Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

For the ninth straight season the #2 Oregon Ducks(6-0,3-0) destroyed the #23 Washington Huskies(3-2,1-1) 52-21 in a game that was never close. Once again Steve Sarkisian saw his Huskies blown out in a big game showing that the Huskies are further away from being a serious contender in this conference than they had hoped. The Ducks were led by freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota throwing four touchdown passes and the Ducks offense ran for 299 yards on the Huskies. For the fourth straight week Huskies quarterback Keith Price failed to throw for 200 yards and he threw two interceptions. For the second straight week Price threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The Huskies played a sloppy game committing five turnovers and having over 100 yards in penalties. Which has become a bad theme the Huskies proved once again they aren't ready for the Ducks.

After the Ducks first series ended with Shaq Thompson's first career interception the Huskies offense couldn't do anything. The Huskies had pinned the Ducks on their own 10 yard line when their defense would once again stop the Ducks on third down when Andrew Hudson recorded the sack on Mariota. That is when the first big play would happen next as Huskies true freshman punt returner Marvin Hall muffed the punt as the Ducks recovered the punt on the Huskies 20 yard line. Kenjon Barner would rush for four yards to the Huskies 16 yard line. On the following play the most exciting man in college football DeAnthony Thomas would take the carry 16 yards up the middle then shift to his left for the touchdown to give the Ducks a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter.

The Huskies offense would stall at the Oregon 45 after a big kickoff return by Hall. The Ducks offense would take over on their own 20 yard line looking to add to their lead. Barner would rush for 10 yards to their own 30 yard line. After a short gain by Barner, Mariota would hit his tight end Colt Lyerla for a gain of 48 yards up the middle down to the Huskies 21 yard line. Then the Ducks hurried up to the line and quick snapped it as Mariota found Tre Watson sleeping as he connected with Keanon Lowe for a 21 yard touchdown pass to give the Ducks a 14-0 lead. For Mariota he would shook off that interception and was poised for a big day against the Huskies secondary who up until that point had played well during the season.

The first quarter was about to get real ugly for the Huskies. On offense starting from their own 24 yard line Bishop Sankey would rush for four yards to the 28 yard line. Facing a second and six, Keith Price completed a pass to Cody Bruns for four yards which happened to be Bruns first catch of the season. Facing a third and two from the 32 yard line Price would connect with Kendyl Taylor for a gain of nine yards to the 41 yard line picking up the first down. Price on the following play would attempt an out route on the far side of the field intended for DiAndre Campbell. That pass was jumped by Ducks defender Avery Patterson who returned the interception Kenny Wheaton style 43 yards to give the Ducks a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. The Huskies had two turnovers that directly led to 14 points for the Ducks as the Ducks had out gained the Huskies 153-63 yards in the first quarter.

The Huskies would respond after the dreadful first quarter. Starting from their own 42 yard line Sankey would rush for 15 yards to the Oregon 43 yard line. Sankey again would rush for six yards down to the Oregon 37 yard line. Sankey who had a good first quarter would rush for five yards down to the Oregon 32 yard line for the first down. Price would then hit Campbell for a gain of six yards to the Oregon 26 yard line. Price would hit Kasen Williams for a gain of nine yards to the Oregon 17 yard line. On a wide receiver screen Price would hit Jaydon Mickens for a gain of 16 yards as Mickens was pushed out of bounds at the one yard line. That would set up Sankey who would score from one yard out to cut the lead to 21-7. More importantly the Huskies showed they could run the ball on the Ducks.

The Ducks would quickly take momentum back with a classic Oregon drive. On second and 10 Mariota would rush for seven yards to their own 31 yard line setting up a third and three. Thomas would get the first down with a four yard run. On second and 10 Barner would rush for nine yards up the middle setting up another third and one from the 44 yard line. Barner would again rush up the middle for a gain of 10 yards to the Huskies 46 yard line. Mariota would then rush for 20 yards down to the Huskies 26 yard line. Barner would rush for 11 yards then five yards down to the Huskies 10 yard line. On second and five from the Huskies 10 yard line Mariota would connect with tight end Lyerla for a 10 yard touchdown pass to give the Ducks a 28-7 lead over the Huskies in the second quarter.

The Huskies would see Keith Price fumble at the Oregon 36 yard line on the following drive as the Ducks took over. Mariota would hit Will Murphy for a gain of 11 yards to their own 47 yard line. On the next play Mariota would hit Murphy again for a gain of eight yards to the Huskies 45 yard line. Barner would rush up the middle for a gain of 11 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. Mariota would then hook up with Josh Huff who made the catch then made a terrific stiff arm on Huskies top defensive NFL prospect Desmond Trufant as Huff scored from 34 yards out to give the Ducks a commanding 35-7 lead over the Huskies.

The Huskies offense would go three and out. The Ducks drove down to the Huskies 24 yard line as Rob Beard missed a 41 yard field goal. The Huskies actually showed some life starting from their own 24 yard line. Taylor began the drive with a gain of eight yards to their own 32 yard line. After a short run facing a third and one from the 33 yard line the Huskies had a play action pass as Price connected with tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 28 yards down to the Oregon 39 yard line. On that play Seferian-Jenkins suffered an injury and didn't return to the game. After a two yard run by Sankey, Price connected with Williams for a gain of eight yards to the Oregon 29 yard line. Price would scramble for 10 more yards to the Oregon 19 yard line. That is where the Huskies offense would stall as Sarkisian chose to go for it trailing by 28 points and Price threw an incomplete pass.

At halftime the Ducks led 35-7 over the Huskies out gaining the Huskies 319-201 in yards. In first downs the Ducks had 17 first downs but the Huskies did have 13. The difference was turnovers as the Huskies had three turnovers which led to 14 points.

Keith Price was terrible in the first half completing 13-22(59.0%) of his passes for 116 yards(5.3 YPA) with a costly interception. He ran four times for 15 yards with a costly fumble. His main target was Kasen Williams who had five receptions for 42 yards. Seferian-Jenkins had two receptions for 33 yards. Kendyl Taylor had two receptions for 17 yards with a rush of nine yards. Jaydon Mickens had two receptions for 13 yards. Bishop Sankey added 62 yards on 13 carries(4.7 YPC) with a touchdown.

For the Ducks they were led by their quarterback Marcus Mariota who was 10-18(55.5%) passing for 160 yards(8.8 YPA) with three touchdowns and one interception. He also had five carries for 34 yards. His main target was his tight end Lyerla who had two receptions for 58 yards with a touchdown. Josh Huff had the one grab for a 34 yard touchdown. Kenjon Barner had 83 yards rushing on 13 carries(6.3 YPC). While DeAnthony Thomas had 42 yards rushing on six carries(7.0 YPC) with a touchdown. He also added one reception for 12 yards. It was total domination by the Ducks in the first half over the Huskies.

