Oregon Duck's Chip Kelly Center of Attention at Pac 12 Media Day

At the inaugural media day for the Pac 12, Chip Kelly wasn't asked a lot of questions about how his football team would fare next season. He was asked mostly about his relationship with Willie Lyles, the head of a recruting service who the Oregon Ducks paid 25,000 dollars. Interestingly enough, the often short tempered Kelly had no problem answering questions and was pretty cheerful in his responses. Although he wasn't able to talk about anything specific because of a statement released by the school, he didn't shy away from the topic. Here is an example of what he said:

"As head coach of this football program, we're held accountable for everything we do," Kelly said. "So we look forward to when we can [comment]. I'd love to talk about it. There are a lot of answers I'd love to make sure we can get out there."

He went on to say that "there a lot of misconceptions".

I can't wait to hear Kelly's side of the story. Clearly he is extremely optimistic about this and he is sending a message that there is a lot more to this story than most in the media believe. If that's true, it would be huge for Oregon.

1st Pac 12 Football Media Poll Released

The media released their first poll on the Pac 12 today. Here is how the media thinks the Pac 12 will shake out this year. It looks like the media asssumes Oregon will beat Stanford at Stanford, which is extremely interesting to me. We'll see if that's true.

North (first-place votes)

1. Oregon (29)... 239

2. Stanford (13)... 220

3. Washington... 142

4. Oregon State... 120

5. California... 110

6. Washington State... 51

South (first-place votes)

1. USC (24) ... 230

2. Arizona State (13)... 207

3. Utah (4)... 170

4. Arizona (1)... 140

5. UCLA ... 89

6. Colorado... 46

Potential Basketball Pac 12 Breakout Star: Terrence Ross

If you're looking for a potential breakout star in the Pac 12, look no further than Washington's Terrence Ross. The Washington Huskies are losing a ton of scoring next season and someone is going to have to take more shots. Ross is a 6-6 wing man Sophomore who averaged 8 points per game last season. The Huskies are losing a ton of experience and scoring from last season. They lose point guard Isiah Thomas, the teams leading scorer who was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, Venoy Overton, Matthew Bryan Amaning, and Justin Holliday. Isiah Thomas had high praise for Ross in a recent interview:

"Terrence Ross is the most talented player I've played with during my time at the UW."

Remember that Isiah Thomas has played with Quincy Pondexter, Spencer Hawes, and Jon Brockman, all who have played in the NBA. That means this guys got the potential to be something special. Someone has to score for Washington next season, and I can see Ross doing a fair share of it next year.

Arizona's Nick Foles, USC''s Matt Barkley and Others Nominated for Good Works Team

The Pac 12 is nicely represented in the nominations for the 2011 All State Good Works team. The Good Works team "recognizes the selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service made by college football student-athletes across the nation."

Here are the Pac 12 players that were nominated:

Arizona: Nick Foles
Colorado: Brian Lockridge
USC: Matt Barkley
Utah: Tony Bergrstrom
Oregon State: Johnny Hekker
Arizona State: Aaron Pflugrad

USC Running Marc Tyler Suspended for Comments

The USC football program has suspended running back Marc Tyler for the season opener and possibly for more games. Tyler was the Trojan's leading rusher in 2010. He was suspended because of a video taken of him while he was leaving a club and made a joke about Kim Kardashian and about how USC paid him to play football. The school believed that the punishment was fair because of a few earlier alcohol related incidents that Tyler has had in the past.

Do I think this is fair? Sure, I think it's fair only because it is one game and it's against lowly Minnesota. Anything more than that and I am firmly opposed of this decision. I have watched the video and if you haven't, there is a link here. The thing that bothers me about the video, is that the guy is clearly joking and is a little drunk. He's a college kid, let him be a college kid. If this was a bigger game, then I would clearly be a little more upset about this, but it's Minnesota, at home, and it really shouldn't effect USC's season. So if this suspension makes the honchos at USC feel warm and fuzzy inside, then just let them do that.

