Signing Day Brings Out the Best in ESPN's List-Making

Signing Day is today. I already talked about how much I don't like it.

But it also gave ESPN the opportunity to make a "Best of the BCS Conference List." The theory behind this is that in each conference, there is a school that is the "best" in that area. ESPN asks it's team of bloggers to rate a school in their conference in anything from the best recruiter to the best academics to even the best uniforms.

Most of the answers are ho-hum and relatively no-brainers.

So, here are my thoughts on the Best of the BCS Conferences. But since I went to a Pac-10 school (California) and live out on the West Coast, I'll give most of my attention to the Conference of Champions.

• Best Uniform category: Do kids really go to a school based on what the uniform looks like? And for all of those Oregon fans and alums screaming that Ted Miller didn't pick the Ducks, really? You think because you have so many combination that Oregon has the best unis? The all white is pretty sick, but other than that, they're ugly.

• Best Campus Life--Cal: So there was some objections to this in the comments made by ESPN readers. Here's an example:
  

  Have you ever been to Cal? Berkeley is the most rediculous "college town" in the country. Their are more 90 year olds biking around Berkeley than students. You should look towards Tempe. Aren't they annually in the Top 5 for party schools in the country?

  You need to do more research before writing these types of articles.
  

  Obviously, this reader is uninformed. These writers have been to every school and then some in the conferences they cover. Ted Miller is one of the best writers in all of college football and I'm going to say is the most talented of any of the bloggers that ESPN hired for their college football blog. And college life isn't about all about the parties. If that were so, wouldn't Arizona State not have finished 5-7 this year and sixth in the Pac-10?
  

  Also, being at Cal, even though it is considered a program that should compete with USC perrenially, there is a laid-backness to the student population when it comes to its football. Yes the fans come out, the students are crazy on Saturday, but that's on Saturday. During the rest of the week, the football players can just go around, acting like normal students, not being bothered by the faux-fame that comes to most athletes when they go to a school like, oh, ASU. On Saturdays, Cal is a football school. On every other day, Cal is just a school and a damn good one at that.

• I've been to Eugene, Ore., for a gameday and have to say I agree with Ted Miller. The fans and students there are crazy. And Autzen Stadium turns into an absolute zoo come kickoff time. And it gets so loud.
  

• Does Syracuse really have the best academics in the Big East?

• If recruits made their decisions strictly on playing time, then Wazzu and Iowa State should be signing five-stars left and right. Too bad (for the Cougs and Clones) that recruiting doesn't work that way.
  

The Headlines: Week 12...Coming Into Focus

My buddy who writes for The Daily Californian and went to yesterday's game between California and Oregon State called me while he was at a tailgate. Apparently he was impressed by the Beavers faithful. While there's nothing to do in Corvallis, Ore., the people sure did come out to Resar Stadium.

I would if I bled orange and black.

Oregon State is on the cusp of a Rose Bowl bid, their first since 1965. And with that, of course I expected the entire city of Corvallis to head out and support what was once a bumbling football program.

ABC showed shots of the Resar Stadium crowd holding up signs that said "We can smell the Roses" and something about going to The Rose Bowl for the first time since '65.

But that reminded of a thing the University of California did back in 2004. With the Bears ranked No. 4 in the country and coming off a win in The Big Game, the Cal book store started to sell Rose Bowl commemorative t-shirts.

Oops.

Needless to say, two weeks later, those shirts were selling for more than half off the regular price.

Oregon State fans should be excited. Their team's time has come. Two more wins and it's off to Pasadena.

If I were a Cal fan, I'd want that to happen. Because if the Beavers get to go to the Pac-10's promised land, then USC--still ranked in the top 10 in the BCS--will get a bid to another major bowl, leaving the Bears the (payout for) the Holiday Bowl.

And for me, San Diego is way better than El Paso.

But I wouldn't count on Oregon State winning out. Next week the Beavers play in Tuscon, Ariz., against the Wildcats.

And if you asked Cal, Tuscon is the place where Rose Bowl dreams go to die.

The Headlines:

• Arizona: Whatever Happened to That Defense?
  