The Huskies began the second half going three and out. While the Ducks went on a 12 play drive going 65 yards ending with a 28 yard field goal by Beard to lead 38-7. After a good kickoff return the Huskies began on their own 46 yard line.

Sankey would rush for four yards, then Price would hit Bruns for eight yards to the Oregon 42 yard line. Sankey would rush for four yards followed by Taylor for two yards. On third and four Taylor would rush for five yards to the Oregon 31 yard line. Sankey would rush for seven yards to the 24 yard line. Facing a third and five from the 26 Price would hit Campbell for a gain of seven yards to the 19 yard line. Price would hit Bruns for five yards to the 14 yard line. Taylor would rush for four yards setting up a third and one from the 10 yard line. Price would hit tight end Evan Hudson for a gain of four yards to set up first and goal from the six yard line. Sankey would appear to be stopped for a loss but would break a couple of tacklers as he would spin into the end zone for his second score of the game cutting the lead to 38-14.

Starting from their own 17 yard line the Ducks would go to work. Barner would rush for nine yards to the 26 yard line. Mariota would rush for six yards then complete another six yard pass while the Huskies committed yet another dumb personal foul. With the ball on the Huskies 47 yard line Barner would rush for 11 yards on the next two carries but the Ducks would commit the 15 yard penalty. With the ball on their own 49 yard line Thomas would take over. He would rush for four yards to the Huskies 47 yard line then for 20 yards down to the 27 yard line. He would rush for nine yards on his next two carries to set up a third and one from the 18 yard line. That is where Barner would pick up the first down with a five yard gain to end the third quarter. First play of the fourth quarter Mariota would hit his tight end again Lyerla for a gain of 13 yards for the touchdown to put the Ducks up 45-14 over the Huskies.

On the Huskies next possession facing a fourth and one from their own 35 yard line down by 31 points Sarkisian would try a fake punt which the Huskies fumbled. So the Ducks took over on the Huskies 35 yard line. At this point Chip Kelly had emptied his bench as Byron Marshall the Ducks third running back took the hand off and went 32 yards down to the Huskies three yard line. After a one yard loss, Marshall would finish the short drive on the next play with a four yard touchdown run to give the Ducks a 52-14 lead over the Huskies.

The Ducks would fumble the punt on their next possession and despite being handed the ball on the 17 yard line the Huskies couldn't take advantage. Facing a third and one from the eight yard line Price would throw his second interception of the game as he would be held out of the end zone.

The Huskies would have one last drive left in them though for pride. Starting from their own 45 yard line, Dezden Petty would rush for 14 yards to the Oregon 41 yard line. Petty would rush for eight more yards to the Oregon 33 yard line. Erich Wilson would then rush for seven yards to the 26 yard line then again for nine yards to the Oregon 17 yard line. Wilson on second and one would rush for five yards to the 12 yard line. Petty would rush up the middle for five yards to the seven yard line, then for three more to the four yard line setting up a third and two. Petty would rush for three yards to get the first down and set up a 1st and goal from the one. Wilson would then rush for his first career rushing touchdown for the Huskies as he cut the lead to 52-21.

That would be the final score for the Huskies as they lost 52-21 for their second 30+ point loss of the season. Keith Price was awful finishing 19-31(61.3%) of his passes for 145 yards(4.7 YPA) with two interceptions. He also ran five times for 24 yards but had a costly interception. His main targets were Kasen Williams who had six receptions but only 48 yards. Seferian-Jenkins who was injured had two receptions for 33 yards. Cody Bruns had three receptions for 17 yards as well. Jaydon Mickens and DiAndre Campbell both had two receptions for 13 yards.

The lone bright spot was the running game which ran for 208 yards led by Bishop Sankey. Sankey ran for 104 yards on 25 carries(4.2 YPC) with two touchdowns. Dezden Petty had five carries for 34 yards(6.8 YPC), Kendyl Taylor had five carries for 29 yards(5.8 YPC) while also having three receptions for 17 yards. Erich Wilson had four carries for 21 yards(5.3 YPC) with a touchdown. The running game did well for the Huskies and has done well the last three weeks. The passing game for the fourth straight week failed to reach 200 yards passing.

As for the Ducks they have defeated the Huskies nine in a row with only one game being by less than 20 points(last year 34-17 win). The Ducks were led by freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota who was 15-24(62.5%) passing for 198 yards(8.3 YPA) with four touchdowns to just one interception.  He also ran for 40 yards on seven carries(5.7 YPC).

The Ducks ran for 299 yards on the day led by Kenjon Barner who ran for 122 yards on 20 carries(6.1 YPC). DeAnthony Thomas had 75 yards rushing on 10 carries(7.5 YPC) with a touchdown plus caught a pass for 12 yards. Byron Marshall ran for 59 yards on eight carries(7.4 YPC) with a touchdown. Tight end Colt Lyerla caught three passes for 71 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for four yards. It was a dominate effort by the Ducks who held back most of the second half.

For the Huskies for the second time this year they were reminded they have a long ways to go before they are an elite team. The Huskies were out played, out classed, and out coached in this game as they weren't prepared for the moment. The Huskies shot themselves in the foot with stupid penalties and worse yet costly turnovers. The Ducks killed the Huskies by over 30 points despite letting up in the second half as Chip Kelly was taking it easy on his good friend Steve Sarkisian. For the Huskies who had a once proud program at what point will these blowout losses be too much? The Huskies must like they did against the LSU Tigers and move on. It is a shame that the Huskies in Sarkisian's fourth year just aren't able to compete with teams like Oregon still.

Observations:

- For the second straight week against a good defense Bishop Sankey ran hard as he went over 100 yards rushing. After struggling terribly in the first two weeks Sankey has ran really well the last three weeks. Against the Ducks he ran for 104 yards with two touchdowns.

For the season Sankey has ran for 433 yards(4.9 YPC) with six touchdowns through five games. In the last three games Sankey has ran for 351 yards(117 yards per game) on 59 carries(5.9 YPC) with five touchdowns. For the season Sankey is on pace to rush for 1,039 yards with 14.5 touchdowns. That is also for a 12 game season not including the bowl game so safe to say Sankey would more than be the bright spot on the season for the Huskies.

- I felt Kasen Williams struggled and against good defenses his lack of speed will be easy to game plan for. He had six receptions which is good but only 48 yards as his longest reception went for 12 yards.

