Football

Other projected drafts of interest are Rialto's Ryan Clady, an offensive tackle, to Baltimore at No. 8.

USC OLB Keith Rivers is forecast at No. 9 to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cal WR/KR DeSean Jackson is seen as going to Denver at No. 12.

Pac-10 players Antoine Cason, Arizona CB, and RB Jonathan Stewart of Oregon, are projected at Nos. 15 and 16 to Detroit and Arizona.

Illinois tailback Rashard Mendenhall could be No. 18 to the Houston Texans

No. 19 sees the Philadelphia Eagles taking USC TE Fred Davis.

No. 23. is USC OT Sam Baker, who's been battling that near seasonlong hamstring pull to get into top shape.

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:29 PM, January 30
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We're No. 2.

The final numbers are in and have the Rose Bowl finishing No. 2 among households reached with the TV broadcast, behind only the BCS title game.

But the numbers also show the non-BCS Capital One Bowl right ahead of USC-Illinois New Year's Day right on the heels of the Rose. And that points out the one abiding TV bowl truth. The Big Ten teams from the frozen Midwest get the best numbers as Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State showed.

Here are the TV numbers for the major bowl games.

Capital One Bowl: Michigan 41, Florida 35, ABC: 10,301,679 households

Rose Bowl presented by Citi: Southern California 49, Illinois 17, ABC: 12,531,880

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Georgia 41, Hawai'i 10, Fox: 7,850,519

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 28, Fox: 8,736,935

FedEx Orange Bowl: Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21, Fox: 8,345,715

Allstate BCS National Championship: LSU 38, Ohio State 24, Fox: 16,291,263

Posted by Dan Weber at 5:22 PM, January 24
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With all the talk today about UCLA's "dream staff'' with Rick Neuheisel and coordinators DeWayne Walker and Norm Chow, there really was a college football "dream staff'' in maybe the most unlikely of places a half-century ago.

It happened when Paul "Bear'' Bryant left Kentucky for Texas A&M before going back to Alabama and a quiet man by the name of Blanton Collier came home from the NFL to his alma mater for an eight-year stint starting in 1954. No one could succeed Bryant but Collier then went back to the Cleveland Browns, succeeded the legendary Paul Brown and won one NFL title and went to two more title games.

But what Collier did at UK was amazing; putting together this group of assistants:

* Don Shula, the NFL's winningest all-time coach;

* Howard Schnellenberger, who won a national title and started the Miami dynasty before going on to coach Louisville, Oklahoma and Florida International;

* Bill Arnsparger, who led LSU to an SEC title, was Shula's longtime Dolphins' defensive coordinator and NY Giants head coach;

* Chuck Knox, two-time Rams head coach who was the first NFL coach to win division titles with three different teams;

* Ermal Allen, a 22-year top assistant to Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Tom Landry; and

* Paul Dietzel, who became head coach at LSU, where he won a national title, then went on to coach South Carolina and Army.

Those guys could coach. And yet Collier got fired.

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:50 PM, January 21
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Got to give it to Rick Neuheisel.

Hiring two coordinators, Norm Chow and DeWayne Walker, who both interviewed for the head job that he got, and were both turned down, is a courageeously confident way to go. Unless it's foolhardy and desperate.

Guess we'll find out. Would love to sit in on some of their gameplan sessions. Those should be fun. Wonder if any team has ever had a 1-1-1 vote about the way to go.

Give Neuheisel this. With Chow still collecting most of his estimated $2.5 million contract settlement from the Tennessee Titans, he certainly would seem to fit into the UCLA price range.

One thing we won't have to wait for is an energized USC-UCLA rivalry. With the recent fade of Notre Dame, the team most USC fans have considered their top rival, UCLA has moved itself clearly into Pete Carroll & Co.'s crosshairs.

Posted by Dan Weber at 11:51 AM, January 21
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Hawaii receiver Ryan Grice-Mullins, who hails from Rialto, posted a message on his blog today that he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.

Continue reading "Grice-Mullins going pro" »

Posted by Matt Hurst at 2:41 PM, January 09
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ESPN's hot news from "sources'' at the American Football Coaches Convention in Anaheim has Pete Carroll, fresh from his vacation home in Hawaii, talking to Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank about his open coaching situation.

How could this be, you ask. The last guy there, Bobby Petrino, didn't last the season out before skulking off to Fayetteville, Ark. and Carroll would go there. To a place where nearly every decision these days from play-calls, to player and coaching personnel to off-the-field issues seems to devolve into more controversy -- and about something other than football?

Why go to a place where the city, the state and the entire region that Atlanta is the capitol of, cares far more about college football than the NFL?

Why does Carroll do this every year? Atlanta, Arizona, San Francisco, Miami?

Why? One way you can think is that there's a whole cadre of Carroll cronies who would benefit from his return to the NFL. They're not college people. There's no place for them at USC. But there would be if he returned to the NFL.

So he listens out of a sense of duty to them.

But then there's this. And it's from personal experience. You know those nice folks who come and knock on your door to talk to you about religion. Many times people have their own strong convictions and have no intention of going elsewhere.

But often you will listen politely, never sending anyone away, because you feel like you owe it to them -- out of politeness, out of respect. It's just the way you treat people.

And it's just the way Carroll does.

It is a change, however, if true, from Carroll's reaction just a week ago when we asked him about the NFL.

"There's no point commenting,'' he said then. "There's nothing going on.''

And so he didn't.

Let's see if he talks about that now. If there's something there, he always does.

Posted by Dan Weber at 12:36 PM, January 09
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Not that it really matters all that much but the coaches, who by contract must vote BCS championship game winner LSU No. 1, elevated USC to No. 2 today, up from No. 6 after the regular season.

That's something at least for the Trojans. They got the top open spot available, edging out No. 3 Georgia in a switch from the AP rankings of those two.

Only three Pac-10 teams (Arizona State No. 13, Oregon No. 24) made the Top 25 with Oregon State just missing at No. 26.

Here's how the coaches voted in the USA Today poll.

Coaches Poll

No. School Record Points Prev
1 LSU (60) 12-2 1500 2
2 Southern California 11-2 1380 6
3 Georgia 11-2 1370 4
4 Ohio State 11-2 1287 1
5 Missouri 12-2 1241 7
6 West Virginia 11-2 1239 9
7 Kansas 12-1 1217 8
8 Oklahoma 11-3 1016 3
9 Virginia Tech 11-3 979 5
10 Texas 10-3 924 17
11 Boston College 11-3 898 14
12 Tennessee 10-4 826 18
13 Arizona State 10-3 635 11
14 Auburn 9-4 624 21
14 Brigham Young 11-2 624 19
16 Florida 9-4 567 12
17 Hawaii 12-1 427 10
18 Illinois 9-4 416 13
19 Michigan 9-4 413 31
20 Cincinnati 10-3 376 23
21 Wisconsin 9-4 333 15
22 Clemson 9-4 319 16
23 Texas Tech 9-4 242 26
24 Oregon 9-4 192 33
25 Penn State 9-4 127 28
Others Receiving Votes:
Oregon State(9-4) 108; Virginia(9-4) 71; Wake Forest(9-4) 53; Boise State(10-3) 33; Kentucky(8-5) 11; Fresno State(9-4) 11; California(7-6) 8; Connecticut(9-4) 8; Mississippi State(8-5) 7; South Florida(9-4) 6; Tulsa(10-4) 5; UCF(10-4) 4; Utah(9-4) 2; Arkansas(8-5) 1

Posted by Dan Weber at 10:37 AM, January 08
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It's not exactly progress to open the season with 62 first-place votes in the AP poll and finish with one.