• Arizona State: Snore
  
• Cal: Revenge Will Have to Wait
  
• Oregon: Masoli's Pretty Good
  
• Oregon State: Smells Like Roses
  
• Stanford: We Don't Believe in Stanford Football
  
• UCLA: Someone Had to Win
  
• USC: That's What I Call Revenge
  
• Washington: Is it Over Yet?
• Wazzu: Is it Over Yet? Part II
  

The Headlines: Week 10...The Picture Clears Up

Last week we saw the picture for the Pac-10 title and its BCS bid be muddied. But the calendar has turned and November means that the picture gets sharper with each passing week.

And it has to, by definition of the schedule that we have in the Pac-10 in November.

And no one controls its destiny as much as California. Heading into this week, the Bears had games against the other one-less conference teams in consecutive weeks. A rematch of last year's epic battle at Autzen Stadium, a trip down to the Los Angeles Coliseum and then up to Corvallis with a meeting with Oregon State.

Well, Cal has one down, two more to go after dismissing Oregon after a sloppy affair in Berkeley.

Now, the road to the Rose Bowl goes through Southern California and it's a storyline that's been repeated for the last five years for Cal. Beat SC and (get closer to) smell(ing) the Roses.

And of course, it's the game everyone has been waiting for...even if Jeff Tedford won't admit it.

The Headlines:

• Arizona State: Oh So Close
  
• California: Bring on the Trojans
  
• Oregon: When It Rain...It Pours
  
• Oregon State: Double the Rodgers, Double the Fun
  
• USC: Sometimes, It is That Easy
• Stanford: Against Wazzu, Everyone is the Best Team Ever
  
• Washington: Poor Tyrone, Part II
  
• Washington State: Rest of Season Canceled
  

The Headlines Week 9: What a Mess We've Got

We're pretty much through half of the Pac-10 campaign, and nothing is settled yet. Nothing.

Southern California might be the highest ranked team in the conference, but there are four teams with only one loss in conference play--including the Trojans.

November will decide who gets to coveted BCS bid--one that USC has held a strangle hold on for a really long time.

The Trojans and Oregon are atop the Pac-10 with 4-1 records, but Oregon State and California are right behind them with 3-1 records.

The Duck already lost to USC. The Trojans already lost to the Beavers. The Bears are the only one that hasn't played the other three yet, but that changes this Saturday. Cal starts a three-week journey against the Pac-10's leaders starting with Oregon, then at Southern California and then at Oregon State.

If the Bears survive, they'll be smelling roses.

The Headlines:

• Arizona: Just So Close
  
• Arizona State: I knew We Were Overrated
  
• California: Sometimes, the Offense Doesn't Need to Click
  
• Oregon: Running Roughshod
  
• UCLA: Stifled Craft-Work
  
• USC: No Monumental Upset in the Desert This Time
  
• Washington: Poor Tyrone
  

The Headlines: Week 6, Trojans Say 'No Way'

It was funny watching John Saunders, Doug Flutie and Craig James after watching California top Arizona State yesterday.

They were talking about the Pac-10 and they seemed flustered. I don't remember which one of them said this, but I know one of them did. Out of the mouths of one of those three, probably Flutie or James, came "USC needed Cal to win to help legitimate them and the Pac-10." Not those exact words, but something like that.

Just think about that. Instead of talking about how the Devils' Rose Bowl hopes were done or how the Bears could be contenders in the Pac-10, the ABC postgame crew talked about legitimating the Pac-10.

So maybe Cal's win does help Southern California, but that postgame show reminded me at least of the perception of the Pac-10--it's the Trojans and everyone else.

The Headlines:

• Arizona: It's Easy When Locker's Not Around
  
• Arizona State: Totally Overrated
  
• California: Rudy Carpen-Nothin'
  
• Oregon: How Did the Beavers Do It?!
  
• Oregon State: Playing At Home Is So Much Easier
  
• Stanford: We're Still Douchey-er
  
• UCLA: Better Win That One
  
• USC: This Is Our Conference
  
• Washington: Kicked When Down
  
• Wazzu: Kicked When Down, Part II
  

Where Do We Go From Here?

I let the dust settle first before I went off about what USC's loss to Oregon State.

I decided to give it a day, because, well, I wanted to gather my thoughts.

There's something that my favorite blogger Dan Shanoff pointed out yesterday; nationally, Southern California is seen not as a choker, like our good friends at THE Ohio State University, but are seen as a team as so cocky and arrogant, that it can't take care of the games that it needs to get to the top of the mountain.

