Saturday, December 10, 2011

Oregon State DC Mark Banker to Hawaii? - Football Rumor Mill
Oregon State DC Mark Banker is reportedly a candidate for Hawaii job
http://t.co/SmaaPvg1

Kyle Whittingham to Penn State? - Football Rumor Mill
Utah HC Kyle Whittingham reportedly contacted by Penn State
Barkley Tally - LA Daily News
Matt Barkley finished with 153 points and 11 first-place votes as he came in sixth place in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
Lane_Kiffin: Congrats to Coach Mora and welcome to LA - Twitter
Mike Bellotti’s $500K pension - Football Rumor Mill
Mike Bellotti’s $500K pension sweetened by Nike, ticket sales, Oregon Sports Network
Utah’s Whittingham a potential fit for Arizona State - Football Rumor Milll
Utah’s Whittingham a potential fit for Arizona State
Bruins hire Jim Mora - OC Register
UCLA has hired former Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks head coach Jim Mora as the Bruins’ next head football coach. Mora, 50, and UCLA agreed to terms Friday night and the current NFL Network analyst will be formally introduced as Rick Neuheisel’s replacement as early as Saturday...
Ex-Duck Cliff Harris apologizes to Oregon fans via Facebook - The Oregonian
The one-time star says there's more to the story of his dismissal, but doesn't go into any detail.
Season recap: USC - ESPN
USC TROJANS - Record: 10-2, 7-2 Pac-12
USC returned to the nation's elite in year two under coach Lane Kiffin, and it's a pity that the Trojans can't represent the Pac-12 in the bowl season due to dubious NCAA sanctions because few teams played better at season's end. Things didn't start off with a bang. A 3-0 start wasn't impressive against weak competition, and then the Trojans were sloppy in a loss at Arizona State. There was little hint that this was a top-10 team with a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback...

Friday, December 09, 2011

Coaching Searches Continue at U.C.L.A. and Arizona State - NY Times
June Jones and Arizona State did not make a deal; the U.C.L.A. Bruins are also still looking.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Charlie Weis is the Next Coach at Kansas - Pre Snap Read.
Charlie Weis will be the next head coach at Kansas. I know you’ve heard this already, but give it another moment to sink: Kansas, looking to replace Turner Gill, hired Charlie Weis. Formerly of the N.F.L, formerly of Notre Dame, then of Florida. Weis, who went to back-to-back B.C.S. bowls with the Irish and then went 16-21 over three seasons with his own players and his offensive system fully in place. A coach whose schematic advantage was seemingly rivaled by his own arrogance. Weis, whose offense with the Gators finished the regular season ranked 102nd in the nation. This was surprising. Weis left Gainesville with class, first interviewing with Kansas without informing his boss, Will Muschamp, and then taking the job as Muschamp was on his way to a press conference for the Gator Bowl. Muschamp and Florida can take some solace in the fact that Weis’s replacement can only be an improvement...
Baylor coach Art Briles - Football Rumor Mill
Baylor coach Art Briles is getting hot at UCLA.
Arizona State - Football Rumor Mill
Arizona State search appears to be nearing train-wreck status….

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Beating Victim Identified LeGarrette Blount As "The Leader" In Attack - Deadspin
What's known is this: On Sept. 11, just after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the season with a loss at home to the Detroit Lions, a 34-year-old man named Gary Holmer was severely beaten by two men after a minor car accident in which his vehicle knocked the mirror off another vehicle outside an apartment complex not far from Raymond James Stadium. Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount was there...

Monday, December 05, 2011

Why Matt Barkley Should Stay and Why We’ll Cheer If He Doesn’t - Lost Angeles
...I’m not begging you to stay. Truthfully, I’ve seen Palmer leave and Leinart arrive. I’ve seen USC replace too many great players in these ten or so years to feel the need to beg anyone to do anything, certainly not a guy who injected life back into the team and assured we’ll continue to prosper when that possibility was called into question. I’m just saying we’ve ridden the wave this far. You will be favored to win everything. You will get to face an SEC team. You will have a chance to literally prove that sanctions meant nothing. You can rewrite the history books where people try to explain what the NCAA’s harshest penalties in decades even accomplished...
Arizona loses two QBs - ESPN
Quarterback is suddenly a need position for Arizona in recruiting. The Wildcats announced Monday the transfer of two quarterbacks, freshman Daxx Garman and junior Tom Savage, who just a year ago transferred from Rutgers...
ASU football needs to think big - Arizona Republic [Cooper]
With the hottest name (Kevin Sumlin) apparently no longer an option, ASU should look for the biggest name. Think: Mike Bellotti...
Oregon Ducks' Cliff Harris blows his last chance - The Oregonian [Canzano]
It's a sad ending in Eugene for a player who held so much promise despite his troubled past.
UCLA considers Jim Mora Jr. - Football Rumor Mill
UCLA considers Jim Mora Jr. as options dwindle
Al Golden Rebuffs Interest from UCLA - Football Rumor Mill
Al Golden Rebuffs Interest from UCLA, Stays Put in Coral Gables.
Houston coach Kevin Sumlin is still in play - Football Rumor Mill
Houston coach Kevin Sumlin is still in play at Arizona State and at UNC