He has caught a touchdown pass in all three Husky wins while being shutout of the end zone in both losses. In the Huskies three wins Williams has 22 receptions(7.3 per game) for 273 yards(91 yards per game, 12.4 YPC) with three touchdowns. In the two losses he has only nine receptions(4.5 per game) for 67 yards(33.5 yards per game, 7.4 YPC) with zero touchdowns. Basically if you shutdown Kasen Williams you beat the Huskies.

For the year Williams has 31 receptions for 340 yards(11.0 YPC) with three touchdowns. That would put him on pace to finish with 74.4 receptions for 816 yards with seven touchdowns. The reception total for a sophomore would be terrific while the yards should pick up since he is the #1 option. Williams though should feast at the back end of the Huskies schedule which will be a little bit nicer to them.

- Shaq Thompson the highly recruited safety out of Sacramento showed everyone a nice flash on the first series of the game. Starting at outside linebacker as the Huskies want more speed on the field Thompson made a terrific interception that Desmond Trufant tipped in the air. Thompson dove to make the incredible interception and if this was NFL rules instead of college he would have returned it for decent yards.

Thompson the #1 safety coming out of high school will eventually become a strong safety in a year or two. He is built more like a Kam Chancellor than let's say an Earl Thomas. He is a bigger safety but is quick like a small athletic corner. The Huskies defense in the future needs to land more guys like Thompson if they wish to defeat Oregon or any top tier program for that matter.

- First of all Marvin Hall will have better days as a Husky punt returner and may even take a punt return for a touchdown.

Second of all, I blame Sarkisian for that fumble. In a big night game on the road why put the freshman back there? Why not put Kasen Williams back there who returned punts for you all of last year? If not Williams why not senior Cody Bruns? Sure neither guy is going to take one for a touchdown but neither guy has ever fumbled.

Then Hall fumbled later in the game on the kickoff return. With Don James or Jim Lambright coaching he's done for the year doing returns. While Sarkisian seemed to dismiss it as "growing pains" in the post game which I found disturbing.

- What is wrong with Keith Price? Price committed three turnovers and all three were bad. He had a red zone interception, an interception that was returned for a touchdown and fumbled when the Huskies were in Oregon territory. Price hasn't looked right all season long.

His numbers on the year are 94-158(59.5%) passing for 882 yards(5.6 YPA) with only five touchdowns to four interceptions. Take away the game against FCS Portland State and against D-1 schools he has two touchdowns to four interceptions this year. Price is on pace to throw for only 2,116 yards with 12 touchdowns to 9 interceptions which simply won't cut it.

Be very easy to say Price's problems are due to the offensive line and injuries at the wide receiver position. Now those are valid excuses but it goes further than that. He was only sacked once all game and that same "crappy" line has been producing in the run game the last three weeks. Price is missing easy throws and just looks like a shell of what he was last year. Perhaps people were right that he did overachieve last year. Anyways this is a disturbing trend for Husky football that back to back quarterbacks under Sarkisian have regressed the longer they are with him.

- Steve Sarkisian falls to 22-21 as Huskies head coach. For the seventh time already he has lost by 30 points or more which is more than Tyrone Willingham. This is also the fifth time in the Sarkisian era the Huskies have allowed 50 or more points which again is more than Tyrone Willingham. He also joins Tyrone Willingham as the only Husky head coaches to ever lose to Oregon four years in a row.

Anytime you are being compared to Tyrone Willingham as Huskies head coach that means you aren't doing your job. His constantly smiling after blowout losses are also getting old as well. The Huskies passing offense which is Sarkisian's specialty currently ranks 107th in the nation, the running game is 87th in the nation. The Huskies offense is 97th in the nation in scoring which includes 52 points against an FCS school. Against D-1 schools the Huskies are averaging only 15.5 points per game which is pathetic.

In the fourth year this should fall on Sarkisian. He turned the program from 0-12 into a bowl team which should be applauded. When he was hired if someone told you he'd lose to Oregon 43-19, 53-16, 34-17 and 52-21 would you accept that? No you wouldn't! So why rationalize that now? Sarkisian being stubborn and refusing to run the spread offense since day one has hurt this program. It made Jake Locker from an electric quarterback into a bad quarterback at Washington. Price would also thrive in the spread instead he is getting killed. Sarkisian needs to figure it out soon because despite what some think he isn't that safe.

Once again the Huskies fail a big test against their rivals. Once again the Ducks proved they are in national title or bust mode which has been their motto since 2010 as they have only lost three games in that span. For the Huskies they face a hungry USC Trojans team who was ranked #1 for a while this year already. If the Huskies win and go to 4-2 the Oregon loss will sting less. If the Huskies lose or worse yet get blown out then this could start a downward spiral which has plagued Sarkisian since he has been Huskies head coach. The Huskies have lost at least three games in a row all three years Sarkisian has been at Washington. This was once again an embarrassing defeat for the Huskies who proved to the nation they aren't ready to be legitimate contenders for a while. The question is will the Huskies ever be legitimate contenders under Sarkisian? I'll guess we'll have more clarity to that question at the end of the season.

By Kshell

This week the newly ranked #23 Washington Huskies(3-1, 1-0) fresh off their upset of then #8 Stanford Cardinal are looking to have an even bigger upset this week. The Huskies travel down to Eugene to take on the #2 Oregon Ducks(5-0, 2-0) as they are looking for their first win in this series since 2003. The Huskies still lead the all-time series comfortably 58-41-5 despite losing eight in a row. This will be the first time both these teams will square off as ranked teams since 2000 when the #20 Oregon Ducks defeated the #6 Washington Huskies 23-16. The last time the Huskies won where both teams were ranked was back in 1990 when the #17 Huskies blew out the #19 Ducks 38-17. In fact only 1990, 1995, and 2000 were the only years these teams have squared off where both were ranked since 1990 which is pretty incredible. The Ducks are used to winning big national spotlight games while the Huskies are still trying to figure that out. A win down in Eugene would be Steve Sarkisian's biggest win of his young coaching career.

If the Huskies were to pull off the upset they'd need a big game from Keith Price. Price is returning to the stadium where he made his first career college start as a freshman against #1 Oregon back in 2010. In that game Price was 14-28 passing for 127 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. It was a 25-16 game in the middle of the third until it turned ugly. Last year against Oregon Price struggled badly as he was 24-35(68.6%) passing for only 143 yards(4.1 YPA) with two touchdowns and two costly interceptions. Price for the season is 75-127 passing(59.1%) for 737 yards(5.8 YPA) with five touchdowns to two interceptions. Those are well below his capabilities as his offensive line must buy him some time so he can finally make some plays. Price hasn't thrown for over 200 yards this year since the first week of the season.

