Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended Friday for the upcoming season by coach Chip Kelly after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary in the theft of a pair of laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity.

Masoli, who had been mentioned as a potential Heisman candidate, will remain on scholarship with the Ducks.

“He does have a redshirt season available to him if he chooses to do that,” Kelly said.

Kelly announced the suspension just hours after Masoli appeared in Lane County Circuit Court to answer to the burglary charge.

Kelly, who has come under fire for some of his disciplinary decisions, also meted out punishment for running back LaMichael James and placekicker Rob Beard.

James was suspended for the season opener after he pleaded guilty early Friday to a misdemeanor harassment charge stemming from an altercation with his former girlfriend.

Beard was also suspended for the opener Sept. 4 at home against New Mexico after pleading guilty last week to a misdemeanor harassment charge for his role in a street fight that left him seriously injured.

“I am extremely disappointed anytime any of our players fall short of our expectations that have been clearly outlined for them in advance on numerous occasions, and this is especially true regarding their roles within the community,” Kelly said. “Their accountability for their actions is paramount and any tainting of the reputation of the University of Oregon and this football program will not be tolerated.”

Masoli pleaded guilty as part of a deal that reduced his charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. Former Ducks receiver Garrett Embry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of second-degree burglary as well.

Both were sentenced to 12 months of probation and 140 hours of community service. Together they must also pay $5,000 restitution.

In the same courtroom hours earlier, James entered his plea and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 24 months of probation. He reported to jail on Friday afternoon but was quickly released and instead put on electronic surveillance for the duration of his sentence.

Deputy District Attorney Alex Gardner had said earlier that it was unlikely James would serve jail time because of overcrowding, and because his offense was relatively minor and he was considered low-risk.

James, who set a Pac-10 freshman record with more than 1,500 yards rushing last season, originally faced five misdemeanor charges, including strangulation, harassment and assault. All but one harassment charge were dropped.

In a statement that was included in court documents related to the case, James apologized to the victim, a former girlfriend. She claimed he grabbed her neck and pushed her to the ground during an argument on Feb. 15.

“I hope to put this matter behind me now and learn from it. I have made a mistake and accept the consequences,” the statement said. “I look forward to demonstrating to my University, to my team and to the community that I am a better man than recent events suggest.”

James rushed for 1,546 yards last season as a freshman, the ninth-highest total in the nation. He had seven consecutive 100-yard games before Ohio State limited him to 70 in Oregon’s 26-17 loss in the Rose Bowl.

Masoli threw for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. He also rushed for 668 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The two helped lead Oregon to a remarkable comeback from a season-opening loss to Boise State. The Ducks won their first Pac-10 title since 2001 and earned their first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1995.

Kelly’s action was the latest twist to the Ducks’ offseason of disarray.

Beard was placed on probation after entering his plea.

Linebacker Kiko Alonso pleaded not guilty to drunken driving charges in Eugene Municipal Court last week. Kelly suspended Alonso for the 2010 season upon learning of the arrest.

Defensive end Matt Simms was dismissed by Kelly after he was cited on assault charges last month. Simms pleaded guilty to physical harassment for striking a man he thought had beaten Beard.

Receiver Jamere Holland was dismissed from the team after posting vulgar comments and criticizing Kelly on the Facebook social networking site.

Kelly, who made his debut as a head coach last season, was questioned after he brought back running back LeGarrette Blount early from a season-long suspension.

Blount was suspended for punching a Boise State defensive end following the season-opening loss. He missed eight games before he was reinstated for meeting certain academic and behavioral criteria set down by Kelly.

University president Richard Lariviere issued a statement late Friday in support of Kelly’s actions.

“I am confident that Coach Kelly has carefully and fairly considered the disciplinary actions he is imposing,” Lariviere said. “I know that he understands the high expectations of Oregon’s faculty, students and fans.”

Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli suspended for 2010 season is a post from: AroDrive

Everyone should really stop jumping on me every time I get something wrong.

How come no one calls me when I get things right? Which I might add, does happen a lot.

Tim Tebow an A-List Person of the Year 2009 nominee on AroDrive.com, for reasons best known to him (Tebow) he has decided to attend the senior bowl which I’ve always felt was meant for guys from smaller programs to showcase themselves.

The report on he’s performance on the practice field has not been promising – he flubbed his first snap from center, and it only got uglier from there:

Performing drills with fellow South team quarterbacks Zac Robinson of Oklahoma State and Jarrett Brown of West Virginia, Tebow fumbled the ball at least twice while taking snaps under center.

Later in team drills, Tebow fell into his same old habits — holding onto the ball too long, locking onto receivers and throwing wobbly passes.

The scouts noticed.

“He looks like the third QB out there,” one NFC South talent evaluator said.

On top of the technical issues NFL scouts have with Tim Tebow as a prospective pro quarterback, there’s also the standard next-level complaint about “the system” — specifically, among other things, that Tebow spent the entirety of his college career at Florida taking snaps from the shotgun, never from under center, even in short-yardage situations.

That seemingly minor qualm opens up an entirely new avenue of doubts about his ability to adjust to basic mechanics like footwork and turning his back to the defense, fundamentals most quarterbacks have converted to second nature long before they show up for NFL auditions (or, in most cases, before they ever set foot in an actual college game).

There is no doubt Tebow has some, ok, a lot of issues to work out to make it in the Pros.

But, this kid has got the most important asset needed to be successful in the NFL; Heart. (Just ask the Raiders about Jamarcus Russell)

No matter the position Tebow gets to play in the NFL you can be rest assured he will give he’s all to succeed.

I said Tebow reminds me of Steve McNeil and I still stand by it, McNeil was a quarter back that played like a downhill running back and just like McNeil, Tebow is a very big athlete with a winning habit.

That brings us to Tebow’s most important asset; a winner.

These attributes are the reasons I believe Tim Tebow will be successful on the next level and no matter the outcome from the senior bowl he will be drafted and he will be a good pro.

Any questions?

Tim Tebow will be a Success regardless of Senior Bowl performance is a post from: AroDrive

Whether the word is arrogant, loud, rude, talented or obnoxious, they all seem to work when describing former Tennessee football coach, and now the newest coach of Southern California, Lane Kiffin.

But the word that springs to my mind when describing the coach is simply: Why?

What has Kiffin done at any point of his coaching career to garner a head-coaching position at a major college program or for any professional team?

And it’s not like he’s left every place he’s been with his superiors patting him on the back and thanking him for everything he’s done for the program.

He had no head-coaching experience prior to being named the Oakland Raiders head coach and was basically driven out of town after barely more than a year.

He finished with five more wins than I did as the Raiders’ coach and had 15 losses.

That somehow got him to Knoxville, Tenn., where he didn’t fare much better.

He went 7-6 with the Volunteers and had numerous violations in the short duration of his stay.

He left Tennessee earlier this week with a brief press conference and escaped the building as a growing crowd brewed outside, which later escalated into a miniscule riot.

If anything, students should be happy he’s leaving.

He’s never proven himself as a coach, and the only thing that can be said for Kiffin is that he’s said to be one of the better recruiters in the nation.

That may be so, but he’s had his share of NCAA violations in the process. So really, can he be that good of a recruiter?

And after all of that Kiffin accuses Florida’s Urban Meyer of cheating?

I don’t blame Kiffin for taking the USC  job. He said it was his dream job, and if he didn’t have a binding contract then he should do what he wishes.

However, I’m not quite sure why USC wants him anyway.

He’ll bring in some top-end recruits — which is something he did when he was the team’s recruiting coordinator years ago as an assistant — and he’ll bring in the best defensive mind ever to live, in his dad, Monte Kiffin.

I hope USC knows what its doing. But who knows if Kiffin even knows what he’s doing.

His career head-coaching record is 12-21.

Twelve wins and he’s the newest coach of arguably the nation’s most prestigious and hyped program.

At this rate he’ll be in the College Football Hall of Fame before I ever have kids, and before he ever has 30 career wins.

By Josh Berhow

Lane Kiffin; like him or hate him, he’s here to Stay. is a post from: AroDrive

I more than understand the competitor in individuals, believing we can do anything and do it well at any level.

Rick Pitino, Nick Saban and even Pete Carroll has made this move in the past (making the change from College to the Pros) and have failed dreadfully.

All 3 coaches (Rick Pitino, Nick Saban and Pete Carroll) went back to college and had tremendous successes.

Pete Carroll is a great college coach just take a look at the below achievements;

# Two BCS Championship Game appearances (win over Oklahoma, and a loss to Texas)
# Two national championships, including the AP 2003 national championship and the undisputed 2004 national championship.
# Seven consecutive Associated Press Top-4 finishes
# A record six BCS bowl victories
# A record seven consecutive BCS bowl appearances
# A record seven consecutive years as Pac-10 Champions or Co-Champions
# A national-record 33 consecutive weeks as AP’s No. 1-ranked team
# A winning record of 97–19 (85.6%), including 16–2 against traditional rivals Notre Dame and UCLA
# A NCAA record of 63 straight 20-point games
# Twenty-five All-American first teamers
And much more.

Yet, in the Pro level he has proven to be nothing but mediocre posting a record of 33 wins and 31 loses, that’s a winning percentage of  .516.

So why are the Seahawks salivating over this hire?

Well is very simple; this is a team in complete disarray from ownership to front office to the players on the field.

Ownership can’t sell, so they have to make this team more attractive.
This is a classic “we need to get people talking about us” move. Like signing a player to “put butts in the seats.” This is signing Ken Griffey Jr. This is Allen Iverson going to Memphis. It’s a flashy hire. It’s all over the news. Everyone is talking about the Seahawks.

And for that alone Pete Carroll is going to become the coach of the troubled franchise.