Scott: Bowl-eligible USC is good for business - OC Register
Think Larry Scott is eager to get USC back in the postseason mix next year? Before Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game at Oregon, Scott revealed that USC was involved in two of ESPN/ABC’s top six highest-rated games this season (vs. Stanford, at Oregon). Scott also said it was “disappointing” that the Trojans were not allowed to participate. “It’s not something we control,” Scott said. “Obviously, we and USC are abiding by other decisions by the NCAA.”...
What's up with ASU, UCLA searches? - ESPN
...At UCLA, ESPN LA's Peter Yoon reported that interim head coach Mike Johnson would like to be considered for the job. Here's his update on other candidates:
UCLA has been turned down by Boise State coach Chris Petersen, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions, and eliminated Houston coach Kevin Sumlin as a candidate after meeting with him on Saturday, according to a source.
Luck wins Unitas Award - ESPN
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has been named the recipient of the 2011 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is presented to the top quarterback in the nation that best exemplifies outstanding character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities, and athletic accomplishments...
SMU coach June Jones seems to be losing steam at ASU - Football Rumor Mill
SMU coach June Jones seems to be losing steam at Arizona State

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Arizona State “pausing” on June Jones - Football Rumor Mill
Arizona State “pausing” on June Jones
P.S.R. 1-120: Week 15 Re-Ranking - Pre Snap Read
...5. U.S.C. (10-2, 7-2)
All that’s left: Matt Barkley to U.S.C. or the N.F.L.?...
USC wins 4th national title in a row - OC Register
The USC men’s water polo team became the first to win four consecutive national championships by defeating UCLA, 7-4, on Sunday in Berkeley. Top-seeded USC won its fifth title in seven seasons and its 116th overall team national championship. Senior goalie Joel Dennerley made 15 saves and landed NCAA Tournament MVP honors. Fellow senior Peter Kurzeka and sophomore Nikola Vavic joined Dennerley as first-team all-tournament selections. USC coach Jovan Vavic won his 10th national championship — seven with the Trojans men’s team, three with the women’s team...
Trojans climb to No. 5 in AP poll - OC Register
USC didn’t play this weekend, but the Trojans still made a move. USC climbed from ninth to fifth in the Associated Press Top 25. USC leapfrogged Virginia Tech (a big loser in the ACC title game), Oregon (a decent-sized winner in the Pac-12 title game), Arkansas (idle) and Boise State (which had been tied with USC for ninth but apparently left voters unimpressed after a 45-0 victory over New Mexico)...
Crist To Transfer - LA Daily News
Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist is going to transfer and will be eligible immediately if he attends a graduate program his undergrad school did not. If Matt Barkley were to turn pro, would USC be an option? Crist is from Southern California, after all.
USC v. UCLA - LA Daily News
Is Miami coach Al Golden a candidate? Does UCLA want Brennan Carroll as a recruiting coordinator?
Fresno State fires Pat Hill - Football Rumor Mill

As reported here earlier, Fresno State fires Pat Hill.

Kevin Sumlin off UCLA’s list - Football Rumor Mill
Kevin Sumlin off UCLA’s list
Stanford headed to Fiesta Bowl - ESPN
As expected, the Stanford Cardinal were tapped as an at-large selection for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. They'll face Oklahoma State on Jan. 2 in Glendale, Ariz. Stanford held on to its No. 4 spot in the BCS standings, behind LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma State, guaranteeing them a spot in a BCS bowl game. At first glance, this game appears to be a shootout in the making featuring two of the nation's top quarterbacks in Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden.
Rumors circulating that Fresno State... - Football Rumor Mill
Rumors circulating that Fresno State likely to fire coach Pat Hill.
Leach, Rodriguez and, maybe, Jones in the Pac-12? What does it mean for Oregon? - The Oregonian
...things are shifting dramatically before our eyes. Washington State has brought Mike Leach and his Air Raid offense to Pullman. Arizona has imported Rich Rodriguez, who runs a spread-option offense that is strikingly similar to what Oregon does. SMU coach June Jones, the former Grant High and Portland State star, reportedly is talking to both Arizona State and UCLA. Under Jones, the old Mouse Davis run-and-shoot has evolved into an offense that recently took Hawaii to the Sugar Bowl...
Three coaches with Rich Rodriguez... - Football Rumor Mill
Three coaches with Rich Rodriguez ties leave Pitt, expected to join Arizona