Huskies, Bears battle for No. 3 in the North?

Stanford and Oregon were a combined 24-2 last year and both are presently ranked in the nation's top-10. They are the top of the Pac-12 North. The number of people who don't think one or the other will win the division is 17, and six of them are Norwegian, folks who as you well know are notoriously contrarian when it comes to college football analysis.

Looking up at the Ducks and Cardinal are four other the North teams, but the two top candidates for the three-hole will be in Seattle on Saturday scrapping it out for the right to become a "maybe" contender that could make the Norwegians look like giants of prognostication: California and Washington, neither of whom enjoy hearing about how great Stanford ("Blech," say the Bears) and Oregon ("Pfffftt," say the Huskies) are.

These two combined for 12-13 record last fall, with the Huskies managing to win seven games only because they pried No. 5 away from Cal on what suddenly -- wham! -- became the final play of the Bears season.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezChris Polk's 1-yard touchdown with no time left lifted Washington past Cal last season.That dramatic finish -- a fourth-down, 1-yard TD plunge from Huskies running back Chris Polk as time expired on a 16-13 victory -- was the cornerstone of what is supposed to be a transformative season for Washington.

It was not greeted so warmly in Berkeley, where the Bears found themselves saddled with their first losing record in nine years under coach Jeff Tedford. Bears fans, suffice it to say, grumbled a bit, and the Bears themselves weren't exactly clicking their heels over the program's slide, either.

Tedford, however, is only willing to obliquely note that Cal might come to Seattle with an added chip on its collective shoulder.

"It was motivation through the whole offseason and the summer time, but this is a different team and they're a different team," Tedford said before adding. "It was odd how that game ended. It was somewhere we've never been before."

As if last year's game isn't enough of a poke in the eye, Cal adherents also might recall that the last time the Bears were inside Husky Stadium, they got bombed 42-1o, perhaps Jake Locker's career-best game.

These teams will come at each other with similarities: New starting QBs who have mostly exceeded expectations. And differences: Cal's defense ranks among the conference leaders; Washington's among the conference laggards.

As for Cal's Zach Maynard, this will be his SECOND -- not first, SECOND -- major road test. He mostly passed his first during an overtime win at Colorado, but Husky Stadium is notoriously tough on visiting foes, though it doesn't appear the house will be full.

"I think Zach is on track to become a very good player," Tedford said. "He has a lot of ability. He probably can use his legs better than any quarterback we've had here, so that is an added dimension to our offense."

While Maynard has been solid, sophomore Keith Price has been stellar for the Huskies. He leads the conference with 11 TD passes and ranks fourth in passing efficiency, ahead of some notables such as Arizona's Nick Foles and USC's Matt Barkley.

"He's playing phenomenal football for us right now," coach Steve Sarkisian said. "He's been lights out."

But Price will be playing against a tough Cal defense that has 11 sacks and ranks second in the conference in pass-efficiency defense.

Maynard will face a defense that ranks last in the conference in scoring (36.7 ppg) and 11th in total defense (452.0). Still, a review of the Huskies depth chart -- defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu, defensive end Hau'oli Jamora, middle linebacker Cort Dennison, cornerback Desmond Trufant -- suggests this crew should be playing better.

Which is why much of the muttering in Seattle this week has been about well-compensated coordinator Nick Holt.

"I trust Nick Holt," Sarkisian said. "I believe in Nick Holt. I believe in our defensive staff. They are tremendous coaches. I've seen them coach for years. And we will get better."

How? Simple. Freaking stop dithering and go hit somebody.

"We're playing with some hesitation," Sarkisian said. "We're not letting loose and letting go. We're a little bit afraid to make a mistake."

The winner Saturday immediately announces itself as a top-half of the division team. And that is a necessary first step toward challenging Oregon and Stanford, who have finished one-two in the conference the previous two seasons.

The Norwegians have high hopes.

View the original article here

UConn Huskies believe they belong

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Connecticut, humbly, would like a moment of your time, if you can spare it. You see, the Huskies know what you think about them. They know what the pundits are telling you. They know that much of the College Football Nation doesn't believe they belong in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl opposite a program of Oklahoma's stature. They, again humbly, beg to differ. And perhaps you can find a spot in your heart to see their merits and recognize the charms of their story.

