Clay Helton Will Fight On at USC

The premier program on the West Coast has a head coach in Clay Helton. The Trojan powers removed the interim coach tag on Monday. He is exactly what the Trojan football program right now. He'll bring no off field drama like their last two coaches did, however the focus will return to the playing field....

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The Civil War: Oregon and Oregon State

It's Civil War week for the state of Oregon. Does anybody care? If you are outside the state, probably not, but if you are inside the state or an alumni of either school then you do. It's been a pretty lopsided rivalry game in the last eight years in favor of the Ducks, but what is expected this year? More of the same unfortunately if you are a Beaver fan...


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Disappointment in the Desert for Arizona State

When the 2015 season was approaching in July and August many people looked at the Arizona State Sun Devils as a team that could challenge for the Pac-12 title and for some, they saw a college football playoff berth. Well, things don't always work out the way you want them to.


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What Should the USC Trojans Do?

It's been a year of drama for the USC Trojan football program and they are looking like they are coming out of the malaise of the Steve Sarkisian problems from earlier in the season. One of the questions that they have to answer won't come until the season is done... What to do with their head coach position.


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Put a Fork in the Pac-12 Conference

Year two of the college football playoff and it will not include anybody from the Pac-12. With Stanford and Utah losing on Saturday night the conference effectively "ate its own" and disqualified itself from the playoff in 2015. What does the conference need to do now? Do they need to make changes?


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The Mess at Missouri

Gary Pinkel and his football team made a statement in the racial mess at the University of Missouri, but in the end, does that solve anything on Mizzou's campus? The President and Chancellor of Missouri are out of a job. Now what? What's the next step in the process of helping the school recover from the racial mess?


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Bobby Hurely Era Begins at Arizona State

Anytime a new coach comes in there is a ton of excitement, but when the new coach is Bobby Hurley, former Duke Blue Devil, and two time national champion, the expectations are higher than usual. After seeing Hurley's new team at Arizona State, there is a lot of work to be done for Coach Hurley and his basketball program...


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Trojans Trounce Sun Devils

When the big boys of college football come to your town, everything feels different. From the cost of parking, trash talking between fan bases, and the tension in the stadium, the atmosphere surrounding the Arizona State vs USC Trojans was electric...


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Arizona State: Game Prep

It's that time college football fans. Season is about two weeks away, teams are gearing up, game planning for their season openers, and fans are getting on their respective bandwagons. In Tempe, Arizona, Sun Devil fans have a great deal of anticipation for the 2015 season. They have a phenomenal team returning and expectations are high....


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Distraction at Arizona State

Coaches hate distraction in any form whether it's on the field or off the field. Anything that takes away from the coaches ability to properly get his team ready to play is something that a football coach or any coach is not interested in. Well, distraction has reared it's ugly head in Tempe. How does Head Coach Todd Graham handle this?


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Pac 12 Media Day Thoughts

Pac-12 Media Days have come and gone for the conference. What did we learn? What didn't we learn? These media days are really nothing more than 2 days of hype and optimism for coaches and the players that they bring with them. We learned that the media likes...


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The UCLA Quarterback Will Be...?

In a year of transition for many college football programs in 2015 two of the most interesting reside here in the Pac-12. The changes that have curiosity to them in the conference are at Oregon and UCLA. Oregon has the idea that whenever Vernon Adams makes it to campus that he will be the guy behind center. It's a little different in Westwood. In arguably the toughest division in college football, the Pac-12 South, UCLA appears to like TRUE freshman Josh Rosen to start for them and that could be a great thing or a not so great thing.


Anybody that follows, coaches, or watches football knows that starting young, inexperienced players can be frustrating. They miss blocks, run through the wrong hole, commit penalties, and the list goes on and on. However, the reward is that as they attain that experience through the season they get better and coaches are willing to deal with the mistakes, so that sets them up for the following season with an experienced team. No position on the field is this inexperience more on display than at the quarterback position. It's a dicey proposition, quarterbacks make the calls at the line, shift protections, change the play,  and have to read the defense all in the span of about 10-15 seconds. Having freshman quarterbacks can make a coach look real smart or look like he doesn't know what he's doing because he is dealing with a steep learning curve with a young player at quarterback.


Enter Josh Rosen, freshman quarterback at UCLA. He is a true freshman, not a redshirt freshman who has had a year to soak up the play book, learned how to navigate campus and find time to complete their class studies.


At the completion of the 2014 season and seeing long time starter Brett Hundley jump to the NFL most people had the train of thought that Jerry Neuheisel who started in place of Hundley when he was hurt, would be the most logical replacement. Neuheisel certainly has the savvy to take the position, but as they went through spring ball it became apparent that the Bruin coaching staff was going to give Rosen an honest look and reps with the team. If it is indeed Rosen who gets the nod at quarterback, the coaching staff is not giving into the pressure of naming a starting quarterback until the very last minute. Seeing how they are handling Rosen, most people believe it is going to be him.


Rosen wants nothing to do with some big announcement on the topic. He just wants to go out and help his team win. "Honestly, whoever starts, we're all going to be supremely confident in them because if they win the job, they won the job for a reason. They are going to be the best man for the job." Rosen said during spring practices.


The last few years the question about the quarterback position have not been an issue because of the steady play of Brett Hundley. Hundley threw for over 9,000 yards, got the Bruins a south division title, two bowl victories, but could not lead the Bruins to their first Pac-12 title since 1998. The next quarterback, probably Josh Rosen gets that task. A daunting one considering the division that they are in is extremely tough, plus the conference overall is a gauntlet of deadly Saturday afternoons.


One thing about Josh Rosen that is sticking out besides all the physical tools is his mental make-up and how he is handling everything that is being thrown at him by the coaches. If he has this great mentality of handling pressure situations, then the Bruins and their fans could be in for a rebirth, but lets pump the brakes on crowning him the "next coming" of quarterback for right now. He still has to be named a starter and take snaps on a Saturday afternoon with an opposing defense that wants to take his head off.


"For a young guy, he has such great composure of what's going on around him and great understanding of all the moving parts and how they work." Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone commented recently.


With praise like this from the offensive coordinator, it is no wonder why people around the program expect Josh Rosen to be named the starter at some point in the very near future. Rosen is concentrating on feeling more comfortable each and everyday and has even mentioned Brett Hundley in reference to that feeling of trying to feel comfortable.


"Brett was a starter for three years and I bet, each and everyday, he felt more comfortable." Rosen explained.


In Westwood, the fans want a conference title, yesterday. They don't want to feel like the little brother to USC. They want success and they want continued success. For that to happen they need a quarterback that is top level. Is Josh Rosen THAT guy? Is he ready for that responsibility? Time will tell, but by all accounts he wants that pressure on his shoulders. Let's watch and see...


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Isaac Seumalo: Best Lineman You May Not Know About

Sometimes when somebody just does their job and does it well, people don't notice. Which is a shame, but for Isaac Seumalo he just may prefer it that way. Playing football in Corvallis for Oregon State tends to hide some of that noticeability. However, people outside of the Beaver football team are taking notice. Ever since Seumalo stepped on campus at Oregon State he has been a big presence, literally...


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Washington Huskies: Return of The Dawgs?

When I was growing up you could count on a few things in life. First, you could always watch "Looney Tunes" on a Saturday morning, "The Love Boat" on a Friday night, and knowing that the Washington Huskies would be reigning supreme in the Northwest and the Pac-12 in football. The "Dawgs" as everybody in the Northwest called them were the premier program in the region. Rose Bowls after Rose Bowls, conference titles, and even a National Championship were the norm and what was expected. Anything less was viewed as failure. Oh, how have times changed.


The Huskies are not the "team" in the Northwest anymore. To most of the alumni, their rival in Eugene is now the team in the region. That alone drives Husky fans up the wall. They hate the Duck program with a passion and with every win over the Huskies, every Rose Bowl, or National Championship appearance, that hatred grows deeper. What has happened to the once mighty Husky program?


One thing that has happened is that they are not recruiting the type of players it takes to sustain dominance like they had. Don James, the old Husky Head Coach built a fence around the state of Washington and the Northwest and all the great players were coming to him. With his Rose Bowl appearances, Don James could also get his hands on some of Southern California's best talent and that added to the dominance of the program. When you dominate, you win, so the recruits come to you. Now, Chris Peterson, the current Husky Head Coach has to fight very hard to keep the best Washington recruits from leaving the state. Peterson has vowed to put a fence around the state and keep all the talented in-state. He's only entering his second season with the Huskies, so his fence is still in the build stage.


The program has languished in mediocrity for the past 20 years after Don James, "The DawgFather", resigned amid sanctions that found that many of the players at Washington were getting improper benefits. As stated earlier, there was a ton of success in James time as coach. He even had three national coaching honors and a 22 game winning streak to add to the allure of the program. The program had their knees cut from underneath them with these sanctions and they really haven't recovered. Enter Chris Peterson 20 years later.