Or to start at No. 1 and finish at No. 3.

But the way the season ended, USC will take it with the Trojans moving up to a close No. 3, just 15 points behind No. 2 Georgia, after LSU's smashing of another noncompetitive Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, in the BCS title game Monday night.

That makes it an unprecedented six straight Top Five finishes for the Trojans to go with their record-tying six straight BCS appearances (and 5-1 record).

So maybe there will be some quiet celebrating in Troy over this, as long as Trojans fans don't allow themselves to think of what might have been over the last five years.

After all, no one has ever won three straight AP national titles. So why think that if you take away 19 seconds against Texas, a nine-point game against UCLA and a pass completion by Stanford and USC might be celebrating five straight national championships today. It will only make you crazy.

Note that three other Pac-10 teams made the Top 25 with Arizona State tabbed at No. 16 and both Oregon schools getting in -- Oregon at No. 23 and Oregon State at No. 25.

Not so good for the Big Ten after all the maneuvering and campaigning to get Ohio State into the BCS title game and Illinois into the Rose Bowl, the two most prestigious postseason games, the Big Ten took a beating with the voters. Not only did Ohio State (finished fifth) and Illinois (finished 20th) take a combined 12-spot drop, even the one ray of sunshine, Michigan, got whacked.

The good-old-boy network of voters, after Florida's 41-35 loss to Michigan (We all saw it, it was on TV right before the Rose Bowl) still voted the 9-4 Gators at No. 13, five spots ahead of the 9-4 Wolverines, who beat them by six in their bowl matchup. Maybe those voters don't subscribe to the Big Ten Network.

Anyway, here's the final AP voting.

Top 25
1. LSU (60) 12-2 1,620
2. Georgia (3) 11-2 1,515
3. USC (1) 11-2 1,500
4. Missouri 12-2 1,347
5. Ohio State 11-2 1,346
6. West Virginia 11-2 1,342
7. Kansas (1) 12-1 1,303
8. Oklahoma 11-3 1,139
9. Virginia Tech 11-3 1,096
10. Texas 10-3 962
10. Boston College 11-3 962
12. Tennessee 10-4 904
13. Florida 9-4 685
14. Brigham Young 11-2 654
15. Auburn 9-4 648
16. Arizona State 10-3 587
17. Cincinnati 10-3 566
18. Michigan 9-4 508
19. Hawaii 12-1 460
20. Illinois 9-4 443
21. Clemson 9-4 353
22. Texas Tech 9-4 308
23. Oregon 9-4 253
24. Wisconsin 9-4 202
25. Oregon State 9-4 110
Others Receiving Votes
Virginia 66, Penn State 61, Kentucky 57, Wake Forest 53, Boise State 25, Arkansas 13, Utah 9, Mississippi State 7, Appalachian State 5, South Florida 5, Tulsa 4, Connecticut 3, Air Force 2, Rutgers 2.
Dropped From Rankings
Virginia 21, South Florida 23, Boise State 24, Arkansas 25.

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:17 AM, January 08
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Hard to say if this will be all that welcome at USC.

In Scout's.com's evaluations of the top 32 players in this year's NFL Draft,

Good for USC: four players in the top 32;

Not so good: One of them is a junior, linebacker Rey Maualuga, Scout.com's No. 16 player overall.

Other Trojans are: DT Sedrick Ellis -- No. 4; LB Keith Rivers, No. 18 and OT Sam Baker, No. 25.

Also ranked high is Rialto's Ryan Clady, the Boise State junior OT.

One ranking that might give a person pause to put too much stock in these rankings would be that Notre Dame tight end John Carlson is ranked, at No. 32, and USC tight end Fred Davis is not.

Scouts Inc.'s Top 32

Player Pos. School Grade

1. Darren McFadden* RB Arkansas 99
2. Chris Long DE Virginia 98
3. Glenn Dorsey DT LSU 98
4. Sedrick Ellis DT USC 97
5. Matt Ryan QB Boston Coll. 97
6. Jake Long OT Michigan 97
7. James Laurinaitis* ILB Ohio State 96
8. Brian Brohm QB Louisville 96
9. Vernon Gholston* DE Ohio State 95
10. Andre Woodson Jr. QB Kentucky 95
11. Malcolm Jenkins* CB Ohio State 95
12. Derrick Harvey* DE Florida 95
13. Ryan Clady* OT Boise St. 95
14. Kenny Phillips* S Miami 94
15. DeSean Jackson* WR California 94
16. Rey Maualuga* ILB USC 94
17. Calais Campbell* DE Miami 94
18. Keith Rivers OLB USC 94
19. Mike Jenkins CB S. Florida 93
20. Dan Connor OLB Penn State 93
21. Limas Sweed WR Texas 93
22. Early Doucet III WR LSU 92
23. Felix Jones* RB Arkansas 92
24. Jeffrey Otah OT Pittsburgh 92
25. Samuel Baker OT USC 91
26. Malcolm Kelly* WR Oklahoma 91
27. Aqib Talib* CB Kansas 91
28. Ali Highsmith OLB LSU 91
29. Jonathan Stewart* RB Oregon 90
30. Michael Oher OT Mississippi 90
31. Mario Manningham* WR Michigan 90
32. John Carlson TE Notre Dame 90

Posted by Dan Weber at 6:07 PM, January 05
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It didn't look too good for the 1-2 Pac-10 in bowl play today when a completely disinterested Cal jumped out behind 21-0 to a bunch of tough, disciplined little guys from Air Force.

But playing as if the USC Trojans were on the other side of the ball, darned if the Bears didn't come flying back for a 42-15 comeback the rest of the way for a 42-36 win in the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth.

Then the Dennis Dixonless Oregon Ducks scored 28 quick points after halftime to go up 46-14 over South Florida in the Sun Bowl with QB Justin Roper firing four TD passes to give the Pac-10 a leg up on a 3-2 bowl season going into the Rose Bowl with USC having a chance to make that an impressive 4-2.

Not bad after a disappointing 0-2 start after UCLA and Arizona losses to open postseason.

Posted by Dan Weber at 2:07 PM, December 31
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UCLA hired Rick Neuheisel as head football coach on Saturday.

Neuheisel, a former Bruin quarterback, succeeds his former receiver Karl Dorrell, who was fired Dec. 3 after five seasons.

"Rick has enjoyed great success throughout his career and we believe he is the coach who can take our program to the next level," athletic director Dan Guerrero said. "His teams at Colorado and Washington continually challenged for conference championships and national rankings, and that is what we are looking to do at UCLA."

Posted by jason winston at 3:48 PM, December 29
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With Illinois the first-ever Big Ten runnerup with three losses invited to the Rose Bowl, the question this week is whether the Pac-10/Big Ten tradition is upheld, as the Rose Bowl Committee folks contended it was, by sticking with the traditional conference matchups?

