They're college football whiz kids, except when they're not

by CuriousTK on Oct 30, 2011 10:10 AM PDT

Bumped - P

This game was incredible and me and my friends managed to snag some front row seats on the goal line in the student section. So many crazy things happened during the game, it was such an amazing experience being a part of such an electrifying crowd. This is the most excited I've seen the Coliseum in my four years of attending game, I know that isn't an incredibly long streak to most fans but I didn't exactly grow up watching football(let alone SC football).

The crowd was in the game from kickoff till the fumble in the endzone in triple OT. Cheering "U S C" so loud the Cardinal were called for a delay of game. There were many times where I thought we had the game, but Stanford just kept coming.

Coming out of the gates in the beginning of the 3rd was Curtis McNeal, ready to go, scoring a touchdown on the 3rd(?) play of the first drive in the second half. A 61 yard touchdown! I think that is our longest running TD of the year. Even after the game, a LARGE amount of students and other fans stayed behind, speechless, attempting to come to grips with what had just transpired. Soothed only by the AMAZING Trojan marching band, swaying our moods from heartbroken to hopeful for our next games, Dr. Bartner is truly inspirational.

While I came into this match feeling like I personally needed a win because of various things in my life as a senior, I definitely came out with a better understanding of what it is like to truly "Fight On!"

While many of you may have found the loss disappointing, I am proud of the team, each and everyone.

Would anyone care to share their thoughts on the game, the student section today, or just anything in general?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors.

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UCLA takes advantage of Cal?s turnovers

By ADAM MAYA

PASADENA ? UCLA safety Tevin McDonald walked over to good friend Dietrich Riley and offered a few words of encouragement.

It was the least he felt he could do as Riley lay motionless on a stretcher after suffering a neck injury that stopped the game for several minutes in the fourth quarter.

UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin (23) celebrates in the endzone with teammates after scoring his second touchdown of the game against Cal.

PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Before McDonald walked away, Riley, just starting to move his extremities, looked directly at McDonald and told him, "Go make a play."

McDonald did, five plays later, intercepting Cal quarterback Zach Maynard for the third time. That was most McDonald could do.

The UCLA offense turned all three miscues into points for a 31-14 victory against Cal at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

"That's my guy," McDonald said of Riley. "We just felt like the game was on us. We had to get turnovers, we had to play with aggression, we had to play smart."

The defense did so more than it had all season. The Bruins held Cal to 333 yards of offense, collecting three sacks and five turnovers. Just as big was holding Cal to 2 of 12 on third downs. UCLA came into Saturday's game ranked No. 118 nationally on third down, allowing opponents to convert 55.9 percent of its attempts.

"We just made a huge emphasis, more than ever," defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said. "Whatever we had to do. Third down is a thorn right now, and it was a priority, and our kids bought into it."

UCLA's defensive players weren't the only ones to buy into the coaching staff's plans. Coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator demanded that quarterback Kevin Prince be aggressive running the ball, the two coaches seeing an opportunity for the quarterback in their Pistol offense to exploit a formidable Cal front seven after reviewing film of Nevada's victory against Cal from 2010.

"I told Kevin before the game, you can not run to get hurt tonight," said Neuheisel, who said he noticed Prince running tentatively the past two games since replacing injured starter Richard Brehaut. "I told him I wanted 100 yards."

Prince obliged, rushing 19 times for a career-high 163 yards. It was the first time a UCLA quarterback topped 100 yards in 35 years and the most yards since John Sciarra had 178 against Tennessee in 1974. Prince's production was the combination of stellar run blocking and Prince's decision-making. The redshirt junior who has missed 10 career starts to injury continued to take on several defenders, often choosing to lower his shoulders than to slide or get out of bounds.

"As the game went on you could see him gain confidence from that," Johnson said. "He wasn't as tentative as he was early. When you run our running game there's a lot of decision-making involved. He did a good job tonight making the right reads."

Down four receivers to suspensions, UCLA still tried to throw the ball early on but quickly turned to its running game because of a lack of pass protection. That was a good read by Johnson. The Bruins rushed for a season-best 294 rushing yards, their most since topping 400 against Washington State last year.

Derrick Coleman rushed for 80 yards and three touchdowns, scoring twice after McDonald interceptions in the fourth quarter. Prince completed 9 of 18 passes for 92 yards.

"That's the Pistol right there," Prince said.

It was a gut-check victory for the Bruins (4-4, 3-2 Pac-12), who were coming off one of the worst defeats in school history against Arizona last week on a Thursday night. Afterward they said having two extra days off helped them mentally and emotionally recover form the national TV embarrassment that included a benches-clearing brawl and 10 players suspended.

"We had no choice but to fight," Johnson said. "When you get beat like we did last week, if you have any pride about yourself, you're going to come back the following week. Now we need some consistency. If you can do it once, you can do it again."