Let's face facts here. Chris Peterson and all his accolades he got in his tenure at Boise State, needs to come up with some success at Washington in his second year. Husky fans are tired of being average and want the return of fear when the Huskies come to town or when the opponents have to enter into Husky Stadium. Husky Stadium can be a very difficult place to play. When I was youngster, and went to Husky Stadium for a couple of games, it was so loud and the fans were right on top of you. Much like it is at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. I didn't think a stadium could be so loud, but this is something Peterson has to restore to the program as well.


Chris Peterson has his work cut out for him, but I do think he is the guy to restore the honor to the program. To me he's a proven commodity, even though he did the majority of his winning at a smaller school at Boise State. He proved he could beat the bigger schools or at the very least compete with the likes of Oregon, Georgia, and let's not forget the Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. One of the best college football games I have ever seen. It's not like he DOESN'T know how to get the job done. Entering this second season at the helm of the Huskies, fans want results yesterday. The honeymoon is over. Was there ever one?


Peterson needs to do better against ranked opponents too. They were 0-5 against those type of teams and that will also cause some more angst in latte' capital of the world. They also have to win the bowl game they go to as well. They came up short against the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in the Cactus Bowl in Tempe. That didn't sit well with the UW fan base, plus if you factor in the near upsets by the likes of Eastern Washington and Hawaii and you have a thought that Peterson was lucky to finish with the 8 wins that the team had. Peterson nearly had a very dismal opening in season number one.
The facilities and resources at Washington are such that Peterson can just be average in recruiting or any aspect of major college football. He needs to get the top recruits to the school and build those players into a cohesive unite to compete with the likes of Oregon, Stanford, USC, UCLA, ASU, Arizona, and Utah. Sounds pretty tough doesn't? Well, if you are the coach Washington, you can't be scared of a scenario like that in the Pac-12. I don't think Peterson is scared of anything, if anything he likes a challenge because he faced challenges coaching at Boise State, so something like this challenge is nothing for him. It's just on a much bigger scale than normal.


In his second year the Huskies and Peterson need to get a big time win, such as beating Oregon or Stanford, plus make strides to being in contention for the Pac-12 title in future years. If this can be accomplished, Peterson will get more of a leash (no pun intended), but if the program continues to be mired in mediocrity then he may not be around that much longer.


One of things that may make that a little more difficult is the huge amount of change on the defensive side of the ball. They lost probably the best DT in the Pac-12 in Danny Shelton and all-everything Shaq Thompson. With the type of wide open offenses in the conference, replacing talent like that is going to be difficult. Offensively he loses Cyler Miles, a quarterback, who has stepped away from football for personal reasons. There will be questions all around this team, but Peterson knows he won't get any extra leash because his depth chart is shallow. He is known for building programs and he is in the midst of probably his toughest job yet.


The one question I have is.... will Chris Peterson be around long enough to see the success he wants and the success the fans want? I hope so. Go Dawgs!

Pac-12 or Pac-14?

Change can be good, and usually is. Change helps society evolve and get better most of the time, but in the case of Pac-12 football it just might not be. A few years back the then Pac-10 expanded to the Pac-12 with the addition of Utah and Colorado. It's worked out just fine. Utah is coming around and Colorado is trying their hardest to become competitive, but now the question is out there. Does the Pac-12 expand to 14 teams like the SEC or does it stay pat?


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Can Utah Win the Pac-12 South?

When the Pac-12 expanded a few years back, there was talk that they could have lured Texas and Oklahoma to the conference. As attractive as that seemed at the time, I still was still thinking that they would get somebody else. The Texas/Oklahoma talk was pie in the sky thinking to me and when the conference finally invited Colorado and Utah I was a little disappointed, but that they were actually better fits for the conference than the other two.


Has it worked out the way the conference may have wanted, maybe, maybe not, but at least one of these two teams has started to make inroads in the Pac-12. Utah, yeah, remember them? The team that made it to the Sugar Bowl and smoked Alabama. After having some seasons that were not so great as they were stepping up in competition when joining the Pac-12, the Utes have become a threat to win the Pac-12 South division and even the conference. Here is one of the questions going into 2015, can Utah win the South division?


My answer to that is yes, however it is going to be a tough road for them because of some changes in the program. Lets discuss what is going to make it tough at least at this point. Nobody has played a game yet, injuries haven't happened, or anything else that typically happens during the course of the season.


First of all, their Defensive Coordinator Kalani Sitake left the program for Oregon State. Sitake is a guy that brings a very aggressive style to his defenses and Utah fans have to wonder how their defense will play without their leader on the sideline. Will their new DC John Pease keep the attacking style or be something different that the fans have to get used to. Lets talk about some of the players that need to be replaced or need to step up this year. Defensive end Nate Orchard is gone and so is his 18.5 sacks that he had in 2014. Who will take his spot in 2015? Hunter Dimick should be that guy on the defensive line, but he will be getting more attention this year, but he did have 10 sacks last season, so he is hoping to improve on that. 2014 for Utah's linebackers was a year of injury. The coaches managed to piece together enough with those linebackers to at least finish second in total defense in the Pac-12. The player to watch with their linebackers is their leading tackler from last season, Jared Norris, who had a team high 116 tackles, including 13 for a loss. He can cover space and make devastating hits. Watch Norris this year. The secondary will be something to watch as well and it may make them susceptible to getting passed on all game. The coaches converted quarterback Jason Thompson to safety and evidently he is competing very well for the position, but in the end if teams are passing all over the field on the Utes it will make for a very long season for them.


Moving over to the offense, quarterback is a little cloudy because you don't know how quarterback Travis Wilson will perform because he was very average last season. Seeing him play in person against the Sun Devils I wasn't that impressed. His 2014 season was so up and down that he lost his starting spot to back up Kendal Thompson twice. The major reason he got his spot back was that Kendal Thompson injured his knee. Wilson has to improve substantially for the Utes to get to the promised land of winning the South division. He did only throw 5 interceptions, but remember he did get replaced and only got back in because of injury to the other quarterback. The other aspect that people talk about with Wilson is that people around the program say he wasn't comfortable with former OC Dan Christensen, who left to become the O-Line Coach at Texas A&M. Aaron Roderick, Wilson's new OC is not changing that much with the offense, but he wants Wilson to complete a higher percentage of passes. "We're not trying to reinvent what we are doing. We just want to get better at it." says Roderick.


Devontae Booker. To me, the best running back in the Pac-12 will be back and hopefully have the same results as he did as junior college transfer in 2014. Booker runs hard or as I say "runs angry" and he ran all over the Pac-12 last season. He averaged 130 yards a game and ran for 1,512 yards. To get that many yards you have to have speed and as much tough running as he does, Booker does have explosive speed. What does he need to be successful? Rhetorical question obviously. He has a very solid offensive line.


Will this O-Line be as successful as they were last season? I believe so. They return most of this line for 2015.  They took a hit when junior, Jeremiah Poutasi, left early for the pro's. However, they do return Isaac Asiata and their center Siaosi Aiono who were probably the most consistent players on the offensive line. If the line plays to their 2014 season, Devontae Booker will be running wild again and Utah will be winning games.


The x-factor is always the special team play on a team. The Utes have one of the best kickers around the Pac-12. I did see him miss a field goal against the Sun Devils in overtime, but he didn't miss much last year. Andy Phillips made 23-28 field goals and was 12-15 from over 40 yards. Their punter is very good as well. Tom Hackett averaged 46 yards per punt and out of 80 total punts, he had 36 of them inside the 20 yard line. Great weapon to have if you can pin your opponent deep in their own territory.


All in all, most of the questions I have about this Utah team is the change in coaching. How will they respond to the change? That remains to be seen. Most of these players are returning, so you would think that they have a fairly veteran team who won't let it make a difference. Can they win the South. Yes, in fact, they are my sleeper pick to win the South. While Arizona State, USC, or Arizona get the majority of talk about winning the Pac-12 South, don't sleep on these Ute's. There is a monster brewing in the Great Salt Lake and they don't want you to overlook them. Many of you will, so you have been warned. Go Ute's!

Quick Hit: Coach Graham Doesn't Waver

Yesterday I went on about how coaches have to put a line down in the sand about these players who commit domestic violence, drug offenses, or theft. Today, a coach finally said enough is enough and sent a player packing. I mentioned Todd Graham, head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils and his line in the sand mentality with his players.


