Huskies win first road game of the season over Cal 21-13

By Kshell

For the fourth straight year the Washington Huskies(5-4,3-3) have defeated the California Golden Bears(3-7,2-5) 21-13. Just like the previous two meetings this game came down to the fourth quarter where the Huskies defense came up big with turnovers. The offense did just enough led by career games from tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins who caught eight passes for a career high 152 yards with the go ahead touchdown. While running back Bishop Sankey had a career game rushing for 189 yards on 29 carries for two touchdowns. The Huskies win also clinches the fact that the California Golden Bears will miss a bowl game for the second time in three seasons.

The Huskies won the toss and chose to take the ball first. Starting from their own 37 yard line on second down Bishop Sankey ran for 27 yards down to the Bears 36 yard line. Facing a third and seven from the 33 yard line Sankey would rush for seven yards setting up a fourth and one from the 27 yard line. Steve Sarkisian elected to go for it and the Huskies were blown up on the fourth and one call. Taking over from their own 28 yard line the Bears went to work. Facing a third and seven from the 31 yard line Zach Maynard completed a pass to Chris Harper who made a terrific one handed catch for 23 yards to the Huskies 45 yard line. On the next play Maynard scrambled to his left and found Harper for a gain of 16 yards although it appeared he was out of bounds. On the 29 yard line the Bears elected to run with Isi Sofele who ran for eight yards before fumbling as Marcus Peters for the Huskies recovered the fumble at the Huskies 21 yard line.

Starting from their own 21, Keith Price hit a quick receiver pass to Kasen Williams who made his defender miss for a gain of nine yards. Sankey would rush for five yards to their own 35 yard line. On second down Price would hit tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins over the middle for a gain of 13 yards. Sankey would rush for nine more yards to the Bears 43 yard line. On second and one the Huskies called a play action pass where Price found an open Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of 28 yards to the Bears 15 yard line. Facing a third and eight from the 13 yard line Price connected to Cody Bruns over the middle for a gain of nine yards to the four yard line. After an incomplete pass the Huskies went back to the run as Sankey ran it up the middle from four yards out for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season. That score would give the Huskies an early 7-0 lead.

Cal was looking to tie it up facing a third and five from their own 21 they called a running play to C.J. Anderson who ran for eight yards for the first down. The Huskies also committed a 15 yard personal foul penalty moving the ball to the Bears 44 yard line. On the following play Maynard would over throw his receiver but Harper was behind the receiver to catch it for 36 yards down to the Huskies 20 yard line. Facing a second and six from the 16 yard line Maynard completed a pass to the former Husky recruit Brendan Bigelow who gained five yards then Sean Parker poked the ball out as Justin Glenn receovered the ball for the Huskies. The Huskies would fail to capitalize on that mistake as Jaydon Mickens would drop a 68 yard touchdown pass from Keith Price.

The Huskies had another opportunity to expand their lead on the Bears starting from their own 19 yard line Price would connect with tight end Evan Hudson for a gain of 11 yards to the 30 yard line. Price would attempt a deep pass to Williams but Williams was interfered with as the Huskies got the penalty moving it to the 45 yard line. Sankey would rush for 15 yards to the Bears 43 yard line. After an offsides penalty by the Bears moving the ball to the 38 yard line. The Huskies would try a passing play which Price was sacked. After a 10 yard penalty on second and 16 Sankey would rush for nine yards to the Bears 40 yard line. On third and seven Price would hit Seferian-Jenkins for a gain of six which was one yard short of the first down. On fourth and one from the 34 yard line the Huskies ran the same exact play as earlier on fourth and one. Just like the previous time the Huskies were stuffed on fourth and short.

The Bears would finally take advantage. On third and four from their own 41 yard line Maynard would complete the pass for nine yards. On second and seven from the Huskies 47 yard line Maynard would complete the six yard screen to Anderson setting up a third and one. Maynard would complete another pass for 12 yards down to the Huskies 29 yard line. On third and nine from the 28 yard line the Huskies would commit a hands to the face penalty giving the Bears a first down at the Huskies 14 yard line. The Bears then had a double reverse to Harper who ran to his left as he dove in for the 14 yard touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7. It was looking to be another typical Washington-Cal game like the previous two seasons had been.