Carroll is not a gray-area kind of guy, either you like him or you don’t. Either you think his enthusiasm is positive and infectious or you think it’s juvenile and arrogant. Either his motivational techniques are inspiring to any football players or you think it only has a place in the college game and NFL players will tune him out. Either you think the freedom his gives players allows them to play pressure-free and loose or you think it makes them unmanageable and undisciplined.

The 2010 – 2011 season is definitely going to be a more interesting one for the Seahawks with Pete Carroll as their head coach. You can be rest assured that he is going to work to prove the doubters wrong, Carroll is no stranger to this kind of environment; No one liked the hire when he “joined USC back in 2000 either. In fact everyone hated it.

So, now we wait.

The Pete Carroll hire in Seattle reeks of desperation is a post from: AroDrive

There was no real big surprise on Saturday Night at the Heisman Trophy presentation, we all knew Mark Ingram was a lock in to win and he did win.

I must say ESPN really need to do something about the presentation show, that was really boring, I fell asleep at least twice during the 60 minutes program.

That said, we here at A-List really believed the most deserving player at that show was Ndamukong Suh, he was by far the best player on the field year round bar none. The only reason he didn’t win was because he was not playing on an east coast friendly time.

The facts;

• No one knew what to do with Ndamukong Suh

• 203 voters who chose Colt McCoy first had something better to do than watch the Oklahoma or Nebraska games, the two biggest of the year for the Longhorns

• 43 voters are in love with Tim Tebow, no matter what actually happened on the field this season

• Mark Ingram won the Heisman, but it’s not like anyone outside of Alabama is jumping for joy over this.

Ingram had a nice season. Not a phenomenal season, not really a Heisman-caliber season, but a nice season. Since Tebow and Florida stunk it up in the SEC Championship, McCoy was awful in the Big 12 Championship and no one east of the Mississippi saw Toby Gerhart outside of the Notre Dame game — Ingram became the default winner. The “Someone-Had-To-Win” winner. But he still has a bowl game to play.

Ingram really might be the real deal, superstar type of legend who does the Heisman proud. We might all look back and realize that this was the start of something big, not the climax. But one thing is clear, we all need to see more. He’s a good guy and someone to root for, but he has to show that he really is an elite player worthy of this honor and not just a very good player on the best team in college football.

But Ndamukong Suh is the best defensive lineman to come out of college this decade, though others say that he’s the best since Julius Peppers emerged from Chapel Hill in 2002.  (Peppers was the second overall pick that year, sandwiched between two quarterback busts — David Carr and Joey Harrington.) This guy is the real deal.

Suh had been gradually getting more and more notice throughout the 2009 season.  He made a cannon ball-sized splash into the draft pool with a dominant performance in the Big 12 title game, and he exuded an impressive presence, demeanor, and maturity during interviews conducted in connection with the Heisman presentation show on ESPN.
Congratulations to Mark Ingram. Ndamukong Suh is still our number 1 choice.

Mark Ingram Not Deserving of the Heisman is a post from: AroDrive

On Wednesday, the hot name involved with the vacancy seemed to be current Connecticut coach, Randy Edsall. Even though Irish officials were in contact with Edsall, he was plan B for Jack Swarbrick in case Kelly decided to back out and return to the Bearcats.

According to several media outlets and ESPN, Brian Kelly has informed his team that he will indeed be the next head coach at Notre Dame.

Calling an official team meeting an hour before the scheduled start time of Cincinnati’s season banquet, Kelly met with his players as a group for the last time, informing the team of his decision. Just hours before, Cincinnati officials informed the media that Kelly had requested that they were held out of the banquet for privacy.

Kelly, who has led Cincinnati to a 12-0 record this year, was so obviously the right choice. Notre Dame, the “it” program for so many years, finally hired a coach with the “it” factor.

While all were competent football men, Bob Davie, George O’Leary (for five days), Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis did not have “it.”

Kelly is the dial-a-coach do-over for losing Urban Meyer to Florida in 2005. Notre Dame really, really wanted Meyer after he led Utah to 12-0 in 2004. Meyer was a former Notre Dame assistant and was named after a pope. School officials, in hot pursuit, raced through Salt Lake City in the company car but were outmaneuvered by the Gatormobile.

Settling for Weis, who just wrapped up a 35-27 career, was just that. Meyer has led Florida to two national titles while Notre Dame has been paying the price.

Kelly will be without the star quarterback Jimmy Clausen and the dynamic receiver Golden Tate, both of whom declared for the N.F.L. draft this week.

He’s going to have an uphill battle at South Bend, but thats what he does and thats why they hired him

Brian Kelly is Notre Dame’s new head Coach is a post from: AroDrive

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart might be favorite to win the Heisman this year. Been on the phone the last 2 days speaking with voters and all I hear is”Because his season best exemplifies what one should want from the player deemed the best in college football”.

Gerhart excelled statistically, rushing for more yards (1,736) and scoring more touchdowns (26) than anybody else in Division I. His work was done in the Pac-10, the deepest of the major conferences — no matter how much hype is hoisted on the SEC.

Being the best player in what quite likely is the best conference should be enough for the 6-foot-1, 235-pound senior to win the most famous award in the sport.

My personal favorite is Suh (but I have no votes), he comes closest to being the 2^nd favorite to win, because he is at least as dominant on defense as Gerhart is on offense. It’s not his fault Nebraska plays in the Big 12, where the talent can’t come close to matching the general emphasis on the sport, but it’s enough to put him behind Gerhart.

The name Ndamukong Suh is going to be heard for much longer time to come after this college season is over. Nebraska’s dynamic defensive tackle is a ferocious presence and has earned the privilege of being the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft.

Early polling amongst voters indicates Gerhart’s co-favorite is Ingram, a fine running back on a team destined to become the national champion. But Ingram is surrounded by so much blue-chip talent that there is no appreciable drop-off when the Crimson Tide turns to his backups. This would seem to compromise his value, eh?

You can debate the level of competition against Ingram’s, but it seems futile. Gerhart played San Jose State and WSU, Ingram played Florida International, North Texas and Chattanooga. But Ingram had an impressive game against Florida, rushing and receiving for 189 yards.

Nobody else, on merit, deserves to make the trip to New York. McCoy and Tebow were invited despite neither being as good as he was last season. McCoy benefits from Texas’ cotton-candy nonconference schedule; he will be exposed against Alabama. Tebow was the 2007 winner and happens to be the cover boy for college sport.

McCoy has his own PR firm, and its name is Mack Brown. The Texas coach lobbied his team into a BCS bowl a few years ago over California, and he doesn’t take much urging to wax earnest over McCoy. Asked about McCoy a few weeks ago on a conference call, Brown launched into a detailed statistical resume of his past five games, giving us everything but the VIN number on McCoy’s pickup truck.

Not withstanding, this year the Heisman for the first time in a long time (Since Reggie Bush) will not be going to a quarterback and that will be fear as it’s been turned into the best quarterback back award the past few years.

Who ever wins the award on Friday will be more than deserving.

Who Should Win the Heisman? is a post from: AroDrive

There’s no doubt Carlos Dunlap deserved to be punished for he’s DUI arrest (Dunlap, 20, was arrested at 3:25 a.m. Tuesday by Gainesville Police Officer Robert Rogers at the signal light at Southwest Second Avenue and Southwest 34th Street.), but does the whole team deserve to be punished too? as Urban Meyer has suspended Dunlap for the SEC Title game.

According to police, Rogers was dispatched to the area to check out reports of a reckless driver in a Chrysler. Rogers said when he found the car matching the description, it was stopped although the traffic light was green. Rogers said he watched the light cycle through several times but the car remained stopped.

The kid made a very stupid mistake and yes he’s only 20 years old and shouldn’t be drinking. But who are we kidding?
Drinking is a part of every college life and though it doesn’t make it right, it doesn’t help when we over react either.
Yes he could have killed some one – but he did not.

Urban Meyer decision to Suspend Carlos Dunlap for the SEC Title Game Saturday in Atlanta is the wrong decision.
Dunlap is one of the best player on this Squad and are going to be facing Nick Saban and an Alabama squad they defeated last year and would be giving the Gators all they can handle this Saturday.

The suspension of Dunlap was to make the media happy and make Meyer look tough.

Winning Championships is what Meyer should be thinking about right now and finding better ways to punish individual players in ways that does not impact the team in a negative way.

Meyer decision to Suspend Dunlap is Wrong is a post from: AroDrive

Bobby Bowden is a legend in sports, not just College Football or in Florida State University a program he turned into a national powerhouse over 34 years—which included an unprecedented streak of 14 straight years with Top Five finishes.

Now he’s been forced out of the Job he dedicated he’s life to for 34. Yes he was given the option of returning, but in what could only be described as a figurehead role. In short, he would not retain the right to control the staff and the important things that go into being a head coach. The position would be ceremonial. I know the man well enough to believe that he could not be happy with that and the school knew that too.

So it appears that Bobby Bowden, who just turned 80 years old in November, is set to walk off the stage a year before he is ready. He won 388 games, which is second in Division I-A only to Joe Paterno. He wanted to retire as college football’s all-time winner. I know he said he didn’t stay awake thinking about it. But the man is competitive. Very competitive. He wanted that record. His players and family wanted it for him even more.

Yes we all know since Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2005, the Seminoles have gone 31-22 overall and have been a middle-of-the-pack team in the conference. The Seminoles were 6-6 this season.

I believed strongly that he had earned the right to dictate the date and the manner of his retirement. This is not the way to treat a legend.

Florida State’s football stadium looked like a giant erector set when he became coach in 1976. There was little football tradition and the facilities were a joke. Now Doak Campbell Stadium is a palace and Florida State’s athletic complex is more than impressive. Yeah, Florida State did a lot for Bobby Bowden. But he gave a helluva lot more than he got back.