First of all, they are fully aware of their circumstances. UConn was not ranked in the final BCS standings. It will be the first team unranked in the final BCS standings to play in a BCS bowl game. The lowest ranked team playing in any other BCS bowl game this year is No. 13 Virginia Tech.

[+] Enlarge Elsa/Getty ImagesDespite their 8-4 record, the Huskies know they deserve to play in the Fiesta Bowl.The Huskies finished 8-4 overall. Every other BCS bowl team won at least 10 games. They lost to Temple 30-16. On Oct. 23, they fell to 3-4 after suffering a 26-zip whipping at Louisville. It's no secret that the only reason they are here is because they won the tiebreaker over West Virginia atop the struggling Big East.

And if they weren't fully aware of this, everyone has told them about it -- over and over and over again -- just about every day since they tried to celebrate their Fiesta Bowl berth.

"I'm tired of hearing it," Huskies linebacker Scott Lutrus said. "I've heard it so much. We started hearing it on selection day. But I understand it, where people are coming from. We're an 8-4 team, not even ranked, going to a BCS bowl game. But we earned it. We deserve it. We won our conference."

UConn played by the rules of the BCS system. It's the champion of a BCS automatic qualifying conference. If we are to believe the winner of the BCS championship games -- past, present and future -- are "true" national champions, then we also must believe that UConn deserves to be in sunny Arizona where it can enjoy the notoriously over-the-top hospitality of the Fiesta Bowl.

If you want to get mad, get mad at the BCS system. But when you finish with that, take a moment to consider the possibility that UConn might be worth embracing.

Start with this quote from Huskies coach Randy Edsall, "To me, this is a dream come true." Edsall, who looks a bit like a Marine drill sergeant, later added -- not sounding much like a Marine at all -- "You know, sometimes you pinch yourself."

How many coaches talk like that? Even better is that it's true. Edsall is the architect -- mother, really -- of an extraordinary program construction project. His Huskies jumped up from I-AA football and played their first season of FBS football in 2002. According to this calculator, that's just eight years ago. By way of comparison, the Sooners have seven national titles. UConn played its first Big East game in 2004. It recorded its first victory over a ranked team in 2007.

Paging Horatio Alger: How can you not respect that?

UConn didn't become competitive because it landed a bunch of high-profile recruits, either. The Huskies rank at or near the bottom of the Big East recruiting rankings most years, which means their signing classes rank at or near the bottom among AQ conference teams most years.

America's team? Huskies hail from 17 states, and three are from Canada.

And about that embarrassing 3-4 start. It was followed by a five-game winning streak to conclude the season, with three wins by a combined eight points, including a 16-13 overtime triumph over West Virginia. Shouldn't that resurrection be celebrated? The Huskies could have waved a white flag on their season. Instead, they persevered and grew.

Further, while many teams that make fast climbs in national stature often get there with high-flying passing attacks, the Huskies have taken a blue collar route. They rank 112th in the nation in passing. They run right at you. If you stop that, they run some more. This is a physical team that's unquestioned strength lies with a veteran offensive line -- 75 career starts among them -- and a running back, Jordan Todman, who fights and claws for every yard against defenses that know he's coming.

Finally, this program has arrived at this point 14 months removed from an unimaginable tragedy: Cornerback Jasper Howard, just before he became a father, was stabbed to death on-campus in October of 2009.

"We think about him every single day," defensive tackle Kendall Reyes said. "He's a big part of where we are now. He's still with us."

Don't belong? Connecticut players busted their butts during offseason and summer workouts and preseason camp. They played through injuries. They fought through adversity. They found ways to win.

And when all the sweat was wiped away, the Fiesta Bowl handed them an invitation.

Perhaps if you take time to get to know UConn, you will grow to respect them and see that they belong.

And if you don't, well, then you can suck on a lemon.

"I know the question is out there," Reyes said. "But we deserve to be here. That's the rules. But I'm not concerned with that. We have a game to win. Honestly, I really don't care."

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

View the original article here

Bruins, Huskies follow same, inconsistent path

A lot has been made of California's split personality this season, but it's possible UCLA and Washington are even more deranged.