The Huskies would look to answer back. Starting from their own 28 yard line Price would hit Williams for a gain of seven yards to the 35 yard line. Sankey would rush for five yards on back to back carries. After a penalty the Huskies had third and 10 from the 40 yard line where Price hit Seferian-Jenkins down the middle for a 19 yard gain to the Bears 41 yard line. Price on the next play would throw it up for grabs as Williams came down with it for a gain of 27 to the Bears 14 yard line. After a Kendyl Taylor rush for five yards to the nine yard line setting up a third and five. Price would have an open Seferian-Jenkins but the pass was jumped by linebacker Nick Forbes who would run the interception back 26 yards. Another opportunity lost for the Huskies as they went into halftime tied at 7.

The game had plenty of offense for a game only being tied at seven at halftime. The Huskies had 268 yards led by Bishop Sankey who ran for 126 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Sankey had 96 yards rushing on 13 carries in the first quarter. Price continued to struggle as he has all year long completing only 10-20 passes for 137 yards with an interception. His main targets were Seferian-Jenkins who had four receptions for 66 yards and Kasen Williams who had three receptions for 43 yards.

The Bears had 221 yards but were hurt by those two turnovers. Zach Maynard was 12-20 passing for 141 yards as his main target was Harper who had four receptions for 74 yards plus Harper ran in a touchdown from 14 yards out. Anderson had 45 yards rushing on six carries.

The Bears start to the second half was costly on the first play. Maynard would throw a backwards pass to Bigelow who fumbled it again, then after another fumble finally recovered it for a loss of 17 yards before fumbling again. End result was a loss of 21 yards as the Bears faced a second and 31 from their own eight yard line. After Anderson for eight yards making it third and 23 from their own 16 yard line. The Bears playing it safe decided to hand it to Anderson again as this time he busted the run 64 yards as he was horse collared giving the Bears more yards. The Bears would have the ball first and goal from the 10 yard line. The Bears though would have to settle for a 23 yard field goal by Vincenzo D'Amato to give the Bears a 10-7 lead.

Starting from their own 35 yard line the Huskies handed it off to Sankey who had his second fumble of the game. This time that fumble was recovered by Forbes who intercepted Price earlier. With great field position the Bears looked to put the Huskies away. The Bears would go on a 32 yard drive covering 11 plays but ultimately would have to settle for a field goal. The field goal gave the Bears a 13-7 lead over the Huskies midway through the third quarter.

The Bears would kick the ball out of bounds giving the Huskies great field position on their own 47 yard line. After a one yard pass to Mickens the Huskies were facing a second and nine situation. Price would throw the ball up for grabs to his hobbling tight end who had single coverage. Seferian-Jenkins would make the terrific catch as he went for the ball giving the Huskies first and goal from the nine yard line.

The Huskies then began to self-destruct. First a five yard penalty moved the ball back to the 14 yard line. After a one yard run by Taylor the Huskies tried a play action pass but instead Price was sacked for a loss of 16 yards putting the Huskies in a third and goal from the 29 yard line. At that point the Huskies were looking at a long field goal. Price then went back and threw the ball up for grabs in the end zone as Seferian-Jenkins went up high to catch the ball, tap it in the air then come down with the touchdown catch to give the Huskies a 14-13 lead. With that touchdown reception by Seferian-Jenkins tied David Williams record for most career touchdown receptions by a Washington tight end with 10.

Starting from their own 32 the Bears look to regain the lead as Sofele ran for 29 yards down to the Huskies 39 yard line. Maynard would rush for six more yards to the Huskies 33 yard line setting up the fourth quarter. The Bears offense would stall as Maynard would throw an incomplete pass, complete a five yarder to Anderson then another incomplete pass. This time D'Amato would miss the 41 yard field goal that would have given the Bears the lead.

Then the fourth quarter had one shift in momentum after another. Cody Bruns would return a punt 32 yards to the Bears 26 yard line. On the first play Sarkisian would call for a play action pass instead of going to the run. Price flushed out the pocket would be sacked and then fumble the ball as the Bears recovered the fumble. Bigelow would rush for 30 yards to the Huskies 44 yard line. Maynard on the following play would fumble as Danny Shelton would recover it. Sankey would rush for 16 yards on the next two carries to the Bears 36 yard line. Price would hit Seferian-Jenkins on a screen that was blown up and he would fumble the ball right back to the Bears.