Best wishes Bobby.

Bowden, A Giant Humbled is a post from: AroDrive

It’s funny how everyone likes to jump on bandwagon when things are good and then over criticize when they are rough.

When the titans were 0 and 4 I called for the Titans to replace Kerry Collins with Vince Young, because the major issue they were facing was Collins inability to avoid sacks. Got lots of comments saying I know nothing about football and that Vince Young was not mentally tough enough to play in the NFL.

Really? Another Sunday down by four with 2:37 remaining, the Titans needed to drive 99 yards for the win.

Young led an 18-play drive, throwing a 10-yard TD to Kenny Britt as time expired to get the Titans past the Cardinals 20-17. Young threw for a career-high 387 yards and one TD,

I said then and I’ll say it again; sports fans, stop believing everything you hear on sports talk radio. In a 24/7 sports news era there are not enough sports news to talk about and a sports star meltdown is always good ratings. And till this day, no one really knows what happened with Vince Young a year and a half ago. But, we know this guy can play the quarterback position and that’s all that matters.

For the rest of you saying; the defense has played better and Chris Johnson running lights out is the reason they’ve gone 5 and 0.

I say to you, its football. You give any defense time to rest (by the offense being on the field longer – like 99 yards drive) you reduce chances of injuries and have a defense that will play tougher.

And excluding the almost 60 points they allowed to New England Patriots, the defense has been playing really good this season.

As for Chris Johnson, he added 154 rushing yards — including an 85-yard TD. It was Johnson’s sixth straight game with at least 125 yards rushing yards.

This guy has been putting up these numbers all season and they were still loosing.

The only new factor in this equation is the big guy playing Quarterback for the Tennessee Titans – Vince Young. This was his fifth straight game with at least 14 fantasy points. You shouldn’t expect this many passing yards every week, but he’s a safe play every time out and he’s hunger to win has infected the locker room.

In this game he spread the ball around, hitting eight different receivers. Britt led the way with seven catches for 128 yards. He had a key fumble earlier in the game, but he more than atoned for it. Nate Washington caught a couple deep balls and finished with 68 yards on three catches. Bo Scaife (5-68) proved once again that he’s Young’s favorite target.

This team is 5 and 0 for 2 reasons;

1. Vince Young is a quarterback in the NFL that can throw the ball and run for a hundred yard any given Sunday. This makes him a nightmare for any defensive coordinator to game plan against.

There’s no doubt he’s improved he’s pocket passing and he’s on field leadership shows through he’s team mates doing extra to ensure victories.

2. Jeff Fisher, this is a coach that knows how to rally a team and he’s best work of the season so far was him wearing Peyton Manning’s jersey in a benefit and saying he wanted to fill like a winner.

Incase you were not following, since that day the Titans are 5-0.

So, Browns, Chiefs and Rams. You know what to do.

Young Responsible for Resurgence in Tennessee is a post from: AroDrive

A crowded and indistinct Heisman Trophy race did not get much clearer this weekend.

Big games by the brand name candidates — Texas’s Colt McCoy and Florida’s Tim Tebow — were matched by another amazing performance from Stanford’s Toby Gerhart, while Alabama’s Mark Ingram and Clemson’s C. J. Spiller each had a less impressive showing.

And don’t forget about Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, a dark horse candidate.

Tebow’s performance Saturday, however, may have been his best of the season. He was 17 of 21 for 221 yards, rushed for 90 yards and 3 touchdowns and did not throw an interception in a 37-10 victory against Florida State. (He did fumble after a long third-quarter run.)

The Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio stated the case for Tebow.

“That’s the best college football player in America,” he said. “Period. It’s kind of joke to me. You’re talking about a guy who does it all. He does it all on the field. He does it all off the field. He’s a great representative of college football. He’s the best player in college football. Last time I checked, that’s what that award was.”

Gerhart scored the winning touchdown in Stanford’s 45-38 victory against Notre Dame in the final minute. With the crowd chanting his name, he accounted for 54 of the 72 yards on the 10-play drive. He was the star of the game, compiling 205 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries.

He also threw an 18-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-4 that led to a 2-point conversion that tied the game at 38-38 with 8 minutes 59 seconds to go.

“I think Toby has said it all with the way he’s played,” Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh said. “He hasn’t talked about it, just gone out there week after week.”

And with just a week left for candidates to make their case, who should win the trophy?

By PETE THAMEL

The Heisman Race just got Complicated is a post from: AroDrive

So it seems, the era of Charlie Weis comes to an end in a thriller against Stanford that Weis went out trading playbook pages with Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh in a 45-38 defeat that neither assured nor hastened Weis’ firing.

Weis rolled into town at the beginning of he’s career at Notre Dame with such fan fare, the real genius behind the Great Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense. He promised excellence and championships for the program. He did all the talking and got all the top recruits and then it all came crashing down in the most unceremonious fashion.

After the game on Saturday against Stanford, Weis did not talk to the press as the decision has clearly been made already, and Notre Dame winning the game would have changed nothing.

Which not talking to the press was no surprise as Weis never cozied to the media hearth, and he went out as you would expect him to, given that he had become the school’s latest sacrifice to bygone days and as such had become a national punch line. The glare of an unforgiving public did not flatter Weis, and he would return no niceties in response.

Weis did conduct an interview with WNDU sports director Jeff Jeffers inside the double doors of Notre Dame’s locker room. Those comments were later distributed in the press box.

“There’s a bunch of 22-, 23-year-old young men right there finishing out their career losing the last four games,” Weis told Jeffers. “They feel miserable, and I feel miserable for them.”

Weis wouldn’t talk to reporters, but his players did. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who will explore leaving Notre Dame early for the NFL, took a seat in a makeshift interview tent and spoke glowingly of his coach.

“Like I’ve told you all many times, the reason why I stepped on campus was because of Coach Weis,” said Clausen, whose left eye was still black-and-blue from a punch he took in a bar last weekend. “To be honest, I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him.”

And wide receiver Golden Tate, his eyes reddened by tears, said of Weis: “It hurts because the thought that that might be the last time he coaches me. That might be the last time he’s coaching for Notre Dame.”

This loss was like so many others of 2009: Clausen threw for huge numbers (23-of-30 for 340 yards and five touchdowns), Tate was uncoverable (10 catches, 201 yards, three touchdowns) yet the defense was, well, defenseless.

Weis, who has been college football’s piñata for weeks now, is expected to get the hook either Sunday or Monday for not advancing the Irish beyond the Tyrone Willingham standard, for talking the walk and no more, for doing too little to expand the fading brand of Notre Dame.

Indeed, as football has been replaced in the last decade as the school’s biggest sport at Notre Dame by “Name The Next Football Coach,” Weis’ time has now expired, and he can now see the world as Willingham saw it at the end, and Bob Davie before him. In fact, he is even less popular as he departs than George O’Leary, whose job resume gaps prevented him from earning the enmity and derision that was Weis’ constant companion in South Bend.

The inevitable news of Charlie Weis firing will be announced in a couple of days. Weis as we all know will land on he’s proverbial feet as he is still regarded as an offensive mastermind.

But the fighting Irish I fear really need to do some soul searching; this is a very proud and very lucrative program yet, they can’t seem to put together a structure on the field that leads to wins. Charlie Weis is just the latest in a long line of failed coaches in the last decade and sincerely I don’t think the next coach (who ever he is!) will do any better.

He’s a thought, maybe the Fighting Irish are just the most over-hyped and over-rated program in sports and their glory days are long gone and are never coming back. But the Irish will keep fighting without Charlie Weis.

Weis rides into the Sunset after a Thriller is a post from: AroDrive

As it has for many Saturdays these last few weeks, the morning-after fallout started in South Bend and radiated outward.

Florida? Oklahoma? Cincinnati? Really, none of us can move on until Notre Dame makes “The Move.” You can only hope that Charlie Weis doesn’t hang in the public square for too long. The man is owed that much after the finality of the Connecticut loss hit home. AD Jack Swarbrick acted quickly last season, making a decision to retain Weis a few days after the regular season.

The immediate impact of Weis’ eventual firing after Saturday’s loss to Connecticut — let’s not kid ourselves — is that it might cause some very public and very emphatic denials from Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer. In the short term, that is certainly where this is headed no matter how long Weis hangs on.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that if it was going to make a move, ND had to go after Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly immediately. Nothing has changed. Stoops and Meyer are still not interested but Notre Dame will try, perhaps because of hubris, perhaps out of desperation.

The result is predictable. Those coaches, then, will have to utter the words, “I’m not interested,” to a group of reporters and boosters to keep recruiting momentum going.

They will be grandiose announcements, playing to those recruits. Still, Notre Dame will make the coaches responsible for three national championships this decade say no.

Here’s why they will:

•  Meyer is perfectly happy in Gainesville. One school of thought holds that the Florida coach might be looking for a new challenge in chasing his “dream job.”

That’s not to over-think the issue. Meyer is at the top of his game, able to chase SEC titles, if not national championships, each year. He is well-paid and well-liked.

There would be some rebuilding to do at Notre Dame. Probably a lot of rebuilding. And not just athletically. What kind of contract does ND offer after being duped into Weis’ outrageous extension? Who deserves the blame for getting Notre Dame into that position after only seven games in 2005? Who will make the ultimate call this time?

Like Florida, ND chases BCS bowls, national championships. Unlike Florida, it is miles away from chasing either.

Who in Florida needs the aggravation at Notre Dame, especially Shelley Meyer, the coach’s coach, who by all accounts loves being a Gator?

•  Stoops is equally as happy in Norman. He is tremendously frustrated with this season, though. The coach lost a couple of more players to injuries during Oklahoma’s 41-13 loss at Texas Tech. The entire season has been one big blood-letting assuring Stoops of his worst season, at least, since 1999 when he arrived at OU.

