Thursday, December 31, 2009

UCLA Football Over the Last Four Years (Part II)

Yesterday I analyzed the Bruins' performance against its conference rivals. Today, it is time to look at how the men in True Blue fared against out of conference competition, including the three bowl games. I will show the breakdown by the conference we played, and do a similar record break down for each team like I did yesterday. Here we go!

ACC:
FSU 0-1 (0-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-0) <---- LOST EMERALD BOWL!

Big-12:
KSU 1-0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

C-USA:
Rice 1-0 (1-0, 0-0, 1-0, 0-0)

Independents:
Notre Dame 0-2 (0-1, 0-1, 0-2, 0-0)

MAC:
Temple 1-0 (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0) <---- WON EAGLEBANK BOWL!

MWC:
Utah 1-1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 0-0)
BYU 1-2 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-1) <---- LOST VEGAS BOWL UNDER D. WALKER!
SDSU 1-0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

SEC:
UT 2-0 (1-0, 1-0, 0-0, 2-0)

WAC:
Fresno St. 0-1 (0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Overall: 8-7
Bowl: 1-2
ACC: 0-1
Big-12: 1-0
C-USA: 1-0
Indep: 0-2
MAC: 1-0
MWC: 3-3
SEC: 2-0
WAC: 0-1
Dorrell: 3-4
Neuheisel: 5-2

It is easy to see how the different coaches have done. Neuheisel inherited a horrible team in 2008 and still managed to beat UT. Dorrell on the other hand, gave ND their first win of the 2007 season after they started 0-5 in the Rose Bowl. Furthermore, anyone remember 2006 in South Bend? I personally tried forgetting since I was there in person and my heart broke right there and then, but it happened. Dorrell coached not to lose, and we still lost. The bowl games under the Dorrell regime were not so different either. The FSU game up at AT&T Park in SF was a heartbreaker as we gave the game away to the 'Noles. The Vegas Bowl, though under Walker, was essentially under the Dorrell regime so I am going to lump that in there too. Again, my heart was broken in freezing weather as Forbath's FG attempt was blocked by the gigantic mormons. There it is, UCLA football over the last four years. Some great moments, but tons of heartbreaks and disappointments. Hopefully the next decade will bring about a new sense of winning to the Bruin program.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

UCLA Football Over the Last Four Years (Part I)

UCLA's first bowl game win since the 2005 Sun Bowl marked the official end of the of its 2009 season. It also marked the end of UCLA football during my collegiate time. I have been fortunate to be at UCLA and been able to attend (for free, thank you marching band) games at the Rose Bowl for four years. However, UCLA football has not been so "Rosy" lately. Though there have been some ups, for each one of those, there seem to have been multiple downs. Since I am an engineer, I felt the need to quantify the football team's performance in some way, shape, or form.
The first part of the analysis will be looking at the Bruins record against each Pac-10 team, against which they have played two home and two away games. It will hopefully show where great opportunities were missed and perhaps where great results were seized. Below are the records against each conference opponent in alphabetical order in the following format: Team, Overall Record (Home, Away, Dorrell, Neuheisel).

Arizona 1-3 (1-1, 0-2, 1-1, 0-2)
ASU 2-2 (1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 1-1)
Cal 1-3 (1-1, 0-2, 1-1, 0-2)
Oregon 1-3 (1-1, 0-2, 1-1, 0-2)
OSU 2-2 (1-1, 1-1, 2-0, 0-2)
Stanford 3-1 (2-0, 1-1, 2-0, 1-1)
U$C 1-3 (1-1, 0-2, 1-1, 0-2)
UW 3-1 (2-0, 1-1, 1-1, 2-0)
WSU 2-2 (1-1, 1-1, 0-2, 2-0)
Overall: 16-20
Home: 11-7
Away: 5-13
Dorrell: 10-8
Neuheisel: 6-12

The easiest statistic to look at here is the away record. It's absolutely abysmal and should easily be much better. If we then look at the the differences in records between the two coaches, the casual observer would point out that Dorrell has a much better record. However, for anyone who has actually followed UCLA football, this should not be too surprising considering how little talent Neuheisel inherited last year. Furthermore, the Pac-10 this year was about as deep and competitive as it has ever been, and UCLA was still retooling so that definitely influenced the win and loss columns. Here are some key games against the Washington schools that I believe should have gone our way but we blew under the Dorrell regime:

  • Both losses to WSU. I was there for the one in 2006 and it was terrible. I also remember watching the 2007 game, the Bell tears ACL game, that we basically gave to them.
  • UW 2006. We had a 13-0 lead coming out of half-time and completely blew it. Sure, it was in Seattle, but we completely dominated the first 30 minutes before tanking it.
If you add those, that's two easy wins in 2006 (which would have given UCLA a 9-3 record), and one easy win in 2007 (putting UCLA at 7-5). Also, I think that we got really lucky in 2007 against Oregon because they were playing without Dennis Dixon, and thus had no offense. Sure, injuries did hamper some of those Dorrell teams, but they had solid talent (and in 2007 national hype), to a point that we needed to not tank easy games. Unfortunatly, the out-of-conference schedule and bowl games were another area where UCLA did not necessarily excel at during my tenure as a student. That part of the analysis will come tomorrow so stay tuned!

UCLA Wins, Putting the Pac Back at .500

Thanks to the two Los Angeles schools, the Pac-10 conference is now sitting at a cool 2-2 record with three games left over the next three days. So how did UCLA even up the conference's bowl record? Here are three unconventional factors that helped the Bruins:

1. Icy Field: If it wasn't for the icy field, Mr. Ayers would have never slipped and unintentionally tricked the offensive line and quarterback of the Owls.

2. Matt Brown: Sure, he had a touchdown and some pretty fancy runs. However, when it really mattered, he got eaten alive by Brian Price and Reggie Carter. Maybe the key was for Bernard Pierce to get injured in the 2nd, that's up for debate.

3. Shirtless warm-ups: Clearly, they didn't end up hurting the team on the field. Furthermore, it ended up giving them great publicity. ESPN kept talking about it and cutting to it on it's pre-game show, during the game, and continuously on Sportscenter. It was also a highlight on local newscasts in the Bay Area, showing that America is clearly ready for large tattooed college kids. If I am a big time prep player, I would think this is awesome. Nothing like some good publicity, right?

Monday, December 28, 2009

Pac-10 Basketball Preview


As the Pac-10 regular season approaches, and many teams are finally done with their non-conference games, it is time to look ahead to what may end up being as the most "competitive" and up in the air conference season in a long time. The last four years were basically a UCLA domination, with Washington emerging last year to steal the regular season crown by a mere game over UCLA. The same Huskies should be the favorites this year but have not been that dominating despite their high preseason ranking. The loss to Texas Tech was a huge disappointment, and so was the loss to equally powerful Georgetown. Like Washington, instate rivals WSU have only two losses from the preseason although they do not have any impressive wins. However, the play of Klay Thompson will carry them a long way in conference. Arizona State, a team believed to not be in contention after losing Jeff Pendergraph to graduation and James Harden to the NBA Draft, is sitting at 10-3 but like WSU, does not have any signature wins. Here is the entire pecking order as of Monday:
WSU 10-2
UW 9-2
ASU 10-3
U$C 8-4
UO 7-4
Cal 6-4
UA 6-5
OSU 6-5
SU 5-6
UCLA 5-7

Now, it is time to make some bold statements and predictions:

Pac-10 Champ: I still think UW has the most fire power and showed the most consistency thus far, and should therefore win the title. Plus, it's impossible to win against them in Seattle, just ask Ben Howland.
Pac-10 Surprise: U$C. Yes, I know. They are the lowly Trojans, but... They have two wins over ranked teams, including a very impressive win against the Vols. That being said, they lost to LMU, so I could be completely wrong.
Pac-10 Disappointment: It would be easy to pick UCLA, but we are talking about the conference season here. I would have to go with UofA because they were picked in the preseason to finish 4th in the conference, have a better record right now than UCLA, and have tons of question marks. If it wasn't for my admiration for Mike Montgomery of Cal I would have picked them.
Pac-10 POY: Quincy Pondexter of UW. He's coming in to the conference season averaging 21.8ppg and 8.4 rpg. He is the lone senior on the best team in the conference. Those two factors combined will bring him the award. Klay Thompson of WSU should also be in consideration, but since he is younger and on a lesser recognized team, he won't get it.
Pac-10 FOY: Reeves Nelson of UCLA. He is averaging twice as many points per game for a lower scoring team (UCLA) than Abdul Gaddy's UW. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and has had dominating performances against bigger and more established players. There really is no other freshman this year in the conference in terms of points and contributions to his team beyond the stat sheet.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Pac-10 Jumps Ahead, MWC Gets Last Laugh