Is it tradition when only one league champ is available. USC vs. Ohio State, now that would have been the tradition.

But the 14-point spread for USC over Illinois, making the Trojans the biggest favorites of all the bowl matchups, would not seem to warrant staying with tradition even if the Illini are a great story and have a half-dozen really good players.

Not providing USC an opponent that would allow it to move up with an impressive win would seem to be a disservice to the host school. Too bad someone (the Pac-10 or the Rose Bowl people) didn't protect the Trojans.

Clearly someone (the Big Ten) was battling for the Illini, who will have a chance to make a big move up.

Posted by Dan Weber at 5:56 PM, December 28
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At last, Patrick Turner may get to practice in pads Saturday.

The deep thigh bruise is loosening up and he did not need an MRI as anticipated Thursday and with treatment and medication, Turner said after practice Friday that he anticipated returning Saturday, the last possible day for him to get ready to play Tuesday in the Rose Bowl.

Posted by Dan Weber at 3:47 PM, December 28
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Before LoseLavin.com and DumpDorrell.com, there was FireRonZook.com. Florida ended up firing Zook, and Illinois is grateful it did. Illini offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who also coached with Zook during a tumultuous time in Florida, said today at a Beverly Hills press conference it was "vindication" for Zook to be leading a team to the Rose Bowl. No word of a fire Mike Locksley site has been set up yet, but you never know since he has been rumored to be a candidate for the West Virginia job.

Posted by Diamond Leung at 11:37 AM, December 28
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You knew it wouldn't be the same, a Rose Bowl with almost no buzz.

But who knew it could be this quiet.

There were fewer fans by far in the Illini blue and orange at Disneyland but that could have been a weather issue getting out of the Midwest the day after Christmas.

But today, at the Rose Bowl's Beverly Hilton Hotel headquarters, you could wait forever to see anyone resembling a football fan wearing school colors.

Makes you almost long for the Texas or Michigan fans.

Posted by Dan Weber at 4:39 PM, December 27
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UCLA's Kai Forbath had a 28-yard field goal blocked as time expired as BYU escaped with a 17-16 victory in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Bruins drove downfield from their 1 in the final two minutes and set up the field-goal attempt on McLeod Bethel-Thompson's 36-yard completion to Logan Paulsen.

Posted by jason winston at 8:38 PM, December 22
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In regards to the AP Coach and Player of the Year awards, I voted for Arkansas RB Darren McFadden and Kansas Coach Mark Mangino.

Florida's Tim Tebow won the award for the player adn Mangino earned the coaching honor. Each year, the AP college football voters help select the awards.

Posted by Kevin Pearson at 6:32 PM, December 19
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USC would be happy if the Coliseum Commision keeps control of the historic stadium -- as long as they fix it up so it remains a "historic'' treasure for Southern California.

That will cost some $50 million to $60 million the next four years and if they can come up with it and guarantee the repairs USC has called for on a four-year schedule, the Trojans will sign on the dotted line.

That was the gist of a Monday press conference responding to the Commission's lease proposal to USC Dec. 16.

But if the Coliseum Commission can't guarantee the repairs and improvements, USC will -- and in doing so by coming up with the money, will take over the master lease.

The ball is now officially in the Commission's court. USC senior VP Todd Dickey said he expects to hear back by Friday. On one point the Commission to concede to USC, saying the university could have veto power on an NFL team coming to the Coliseum.

But the Commission can't say only that it will try to come up with the improvements, depending on whether it can come up with the money. It must guarantee that it will to get USC to sign.

Posted by Dan Weber at 6:43 PM, December 17
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OK, this could be a cheap shot but . . . .

After watching the Centennial-DeLaSalle state championship game, maybe it's wrong to blame the Pac-10 any more for such inferior college football officiating crews.

If the big class state title game was any example and those guys were the cream of the crop, maybe there aren't ant good football officials at the high school level in California to move up to the Pac-10.

Could they have missed any more blocks in the back, multiple blocks in the back at the point of attack? What were they watching?

And then with that ridiculous late celebration penalty on DeLaSalle, they made the game about them, not the kids playing the game. Had Centennial driven for a final TD, with the winning extra point the difference, all anybody would have been talking about is the silly 15-yard penalty that cost DeLaSalle the game. A couple of kids showing the natural joy after a TD and jumping up and bumping chests is something that should be encouraged, not discouraged, by the striped shirts.

Hard to imagine that's the first time that's happened this year -- or the spirit of the rule.

Posted by Dan Weber at 11:19 AM, December 17
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Of course Sedrick Ellis made the SI.com first team All-American team but so did his fellow senior defensive teammate Keith Rivers, despite a sprained ankle that's hampered Rivers much of the season.

The second team had USC tight end Fred Davis and safety Taylor Mays along with Hawaii WR Ryan Grice-Mullen of Rialto and another Rialto native, Boise State offensive tackle Ryan Clady.

Posted by Dan Weber at 10:12 PM, December 15
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USC's revised 2008 schedule addresses one issue of the Trojans' back-loaded schedule that had three byes in the first six weeks by moving the Nov. 22 Oregon home game to Oct. 4.

There's only one problem.

If the Trojans play at the Rose Bowl next season, that switch doubles the number of home conflicts with UCLA to two. In the original schedules of both LA teams, only the Nov. 8 date had two home games in LA -- Cal at USC, Oregon State at UCLA.

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:49 PM, December 15
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The College Football News always tries to do things differently -- and so they did with their All-America team this year. But one thing they didn't do differently was keep USC nose tackle Sedrick Ellis' All-American streak alive. He's been named first-team on every single one released to date.

But naming Oregon's Dennis Dixon as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation and running back Jonathan Stewart the No. 6 running back? Please. Don't be that dumb.

USC fans may want to take note. CFN.com has Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall second-team, four spots ahead of Stewart.

Nice hit for Rialto grad Ryan Grice-Mullen, one of Hawaii's wide receivers, who was named second team. Another Rialto guy, Boise State's Ryan Clady, was named second team offensive line along with USC tackle Sam Baker and tight end Fred Davis.

USC DE Lawrence Jackson made third team while LBs Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga were honorable mention, as was Oregon's Patrick Chung of Raqncho Cucamonga.

Here's the team, listed by position.