That’s not to say he can’t get it back quickly. Texas isn’t going to rule the Big 12 forever. All you need to do is duck in on Stoops’ weekly press conferences to know why he is staying. The coach gets annoyed at probing questions from the relatively small Oklahoma media contingent when his team is 11-1. It’s hard imagining Stoops taking questions each week from the Chicago and national media while trying to rebuild Notre Dame.

Things could change if Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione were to go to Michigan. That’s pure speculation with Bill Martin leaving in June, but Castiglione is the athletic administrative equivalent of Stoops and Meyers. A superstar. If he left for Ann Arbor, it would be a game changer, perhaps for Stoops too.

After the top two say no, it is assumed that Kelly will say yes. But there is a sticky issue here. If Cincinnati wins the Big East and goes undefeated, it will not only play in a second consecutive BCS bowl, the Bearcats may be playing for a national championship.

Would Notre Dame be willing to wait through, perhaps, the first week of January to get its man? It made that concession when Weis was in the playoffs with the Patriots. The first recruiting class, although solid, was a rush job.

Obviously, recruiting is a key issue with quarterback Jimmy Clausen and receiver Golden Tate likely to leave.

Now, for other Saturday coaching triumphs and turkeys. Some millionaires in hats, hoodies and Hagar slacks distinguished themselves. Others didn’t:

•  Sometimes the Lord works in strange ways. The script says that UConn should have won its next game after the murder of Jasper Howard on Oct. 28. Instead, the Huskies grieved while they lost, three in a row going into Saturday at Notre Dame.

In the shadow of Touchdown Jesus, at the heart of Western Civilization Christianity, UConn won, that same Lord had mercy.

UConn is a 7-year-old Division I-A program. Notre Dame defines the sport. If Weis’ failings were the top story, Randy Edsall and his wounded Huskies were close behind after a 33-30 overtime victory.

“The way we did it,” Edsall said, “was very inspiring.”

Kashif Moore had called Howard’s mother before each game since her son’s murder. Moore held Howard in his arms the night he was dying Oct. 18. Then, he caught a touchdown pass in overtime to help UConn get over its grief maybe just a little.

“I feels like a dream,” Moore said.

•  First it was Bill Belichick with the fourth-down brain fart heard ’round the world (sorry for that visual). Then it was Les Miles with late clock mismanagement against Ole Miss on Saturday.

With 64 seconds left trailing by two on Ole Miss’ 32 with two timeouts in hand, somehow Miles and his quarterback were able to squander the game.

The key play was inconsistent Jordan Jefferson taking a sack for a 9-yard loss. That absolutely cannot happen with time running. You knew that. Jefferson didn’t.

The scene at the end of the game was jaw-dropping. The offense was on the field at the Ole Miss 5. Jefferson was trying to spike the ball with one second left. Memo to JJ: No matter what, the clock is going to tick off at least one second whenever you spike the ball.

Result: The clock actually ran out before Jefferson was able to spike it. Game over with the Tigers leaving the field dazed and confused.

“I felt like the quarterback could manage the situation,” Miles said, “and that was my mistake.”

Miles has had his share of miracle finishes at LSU. Maybe the averages are evening out because this one was absolutely botched. The Baton Rouge Advocate headline said it all: “Bad Timing.”

•  The result might have a strange effect on the turmoil in Ann Arbor. If certain LSU factions are upset at Miles, and they are, there is any easy out for both parties.

Michigan.

We know now that Rich Rodriguez will get at least one more year in Ann Arbor. It will be next to impossible, though, for Rich Rod to recruit. Kids aren’t stupid. They will know Rodriguez is on a short leash.

If things deteriorate enough in Baton Rouge, and even if they don’t, don’t forget that Miles is a Michigan man.

•  At various times during the season Kansas State and Bill Snyder were an inspirational story. Somehow the 70-year-old Snyder got the Wildcats to a Saturday showdown at Nebraska for the Big 12 North title.

K-State lost 17-3, which was a noble if not satisfying conclusion to the season. What has to hurt is a 6-6 record that isn’t good enough for the Wildcats to go bowling.

Someone deserves blame for scheduling two Division I-AA teams (Massachusetts and Tennessee Tech). That meant K-State had to win seven games to become bowl eligible. The NCAA allows programs to claim only one I-AA victory to count toward bowl eligibility.

K-State had a long-standing reputation during Snyder’s first run of scheduling cupcakes. Three times from 1989-2005 scheduled two I-AAs in a season. In two of those three seasons, K-State went to a bowl.

A program this fragile deserves better planning from its administration. Wasn’t there a MAC or Sun Belt punching bag the ‘Cats could have gotten to come to Manhattan?

For a lot of reasons, K-State deserved to go to a bowl this season. For scheduling reasons, it won’t.

•  Remember how a lot of us thought Notre Dame was a can’t-miss BCS team because of the “soft” schedule. The enduring image of the Irish season might be Notre Dame’s crowd going nuts over a missed field goal by Connecticut at the end of regulation to keep the game tied.

Godspeed, Charlie.

By Dennis Dodd

Charlie Weis just placed the last nailed on he’s own coffin is a post from: AroDrive

The Heisman Trophy will be presented four weeks from tonight. As the race gets serious, here’s a look at how the contenders did or are doing today. Keep your eye on Toby Gerhart, Stanford’s senior running back, who has put up big numbers in recent weeks.

>>Mark Ingram

There’s a lot to be said of the mediocrity of this year’s crop of Heisman candidates. It seems like no one really wants to assert themselves. Save one.

Mark Ingram continued a dominating season on Saturday, rushing for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He even was helped off the field after suffering a pretty painful looking gash on his forehead on his first TD run, sat out just the remainder of the quarter, and got back into the action without missing a beat starting in the third quarter. Do you know anyone capable of that?

There is little doubt now who the Heisman frontrunner is, and Ingram’s 70 yard dash midway through the fourth quarter is the stuff of Heisman highlight reels, it’s his trophy to lose.

>>Colt McCoy

It’s strange that Colt McCoy leads one of the nation’s most prolific offenses, but continues to struggle to put up the big numbers that we saw all of last year from the senior quarterback’s arm.

On Saturday, his Longhorns plastered the Baylor defense for 47 points, but McCoy was only responsible for two first half touchdown passes, and passed for less than 200 yards for the second time in three games. McCoy is still among the Heisman favorites in this weak field, but even his big name might not be enough if he continues to fill scorecards with mediocre numbers.

>>Tim Tebow

Tebow and his Gators made some history on Saturday against South Carolina, but the senior quarterback did nothing truly great to boost his Heisman candidacy. Tebow tied the career touchdown record in SEC history, accounting for two on the day—one through the air and one on the ground.

This year’s edition of the Gators is also the first squad to finish the SEC regular season undefeated since 1996.

That’s all well and grand for the Gator’s national title hopes and record books, but for Tebow, he continues to see his second Heisman trophy slip away. Tebow continues to put in games that lack the statement quality of his games in year’s past.

But as we have discussed many times before, no one is truly out of this year’s race until it’s over—Tebow has hope yet.

>> Stanford senior running back Toby Gerhart, the nation’s second-leading rusher (135.22 yards per game) and second-leading scorer (11.11 ppg), ran 29 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-21 victory at Southern Cal.

>> Clemson senior running back C.J. Spiller scored touchdowns running, receiving and passing in a 43-23 victory at North Carolina State. He ran 18 times for 97 yards and a touchdown. He caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, and he threw a 17-yard TD pass.

>> Houston quarterback Case Keenum completed 33 of 55 passes for 377 yards and three TDs in a 37-32 loss at Central Florida. He had one pass intercepted.

>> Notre Dame junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen is playing tonight at Pittsburgh.

By Don Kausler Jr.

and Asher Feldman

The Heisman Race much clearer is a post from: AroDrive

Survive and advance.

That is the slogan for the defending national champion Florida Gators.

Style points don’t matter, just winning so they can go into the SEC championship game against Alabama with a chance to play for their third title in four years.

That is how Florida’s players summed up their outlook after South Carolina bowed to the top-ranked Gators 24-14 Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.

“That is the great thing about winning, the ‘W’ doesn’t get bigger by how many points you score or how big the win was, and that is huge for us,” Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. “We have a team full of character and we fight to the end. It’s not always pretty but we fight to the end.”

Everything has worked well enough for the Gators to win 20 games in a row and become the 11th team in the SEC history to go unbeaten in league play. They have won 19 times by double digits and have won 14 SEC games in a row, which is tied for sixth in SEC history. Tennessee is the last team to go unbeaten in the SEC, in 1998.

Florida coach Urban Meyer likes the way the script has played out.

“Find a way to win that game as opposed to find a way not to win the game,” Meyer said.

Last year, Florida won games going away, including a 50-point margin against USC.

This time, the Gators were handed great field position all day but could not capitalize until Justin Trattou intercepted a Stephen Garcia pass and returned it 54 yards to the South Carolina 26-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Four plays later, Tebow tied the SEC record for career touchdowns with a 1-yard plunge and a two-possession lead.

“I don’t care if we win by one point,” Florida receiver Riley Cooper said. “We are a different style team this year. We’re a tough team and we wear other teams down.”

The Gators started drives at the 50, their 40 and the South Carolina 49 and 37-yard lines and came away with no points. The final three times came in the third quarter and resulted in a punt, a missed 54-yard field goal and Tebow being stopped on a fourth-and-1 from the USC 28.

The average starting field position for Florida was its 47-yard line while South Carolina started on average at their 23-yard line.

“We knew we should have put some of those in there instead of missing field goals,” Tebow said. “But there was no panic, there was no frustration. Give us the ball again and we’ll go put it in.”

Meyer was content to play the field-position battle.

