The O'Bannon ruling

When I heard that a judge ruled in favor of the lawsuit brought by Ed O'Bannon I was relieved for college athletes. Even though the ruling brought by Judge Claudia Wilken stopped short of lifting all restrictions it dealt a huge blow to the NCAA and it's supporters.


I have always maintained that college athletes should receive some sort of compensation for their services to their respective universities. People who sit on their moral high horse will say that they are getting a free education and that is their compensation. Yeah, sure. Go into a college bookstore and look at college jersey's that are on sale for the public. You will see numbers of the most popular players on the team. Are you listening Texas A & M? Oregon? Ohio State? USC? Notre Dame? The list of teams that market their players is incredibly long and could go on forever.


When players walk around campus and see their coaches getting paid seven figures, Rolexes being worn by coaches and alumni, and see their likeness being bought by fans and the university benefitting from them, they have to wonder, where's my cut? Now, I am not saying these players need to be paid like professional athletes, but they DESERVE a bigger cut of the profits from the sales of their likeness. That is what is at the center of the O'Bannon lawsuit. The players get a check to help them pay for things every month, but it does not come close to helping them enjoy the college experience.  I remember back in college and meeting some players and hearing them complain about how they really did not have enough money to do anything fun from time to time and that was disconcerting to me because they were helping the university make money on Saturdays and they were struggling to pay for things.


When I see players getting caught taking impermissible benefits like dinners, bills being paid, money for autographs (Manziel), taking phone calls from coaches, or any number of things that anybody else would take and get their eligibility threatened I just want to burn the NCAA down. Then see the coaches leave for other opportunities and leave the former program in sanctions and really nothing can be done to the coaches it becomes even more frustrating. The coaches can move on without penalty, but if the players want to exercise that right, they have to wait to play until the following year. I know there are exceptions to this rule, but the vast majority of transfer players have to wait before playing again and that is just plain wrong.


When Johnny "Football" was signing those autographs and was paid for them,  I was saying "good for him, get it while you can." I hear people say that their are students who are on academic scholarship and deal with paying for school just like the players. That is apples and oranges to me. Players are bringing hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars into the school that is used for college stadium expansion, updated facilities for both academic and athletic students, and these players are just supposed to be ok with that? When they fully know that they are part of the benefits that the university is enjoying. It's just wrong. So here is to hoping that the reins will be taken off and these players can get a bigger share of a billion dollar pie...

Are the Devils going to be done in by their schedule?

Some times the greatest aspirations for a football team are done in by the simplest thing or things. In some cases it can simply come down to who you play and where you play them. Arizona State just might be in that predicament for this upcoming season.










The Devils have a competitive team to put on the field, but the schedule may not do them any favors. There out of conference schedule includes home dates with Weber State, New Mexico, and Notre Dame. While the first two games with Weber State and New Mexico don't exactly strike fear in fans and possibly players, the game with Notre Dame on November 8 may provide a window into if the Devils will have a winning season, a bowl trip, or sitting home during the holidays.








The area of the schedule that concerns me is the from September 25 when UCLA comes to town for a Thursday night game until a November 15 game with those pesky Oregon State Beavers up in Corvallis. In order, here is the brutal line of games. UCLA, at USC, Stanford (bye week to prepare for the Cardinal), at Washington, Utah, Notre Dame, and at Oregon State. The Pac-12 is a league in which they "eat their own", so this stretch of games for the Devils is going to be one that determines just how successful they will be. Really, the only game I see in this stretch of games that should be a slam dunk win is Utah, the Homecoming game. Sorry Utah, there is a reason why you were made the Homecoming game.








The Devils are fortunate about having their bye week to prepare for Stanford. They will be looking for a little bit of payback from the Pac-12 title game when they play the Cardinal. Next, going to Washington to play is never easy. Washington is and will be fighting for a bowl spot by then and will give the Devils all they can handle up in Seattle.  Husky stadium is a very tough place to play and the weather may be starting to turn ugly in Seattle about that time of the year for the Devils.








The Devils get Utah next for Homecoming and should be able to ring up the Utes fairly easily for a comfortable win, BUT that's why you play the games right? You can't take anybody for granted because once you do that is when you get bit in the ass with an unexpected loss. The Sun Devils can not afford to do that this year.  Next up after Utah is one of the legendary programs in all of the college football, Notre Dame. That'll be a telling game for the Devils because the crowd at Sun Devil stadium may be half Irish fans. The ASU defense will need to step up and stop a quarterback who has a year under his belt and might be looking forward to throwing against an inexperienced defense. Taylor Kelly will need to be at his best on November 8.  Kelly will need to be at his best all year. No room for error with him.  After that game here comes the Oregon State Beavers and the game is Corvallis. All bets are off with this game. The weather will be cold, quite possibly rainy, and just plain miserable for the Sun Devils.








Can the Devils have a winning a season? Absolutely.  Can the Devils have a miserable season? Absolutely. Arizona State is going to have to be focused every week and ready to play on game day or this could end up being a very long season for the team and the fans. Buckle up Devil fans, it is going to be a heck of a ride. 