At quarterback the Ducks once again have a new quarterback in Marcus Mariota who is only a freshman. This will be the third different starting quarterback in four years for Chip Kelly. His two most recent starting quarterbacks beat out the previous years backup as well. Mariota this year is 99-144(68.8%) passing for 1,103 yards(7.7 YPA) with 11 touchdowns to four interceptions. He has also ran for 181 yards with a touchdown.

His backup quarterback Bryan Bennett who many expected to be the starter is 13-23(56.5%) passing for 135 yards(5.9 YPA) with one touchdown and two interceptions. He has ran for 57 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Oregon has plenty of weapons to make these quarterbacks look good including the most exciting player in all of college football.

The most exciting player in the game today is sophomore play maker De'Anthony Thomas. Last year against the Huskies he only carried the ball one time but scored on a nine yard touchdown run. He also ran back a kickoff 69 yards to set up a score. This year Thomas has rushed for 302 yards on 31 carries(9.7 YPC) with five touchdowns. He also has 19 receptions for 193 yards(10.2 YPC) with three touchdowns. He has four kickoff returns for 53 yards(13.3 YPR) and 10 punt returns for 150 yards(15.0 YPR) including a 48 yarder. Add it all up and Thomas is averaging 139.6 yards a game.

The other weapons for the Ducks include Bralon Addison who has 15 receptions for 185 yards(12.3 YPC) with a touchdown. Colt Lyerla has nine receptions for 118 yards(13.1 YPC) with two touchdowns. Keanon Lowe has 12 receptions for 112 yards(9.3 YPC) with a touchdown. Dwayne Stanford has 11 receptions for  106 yards(9.6 YPC). When you add it all up the Ducks have five different guys with double digit receptions already and six guys who are over 100 yards already. Eight different Ducks have also caught a touchdown pass this year showing you the kind of depth they have.

The Huskies might be one of the few teams on Oregon's schedule who could make an argument they have more talented skill players than Oregon. They are led by sophomore wide receiver Kasen Williams. Williams last year against the Ducks caught six passes for 79 yards(13.2 YPC) with a touchdown plus a 53 yard reception as well. Williams on the year has 25 receptions for 292 yards(11.7 YPC) with three touchdowns. He is coming off of a career game last week where he had  10 receptions for 129 yards(12.9 YPC) with the game winning touchdown against Stanford.

The other standout the Huskies have is tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins who the Ducks shut down last year. He was held to just one catch which went for negative yardage. For the year Seferian-Jenkins has 22 receptions for 221 yards(10.0 YPC) with a touchdown. Outside of Seferian-Jenkins and Williams the Huskies are lacking production. Kevin Smith has six receptions for 68 yards(11.3 YPC) hopefully this week he can return to health. DiAndre Campbell has four receptions for 38 yards(9.5 YPC) with a touchdown reception. Jaydon Mickens has five receptions for 33 yards(6.6 YPC) as he is a true freshman.  Kendyl Taylor has two receptions for 17 yards(8.5 YPC) as he is being moved to running back this week. The Huskies going forward need another receiver to step it up to get the passing game going.

Despite issues with the offensive line Bishop Sankey has had a great back to back weeks. Last year against Oregon he had two carries for 21 yards(10.5 YPC) with a 19 yard rush. This year Sankey has 329 yards rushing on 64 carries(5.1 YPC) with four touchdowns. He also has six receptions for 39 yards(6.5 YPC).

He is coming off of a career game last week against the 3rd rushing defense in the nation Stanford. He ran for 144 yards on 20 carries(7.2 YPC) with a 61 yard touchdown run on a 4th and 1. Backing up Sankey now is Taylor who last week ran for only nine yards on four carries. He also has Erich Wilson who has ran for 119 yards on 21 carries(5.7 YPC). The Huskies also have big back Dezden Petty who has ran for 65 yards on 24 carries(2.7 YPC) as he picked up a crucial fourth and one last week. The Huskies running game is in pretty good hands despite injuries and losing Chris Polk to the NFL.

The Ducks under Chip Kelly once again feature the best running game in the Pac-12 if not college football. This year they are led by Kenjon Barner along with De'Anthony Thomas who I already mentioned. Barner against the Huskies in 2010 ran for 60 yards on only nine carries(6.7 YPC) including a 30 yard touchdown run. Last year against the Huskies Barner ran for 41 yards on 10 carries(4.1 YPC) with a one yard touchdown to open up the second half.

This season Barner has rushed for 605 yards on 95 carries(6.3 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He also has 11 receptions for 111 yards(10.1 YPC) with a touchdown this season. He will eventually make his money playing on Sunday's in the NFL as he is a talented back who the Huskies must contain to have any shot at keeping this game close.

The Ducks have another running back who has done well in Byron Marshall who has ran for 199 yards at a 5.0 YPC clip with two touchdowns. Through five games this year the Ducks are rushing for 1,535 yards(307 YPG) with 21 touchdowns. In 2010 the Ducks ran for 279 yards at a 5.1 YPC clip with six rushing touchdowns against the Huskies. In 2011 the Ducks ran for 212 yards at a 5.4 YPC clip with three rushing touchdowns. The Ducks ability to run the ball down the Huskies throats is the main reason why they have dominated this series lately.

This rivalry is officially a friendly rivalry again since both coaches are friends with each other. This is like when Don James and Rich Brooks were friends. Only now Kelly is playing the role of James and Sarkisian is playing the role of Brooks. Sarkisian has another chance to showcase his program and prove to everyone his program is going in the right direction. Even if the Huskies don't win but are competitive along with last weeks upset of Stanford would indicate that. For the second time this year the Huskies are playing the #2 team in the nation on the road. For the third time in five games the Huskies are playing a top 10 opponent. For Sarkisian he has nothing to lose and everything to gain with a win over Oregon. He can make a lot of friends with a win. On the flip side another embarrassing blowout loss would start the negative chatter once again.

The Huskies have an opportunity to put a scare into the Ducks and then try and upset them. The Huskies have first down NFL draft picks on their roster just like the Ducks do. The Huskies program last year saw themselves ranked and were on ESPN on the road in a big game. They lost to Stanford 65-21 as they are hoping to avoid such a letdown again. For the bulk of this rivalry the Huskies have dominated the Ducks but in the past decade the Ducks have been the ones dominating. Can the Huskies steal back the rivalry down in Eugene? Can Sarkisian pull off back to back top 10 wins something the Huskies haven't done since 1982 when in late November they defeated #9 UCLA 10-7 at home then defeated #3 Arizona State Sun Devils 17-13 on the road. They then famously lost to 2-7-1 Washington State to get bounced from the Rose Bowl. So it has been 30 years since the Huskies won back to back weeks against top 10 opponents. Perhaps this can be the year where the Huskies do it again.