“We played field position football,” Meyer said. “We did not play perfect. Obviously, I’m not sure we’ve played perfect in quite a while but that’s 20 in a row and I’m awful proud of those guys.”

Tim Tebow and the Gators rolling into another BCS Championship is a post from: AroDrive

I love Pete Carroll but he got his comeuppance on Saturday. Judging from the picture above that had to a be a long walk back to the locker room…

SC fans had better buckle up. Because of the last 7 seasons of dominance, EVERYONE is going to be lining up to take their shots at us after this loss. I saw it with the comments of the Stanford players on the sidelines, I saw it with Harbaugh’s comments after the game and I saw it with that clown Tim Brando on CBS. We will see it with others. On TV and in print.

What many SC Fans are feeling right now is how many of our competitors felt after SC trounced them over the years. It happens and now it is our turn. We will get through it…

Now for some hard observations… I am going to try to look at the bright side as best as I can but that will hard. After what we saw today, it is going to be tough to look at anything in a positive light…

I honestly think PC has lost this team. I did not see a lot of heart out there today. I honestly wonder if they actually buy into what he is selling. A meltdown like the one we are witnessing this season could have some tough ramifications…mostly in regards to recruiting. Recruits see the type of effort out there today and have to wonder WTF. That is not the SC I know.

There will be many that will now critique and criticize everything perceived wrong with this team. From play-calling to the coaches on staff, from pre-game preparations to the effort of the players on the field. Everything will be under the microscope. That might not be a bad thing.

Star-divide

Many of these players will be back next year…and right or wrong probably many of the coaches. Pete Carroll will get his fair share of recruits but I doubt he will achieve the level of success that he saw just a couple of years ago. I think the big knock on Pete Carroll that has really taken root is that with all that talent he always loses the game he should not. If SC lost in Columbus but won out this season, I think many fans would have accepted that. The ‘Shoe is a tough place to play but the other losses the past 3 seasons who we should not have lost have made many fans scratch their heads.

There were some flashes of some nice things out there today. However, it was hardly consistent. Maybe this is the wake up call Pete Carroll needs; he has been living off the Reggie and Matt years without getting back to that plateau. It wasn’t just today… there have been a number of things over the past few seasons that a number of people have complained about. There have been some great games that he and his team(s) have given us over the years but it is clear this year that he really mishandled a number of things.

I would like to think that this sort of adversity is just the thing Pete Carroll needs. It is a new feeling for him getting dominated like this twice in a season. How will he respond?

I pretty much kept quiet but it is time to reexamine that.

Pete Carroll has set the bar high so it all lies with him.

The question is simple…is Pete Carroll as hungry as he was after the 2001 season? Does he have the desire and drive to get back where SC once was?

I am not talking about or going to go down the road of pining for Norm Chow. That ship has sailed, and those of you still pine for those days need to let it go…Continuing to pine for something that is NEVER coming back diminishes your credibility. There are plenty of other things to examine.

A more valid complaint is that if PC was going to go in a different direction on offense then he should have went with a little more experience. Kiffin and Sark were serviceable but that was because there was a lot of talent and a lot spillover from those MNC years. Pete also needs to get out of the way of the offense…he is a defensive guy. I understand that he will want to know what is going on with the offense. So, set some parameters but let the offensive coaches you hire do their thing. If you do not trust Jeremy Bates or John Morton then why hire or promote them?

I think it is safe to say that USC fans are tired of hearing how many players Pete Carroll puts in the NFL. There is no reason why some of this talent cannot get over the hump while at USC. It is a nice after thought but not if those players are not going to produce before going after the riches of the NFL.

We all marveled at all the running backs we have had but the way they have been utilized never let one RB become dominant. It actually telegraphed some of our play calling and some will say that goes back all the way to NOT having Bush in the game on 4th & 2. PC’s love affair with Joe McKnight early on hurt the development of some of the other backs. The coaches constantly force fed McKnight when he was not ready. There was no reason not use him sparingly…He was never going to be a Reggie Bush clone. He doesn’t have the size or speed and certainly not the hands. McKnight got a pass on his inability to hang onto the ball that other backs did not get. I think that affects development. It also affects attitude. There was no carrot and stick. Sure, McKnight made some great runs and this year he finally hit his stride but SC needed another Thunder & Lightning combo and because PC wanted too much of a good thing he neglected developing that type of combo.

The Defense for as dominant as it once was has not developed the fundamentals. Tackling is still sub par; wrapping opposing players up is non-existent. Yes, Pete Carroll has made some adjustments the past few weeks but the team is not playing with fire.

I could probably go on all night…

Change is needed; I am one of those fans who will always look for the positive in just about anything the program puts in front of me.

Why Not?

For the most part Pete Carroll has given us some great seasons…the run could not last forever. But if PC is going to get back to that level he is going to have make some changes…on and off the field…from coaches to play calling, from recruiting to player development. It all has to be on the table. Pete needs to have some serious introspection. Finishing the season with two wins is not going to be enough. The team needs to regain its fire.

How they do that right now is anyone’s guess…

by Paragon SC

Is time Pete Carroll rethink he’s Leadership Abilities! is a post from: AroDrive

When Weis was introduced as Notre Dames’ head coach five years ago at his press conference he suggested, “Well, guess what folks you are a 6-5 football team and that’s not good enough.”

Before the Pittsburgh game Weis was on life support. After dropping another game to a ranked opponent it seems the time is nearing to pull the plug on the Charlie Weis era at Notre Dame.

Weis’ record stands at 6-4 after losing to Navy last week and Pittsburgh today 27-22. The Panthers outplayed the Irish and rightfully so because they were simply a better team.

Weis came into this season with a schedule weak as water. The Irish had high hopes in trying to restore the once proud tradition at Notre Dame. Instead the season has been an utter debacle.

What’s going to be the excuse for keeping Weis now?

Costs too much to fire him?

He’s a great recruiter?

He just needs more time?

Sorry Charlie. Those excuses are old now. It’s about winning. All other things are secondary at this point. The time has come to pull the plug on the Charlie Weis era.

Weis should’ve been canned two seasons ago when he posted a 3-9 record. When Weis took the Irish job he stated 6-5 wasn’t good enough. Of course that was Tyrone Willingham’s record after his third season.

Well, if 6-5 wasn’t good enough for Willingham how the hell was 3-9 sufficient enough for Weis to keep his job?

Weis had some success his first two years because he inherited some talent, particularly on the offensive side of the ball from the Willingham regime. Willingham’s guys got Weis two BCS appearances.

Has Weis’ blue-chip recruits produced?

Much has been made of Weis’ recruiting. The talk is he does a great job of getting talent. Guess what folks. Weis has done a piss-poor job of getting that talent to produce. Without question Weis’ guys have severely underachieved.

Weis’ “schematic advantage” he professed to have over teams has never manifested and it never will. Talk is cheap. People are about results and Weis has not delivered the goods.

In an odd sense this is divine justice come late. Say as you wish but Willingham was ousted prematurely and unfairly. There’s no logical way anyone can argue Weis is doing a better job than the guy he replaced. It can logically asserted Weis is doing a worse job than Willingham.

When Willingham was hired he was the first African American head coach of any team in Notre Dames’ history. He was also the fastest head coach fired. Race played a factor in why Willingham was fired and why Weis has yet to be fired.

For those of you who suggest I’m stirring the race pot I’m not. I’m calling it like I see it. Until Weis is fired I will continue to raise the Willingham issue because it wasn’t talked about enough when it transpired and it set the precedent for where Notre Dame is today with Weis.

If race didn’t factor in Willingham’s firing how can you explain why Weis got the benefit of the doubt after going 3-9 while Willingham was fired at 6-5 after three years?

Did Willingham lose to Navy twice?

Did Willingham ever post a 3-9 record?

Did Willingham’s players ever have snowballs thrown at them like Weis’ team after they lost to Syracuse at home last season?

Case closed.

Weis doesn’t have one signature victory he can point to suggest his team had done anything worthwhile under his leadership. Weis’ loss to Pittsburgh proves his squad simply can’t beat anyone ranked.

The remedy is as follows: fire Weis and get a real coach. He wasn’t qualified for the job to begin with. Weis isn’t a true leader. Get someone with experience that has a proven track record of producing wins. He was a side-kick at New England.

Weis is not Batman, he’s Robin.

When Weis took the job he suggested a 6-5 record was “not good enough” for Notre Dame. Well, looks like his 6-4 won’t be either. Each loss merely represents another nail in Weis’ coffin.

Without question Weis is on life support. At seasons end the only dignified thing the Irish administration can do is pay Weis to leave.

Cut the cord on the Charlie Weis era please.

By Dexter Rogers -African-American Sports Examiner | Bio

Just another Nail in Charlie Weis coffin is a post from: AroDrive

left defenders grasping at his heels and Alabama’s defense was typically immovable. The Crimson Tide is riding that combination to the Southeastern Conference championship game for the second consecutive season.

Jones broke free for a 73-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and No. 3 Alabama locked down No. 9 Louisiana State in a 24-15 victory Saturday.

Leigh Tiffin booted a 40-yard field goal with 3:04 left to seal it and the Tide (9-0, 6-0) earned a rematch with No. 1 Florida for the league championship.

The hard-hitting affair left the Tigers (7-2, 4-2) without injured quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott for most of the second half.

“It was a tough, physical game,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who beat his former team for the second straight year. “Man, those games are fun to be a part of.”

The win touched off another big celebration for Alabama, which survived a 12-10 victory over Tennessee two weeks ago with Terrence Cody’s two blocked field goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Tiffin came up big in that one, too, with four field goals.

Jefferson had an ankle injury and Scott hurt his right shoulder in the third.

LSU coach Les Miles, who said Scott’s injury was probably the more serious, didn’t shed much light on their status.