The Buckeyes might get their asses kicked in the big games, but at least they get to the big games.

The Trojans, they haven't had a chance at the BCS title since losing to Texas because USC has lost to Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford and now, Oregon State again, teams seen as inferior in-conference opponents.

Because of this letdown the last couple of years, I don't expect the pollsters to be very kind to USC. If I were voting in any of the polls coming out tomorrow, there is no way I rank the Trojans in the top 25. In effect, USC's BCS hopes are done.

But what does that mean for the rest of the Pac-10?

There are two different strains of thought within the conference itself.

The first and most prevalent, is that any other potential Pac-10 contender is screwed. Here are a few text messages I got from friends Thursday night: "Wtf? I have no idea," "Looks like (Mike) Riley owns the Pac-10," "Jesus Christ," "Is this really happening?" "Shit," "There goes the Pac-10's credibility."

The thought for a long time for teams like California, Oregon, Arizona State and any other contender in one single season has been that USC was going to beat them, USC was going to run the table, get into the BCS and the runner-up in the Pac-10 would go to that promise land known as The Rose Bowl.

That seriously was the case when the No. 4 Bears finished second to No. 1 USC in 2004, but got screwed by the the BCS system.

Now, with the Trojans' BCS title game hopes all but dashed, so is the rest of the teams' hopes of getting to the Rose Bowl. Why? Because we still all know that SC has all the talent in the world. A loss like this should refocus the Trojans and they should take out their anger on the rest of the Pac-10.

Another Rose Bowl appearance for USC seems all but inevitable.

But, to steal a phrase from Lee Corso, not so fast, my friends.

The second strain of thought and the one that is less prevalent is, well, if Oregon State can knock off the Trojans, then shouldn't anyone be able to knock off the Trojans?

We all are not sure that USC can run the table the rest of the season. Sure, all of its (what-should-have-been) toughest opponents play at the Coliseum: Cal, Oregon, Arizona State and yeah, even Ohio State payed them a visit earlier this year.

But if lowly Stanford can cut through the mystique of the Coliseum, then, should the likes of the Bears, Ducks, and Devils be able to too?

And for teams like Cal, Oregon and ASU, which don't have a loss in-conference yet, the goal is simple: they have to run the table, which includes beating the Trojans, and if they do, well, then the Football Monopoly in The Rose Bowl Game (to borrow a phrase from our friends in Westwood) is Over.

It's easier to type this out than to do it. But really, it's sport. Anything can happen.

And at this point, wouldn't it be refreshing to not see USC in the BCS, kind of like not seeing the Yankees in the playoffs or not seeing Brett Favre be a douche in Green Bay.

We can only dream.

The Headlines: Week 4 The Pac Suc, Part 2

It's official. In one short month the Pac-10 went from one of the best conferences in college football to one of the not-so-good BCS conferences.

And wtf? the Mountain West owned them last week. It's been an awful two weeks for the conference of champions, and with Southern California taking the week off, Wazzu and Stanford (?!) were the Pac-10's only saving grace.

And with Boise State upsetting Oregon at the Autzen Zoo, this year, it really is the Trojans and everyone else.

To the headlines:

• Arizona: Cats Win at the Rose Bowl, But it Wasn't The Rose Bowl
• Arizona State: Rudy Can't Do it All
  
• Oregon: Lame Ducks
  
• Stanford: This is Really a Rivalry Game?
  
• UCLA: The Football Dynasty in Los Angeles...Is Not Over
  
• Wazzu: FINALLY!
  

The Headlines: Week 3, The Pac Suck

What a banner day for the Pac-10, if you're Southern California and Oregon State.

We all saw Oregon squeak by Purdue (?!), California lost to Maryland (?!), Arizona State lost to UNLV (?!), Washington lost to Oklahoma, UCLA got thumped by BYU and supposed surprise team Arizona lost to New Mexico (?!).

What awesome week for the "Conference of Champions." To the headlines:

• Arizona: So...Goodbye Stoops?
• Arizona State: Uhhhhhhh...
  
