NFL Pac 10

An eight foot birdie putt stopped just short of the hole Friday morning, giving a momentary pain we all have felt, but also foreshadowed a rough sports weekend that was ahead. Honestly, when missing a birdie putt is the highlight of your sports weekend, then you know it was a rough one.

This weekend was so bad, it beat the previous worst sports weekend in SoCal history which occurred in June, 1981 when the Red Sox eliminated the Angels in the ALCS, the Rams moved to St. Louis, Magic Johnson contracted HIV, Steve Garvey went to the Padres and A.C. Slater lost in a wrestling match to that dude from Valley High.

Alright, maybe all of those things didn't happen in the same weekend (or at all). And in this internet age, we are so quick to proclaim anything as the best or worst weekend ever (blame Dan Shanoff). But make no mistake, this weekend, like, totally sucked, dude.

What is it about the SEC that compels folks to regularly combine a fetid brew of boastfulness with ignorance? The latest example Via The Wizard of Odds provides all kinds of quotable outward contempt from LSU coach Les Miles towards count 'em 1)USC, 2)the Pac-10 and 3)the Big 12/everyone else. The following comments were made during an interview with New Orleans radio station WWL as reported by Carl DuBois of The Advocate.

Let's go through this piece-by-piece, shall we? Analysis after the jump.

Lynch was one of college football's elite tailbacks the last three years, averaging 6.1, 6.4 and 8.8 yards a carry. He's also a strange dude and it is unknown how money, fame and his sometimes shy, sometimes outgoing personality will handle the new surroundings. What is known is that his selection by the Bills is considered a reach. Bill fans will rightly point out that last year's reach - Ohio State safety Donte Whitner - has acquitted himself quite nicely in the NFL.

A view on his chances from a guy who watched him play three years ...

PROS: Lynch makes things happen. He has a good combination of shake, speed and bulk to turn things loose inside or outside. He is adept at finding the end zone and can score from inside the red zone. Lynch doesn't have many bad games and can be counted on to give you something you can work with almost every time out.

CONS: Cal's coaches never entrusted Lynch to fully carry the load for them which raises some red flags. His ability to handle an NFL workload (20+ carries for several games) is an unknown and he can get dinged with minor injuries that sometimes pile up. However, he's also a tough runner and tends to shake off a lot of the bumps and bruises. Weather. Lynch is an Oakland kid who stuck with the school almost in his backyard. May take some time to become a November/December player especially in Buffalo.

OVERALL: Lynch might not quite live up to expectation as a first round back if only because he's never shouldered a top back's burden before. Who knows, maybe he surprises and shows he's up to the task but at present it's a complete unknown. What he will do is provide a lot of excitement for the Bills' running offense because he can give a team at least 10-15 carries a game running inside most of the time and give you something. He also has the athleticism and herky-jerk/shake running style to create in space. Lynch should have a solid NFL career as either a moderate-use primary back or a standout complementary runner. As a bonus he has value as a receiver and returnman that the Bills may be able to exploit.

Previously at FanHouse:
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Marshawn Lynch

No, it wasn't Jon Gruden.

Stanford hired Jim Harbaugh to be its next coach, but be forewarned Cardinal fan, this guy comes with a warning label. Harbaugh was an assistant coach for the Raiders in 2002-03. And if there is one family tree in which you don't want to be plucking fruit from, it is the Raiders.

Forget about the success he has had with the University of San Diego (not San Diego State), anybody with a coaching tie to the Raiders is as tainted as lettuce from Taco Bell. So good luck with all of that.

Hey, maybe if Harbaugh does good enough, he can join the Raiders in a couple of years. He couldn't do much worse than Art Shell.

As usual, injuries play a big role in how these games go late in the year. But it looks like BYU's secondary's all going to be standing on the sidelines on December 21st and you know Gary Crowton's already noticed. A separated shoulder, ligament damage to a toe to one guy, and a broken leg to another last Saturday, and just like that, Oregon's got Jaison Williams matched up with BYU's fourth best cornerback. It means Jordan Kent at 6' 5" gets whoever else they decide to put out there as meat. And it means when they go to the third and fourth receivers, Colvin, Strong, Finley and Paysinger will have mismatches as well.

Of course, knowing Oregon's play-calling in the last month, I'm sure they'll try mostly double, triple, reverse, pitch, option screen plays to 'fool' the BYU defense. Fearing their talent just can't match up with players a half foot shorter and slower. 'Let's trick'em. Let's out-scheme'em. Let's use tomfoolery.' here's an idea for the Duck coaches, throw the stinkin' ball to the guys who can make plays and let'em make plays. Hand...yes....hand the stinkin' ball to Stewart and Johnson, and...let'em make plays. Enough with the razzle dazzle shamazzle. Let guys make plays. Especially if the D is all banged up for BYU.