Coach Graham is a man of principle, and he wants his players and staff to act accordingly with those principles that he lays down for his team. Graham wants his players to go to class, to act with class in public, and to be on time to practice and team meetings. Nothing that is considered crazy by any normal thinking person. Everybody has a boss that tells you what is expected of you on a daily basis at work. College and college football are the jobs of these football players and by adhering to Grahams rules, they are setting themselves up for success and in the end isn't that what a coach and college is out there for these young men?


Let's face it, most of these players on a college football squad are not going to hit it big at the next level, so they have to have some discipline instilled in themselves to help get through the rest of their lives. Coach Graham is instilling this train of thought in their brains now, so that they experience success in their lives.


Who doesn't Todd Graham put up with? He doesn't put with former ASU linebacker Davon Durant, who was dismissed from the Sun Devil team for his domestic violence and aggravated assault charge that he pled guilty to. Durant was rated as one of the top Junior College players when he came to Arizona State. He was rated the number 1 inside linebacker and the number 6 prospect overall in junior college. Now, he will be lucky if he gets ANYBODY to take him on their team. As I stated before, coaches hate distractions like kids hate broccoli. Granted he is talented, but at some point second chances won't happen for players like this because they just won't be worth the headache they bring to a football program.


"He's done," said Graham, "We parted ways. He put himself in that position. It's a bad deal, but you got to have accountability. We just don't talk about character and discipline. We live it."


How refreshing is that? To me, it's extremely refreshing in a time where players get slaps on the wrist and get chance after chance after chance. Those of us in the real world get fired if we did something like what Davon Durant did.


Kudos to Coach Graham for laying the law down and not wavering from his beliefs on how to run his football team. Hopefully more coaches catch on with this type of discipline and want less and less distraction for their program. Phenomenal job Coach Graham!

Quick Hit: Discipline Problems

Coaches hate losing and distractions the most. When those two things happen during the course of the season, and they do, it drives them crazy. Well, down in Tallahassee, Florida there seems to be daily distractions for Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. To say that this is not an issue would be to say that Pete Rose doesn't gamble. What do coaches have to do to correct things like this?


The fights, domestic violence, drugs, or any other type of felonies that are broken are the result of bad decisions made by the player, not the coach, but what kind of responsibility do the coaches have? As a person who coaches young people, it all comes down to setting the ground rules and making them stick for everybody. Regardless of importance to the team. The third string offensive lineman gets the same consequence as the first team lineman. What brings down a teams chemistry quicker than most things is when the players see the difference in consequences between players on a team. This has to be something that coaches now have to adhere to at some point.


Jimbo Fisher is going to have to institute some type of team self monitoring where the upperclassmen keep the younger players from making some stupid mistakes. He may even have to have some of his coaches go out and monitor there player whereabouts on a Friday night. That may be a very tough thing to do because players are so mobile nowadays that finding any of them on any given night may prove fruitless.


However, these discipline problems are the players problems. When I see the Florida State quarterback in a bar and he is underage I think to myself, "Why?" Why does this person want to put themselves in a situation where they can lose their scholarship and really have no recourse or choice after that. Why do they want to punch a woman? What is inside them that says punching a woman is okay in ANY circumstance? Nobody knows except the player that perpetrates any kind of assault like that. I heard something the other day that has crossed through my mind a few times in my life when I've seen this kind of violence happen. A friend of mine said, "If the boss says 'don't go to the bar' you don't go to the bar." I absolutely agree with that statement. These players/kids are over the age of 18 and that means adult consequences with whatever negative actions they decide on doing. By not following what the coach or boss says, you are saying to your coach and team that you are bigger than the team. Which is incorrect. If the coach found you to play for him, he can find another player just like you that won't make stupid decisions and won't cause him or the school any headaches.


In the end, these coaches need to start taking a hard line with these kids who think they are above the law or the team (Jameis Winston). When coaches like set tough ground rules down and actually follow them for every player regardless of talent they will see team chemistry is much better and that these distractions that they despise simply go away. Just saying...

Myles Jack: Pac-12 Player to Watch

Everybody has a guy on their team that they take their lead from. Down in Westwood, that player for the 2015 season is Myles Jack. This is young man that possesses a unique ability to bring the heat in terms of hits and has the ability to cover first round draft picks in pass coverage, just ask Nelson Agholor about Jack's coverage ability...


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Duck Power: Royce Freeman

For the Oregon Ducks the last few years have been the best in school history. They have battled for the National Championship twice, gone to Rose Bowls, had a Heisman winner last year, and have had their "brand" explode across college football. One of the constants in this success has been a tremendous running attack. The Ducks run the ball all over the field and have had phenomenal talent in the backfield and this upcoming year will be no different. Royce Freeman is another in a long line great Duck running backs and he looks to improve on his freshman year.


Freeman ran for 1,365 yards last season and had 19 touchdowns to go with all those yards. People have to remember that Royce is only going to be a true sophomore. With a break out year like he had, there is talk of how Freeman can get into the Heisman race for 2015. Can he get in the race? Sure he can, but would voters go for a player from the same university as the year before? Probably not, but that has happened before. It has happened four times, with the last school winning back to back Heisman Trophy awards being another Pac-12 team in USC. Matt Leinart winning in 2003, Reggie Bush in 2004.


What will he have to do to get into the race? Obviously he is going to have to have a similar year if not better than 2014. The Ducks are going to have to win and win like they have in the past 5-7 years. He's going to have to have Heisman "moments", which means big, long runs as he is breaking tackles. Highlight type of runs, which means Sportscenter highlights in the Top 10 on a lot of Saturday nights. He has to become the star of the offense like Mariota was the last couple of years for the Ducks. The way running backs are chosen for this award, Freeman is going to have to have a season for the ages. He's going to have stand out like crazy especially playing on the West Coast where most writers on the East Coast have already turned off their t.v's and have gone to bed and won't see his accomplishments in real time and in context with the entire game.


It's been six years since a running back has won the award. Mark Ingram, from Alabama, was on the best team and was truly the best player on that team. Here's one more thing that Ingram had in common with the other Heisman running backs... He had over 2,000 yards on the ground. Like I stated earlier, he needs a "season for the ages".  Now, having a huge season doesn't guarantee the Heisman because there have been plenty of running backs who have had around 2,000 yards and came up short in the Heisman voting. Melvin Gordon comes to mind, but he was competing against Mariota.


In the end, Royce Freeman is a guy that every defensive coordinator takes seriously and if he is successful in 2015, the Ducks will be successful. If you asked him what he thinks about winning the Heisman, he would probably say he doesn't think about that stuff and that getting another shot at the National Championship is what he is all about. It'll be interesting to watch the Ducks this year and how they make Royce Freeman the centerpiece of their offense. Go Ducks!
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In Coach Andersen We Trust

Change. It's what was needed by Oregon State after another season of mediocrity. However, the person that caused the change is now at Nebraska. Mike Riley up and left for Lincoln last Decemeber and it left huge questions in Corvallis. Low and behold, we got a coach that we never saw coming. Gary Andersen from Wisconsin, yes, Wisconsin decided to take the job at Oregon State....


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ASU Football Pump Up 15-16 (HD)

Alright Sun Devil fans, this is for you... Fear The Fork!

Oregon State | Pump Up 2015-2016 | HD |

With 62 days left until kickoff to the 2015 season, here is something to get you a little fired up! Go Beavs!

Bay Area Renaissance

The Bay Area has something special on their hands going into the 2015 college football season. They have the opportunity to watch two of the most intriguing college quarterbacks. Jared Goff who plays for California and Kevin Hogan who plays for Stanford are some of the top quarterbacks in the Pac-12 Conference. Who would you rather have quarterbacking your team? If you're not a Cal or Stanford fan who would want?


Now, it's pretty easy to figure out who a Stanford or California fan is going to choose to lead their team, but for the rest of us it may take a little bit longer. Both quarterbacks have impressive resumes, but to make a decision like this, what is going to be the deciding factor? Experience? Completion percentage? Leadership skills?


First of all, lets look at their statistics. Kevin Hogan, Cardinal quarterback is going into his 5th year of eligibility due to his graduation from Stanford this past spring. Hogan has the measurables in terms of size and weight. He is 6'4", 225lbs and has some quick feet to run around to escape pressure. I'm not saying he is Marcus Mariota back there to run away from people, but he can move around to extend the play. His career stats at Stanford are decent. He has passed for 6,518 career yards, with 48 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, and a quarterback rating that averages 148.4. Now, however, the quarterback rating is figured I know the better the number, the better the QB performed during the year. Hogan's rating was about 20 points lower on the road than at home, but that is almost to be expected because it typically more difficult to win on the road rather than at home.