The Bears would take over from their own 35 yard line. On third and 15 Maynard would connect with Harper for a gain of 16 which was initially ruled an incomplete pass. On second and eight from their own 48 yard line Maynard would be intercepted by Huskies true freshman and former California commit Shaq Thompson as he returned the interception 32 yards to the Bears 28 yard line.

This time Sarkisian didn't get cute as he fed Sankey the ball from the Bears 28 yard line. Sankey would take the first carry 11 yards down to the 17 yard line. Sankey would rush for four more yards making it second and six from the 13 yard line. On the following play Sankey would rush for 12 yards giving the Huskies a first and goal from the one yard line.

Then from the same formation as same end zone where Chris Polk scored the game winning one yard touchdown to end the Bears bowl game hopes two years ago the Huskies gave it to Sankey who scored the touchdown from one yard out giving the Huskies a 21-13 lead with 4:11 left in the ball game.

Like last year the Bears offense would take over down by eight needing a touchdown and a two point conversation to send the game into overtime. After a pooch kickoff the Bears started from their own 31 yard line which Maynard after a one yard run was injured. Maynard would not return being replaced by his backup Allan Bridgford. The Bears would have a 10 yard holding penalty making it third and 19 from their own 22 yard line. That is when Bridgford would connect with Richard Rodgers for a gain of 23 yards to their own 45 yard line. Anderson would rush for seven yards on the following play then an incomplete pass. On third and three Bridgford would connect with Harper for three yards for the first down to the Huskies 45 yard line. The Huskies would be called for pass interference putting the ball on the 30 yard line. Anderson would rush for five yards to the 25 yard line. Bridgford would throw an incomplete pass setting up third and five. After offsetting penalties Bridgford would throw an incomplete pass down the middle. Facing a fourth and five Bridgford would throw another incompletion.

The Huskies would take over with 1:14 left in the game and the Bears only having two timeouts having to waste one to avoid a delay of game penalty on the final drive. After a Sankey run of one yard to the 26 yard line the Bears called timeout. Then Sankey clinched the win with a run of 13 yards out to their own 39 yard line for the first down. The Bears could no longer stop the clock and the Huskies came away with the 21-13 victory over the Bears. The Huskies have now won four in a row against the Bears and five of their last six against them.

The Huskies earn their first road victory of the season over the Bears. Just like two years ago at Memorial Stadium the Huskies ended the Bears hopes at a bowl game as this was the Bears 7th loss of the season.

The Huskies were led by Bishop Sankey who ran for 189 yards on 29 carries(6.5 YPC) with two touchdowns. He also had a reception for eight yards as well. Sankey was a monster against the Bears rushing for a career high in yardage and carries plus tying a career high with touchdowns.

The passing game once again struggled with Keith Price completing only 16-29 passes(55.2%) for 234 yards(8.1 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. His main target was Austin Seferian-Jenkins who caught eight passes for a career high 152 yards(19.0 YPC) with a touchdown. Kasen Williams caught three passes for 43 yards(14.3 YPC). Kendyl Taylor ran for 15 yards on four carries while catching one pass for 11 yards. Cody Bruns had a critical reception for nine yards and Evan Hudson caught a pass for 11 yards. The Huskies tallied up 409 yards of total offense but couldn't score points due to four costly turnovers.

The Huskies won the game which is the important part. A few years ago this team couldn't win close games which has been their theme the last few seasons under Sarkisian. This was a big win for the Huskies as they play their soft part of the schedule which is nothing but teams with a losing record as they sit at 5-4 on the season. The Huskies played sloppy and obviously must improve on things if they plan on winning out on the season which they will be favored to do so. This was a big win and once again the super sophomores stepped up when the game was on the line. The Huskies got that road win out of the way which was important as they finish the season with two games on the road.

Observations:

- What a game for tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins who recorded a career high 151 yards receiving. Last year he torched the Cal Bears and he did again this year with eight receptions for 151 yards and the go ahead touchdown.