Both started the season with high expectations, particularly Washington, which thought it had a Heisman Trophy candidate when quarterback Jake Locker opted to return for his senior season.

Splat. Both opened with losses on the road to mediocre teams.

Washington bounced back with a strong win over Syracuse. Joy! Then it got run over at home by Nebraska. Despair! Then the Huskies won at USC. Joy! Then the Huskies got bounced at home by Arizona State. Despair! Then they beat Oregon State in double-overtime. Joy!

Then they got waxed in three consecutive games. Lots of despair.

[+] Enlarge Jonathan Ferrey/Getty ImagesRick Neuheisel, the former Washington coach and current UCLA coach, will be a central figure when the Huskies host the Bruins on Thursday.UCLA followed up its loss at Kansas State by getting trenched at home by Stanford 35-zip. Abandon ship! Then it beat Houston and Texas when the Cougars and Longhorns were still considered good. Back on the bandwagon! Then, after beating Washington State, the Bruins got waxed in two consecutive games and couldn't make plays at the end to upset Arizona. Bail on the Bruins!

Then, the Bruins upset Oregon State. Hope?

It's hard to project either way for either team as they head into a meeting Thursday night in Husky Stadium.

"When they play well in all three phases, [they] look really, really good -- as we have this year at times," Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian said. "There are other times when things haven't gone well, that [things] have fallen apart on them, as they have for us."

And so both teams find themselves desperate for a win to keep bowl hopes alive. Sarkisian's Huskies need to win their final three game -- visits to California and Washington State are ahead -- while the Bruins need to win two of three -- they are at Arizona State then play host to USC in the season-finale.

So there's not a lot of margin for error, and everyone knows the stakes are high. A bowl game would make it a successful season for either team. A losing record would fall short of preseason expectations. Bruins safety Rahim Moore joked this week -- seemingly -- that he'd quit football if the Bruins didn't manage to earn bowl eligibility. It's clear both coaches aren't against dangling the bowl game as a motivational carrot.

"Whether I dangle it or not, our guys are well aware of what we need to do," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.

As far as subplots, Neuheisel is one. The Huskies coach from 1999-2002, he's not very well liked by some in Seattle, who still blame him for the program's lengthy downturn, even though Neuheisel went to four bowl games in four years -- the worst was the Sun Bowl -- and won a Rose Bowl after the 2000 season.

Neuheisel, who has been gracious in his comments about Washington since being hired at UCLA, said he expects the animosity to die down, and that Huskies fans will mostly focus on rooting for their team. And as for his role in the program's downturn?

"There were a lot of mistakes made. Certainly, I made some," he said. "But it's been seven years. My last year coaching there was 2002. There's been ample time to fix things."

Another subplot is the return of Locker from a rib injury that sidelines him for the defeat at Oregon on Nov. 6. This will be Locker's final home game after a hugely disappointing season. Can he put on one final, big show, something like did down the stretch last year?

Speaking of quarterbacks, there's also UCLA's Richard Brehaut, who's been surprisingly effective running the Bruins pistol offense and has breathed some life into a once moribund passing game. It's taken some time, however, for Neuheisel and -- particularly -- offensive coordinator Norm Chow to develop confidence in Brehaut. Their hands were forced when starter Kevin Prince was lost for the year with a knee injury.

"Richard is kind of a swashbuckler who can get in there and throw the ball around and make it look really easy," Neuheisel said. "Then all of a sudden, when the defense is coming from a lot of different places, is he really aware of what's happening and remembering all the nuances that go with playing quarterback? He wasn't as advanced [as Prince]. Now that he's having to do it, he's learning and getting better very quickly."

Then there's the weather. It's expected to be cold and rainy. The perception is the Southern-California-centric UCLA roster won't be accustomed to that, particularly Brehaut.

Whatever the weather, though, Brehaut's best bet is to hand the ball off. The Bruins have run the ball well this year, and the Huskies rank 118th in the nation in run defense (219.6 yards per game).

Finally, Washington is going for a blackout -- black uniforms, black shirts for fans, black end zones -- in order to make a statement for the ESPN broadcast.

You could say they are dressing for a funeral. The question is: Will it be their own, or the Bruins in mourning after the game?

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

View the original article here