On Jefferson, Miles said the quarterback was “trying to get back in the game. We felt like it would be best that he sit.”

“I still like our chances, injuries or not. No excuses,” he added.

The Tigers, whose only other loss came to the Gators, took a 15-10 lead into the fourth but managed only 9 yards in the quarter. They had won four straight games at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Once again, though, LSU is left taking a backseat to its former coach.

Saban, a former Michigan State coach, moved a step closer to his second straight perfect regular season. Alabama outgained LSU 452-253, and narrowed the number of SEC national championship contenders to two.

Alabama is 9-0 for a second consecutive season, which hasn’t happened since 1973-74 under Bear Bryant.

Greg McElroy completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as the Tide aired it out 25 times in the first half against a defense that was putting extra defenders near the line.

The second half was more typical Tide. Mark Ingram (Flint Southwestern) gained 106 of his 144 yards after the half.

Jones had his best game of the season, with four catches for 102 yards, including his second touchdown.

“We practiced that all week,” he said. “A situation like that, I feel like I should just step up and make the play. I did what I had to do.”

And the Tide defense — as it has all season — came through in the end.

Needing two scores, backup quarterback Jarrett Lee and LSU couldn’t get it to midfield in the final minutes.

Alabama hadn’t left them much time, anyway, milking more than six minutes off the clock in setting up Tiffin’s final kick, made possible when a running into the kicker call led Saban to go for it on fourth-and-1 just across midfield.

Ingram got the first down after taking a direct snap.

“That gives everybody confidence,” McElroy said. “It’s coach Saban having faith in us.”

Tiffin, who became Alabama’s all-time leading scorer in the game, also had a 20-yarder early in the fourth after a drive that took nearly six minutes.

LSU had failed on a 2-point try late in the third quarter trying to push its lead to seven points. Trent Richardson’s 2-point run after Jones’ touchdown made it a two-score game at the end.

Alabama gave fans two things they covet in the process: The lead and big plays from Jones, who hasn’t made as many as he did in his fantastic freshman year.

He caught a short pass from McElroy, juked a defender and sprinted down the sideline for a touchdown.

“Put it in his hands, and you never know what’s going to happen,” McElroy said.

Then Richardson made it 21-15 Alabama.

Alabama forced the short-handed LSU offense into a three-and-out, then pushed the ball across midfield.

After Patrick Peterson nearly picked off McElroy’s pass — he was ruled out of bounds — Jones’ catch converted a third-and-7 to help move the Tide into field goal position.

“There’s not one part of the team that didn’t play well,” Saban said. “The offense played extremely well. Greg played well. The receivers played well. We ran the ball. The offensive line did a fantastic job.”

Jefferson and Scott were thriving before going to the sidelines.

Scott ran for 83 yards and his 34-yarder was the longest run play given up by Alabama this season. Jefferson passed for 114 yards and also had some success running the option.

“Losing those two guys was a big blow to our offense,” receiver Terrance Toliver said. “It was a letdown to lose both of them, but Jarrett came in and played hard.”

Lee was 4 of 10 for 44 yards with an interception on a fourth-down play at the end, and the Tigers were held to 95 yards rushing.

LSU’s defense held its own through three quarters. Drake Nevis sacked McElroy in the third quarter for a safety, cutting Alabama’s lead to 10-9.

Fullback Stevan Ridley bounced off 354-pound nose guard Terrance Cody for an 8-yard touchdown run and the 15-10 lead. Scott’s big run set up the TD, but also ended his day. The pass for two points did not connect.

Nick Saban and Alabama clinches SEC West championship is a post from: AroDrive

Mike Slive may fine me for this, but here goes.

How can it come to this? How can college football’s best conference — the best players, the best coaches, the best of everything — continue to be subjected to brutally poor officiating?

Alabama beat LSU 24-15 in the best game of the season to date, and all we’ll remember is a blown call from a replay official late in the fourth quarter that changed everything. Instead of celebrating a big win for No. 3 Alabama and looking forward to the SEC championship game against No.1 Florida next month, we’re left with this:

“Speculation,” said LSU coach Les Miles, “is rampant.”

That, everyone, was Miles with his Slive muzzle permanently affixed. For the fourth time in a month, the SEC commissioner is dealing with credibility issues for his officials. Last week, Slive said he would fine or suspend any coach who complained about officiating — and eventually levied a $30,000 hit on Florida coach Urban Meyer.

Since Miles won’t say anything, I will. This is beyond bad officiating. It’s so undeniably awful, I’m beginning to believe conspiracy nuts who claim the SEC is protecting its heavyweight teams (Florida and Alabama) since, you know, every poor call in the last month has involved, uh, Florida and Alabama.

This time it was a non-call of an interception by LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson, a pick that would’ve given the Tigers the ball at their 37 with 5:54 to play and trailing by six. Instead, Alabama eventually kicked a field goal on the drive, went up by nine and iced the game.

“I was definitely in,” Peterson said. “I showed (officials) the mark on the field.”

Television replays clearly showed Peterson got not one, but both feet in bounds. I’m not exactly sure, but when CBS showed the replay booth, I could’ve sworn I saw the Three Wise Monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

“The hardest part,” Miles said, measuring his words for fear of the $30K spanking, “is telling our guys that’s how it is. Patrick says he intercepted the ball. The replay official said he didn’t.”

Said Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy: “It was one of those ‘Oh, shoot!’ moments. I guess sometimes you just get a break.”

The breaks that keep on giving. After the coaches at Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State all complained about bad calls — the SEC admitted as much in the Arkansas loss to Florida — Slive directed his closed-mouth mandate. The problem: The bad calls keep coming.

The shame of it all is here is a moment where the SEC should be standing tall and thumping its chest and bragging about another No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the league’s championship game — a title matchup that will be the most important game of the season for the fourth straight year.

The league should be promoting Mark Ingram, Alabama’s bowling ball of a tailback who churned out another monster game (22 carries, 144 yards) against a terrific LSU defense — and is now the clear leader in the race for the Heisman Trophy.

“If there’s a better player out there,” said Alabama linebacker Cory Reamer, “I want to see him.”

In a crowded postgame press conference, Ingram talked about staying focused and not looking ahead to the game of the year with Florida. The preliminaries are finally over, and now we wait.

For the best game in college football’s regular season. For a defacto semifinal national playoff game. For the biggest, baddest conference to once again put on a show that dwarfs the BCS national championship game.

And for the SEC to do something about the truly pathetic officiating.

The SEC has won three straight national championships, and could make it four in a row in January. Nothing, it seems, can stop the goliath of a league.

Nothing but itself.

“There’s a team in there that’s understandably unhappy,” Miles said. “This day had a lot of promise.”

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

By Matt Hayes

Let’s review

SEC officials have been part of a handful of questionable calls this fall, and many have directly impacted the outcome of the game. LSU at Georgia, Oct. 3: Both LSU and Georgia are flagged for excessive celebration penalties late in the fourth quarter. SEC says officials erred on both calls. Arkansas at Florida, Oct. 17: Arkansas was flagged for a personal foul call in the fourth quarter against Florida. The SEC said the call was incorrect, and the crew was suspended from their next assignment. Florida at Mississippi State, Oct. 24: Florida LB Dustin Doe scored on an interception return and television replays clearly showed Doe fumbled before crossing the goal line. The SEC said replay was inconclusive. LSU at Alabama, Nov. 7: Television replays show LSU CB Patrick Peterson intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter, but replay official confirmed call of incompletion. – MH

Is it Conspiracy or Reality about SEC officiating? We examine the Facts is a post from: AroDrive

The Central Florida defense dared Texas to beat them with the pass, especially the deep ball.

The Knights dropped their safeties and used their linebackers in a firm zone or on run blitzes, all in a futile attempt to upset the second-ranked Longhorns Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

Bad, bad plan for Central Florida.

By game’s end, a sellout crowd of 101,003 was celebrating a 35-3 win and chanting Jordan Shipley’s name to acknowledge his 273 yards receiving, the best day ever for a Texas wideout. And quarterback Colt McCoy was pondering what might have been had he decided to pass just one more time rather than handing the ball off twice to Fozzy Whittaker to complete Texas’ final scoring drive of the day.

McCoy ended up four yards shy of breaking Major Applewhite’s school record of 473 passing yards set in the 2001 Holiday Bowl. Instead, he settled for the second-best day by a Longhorns quarterback, although it was tops in a regular-season game.

McCoy wouldn’t say whether he asked to be put back in the game.

“I’m not the coach,” McCoy said in a playful tone. “When you look up at the scoreboard, and you have more points than them, that is what it’s all about to me.”

McCoy will have to settle for a signature game that could put him atop the list of Heisman Trophy favorites. He completed 33 of his 42 passes for 470 yards with two touchdowns. He also ran the ball for 13, giving him 483 yards of total offense. That’s second-best in school history to Vince Young’s 506, set in the Longhorns’ national championship year in 2005.

With lots of help from the Texas defense, which notched six sacks, the Longhorns continued to be a top national title contender, improving to 9-0 after a rare November non-conference game. The Longhorns return to Big 12 play on Saturday at Baylor. The Bears upset Missouri on the road Saturday afternoon with their own 400-yard passer.

Given the dazzling statistics generated by the Texas offense’s top two players, it seemed odd to think that the team got off to a slow start.

The Knights, playing without their starting quarterback and tailback because of injuries, took an initial 3-0 lead after both teams played a scoreless first quarter.

“We should have come out with more of an edge to start the game,” McCoy said. “We kind of created our own edge as the game went on. That is a tribute to us.”

The edge was the aerial show McCoy and Shipley displayed from the start of the second quarter until six minutes into the fourth.

The quarterback completed passes of 88, 53 and 44 yards to his longtime best friend.