Leadership qualities are something that most people look at when they are evaluating quarterbacks. Hogan has great leadership qualities. He's been there at Stanford his whole career. He is a stabilizing force with the team. He's been in big games, he's won big games. Any Oregon Duck fan can tell you that. UCLA can remind you of what Hogan can do in a game from last year. He kept the Bruins from winning the Pac-12 South when the Cardinal went into the Rose Bowl and beat up UCLA. It's experience that you can't replace or manufacture. He's helped lead his team to win the Pac-12 Conference title as well, been to The Rose Bowl game, and won The Rose Bowl against Wisconsin.
If you are looking for a guy with a big arm, he's not your guy. His arm is ok, but won't win him any awards in the professional ranks. He's good at the intermediate passing game and that is what the Stanford passing game is all about. The Cardinal doesn't go deep much, they are a ball control, controlled passing game type of team and Hogan fits that mold to a tee. Now, what about Jared Goff?


Goff is another very good Pac-12 quarterback that has come through the California program. Everybody that comes through Cal is now being compared to Aaron Rodgers whether that is fair or not. Goff is setting himself apart already from Rodgers.


Jared Goff already owns 16 records at Cal. The records are for single season passing, touchdowns in a single season, and total offense in a single season. He's only going to be a junior at California, so if he already has all these records after two years, imagine what he may have after three years? It could be some all-time stuff in Berkely. Getting to the things that matter.


Goff has the height at 6'4" and weighs in at 215lbs. The weight is a little slender, but that is something that can be added on with weight training and proper diet, but that to me is not going to hold this athlete back from becoming a great one.


In only two years he has thrown for more yards (7,481), than Hogan has in three years, has 53 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, and a QB rating of 135.1. Besides the quarterback rating, Goff's stats are greater than Hogan's at this point and there is no reason to believe that these stats will continue to be greater than Hogan's. Looking at his stats, you can certainly make the argument that if Goff wasn't splitting time with Luke Rubenzer early in his career, he may have a few more touchdown passes, more yards passing yards and a greater QB rating.


Now, there are differences in how these two guys play because the teams that they play for run different types of offense. Sonny Dykes likes to run the hurry-up, spread offense and that helps Goff get the statistics that he has already attained in his young career. Stanford runs ball control with their offense, so Hogan isn't getting the opportunities like Goff is to throw the ball around the field. Can't blame either guy with this, it just is what it is for them.


Leadership with Goff is becoming better. He's becoming more vocal on the field and off the field. The Golden Bears haven't reached a bowl or had much success the last few years and Goff is looking to end that streak for Cal. His leadership is getting better everyday that passes. There is no question that he feels comfortable in the offense, now he is learning how to press the buttons that need to be pressed with his teammates when the pressure is on during the game. I have faith in Jared that he will learn this skill because on the next level he's going to have to have it if he wants to be successful.


Arm strength. That's always something evaluators look at with quarterbacks. He doesn't have a cannon for an arm and he hasn't shown the accuracy that you need. As I have stated in an earlier column, he doesn't throw with much accuracy over 30 yards, but when it comes to the intermediate game, he has shown the accuracy that is needed to march his team downfield to a touchdown. Is he going to have improve this part of his game? Of course, but there have been plenty of pro quarterbacks that didn't have great arm strength coming out. Peyton Manning comes to mind.


In the end, it's a tough call. Both of these athletes bring different things to the table that you would want out of your teams quarterback. I would take Hogan at this point because he is a little more polished than Goff. Experience has to count for something at this point, but if I am a college football fan in the Bay Area you are spoiled with the amount of talent you can watch on a weekly basis at the college level. The Big Game should be fantastic game to watch this year. I will be watching that game for certain.

Jared Goff: Best QB in the Pac-12?

With right around 70 days until the college football season starts speculation about anything and everything is starting to pick up. You see it on television, hear it on radio, and read about it in sports magazines. When in Rome...right? Looking over the Pac-12 and the good number of quality quarterbacks in the conference, one of them, Jared Goff has stood out for a while now.




Jared Goff will be entering the 2015 season as a possible Heisman Finalist, an All-Pac 12 selection, a Johnny Unitas finalist, and a possible Pac 12 P.O.Y. choice. What has brought this young man to this level of popularity? The film doesn't lie football fans. He has the measurable stats that many coaches like. He's 6'4", 210lbs, and can move around in the pocket. The other aspect of Goff and his statistics that stand out is that he has improved his own game since he has taken over for the California Golden Bears. In 2013 he had 18 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, passed for 3,508, had a completion percentage of 60.3%, and a quarterback rating of 123.18. Pretty good stats for a freshman quarterback. However, 2014 was even better as Goff understood more of the offense and just felt more comfortable in Sonny Dykes high octane, spread offense. In 2014, Goff threw for 35 touchdowns, only 7 interceptions, passed for 3,973 yards, a completion percentage of 62.3%, and a quarterback rating of 147.59. In two years Goff has thrown 53 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, and 7,481 total yards. Based off of these last two seasons, there is no reason, other than some huge injury, that one can't believe that Goff won't be successful.




His arm is average. By NFL standards, it's average, but when you look at the different throws that quarterbacks are asked to throw, you see a couple of things. When Goff is throwing a ball over 30-35 yards he does lack the drive on the ball that you need to make the completions deep down field. When Goff is throwing the ball shallower than 30-35 he does have good velocity on the ball to fit that ball into some tight windows. When going to the next level for Goff this will be one thing that people will talk about on whether or not to draft this young man.




Jared Goff owns 16 different football records at California. That is pretty amazing considering that Aaron Rodgers, Steve Bartkowski, and Craig Morton are some of the illustrious quarterback alumni from Cal. He owns these 16 records after only two seasons of play on the field and that is pretty impressive for such a young player. One of the records that he holds is in yards thrown in a game. He has two 500 yard games, five 400 yard games, 12 300 yard games, 17 250 yard games.
With a record like that it is obvious to anybody that Jared Goff can produce on the field and he gives his team a chance to win games. To get further recognition what does he need?




To go to that "next level" Goff needs to have the players around him to produce at a high level, so he doesn't have to have all the pressure of winning the game on his shoulders. The Bears had a chance to go to a bowl game last year, however, but lost 6 of their last 7 games to miss out on the bowl game. Goff says their is a lot of confidence going into the 2015 season. "Expectations are very high." says Jared Goff.




In the end, Jared Goff has shown that he is a quarterback to be taken seriously by anybody that watches, coaches, or writes about college football. Now it's time for him to show that he is certainly worth the hype. His teammates and coaches both want that in 2015. Cal has had some down times the last few seasons and now Goff has the opportunity to correct that for the Golden Bears. Can he do it? I think he can, lets watch and see what happens in the Bay this year.

Tradition in College Football

Tradition is something that college football fans take seriously. Some schools have more perceived tradition than others. Schools like Notre Dame, USC, Alabama, Army/Navy, or Texas are teams that come to mind when you speak of tradition in college football. One in particular tradition at the University of Southern California sticks out to me...


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Helicopter Parents

Soccer moms, baseball dads, or helicopter parents. Whatever you want to call them, they can ruin a kids sports experience because they know what is best for their child in the sport arena, not the coach. The coach knows who they can count on during a game, who will show up to practice, and who is coachable. It is an immensely frustrating sports society we live in now because of these types of parents. Many parents think they have the next LeBron, Peyton, Sidney Crosby, or Messi. In reality, they don't. At UCLA this past week, Sean Combs attacked/confronted one of the coaches in a violent manner (allegedly)...


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Colorado Buffaloes: The Decline

Being an alumni of a school that had 28 losing seasons, I understand the Colorado Buffalo fans frustrations. Colorado has been suffering a severe decline in their football program over the past 10 years or so and people wonder, like I do, can they turn the program around in Boulder? It's a tough proposition right now. Recruiting and coaching mistakes over the past decade have set the program back...


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"Get Off My Lawn, People!": Podcast

Being 77 days out from the start of the 2015 college football season, Gracey Terrill and myself get into Pac 12 and Big 12 football during our podcast. We talk about the best players from each conference, match ups for the upcoming season, and dark horse picks for the Big 12 and Pac 12... Give it a listen.


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Arizona Wildcats: Defending South Champs

Being the defending champs has many perks to it. You get respect, people know who you are, you win games, and have a chance or are picked to repeat as champs. However, something interesting has happened with the University of Arizona Wildcat football team. Nobody is talking about them. At all. Little reminder for everybody... they ARE the defending champs of the Pac-12 South, beat Oregon, and played for the Pac-12 Championship. What's going on here?


Some people say, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish." There is definitely some truth in that saying. Especially in college sports and in this case, college football. The buzz in the conference is being taken up by USC and their hated rival Arizona State. Some fans do feel like their team is being slighted and it's easy to see why. Not only did they win the Pac-12 South, not only did they beat Arizona State and Oregon, they also played for the conference championship. Rich Rod is building a team that needs to be reckon with by every team in the conference, but is getting no love from the media. Like I said "it's how you finish..."