By Kshell

The Pac-12 football season is set to begin in two weeks so I'm sure you are reading a ton of previews on the teams in the conference. What isn't brought up in these previews is the Elephant in the room on these programs. The Elephant in the room saying is when there is something everyone knows about but it is never brought up. Each team in this conference has an elephant in the room. Some teams elephant in the room isn't much while others looms to be pretty large. Some teams have an obvious Elephant in the room to that particular fan base while for some teams this will hopefully wake you up on these teams. I read these previews and I'm frustrated that many tip toe around the Elephant in the room while some may just be oblivious to the Elephant in the room. As usual I'm sure you'll enjoy my Elephant in the room on other teams but disagree with my assessment on your team. Like I did with my last column I'll once again start off the Elephant in the room in the South starting in Alphabetical order just like I did last time.

South Division:

Arizona Wildcats:


Rich Rodriguez isn't a good football coach:

The Arizona Wildcats replaced one lame coach in Mike Stoops in another with Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez was once a high profile coach when he was at West Virginia where he went 60-26. He left for Michigan where he failed miserably going 15-22 and worse yet was 6-18(.333) in conference games. Arizona didn't struggle last year because of offense they struggled cause they couldn't stop anyone. They went 4-8 last year and lost quarterback Nick Foles to the NFL. Sure Rodriguez will put up points on the board and that will be exciting. Just don't expect him to win many games down in Arizona. If Rodriguez can't win in Michigan which has a ton of great tradition and can recruit well what chance does he have a lower tier Pac-12 school like Arizona? I expect this experiment to crash and burn starting immediately this year.


Arizona State Sun Devils:


Todd Graham had the same record as fired coach Dennis Erickson had last season:

The Arizona State Sun Devils just like their rivals had a rather interesting coaching hire. They hired Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Todd Graham. Graham won at Rice going 7-6 then bounced after one year, then went to Tulsa for four years going 36-17 then bounced to Pittsburgh going 6-6 before leaving to Arizona State. The Sun Devils just fired Dennis Erickson for going 6-6(he would end up 6-7 after losing his lame duck bowl game) yet they hired a guy who went 6-6? Graham even if he does do well has shown he will bail on a team as he has already left two programs after just one season. No matter how much you want to pump this guy up he's a .500 coach in big boy ball and I'm being generous since the Big East is dog shit and easily the worst BCS conference. Face it Sun Devils you whiffed on this hire and once again despite all the potential in the world you'll still be average.


Colorado Buffaloes:


Colorado lost their only explosive piece on offense in Rodney Stewart:

The Colorado Buffaloes were terrible last season in going 3-10 which actually surprised most people in fact. Well now they lost talented running back Rodney Stewart who ran for 854 yards(4.5 YPC) with four touchdowns while also being their second leading receiver with 45 receptions for 571 yards(12.7 YPC). He did lead the team in receptions as well. This is already a terrible team who on paper lost their one stud play maker on offense. There is a very good chance Colorado could actually be worse than they were last season which is a scary thought for Buffaloes fans in Colorado.


Utah Utes:


Jordan Wynn isn't very good while Utah benefited from a weak schedule:

I keep seeing a ton of praise for the Utah Utes and I'm not buying it. You know why I'm not buying it? Cause Utah despite going 8-5 last year was 4-5 in conference. Utah also didn't win a single game in conference against a team with a winning record. They also skipped BOTH Stanford and Oregon which would have been for sure losses. Utah due to recruiting at a Mountain West level doesn't have the athletes to defeat decent to good Pac-12 teams. Another reason they can't because Jordan Wynn isn't that good. In his career he has completed 59.9% of his passes for 4,390 yards(7.4 YPA) which is good for 219.5 YPG with 31 touchdowns to 16 interceptions in 20 games. Those are solid numbers but not good enough in this league. Utah will once again benefit from not facing Oregon or Stanford. They do have to travel to Washington and they do host USC at home. Utah will once again go to a bowl game because they are skipping two of the four best teams in the conference. Just don't be fooled at the end of the year by their inflated record.


USC Trojans:


Lane Kiffin has no pressure wins:

In three seasons as a head coach Lane Kiffin has coached in one bowl game which his team got killed. Now we are to believe this team is going to win the national championship? Kiffin who is 3-5 vs ranked opponents in his career including that shocking win over Oregon in Eugene. USC the one year under Matt Barkley when there was actual preseason expectations they stumbled going 9-4. Also speaking of the Oregon game which USC fan is screaming at me now saying that is a pressure win well yes it is but not really. USC was 17 point underdogs so nobody expected them to win so the pressure was off and then they came out to a 38-14 lead over Oregon. They when the game got tight so did USC as they almost choked the game away finally hanging on 38-35 over Oregon as Oregon missed a game tying field goal to force overtime. Oregon had just had back to back big road games in closing out Husky Stadium then defeating Stanford for the Pac-12 title. This time around when the teams square off Oregon will be ready. Kiffin hasn't had to deal with being the clear cut favorite and it will be interesting to see how he handles a national championship or bust type pressure.


UCLA Bruins:


Jim L. Mora is an unproven head coach:

Jim L. Mora so far has been fired by two NFL jobs and has a career record of 31-33 in the NFL. Now while Mora could turn out to be the next Pete Carroll he could just as easily turn out to be the next Mike Sherman(25-25 at Texas A &M), Dave Wannstedt(42-31 at Pittsburgh), and  Chan Gailey(44-32 at Georgia Tech). All of those coaches had no head coach experience at college before taking over after failing in the NFL. Mora could be a success but he can just as easily be like every other UCLA head coach since Terry Donahue which is be very average. Mora isn't getting off to the best start with his comments about USC, barking at his assistants and kicking his team out of practice. It will be interesting to see what Mora does. One thing is for sure is UCLA fans should enter the Mora era with caution as he isn't proven as a head coach.

North Division:

California Golden Bears:


Jeff Tedford can't succeed without a future NFL pro bowler at Quarterback or Running Back:

Jeff Tedford is entering his 11th season at California and has a 79-48 record. He is only 48-38 in conference play. When he coached Aaron Rodgers in 2003 he went 8-6(5-3) and in 2004 he went 10-2(7-1) finishing the year ranked 9th in the country. In 2005 Marshawn Lynch came to the program where Tedford went 8-4(4-4) then in 2006 went 10-3(7-2) tying for the conference title. Since Rodgers and Lynch have left Tedford is 36-28(21-24). As you can see since he has lost Rodgers and Lynch he is a below .500 coach in conference play. There is nobody on this California roster at Quarterback or Running Back who appears to be a future pro bowler which means the California Golden Bears will once again be destined for another average season in Tedford's 11th season.