In the game Seferian-Jenkins tied the Huskies tight end record for most touchdowns in a career with 10. He also set the new receiving yards record for a Huskies tight end with 1,174 yards while also setting the season record for receptions in a season with 48 receptions. Seferian-Jenkins is only a sophomore and his impact for the Huskies has been tremendous this season and for his career.

For this season Seferian-Jenkins has 48 receptions for a team leading 630 yards(13.1 YPC) with four touchdowns. That would put him on pace for 64 receptions for 840 yards with six touchdowns in the regular season. Those are great numbers for a tight end. Seferian-Jenkins has been playing on a bad wheel lately as he is hobbling around but when teams decide to single cover him he makes them pay. He made two terrific catches just going up for the ball then later had a terrific stiff arm on the defender for a first down. Seferian-Jenkins will be all Pac-12 and should be All-American as well.

- For the former California Bears prized commit Shaq Thompson to pick off a crucial pass in the fourth quarter down in Berkeley, California that had to be a special feeling for him. Thompson who was the #1 safety recruit in the nation has played outside linebacker most of the season for the Huskies to put more speed on the field.

In the fourth quarter with the Huskies only up 14-13 and the Bears at midfield Thompson recorded his second career interception then ran 32 yards to set up the Huskies touchdown to put them up 21-13. Thompson was all over the field like he usually is making tackles. He had two tackles for loss but that interception really turned the tide in this one and for Thompson to do that in his back yard is a feeling he'll never forget.

- Keith Price had another typical game for him which in 2012 means erratic. He was 16-29 passing for 234 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Price was sacked three times and also fumbled the ball. His interception was costly as that was in the red zone as was his fumble leaving potentially 6-14 points on the board which is never good in a close game.

Price was also hurt by a poor offensive line and once again his receivers did him no favors. If Mickens catches that 68 yard touchdown pass Price is 17-29 passing for 302 yards with two touchdowns and we are talking about how Price is back. Unfortunately for Price and for Mickens that didn't happen so Price's stats will have to suffer.

For the year Price is now 177-297(59.6%) passing for 1,765 yards(5.9 YPA) with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Price must cut down on his turnovers but he also needs help as well. He needs another guy besides Seferian-Jenkins and Williams to step up in the passing game as nobody else in the receiving group is making any plays for him.

- Bishop Sankey is continuing his breakout sophomore season for the Huskies. He ran for 189 yards on 29 carries with two touchdowns. Sankey showed his speed busting a 27 yard run the first carry of the game. He also showed his durability as he kept pounding the Bears.

Sankey is having a great season so far rushing for 855 yards on 176 carries(4.9 YPC) with 11 touchdowns on the season. He also has 19 receptions for 114 yards(6.0 YPC) which ranks third on the team in both. Sankey is on pace to rush for 1,140 yards and 15 touchdowns this regular season.

This is the fourth time in Sankey's young career he has ran for over 100 yards and the fourth time he has ran for multiple touchdowns in a game. This year he has ran for at least one touchdown in seven of the nine games the Huskies have played in. Sankey shined today when the Huskies needed him once again. Sankey has been great this year and the Huskies are glad he jilted the Washington State Cougars last minute for the Huskies.

- For Steve Sarkisian he is above .500 once again as he is now 24-23 as Huskies head coach. He also improves to 5-15 on the road which has been his big bug a boo in his career. For Sarkisian there is things I like about him and things I don't like.

I think he tries to get too cute on his play calling instead of sticking to the basics like running the ball. I also feel the Huskies as a team lack discipline as they turned the ball over four times and racked up 108 yards on 12 penalties.

The thing I like about Sarkisian is the talent level at certain spots. The team is injured and in a good position to win eight games for the first time since 2001. The major contributors today were true sophomores Austin Seferian-Jenkins who was a five star recruit, Bishop Sankey a four star recruit and Kasen Williams a five star recruit. Then you had true freshman Shaq Thompson who is a five star recruit intercept a huge pass. The program appears headed towards another bowl game this season which didn't appear to be the case as of two weeks ago. For that Sarkisian deserves credit. The question many will wonder is he the coach ready to take this program to the next step? I'll guess we'll be able to answer that question better next year.