Let's take a look at how they finished. They got by their rival in the Sun Devils to win the south and set up a rematch with the Oregon Ducks. To say that Oregon wasn't wanting the Cats would be an understatement. The Ducks wanted to show that the Cats victory was a fluke, and it turned out that may have been. Oregon took Arizona out to the woodshed and beat them soundly. Ok, bad game, the Ducks were stacked. They also had the Heisman winner running the show. Next up, their bowl game with Boise State. Boise State was a good team, good enough to invited to the Fiesta Bowl with Arizona. However, Boise State ran the ball almost at will against the Cats defense. At the end of the game, the Cats had a chance to pull out the win, however their quarterback Anu Solomon did not make the plays needed to get that win.


When your team ends with a big, fat thud then the media is not going to think positively about your teams chances about winning the conference. The sample size for the Wildcats is very small and when you are in the same division with the likes of the Trojans and the Bruins, schools with a lot of tradition and media cred built up, so when you are the new team on the block you have to keep building that tradition and cred with fans and media. With Rich Rod calling the shots for Arizona, they will. I really think he is building a monster down in Tucson.


Going into the 2015, the Cats will certainly have some weapons at their disposal. With a backfield of quarterback Anu Solomon, running back Nick Wilson, Lombardi Award winner Scooby Wright, and their Head Coach Rich Rod heading up the whole program you certainly have to put the Wildcats into the conversation. They have to be in the talk, much more than they are right now.
Quarterback Anu Solomon, who threw for over 3,700 yards and 28 touchdowns is certainly the front runner to stay the quarterback. Solomon doesn't have the speed that is extremely elusive or have the cannon of an arm, but right now he has showed that he can compete on a Power 5 level. There is no replacement for that experience Solomon gained in 2014. He will continue to get better and his stats just may get better as well.


Nick Wilson just may be one the most underrated running backs in the country. Not many fans or media really know of this guy. Which is how Wilson just might want it. As a freshman, he needed little "break in" time. He can make something out of nothing, hit an opening and break it for a touchdown or a big gain, and he did that in 2014 to the tune of 1,375 yards. He is the clear number one guy for the Cats and he is certainly looking forward to improving those freshmen stats. You have to have a threat on the outside to keep the defenses from loading the box. They have just that in Tucson.


In fact, they have two threats to keep the defenses honest. They have Cayleb Jones, who in his first year, caught 73 balls for 1,019 yards. Jones is being considered as one of the top receivers in the college game. He has the ability to stretch the field and that big play ability that all football coaches look for. Secondly, they have Samajie Grant who caught 45 balls and six of those balls were touchdowns. This group of receivers is also considered the best group on the team. With the ball being thrown around like they have opportunity to do, it could be a very special year for the Wildcat offense.


However, you need to be able to stop somebody. In the Pac-12 where offenses are scoring points at the speed of light, defense is sometimes considered an afterthought. They have an anchor on defense with Scooby Wright, who showed that a two star athlete can develop into something special. Wright had 163 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, and he also "threw" in 14 sacks. The one thing Scooby will have is experience next to him. Cody Ippolito, Jake Matthews, Derrick Turituri all started a minimum of six games for the Wildcats. Up front, Arizona will have a solid three man front in returning D-Linemen Reggie Gilbert, Parker Zellers, and Sani Fuiaono. Zellers is a unique kind of DT, he is listed at 247lbs and gets his job done on speed rather than plugging the hole like Fuiaono would be doing. Reggie Gilbert, who is a senior, will be the rock of this line. He brings experience and tenacity to a defense that will be looking to make a statement in 2015.


The secondary will be tough too. They had to replace three players in the defensive backfield. They will have Seniors Jamar Allah and Tellas Jones back as safeties. They combined for 47 tackles in 2014. At the corner spot, they will have DaVonte' Neal, who they converted from tailback during spring ball and by all accounts won the job. Last years starter Jarvis McCall Jr may not get his job back because of this. At the other corner will more than likely be Cam Denson who is also a converted offensive player. Like I said, McCall will have his work cut out for him to return as a starter.


In the end, the lack of attention that the program is getting may serve the team better than if they were getting all the publicity in the division. Let the media and other teams not take the Wildcats seriously and see what happens. The Pac-12 South is anybody's guess as to who comes out on top, but you absolutely can not leave the Arizona Wildcats out of the conversation. Bear Down Arizona!

Coaching and Their Hotseats

Everybody that has a job knows when they are in the "good graces" of the boss and they know when they are not. Coaching college football is no different. There are coaches in every Power 5 Conference every year that are on the so-called "hot-seat". They have to start winning games to get to that next contract or to just get to the next game or season...


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Mike Leach: Can He Get the Job Done?

Coaching is a tough, cruel business to be in and it would be something that only the very mentally tough would want to be a part of. Coaches are hired to be fired in college football and every other sport on the planet. Some coaches find a place where they can spend many years at, a place where they find a bunch of success, or a place where they go and are never heard from again. Mike Leach, Head Coach of the Washington State Cougars, may be one of those coaches where they are in danger of not being heard from again.


Needless to say, Mike Leach is probably on a fairly "warm seat" up there at Wazzu. He is entering his fourth season for the Cougars and with only 12 wins in three seasons he needs to turn the corner or it may be his last for WSU fans. I believe that he is a very good coach, but his success is only as good as the talent he has to play with. However, as I stated earlier, coaching is a cruel business and fans and administration do not care what you have done in the past. It's "what have you done for me lately", not what did you do 10 years ago. Winning cures all, but winning is something that the Cougars haven't done with any consistency.


In a recent poll of coaches and their salaries, Leach was voted the most overpaid coach in college football. In the first three seasons Leach has made just over $7 million for those 12 wins. His overall record at Washington State is 12-25. That's $600,000 per win. If this was a regular business, Leach may be out of job already. So far, it's a bad return on the investment.


What can Leach do to turn this thing around at Washington State? Well, coaches can only do so much. Coaches coach, players play, and injuries become the great equalizer. Now, when he got to the Palouse it wasn't like he was taking over a good program, the program was in shambles. Talented players were few and far between. He's got a little more talent to come up and play for the Cougars, but it's been on the offensive side of the ball.


The offense has become better. In fact the offense was ranked 7th in the national and 2nd in the Pac-12, only behind Oregon. The efficiency that they have showed in the red zone and points per game have been pretty good. They averaged 31 points per game, which is good, but in the pass happy Pac-12, that could be a little bit better. The defense, well, that is a different story.


To say it's been a struggle on the defensive side of the ball would be a gross understatement. The Cougars were ranked 99th in defense last season and gave up 38 points per game. That's not going to win you many games. Especially when you are scoring 31 points per game. If the Cougs can get to being average on defense, that would be a huge improvement. To illustrate the Cougars struggles on defense last season, look here. In a game with California, Washington State had a total of 812 yards on offense and scored 59 points and lost. Usually those stats get you a win, but if you can't stop anybody it doesn't guarantee you anything. California scored 60 points. The one statistic that stands out to me in terms of their struggles on defense is that they only created 8 turnovers ALL season. For a defense to be effective they have to create turnovers and more possessions for their offense.
A solution that Leach has done is to fire the defensive coordinator from last season. Mike Breske was let go and Alex Grinch was brought in to take over and revamp the offense for Leach. He's also had three starters leave the program and that won't help, but a shake up was necessary and in the long term it's going to be a good thing. With new DC Alex Grinch, who is a first year coordinator, nobody knows what kind of style he will impose for the Cougars, so that will create some help as well going into 2015.


Recruiting wise, Leach signed 13 defensive players. Four of those players on Juco players, so their impact will be felt almost immediately. That's what Mike Leach and his staff are hoping. These JC players are 4-star recruits and with a couple of 4-star high school recruits, impact and improvement for the defense should be coming in the short future for the Cougars.


In the end, Leach has his work cut out for him and his staff. So far, it's been a disaster in the Palouse for Leach. Once again, I believe Leach is a good coach, but coaches are only as good as the talent that they have. With the influx of talent coming to Leach this upcoming year, lets hope he can turn it around for the Cougars. The fans, coaches, players, the school, and the town of Pullman deserve something that they will be proud to root for. Get the job done Coach Leach.

Life After Mariota

For a college football program to lose talent is an every year occurrence. Some years the loss is a little less than others, but then there are years where the loss is great. The Oregon Ducks are going to go through one those type of years. Everybody knows who the Ducks have lost. Marcus Mariota. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner. To say, he won't be missed would be a gross understatement, but like any other football program he will have to be replaced. That will be tough thing to do in Eugene.