Stanford Cardinal:


Stanford is living off the name of two guys Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck who are no longer there:

The Stanford Cardinal have been terrific the last two years mainly due to #1 pick overall Andrew Luck at quarterback and the Jim Harbaugh handing the program over to David Shaw. In the two big games last year Stanford lost both games where Shaw appeared over matched in the Oregon game and in the Oklahoma State game he took the ball out of Andrew Luck's hands. Stanford also has a tough stretch after they start off 2-0 they host #1 USC, travel to Washington on a thursday night game, host Arizona then have a road game at Notre Dame, followed up by a weird road game against their rival California in the middle of the year. Stanford could very easily go 1-4 during that stretch with a rookie quarterback, not to mention they also lost David DeCastro who anchored their offensive line. They also lost first-teamers Jonathan Martin to the draft and tight end Cody Fleenor. Stanford lost five of their six first-team all conference guys to the NFL draft. I know most are high on Stanford but they lost their star quarterback, head coach two years ago, star tight end plus their two best offensive lineman. I don't know if any program can reload after that much departure especially a non football powerhouse like Stanford.


Oregon Ducks:


The Willie Lyles storm cloud hanging over Oregon's 2012 season:

Oregon fans don't like talking about it while rival fans do which is the Willie Lyles controversy appears to be coming to a conclusion soon. You can't talk about Oregon football without Lyles name being brought up which may be hurting their recruiting right now. Oregon despite being a top tier program has only eight committments is ranked 38th in the nation and only 5th in the Pac-12. If the penalties are severe should be interesting to see how Oregon handles the controversy. I witnessed it at Washington as the Huskies went to three straight Rose Bowls and were picked to go to a fourth straight. Then probation hit and Don James suddenly left while the Huskies suffered through three straight unthinkable 7-4 seasons. For Oregon to think they can A) survive sanctions, B) Chip Kelly won't flee to the NFL and C) replace Kelly  and maintain this level of excellence is ridiculous.

Oregon has been building this journey for a while. In 1994 they went to the Rose Bowl then following it up with a Cotton Bowl. Then suffered through three average seasons until the Joey Harrington era started where they saw their program rise to the #2 ranking in the nation in 2001. Then from 2002-08 they were a solid program who couldn't get over the hump. Chip Kelly arrives and with USC going on two year bowl ban with Pete Carroll leaving they have dominated the conference. There is no guarantee Chris Peterson would bolt to Oregon like so many fans think it is a for sure thing. Do I think Oregon would fall to Washington status of 0-12? No I don't but I could see them returning to what they were in the Mike Bellotti years where they were a good program. They just weren't a great program under Bellotti so in my opinion the Lyles Elephant in the room is the biggest in the entire conference mainly cause it could take down the team of the conference which right now is Oregon.


Oregon State Beavers:


Mike Riley is an underachiever and the program is in decline:

Mike Riley known as the coach who can do more with less has struggled in recent years. In his 11 years all at Oregon State he is 72-63 and 46-47 which is partly due to his first two years when the program was the worst in the nation. In his second go around he is 64-49 and 44-33 in coference play. Riley in 11 seasons has never had a season where he has lost fewer than four games in a season. Riley has seen the programs win totals drop four consecutive years as the Beavers have lost to the Oregon Ducks four consecutive years. Last year Riley went 3-9 and had an embarrassing loss to Sacramento State at home. In fact under Riley the Beavers have lost 12 games to teams not in a BCS conference which is pathetic for a major conference coach.

There doesn't appear to be hope on the horizon as Oregon State is ranked 75th in the nation in recruiting which puts them last in the conference, last year Oregon State ranked 44th good for 10th in the conference. Riley is driving the Beavers straight into the ditch and most fail to bring this up. I see how Oregon State is expected to make a bowl game even predicted to do better than Washington according to Phil Steele. I'm just not buying it, sure Riley pulls off one or two upsets a year but he has his fair share of bad losses. Two years ago lost at home to a 2-10 Washington State Cougars team giving Paul Wulff his first ever road win. Then last year the loss to Sacramento State at home was inexcusable as a real program would have fired him for that especially for going 3-9. As long as Riley is in Corvallis the Beavers will forever be limited.


Washington Huskies:

  Steve Sarkisian's offense is overrated:

The Huskies offense receives a ton of praise as Steve Sarkisian is labeled the offensive "guru". The offense though is actually overrated and racks up big numbers against crappy teams. Against the three top teams in the conference the Huskies have struggled offensively. Against Stanford all losses they have scored 14 points, 0 points and 21 points. Against Oregon all losses they have yet to score 20 points scoring 19 points, 16 points and 17 points. Against USC where they won twice they scored 16 points, 32 points and 17 points. In the two biggest wins of the Steve Sarkisian era the Huskies defeated #3 USC 16-13 in 2009 and defeated #18 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl 19-7. Even the signature California win where Polk scored the game winner in 2010 the Huskies won 16-13 no exactly an offensive shootout.

 As you can see the offense struggled, in three years the offense has only came to play one time against a good defense which was an 8-5 USC team on the road in 2010 scoring 32 points. In most of the Huskies big wins it was the defense who came through so this notion that the Huskies just need an average defense then they'll be a BCS team is completely false. They scored 56 points in a bowl loss against Baylor but Baylor's defense was ranked in the 100's not exactly a good defense. This team has no NFL offensive lineman either which means they can't grind out those tough drives. Remember last year against Eastern Washington, Hawaii and California how the game was put in the hands of the defense? It was because the offense couldn't put the game away with a sustained drive. A great offense like the 2000 one chewed up the clock, moved the chains and got the clutch first downs. This is a good offense but it has a long ways to go before it becomes a great offense.


Washington State Cougars:


Cougars went 4-8 last year with a top 10 passing offense in the nation and top 30 offense overall in the nation. Defense was the problem and Leach isn't a defensive coach.

The Cougars are excited to have Mike Leach over the dreadful Paul Wulff. I keep hearing how Air Raid is going get the Cougars back into a bowl game this year as Leach is going to vastly improve that passing offense plus Jeff Tuel is coming back as well. The thing is the Cougars offense was pretty good last year and wasn't the problem. They were top 10 in the nation in passing offense and top 30 in the nation in overall offense. Leach will improve that field but he won't improve what has plagued the Cougars for a while which is their defense. The Cougars defense in nine conference games allowed 311 points(34.6 PPG) with 27 being the fewest which was against Colorado and Arizona State which were both wins. Against teams with a winning record the Cougars went 0-6 last year allowing 227 points(37.8 PPG) showing they aren't ready to hang with the good teams.