Quarterbacks
First Team
1. Tim Tebow, Soph. Florida

Second Team
2. Colt Brennan, Sr. Hawaii

Third Team
3. Sam Bradford, RFr. Oklahoma

Honorable Mention
4. Chase Daniel, Jr. Missouri
5. Pat White, Jr. West Virginia
6. Matt Ryan, Sr. Boston College
7. Dennis Dixon, Jr. Oregon
8. Todd Reesing, Soph. Kansas
9. Dan LeFevour, Soph. Central Michigan
10. Graham Harrell, Jr. Texas Tech
11. Cullen Harper, Jr. Clemson
12. Paul Smith, Sr. Tulsa
13. Brian Brohm, Sr. Louisville
14. Erik Ainge, Sr. Tennessee
15. Chase Clement, Jr. Rice
16. Andre Woodson, Sr. Kentucky

Running Backs
First Team
1. Darren McFadden, Jr. Arkansas
2. Kevin Smith, Jr. UCF

Second Team
3. Rashard Mendenhall, Jr. Illinois
4. Ray Rice, Jr. Rutgers

Third Team
5. Jamaal Charles, Jr. Texas
6. Matt Forte, Sr. Tulane

Honorable Mention
7. Jonathan Stewart, Jr. Oregon
8. Knowshon Moreno, Fr. Georgia
9. Tashard Choice, Sr. Georgia Tech
10. Justin Forsett, Sr. California
11. Eugene Jarvis, Soph. Kent State
12. Chris Wells, Soph. Ohio State
13. Anthony Alridge, Sr. Houston
14. Chad Hall, Sr. Air Force
15. Chris Johnson, Sr. East Carolina

Wide Receivers
First Team
1. Michael Crabtree, RFr. Texas Tech
2. Jordy Nelson, Sr. Kansas State

Second Team
3. Ryan Grice-Mullen, Jr. Hawaii
4. Davone Bess, Jr. Hawaii

Third Team
5. James Hardy, Jr. Indiana
6. Mike Thomas, Jr. Arizona

Honorable Mention
7. Aaron Kelly, Jr. Clemson
8. Harry Douglas, Sr. Louisville
9. Jeremy Maclin, Fr. Missouri
10. Mario Manningham, Jr. Michigan
11. Brandon Gibson, Jr. Washington State
12. Kenny McKinley, Jr. South Carolina
13. Donnie Avery, Sr. Houston
14. Dante Love, Jr. Ball State
15. Jabari Arthur, Sr. Akron

Tight Ends
First Team
1. Travis Beckum, Jr. Wisconsin
Second Team
2. Fred Davis, Sr. USC
Third Team
3. Martin Rucker, Sr. Missouri

Honorable Mention
4. Cody Slate, Soph. Marshall
5. Bear Pascoe, Jr. Fresno State
6. Darius Hill, Sr. Ball State
7. Gary Barnridge, Sr. Louisville
8. Ryan Purvis, Jr. Boston College
9. Dennis Pitta, Soph. BYU
10. Dustin Keller, Sr. Purdue

Offensive Line
First Team
1. OT Jake Long, Sr. Michigan
2. OT Anthony Collins, Jr. Kansas
3. OG George Robinson, Jr. Oklahoma
4. OT Barry Richardson, Sr. Clemson
5. C Jonathan Luigs, Jr. Arkansas

Second Team
6. OT Kirk Barton, Sr. Ohio State
7. OT Sam Baker, Sr. USC
8. OG Branden Albert, Jr. Virginia
9. OT Ryan Clady, Jr. Boise State
10. OG Hercules Satele, Sr. Hawaii

Third Team
11. C Alex Mack, Jr. California
12. C Steve Justice, Sr. Wake Forest
13. C Adam Spieker, Sr. Missouri
14. OT Jeremy Zuttah, Sr. Rutgers
15. OT Michael Oher, Jr. Ole Miss
16. OT John Greco, Sr. Toledo

Defensive Line
First Team
1. DT Glenn Dorsey, Sr. LSU
2. DT Sedrick Ellis, Sr. USC
3. DE Greg Middleton, Soph. Indiana
4. DE George Selvie, Soph. South Florida

Second Team
5. DE Chris Long, Sr. Virginia
6. DE Wallace Gilberry, Sr. Alabama
7. DE Greg Hardy, Soph. Ole Miss
8. DE Vernon Gholston, Soph. Ohio State

Third Team
9. DE Chris Ellis, Sr. Virginia Tech
10. DE Nick Reed, Jr. Oregon
11. DE Maurice Evans, Soph. Penn State
12. DE Lawrence Jackson, Sr. USC

Honorable Mention
13. DT Lorenzo Williams, Sr. Missouri
14. DE Chase Ortiz, Sr. TCU
15. DE Jan Jorgensen, Soph. BYU
16. DT James Jones, Sr. Eastern Michigan

Linebackers
First Team
1. Dan Connor, Sr. Penn State
2. Curtis Lofton, Jr. Oklahoma
3. Jordon Dizon, Sr. Colorado

Second Team
4. Scott McKillop, Jr. Pitt
5. James Laurinaitis, Jr. Ohio State
6. J Leman, Sr. Illinois

Third Team
7. Spencer Larsen, Sr. Arizona
8. Sean Lee, Jr. Penn State
9. Shawn Crable, Sr. Michigan

Honorable Mention
10. Beau Bell, Sr. UNLV
11. Jerod Mayo, Jr. Tennessee
12. Keith Rivers, Sr. USC
13. Rey Maualuga, Jr. USC
14. Erin Henderson, Jr. Maryland
15. Brandon Spikes, Soph. Florida
16. Wesley Woodyard, Sr. Kentucky

Defensive Backs
First Team
1. S Craig Steltz, Sr. LSU
2. FS Jamie Silva, Sr. Boston College
3. CB Antoine Cason, Sr. Arizona
4. CB Aqib Talib, Jr. Kansas

Second Team
5. CB Alphonso Smith, Jr. Wake Forest
6. CB Mike Mickens, Jr. Cincinnati
7. FS Rashad Johnson, Jr. Alabama
8. CB Mike Jenkins, Sr. South Florida

Third Team
9. SS Kenny Phillips, Jr. Miami
10. CB Reggie Smith, Jr. Oklahoma
11. SS Chris Horton, Sr. UCLA
12. FS Jonathan Hefney, Sr. Tennessee

Honorable Mention
13. SS Patrick Chung, Jr. Oregon
14. CB Terrence Wheatley, Sr. Colorado
15. SS Tyrell Johnson, Sr. Arkansas State
16. FS William Moore, Jr. Missouri

Placekickers
First Team
1. Thomas Weber, Fr. Arizona State
Second Team
2. John Sullivan, Sr. New Mexico
Third Team
3. Gary Cismesia, Sr. Florida State

Honorable Mention
4. Travis Bell, Georgia Tech
5. Kai Forbath, Fr. UCLA
6. Austin Starr, Jr. Indiana
7. Jeff Wolfert, Jr. Missouri
8. Michael Torres, Sr. UCF
9. Leigh Tiffin, Soph. Alabama
10. Louie Sakoda, Jr. Utah

Punters
First Team
1. Durant Brooks, Sr. Georgia Tech
Second Team
2. Kevin Huber, Jr. Cincinnati
Third Team
3. Chris Miller, Sr. Ball State

Honorable Mention
4. Brett Kern, Sr. Toledo
5. Owen Tolson, Sr. Army
6. Jacob Richardson, Jr. Miami Univ.
7. Ryan Weigand, Sr. Virginia
8. Louie Sakoda, Jr. Utah
9. Michael Hughes, Sr. San Diego State
10. Tim Reyer, Sr. Kansas State

Kickoff Returners
First Team
1. A.J. Jefferson, Soph. Fresno State
Second Team
2. Matt Slater, Sr. UCLA
Third Team
3. Kevin Robinson, Sr. Utah State

Honorable Mention
4. Bryan Williams, Jr. Akron
5. Felix Jones, Jr. Arkansas
6. Kevin Marion, Sr. Wake Forest
7. Chris Johnson, Sr. East Carolina
8. Malcolm Lane, Soph. Hawaii
9. Marcus Herford, Jr. Kansas
10. Dorien Bryant, Sr. Purdue

Punt Returners
First Team
1. Kevin Robinson, Sr. Utah State
Second Team
2. Leodis McKelvin, Sr. Troy
Third Team
3. Deon Murphy, Jr. Kansas State

Honorable Mention
4. Eddie Royal, Sr. Virginia Tech
5. Jeremy Maclin, Fr. Missouri
6. Derrick Richards, Sr. Utah
7. Marty Tadman, Sr. Boise State
8. Philip Beck, Jr. Louisiana Tech
9. Brian Bonner, Sr. TCU
10. Brandon James, Soph. Florida

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:05 PM, December 15
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Pac-10 fans can read the FWAA All-America team named Saturday and weep.