Earlier this year, I wrote about the most overrated conference in college football heading into the season. The conference I chose is the MWC. Now, I may seem kind of silly and somewhat stupid. TCU is going to be playing in a BCS bowl game and BYU and Utah just beat up on two schools from the nation's most competitive conference. Then again, bowl performances are not the true indicator of how well a team and subsequently its conference are, but it does hold some truth. For those who watched the Vegas and Poinsettia Bowls, I'm sure that there was one common theme. Pac-10 team jumps to a quick lead, then blows it. In the Vegas Bowl, the wind (all 40mph of it) and Max Hall's arm helped penetrate the Beavers. In San Diego, Cal's ineptitude in tough games and Utah's perseverance helped seal the Pac's early 0-2 bowl record.

It is easy to just look at the past two games and quickly declare the MWC slightly superior to the Pac-10. I mean, they are 2-0 in the bowl season against their neighbors in the Pacific Time Zone. But there is an underlying factor in there. The Vegas Bowl featured the MWC's 2nd best while it only pitted the Pac 10's 4th best. The disparity in rankings is then somewhat amplified in the Poinsettia Bowl since Cal was the Pac's 6th best and Utah was the MWC's 3rd best. Would BYU really have an easy a time against the Pac 10's second best? That'd be Arizona. Remember last year's Vegas Bowl? If not, here is what happened: Arizona upset BYU. Furthermore, would Utah beat Stanford? Utah lost to Oregon and Stanford manhandled Oregon, all this season. So probably not. However, the hypothetical games are only hypotheticals so we all have to face the reality. The Pac-10 has laid an egg while the MWC seized the moment and dominated its opponents. Congratulations to the Utah schools, and good job Beavs and Cal for misrepresenting the West Coast.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Pac-10 Bowl Predictions

Bowl Games Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 1-2, 2-1 against the spread. Blueandgold 2-1, 1-2 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 51-24, 28-41-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 52-23, 32-36-3 against the spread)

BYU vs Oregon State (-2.5): Vegas Bowl
(Truebluebruin) People like to joke that USC was getting tired of Rosebowls the last few years, but BYU could probably say the same thing about multiple trips to the Vegas bowl. They will definitely be accustomed to the intense cold of the bowl game (I was at that bowl 2 years ago, it was freezing!!). Still, this is an Oregon State team that game 1 game away from going to the rosebowl in a very strong pac-10. They beat a Gerhart lead Stanford, so taking on Unga of BYU shouldn’t be too imposing.
Oregon State 31 BYU 23
(Blueandgold) The meeting of 2 offensive minded teams. OSU looked good in the Civil War and they have a dual threat of passing via James and running via Jaquizz, and with Canfield being the orchestrator the Beaver Offense is in good hands. But they go up against Max Hall who has been rock solid the past two seasons with over 3,000 yards this year as well. BYU is slightly better than OSU in all offensive categories, however OSU had a tougher schedule. Because this game is in Vegas and BYU's second home, I'm gonna pick them in this one; their fans really know how to fill Sam Boyd Stadium.
BYU 28 OSU 21