• California: Back to Reality
• Oregon: Let's Leave on Thursdays For These Long Road Trips
• Oregon State: Things Aren't That Bad...When You Play Hawaii
• Stanford: Back to Reality, Part 2
• UCLA: Back to Reality, Part 3
  
• USC: Punching Our Tickets to Miami Already
  
• Washington: Why Us?
• Washington State: Officially the Worst Team...Probably Ever
  

The Headlines: Week 2

The Los Angeles schools took the week off and they're going to need it for next week. Of course, newly minted with a top 25 ranking, UCLA has to go to Provo, Utah to play BYU and there is this game in the Coliseum between the Trojans and Ohio State.

But the rest of the Pac-10 was in action. The biggest story? The screw-job Washington got against BYU. Excessive celebration? Really? That was an excessive celebration? Okay, maybe, but, I think, in a game that heated, with the game that close, a little celebration would have been appropriate. It's an emotional game. The Huskies are playing for their coach's job and they get screwed because of excessive celebration.

Gimme a break.

In other news, Wazzu might be the worst team in the Pac-10 or California is really good and Jahivd Best might be the breakout player for the conference this year. Or maybe he is already. Stanford also gets knocked off as the "Best Team in the Pac-10" pedestal. It was good while it lasted.

To the headlines:

• Arizona: Keep Those Non-BCS Teams Comin'
  
• Arizona State: The Devil Heating Up
  
• California: Runnin' Wild
  
• Oregon: Still Looking Fine, Despite the Ugly Uniforms
• Oregon State: But We Thought it Was Called Beaver Stadium
• Stanford: Back to Reality
  
• Washington: Give Us A Fucking Break
• Washington State: At Least Wazzu Scored
  

The Headlines: After the First Real Day of College Football

Here are my headlines for the teams of the Pac-10 conference after the first day of college football:

• Arizona: 70 Reasons Why the Wildcats Looked For Real (But May Not Be)
• Arizona State: Carpenter: Why Can't We Play These I-AA School All the Time?
• California: Maybe Nate Longshore Can Start if He Just Hands the Ball Off All the Time
• Oregon: We Don't Need No Stinkin' First- or Second-String QB to Beat on the Huskies
• USC: Bring on the Buckeyes
• Washington: Woes Us. Woes Willingham's Job
• Wazzu: Let's Review How to Run an Offense
  

The Headlines: College Football Preview

I know I'm really late with this. The college football season begins in hours (if it hasn't started yet).

So here's my quasi college football preview. Now let me explain this. One of the best (or worst) things I've ever had to do while working at the Daily Cal was come up with headlines for stories. Most were very cliche. Some were good. A lot were bad.

And some of the good ones that I thought of, well, they weren't PG enough to run in the paper.

So, I come at you uncensored. Every week, I'll give you "headlines" for all the Pac-10 schools and some of the bigger news in college football.

But today, I give you headlines for a promising season for all Pac-10 schools and then give you my predicted headline for those post-season write-ups of what actually happened. Enjoy.

Season Previewed:

• Arizona: Can Stoop's Squad Finally Make it to the Promise Land?
• Arizona State: Be-Deviling the Rose Bowl Hopes
• California: Longshore Out, Riley In, Forget About Last Season
• Oregon: Costa Out, Panic Ensues
• Oregon State: Beavers Are Never Over-Hyped
• Stanford: Harbaugh Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is
• UCLA: Please Rick, Don't Fuck This Up
• USC: Ain't No One Gonna Stop Us Now
• Washington: Jake Locker For Heisman
• Wazzu: How Did We Get to the Rose Bowl in the Late '90s?

• Bonus Headline for Georgia: Lovable Losers Are Finally No. 1

Season-Ending Headlines:

• Arizona: Wildcats Finally Beardown on Stoops, Give Him the Axe
• Arizona State: BCS Dreams Wilted in Desert Heat
• California: Longshore Really Was the Right Choice in Holiday Bowl Victory
• Oregon: Costa Still Out for Next Year, Panic Ensues
• Oregon State: No Quarterbacks = No Bowl
• Stanford: Harbaugh Jumps Sinking Ship, Gets Job With Big Ten Lightweight
• UCLA: The Los Angeles Football Dynasty IS Over, But Look What Happened After 2006
  
• USC: Boring...Another Rose Bowl Blowout Win
• Washington: Bye Bye Ty
• Wazzu: And We Couldn't Even Beat Stanford
  

• Georgia: So Tim Tebow IS That Good