Oregon Gets Commitment from QB Recruit

The Oregon Ducks received some good news today. After being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, they received a commitment from quarterback Jeff Lockie today who is from Danville, Califorinia.

Lockie had also received an offer from San Diego State. Lockie threw for 2,500 yards last season for 26 touchdowns and also ran in six touchdowns.

Lockie is the second Oregon commitment who is a quarterback. Jason Rodrigues of Rockville, California has also committed to play for Oregon and he is a member of the ESPN top 150 recruits in the nation.

Oregon has 8 commitments total for the upcoming recruiting class so far.

Arizona State's James Brooks Leaves Team

Arizona State's defensive end James Brooks is leaving the team for personal reasons and it was announced by the school today. Brooks was going to be a senior and had started at defensive end for the team the last two seasons. He recorded 25 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss last season. He also blocked two field goals in the game against Arizona. Brooks is a 6 foot 5 280 lb beast. Coach Dennis Erickson had this to say:

"James has done a lot of great things for our football program. We will continue to help him in any way we can."

This is a huge blow to the Sun Devils who were many people's preseason favorite to win the Pac 12 south. They had already lost four starters form the 2010 team including All Pac 10 cornerback Omar Bolden and starting quarterback Steven Threet. The defensive end position was supposed to be the Sun Devil's strongest but it does not look like that will be the case anymore.

Pac 12 Football Star Watch: Jonathan Martin, Stanford

Alright so if you had to pick a star player from Stanford, it probably wouldn't be Jonathan Martin, it would probably be a certain quarterback whose name rhymes with Muck, and he's going to be the number one pick in next year's NFL Draft. Andrew Luck can't do this all by himself, and a lot of his success has to be attributed to his offensive line who gave him plenty of time to throw last season. Who was the best of the bunch? Clearly it was Jonathan Martin, who protected Luck's blindside all last season.

Martin was an All Pac 10 honorable mention as a freshman and was all Pac 10 as a sophomore. He has received a ton of recognition already as he has been named to numerous preseason All American teams. What makes him even more important is that the Cardinal only return two starters to their offensive line next season. They return Martin and another All American candidate in David Decastro. The reason Martin is the most important is obvious: he protects Stanford's most prized possession, Andrew Luck.

Lombardi Trophy Watch List Released: Burfict on List Among Others

The Lombardi Trophy watch list was released yesterday and there were twelve Pac 12 players on the list. The Lombardi trophy is for the best lineman or linebacker in the country. Here's a list of the twelve Pac 12 players on the watch list:

Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State
David DeCastro, OG, Stanford
Matt Kalil, OT, USC
Mychal Kendricks, LB, California
Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado
Nick Perry, DE, USC
Mitchell Schwartz, OT, Cal
Shayne Skov, LB, Stanford
Alameda Ta'amu, DT, Washington
Chaz Walker, LB, Utah
Sean Westgate, LB, UCLA
Carson York, OG, Oregon

Vontaze Burfict has a realistic shot of winning this thing with a monster, injury free season at Arizona State.

Pac 12 Football Star Watch: Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen is a wide receiver for California. As a true freshman last season, he showed a ton of flashes of greatness. He was second on the team with 46 catches, 490 yards, and five touchdowns. He started to get really beat up as the season went on and as his health got worse, his production suffered greatly.

Looking at Allen's numbers, it's difficult to see why I pegged him as a player to watch for next season. You have to understand how gifted Allen is. He's 6 foot 3 freak athlete. He was really good as a kick returner last year, but his role should expand next season.

If Cal wants to have an elite offense and a really good season, they need Keenan Allen to emerge as one of the top playmakers in the country. Thankfully for Cal, he has all the talent to do just that, it will be interesting to see if he can follow through on his physical gifts.

Mark Your Calendar: November 12th, Oregon-Stanford

The biggest game in the Pac 12 next season? This ones easy. It's when Oregon plays Stanford on November 12th. This game will likely decide who wins the vaunted Pac 12 North Division, which in my opinion, is significantly harder than the South.