You don't earn style points based on your wins you just get a "W" in the good column. The Huskies are now 5-4 and are one more win away from clinching a third straight bowl appearance. If the Huskies were to win out and end this year on a five game winning streak that would be their first eight win season since 2001. This game wasn't impressive and the Huskies offense still has yet to score more than 21 points against a D-1 opponent but a win is a win. The Huskies won this game and the Golden Bears would much rather be where the Huskies are at than where they are. The Huskies from 1977-2001 hadn't lost to the Golden Bears then from 2002-2008 the Bears had won six out of seven against the Huskies. Well now order is restored as the Huskies have won four in a row against the Bears. For the second time in three years the Huskies knocked the Bears out of a bowl game in their own stadium as well. The Huskies are one step closer to going bowling while the Bears must wait another season before they get such an opportunity.

Huskies looking for first road win of the season at Cal

By Kshell

This week the Washington Huskies(4-4,2-3) fresh off of their 20-17 upset win over #7 Oregon State Beavers will travel to face a struggling California Golden Bears(3-6,2-4) team who has lost back to back games by a combined score of 70-30. The Huskies have defeated the Bears the last three years in the Steve Sarkisian era with the past two wins being instant classics. Two years ago down at California with the Huskies trailing 13-10 with their bowl hopes on the line as well as California's Sarkisian decided to instead of kicking the field goal to send it to overtime he would go for it on fourth and goal from the one yard line. Chris Polk scored the game winning touchdown with no time left as the Huskies won 16-13. Last year at Husky stadium the Huskies led 31-23 as the Bears had the ball on the Huskies two yard line facing second and goal. The Huskies stuffed the Bears three straight times including Zach Maynard throwing an incomplete pass on fourth and goal. The Huskies have won the last two meetings at the goal line.

A big part of the Huskies win last year over California was the play of quarterback Keith Price. In the 31-23 win over Cal, Price was on fire completing 19-25(76.0%) of his passes for 292 yards(11.7 YPA) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 21 yards on seven carries.

This year has been a much different story for Price as he is struggling. On the year he is 161-268(60.1%) passing for only 1,530 yards(5.7 YPA) with 8 TD's to 9 interceptions. He has only 10 net rushing yards due to losing 151 yards in sacks. Price hasn't had a game where he threw for more touchdowns than interceptions since the Portland State game. He only has two games both against non BCS opponents where he has thrown for more touchdowns than interceptions. Last year he had eight games where he threw for more touchdowns than interceptions. The play of Keith Price is why this Huskies offense is only averaging 16.1 points per game against D-1 schools. In conference play Price has thrown only four touchdown passes while throwing eight interceptions.

Zach Maynard knows all about being inconsistent this year. Although last year he hit some big plays against the Huskies. He was 23-43(53.5%) passing for 349 yards(8.1 YPA) with a 90 yard touchdown pass. Ultimately him being so inaccurate cost the Bears as his goal line fade to Keenan Allen sailed on him out of bounds on fourth down.

This year Maynard is 165-267(61.8%) passing for 2,039 yards(7.6 YPA) with 12 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. He also has 52 yards rushing with three touchdowns. Maynard will be without his top weapon this Friday as Keenan Allen won't be playing. Maynard represents the Cal team well as you never know what you are going to get with him.

The Bears will be without top wide receiver Keenan Allen. Last year Allen killed the Huskies for 10 receptions for 197 yards with a touchdown. He has 61 receptions for 737 yards(12.1 YPC) with six touchdowns and a 39 yard rushing touchdown. Without him the Bears don't have much at the receiver position. Next in line is Chris Harper who has 29 receptions for 380 yards(13.1 YPC) with two touchdowns. After that they have tight end Richard Rodgers 15 receptions for 244 yards(16.3 YPC) with a touchdown. Wide receiver Bryce Treggs also has 21 receptions for 216 yards(10.3 YPC) with a touchdown. Allen has accounted for 50% of their touchdowns and 35.8% of their receiving yards. The Huskies secondary led by Desmond Trufant should capitalize on this injury.