Tough doesn't mean that it can't be done and Oregon will be trying to do that. Head Coach Mark Helfrich will be trying to win the Pac-12 North division and the Pac-12 Championship all over again in 2015. The big difference between the last three seasons and now? The quarterback he has had is in Tennessee playing for the Titans. Who will replace a talent like that? Oh, just a kid who has thrown for over 10,000 yards, rushed for over 1,200 yards, threw 110 touchdowns, and threw 31 interceptions. Now that last stat may cause some concern for Duck fans, but to say that they have been spoiled over the last few seasons would be another gross understatement. Mariota threw a interception about as much as I reach the green in two. Who is this kid coming into Eugene? He goes by the name of Vernon Adams. By now most Duck fans know he is coming in as a fifth year senior, having already graduated from Eastern Washington. He is a dynamic athlete who can throw the ball as well as run the rock as evident the stats already shown. He's a mature football player and will bring leadership to the Ducks who will be looking for it. I have said this over and over, if you are going to be successful in football, then you need to have a quarterback that can handle pressure and can make plays when called upon. Adams appears to be that. The one concern I would have is this... can he do what he did on the FCS level at the FBS level and in a Power 5 Conference with a program that is a national brand right now? That is one thing that remains to be seen, so the proof will be in the pudding as they say. To make things easier for him, he will have a stable of skill players to help him make the transition.


Keeping with what the Ducks have had over the course of the last several years, there is an abundant of talent at the running back and receiving positions. First of all, Royce Freeman who is drawing some Heisman talk will be teaming with Thomas Tyner again in the backfield. In 2014 those two combined for almost 2,000 yards of offense. The receiving corps will have the leadership of Byron Marshall and Dwayne Stanford. Braylon Addison will also be coming back into the fold after suffering a season ending knee injury, but even though he is back, he still has to get used to playing on that knee. Hopefully he gets over that big hurdle quickly. The two question marks with their receivers will be Devon Allen (ACL) and Darren Carrington (suspension). Carrington needs to make sure his head is screwed on correctly after deciding to smoke some weed prior to the National Championship and summarily getting suspended for the title game and for the beginning of the 2015. Allen just wants his rehab on his knee to keep progressing, so he can make a mark for the offense this season.


Defensively the Ducks will be a little weaker than they have been the last few seasons. However, the front seven got a great boost when defensive end Deforest Buckner decided to return for his senior season. Many people argue that he was easily the most disruptive player on the defense for Ducks. Even more so than Arik Armstead who left early for the NFL. Defensive coordinator Don Pellum will be looking to make his linebackers a more well-rounded group of players too.


Inside linebackers Rodney Hardrick and Joe Walker will be looking to gain greater penetration into the opposing teams backfields. They have to create some kind of havoc up the middle because if they DC Pellum is only going to have three down linemen then some type of disruption needs to come up the middle. The Ducks outside backers Tyson Coleman and Christian French will need to increase their sack totals by getting the advantage off the edge. If these linebackers can create some havoc then the Ducks will be successful, but they have to go into each game with bad intentions. They have to impose their will onto the opposing offense. A work in progress? Possibly.


The secondary will be the big question mark on defense. They will be young and inexperienced. Like the offense and having to replace a great talent, the defense will have to replace All-American Ifo-Ekpre Olomu. After Olomu injured his knee right before the title game, the Ducks put Chris Seisay in for Olomu. Seisay is decent, but not a proven commodity by any stretch. Sophomore Arrion Springs, true freshman Ugo Amadi, and converted receiver Charles Nelson will also compete for playing time in the secondary as well, so for the cornerback crew, the inexperience hopefully will not cause to many issues for them. To me, that is wishful thinking if you're a Duck fan. There are always growing pains with youth. Fans will just have to be patient with the cornerbacks.


When it's all said and done, the Ducks should win the North Division again because other than Stanford, the North will be rather soft. The Cardinal will provide the biggest challenge for the Ducks and returning to the Pac-12 Championship game. The Oregon/Stanford game is at Stanford, so that'll be a big game to watch with a lot on the line more than likely. Do they get back into the playoff? That's a tough call. I think they can, but to do that, they absolutely need to win the Pac-12 title. How will Vernon Adams do? Who knows. Will teams be looking for payback now that Mariota isn't around? Absolutely, but to think that the Ducks are not loaded will be an incorrect assumption. There is enough talent there to win and win big. It'll be fun to watch for sure. Win The Day Duck fans...

Scheduling 8 or 9 Conference Games?

In theory, you want everybody on the same page and competing on a level playing field. However, we are talking about college football. Nothing is simple, nobody is ever on the same page. With some conferences like the Pac-12 playing a nine game conference schedule and other conferences like the SEC there are people within these Power 5 Conferences that feel EVERYBODY needs to be playing the same number of conferences games...


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USC: The Return of The Men of Troy?

When one thinks of a traditional football power, many teams may come to mind. Teams like Ohio State, Texas, Florida State, Miami, and certainly the University of Southern California. The Trojans. USC has won national titles, has Heisman Trophy winners, Rose Bowl wins, and Hall of Fame players many times over. Well, that is all nice and good, but as the old adage says "What have you done for me lately?" The Men of Troy are coming off sanctions that decimated the program and it's ability to compete the last few years. So, what can we expect in 2015 with the Trojans?


Around the USC campus and around the Los Angeles area expectations are sky high. With the sanctions being lifted and the ability to go out and recruit on a level playing field with everybody else the Trojans should have no issues getting back to what alumni and college football fans believe is their rightful place in the college football world. Now, there are certainly some strengths that the Trojans possess and some concerns that they will have to work on, but things are going up for the Trojans.


First of all, the Trojans have a quarterback to lead them to great things. In college football if you don't have a quarterback who can be consistent, you have nothing. Cody Kessler is that guy for the USC. He leads a team that averaged 35 points per game in 2014. One could argue that Kessler had one of the best under-the-radar type of seasons in the last 10 years. Kessler only went out and completed 69.7% of his passes, threw 39 touchdowns with ONLY 5 interceptions. He isn't a spread type of quarterback, he can go under center, make checks at the line, go through progressions, but just to keep the defenses off of him, the Trojans have put in a zone-read package to help Kessler. Kessler will be looking for sophomore receiver JuJu Smith, who was a Freshman All-American last season. Cody also has a new slot receiver to throw to. Steven Mitchell is his name and should provide some excitement with his shiftiness and elusive type of running. Kessler will take all the weapons he can get to help stretch the field, especially since highly talented Nelson Agholor left for the NFL.


The running game will be a bit of a question mark because the Trojans will be missing Buck Allen and his 1,489 yards of offense. From all accounts, it will be a two headed monster in the backfield, and maybe a third with 270 pound fullback Soma Vainuku who will be brought in those short yardage situations to convert something into a first down. A man of that size coming out you doesn't sound good to me. Look out on those short yardage situations Pac-12 defenses. To help keep defenses off balance with their running game, the Trojans will feature a slashing, speedy back in Justin Davis who has that ability to break off a big run at any moment. Then to run between the tackles, the Trojans will bring in Tre Madden. Like I said, he likes to rumble between the tackles and go after those "tough" yards.


The thing that should help the running game of the Trojans is an offensive line that is very good and experienced. When the big boys up front are experienced that means very good things for the running game. This offensive line just might be the deepest and strongest unit on the Trojan team. They are lead by All-Pac 12 center Max Tuerk. This group is as active as it is physical and when people who follow the history of Trojan linemen think of USC linemen, they think of big, physical players who impose their will on the opposition.


Offense wins games, defense wins you championships. One of the big question marks on the defensive side of the ball will be who replaces All-American Leonard Williams who left for the pros. The Trojans also need to replace leading tackler and linebacker Hayes Pullard. For a team that struggled at times to stop opponents late in games (ASU game comes to mind), these two guys will tough to replace. However, there is no shortage of star power for 2015. Su'a Cravens who led the team in interceptions and tackles for a loss. He is a hybrid type of player. He flows between being a safety/outside linebacker. He's a big safety and that means some big hits for people trying to come across the middle or he runs down guys trying to get to the corner and turn it up field.


Up front, Antuan Woods will try and impose his will on the offensive line. The linebacker positions will be good as well. They are a solid group of players. Delvon Simmons, Scott Felix, Claude Pelon will lead the linebacker corp and the secondary will be one of uniqueness with two-way player Adoree' Jackson. He's athletic and tough and one of the best cornerbacks in the country. On offense he will probably be utilized as a pass catcher only, but it does say something about him that he can go both ways on the field.


In the end, I believe the Trojans will vie for the South Division title in the Pac-12 and will be in the mix for the Pac-12 Championship. They have a solid O-Line, a very good quarterback, a defense that will be solid and continuing to grow and get better. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian will be looking to get to 10 win mark and with his ability to recruit talent to the L.A. I expect 10 wins to be a regular thing, but as any coach will tell you. You still have to play the games.