UCLA has achieved the latter, improving to 4-0 after losses this season. But it has alternated from loss to win each game this season, seemingly increasing the temperature on its coach's hot seat.

Despite its Jekyll-and-Hyde personality, UCLA will enter next week's home date with Arizona State just two victories from bowl eligibility with four to play and just one game behind the Sun Devils for first place in the South Division.

"Tonight was our night," Neuheisel said. "It's a great story of what can be if you block out some of the distractions and come together and fight. It was emotional for our guys to respond to the criticisms the way they did."

Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com

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WEEK 10, ACCOUNTS People who enter the the contest for the first time have $50 to start

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Bruins off and running behind QB Prince

By JEFF MILLER
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

PASADENA ? He isn't the No. 1 quarterback on his team and Saturday was no better than the third-best quarterback playing in the Southland.

Over at the Coliseum, Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley were battling for Pac-12 supremacy, Heisman votes and ABC's cameras.

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince (4) is brought down by Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks (30) but not before making a big yardage gain in the fourth quarter.

PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Here at the Rose Bowl, Kevin Prince, playing a throwing position, for a head coach who first became famous for his passing, was running.

If not for his life, then at least for his coach's job.

"You can not run not to get hurt tonight," Rick Neuheisel told his frequently fragile quarterback over breakfast. "I want 100 yards."

So the coach was willing to put Prince's joints, ligaments and bones on the line. Not surprising, since Neuheisel's fanny is on there, too.

And for one night, having second billing in the city, playing for Southern California's other team, being a UCLA football Bruin, felt nothing like a demotion to junior varsity.

"This was big," Prince said after a 31-14 victory over California, "especially after getting embarrassed in Arizona the way we did."

Oh, yeah, Tucson last week. The Bruins quickly fell behind by three touchdowns, en route to eventually falling behind by six touchdowns, en route to being upstaged by a fake referee who turned out to be a real streaker.

This time, though, Prince was the blur racing downfield and the Cal defenders were the ones left, shall we say, exposed.

Prince ran for a career-high 163 yards ? he had 72 rushing yards for the season before Saturday ? and repeatedly baffled the Bears with fake handoffs so convincing they apparently could be solved only through forensics.

He kept plays alive with his feet, drives alive with his legs and hope alive with his decisions.

By hope, we mean the Bruins' bowl future and Neuheisel's employment future, neither of which, frankly, appears terribly rosy, if you get our drift.

"He's a valiant kid," Neuheisel said. "I told him I was going to be on his tail if he didn't get his shoulder pads down and go. He did as we asked, and that's always fun as a coach, to get guys to battle like that."

Prince was everything he hasn't always been for the Bruins during his three seasons. But more than anything Saturday, he was a winner.

The late afternoon set up perfectly for the Bruins ... assuming they enjoy embarrassing slaps across the chops.

They could not have been cast in more of a secondary role had they been allowed to play only during commercial breaks of the real college football game being staged locally.

That game featured a Heisman Trophy favorite, a Heisman Trophy longshot, the No. 6 team in the country and the USC Trojans, who attract interest the way your cell phone screen attracts greasy cheek prints.

Yes, the shadow here at the Rose Bowl was so dark the Bruins needed a shovel to emerge from it.

Then, by the time the main event in town kicked off, the Bruins had:

1) Lost a fumble.

2) Surrendered a touchdown.

3) Fallen behind in their attempt to finally beat a team with a winning record.

But on UCLA's fifth possession, Prince threw for 19 yards, rushed for 32 and rushed for five more, leading his team to its first score and reviving its faint heart.

"I like running the ball," Prince confirmed, unnecessarily. "I was just playing a little more cautious last week in terms of running it. When they gave me the green light, it kind of fired me up. It's fun, as long as I stay healthy."

That has been an issue, an issue times five.

Prince missed two games as a redshirt freshman with a broken jaw. He suffered a concussion later that season and missed half a game.

He played through back and shoulder ailments early last season and injured his knee in late September. He missed the final six games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery.

In the Bruins' opener this season, he landed on his head and suffered a concussion.

Other than that, there's little risk in having him run with the ball all game long.

"We didn't have a lot of options," Neuheisel said. "We were down to very few wide receivers. It was how to play the game and, fortunately, it worked.

"It's just a great story of what can be if you block out some of the distractions and focus on just what's important."

And, of course, you schedule Cal.

These Bears are not an overwhelmingly impressive animal, their five turnovers providing just the boost the Bruins needed.

Given that push, UCLA was good enough to seize the chance this time. The Bruins were off, off and running, running behind a quarterback with legs strong enough to carry a coach.

Contact the writer: jmiller@ocregister.com

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Stanford needed a lot of Luck to win

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LOS ANGELES ? The question was whether Stanford was too good, in Heisman Trophy terms, for Andrew Luck's good.