Time to put up or shut up for the Sun Devils

In the last two years of Sun Devil football they have gone from an 8 win team to a team that played in the Pac-12 Championship game last year. Well, it's time to see where this program is headed this year.


Since I've lived down here in the Valley of the Sun, there always seems like there is a lot of bravado coming out of Tempe every year. It's always puzzled me because the Sun Devil program has been mired in a sea of mediocrity for a very long time.  When the team takes field this year I will be wondering whether Sun Devil fans will have something to cheer about and have more reasons to attend games and sell out Sun Devil stadium instead of leaving games early or seeing that stadium about half full.


This 2014 team is not perfect, they are not rolling out talent like an Alabama or Oregon, but they have learned that they can compete with anybody. They can compete with anybody given they play with a sense of urgency. That every play matters, every series they get matters because once they play like that, they can beat Stanford, Oregon, UCLA consistently and not beat them every so often. If they do not play with urgency then a repeat of last years Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech will happen. Texas Tech made them look like a JV squad in that game when it should of been the other way around. The Devils should have beat the Red Raiders down convincingly, but we all know it did not happen.


From the start of training camp, to the regular season, to the bowl season the Devils have to play with urgency. There are two people that should stress that urgent play and those people are: Head Coach Todd Graham and quarterback Taylor Kelly. They can not take anybody lightly, does not matter if they are playing the Colorado's of the world or Stanford. Anybody can beat anybody on any given Saturday. Graham and Taylor Kelly have to get team ready to play every practice and every game and make them realize urgent play is what is expected with the Sun Devil football program. Here's to hoping the program puts it up this year!  Just saying...

Oregon is doomed?

The college football season is closing in on us fans and now is when you start hearing all sorts of doom and gloom from certain segments of college football and all sorts of trash talking from some fans about how well their team is going to do during the upcoming season. Well, I am hearing people talk about how the Ducks are doomed in the next few years. What? Really?


I don't think so. People point to some recruiting misses in the last few months or even back to last couple of years. I totally disagree. So the Ducks miss out on a some quality players, well, guess what. There are a lot of football players out there that will take the place of those misses in recruiting.  Many fans get all caught up in the recruiting rankings. Truth be told, you can not even judge a recruiting class for about three years. Oregon gets great talent now since they have been competing at a very high level. What the Ducks can show a recruit on their campus is amazing. If you have not seen the video of the new athletic offices and locker rooms then you are missing some amazing video.


The Ducks are not doomed at all. The Ducks have a particular kind of offense that needs a particular type of player. They are not looking necessarily for the same player Alabama is. The Ducks want speed everywhere, Alabama doesn't really look for that everywhere on the field.  Maybe they should after that Iron Bowl loss. Let me put this into some sort of context. The Ducks quarterback, Marcus Mariotta, who is widely considered a Heisman Trophy finalist, was not even in the top 25 of players in his recruiting class. He was not in the top 50, or 75, or 100. He was ranked 123 in his recruiting class. Look where he is now.


Coaches want as much talent as they can get, but they need talent that fits their system that they run. That's why Oregon and Alabama look for different types of players. Oregon is totally not doomed because of recruiting or any other reason. They made the decision back in the 90's to make their football program elite and to start spending money to make it so. Granted, having Phil Knight helps, but the whole school had to buy in and all the money that is rolling in makes Oregon want to continue the good times. Those Duck fans that get a little worried about that program in Seattle or those programs in Los Angelas over take them, stop it. It's not happening for a while, relax. This coming from an Oregon State alum.... Just saying.

Running a Division One program

One of my favorite things I hear on the radio, tv, or in football stadiums is the fan saying "I could coach better than him, I could recruit better, this is what needs to be done with the program..." etc. Really?


So, "Joe fan" would be willing to give up so many parts of his life to run a division one program in college football. I HIGHLY doubt that. Most fans are not that dedicated to the program they root for unless their team is having a winning season. In all honesty, I catch myself doing the "what the heck is the coach thinking?" thought from time to time, but I get myself out of those thoughts quickly because I am a coach young football men. Albeit, on the high school level and not the college level, but I hear those screams from the stands as well and wonder why can't the fans just root for the team and not yell all sorts of things at the coaches or players.


College coaches have so much responsibilities to the university it is insane. They have to manage around 100 student/athletes, a full coaching staff, kiss alumni's ass on Saturdays, deal with administration, recruit, recruit, recruit, deal with sub standard referees, and oh, you, know... win a college football game! His days are approximately 16-18 hours long during the season and maybe, just maybe, just a little shorter in the off-season.


My thought about "Joe fan" taking over a program is that he could not do it. Not even finish the first day or first week of being the man in charge.  Talking with some college coaches in the past, most coaches get chased out of the profession by alumni or these unreal expectations that fans put on them. They say most fans have an unrealistic view of their program. I agree. Unless, you are Alabama, Florida State, or possibly Auburn fans think their school are going to win the National Championship. I root for Oregon State and by no means do I EVER think they are going to be in the running for a title in football. They can't get the talent up there to Corvallis to win and hopefully Beaver fans don't think we are winning the title anytime soon.