USC's Sedrick Ellis is all alone, the only West Coaster on the 25-man roster.

Here it is:

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown

QB Tim Tebow, Florida 6-3 235 So. Jacksonville, Fla.

RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas 6-2 215 Jr. Little Rock, Ark.

RB Kevin Smith, Central Florida 6-1 211 Jr. Miami, Fla.

WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech 6-3 208 Fr. Dallas, Texas

WR Jordy Nelson, Kansas State 6-3 217 Sr. Riley, Kan.

TE Martin Rucker, Missouri 6-6 255 Sr. St. Joseph, Mo.

OL Anthony Collins, Kansas 6-5 310 Jr. Beaumont, Texas

OL Jake Long, Michigan 6-7 315 Sr. Lapeer, Mich.

OL Hercules Satele, Hawaii 6-2 293 Sr. Long Beach, Calif.

OL Ryan Stanchek, West Virginia 6-4 300 Jr. Cincinnati, Ohio

C Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas 6-4 307 Jr. Little Rock, Ark.

DEFENSE

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown

DL Glenn Dorsey, LSU 6-2 303 Sr. Gonzales, La.

DL Sedrick Ellis, USC 6-2 305 Sr. Chino, Calif.

DL Chris Long, Virginia 6-4 284 Sr. Ivy, Va.

DL George Selvie, South Florida 6-4 242 So. Pensacola, Fla.

LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State 6-3 240 Jr. Hamel, Minn.

LB J Leman, Illinois 6-3 243 Sr. Champaign, Ill.

LB Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma 6-0 238 Jr. Kingfisher, Okla.

DB Mike Mickens, Cincinnati 6-0 190 Jr. Huber Heights, Ohio

DB Jamie Silva, Boston College 5-11 210 Sr. East Providence, R.I.

DB Craig Steltz, LSU 6-2 209 Sr. New Orleans, La.

DB Aqib Talib, Kansas 6-2 205 Jr. Richardson, Texas

SPECIALISTS

Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown

K Daniel Lincoln, Tennessee 6-0 204 Fr. Ocala, Fla.

P Louie Sakoda, Utah 5-10 178 Jr. San Jose, Calif.

RS Jeremy Maclin, Missouri 6-1 185 Fr. Kirkwood, Mo.

Posted by Dan Weber at 4:36 PM, December 08
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USC's Pete Carroll is an agnostic when asked about the possibility that the trojans might leave the Coliseum next season for the Rose Bowl in order to get a long-term lease in the stadium next to campus where they've played the last 84 seasons.

"I'm not in that one at all,'' Carroll said. "I don't even know what the stipulations are.''

Posted by Dan Weber at 4:33 PM, December 08
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Three Trojans were named first-team All-Americans Friday by The Sporting News.

Nose tackle Sedrick Ellis kept his streak of making every team announced thus far while he was joined by first-teamers Fred Davis at tight end and sophomore Taylor Mays at safety.

Rialto's Ryan Clady, a Boise State junior offensive tackle, was also named to the first team.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
>
>OFFENSE
>
>C Alex Mack, California, Jr.
>G Duke Robinson, Oklahoma, Jr.
>G Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas, Jr.
>T Ryan Clady, Boise State, Jr.
>T Jake Long, Michigan, Sr.
>TE Fred Davis, USC, Sr.
>QB Tim Tebow, Florida, So.
>RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas, Jr.
>RB Kevin Smith, UCF, Jr.
>WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech, Fr.
>WR Percy Harvin, Florida, So.
>
>DEFENSE
>
>DT Glenn Dorsey, LSU, Sr.
>DT Sedrick Ellis, USC, Sr.
>DE Chris Long, Virginia, Sr.
>DE Greg Middleton, Indiana, So.
>LB Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma, Jr.
>LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State, Jr.
>LB Jordon Dizon, Colorado, Sr.
>CB Aqib Talib, Kansas, Jr.
>CB Antoine Cason, Arizona, Sr.
>S Taylor Mays, USC, So.
>S Chris Horton, UCLA, Sr.
>
>SPECIALISTS
>
>K John Sullivan, New Mexico,
>P Kevin Huber, Cincinnati, Jr.
>KR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri, Fr.
>PR Leodis McKelvin, Troy, Sr.

Posted by Dan Weber at 2:25 PM, December 07
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Defensive end Everson Griffen was named to The Sporting News first-team freshman All-American squad released Friday while Trojans redshirt freshman offensive tackle Butch Lewis named to the second team.