The Cardinal quarterback littered the Coliseum turf with answers Saturday night.

A very happy Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck after Stanfords 56-48 win Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It will be called a signature game for Luck, undefeated Stanford and even, in some ways, USC. If so, Luck virtually skywrote his name across college football's firmament, visible even in the darkness, when he led Stanford to this 56-48, triple-overtime victory over the Trojans.

Luck had the ball three times in overtime and got three touchdowns, and then tacked on the mandatory 2-pointer, a pass to tight end Coby Fleener. USC got the ball into the end zone, too, but only on a fumble by the valiant Curtis McNeal, with the ball rolling into the custody of Stanford's A.J. Tarpley.

Possession was unquestioned, and yet USC tackle Kevin Graf was still flailing on the grass, trying for some sort of recount. It was that kind of game, with receivers and linebackers dropping to their knees with cramps and assorted contact injuries, with exhausted defenders finally unable to wrap up, and with a strung-out, sellout crowd drifting groggily to its parking lots after raising the type of ruckus that was last heard here in the apogee of Pete Carroll.

Stanford needed Luck, upper and lower case, all night long because the Trojans did a nice job tangling up the spokes of Stanford's fearsome running game. And Luck was good enough to handle everything, including the unprecedented moments in which he wasn't so good.

Luck, in fact, was picked off by Nickell Robey, who scurried into the end zone for a 34-27 Trojans lead with 3:08 left. The Downtown Athletic Club watched intently to see what would happen next, and Luck rushed the Cardinal downfield, including a 15-yard run by himself, and Stanford tied it in the final minute.

What happened next will preoccupy Trojans fans for longer than the interval before the next game at Colorado Friday night.

USC got the ball on its 25 with three timeouts in its pocket. Surely the odds of maneuvering the ball into Andre Heidari's field-goal range were favorable. Instead, the regulation game ended with USC on Stanford's 33 and with two timeouts unused.

Lane Kiffin would maintain that the Trojans had called time out with a tick to go, giving Heidari a chance from about 50 yards.

More puzzling was Robert Woods' decision to run halfway across the field with Matt Barkley's pass and out of bounds, instead of taking a knee and calling time immediately. Perhaps that's a large demand for a young player in the midst of the cauldron, but it was a breakdown that will live in a lot of minds for a long time.

The Trojans had lots of alternatives there. They could have thrown to the sidelines more. They could have used one or more of those timeouts when Stanford was on the verge of the goal line, conserving time for themselves. They didn't, and because they didn't, they gave Luck another time at bat. As we saw in St. Louis this week, that's never a good idea in any circumstance.

"He makes so many plays with his legs," Kiffin said. "That's why he's going to be the top player picked."

John Madden said last week, on Sirius Radio, that Luck was "the closest thing to a sure thing" that he had seen since Peyton Manning. Surely there have not been many similar blends of intelligence, arm strength and judgment distilled into such a pure lode of athleticism.

Luck gained 56 yards on runs and once lined up wide, came to the backfield to take a handoff, set his feet and threw 62 yards to Ty Montgomery. He was nearly sacked several times and managed to throw bullets, although not all of them were caught. And he didn't always run just because he was chased. He's not exactly a cross between Tim Tebow and John Elway, but he can serve as the stunt double for either.

Since Stanford had won every previous game this year by at least 25 points, Luck had been more of a caretaker than a savior. That changed spectacularly here.

For USC, this is where probation helps. The Trojans lost nothing tangible here, in terms of postseason perks. They also gained confidence in holding Stanford's rushing game to 196 yards and 3.9 per carry, and in getting 145 yards and two touchdowns from McNeal, and 48 points on a night when Barkley and Woods weren't always connecting.

Stanford had much more to lose. Because Andrew Luck led the Cardinal to four touchdowns on four drives in which nothing else would do, it did not lose anything. Neither did Luck.

Contact the writer: mwhicker@OCRegister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MWhickerOCR

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UCLA BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: Bruins selected as favorites to win Pac-12

Bruins Take Advantage of Opportunities in Homecoming Win Over Cal

UCLA takes advantage of Cal?s turnovers

By ADAM MAYA

PASADENA ? UCLA safety Tevin McDonald walked over to good friend Dietrich Riley and offered a few words of encouragement.

It was the least he felt he could do as Riley lay motionless on a stretcher after suffering a neck injury that stopped the game for several minutes in the fourth quarter.

UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin (23) celebrates in the endzone with teammates after scoring his second touchdown of the game against Cal.

PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Before McDonald walked away, Riley, just starting to move his extremities, looked directly at McDonald and told him, "Go make a play."

McDonald did, five plays later, intercepting Cal quarterback Zach Maynard for the third time. That was most McDonald could do.

The UCLA offense turned all three miscues into points for a 31-14 victory against Cal at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

"That's my guy," McDonald said of Riley. "We just felt like the game was on us. We had to get turnovers, we had to play with aggression, we had to play smart."