In the end, every fan wants the best for their team, but fans have to stay away from the unreal expectations that they may have for their university. Alumni can throw all sorts of money at the university, but if you don't have the talent, you won't win. Period. End of story. Fans, just enjoy the game and cheer on team and don't think you could EVER step in and take over the program. Just saying....

Tradition and the Pac-12

I heard this being discussed the other day on a local radio talk show and it struck me as strange that the radio people were talking about the Sun Devils and most of the rest of the Pac-12 having all this tradition going on at their school(s). I just do not see it that way.


West Coast football is a pretty "what have you done for me lately" kind of fan base. It is a band-wagon culture to me because if your team is not winning then there is no support for the programs. Growing up in Oregon, support for either Oregon State or Oregon was not even close to what it is now. The football programs were terrible, had many seasons where the only competitive game for either school was the Civil War game. I attended the Civil War game that ended in 0-0 tie and the most interesting play was the last play where the Ducks were trying to pull off a Stanford-California ending. It didn't work, but made the last 20 seconds more interesting than the rest of the game. Tradition was non existent for either school. Fans were not vocal about their teams like they are now. It's funny how winning cures that.


The tradition of winning was really regulated to three schools Washington, UCLA, and USC back in the day. It seemed like those three schools were the ones on a rotating basis for the Rose Bowl. Other than that, no other school had any tradition in terms of winning and thinking that they were the next "up and coming" program. Sure, an ASU might sneak into the Rose Bowl or a University of Arizona make a push every four years, but that does not make for any kind of tradition.


Since I live down here in the desert I often hear Sun Devil fans talk about this tradition that they have of winning. What? What kind of blinders do you have on? Eventually, the conversation goes back to Frank Kush era down here. Ok, that was a LONG time ago. Tradition means, it is consistent, not just a period of time. Don't get me wrong, other school fans are like this as well. UCLA and Washington fans are you listening? The Bruins fell off the map for awhile as well. Some people didn't even realize there was another university in town besides USC while the Trojans were squashing everybody and winning National Title and competing for other championship titles. Washington has disappeared from any talk of winning anything. The Dawgs are mired in mediocrity currently. As for my Oregon State Beavers, a school that is more or less known for having 30 losing seasons in row, we should be under no illusions of any kind of tradition in Corvallis. We are just happy we win more than 3 games a year now.


About a year ago, I had a good high school friend of mine come into town from back east we had this conversation about how disillusioned many Pac-12 program fans are when they talk about winning tradition. My buddy is a graduate of the University of Oregon and he supports his Ducks all the time, but he knows there is not this huge tradition of winning in Eugene. He told me that Duck fans have forgotten how bad it was because of the recent success and the help that Phil Knight has provided. We both agreed that when you talk about winning tradition you need to look no further than teams in the south. The fans are not "fair weather" like they are here out West.  The support for them is unwavering ALL the time.


Would I like to see the winning tradition take over in the Pac-12? You bet I would, but lets be realistic about things. We are little more relaxed out here in the West and look at our football programs a little differently in terms of winning. If they win we go to games, they don't win, well, we don't. It really is that simple... just saying.

Rich Rod and the Cats

I am believer in Rich Rod and the Wildcats down there at the University of Arizona. I think his Big 10 experiment at Michigan was just the wrong fit for him. Michigan was not ready for a spread type of offense as well. With that being said, Rodriguez is a perfect fit for the Wildcats and the Pac-12 because his spread attack is just like the wild, wild west. Open and free! Football in the West is all about quick strikes and putting pressure on the defense on every play.


I, for one, would love to see the Cats continue to rise in the Pac-12 south division because it would create a better rivalry with the Sun Devils. The rivalry is good, but it should be great and if the two major Division one programs in the state are winning and consistently winning then everybody benefits in Arizona. The University of Arizona is finishing up a major remodel of the football stadium and that'll help bring in better recruiting classes. Let's face the truth, that remodel was sorely needed down there because going to football game there was like stepping inside a mausoleum. The stadium will be more "attractive" to recruits.


Next, his offense is the wide open spread. Very fan friendly. Watching teams execute a play about 12-15 seconds is fun to watch. Personally, I'm not sure why it took this long for this type of offense to take hold like it has
 in the 5-7 years. I like the Rich Rod's aggressive personality and style on the field. The take no prisoner approach, if you are up by 20 points, make it 30 points. If people get upset with this type of football, sit down and shut up people. If you think Rich Rod is running up the score, then obviously your team isn't doing anything to stop the lopsided score.


One of his challenges this year will be to find a replacement for Ka'deem Carey, who was probably the best running back in the Pac-12 and probably a top five running back in college football last year. Most people don't know who this guy is because he played in Arizona, the Pac-12 and not the SEC or on the East Coast. Look for Rodriguez to find a suitable replacement for Carey.


With back to back 8-5 seasons the Wildcats are looking to do big things in 2014. Here's to hoping they can accomplish those high aspirations!  Just saying....