The Huskies receiving core is led by two super sophomores wide receiver Kasen Williams and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Seferian-Jenkins in the win over Cal last year had a break out game with four receptions for 54 yards(13.5 YPC) with two touchdowns. He is having a pretty good season as well catching 40 passes for 478 yards(12.0 YPC) with three touchdowns.

Kasen Williams last year only had three receptions for 12 yards against California. His role has expanded this year as he already has a career high 46 receptions for a career high 503 yards(10.9 YPC) with four touchdown receptions. Besides these two it's been tough for the Huskies. True freshman Jaydon Mickens has 15 receptions for 112 yards(7.5 YPC) including last week catching two passes for 40 yards. DiAndre Campbell has nine receptions for 96 yards(10.7 YPC) with a touchdown. Tight end Michael Hartvigson has six receptions for 55 yards(9.2 YPC) including a 31 yard reception last week. The Huskies must get some production from this group to succeed going forward.

With Allen out and the Huskies rush defense allowing 185 yards per game on the ground look for the Bears to pound the ball. They have three options at running back. First there is C.J. Anderson who last year against the Huskies had only nine yards rushing but did score a touchdown. Anderson on the year has ran for 513 yards on 82 carries(6.3 YPC) with four touchdowns. He has also caught 11 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown.

Behind him is Isi Sofele who leads the team in carries. Last year against the Huskies Sofele ran for 98 yards on 17 carries(5.8 YPC). This year Sofele has ran for 477 yards on 109 carries(4.4 YPC) with two touchdowns. He has six receptions for 64 yards. Then there is electric sophomore running back Brendan Bigelow who has ran for 343 yards on only 27 carries(12.7 YPC) with three touchdowns including an exciting 81 yard score at Ohio State. Look for the Bears to try and run the ball down the Huskies throats with these three.

Look for the Huskies to do the same as the Cal rush defense is allowing 164 yards rushing a game with 4.16 yards per carry. Bishop Sankey got his first career carry last year vs Cal as he ran for 16 yards on two carries including a 13 yard run. This year Sankey has been terrific for the Huskies rushing for 666 yards on 147 carries(4.5 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He has also added 18 receptions for 106 yards(5.9 YPC) on the year.

Behind him is true freshman Kendyl Taylor who started the year off as the starting wide receiver. Taylor has ran for 107 yards on 18 carries(5.9 YPC). He also has 10 receptions for 59 yards(5.9 YPC) for the year. The Huskies last week ran the ball effectively on Oregon State which allowed Price to have a nice second half. Look for the Huskies to pound the ball on the Bears to establish the run game to make life easier on Price.

Another big story is true freshman Shaq Thompson. Thompson the #1 safety in the nation who is from Sacramento, California committed to Cal originally. Then when defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi left California a school he played for and was coaching for to Washington. Thompson then withdraws his commitment. Later on Thompson would commit to Washington on twitter. Thompson this year has been a terrific add to the Huskies defense as he is fourth on the defense with 44 tackles as the three guys ahead of him have 45 tackles. Thompson had a sack last game against the Beavers and an interception earlier this year against the Ducks. Thompson so far has been better against the run and mainly plays line backer to support the run. Desmond Trufant has helped the secondary a lot while shutting down the other teams best receiver. Still Thompson will be the focus when the Huskies are on defense.

The Huskies face a winnable four game stretch starting this week against 3-6 Cal on the road, then host 3-5 Utah, travel to 1-7 Colorado and finish the year at 2-6 Washington State Cougars. The tough schedule is behind the Huskies as they have a chance to finish the regular season on a five game winning streak to go to 8-4 for the first time since 2001. Cal must win out to go to a bowl game and seeing how they still have Oregon left on their schedule and at Oregon State I don't see that happening. Good chance Jeff Tedford is going to be fired after this year for the Bears. The Huskies though are 0-3 on the road this year losing by 41-3 at LSU, 52-21 at Oregon and 52-17 at Arizona as none of those three games were even competitive. With Cal struggling, the Huskies having their number as of late and with the Bears best offensive weapon out this is a great opportunity for Sarkisian to earn an impressive road win on ESPN to show the nation that the Huskies program has turned the corner. The tough stretch is now behind the Huskies this is where the Huskies have a chance to turn the corner as a program. That chance will start Friday at California on ESPN2.