The defense did so more than it had all season. The Bruins held Cal to 333 yards of offense, collecting three sacks and five turnovers. Just as big was holding Cal to 2 of 12 on third downs. UCLA came into Saturday's game ranked No. 118 nationally on third down, allowing opponents to convert 55.9 percent of its attempts.

"We just made a huge emphasis, more than ever," defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said. "Whatever we had to do. Third down is a thorn right now, and it was a priority, and our kids bought into it."

UCLA's defensive players weren't the only ones to buy into the coaching staff's plans. Coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator demanded that quarterback Kevin Prince be aggressive running the ball, the two coaches seeing an opportunity for the quarterback in their Pistol offense to exploit a formidable Cal front seven after reviewing film of Nevada's victory against Cal from 2010.

"I told Kevin before the game, you can not run to get hurt tonight," said Neuheisel, who said he noticed Prince running tentatively the past two games since replacing injured starter Richard Brehaut. "I told him I wanted 100 yards."

Prince obliged, rushing 19 times for a career-high 163 yards. It was the first time a UCLA quarterback topped 100 yards in 35 years and the most yards since John Sciarra had 178 against Tennessee in 1974. Prince's production was the combination of stellar run blocking and Prince's decision-making. The redshirt junior who has missed 10 career starts to injury continued to take on several defenders, often choosing to lower his shoulders than to slide or get out of bounds.

"As the game went on you could see him gain confidence from that," Johnson said. "He wasn't as tentative as he was early. When you run our running game there's a lot of decision-making involved. He did a good job tonight making the right reads."

Down four receivers to suspensions, UCLA still tried to throw the ball early on but quickly turned to its running game because of a lack of pass protection. That was a good read by Johnson. The Bruins rushed for a season-best 294 rushing yards, their most since topping 400 against Washington State last year.

Derrick Coleman rushed for 80 yards and three touchdowns, scoring twice after McDonald interceptions in the fourth quarter. Prince completed 9 of 18 passes for 92 yards.

"That's the Pistol right there," Prince said.

It was a gut-check victory for the Bruins (4-4, 3-2 Pac-12), who were coming off one of the worst defeats in school history against Arizona last week on a Thursday night. Afterward they said having two extra days off helped them mentally and emotionally recover form the national TV embarrassment that included a benches-clearing brawl and 10 players suspended.

"We had no choice but to fight," Johnson said. "When you get beat like we did last week, if you have any pride about yourself, you're going to come back the following week. Now we need some consistency. If you can do it once, you can do it again."

UCLA has achieved the latter, improving to 4-0 after losses this season. But it has alternated from loss to win each game this season, seemingly increasing the temperature on its coach's hot seat.

Despite its Jekyll-and-Hyde personality, UCLA will enter next week's home date with Arizona State just two victories from bowl eligibility with four to play and just one game behind the Sun Devils for first place in the South Division.

"Tonight was our night," Neuheisel said. "It's a great story of what can be if you block out some of the distractions and come together and fight. It was emotional for our guys to respond to the criticisms the way they did."

Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com

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Bruin tailgate: UCLA vs. Cal

Bruins Take Advantage of Opportunities in Homecoming Win Over Cal

USC upset bid falters against Stanford in third overtime

Trojans lose a heartbreaker, 56-48, to the unbeaten Cardinal when Curtis McNeal fumbles into the end zone.

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USC quarterback Matt Barkley stands in disbelief after Stanford recovered a Trojans fumble in the end zone to claim a 56-48 triple-overtime victory at the Coliseum on Saturday night. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / 29)

By Gary Klein

USC, seeking to regain status as one of the top programs in college football, played No. 4 Stanford even.

The Trojans forced the high-powered Cardinal into triple overtime and appeared on the verge of sending the game into a fourth extra period.

That's when it all went bad for the Trojans.

Stanford linebacker AJ Tarpley recovered a fumble by USC running back Curtis McNeal in the end zone, sending the No. 20 Trojans to a 56-48 defeat before a stunned crowd of 93,607 Saturday night at the Coliseum.

"It hurts right now because we were so close," USC quarterback Matt Barkley said.

It was the second year in a row that USC lost to Stanford on the final play, the Trojans falling last season at Palo Alto on a last-second field goal.

On Saturday, Stanford increased the nation's best winning streak to 16 games, stayed in the race for the BCS national title, and improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the Pacific 12 Conference.

USC fell to 6-2 and 3-2.

"No excuses," McNeal said. "I just fumbled."

The game was far different from the last time the Cardinal visited the Coliseum. In 2009, Stanford pummeled the Trojans, 55-21, sending former coach Pete Carroll to the worst loss in school history.

Regulation ended Saturday with the score tied, 34-34, sending USC into its first overtime game since a triple-overtime defeat at California in 2003.