2007 SPORTING NEWS FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
>
>* denotes redshirt
>
>
>FIRST TEAM
>
>OFFENSE
>
>WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech*
>WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri*
>TE Rob Gronkowski, Arizona
>L (G) Anthony Davis, Rutgers
>L (T) Ryan Miller, Colorado
>L (T) Anthony Castonzo, Boston College
>L (T) Lee Ziemba, Auburn
>L (T) Trinton Sturdivant, Georgia
>QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma*
>RB LeSean McCoy, Pitt
>RB Knowshon Moreno, Georgia*
>
>DEFENSE
>
>E Everson Griffen, USC
>T Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
>T Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma*
>E Kirk DeCremer, Wisconsin*
>LB Greg Jones, Michigan State
>LB Scott Lutrus, Connecticut*
>LB Rolando McClain, Alabama
>CB Eric Berry, Tennessee
>CB Donovan Warren, Michigan
>S Chad Jones, LSU
>S Alex Kube, Northern Illinois*
>
>SPECIALISTS
>
>K Thomas Weber, Arizona State*
>P Ryan Shoemaker, Auburn*
>KR David Gilreath, Wisconsin
>
>
>SECOND TEAM
>
>OFFENSE
>
>WR Antonio Brown, Central Michigan
>WR Arrelious Benn, Illinois
>TE James Casey, Rice
>L (G) Maurkice Pouncey, Florida;
>L (C) Ryan McMahon, Florida State
>L (T) Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin*
>L (T) Stephen Schilling, Michigan*
>L (T) Butch Lewis, USC*
>QB Jake Locker, Washington*
>RB Josh Adams, Wake Forest*
>RB Harvey Unga, BYU*
>
>
>DEFENSE
>
>L (T) Scooter Berry, West Virginia*;
>L (T) Ladi Ajiboye, South Carolina
>L (E) Paul Kruger, Utah*
>L (E) Greg Romeus, Pitt*
>LB Brian Duncan, Texas Tech*
>LB Obi Ezeh, Michigan*;
>LB Lawrence Wilson, UConn*
>DB (SS) Zac Etheridge, Auburn*;
>DB (S) Deunta Williams, North Carolina*;
>DB (FS) Davonte Shannon, Buffalo
>DB (CB) Kareem Jackson, Alabama
>
>SPECIALISTS
>
>K Kai Forbath, UCLA*
>P Keenyn Crier, Arizona*
>KR David Gilreath, Wisconsin
>
>
>HONORABLE MENTION
>
>QB: Pat Bostick, Pitt; Andy Dalton, TCU*; Dwight Dasher, Middle Tennessee;
>Travis Dixon, UNLV*; Cody Hawkins, Colorado*; Colin Kaepernick, Nevada*;
>Case Keenum, Houston*; Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP*; Giovanni Vizza, North Texas;
>Adam Weber, Minnesota*; T.J. Yates, North Carolina*
>
>RB: Graig Cooper, Miami (Fla.); Noel Devine, West Virginia; Terry Grant,
>Alabama*; Nic Grigsby, Arizona; Mike Ford, South Florida; Kendall Hunter,
>Oklahoma State; Deonte Jackson, Idaho*; Ryan Mathews, Fresno State; DeMarco
>Murray, Oklahoma*
>
>TE: Drake Dunsmore, Northwestern; Weslye Saunders, South Carolina
>
>WR: Marcus Barnett, Cincinnati*; Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas; Dez Bryant,
>Oklahoma State; Darrell Catchings, Oregon State; Trae Johnson, Tulsa; Duval
>Kamara, Notre Dame; Scotty McKnight, Colorado*; Carlton Mitchell, South
>Florida*; Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech*; Terrance Toliver, LSU
>
>OL: (G) Colin Baxter, Arizona*; (G) Clint Boling, Georgia; (T) Micah Hannam,
>Washington State*; (G) Zach Hermann, South Florida*; (G) Rodney Hudson,
>Florida State; (C) Colin Miller, Central Michigan*; (G) Andrew Nierman,
>Tulane; (C) Kristofer O¹Dowd, USC; (G) Dominik Riley, Memphis*; (T) Jake
>Vermiglio, N.C. State
>
>DL: (T) Marvin Austin, North Carolina; (NT) Kelly Griffin, TCU; (T) Markus
>Kuhn, N.C. State; (E) Aaron Maybin, Penn State*; (E) Bruce Miller, UCF*; (E)
>Cheta Ozougwu, Rice; (T) Brian Price, UCLA; (E) Almondo Sewell, Akron; (NT)
>Colby Whitlock, Texas Tech; (NT) Ian Williams, Notre Dame; (E) Ryan
>Winterswyk, Boise State*
>
>LB: Freddy Burton, Arkansas; Rennie Curran, Georgia; Ben Jacobs, Fresno
>State*; Cliff Matthews, South Carolina; Adrian Moten, Maryland*; Brian
>Smith, Notre Dame; Craig Stevens, Auburn*; Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina
>
>DB: (CB) Omar Bolden, Arizona State; (S) Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech; (CB)
>Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio State*; (CB) Chris Conte, Cal; (CB) Joe Haden, Florida;
>(CB) Chris Harris, Kansas; (CB) Aaron Henry, Wisconsin*; (CB) Jerome
>Jenkins, New Mexico*; Joe Lefeged, Rutgers; (CB) Chima Nwachukwu, Washington
>State; (CB) Tavious Polo, Florida Atlantic*; (S) Major Wright, Florida
>
>K: Kyle Brotzman, Boise State*; Wes Byrum, Auburn; Pete Caldwell, Utah
>State; Justin Estes, Southern Miss; Igor Iveljic, Akron*; Daniel Lincoln,
>Tennessee*; Thomas Moreland, North Texas; A.J. Principe, Buffalo; Jake
>Rogers, Cincinnati*; Alex Tejada, Arkansas
>
>P: Travis Baltz, Maryland; Aaron Bates, Michigan State; Blake Clingan, UCF;
>Stefan Demos, Northwestern*; Ryan Donahue, Iowa*; Derek Epperson, Baylor;
>Reid Forrest, Washington State*; Kevin Jones, Duke*; Rob Long, Syracuse;
>Kyle Petersen, UTEP*
>
>

Posted by Dan Weber at 2:04 PM, December 07
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The Rose Bowl Operating Company Board welcomed USC's one-year lease proposal and responded in two ways Thursday evening.

The group suggested USC "keep negotiating'' with the Coliseum Commission, as difficult as that may be, for a long-term deal and then said to go forward with a lease deal for the Rose Bowl for next season, USC would have to present the offer to prime tenant UCLA and get the Bruins' persmission.

For its part, USC representatives said that was all they were hoping for and in a desire to get the Coliseum deal right, with a long-term lease and major improvements, the school was willing "to play in the Rose Bowl for a year,'' said USC senior VP for real estate and asset management Kristina Raspe.

Now they will meet with UCLA officials ASAP, Raspe said, and try to get an OK from the Bruins, who have yet to see USC's official proposal to be the second tenant in Pasadena next fall.

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:34 PM, December 06
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The Walter Camp All-America team named USC seniors Sam Baker and Sedrick Ellis to its first All-America team Thursday.

Baker, an offensive tackle from Tustin who has played through a serious hamstring injury this season and has been forced to miss four games, thus becomes just the third USC player named first-team All-American three seasons.

The first was linebacker Richard Wood (1972-1974), named to the College Football Hall of Fame this year and the scond was quarterback Matt Leinart (2003-2005).

Ellis, a nose tackle from Chino, has been named first team on every All-America team announced this season.

USC also placed senior linebacker Keith RIvers, from Lake Mary, Fla., on the second team.

Posted by Dan Weber at 9:23 PM, December 06
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USC fans might not realize it but tight end Fred Davis pulled off a massive upset in winning the Mackey Award Thursday as the nation's top tight end.

By most guesses, Missouri's Marvin Rucker and Wisconsin's Travis Beckum, with more catches and yardage, had the edge.

All you had to do was check out the Walter Camp All-American team that had Beckum first team and Rucker second team with no Davis to see how that could have played out.

But it was Davis, the senior from Toledo, Ohio, who was there game in, game out for the Trojans.

Posted by Dan Weber at 7:03 PM, December 06
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USC fans might not realize it but tight end Fred Davis pulled off a massive upset in winning the Mackey Award Thursday as the nation's top tight end.

By most guesses, Missouri's Marvin Rucker and Wisconsin's Travis Beckum, with more catches and yardage, had the edge.

All you had to do was check out the Walter Camp All-American team that had Beckum first team and Rucker second team with no Davis to see how that could have played out.

But it was Davis, the senior from Toledo, Ohio, who was there game in, game out for the Trojans.

Posted by Dan Weber at 7:03 PM, December 06
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Despite what seemed to be a last-minute turn in the Coliseum Commission's urgency about getting a lease deal done with USC for football late Wednesday the school's officials presented their one-year deal proposal to the Rose Bowl Opertaing Company Thursday evening.