The last time the Cougars defeated a team with a winning division-1 record was SMU back in 2009. The last time the Cougars defeated a conference opponent who ended the year with a winning record was all the way back in 2006. The Air Raid offense will put up points but it will also put more pressure on the field as passing teams tend to not use up much time of possession. The Cougars defense which has been dreadful the last couple of years doesn't appear to be any better. Leach is an offensive coach, the defensive players aren't very good. Look for the Cougars to be a better version of what Paul Wulff had them be last year which is eat up the weak teams but struggle to stop anyone in conference.

So when you making your predictions for this upcoming season keep in mind these Elephants in the room for each program. I noticed every fan base chooses to ignore their Elephant in the room and especially the media  who covers their teams. I just like to look at them before I do my predictions as the season is only two weeks away. We'll see how each team handles their Elephant in the room and perhaps make me look dumb by the end of the year. Once again I'm sure most fan bases will like this piece while the homer fans who see no wrong in their team won't like it. For those rational fans out there I hope you enjoy this and hopefully you can at least respect my Elephant in the room on your program while nodding your head reading about the rival schools I had a dig on.

By Kshell

With college football just around the corner I figured I would take a fun take at the history of the Pac-12 conference. In this piece I'm pretending what each football program would be like if they represented a real person . I set all 12 teams in a neighborhood as they are all neighbors who have a neighborhood party once a year to see who is doing the best. I'll include the programs history based on how successful this person may or may not be. How good their coach is will represent their wife or if they have a new coach that will represent a girlfriend. How the football program is doing will represent how they are doing in life far as their job, how much money they make, their accessories, etc. Like I said I'll try in a creative way use the past and the present day programs to give you a better idea how each football program looks in our conference. I'll go alphabetical order like I do in my Pac-12 predictions piece starting with the South.

Arizona State:


Arizona State is no longer the new guy on the neighborhood and just like that has been part of this neighborhood for a while when the neighborhood expanded to 10 houses. Arizona State also has the rest of the conference confused as to why he isn't more successful in life and is always single. Arizona State is pretty intelligent so he should be successful in his work life and is in great shape as he is always working out. He is also pretty good looking and the rest of his neighbors view him as a sleeping giant to have the best house and hottest wife. Then at the party the rest of his neighbors noticed that Arizona State is the life of the party. He is the guy who is always tanked and brings the bulk of the alcohol. He is a fun loving guy who simply doesn't give a shit. He is just there to have fun. That is when everyone else realized he is what he is which is a guy who has potential for so much more but won't ever reach that potential.


Arizona:


Arizona moved into the neighborhood same time as Arizona State did. Minus a brief time period in the 1990's Arizona has just been the forgotten man on the neighborhood. He has never been married or even had a pretty girl friend. He has never been successful in his job either. He isn't a loser and his house isn't the worst on the block. That is the thing about Arizona he isn't so bad where his neighbors make fun of him but they are wondering why they invited him to the block in the first place? Then they remembered he brings value outside of the neighborhood. He is good at other stuff that nobody really cares about(basketball, baseball, etc) but still has value. He is the guy who goes around the neighborhood to help clean up, he is always willing to baby sit for you as well. So his value is other areas so the rest of neighborhood tolerates him.


Colorado:


Colorado is new to the neighborhood and currently owns the smallest home on the block. Colorado used to be in another neighborhood where he was very successful. He had the hottest wife and was making six figures at his job. In 1990 he was named most successful man in the city. Then in 1998 his young hot wife left him in the middle of the night and ended up marrying Washington. Colorado still hasn't recovered from that and last year they struggled in their new neighborhood after their last neighborhood was threatening to fold. The fellow neighbors still don't respect Colorado as they know they are a has been. Sure they may have been successful 20 years ago but right now they are left eating the scraps at the party with Oregon State and Washington State. Poor Colorado had they joined this neighborhood 20 years ago they would have fit in nicely instead they are the runt of the neighborhood.


Utah:


Utah like Colorado is new to this Pac-12 neighborhood. Utah had a rough transition their first year but settled in nicely. Utah was in a different neighborhood that was beaten down sure they had the nicest house. They also had the nicest house on one of the worst neighborhoods in town. Utah made good money at his job or so he thought compared to the rest of his neighborhood. He was big fish small pond syndrome. In this past he's had competitions with teams in the Pac-12 and whooped their ass so he figured the transition would be easy. Finally another house was built in the Pac-12 neighborhood and Utah decided to jump all over it. Now with the same wife who was the hottest in her previous neighborhood she is simply good looking in this one. Utah will eventually get adjusted and raise their game up. They need to do some landscaping around the house to improve on it some, with the promotion in their job they will start making more money so they can upgrade their car. Utah will eventually upgrade their house so in a few years they can finally compete. As is they are still one of the better overall guests at the party. Almost everyone respects Utah but they also got a kick out of Utah's struggles that first year proving that you can't just go from a shitty neighborhood to a big time neighborhood without your struggles.


UCLA: 


UCLA has been part of the conference since day one. UCLA is good looking and for a long period of time had a great house with a great job. His problem is he is next door neighbors to USC so no matter how good he does it doesn't seem enough. UCLA has had some woman issues lately too. Remember the wife who left Colorado? Well after Washington chose to divorce her UCLA decided to marry her and she sank him down. So now UCLA is dating a girl who has been lusting after Washington for years. UCLA has what it takes to control this neighborhood but his biggest problem is he is a wimp. He lets his neighbors(particularly USC) walk all over him. When USC wants something of his UCLA just bows down and USC takes whatever he wants. UCLA despite having the best location in the neighborhood and easy access to move up in his job he just can't seem to seal the deal. What it boils down to is UCLA is soft as a person and when you are soft others will walk all over you.


USC:


USC has been part of this neighborhood forever. His grandpa made this neighborhood what it is today, then his dad ruled this neighborhood and someday so will his son. USC is the biggest toughest guy in the room and always has a hot girl friend. USC makes six figures and nobody messes around with USC except for lately. Due to a scandal he had at work back in 2005 he was sentenced to two years in jail plus probation. So other teams in the neighborhood have caught up to USC and gotten some revenge on USC the last two years. USC has a new young girlfriend and is determined to be the most successful person on the block. At the parties USC is seen as arrogant but he knows he can be because he has earned it. He will once in a while give Washington a nod of respect but don't think for one second he will even acknowledge what Oregon has going on at their place. He will act like McKayla Maroney and be very unimpressed. USC knows even while being in jail he was still the most successful person at the southern end of his block. USC is constantly laughing at his next door neighbor UCLA whom he doesn't even consider  a rival. He considers Notre Dame the guy who lives across the city who has been living off his dad and grandpa's generation for a while now. USC is finally out of jail so he is hoping to make up for lost time the past two years.