USC Coach Lane Kiffin, however, believed that USC was denied a chance to win the game in regulation. With nine seconds left and the Trojans at the Cardinal 40, receiver Robert Woods caught a screen pass and ran toward the left sideline to try and get out of bounds. But officials ruled that he was tackled and that the clock had expired.

As the play was being reviewed, Kiffin said he was told that if they ruled Woods' knee was down inbounds and there was one second left, his team would have a timeout.

"Then they came back over and completely went against it," Kiffin said. "I'm extremely disappointed in that."

Stanford got the ball first at the 25-yard line in overtime and used seven plays to take a 41-34 lead on Jeremy Stewart's one-yard touchdown run.

The Trojans matched it with Barkley's 15-yard touchdown pass to Woods.

Stanford then opted to defend at the start of the second overtime and USC converted with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Barkley to tight end Randall Telfer for a 48-41 lead.

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck tied it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Levine Toilolo.

The Cardinal then went ahead on Taylor's five-yard touchdown run and Luck's two-point conversion pass to tight end Coby Fleener, setting the stage for McNeal's miscue which was caused by tackle Terrence Stephens.

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No. 13 Nebraska topples No. 9 Michigan State; No. 8 Arkansas edges Vanderbilt

COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

Ron Burkhead leads the Cornhuskers to a 24-3 victory while the Razorbacks overcome a 14-point deficit and Missouri upsets No. 16 Texas A&M in overtime.

Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez hands off to running back Rex Burkhead during the first half of the Cornhuskers' 24-3 victory over Michigan State on Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. (Dave Weaver / Associated press / October 29, 2011)

Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns and ran for 130 yards in 35 carries, and No. 13 Nebraska defeated ninth-ranked Michigan State, 24-3, Saturday to take control of its division in the Big Ten.

Burkhead, who went over 100 yards for the fifth time in six games, scored at the end of 80- and 89-yard drives in the third quarter to put Nebraska up 24-3.

Taylor Martinez completed 6 of 7 passes for 80 yards in the third quarter after going 1 for 6 in the first half.

Michigan State (6-2, 3-1), coming off the incredible finish to its win over Wisconsin last week, managed just 187 yards against Nebraska's improving defense. Kirk Cousins was 11 of 27 for 86 yards, with an interception that set up the Huskers' first score.

No. 8 Arkansas 31, Vanderbilt 28

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Zach Hocker kicked a 42-yard field goal with 6:53 left, and the Razorbacks rallied yet again to earn their fourth straight win.

This was the third time this season the Razorbacks (7-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed by double digits. They didn't trail by 18 as they did against Texas A&M or 17 last week before beating Mississippi. This time, Vanderbilt led by 21-7 with 1:39 left in the first half.

The Commodores (4-4, 1-4) also had the ball at the Arkansas 5 in the fourth quarter leading 28-20 when Zac Stacy fumbled, and Jerry Franklin picked it up and ran it 94 yards for a touchdown. Tyler Wilson found Jarius Wright in the end zone for the tying 2-point conversion with 13:25 left.

Vanderbilt missed a chance to force overtime when Carey Spear's 27-yard field goal went wide right with 8 seconds left.

Missouri 38, No. 16 Texas A&M 31

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- James Franklin's 11-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Lucas in overtime lifted the Tigers to the upset.

Texas A&M got the ball after the score, but Ryan Tannehill's pass on fourth down was deflected.

The Tigers had a chance to win it in regulation, but a 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired.

Missouri (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) got the ball when Jacquies Smith caused a fumble by Tannehill, which was recovered by Dominique Hamilton.

The Aggies led by 11 at halftime, but Missouri took a 31-28 lead on an 11-yard run by Henry Josey with about eight minutes left. Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2) tied it on a 35-yard field goal about four minutes later.

No. 15 Virginia Tech 14, Duke 10

DURHAM, N.C. -- David Wilson rushed for 148 yards and the Hokies overcame a sloppy performance for their Atlantic Coast Conference-record 11th straight road victory.

Logan Thomas was 17 of 28 for 190 yards with two interceptions and a 2-yard touchdown pass to Eric Martin. Josh Oglesby added a 1-yard scoring run for the Coastal Division-leading Hokies (8-1, 4-1).

They entered as 15-point favorites, were sluggish and inefficient throughout, yet came up with enough plays to claim their fourth straight victory. Virginia Tech rolled up 433 yards yet gave up 326 to Duke.

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Final: Stanford 56, USC 48 (3OT)

Stanford Game Day: Early Games Open Thread

by Paragon SC on Oct 29, 2011 9:09 AM PDT

For those of you who want to comment on today's early games...

It is weird to see it snowing outside here in NYC while it is sunny at a lot of other games.

Here is the 12pm slate...