It allowed the Longhorns to produce touchdown drives of 80, 72, 87 and 99 yards.

“We gave up too many big plays,” said Central Florida coach George O’Leary, whose team nearly upset the Longhorns in Orlando two years ago.

“At the end of the game, we had just been on the field too long.”

The most spectacular big play was the 88-yard pass that allowed Texas to complete a 99-yard drive early in the fourth quarter.

On the Longhorns’ first play, Central Florida very nearly dropped Cody Johnson for a safety, but replay officials confirmed that the running back had gotten out of the end zone.

McCoy completed an 11-yard pass to Malcolm Williams to convert a third down, giving Texas a first down at their 12.

Then offensive coordinator Greg Davis sent in a play that called for both Shipley and James Kirkendoll, who lined up inside of Shipley, to run post patterns.

Kirkendoll successfully drew one of the safeties toward him, and McCoy lofted the ball to Shipley to complete the sixth-longest pass play in school history.

“Colt has played well the last three weeks,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “He’s playing, to me, like he did all last year. This is the guy we expected to see.”

Meanwhile, the Longhorns defense was wreaking havoc with Central Florida’s ball-control plans.

Defensive linemen Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston each had three tackles for losses, while six Longhorns posted sacks.

Central Florida backup quarterback Rob Calabrese completed only 10 of his 19 passes for 76 yards. Collectively, the UCF offense had 151 yards.

But the Knights (5-4) had some success late, hogging the ball for 8 minutes, 33 seconds after Texas’ final score. But safety Blake Gideon stopped Rocky Ross on fourth down at the Texas 5.

By then, there were only 40 seconds remaining in the game, and Brown didn’t want to send in McCoy or Shipley for any more records. Garrett Gilbert took the final two snaps.

“To be a part of an undefeated team,” said Shipley, who returned for a rare sixth-year senior, “that’s what I came back for.”

Colt McCoy was lights-out in rout of Knights is a post from: AroDrive

No. 1 Florida didn’t do much to erase all the negative vibes from a rough week for the defending national champions.

Tim Tebow accounted for two touchdowns, Caleb Sturgis kicked two field goals and the Gators beat Vanderbilt 27-3 in a lackluster effort Saturday night at The Swamp.

Florida fans looking for something positive following linebacker Brandon Spikes’ one-game suspension for dirty play and coach Urban Meyer’s hefty fine for criticizing officials may have been disappointed.

The Gators (9-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) extended their winning streak to 19 games overall — and their streak against Vandy (2-8, 0-6) to 19 games, too — but struggled on offense for the fifth time in seven league games.

The solution was standing on the sideline in street clothes. Percy Harvin, a first-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings, attended the game along with former teammate and current Oakland Raiders receiver Louis Murphy.

A week after finding some offensive rhythm in a 41-17 victory over Georgia and clinching a spot in the SEC title game, Florida looked more like the team that eked out close games against Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Tebow completed 15 of 20 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown, but a big chunk of his yardage came on a 64-yard run-and-catch by Aaron Hernandez late in the fourth quarter. Tebow also ran 16 times for 27 yards and a score.

Vanderbilt, coming off a 56-31 loss to Georgia Tech in which it allowed 497 yards rushing, returned to its usually stout defensive ways. The Commodores, who have lost six in a row, sacked Tebow four times.

Florida finished with 375 yards, but about a third of them came late in the game — well after some fans headed for the exits.

Maybe the most telling sign of Florida’s problems: Tebow’s TD pass to David Nelson in the fourth quarter came on a pass that slipped through Riley Cooper’s fingers near the goal line. Nelson just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Jeff Demps ran seven times for 57 yards and a touchdown. Hernandez finished with seven catches for 120 yards. Florida’s defense was stingy as usual, giving up 199 yards.

Spikes was hardly missed. He watched the game from the sideline in a warmup suit and with a freshly shaved face — maybe an attempt to change his image following his eye-gouging incident against the Bulldogs.

Spikes will return next week at South Carolina, and the Gators can only hope their offense does, too.

The Commodores played conservatively most of the night, not taking too many chances with quarterback Mackenzi Adams making his first start of the season.

Adams was 13 of 29 for 100 yards, with an interception. He used a lot of quick passes to avoid Florida’s pass rush. It worked. The Gators failed to sack him. Vandy’s running game helped, too.

Warren Norman gained 65 yards, Zac Stacy added 32 and the five-touchdown underdogs trailed just 20-3 entering the fourth quarter.

Tim Tebow and the Gators continue to struggle on offense is a post from: AroDrive

Notre Dame is a program that prides itself on tradition. Under Charlie Weis, the Irish have developed a new one: Losing at home to Navy.

Two years ago, the Midshipmen came to South Bend and snapped an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak against their annual nemesis. The game marked the low point in an altogether miserable 3-9 season for Notre Dame.

This season, however, the Irish were purportedly a different team. With Heisman candidates at quarterback (Jimmy Clausen) and receiver (Golden Tate) and a 6-2 record, Weis’ fifth team had its sights set on a BCS at-large berth. Yes, they’d survived an inordinate number of close calls already, and yes, it’s still been three years since their last win over a ranked opponent, but that didn’t dampen Domers’ optimism for their final four games.

There goes that.

Navy (7-3) did everything it does best Saturday, playing crisp, disciplined, triple-option football. Led by QB Ricky Dobbs, the Middies gashed the Irish defense for 348 rushing yards in a 23-21 victory. Notre Dame, meanwhile, did everything it could possibly do wrong. Its first six trips into the red zone ended in one touchdown, two missed field goals, a fumble, an interception and a turnover on downs.

Clausen got his typically gaudy 453 yards, but that hardly told the story of his day. On consecutive late-game series, Clausen fumbled at the Navy 1-yard line on a hard hit by Navy’s Kevin Edwards (he appeared at first to be seriously hurt but didn’t miss a play), then threw an interception inside the Middies’ 10-yard-line on a throw that bounced off intended receiver Michael Floyd’s back.

Clausen was able to produce one touchdown drive to cut the score to 21-14 with 4:52 left, but upon getting the ball back with 1:48 remaining, Navy sacked him on both third and fourth downs, the latter for a game-sealing safety. His Heisman hopes were likely vanquished along with the outcome.

Two years ago in this game, Weis took an avalanche of criticism for a questionable late-game decision not to attempt a long field goal. He’s been under constant scrutiny ever since, and following Saturday’s disaster, he’s likely one more loss away from losing his job.

Weis was squarely on the hot seat coming into the season. By his own admission, Notre Dame needed to at least contend for a BCS bowl berth for his fifth season to be considered a success. At No. 22 in last week’s standings, it remained feasible for the Irish to climb the necessary eight spots to qualify for a BCS at-large berth. Those hopes are now shot.

Worst of all for Weis, Notre Dame still has its toughest games ahead. The Irish travel next week to 8-1 Pittsburgh. They finish their season at vastly improved Stanford. Barring dramatic improvement by their defense, the Irish will be hard-pressed to win both, and 8-4 or 7-5 — on the heels of 3-9 and 7-6 — is simply unacceptable for a $4 million coach whose roster is purportedly loaded with his own hand-picked blue-chippers.

Notre Dame has provided its fans with no shortage of on-the-field drama this season. Now comes the other type.

By Stewart Mandel

Time to start looking for Charlie Weis replacements is a post from: AroDrive

Among his 40 career victories as Texas’ starting quarterback, Colt McCoy has racked up better statistics than he posted in Saturday’s 41-14 victory over Oklahoma State.

He has led the third-ranked Longhorns to victories over more talented teams than the 13th-ranked Cowboys. But he has not added a bigger “W” to his 40-7 career ledger as a college quarterback than the one he collected at Boone Pickens Stadium.

This one, unlike the first 39, should be the win that catapults Texas into its first berth in a Big 12 Championship Game with McCoy at the helm. It also kept the Longhorns, the No. 3 team in the BCS standings, in prime position to play for a national championship.

Nothing is guaranteed, obviously. But by turning in a turnover-free effort in a hostile environment on Halloween night, McCoy did enough to lift the Longhorns (8-0, 5-0 in Big 12) past the Cowboys (6-2, 3-1) and provide what amounts to a two-game cushion in the South Division standings heading into the November stretch run.

For Texas, which has not played for a Big 12 title since 2005 under former quarterback Vince Young, Saturday’s triumph represents a huge milestone. Especially for McCoy, who had fallen short in three previous starts with a chance to apply the knockout punch to the Longhorns’ closest pursuer in the South Division race.

Not Saturday. McCoy delivered this one, highlighted by a six-minute stretch when the Longhorns went on a 17-0 run that turned a 17-7 shootout into a name-the-score rout.

“This win was huge for us,” McCoy said. “We feel a lot better right now than we did at this time last year, I’ll promise you.”

In burying the bad memories from last year’s season-turning, 39-33 loss to Texas Tech — a game on this same weekend last year — McCoy responded on several fronts.

He did it with his arm, throwing for 171 yards and a touchdown. He did it with his legs, emerging as the Longhorns’ leading rusher (11 carries, 34 yards) for the first time in a game this season.

Mostly, he did it by avoiding turnovers — unlike OSU counterpart Zac Robinson, who had two interceptions returned for touchdowns by Texas defensive backs — and exhibiting some surgical precision on the game’s most telling drives.

“I thought Colt played as good as he’s ever played tonight,” offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. “And I’ve seen him play awfully well.”

Texas coach Mack Brown said McCoy “played with a great head and was very accurate” while delivering the type of high-profile victory that should turn the heads of poll voters when ballots are counted today.

For the first time this season, McCoy played a game without throwing an interception. Instead, he completed 76.2 percent of his passes (16-of-21). Included were 5 of 6 attempts for 39 yards on Texas’ initial possession, setting up an early 3-0 lead the Horns would not relinquish.