Elephant in the room for Pac-12 teams

By Kshell

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

South Division:

Arizona Wildcats:

Rich Rodriguez isn't a good football coach:

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


Arizona State Sun Devils:

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

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


Colorado Buffaloes:

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

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


Utah Utes:

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

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


USC Trojans:

Lane Kiffin has no pressure wins:

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


UCLA Bruins:

Jim L. Mora is an unproven head coach:

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

North Division:

California Golden Bears:

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

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


Stanford Cardinal:

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

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


Oregon Ducks:

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

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

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


Oregon State Beavers:

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

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

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


Washington Huskies:

  Steve Sarkisian's offense is overrated:

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

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


Washington State Cougars:

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

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

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

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

If the Pac-12 was a neighborhood party

By Kshell

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

Arizona State:

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


Arizona:

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


Colorado:

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


Utah:

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


UCLA: 

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


USC:

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


California:

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


Stanford:

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


Oregon:

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


Oregon State:

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


Washington:

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


Washington State:

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

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

Huskies win first ever Pac-12 basketball championship!

By Kshell

With the Stanford Cardinal upsetting the California Golden Bears 75-70 that clinched an outright Pac-12 championship for the Washington Huskies! The Huskies who win the conference with a 14-4 record have now won just their second outright conference title since 1953(the other was in 2009). Counting conference tournament titles Lorenzo Romar has now won five conference championships and has won four in a row. Some may say the Huskies backed into this title and that is complete garbage. The Huskies earned this title by going 14-4 while the California Golden Bears went 13-5. Both teams were tied at 10-3 the difference is the Huskies finished 4-1 while the Golden Bears finished 3-2. This team has grown up a lot from going 5-5 and with winning the conference regular season the Huskies have punched their ticket into March Madness.

The Huskies failing to take care of business yesterday meant they had to become huge Stanford fans today. The Cardinal led the entire game over the Golden Bears by as many as 15 points. The Bears pulled within 72-70 and Stanford then had an impressive series. The Cardinal made one of two free throws, got the rebound, made one of two free throws, got the rebound then made one of two free throws extending their lead to five and wasting 25 seconds on the clock. This loss not only gives the Huskies the championship outright but probably cost Jorge Gutierrez the conference player of the year award as well. The California Golden Bears were going for their second outright conference title in the last three years after not winning one since 1959. This was a crushing loss for the Bears having lost to their rival Stanford a team that Mike Montgomery had coached for so long.

For the Huskies Darnell Gant he will have now won his fourth conference championship which has never been done before. Abdul Gaddy, Aziz N'Diaye, C.J. Wilcox, and Terrence Ross have now all won multiple conference championships and their first regular season title. While freshman Tony Wroten, Desmond Simmons and Shawn Kemp Jr. receive a championship in their first season. I think with this Cal loss that puts Terrence Ross as the favorite to take home conference player of the year. For the year Ross is averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He is shooting 45.4% from the field, 36.2% on three pointers making 1.8 a game and 74.7% on free throws. If Ross wins he will be the second Husky to take home that award in the Romar era. The other being Brandon Roy as Nate Robinson, Isaiah Thomas, Jon Brockman and Quincy Pondexter all fell just short. I also think Tony Wroten will run away with the Pac-12 freshman of the year. This year Wroten is averaging 16.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 3.7 APG. He is also averaging 2.0 steals per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. The Wroten-Ross combo is a big reason why the Huskies are the conference champions.

This team was picked to finish fourth preseason having lost first-team all conference guys Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning. They also lost all defensive selections in Justin Holiday and Venoy Overton as well. This team started one freshman in Wroten and another in Simmons part-time. This team matured a lot and some will say they backed into a title or this is the weakest Pac-12 ever which is partly true. Just like the 2010 NFC West championship banner hangs up with the 2005 banner this banner will be hanging up at Hec Ed. The Huskies season has been pretty good so far and it was nice to see them rewarded today. Now the Huskies have some work to do as they'll take on either the Oregon State Beavers or Washington State Cougars next Thursday in the Pac-12 tournament. The Huskies at least now know they'll be dancing in March.