Tonedeaf UCLA Athletics Confirms It Prefers Bringing Knife to a Gunfight

by Achilles on Oct 28, 2011 3:10 PM PDT in UCLA Athletics

Lisa Horne from FoxSports wrote a great article today detailing the emerging mutiny among UCLA season ticket holders against the incompetent athletic department. The article contains a number of telling quotes from Bruin alums absolutely disgusted with the implosion of the football program. Tellingly the sentiment among Bruin faithful has gone beyond firing of Rick Neuehisel (which is a foregone conclusion) and more towards the systematic failure of the athletic department.

While the article itself is a must read, it's the response from the UCLA athletic department that appears to be shaping up as huge news this Friday:

Several fans mentioned what they believe is a policy that would prevent UCLA from hiring a big-time coach - the athletic department will not accept booster donations that are specifically targeted for a coach's salary.

"An outside source is prohibited from paying or regularly supplementing an athletics department staff member's annual salary and from arranging to supplement that salary for an unspecified achievement. This includes the donation of cash from outside sources to the institution earmarked for the staff member's salary or supplemental income. It would be permissible for an outside source to donate funds to the institution to be used as determined by the institution, and it would be permissible for the institution, at its sole discretion, to use such funds to pay or supplement a staff member's salary," said UCLA Director of Executive Relations Marc Dellins, citing NCAA rule 11.3.2.2 on supplemental pay.

I am sure Dellins is a wonderful person but his response could not be lamer. While Dellins cutely tries to hide behind the fact that outside source is prohibited from earmarking a coach's salary, he indirectly confirms what we have been suspecting for a long time: Bruins have been willingly bringing a knife to a gun fight. D

Pac-12: Cal's Montgomery had cancer

Two top quarterbacks prepare to face off at Coliseum

Andrew Luck, a Heisman Trophy front-runner, leads Stanford. USC's Matt Barkley could, with a strong performance, raise his NFL draft stock if he chooses to leave school after this season.

12:00 PM ET	No. 11 Michigan State at No. 14 Nebraska				Tickets
12:00 PM ET	Missouri at No. 16 Texas A&M	FX			Tickets
12:00 PM ET	Purdue at No. 18 Michigan				Tickets
12:00 PM ET	North Carolina State at Florida State				Tickets
12:00 PM ET	Northwestern at Indiana	Big Ten Network			Tickets
12:00 PM ET	Syracuse at Louisville				Tickets
12:00 PM ET	UAB at Marshall				Tickets
12:00 PM ET	Central Michigan at Akron				Tickets
12:21 PM ET	No. 10 Arkansas at Vanderbilt	SEC Network			Tickets
12:30 PM ET	No. 12 Virginia Tech at Duke

Stanford and Andrew Luck (12) bring the better resume to the Coliseum on Saturday when they face USC and Matt Barkley. (Photos by McClatchy-Tribune and US Presswire)

By Gary Klein

USC climbed back into the top 25 and attracted national attention after an impressive victory last week against Notre Dame. An upset of No. 4 Stanford on Saturday would truly make the Trojans relevant again. Staff writer Gary Klein examines the game's issues and matchups:

Star power

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is a Heisman Trophy front-runner and the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

USC's Matt Barkley is regarded as a first-round pick if he leaves after this season, but a dynamic winning performance by the junior in a side-by-side matchup with Luck could boost his stock.

Luck has passed for 20 touchdowns with three interceptions. He has license to call plays at the line of scrimmage and, as USC found out two years ago, can hurt defenses as much running as passing.

Luck faces a USC defense that has gone turnover crazy in the last two games, intercepting four passes and recovering four fumbles.

Barkley has passed for 19 touchdowns with four interceptions. He bounced back from an uneven performance against California with an efficient, well-played game against Notre Dame.

Barkley's performance probably will be affected significantly by receiver Robert Woods' status. The sophomore was limited in practice most of the week because of soreness but is expected to be at full speed against the Cardinal.

Grind it out

With Luck leading the way, it's easy to forget that Stanford relies heavily on a power running game.

Stepfan Taylor has averaged nearly 100 yards rushing, but Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson also have been productive.

The Cardinal sometimes deploys seven or eight offensive linemen to pave the way and is not averse to using tight ends Zach Ertz, Coby Fleener and Levine Toilolo at the same time.

USC tailbacks Marc Tyler and Curtis McNeal ran well against Notre Dame as the USC offensive line played its best game of the season.

Local danger

USC would be wise to keep an eye on Chris Owusu, who leads the Cardinal with 30 receptions.

Owusu, a former Westlake Village Oaks Christian High standout, could follow in the footsteps of Mark Bradford and Richard Sherman, Cardinal receivers from the Southland who made huge plays in Stanford's victories at the Coliseum in 2007 and 2009.

Bradford, a former Fremont High star, caught a last-minute touchdown from Tavita Pritchard in 2007 to complete a 24-23 victory over the Trojans, who were 41-point favorites.