How Good Are The Arizona State Sun Devils?

June is here, barely, but it's here. That means the college football season is creeping closer and closer for us college football fans. For fans down here in the desert the question is how good will the Sun Devils of Arizona State be? The answer should be very good. The Devils have quality for almost every facet of a division one football team.


Let's start with their head coach, Todd Graham. I was a person who was pretty skeptical of Graham when he showed up in Tempe. The way he had jumped from job to job and how he left the program at the University of Pittsburgh caused me to look at him with a great deal of skepticism. I asked "How long will he stay?" He said all the right things and even said that the ASU job was his dream job. Really? ASU, a dream job. That's the first time I had ever heard that. However, he has turned that skepticism into belief in many fans and even in me. He has won over 20 games the last two years, been in contention for the division title, and put some excitement back into a program that had been mired in mediocrity for a number of years. He's got his recruiting going very well, his coaching staff has been intact, and he has endured himself to the community. He leads his team by showing them how to be disciplined and what it means to work hard. He is the pillar for his players and it's certainly showing in their play on the field.


To survive and win on the D-1 level in college football you need consistency at the quarterback position. If you have a quality quarterback, you have a better chance of winning. Just ask the Oregon Ducks that question and see the response you'll get. The last few years the Sun Devils have had Taylor Kelly under center, this year, they will have Mike Bercovici. Berco, as people around these parts call him, played in relief of Taylor Kelly last year when Kelly went down with a leg/ankle injury. Fans quickly saw that Bercovici was more than capable of providing a spark to the team and leading the team to wins. To me, he was and is a more complete quarterback than Taylor Kelly was. He could run an offense from under center much than Kelly, has a stronger arm, can run the read-option packages/offense that the Sun Devils use, and is a more vocal leader than Kelly. Add those items up and you have a quarterback that can certainly lead a team to many victories during the Pac-12 season. What made fans take notice is the way he lead the team to a win at USC in the last few minutes of the game. His "Jael-Mary" pass to Jaelen Strong at the end of that Trojan game caused fans to want to see him under center as opposed to Taylor Kelly. The Sun Devil fan base get their wish all year in 2015 and hopefully he can deliver what the fans want.


The running game will be the focus this year because they have the horses to do just that. They will have three backs to drive those opposing defenses crazy. The Devils have Demario Richard, a two-way back in Kalen Ballage, and the speedster Gump Hayes. Through spring and summer practice they will probably start focusing in on how to use each one of these backs. Hayes will more than likely be the "home run" back because of his speed. Give the ball to him to see if he can break off big yardages. It all remains to be seen because the back they have had in the backfield the last three years is being moved into the slot position.


D.J Foster and his creativeness in the open field will be moved to the slot. The passing game will be something that defenses will be trying to take away from the Devils. The Sun Devils are having to replace both of their starting tackles and find replacements for Jaelen Strong who went to NFL, Cameron Smith who will miss the entire 2015 season with a knee injury, but they are lucky in that they picked up UCLA transfer Devin Lucien. It is quite obvious at this point that Foster will be Bercovici's main target, so he needs to become very good at route running, getting off of press coverage and beating the double team so he can help his quarterback out. This new receiving crew will get a test right out the gate with the game AT Texas A&M. How they react to this type of environment could dictate how much success the team has in the early part of the season.


Defensively, the Sun Devils will be returning seven starters. This was the biggest question mark going into last year, but by the end of the year this defense was playing very well. They were flying around to the ball, making hits, getting stops and with all that experience they gained in 2014 it will only end up being a bonus for them for 2015.


The strength of this defense will be the back seven. ASU can rotate five linebackers without much dropoff. Christian Sam and DJ Calhoun will be two of these linebackers to watch because they were pressing for more time last year and they have the sideline to sideline speed that Coach Graham absolutely loves to have in his linebackers. One of the biggest losses last year was safety Damarious Randall. However, Coach Graham believes that safety James Johnson will help negate that loss Randall, but it is hard to replace first round talent.


The one true concern that fans will have about the Devils is that they don't have a true pass rusher. They did land highly touted recruit Davon Durant who would have been plugged in as the pass rusher. However, the best laid plans sometimes get destroyed by dumb decisions. Durant was suspended indefinitely by ASU once he was arrested on domestic abuse charges. For the moment, having that consistent pass rush is a question for the Devils.


In the end, the Devils have the talent to contend in the South Division for sure and in the Pac-12 in general, but the schedule is tough. They have games early on against Texas A&M, USC, at UCLA, and at Utah. Coming out of that stretch with just one conference loss would be amazing. Three out of their last five games are at home with only away games at California and Washington State to end the year. The Territorial Cup is also at home against their hated rival Arizona. I think it certainly could come down to USC and ASU for the South Division. Forks Up Devil fans!

Pac-12 Recruiting

Recruiting is a tough business, cutthroat if you ask me, and yes it's a business. National Letter of Intent day is in the first week of February currently, but the Pac-12 is looking at moving that date up to sometime in December, but there is some thought in the conference that it should be moved up to August. There is debate among coaches within the conference about what date should be used...


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Pac-12 Football in 2015

It's only April, but summer/fall football practices will be here before you know it and the anticipation that comes with a new season will be overtaking college football fans to a frenzied level. 2015 for the Pac-12 North will be one of change. Quarterback changes at the Oregon schools, an uprising at California, and what will the Huskies do?


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Deregulation and the Big 12/ACC Connection

Here comes the word that many people hate. Deregulation. People here that, and they go into a frenzy. The sky is falling, it's raining cats and dogs, Purdue is good in football, it's raining in Phoenix, or the SEC doesn't win a National Title in football. Things that you just don't see a lot of, but deregulation is coming in some form to college football. The Big 12 will be the spearhead on this one, with the ACC coming with possible changes....


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Under Center in Corvallis

Change is inevitable they say. Well, change has occurred in Corvallis, Oregon over the past few months and the fans have embraced it. Embracing change can be a difficult thing to do, but Beaver fans have no other choice, BUT to welcome it. At first, it was the change in coaching staffs. Riley out, Andersen in. Old style out, new style in. Now it's the quarterbacks.


If there was one thing Beaver Believers could count on the last few years it was that they had a good quarterback under center. He wasn't a Marcus Mariota, but Sean Mannion was pretty good for a college quarterback. Sean Mannion had some very good moments for Oregon State and those moments will be missed because what the fans have coming is not a Mannion type of quarterback this year. It will be a freshman and with young players, come young mistakes and lots of growing pains. Beaver fans are going to see something with the offense that they haven't seen before. They are going to see an up-tempo spread offense with Head Coach Gary Andersen. What does that mean? Well, if you pay attention to college football or football in general that simply means that the Beavers are going to try and make the game a "track meet". They have seen this kind of thing 45 minutes to south of them in Eugene with the Ducks. Now it's their turn at it. Well, this also means that they are going to expose their quarterback to possible big hits. Whoever the quarterback is, they are going to get hit, it then becomes the job of the coaching staff to minimize the BIG hits.


With the departure of incumbent quarterback Luke Del Rio to a transfer, Oregon State is left with three young freshmen quarterbacks. Nick Mitchell, a redshirt freshman, Seth Collin, a true freshman, and Marcus McMaryion, a redshirt freshman. In other words, young, young, and young.
The competition for the starting position will be wide open for all three of these kids, however, after watching film on these kids, the one that sticks out in terms of what the new coaching staff wants to do is Seth Collins. He'll be a true freshman this upcoming fall and this kid has all the intangibles that you would want to see. He's 6'3", he's a 170lbs, he's athletic as any high school kid I've seen, he's a leader, strong arm and possesses good speed when he's running with the ball. Now, Collins is only listed at 170lbs, but I'm sure he'll be weighing in at more than that when he finally arrives in Corvallis. He was a late edition to the Beavers recruiting haul, but once a Riley quarterback recruit de-committed then that open the door for this kid to come to Oregon State. Collins will certainly be a player to keep an eye on during the summer practices and into the fall.


Nick Mitchell is another quarterback that is in the mix for the Beavers starting job. He is 6'2", 185 pounds, but was recruited by Riley as a pro-style type of quarterback, so given that the new offense is an up-tempo type of offense he may be at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to getting the starting nod. Being on the scout team last year he showed the ability to throw the ball pretty well, with accuracy, but he did show that he could run with the ball. He may not be able to run the ball with the athleticism and speed that Collins will show.


Next on the quarterback possibility sheet is Marcus McMaryion. He is a dual threat quarterback and also ran the scout team for the team last season. Like Mitchell, he's a redshirt freshman with no game experience, so the growing pains would be just as pronounced as it would be with any of the other two quarterbacks. He's 6'1", 193lbs, mobile, strong arm. The film I saw with this kid was pretty good. He can certainly move around and his arm showed pretty good strength, so he certainly has some promise to be the starter as well.