Last year when Stanford visited Oregon, they led 21-3 early before Oregon prevailed 52-31 in front of a raucous crowd in Autzen stadium. Oregon went on to play in the National Championship Game while Stanford killed Virginia Tech in the Orange bowl. Their loss at Autzen was their only loss of the year. Had they won at Oregon, they would have played for a National Title.

Andrew Luck returns for the Cardinal while LaMichael James and Darron Thomas return for the Ducks. This game in Palo Alto will decide who plays for the Pac 12 championship, and possibly, who plays for the BCS National Championship.

Pac 12 Football Star Watch: Vontaze Burfict

One thing is for sure when talking about this years Arizona State Sun Devils, this team goes as Vontaze Burfict goes. Burfict is by far the best player on the Sun Devils. Burfict, was recruited by USC, but opted to play at Arizona State because he wanted to be a star. Well, I've got some news for you Vontaze, you were definitely going to be a star even if you had gone to USC. Burfict is so intense and fast that he has been compared to Ray Lewis in terms of his physical skills as well.

Arizona State is a potential top 25 team next season. There is a lot of speculation that Dennis Erickson is on thin ice there so maybe his players can crank it up and try to have a really good season for him.

If you love a team in the Pac 12 and are playing Arizona State, keep your eyes on Burfict. He'll be the guy who is flying around the ball making a ton of plays. No team is safe from an upset against the Burfict led Sun Devils because of the effect he has on a game.

Pac 12 Football Star Watch: Justin Washington

The Arizona Wildcats return only one player from their 2010 defensive line. His name is Justin Washington. He is arguably the most important player on the roster. He recorded 11.5 tackles for loss last season and was a true leader on the field. He might not be the best player on the team, Nick foles is, but the Wildcats' season likely hinges on his success.

Remember, Mike Scott was unbelievable in limited action last year.

There is little depth behind Washington. Thankfully for the Wildcats', he is extremely healthy when he is on the field.

If the Wildcats' hope to win the Pac 12 South, Washington is going to have to play is butt off every single saturday.

Oregon Football Program in Shambles?

Oregon's football program could be in quite a bit of trouble. There were reports in around April that the school had paid a recruiting service 25,000 dollars. Most schools pay around 1,000 dollars or so, so the big check to the recruiting service by Houston-based Willie Lyles.

The recruiting service is legal if they are offering videos, game tapes, and phone calls, but the NCAA was curious about the huge sum Oregon paid.

Oregon could be in some big trouble. The players that are known to have been in contact with Lyles are LaMichael James, Darron Thomas, and Lache Seastrunk, three of Oregon's best players and most highly coveted players.

Oregon has yet to say anything about this.

Utah Utes: Are They Ready for the Pac-12

The Utah Utes have joined the Pac 12 and it's going to be very interesting to see how they fair in the Pac 12. My guess is that they're going to be great. They had unbelievable success under Urban Meyer and now Kyle Wittingham. They have had some undefeated seasons and have even had people clamoring for them to play in a National Title Game. Look, the Utes got a ridiculously lucky draw for their first season in the Pac 12. They don't have to play Stanford or Oregon, unless they make it to the championship game against one of these two teams. Lets take a look at their team for the upcoming season

The Utes are led by quarterback Jordan Wynn. He has been their quarterback for three seasons and has a ton of experience. The ideal quarterback to lead them into a merger with the Pac 12. They recently hired former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow. Chow was the offensive coordinator when the USC offense was humming with the likes of Reggie Bush and Matt Leinert. I think he knows a thing or two about scoring in the Pac 12.

The Pac 12 south is significantly weaker than the North. By dodging Oregon and Stanford, there's a real possibility we see Utah competing for the Pac 12 title in their first year. I see depth being a major issue for this team because they simply haven't been able to recruit Pac 12 players yet, but this is a really good program that will compete week in and week out.