Sherman, from Compton Dominguez, set up the winner with a 20-yard reception on a fourth-and-20 play. Two years later, Sherman had switched to cornerback. He intercepted a pass by Barkley and returned it for a touchdown in Stanford's 55-21 rout.

Bradford, 27, is living in Los Angeles and studying for the Graduate Management Admission Test.

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North Carolina officials appear before NCAA infractions committee

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES

A ruling on whether the school's self-imposed sanctions for violations by the Tar Heels football program are enough for the school to avoid further punishment is expected in eight to 12 weeks.

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North Carolina Athletic Director Dick Baddour appeared at an NCAA infractions committee hearing in Indianapolis on Friday. (Michael Conroy / Associated Press / 28)

Associated Press

The uncertainty that has engulfed the North Carolina football program for 15 months is nearing an end.

North Carolina officials appeared before an NCAA infractions committee Friday at Indianapolis. The school already has imposed penalties after an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct, which led to the firing of coach Butch Davis and prompted the looming early exit of Athletic Director Dick Baddour.

The committee is expected to make a ruling in eight to 12 weeks.

"It's not resolved, but absolutely, we feel relieved," Baddour said. "We felt prepared for today, and so while I think our team had some anxiety, I think what was rewarding was that we found that we were prepared."

The 71/2 -hour hearing was to determine whether North Carolina's self-imposed penalties ? including vacated wins and scholarship reductions ? will be enough to avoid further punishment.

The school announced last month that it would vacate all 16 wins from 2008 and 2009, reduce nine scholarships over three years, put its football program on probation for two years and pay a $50,000 fine. Fourteen players sat out at least one game and seven were forced to sit out an entire season ? with four of those declared permanently ineligible or dismissed from the team.

Chancellor Holden Thorp doesn't expect further sanctions.

"Of course I'm anxious to hear the response of the committee, but I'm not overly worried," he said. "I think we had a good opportunity to make our case. I think our response was very clear. I think what they were looking for was clear."

The NCAA sent a notice of allegations to North Carolina in June outlining nine violations. It accused former associate head coach John Blake of providing "false and misleading information" to NCAA investigators and the school regarding his relationship with NFL agent Gary Wichard, who died in March.

Paterno has shot to break Robinson's record

A victory against Illinois on Saturday at State College, Pa., would give Penn State Coach Joe Paterno his 409th victory, breaking a tie with Grambling State's Eddie Robinson for most wins among NCAA Division I coaches. Only John Gagliardi, still active at Division III St. John's (Minn.), has more with 481.

"All I wanted to do was ? hopefully have a little luck and have a little fun doing it. I've been lucky enough to be around some great athletes," Paterno, 84, said, Thursday night in a taped question-and-answer segment for the team's weekly radio show.

"The fact that we've won a lot of games is that the good Lord kept me healthy, not because I'm better than anybody else. It's because I've been around a lot longer than anybody else."

In 46 seasons as the Nittany Lions' coach, Paterno's resume includes two national titles, a record 24 bowl wins and 547 games (and counting).

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Only question left about Dillon Baxter is the same one ... Why?

I have disagreed with Scott Wolf on MANY things.

But I read this story twice and I really can't disagree with him on anything here.

This whole situation just doesn't fit right to me...but my opinion is insignificant.

Coaches play favorites...their human.

Baxter didn't fit into Kiffin's plans regardless of his talent level...WHY, is a very good question. But we will never know.

I am not sure Kiffin's handling of the Ambles situation in comparison to Baxter is consistent, it will surely fuel the fire of Kiffin's detractors. The Drip, Drip, Drip of this situation is distasteful to me...if Baxter didn't fit in then he should have been gone a long time ago.

Now, Kiffin looks no better than any other coach that runs a kid off the squad to get a schollie back.

Baxter isn't blameless here, but if he was such a "headache" the why let the situation stew? I would have shown him door when Baxter's parents inquired about playing time. Even I wouldn't put up with that.

Anyway, JMO...

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Basketball Media Day: UCLA Looks to Win the PAC 12

Third-down terror story: Bruins' defense allowing opponents to convert 56 percent of the time

Friday, October 28, 2011

21 hours to kick off. Start drinking now.

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Pac-12: Cal's Montgomery had cancer

Talks about how classy CRN is. Really?

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USC's Robert Woods wouldn't mind repeat against Stanford

USC FOOTBALL

The Trojans receiver caught 12 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns for a breakout performance against the Cardinal last season. Woods, though, would trade his great game for a victory.

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USC wide receiver Robert Woods celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Stanford last season. Woods is hoping for another big game against the Cardinal on Saturday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / 9)

By Gary Klein

The gloves he wore during his breakout performance against Stanford last season are long gone.

Their memory, though, sticks with USC receiver Robert Woods.