California:


California is the hippie pot smoking guy on the neighborhood who is care free. California despite such a big house had one of the dumpiest houses on the block, one of the worst cars, wasn't married and had a terrible job. Then after hitting rock bottom he met a girl and fell in love. Early on he enjoyed great success as he got a new job which paid well. In fact only USC was more successful on the block than he was. Now his wife her looks have dropped off a bit, at work people have passed him up, his car isn't so nice anymore. He has returned to be average on the block and worse yet his oldest son who he raised so well has left his company to go work for Washington. Then his son stole some other young up and comers he was recruiting to go work for his company. He has never felt so betrayed by a family member in his life. California tasted success but now is just rolling in mediocrity.


Stanford:


Stanford was the skinny little nerd at the neighborhood party for years. He was the smartest guy at the part something he'd always remind everyone but nobody else cared as he was a slob. His house was messy, he was single, he had no car and his job was terrible. Then very quietly Stanford met this girl and caught a "LUCKy" break. He started to work out and suddenly showed up to the part not only as the smartest guy but also the toughest guy. He was bullying USC at the party which nobody did and USC was backing down. He was also pushing around Washington which he never used to do. The only person who could stand up to Stanford lately is Oregon who has been beating everyone at everything lately. Stanford's young hot girlfriend left him for better opportunities that he couldn't provide. His lucky horseshoe he lost while on a trip to Indianapolis so some are curious how Stanford is going to far without his hot girl friend or his good luck charm. One thing is for sure Stanford isn't that skinny little wimpy nerd that the conference used to take advantage of for years. Stanford will fight back and lately Stanford has been the one taking advantage of others in the conference.


Oregon:


Oregon's family has been part of this neighborhood forever. Oregon was the loser of the block, had a small house, couldn't afford a car, worked at a shitty job, had a long time wife who was average. Then suddenly in the 1990's Oregon realized his distant uncle was the creator of Nike. His uncle who had no kids of his own immediately treated Oregon like a son and named his CEO of Nike. Oregon who used to get picked on by everyone especially Washington is now picking on Washington. After Oregon's long-time loyal wife left him for what she thought was a better guy Oregon would realize he had an uncle. Then after being one of the top guys on the block Oregon met some under the radar girl from the east coast. Nobody knew anything about her and after short time he booted his second wife to the curb for this young hot wife. Oregon has the nicest house on the block, the hottest wife and due to being treated like crap for generations they are obnoxious about their success. USC still doesn't acknoweldge their success and just recently after winning the best roses on the Pac-12/Big 10 block contest Washington is reluctantly giving Oregon credit. Oregon is new rich but there is a storm brewing possibly. There is speculation Oregon could get in trouble and go to jail soon as they may have done some illegal things to get this high. We'll see but for now Oregon has been king of the neighborhood for three straight years and only USC can knock him off that porch this year.


Oregon State:

Oregon State is the nice polite guy at the party who everyone else secretly wonders why they were even invited to the neighborhood to begin with. For over three plus decades Oregon State had the worst house, was living off welfare and was single. He was a loser who everyone else felt sorry for. Then  Oregon State met a sweet girlfriend who brought his life together but she quickly left him. Oregon State then found great success with his new girl. He finally got a kick ass job, improved his ass and his girl friend although a drinker was pretty hot. Just like that Oregon State was one of the more successful guys at the party. Then that girl friend left him so Oregon State decided to get back with his previous girl friend who had left him and they sustained success for a while. Well that girl friend hasn't been working out, letting herself go a little and is bad with money. Just like that Oregon State career isn't going as well so he is having to cut back on his house a little. Oregon State looks around and he is in danger of becoming the least successful person on the block if he isn't careful. He is too loyal to his girlfriend as well even though many are suggesting he can do better.


Washington:

Washington has been part of this block for generations as well. He has always had one of the nicer houses, and a nice job plus beautiful women. He inherited the place from his dad who was the most successful guy on the block from 1977-1992 then suddenly one of his dad's employees below him took out an illegal loan to help finance his house. The other neighbors found out and they flipped punishing his dad for two years which his dad said screw it I'm moving out! Then suddenly his dad passed away unexpected and there was major turmoil for Washington. His uncle came in to right the ship for a while but eventually had to hand it over to Washington who wasn't ready for this responsibility. Washington snatched away Colorado's wife and that was a hit right off the bat Washington was kicking ass at his job, did some improvements to his house and was living the dream. Come to find out his wife was a bit of a gambler and after being tired of being lied to he finally dumped his young attractive wife. He settled on Stanford's ex where he hit rock bottom. He lost his job in 2008, had to file for bankruptcy and even live on welfare for a while. He is now dating someone from the USC family tree one of USC nieces and things have turned around. Washington is working a decent job, his house seems in order but Washington is frustrated because he has to achieve what his dad had achieved for such a long stretch. At one time his dad was the smartest, toughest and most successful guy on the block. Washington is hoping someday he can join that level of USC and Oregon but right now he isn't quite there.


Washington State:

Washington State is always the guy who embarrasses himself at the party by getting too drunk off Busch Light. He is the guy everyone wonders who invited this guy? He insists that he matters but in reality he doesn't. He really enjoys it when his next door neighbor Washington is down in the dumps even though his life isn't going as well. Washington State has been the least successful guy on the block throughout most of their history. He had a stretch from 2001-03 where he turned his life around, his loyalty to his wife paid off as she got smoking hot, he was named ceo of his company and life was looking good for him. Then his loyalty turned to betrayal as his wife left him in the middle of the night. Washington State just ended a bad four year divorce where they hit rock bottom. She gave him bad advice and he has been unemployed for the last four years, living off welfare and everyone on the neighborhood wanted him to move out. Washington State is now dating this weird chick who is obsessed with Pirates, she is controversial and speaks her mind. She also appears to be a good fit for Washington State. Washington State just recently found a job and things could be looking up for Washington State. In a few years Washington State might not be the least successful guy on the block as that title will probably belong to Oregon State at this rate.

Well I hope I didn't offend your fan base in this piece as this was all done in fun. I always imagined what they would look like if they were in a neighborhood together. This was one of the more fun pieces I've done as I usually don't do satire pieces. The Pac-12 neighborhood has gone over some changes in recent memory and we'll see how this post stands up in a few years from now. Some teams have had to work hard to get where they are at, while others seem to always be successful, while some have never tasted success and lastly some have had success but fallen on hard times. I tried to give a historical review of each program in a less than serious context. Should be a fun 2012 season coming up and I can't believe college football is only 15 days away for most programs and for Washington State it is only 13 days away!