Utah vs Cal (-2.5): Poinsetta Bowl
(Truebluebruin) Probably the most inconsistent team in the pac-10, you never know what team will show up when Cal takes the field. Utah isn’t the team that went 13-0 last season, but they are still a strong enough team to give Cal fits if they don’t take this game seriously. Shane Vareen has been a power for Cal since the loss of Best, but I don’t know how focused they’ll come out for this game. I have to pick Utah in this one
Utah 21 Cal 20
(Blueandgold) This is a great matchup. Cal would win this easily with Best, but without him, it makes for an interesting game. The team showed a lot of poise beating Arizona and Stanford in the final weeks, although getting spanked by Washington in the last game really hurt. Utah is formidable opponent, however they aren't the same team from last year. Also with the game in CA, I feel the home crowd will help put Cal over the top on this one. Cal, like BYU, is slightly better statistically than Utah, but those statistics come playing in a tougher conference than Utah.
Cal 24 Utah 17

Boston College vs USC (-7): Emerald Bowl
(Truebluebruin) Be careful what you wish for, Trojan fans. After complaining about getting tired of Rosebowls, USC finally gets a new venue, but definitely not the way they would hope. The fact that USC didn’t win the pac-10 again isn’t that big of a shock, given that all “dynasties” end eventually, but that with the embarrassing amount of talent on both sides of the ball and in the depth chart, that USC finished in 5th place in the pac-10. If USC is even remotely focused on this game, they should overwhelm Boston College based off of talent alone.
USC 38 BC 21
(Blueandgold) Well a down year for USC, finishing 5th in the Pac 10 after 7 straight Pac 10 Championships. However even though they lost their final game to AZ and haven't looked the same in the final 6 weeks, they are really statistically better than BC in all offensive categories. However, the Joe McKnight scandal may change the tides of this game, losing their 1,000+ yard rusher, leaving TRUE FRESHMAN Matt Barkley to win the game on his arm (which hasn't been stellar of late). Still the competition of BC is not enough to match 'SC's superior talent on both sides of the ball.
USC 28 BC 17

Temple vs UCLA (-4): EagleBank Bowl
(Truebluebruin) Well, the bowl season hasn’t played out so far how UCLA would have hoped, with 3 players already removed from the team for the bowl game, and fans upset over the “wall incident” while the Owls are much more focused after gaining only their 3rd bowl bid ever. Temple should enjoy an advantage in location, weather, and fan support, but UCLA should be the more talented team and more battle tested due to playing a much tougher schedule. If UCLA can stay focused, they should be able to win a tough game.
UCLA 24 Temple 17
(Blueandgold) A very interesting matchup to say the least. Bruins come in as basically the last team to get a bowl bid and being only at 6-6 against an Owl team appearing in their first bowl in 3 decades under a rising superstar coach. UCLA is a pass oriented team playing against a Temple Run oriented team. The two are very different, and they split many offensive statistics because of that. UCLA did play a tougher schedule though and should prepare them for solid Temple team. Playing against Vareen, James, Gerhart, and Rodgers should have prepared the Bruins for what they see in Temple's running game.
UCLA 24 Temple 21

Nebraska vs Arizona (even): Holiday Bowl
(Truebluebruin) Probably the hardest game to forecast, you have a strong offense for Arizona against a stifling Nebraska defense, that can’t really move the ball. Nebraska almost knocked off Texas, and Arizona’s offense should be easier to shut down. This could be an ugly, low scoring game, with Suh being the difference, causing havoc in the Arizona backfield
Nebraska 17 Arizona 14
(Blueandgold) Well the winner of this game will show whether a good Defense or Offense is more dominant. Arizona is an Offensive minded team, beating Nebraska in all offensive statistics. However Nebraska comes into the game with a Heisman Candidate in Suh leading a suffocating defense that almost pulled off the win against Texas. I feel this is the toughest game to project of all the Pac 10 matchups. But with a little help from a hometown crowd, I feel AZ will be pushed over the top.
Arizona 24 Nebraska 21

Oklahoma (-7) vs Stanford: Sun Bowl
(Truebluebruin) Oklahoma should enjoy a sizeable home field advantage in this game. Stanford’s offense won’t be at 100% with Andrew Luck somewhat beaten up. Gerhart alone could carry this team. However, he is no longer facing a pac-10 team that has a reputation of defending against more finesse, speed, spread based offenses. Stanford is going up against a big-12 school used to power, smash-mouth football. Oklahoma should be able to keep Gerhart in better check than the rest of the pac-10 could.
Oklahoma 31 Stanford 20
(Blueandgold) Stanford finds itself in a bowl for the first time since 2001, but they will play a team that was in the National Championship game last year. Stanford is statistically better offensively than OU, and will need a big game from their go-to guy and Heisman winner (according to me) Toby Gerhart. However Luck may not be back in time for the game, which could severely hurt Stanford, but no Bradford will definitely hurt Oklahoma. Still Stanford's backup has experience and won't be a total drop off from Luck. Pac 10-Big 12 Bragging rights are on the line here and I will go with the Big 10 on this one because of the home crowd from OU in Texas and with the Bowl experience that OU has over Stanford.
OU 35 Stanford 27

