Boise State has its infamous "Smurf Turf," and Nebraska has what it likes to call the "Sea of Red" to describe the vast crowd inside Lincoln's Memorial Stadium. As of next fall, though, neither of them will have anything on I-AA Eastern Washington, which announced plans Wednesday to install an actual field of red: Taking a cue from Boise... more »
The Pac-10 decade started with parity and a rising Northwest. It ended that way, too. In the middle, it was all about the Trojans, with USC winning a pair of national titles -- and playing for a third -- and at least sharing seven consecutive conference championships. The Pac-10 decade featured a run of remarkable stability at the top... more »
A group called Playoff PAC is running this ad in an attempt to change the current BCS system. The ad will air in Dallas, Salt Lake City and Boise, Idaho before Thursday’s Texas vs. Alabama game.
A look at how prognosticators from around the country view this week's games. Tim Sullivan, New York Post: Texas keeps plodding along. Oklahoma is 0-2 in its only true tests. Yes, Sam Bradford is back, but that's not enough for the Sooners. Take the Longhorns and give the points in the Red River Rivalry.Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News:... more »
The tension and anxiety amongst the coaching staff in Heritage Hall this week ended up spilling onto the field and sidelines Saturday as the Trojans lost to the Washington Huskies 16-13 and dropped to #12 in the AP poll.
Despite an early touchdown drive where the offensive line opened up huge holes, the Trojans reverted back to the same recipe for disaster that annually costs them a game in Pac-10 play: Turnovers, Penalties and Questionable offensive play calls. It is very difficult to overcome these problems when you are playing the second of back-to-back road games and are without your starting QB Matt Barkley and All American Safety Taylor Mays.
The Trojans had the ball within or near the red zone six times and only walked away with 13 points and turned the ball over 3 times. They were a combined 0-11 on 3rd and 4th down and could only muster 110 yards passing, the lowest in the Pete Carroll era.
The offensive coaching staff botched an attempt to get a field goal off at the end of the first half by running the ball with no timeouts left and played not to lose at the end of the game instead of rolling Corp out and trying to attack the end zone.
Don't let the line on the game fool you. The USC coaches have been tight lipped and a little tense around Heritage Hall for quite a few reasons this week. This could be a real barn burner for the Trojans and the defense will need to come up with another great effort for the Trojans to leave Seattle with a win.
The Trojans are playing the second of back-to-back road games and this game comes after a huge emotional win over Ohio State. The coaches and players have been battling a bit of the flu bug with McKnight missing the last two practices and the Trojans are most likely starting a new Quarterback this week and All-American Safety Taylor Mays is banged up.
Also, the Huskies are more talented than they get credit for and have possibly the most dynamic QB in the country in Junior Jake Locker. He is a step up from Ohio State coach Tyrelle Pryor. "Jake is one of the best players I've ever seen in this conference in all the years we've been here. He's the most extraordinary athlete at his position that we've seen. I saw that as a freshman. Said USC Head Coach Pete Carroll "So now with Sark's coaching and the scheme and everybody all pumped up around him, that makes him extremely dangerous."
Forget about last season's 0-12 record. Before Locker got hurt last year the Huskies were competitive (lost by 1 pt. to #15 BYU on a controversial celebration penalty) and the team gave up on lame duck coach Tyrone Willingham. Though Willingham was not the right coach for Washington, he did do a very good job of recruiting top skill position players.
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller Lining up this week's action. No. 3 USC (2-0) at Washington (1-1) USC beat the Huskies 56-0 last year ... USC leads the all-time series 49-26-4 ... USC is riding a 12-game winning streak ... Washington ended a 15-game losing streak vs. Idaho last weekend ... Washington coach Steve Sarkisian spent seven years on... more »
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller Went 7-1 last week -- any idea which game I missed? Things get a little more interesting this week with three marquee nonconference road games and a must-win for Washington State. USC 27, Ohio State 20: The Buckeyes will show a lot of pride at home, but the Trojans just have too many horses... more »
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller I apologize I forgot to tell you last week to watch the post-game at Boise State. I talked to more than a few folks who clicked their TVs off either late in the fourth or at the final bell and missed all the, er, fun. As for this week, we've got three marquee nonconference... more »
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller Time to pick the games again. Record last year, including bowl games: 63-18. But last year is last year, and the picks, just like Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, don't have a rear-view mirror. But 63-18... come on! Can I at least get a one-handed clap for that? Tonight Oregon 33, Boise State 28: The... more »
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller The games are finally here, and the first one is a doozy, with Oregon squaring off with Boise State on the Smurf Turf. The other big ones include a conference game -- Stanford at Washington State -- LSU paying a visit to Washington (giving new coach Steve Sarkisian a serious challenge for his debut),... more »
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller News and notes around the Pac-10 as preseason camps transition toward game week. Arizona: The plot thickens at quarterback after Nick Foles outplayed Matt Scott in Saturday's scrimmage, just as it appeared Scott was going to be named the starter. Offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes told me last week that he'd likely make a call... more »
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