At the end of the day, it's going to be a battle for the starting quarterback position. In my humble opinion, I think the true freshman out of El Cajon, California, Seth Collins may just be "the guy". Could be totally wrong, but he certainly passes the eye test with me. McMaryion and Mitchell will push him, but in the end, I think Coach Andersen has certainly found a player that he wants on the field. It's going to be interesting times in the Willamette Valley this fall. I, for one, will be watching.

Quick Hit: Spring practices and Spring Games

I always like this time of year in sports. Spring training has come and gone, college football has their practices and games, the NBA and NHL are gearing up for their playoffs, and the biggest thing is that hope springs eternal. Fans want to see their teams succeed every year. It doesn't matter if it's in the professional ranks or the college ranks. For my purposes, we will concentrate on the college ranks.


I'm not a guy that reads all that much into recruiting or spring games/practices. Recruiting is really a crap shoot, a gamble. You could have a stud linebacker, offensive lineman, defensive tackle, or any number of skill players coming your way and you don't know what you have until you see them perform in practice or in games. Most of the time it takes the high school player at LEAST a year to develop at the college football level. It's hard to read a player until he catches up to the speed of division one college football.


The same can be said for these spring practices and the much over hyped spring game that schools put on for their fans. Many schools have their spring practices open to the public which is a little strange to me only because any person from another school could just put a hat on and go watch their rival go through a practice and evaluate some of the talent on the field. Other schools choose to shut the public out from practice, which I understand. The media is allowed into these practices however, and come away with takes that seem familiar to me when these same people talk about a schools recruiting class. Practices are controlled drills and short scrimmages for the players. It's not exactly "flying bullets" of a real game. When I see people making comments on how good the O-Line, D-Line or skill guys look I usually take it with a grain of salt. Here's why. Many of you will probably agree with this. Players are going to look good when things are controlled because the coaches are not going to let things get to wild. Coaches don't want players going down to injury every practice, it's part of the reason players are treated with a kind of "kid glove" mentality. There is a lot invested in these players, even though they are not paid (yet). The scholarship investment alone is massive. They invest in tutors, training time, physical therapy, and making sure these kids get to class. When the media tries to read into how a practice went, it is always pretty subjective. People are going to see what they see. Getting an accurate assessment of how players will perform on game day from practice is always a bit dicey.


The Spring Game. Down here in the desert we just had Arizona and Arizona State have their spring game. The Sun Devils made this event a weekend event. A type of fan appreciation thing. I totally get it. The goal is to get people interested in the program and to have them buy season tickets in droves. The University of Arizona allowed fans to call plays during the game. Rich Rod went into the stands and gave a fan or two the play call sheet to make the call. If that was me, I would be telling Rich Rod two words: Hook and Ladder.


Spring games to me are pretty over-hyped. Guys are hitting each other, but I look at it like I look at the NFL's Pro Bowl. It's not really a true game. You can see how players going full speed and how they react to hits or different situations that arise during the game, but it is still a controlled situation. Quarterbacks are not allowed to be hit most of the time and once again, people are going to see what they see, opinions are very subjective with this. What I like seeing is how fall practices go leading up to the regular season. That's where you see stuff happen. Until then, there isn't a reason to get to hyped up or let down based on what you see in spring practice or the spring game.


Telling fans to do that is a little easier said, than done. Just saying...

Ranking the Power 5 Conferences

The offseason of college football. Recruiting, spring practice, and the much over hyped Spring Game. One other thing that comes with the offseason is sitting back and trying to figure out which is the best conference out of the Power 5, otherwise known as Pac-12, Big 12, Big 10, ACC, and the SEC. Throwing opinions out on who is the best is fun because you always get people chiming in on how I or anybody else "disrespected their conference". I ranked them....


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Sun Devils Get Their Duke Man

It took a little longer than originally thought, but the Sun Devils finally got their Duke man to lead their basketball program. However, it wasn't the Dukie that they thought they would get. The man on their radar for the majority of their search for a new coach was Jeff Capel, head assistant at Duke right now. They ended up with Bobby Hurley, former head coach at Buffalo.


Anybody that knows anything knows that Hurley is a Duke guy. He played at Duke under Coach K, won 2 consecutive national championships, was a NBA player, and has the coaching pedigree from his father who is considered one of the best, if not, the best high school coach in the country. With all those credentials, Hurley certainly brings the "splash" effect to Tempe, Arizona. He should "win" the press conference when he is formally introduced in the next couple of days.


The ASU basketball program is in need of some serious attention right now. The program is not relevant in the least, they don't make the NCAA tournament that much, attendance is atrocious, the facilities are sub-par, and overall interest in the program is just non-existent. With Hurley in the fold, interest in the program should see a marketable uptick in interest, but lets keep this a bit real. If the wins don't come and he can't get the program to be competitive or get to the NCAA tournament, then this will be for naught. I believe with all the swag he will initially bring that he will get the program to be competitive. What does that really mean though?


With a perennial top ten program only 90 minutes away in Tucson, Hurley has some serious work to do. Initially, he may not win like the alumni want him to, but an angle he may want to look at is to go the international route with recruiting. Get some kids in the program that have some experience playing on a high level and that may just get those important wins for him at a struggling Power 5 school. Just a thought on my part. Right now, ASU won't get the type of players that the University of Arizona gets all the time in the basketball program. Hurley is going to have to be a major seller of the program and the surroundings in the Valley of the Sun. An international kid that gets recruited here may look at the Valley of Sun and think that this area is paradise and may also think, I can become a big time player here. Hurley has said the right things in his initial statement to the press, but he needs to be a recruiter on an elite level to do things that he thinks he may be able to do here in Sun Devil land.


In the end, the Devils got their man, maybe not the man they originally thought they would get, but a guy that I can see being here for more than just three years or so. He has his work cut out for him, but if attacks this job like he played on the court, then there is nothing, but blue skies ahead for the Sun Devil program. The proof will be in the pudding as they say. Forks Up!

Best and Worst: Final Four Weekend and Championship Monday

It's all over. The tourney is done. Do we want more? Of course we do, we always want more. It's how college basketball fans are. There were some things that were great, like Kentucky getting beat, Duke showing some big heart, and Izzo getting to another Final Four. Parts of the Final Four were not so great. Such as whining after EVERY call by the refs or sour grape type of comments after a game or a racial type of slur in a post game presser...


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Three Point Play: Kentucky Wildcats and Lost History

Some people like seeing history made, others don't. I tend to be one of those kind of people like seeing history made. Sports fans like history, but usually when it only applies to their team in a positive way. I mean, nobody likes seeing their team make history for having the longest losing streak or for fewest points in a game. Fans want to see their teams make history for going undefeated or winning the most championships. Well, Kentucky fans had visions of winning another college basketball championship while going undefeated at the same time. Some times the best laid plans get wrecked by something that you may not have seen coming.


Kentucky came into the year as one of most heralded teams in recent history with their collection of McDonald's All-Americans, the length, and the possibility that some mentioned even before the team played a single minute on the floor in an actual game. For young players, that is a lot of hype to live up to. Do you young players pay attention to the hype? Of course they do. Any player that tells you differently is lying to you. To his credit, John Calipari has figured out how to manage the collection of talent he has amassed for the Wildcats. People may hate on Calipari, but he gets the talent, and somehow, someway, he manages to coach these kids up to get them to perform at a extremely high level.


History seemed to on course for the Wildcats. They played to the strengths and kept winning no matter the circumstance. They had length more than anybody else, which helped them on the boards, blocking shots, and scoring because they could just over the smaller player. There was a game or two that Kentucky's smallest starter was bigger than the other teams tallest player. That is some serious height advantage to have going into most, if not all, games.


Watching Kentucky multiple times, a couple of things stood out to me. One, the lack of shooters. Besides Aaron Harrison, I didn't really see a guy that could stick a jumper on a consistent basis. They had so much size they usually could dominate in the paint, but unlike, a Wisconsin type of team, who has shooters everywhere, didn't have that luxury and I think that was one of the reasons they came up short in the Final Four.


The other aspect that I saw was that they were not a particular good free throw shooting team. The one thing that I always look at is free throw percentage as a team. That is something that decides/finishes off teams in the last few minutes of a game. If a team knows they can't foul because it's fruitless in terms of keeping the other team off the scoreboard, then you have a weapon you can count on in crucial situations.


At the end of the day, Kentucky didn't make plays when they had to and thus, they are sitting at home watching Duke win the title that they thought they would be winning. Calipari will have another crop of young stud players, but he would be wise to recruit some kids who are shooters and can shoot a good percentage at the free throw line.