Ohio State vs Oregon (-2): Rose Bowl
(Truebluebruin) So nice to see a rosebowl without USC playing in it. Funny that despite a close line of only Oregon as a 2 point favorite, the entire nation seems to agree that Oregon should win this game. Oregon’s offense should give Ohio State fits. While Ohio State can put up points on an average Oregon defense, I’d be very surprised if they can keep up with the yards and points that this Oregon offense produces in large quantities. Ohio State’s vaunted rushing defense is about to be exposed.
Oregon 35 Ohio State 17
(Blueandgold) Oregon wins this one because their offense is just way too hard to contain. They can run with James and Masoli and they have the future Heisman candidate in Masoli as well. Oregon is better in all offensive statistics and has individual leaders beating their Buckeye counterparts. Oregon's defense is also superior, which will suffocate the OSU offense. Add to that Trussell's uncanny ability to lose big time games and you have the makings of possibly an Oregon blowout (not to mention a probable Oregon hometown crowd with the game on the West Coast). Too many weapons against a team that hasn't really shown in the national spotlight they have the answers. Although this game is the 6th best rushing offense in Oregon against the 5th best rushing defense in Ohio State. I'll take the offense in this one.
Oregon 28 Ohio State 17

Monday, December 21, 2009

Kentucky Makes History

A couple hours ago, UK (the one on this side of the Atlantic) made history by becoming the first program to make it to 2000 wins. This feat is definitely an amazing one, there should no absolutely doubt about it. Yes, UK had a lot of its success before 1960 under Adolf Rupp, which came in a segregated conference as Pat Forde of ESPN pointed out in a column a few months ago. However, it had a great streak of NCAA tournament appearances which was just snapped as well as having the 2 National Championships in the 1990's under two different coaches. As a Bruin, I feel like am obligated to say that 11 > 7, especially when all 11 came since 1965, but that's enough of that. Congrats to Kentucky and its supportive fan base (which honestly seems more dedicated at times than UCLA's or any other school).

Sunday, December 20, 2009

A Mexican 8-Clap

This past week I was on a cruise with five of my dearest of friends to and from Mexico. It was the perfect way to get rid of the anxiety from finals week. It was also a great way to represent our beloved UCLA with a ridiculous amount of 8-claps. We decided that just represnting it in the United States would be "half-assing" so we proceeded to do it in Mexico as well. The video below documents our 8-clap in the Cheeky Monkey bar, which by the way is amazing. Here is the video:

What I found really cool later in the night is that there were Oregon Ducks fans sitting in the same bar but on the floor above us, and upon hearing our "UCLA chant" as they put it, they responded with their own "O" thing they do. It is nice to see friendly competition and pride in one's respective school. On our trip we also encountered Husky, Cougs, Beaver, Golden Bear, and sadly Trojan fans. Ironically it was the U$C people that seemed to have less pride than any other group we talked to. Go figure.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Pac-10 Basketball = Crap

With another disappointing yet somewhat expected UCLA loss today coupled with Washington getting dominated by the Hoyas in Anaheim, I realized that this year is most definitely not a good one for the Pac-10. Actually to be fair, this seemed pretty obvious when Texas Tech beat Washington, and even earlier when Cal got embarrassed by 'Cuse. The only highlight for the Pac-10 thus far has to be Stanford's choke against Kentucky (which has still yet to lose a game). So how bad is the conference this year? Really bad. Like, when a U$C student attempts to spell SAT bad. Actually, maybe slightly better than that. Here are some disgusting numbers at how badly the conference has looked in the first month of the season:

Teams with a winning record: 5 (WSU, Cal, Washington, ASU, and Stanford)
Teams ranked in the top-25: 1 (Washington)
Teams ranked in the top-15: 0
Horrible Losses: Cal v. NMU, Stanford v. USD, Stanford v. ORU, Oregon v. Montana, OSU v. AMCC, OSU v. Sac State, U$C v. LMU, UCLA v. CSUF, UCLA v. LBSU.
Bad Losses: Washington @ TTU, Baylor @ ASU, Cal v. 'Cuse, Arizona @ SDSU.