When Oklahoma State’s offense showed signs of life late in the second quarter, McCoy covered up a Cowboys touchdown drive by leading an 80-yard, beat-the-clock drive that culminated in Malcolm Williams’ momentum-turning, 11-yard touchdown catch with 9 seconds remaining in the half to stretch the lead to 24-7.

A 57-yard march with the third-quarter kickoff, highlighted by a 44-yard connection from McCoy to Williams, boosted Texas’ lead to 27-7 and forced OSU into full-fledged catch-up mode — which proved futile. On the Cowboys’ second snap of the second half, Texas safety Earl Thomas cashed in Robinson’s second pick-six of the night from 31 yards, putting Texas up 34-7 and putting a hammerlock on the South Division lead.

As things stand, the Longhorns must lose two of their three remaining conference games against Baylor (3-5, 0-4), Kansas (5-3, 1-3) and Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2) to be in any danger of removing themselves from the role of South Division representative in the Big 12 title game, Dec. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Although the Longhorns faltered down the stretch with consecutive losses to cap the 2006 season, McCoy’s freshman year, don’t expect a similar backtrack in 2009. He’s a different quarterback now, and he’s supported by a much better defense.

The Texas team that showed up Saturday in Stillwater is capable of winning much more than a South Division title. But that is a necessary first step on the road to the BCS Championship Game in Pasadena, Calif., and Texas took that step — in decisive fashion — against the Cowboys.

The scary part?

“We can play better than this,” Brown said. “We really can. There’s a lot at stake for us now and we have to keep our foot on the gas.”

Preferably, with McCoy stomping the accelerator in the same manner as the past two weeks, when Texas has outscored Missouri and OSU by a combined margin of 82-21.

“Game in and game out, you can always depend on Colt, in my opinion,” defensive end Sergio Kindle said. “Colt’s like a slot machine. Put a quarter in, and you’re going to hit with Colt.”

McCoy hit again Saturday. He just delivered what looms as his biggest payoff thus far as a Texas quarterback.

Colt McCoy and the Longhorns ready for BCS national championship is a post from: AroDrive

Before Notre Dame raced onto the dome-away-from-home turf Saturday night, a Jumbotron montage announced an unofficial annexation: “Texas Is Our House,” the slogan declared, the place apparently recast as the Loan Star State after the Irish established temporary residency for the weekend.

A decent ovation followed as the Irish raced out for the first of their annual off-site home games. Flash bulbs popped throughout the stands like exploding fireflies. But there were swaths of unoccupied seats in the Alamodome’s upper deck and the announced crowd was 53,407, so not everything is bigger in Texas.

For the most part, though, Notre Dame got everything it wanted out of the weekend’s proceedings, including a 40-14 bashing of lowly Washington State.

The victory had its minor blemishes, but nothing statistical dominance and a couple of eye-catching individual efforts couldn’t thrust into the shadows.

“Good teams want to get on top of a team and keep going and going and never look back — just keep the foot on the pedal and beat a team as badly as you can,” Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen said. “I think we did a good job of that today.”

If there was any skittishness before Saturday night, it was because the bane of Notre Dame’s year has been playing to the level of its opponents. As it turned out, getting to Washington State’s level would have required a backhoe and 100 coal miner’s helmets.

The Irish (6-2) amassed a season-best 592 yards, while the Cougars (1-7) didn’t cross midfield until three minutes remained in the first half. The only mystery involved the severity of starting guard Trevor Robinson’s ankle injury (not bad) and backup quarterback Dayne Crist’s knee injury (MRI Monday).

This was mercifully easy sledding. Clausen hit 22 of 27 passes for 268 yards in less than three quarters before leaving as a precaution against aggravating his turf toe. Golden Tate had 80 receiving yards, 61 rushing yards and two scores.

“Those two guys can and have and will continue to give people fits,” Cougars coach Paul Wulff said.

The Irish, who also got 131 yards rushing from Robert Hughes, scored on five of six first-half possessions to build a 30-7 lead. It was capped by Tate’s latest episode of preposterousness: out-leaping three defenders for a 50-yard, Hail-Mary touchdown reception at the halftime horn.

“Probably one of the most phenomenal catches I’ve seen anyone make, ever,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said.

Said Tate: “Every Thursday, after practice, I always stay to get on the ‘jugs’ (machine), on those deep balls that I have to go up and get at the highest point. I guess it’s working out.”

Notre Dame was a prohibitive favorite, but generating a ho-hum day was another matter, and absolutely necessary after six straight heart-stopping finishes. And nothing derailed the Irish’s lingering BCS aspirations.

“At least we’ve put ourselves in position where good things can happen,” Weis said. “We control our own destiny.”

A drama-free Notre Dame home victory 1,300 miles from South Bend, Ind. — there was new territory everywhere Saturday.

Finally an easy one for Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish is a post from: AroDrive

USC’s usual game-changing defense is missing in action, leaving Trojans looking very much unlike a Pete Carroll team in 47-20 loss at Oregon.

So you think you gave out the good stuff at your house? You should have seen what was happening at USC’s house.

On a chilly, misty Halloween night, Oregon loudly knocked on the gaudy door dressed in green and black and bold.

The Trojans opened up, took one look, and meekly handed them their season.

Trick or beating.

“We just got destroyed,” said linebacker Michael Morgan.

Pumpkin rinds on the lawn and egg yolk on the windows.

“I’ve never been in nothing like this,” said safety Taylor Mays.

From holiday loss to Holiday Bowl?

“These guys feel horrible, we all feel terrible,” said Coach Pete Carroll.

Around 5 p.m. Saturday, the self-assured Trojans danced into quaint Autzen Stadium with dreams of another Rose Bowl and perhaps even another national championship.

Nearly four ear-splitting hours later, they sprinted out through howling vampires and goblins and other costumed creatures that stormed the field after Oregon’s 47-20 victory.

“I never thought this could happen,” said quarterback Matt Barkley.

In giving up 391 yards rushing and 613 total yards in the worst loss in Carroll’s nine years, the Trojans didn’t just get beat.

“We got beat up,” Mays said.

In allowing Oregon to average nearly eight yards per play, they did more than just roll over.

“It really wasn’t that hard for [Oregon],” Carroll said.

It was the most points that USC has given up in a non-overtime game in 18 years, but it was more deflating than that. It was the most yards USC has given up in 63 years, but it was even more crushing than that.

Like the dude who struts into the office Halloween party in a Frankenstein outfit before someone steals his mask to reveal a rookie from the mail room, the Trojans were exposed.

Pete Carroll coaches world-class defense? Not this year, not after the Trojans have given up an average of 487 yards in their last three games.

“You never expect something like that,” Carroll said.

Pete Carroll coaches teams to meet difficult moments? Not this year, not after they have lost twice amid the Pacific Northwest’s lousy weather and screaming fans.

“We haven’t seen something like this in a long time,” said defensive end Wes Horton.

Seven straight Pac-10 championships? Seven straight BCS bowls? Both streaks probably ended on a night that ended in a cacophony of despair.

Outside the USC locker room, the crowded field was filled with sounds of jubilant cheers and chants.

Inside in the locker room, the crowded aisles were filled with the sound of helmets smashing against metal.

“This has never happened to us before,” said defensive end Nick Perry.

What did happen? On a talent-laden team like this one, the only explanation is a lack of preparation combining with a lack of will.

The Ducks came out in a no-huddle offense. The Trojans responded with a no-stamina defense.

Jeremiah Masoli, the Ducks’ 5-foot-11 quarterback, slid through the line like he was Jeremiah Mazola.

LaMichael James, the Ducks’ 5-foot-barely running back, ran over the line like he was LeBron James.

Where were the linebackers? Who are the linebackers? You don’t lose an entire linebacker group to the NFL and not feel it. On Saturday night, the Trojans felt it.

Where was Taylor Mays? Who is Taylor Mays? These days, the defensive leader is notable only for late hits, another one occurring on Masoli at the end of one of the Ducks’ touchdown drives.

On one second-quarter play, Masoli couldn’t find anybody open, so he simply ran downfield for 48 yards, leading to a touchdown.

On another play, James seemingly disappeared into the line, then reappeared moments later on the other side, busting a run for 33 yards that also led to a touchdown.

“It was this one power play they kept running, and we couldn’t stop it,” Perry said. “So they just ran it over and over again.”

Think about that. The famously tough Trojans being beaten on a power play. The famously adaptive Trojans being beaten on it again and again.

Oregon scored touchdowns on a 13-play drive, and a four-play drive. The Ducks scored touchdowns on a one-yard stroll over an open goal line, and a perfect 17-yard pass that beat Josh Pinkard to the back of the end zone.

A pass to former Trojan Jamere Holland.

Yeah, that kind of night.

“They gained seven or eight yards a carry on bad plays for them,” Carroll said.

Don’t worry, we’re not forgetting the offense. Although he faced an constant uphill climb against an opposing offense that only needed its punter once, Matt Barkley struggled with the moment.

Twice he could have hit an open Blake Ayles downfield on potential touchdown passes, but both times he overthrew him, once by five yards. While he hit on 21 of 38 passes, Barkley still looked shaky at times that might have changed the momentum.

You can attribute his game to freshman inexperience. You can write off the offense as never having had a chance.

But as for the Trojans’ defense, there really is no excuse.

That is Carroll’s baby. That is how he brought this program to power. Their offensive flash has brought them headlines, but their defensive grunt work has won them championships.

For now, that defense is gone, that identity is gone, and beyond Carroll’s usual exhortations, nobody seems to know what happens next.

The question asked of costumed children on doorsteps throughout the country Saturday night can be asked today of the Trojans.

And who are you supposed to be?

Why the Ducks made a fool of Pete Carrol and USC is a post from: AroDrive