Please don't remind me again how another Oregon team in their last NCAA tourney appearance (also against a Mountain West School, Utah) got the other team's center fouled out, and proceeded to shoot 3's until they were finished in the tournament because they were to ignorant to throw the ball inside.

If BYU's corners are as inexperienced as it appears. Attack them early, often, all day, and until you get on the bus to go back to the hotel.

Of course, it's not like the Ducks are coming in totally healthy either. They may not have their best defender, linebacker Blair Phillips and that'd be absolutely huge in allowing them to play straight up against the run and get pressure on John Beck. Fortunately for Oregon, the Ducks have had so many injured on defense they've played the second stringers for most the year. The good news there is, those guys have all seen a ton of action. Thurmond, Byrd, Ageyman, Dickson, etc.

Oregon's got a lot of issues to deal with in preparing for BYU's team. Fortunately, BYU's got this to deal with on the other side. Can they find some guys to match up with Oregon's receivers? I don't know.

Talk about a slap in the face! Yesterday during an episode of "Rome is Burning" the possibility of Pete Carroll going to Arizona next season came up. After flat out saying that is impossible because "it's Arizona," Jim Rome said that the Carroll led USC Trojans could [right now] probably beat the Cardinals straight up.

Sadly I would not dispute that. As a matter of fact if I was to bet on that game I would probably bet on USC. All that said it's really sad that it has come to these kinds of comparisons. It's sad that the media believes the Cardinals are so bad that the #2 college team could beat them.

I'll tell you what though, that's certainly a game I would pay to watch. I imagine that USC would walk away with a 27-13 win in Southern California and a 24-17 win in Arizona.

I wonder what chances Rome thinks the Lions would have against Ohio State. Now in the words of Mr. Rome - "I am out."

With his ex-wife now dating the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback and his former "roommate" throwing passes for the Arizona Cardinals, former boy-bander Nick Lachey is remaining loyal to the USC Trojans, leading a long list of celebrities who will be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come to town.

Lachey will be joined on the sidelines by Sacramento Kings scion Joe Maloof (who also attended last week's game against Cal), reality television star Donald Trump, Britney Spears' father Jamie and the legendary Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell, who will no doubt remind the players on both teams that, "if you ain't first, you're last!"

Former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow may return to the Pac Ten after all. Spurned by the Stanford Cardinal, who chose Walt Harris over Chow (who said everyone was smart in Palo Alto?), Chow left the Trojans for an assistant coaching position for the Tennessee Titans, despite his head-coaching aspirations.

Expected to be the fourth-best team in the Pac Ten this year, the Arizona State Sun Devils must beat rival Arizona just to qualify for a Bowl Game. Sun Devils Head coach Dirk Koetter has been on the hot-seat since losing institutional control early in the season and the wheels have come off the Sun Devil bandwagon since they played USC close in early October.

Now, rumor has it that despite his contract extensions, Koetter may be on his way out and that Norm Chow, who worked with ASU athletic director Lisa Love when they were at USC, is in line for the top job at Arizona State.

Last week it was Mark Asper, in previous weeks it's been Charlie Carmichael, Edward Pleasant and Anthony Gildon. All Duck verbal commits who picked a Wednesday to make the announcement this year. Today, it was a huge tight end with enormous upside who his coach describes as just a great person. Savai'i Eselu who committed to the Ducks.

He announced it by posting it on Scout.com's sister company myspace.com. Eselu is 6' 4", 245lbs. and an absolutely terrific athlete. Here's the announcement on the myspace.com site. He's being recruited as a tight end but has the athleticism to play early on special teams or to even play defensive end if that's where he ultimately fits in. But for now, he's a tight end or in Oregon's offense, an H-Back. He's gotta be happy with the way Oregon's using Dante Rosario a lot more this year and how much more diverse the offense seems to be in terms of getting the ball to players at that spot. With Rosario leaving after this year and Dan Kause only one year away from graduation, Oregon's got a big need at that spot this year.

Savai'i Eselu is the 37th ranked tight end nationally by Scout.com and also had offers from Arizona, San Diego State, Colorado, BYU and Utah. Rivals.com ranked him as the 23rd best tight end and the 4th best player in the state of Hawaii this year.