Yeah, this is U-G-L-Y! There is no way around it. I even left out the losses by UCLA and Oregon to Portland, mainly because Portland turned out to be pretty good against other good teams. Also, it seems like the conference has like one or two wins against top-25 competition. Actually, according to what I just saw over at ESPN.com it's more like ZERO wins. As Andy Katz said in a column he wrote a few weeks ago, the conference might only get two invites come March. At the time, I thought that he was being somewhat ridiculous. Now? I might have to agree.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Heisman Time!!! The Sequel!


Well, looks like Player B won the Heisman trophy just now. Although I personally believed Player A should win it, I think that Player B deserves it almost as much. He becomes the first player in the storied tradition of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program to win the trophy. Altough the score on the poll that we posted here was in favor of Player A, Player B came through in the eyes of the actual voters of the award.

If you haven't figured it out yet, here are who each player is:
Player A: Toby Gerhart, Stanford
Player B: Mark Ingram, Alabama

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Heisman Time!!!

Even though the Heisman Memorial Trophy will be announced on Saturday, and right now it is "only" Thursday, it is never too early to speculate who will (or should) win the most coveted award in college football. Actually, people have been speculating about the 75th Heisman since like... last year. Regardless, it is still early enough to offer up some predictions about who is going to take all the beans home. There are five outstanding candidates first and foremost. However, two should be eliminated because their career stats are amazing, and this year was slightly more "average" for them. Good-bye Tim Tebow (and Jesus) and Colt McCoy (and his >70% completion rate). Yes, you have both had amazing careers, but let's be honest, you do not deserve it right now, especially after your sad performances in the SEC and Big-12 Championship games respectively. This brings me to the one-man machine out of Nebraska. Ndamukong Suh, personally destroyed Colt McCoy and the Texas offense. Like in the clip below (thanks to Yahoo! Sports for bringing this to light):

Yes, he has 12.5 sacks on the year. A stat which is outstanding for an interior DL. Here is the problem, he's a DL. No defensive lineman has ever won the Heisman. The only defensive player to win it was Charles Woodson, and he also played some special teams. Therefore, it should be a safe bet to eliminate Mr. Suh from the runnings. Oh how harsh this world is! The only remaining candidates are running backs. Therefore, let us compare them directly to each other.

Player A: 311 1,736 5.6 61 26 (ATT YDS AVG LNG TD)
Player B: 249 1,542 6.2 70 15 (ATT YDS AVG LNG TD)

Let it be noted that Player B also has three receiving touchdowns.

Who would you pick, A or B?
Who should win the Heisman?
Player A
Player B
ugg boots


We'll reveal the identities of the players on Saturday!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Kiki beats his old coach

Another Bruin is now in the win column as an NBA head coach. Tonight Kiki's Nets beat the Bobcats in the Meadowlands to snap their record 18 consecutive losses to open up the season. As I watched the highlights, I thought to myself "hey, didn't Larry Brown coach at UCLA around the time that Kiki was a basketball player there?" Well, turns out my intuition was validated (according to Wikipedia). Yes, it was 30 season ago that in his senior year at UCLA he played for Mr. Larry Brown and the UCLA team that went to the championship game. Must be nice to beat an old college coach for your first win as one right?