"We get new gloves every game," Woods recalled this week. "And it was just like, 'Man, these gloves feel stickier today.'

"It was crazy how I just happened to have a great game."

Woods caught 12 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans' 37-35 last-second defeat at Palo Alto. The effort propelled him into the national spotlight and helped Woods garner Freshman All-America recognition.

On Saturday, Woods faces fourth-ranked Stanford again.

The sophomore from Carson was limited in practice this week because of soreness but is expected to be at full speed against the unbeaten Cardinal.

Last week, Woods rebounded from a season-low five-catch performance against California and caught 12 passes, two for touchdowns, in the Trojans' victory at Notre Dame. It was the third time this season he'd caught at least 12 passes.

Woods lined up wide, in the slot and in the backfield, confusing Notre Dame and giving Stanford something to ponder as the Cardinal prepares to play No. 20 USC on Saturday at the Coliseum.

"It was just a surprise for the defense, not something I asked for," Woods said. "That's just Coach [Lane] Kiffin using his head."

Stanford Coach David Shaw called Woods "as good of a route runner at this age as I've ever seen. For a guy like that you don't say you're going to shut him out.

"You just try to corral him and try to minimize the yards he gets after the catch."

Woods wouldn't mind duplicating last season's individual performance against Stanford, but he'd trade it for a victory.

As for the gloves he will wear?

"It's not really gloves that make the catch," he said, laughing. "But that was a lucky pair I wore against them last time."

Kick start

Kicker Andre Heidari's right ankle remains sore from an injury he suffered last week on a kickoff return for a touchdown by Notre Dame.

Heidari had made 10 of 12 field-goal attempts before he missed a 32-yard attempt against Notre Dame after he was injured.

Kiffin said Heidari's status for Stanford would be a game-time decision.

Walk-on Craig McMahon is the backup, but Kiffin said he asked players whether any of them had experience kicking in high school.

"[Defensive lineman] DaJohn Harris was first to raise his hand," Kiffin said. "We're not going to do that."

Quick hits

Running back George Farmer, in a boot to protect an injured ankle, did not practice but said he planned to play Saturday. ?Less than 1,000 tickets remained available for Saturday's game, USC said.

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UCLA's McDonald confesses: I still get nervous

UCLA's McDonald confesses: I still get nervous

By JANIS CARR

LOS ANGELES ? Even after three starts, UCLA safety Tevin McDonald admittedly still gets nervous. Weeks of preparation, hours of practices and afternoons of game film hasn't quelled that feeling in the pit of his stomach when kickoff arrives.

Part of McDonald's anxiety comes from replacing injured senior Tony Dye. Some of it stems from being a redshirt freshman starting for the Bruins, while other moments come from simply trying to defend the passes of some of the nation's best quarterbacks.

UCLA's Anthony Barr (2), escaping a tackle by Arizona's Anthony Wilcox last season, returned to practice after surgery and might play Saturday against Cal.

KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

"It's gotten much easier," McDonald said. "The butterflies probably will always be there but it's slowed down a little bit. I played some games early and have been blessed to have played against (Houston quarterback) Case Keenum, (Stanford's) Andrew Luck and (Arizona's) Nick Foles."

McDonald's on-the-job training will continue full time now that Dye has been shelved for the rest of the season because of a neck injury. McDonald, who has 18 solo tackles and seven assisted tackles, will make his fourth start Saturday against Cal at the Rose Bowl.

"I try not to expect too much, even though I want to be the guy out there picking everything off, knocking people out," McDonald said after Wednesday's practice. "But I just have to learn how this game works and figure this thing out and eventually the plays will start coming to me as expected."

And if ever he needs moral support, someone to steady his nerves, McDonald only needs to look to the sideline. He said Dye has taken him under his wing and been his biggest "cheerleader."

"He doesn't tell me so much X's and O's, but he just lets me know I can do it," McDonald said. "And he's having a great time watching me play. ... He's been there for me, letting me know I can play, reminding me that it (game) is not much different than practice."

BARR RETURNS TO FIELD

With four receivers suspended, a healthy Anthony Barr was a welcomed sight at UCLA practice Wednesday.

Barr, who was injured against Oregon State, practiced for the first time since having knee surgery three weeks ago and could see some action at wideout Saturday against Cal as the Bruins scramble to fill holes. Jordan James will join him at wideout.

"Hopefully we can have him in some small role for the weekend. We'll see how many plays we can get out of him," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Receivers Taylor Embree, Randall Carroll, Ricky Marvray and Shaquelle Evans will sit out one game, defensive tackle Cassius Marsh will miss two games, and guard Albert Cid is suspended for a half-game for their part in a melee during last week's game against Arizona.

Receiver Jerry Johnson also is set to play, while walk-on Jerry Rice Jr. is expected to see action.

Contact the writer: jcarr@ocregister.com

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