The group is still in closed session after the 5:30 proposal presentation and will reconvene for the public portion of the meeting at any time, although they've already gone nearly 25 minutes past the posted time of 6:30.

USC associate VP for real estate and asset management Kristina Raspe, who presented USC's offer, sasid she has no idea what direction this is going to go and no hint if the deal will be accepted or rejected or whether there will be as request for minor or major modifications.

Posted by Dan Weber at 6:51 PM, December 06
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MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2007

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA URGES COLISEUM COMMISSION TO APPROVE LONG TERM
AGREEMENT WITH USC

Villaraigosa outlines seven principles as basis for agreement to make the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum the permanent home of the Trojans

LOS ANGELES -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued the following letter to the members of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission today as it met to discuss the fate of USC Athletics at the L.A. Coliseum. In the letter, Mayor VIllaraigosa outlines seven principles as basis for agreement to make the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum the permanent home of the Trojans:

December 5, 2007

Coliseum Commissioners
3911 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90037

Dear Coliseum Commissioners:

For eighty-five years, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has been synonymous with Trojan Athletics. With this great university calling this great public building home, the public interest has been served in countless ways.

I believe that the future of the Los Angeles Coliseum is inconceivable without USC and I, therefore, urge the Coliseum Commission to immediately negotiate a long-term agreement with the University of Southern California based on the following rules of the game:

First, USC makes a long-term commitment to the Coliseum that will bring jobs and produce economic vitality in South Los Angeles long into the future.

Second, the Coliseum Commission and USC commit to a major renovation to bring the facility up to modern standards.

Third, the renovation efforts will give priority to necessary improvements in amenities serving the larger public, such as restrooms and concession areas.

Fourth, USC agrees to make a significant financial commitment to the restoration project.

Fifth, the Coliseum Commission and USC acknowledge that the Coliseum is a public treasure which belongs to all members of our community, and that opportunities for community access, use and enjoyment of the Coliseum in a variety of athletic, education and cultural events
will be enhanced and improved.

Sixth, the Coliseum will be treated at all times as an historical landmark, and its architectural character shall be protected and preserved.

And seventh, any agreement will recognize a superseding interest in bringing the Olympic Games to the Coliseum.

I am committed to working together as teammates to get this agreement over the goal line.

Sincerely,

ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
Mayor

Posted by Dan Weber at 11:18 PM, December 05
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In a late statement, long after he'd said the Coliseum Commission would take no further action on a USC deal or update a response to any USC proposals Wednesday, Commission President Bernard Parks appears to have done an abrupt about-face.

"We have evaluated our past proposals to USC, and their proposals to us, and are putting together what we believe are the best parts of these proposals," was the way Parks worded it in a statement released to the Los Angeles Times. "We will be expediting our proposal to them."

How this impacts USC's response, and its Rose Bowl rental proposal for next season to be considered Thursday night by the Rose Bowl Corporation, has yet to be determined.

Executive director of media relations James Grant did not return a phone call Wednesday night asking for a response from USC.

Posted by Dan Weber at 10:59 PM, December 05
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If Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan doesn't win the Heisman Trophy, he'll be on hand Saturday at the Nokia Theatre in New York City's Times Square to shake the hand of the player who does.

Brennan, who led Hawaii to the nation's only undefeated season and led the Warriors to their first BCS bowl appearance, will be joined by Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden and Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel at the ceremony honoring the nation's most outstanding college football player.

Tebow is trying to become the first sophomore to win in the 71-year history of the award. McFadden, a junior, finished second to Ohio State's Troy Smith last year (Brennan was sixth).

Brennan, a senior, and Daniel, a junior, were two of only six quarterbacks in the nation to throw for at least 4,000 yards. Brennan did it in 10 games (plus two passes in an 11th game) because of injury.

Posted by Jeff Parenti at 3:34 PM, December 05
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Courtesy of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, here is a quote tonight from USC's Richard Woods on his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

"Thank you to the National Football Foundation," said Woods, who played from 1972-74. "Being back in New York reminds me of when coach Joe Paterno was recruiting me for Penn State when I lived in Elizabeth, N.J. I'm just a linebacker who loved the game and played on some very good teams. It is just very wonderful to be here at this meeting with such a great group."

Posted by Dan Weber at 11:15 PM, December 04
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A closer look at No. 13 Illinois, the Big Ten representative for the Rose Bowl, who will face No. 7 USC on Jan. 1 in Pasadena. (Rankings at the time of the game.)

Sept. 1: Lost to Missouri, 40-34
Sept. 8: Defeated Western Illinois, 21-0
Sept. 15: Won at Syracuse, 41-20
Sept. 22: Won at Indiana, 27-14
Sept. 29: Defeated No. 21 Penn State, 27-20
Oct. 6: Defeated No. 5 Wisconsin, 31-26
Oct. 13: Lost at Iowa, 10-6
Oct. 20: Lost to No. 25 Michigan, 27-17
Oct. 27: Defeated Ball State, 28-17
Nov. 3: Won at Minnesota, 44-17
Nov. 10: Won at No. 1 Ohio State, 28-21
Nov. 17: Defeated Northwestern, 41-22

Opponents playing in a bowl game: Missouri, Indiana, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ball State, Ohio State.

The Illini did not play bowl-bound Big Ten teams: Purdue and Michigan State.

Rose Bowl: Illinois is making its first bowl appearance since 2001 and first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1983. This is only the fifth time the Illini will play in the Rose Bowl game.

Vs. USC: The Trojans lead the series 10-2-0. USC won the most recent meeting, 55-3 in 1996. Illinois won at the Coliseum in 1989, 14-13, and won the first meeting, 19-0, in 1935.

Coach: Ron Zook was 4-19 in two years at Illinois before going 9-3 this season, one of the most remarkable turnarounds of the season.

Top players on offense:

Quarterback: Juice Williams, sophomore. Completed 132 of 232 passes for 1,498 yards, 13 TDs, 10 Ints.

Leading rusher: Rashard Mendenhall, junior. Rushed 245-1,526 yards on 245 carries for a 6.2-yard average with 16 TDs. He ranks eighth nationally yards per game average at 127.17. (Next: Williams 150-774, 5.2, 7)

Leading receiver: Arrelious Benn, freshman. Had 49 catches for 596 yards, a 12.2-yards-per-catch average, with 1 TD. (Next: Mendenhall 29-259, 8.9, 2)

Top players on defense:
** Senior linebacker J Leman (yes, no period), has 124 tackles and ranks 23rd nationally in tackles per game (10.33).

** Junior Will Davis is among the national leaders with 9.5 sacks.

** Senior Kevin Mitchell is among the national leaders in passes defensed and interceptions (5).

Posted by Jeff Parenti at 11:34 AM, December 04
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USC's Sedrick Ellis, a senior nose tackle from Chino was named the Pat Tillman defensive player of the year in the Pac-10 Monday with the release of the All-Pac-10 football teams selected by the league's coaches.

Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon was offensive player of the year..

Washington quarterback Jake Locker was freshman of the year.

And Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson was coach of the year.