Here are video highlights courtesy of ESPN: Bobcats @ Nets 12-03-09

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Pac-10 Week 14 Predictions

Week 14 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 4-0, 0-4 against the spread. Blueandgold 3-1, 1-3 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 50-22, 26-40-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 50-22, 31-34-3 against the spread)

Oregon State @ Oregon (-8)
(Truebluebruin) It’s nice to know that USC’s run at the Pac-10 title and Rosebowl has FINALLY come to an end. Tonight, the civil war will determine who the Pac-10 will send to the Rosebowl. Oregon, despite a small slip up against Stanford, has been hot all Pac-10 season long, while Oregon State has had a few more bumps in the road. Both teams feature star playmakers that could run away with the game, but considering the game is in Eugene, I’m going to give the nod to the Ducks.
Oregon 35 Oregon State 28
(Blueandgold) Well the Rose Bowl is up for grabs, making this a great matchup for the final weekend with so much on the line (not to mention bragging rights for a year). The Civil War poses two great teams against each other, one with a monster offense while the other with a quick and crafty one. Defense is gonna win this game so I give the edge to the Ducks (although if they give up the yardage they gave to Stanford they are in for a long night).
Oregon 35 OSU 24

Arizona @ USC (-8)
(Truebluebruin) It would be very fashionable to pick Arizona in this game. USC certainly didn’t look like world beaters against the Bruins last week, and the Arizona offense will certainly give USC more of a challenge than the Bruins did. Still, Arizona is coming off of two loses and a much too close victory against ASU, and themselves are struggling. That is bad news on the Road against ‘SC.
USC 24 Arizona 20
(Blueandgold) USC is coming off a win to quiet their critics, but the game against the Bruins may have added more questions to how the offense is functioning. If you look at it, Barkley had a good season, not a great one, but a good enough one. I feel that Arizona's high tempo offense and wildcat formation mix in will overwhelm a USC defense thats going through the motions. I'm gonna go with Arizona on this one.
Arizona 24 USC 21

Cal (-6) @ Washington
(Truebluebruin) Cal is flying high after their road victory in the Big game, while Washington crushed their rival by 30. I think the only reason this line is so close is the combined factor that Washington is at home and they showed signs of an offense against Washington State. Problem is, everyone shows signs of an offense against Washington State. Shane Vereen is on a roll and should be able to run all over the Huskies.
Cal 31 Washington 17
(Blueandgold) Cal should win this one. Washington had one huge win this season and thats about it, they beat who they were supposed to and lost who they were supposed with the exception thankfully coming against USC. Cal is still without best but with an good QB and some receivers they are the favorite. Also Washington's defense isn't that great either so I expect Cal to come away with the W against washington.
Cal 24 Washington 17

Notable Tweets 12/02/09

Here at RJS we would like to think of ourselves as young, hip, and with the times. Therefore, we have our own twitter account (Follow us!) and we figured we should follow some "people of interest". To be honest, we have not used this feature as much as we probably ought to, but better late than never right? Without further a-do, here are some tweets that caught our eyes:

From Pete Carroll: "i get a kick out of you by frank sinatra... goes out to TJ simers... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtwO2tKZmwQ"
To those who do not know TJ Simers, a usual hater of UCLA athletics, actually decided to insult (and rightfully so) the Trojans, their head-coach and even his own colleague Bill Plaschke. I'm assuming then that Pete's tweet is referring to this column: Never let it be said he isn't right on USC-UCLA game

From David Beckham: "Just found @lightinthebox ( http://bit.ly/litb ) a good place to find interesting Made-in-China stuff. Hey, even my tees were made in China!"
To be honest, while this is his most recent of works, it came a month ago. However, the sheer comedy that Becks exudes in his tweet is fantastic! I'm glad that he finally, after over 30 years, figured out where most of his Adidas apparel is actually made, congrats!

From Bruin great Baron Davis: "Be sure to check your beard after eating, as crumbs in the chin scruff may attract unwanted visitors..."
The man sports one of the best beards (on the right) in all of sports. Therefore, it is his civil duty to inform others how to ensure their beards stay as well groomed and perfect as his. Thank you Baron Davis, thank you.

From the Shaquille O'Neal: "How u know were I'm at, when u haven't been where I been, understand were I'm coming from"
No clue if it's his own words or not, but either way I do not believe it. I mean, the dude is 7'1" and weighs 350lbs, how can you know not where he is? I can for sure say he was in Cleveland because I saw it on Sportscenter earlier, sorry Shaq.