another big game, Brennan can set the single season TD and passer rating records and come close to BJ Symons' passing yards record.

So who has the advantage? Well, Hawaii has the amazingly effective gimmicky offense (#1 in scoring and total yards) and ASU gives up a lot of points. Meanwhile, Hawaii has a terrible defense but ASU only has a slightly above-average offense. I think ASU keeps it close. I don't know if they have enough to keep pace with the Warriors (ASU only scored 40 twice this year) if Carpenter can't get the ball to his receivers. But, if Torain and the Sun Devil ground attack have a big game, they can keep Hawaii's offense off the field and keep the score down. Besides, Dirk Koetter has to want to stick in Lisa Love's face just a little, doesn't he?

The Pick: Arizona State (+7)

Merry Christmas!!