2007 ALL-PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL TEAM

First Team Offense Second Team Offense
QB Dennis Dixon, Sr., Oregon QB Alex Brink, Sr., Washington State
RB Jonathan Stewart, Jr., Oregon RB Yvenson Bernard, Sr., Oregon State
RB Justin Forsett, Sr., California RB Louis Rankin, Sr., Washington
WR Mike Thomas, Jr., Arizona WR DeSean Jackson, Jr., California
WR Brandon Gibson, Jr., Washington State WR Lavelle Hawkins, Sr., California
TE Fred Davis, Sr., USC TE Jed Collins, Sr., Washington State
OL Alex Mack, Jr., California OL Geoff Schwartz, Sr., Oregon
OL Max Unger, Jr., Oregon OL Juan Garcia, Sr., Washington
OL Chilo Rachel, Jr., USC OL Andy Levitre, Jr., Oregon State
OL Roy Schuening, Sr., Oregon State OL Eben Britton, So., Arizona
OL Sam Baker, Sr., USC OL Alex Fletcher, Jr., Stanford
OL Mike Pollack, Sr., Arizona State OL Fenuki Tupou, Jr., Oregon

First Team Defense Second Team Defense
DL Sedrick Ellis, Sr., USC DL Bruce Davis, Sr., UCLA
DL Lawrence Jackson, Sr., USC DL Dexter Davis, So., Arizona State
DL Nick Reed, Jr., Oregon DL Lionel Dotson, Sr., Arizona
DL Dorain Smith, Sr., Oregon State DL Jeff Van Orsow, Sr., Oregon State
LB Spencer Larsen, Sr., Arizona LB Joey LaRocque, Sr., Oregon State
LB Keith Rivers, Sr., USC LB Alan Darlin, Sr., Oregon State
LB Robert James, Sr., Arizona State LB Derrick Doggett, Sr., Oregon State
LB Rey Maualuga, Jr., USC LB Zack Follett, Jr., California
DB Antoine Cason, Sr., Arizona DB Terrell Thomas, Sr., USC
DB Patrick Chung, Jr., Oregon DB Justin Tryon, Sr., Arizona State
DB Kevin Ellison, Jr., USC DB Brandon Hughes, Jr., Oregon State
DB Chris Horton, Sr., UCLA DB Troy Nolan, Jr., Arizona State

First Team Specialists Second Team Specialists
PK Thomas Weber, Fr., Arizona State PK Alexis Serna, Sr., Oregon State
P Keenyn Crier, Fr., Arizona P Jay Ottovegio, Sr., Stanford
KOR Matthew Slater, Sr., UCLA KOR Jonathan Stewart, Jr., Oregon
PR Kyle Williams, So., Arizona State PR DeSean Jackson, Jr., California
ST Jahvid Best, Fr., California ST Wopamo Osaisai, Jr., Stanford
ST=special teams player (not a kicker or returner)

Offensive Player of the Year: Dennis Dixon, QB, Sr., Oregon
Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year: Sedrick Ellis, NT, Sr., USC
Freshman of the Year: Jake Locker, QB, Washington
Coach of the Year: Dennis Erickson, Arizona State

Notes on the selections:

By School: USC placed the most players on the first team with eight selections, followed by Oregon with five. Arizona and Arizona State were next with four each.

By Class: Of the 29 first-team selections, 15 are seniors, 10 are juniors, one is a sophomore and three are freshmen. Note that the freshmen and sophomore selections were all on special teams. All the first-team offensive and defensive players are seniors or juniors.

Unanimous: Three players were named on the first-team ballot of all 10 head coaches--NT SedrickEllis of USC, C Alex Mack of California and TB Jonathan Stewart of Oregon. In addition, QB Dennis Dixon of Oregon was a unanimous selection as Offensive Player of the Year.

Three-time Selection: OT Sam Baker of USC was named to the first-team for the third consecutive year.

Two-time Selections: In addition to Baker, six other players were named first-team All-Pac-10 for the second time with four of them being Trojans. Repeat first-teamers from last year are CB Antoine Cason of Arizona, C Alex Mack of California and the USC trio of NT Sedrick Ellis, MLB Rey Maualuga and OLB Keith Rivers. DE Lawrence Jackson of USC was a first-team selection in 2005.

Double Dippers: Jonathan Stewart of Oregon was named first-team running back and second-team kick returner. Likewise, DeSean Jackson of Califonria was a second-team pick as both a wide receiver and punt returner.

Posted by Dan Weber at 2:00 AM, December 04
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Just a couple of changes in that preliminary Rose Bowl practice schedule USC released Sunday.

The Trojans will report back Friday this week instead of Saturday and take off Sunday.

And there won't be any practice now Dec. 23, giving USC three days off at Christmas, Dec. 23-25.

Posted by Dan Weber at 1:54 AM, December 04
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Boise State football coach Chris Petersen said he is not interested in the UCLA coaching job, opened today when Karl Dorrell was fired after five seasons, the Associated Press is reporting.

"I'm not interested in that place,'' Petersen told reporters at his weekly news conference Monday.

Petersen said he has not had any discussions with athletic officials from UCLA over the Bruins' coaching vacancy.

Petersen is 23-2 in two seasons with the Broncos.

Posted by PE.com at 3:12 PM, December 03
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Ugh!

The BCS did what I speculated would be difficult to pull off by doing its best to create bowl matchups that almost certainly will not threaten the credibility of the national champion crowned by the BCS Championship game.

It's still possible, of course, that the folks aligning the AP poll will come to their collective senses and fall off the Ohio State and LSU bandwagons and consider, for example, the likes of Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Georgia and undefeated Hawaii. Those four teams got one vote each for No. 1 in the final AP ranking while 50 voters awarded Ohio State for taking the last two weeks off and 11 more think two-loss LSU is No. 1.

No bowl lost it's luster like the Rose Bowl, the aforementioned "Granddaddy of them all" that got stuck with a three-loss Illinois team that somehow was rewarded a BCS bowl -- and the Big Ten a second multi-million dollar BCS payout -- ahead of three teams ranked higher in the final BCS printout.

USC's dominant but somewhat lackluster 24-7 victory over UCLA did nothing to impress the BCS process, as evident by the Trojans monumental climb from No. 8 to No. 7 in the final BCS rankings.

USC, frankly, would have been better off taking the day off. The clear message sent by the BCS and AP voters: Either win your conference title game or take a week or two off and you'll be rewarded.

Even though USC's victory over UCLA was the untitled Pac-10 championship game -- UCLA had a shot at the Rose Bowl if it won -- it wasn't billed as such and certainly didn't get the respect on par with the other conference "Championship" games.

Ohio State hasn't played since Nov. 17 but managed in its idleness to vault from No. 5 to No. 3 last week and from No. 3 to No. 1 this week in the BCS rankings. That's a heck of a climb for going 0-0 while other teams were playing.

LSU, after losing to Arkansas, dropped from No. 1 to No. 7 two weeks ago but managed to use the momentum from a lackluster 21-14 victory over a four-loss Tennessee juggernaut to springboard from No. 7 to No. 2 this week.

Missouri, No. 1 last week, made the mistake of playing this week, losing to Oklahoma and falling not only down to No. 6 -- two spots lower than it was the week before it was No. 1 -- but completely out of the BCS bowl picture, passed over for the pot of bowl millions by a Kansas team it pounded in moving to No. 1 the week before.

Kansas, of course,