Last Year: 11-2 (8-1 in Pac-12), lost to Oklahoma State, 41-38, in overtime of the Fiesta Bowl.

Why: The Cardinal still has some good weapons on offense. Tailback Stepfan Taylor and fullback Ryan Hewitt are both back. Taylor rushed for 1,330 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Hewitt had 34 catches for 282 yards and five scores last season. They form a nice tandem.  Three of the five starters on the offensive line — left guard David Yankey, center Sam Schwartzstein, and right tackle Cameron Fleming — are back. The linebacking corps has three starters back in Trent Murphy, A.J. Tarpley, and Chase Thomas. And the fourth starter, Shane Skov, was starting when he went out with a knee injury in the third game. Skov led Stanford in tackles in 2010. Last season, Thomas was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. Special teams could be the strongest of the units, with kicker Jordan Williamson, a second-team All-Pac-12 pick, back. Montgomery will also be returning kickoffs again after averaging 25.2 yards per kick with a touchdown last year.

Continue Reading…

They used to call it hardship, because that’s exactly what it was – college players who needed to go to professional sports to support their family. Today, early entry into the NFL is a career and business decision for the college players that choose to pass up their final year in college for the riches in the pro game. Of course, there are always NFL early entry winners and losers.

Recently 65 players passed on their eligibility to move on to the NFL. Only a few of them will be first-round picks. To me, that’s the only reason you go. But what do I know? I’m a sportswriter.

So who won and who lost thanks to early entries? Here’s my list:

Continue Reading…

If you’re the athletic director of a BCS school and you have a head coaching opening in the future, you have another problem if you want to lure Chris Petersen away from Boise State. Chris Petersen is being paid like a BCS coach.

Or at least he will be once the Idaho State Board of Education puts the rubber stamp on Petersen’s new five-year deal. That contract will start paying Petersen $2 million in 2012, according to ESPN, and escalates to $2.8 million by the end of the deal. It also comes with retention bonuses starting the second year.

This offseason alone, Petersen has already told both UCLA and Penn State thanks but no thanks.

I mean, thanks but no thanks to two of the nation’s glamour programs. What is Petersen thinking?

Well, if I were in his shoes, I would be asking, “Why do I need UCLA or Penn State?”

Boise State already has a national reputation, thanks to Petersen’s work in the wake of the departure of Dan Hawkins. The Broncos are part of the yearly conversation when it comes to national championship contenders. Do you know how hard that is when you’re in a non-BCS conference? And the Big East just took care of the one hurdle BSU needed to make its life easier when it comes to the BCS – an invitation to the Big East starting in 2013.

So Petersen has the money, the prestige, the national notoriety and starting in 2013 he gets to play with the big boys.

When you think about it, it’s not that hard a decision to make.

Other things on my mind as I wonder if Dabo Swinney had several adult beverages after that Orange Bowl debalce …

Continue Reading…

Should Robert Griffin III go pro? He'll answer that question before Jan. 15.

It might seem that everyone believes that Robert Griffin III will go to the NFL. It’s just a matter of his announcing it. If his father is to be believed, RGIII may already be looking at agents. But with no formal announcement yet, there’s still room for debate – should Robert Griffin III go pro?

Remember, it’s not always an easy decision, and college athletes have surprised us lately. USC’s Matt Barkley did so last week. Stanford’s Andrew Luck did so around this time last year, choosing to stay at Stanford for at least one more year. Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden could have jumped last year but stayed. It appears Oklahoma’s Landry Jones will stay at Oklahoma one more year. Former Sooner Sam Bradford eschewed the NFL for one year. And then there’s the gold standard, former texas back Ricky Williams.

It used to be that going “hardship” was only something juniors did when it was absolutely necessary (for instance, you family needs the money). Now, juniors just do it to do it, it seems. I don’t usually agree with leaving early. I think there’s more to learn in college. Juniors that stay that extra year get that extra year of maturity, especially physically. Sure, there are risks physically, but overall I think a full education is worth it.

So should Robert Griffin III go pro? To me, there are three reasons why a college player chooses to stay. Where does Griffin stack up? Find out after the jump.

Continue Reading…

Matt Barkley chooses to stay for his senior year and gains new fans in return, no doubt.

Thanks to Matt Barkley choosing to stay at USC, Matt Barkley now has a larger fan club, no doubt.

Yes, Barkley turned down the potential riches of a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract on Friday by choosing to stay at USC for his senior year. Yes, it is a risk to his long-term potential as a player. He’s one horrific injury away from losing his earning power. But, then again, aren’t we all?

Barkley’s choice is great for college football and great for USC. In fact, that was one of the reasons Barkley chose to stay – USC. The Trojans are on the short list of teams that are legitimate 2012 national championship contenders.

They would have been in the mix this year, but they were on probation. In 2012 the Trojans will be off probation and can finally go to a bowl game. All of the pieces are in place. Without Barkley, USC fans had little to look forward to next year.

Continue Reading…

Earlier this year I wrote a series of articles highlighting the Top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates for 2011. None of my choices was Robert Griffin III, who won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, beating out two players that I felt were front-runners from the start – Stanford QB Andrew Luck and Alabama RB Trent Richardson. Both of those players had great seasons. But Robert Griffin III ended up having a better season, and it makes him a perfect match for the Heisman.

It just goes to show how little we all know about what will happen in college football when the season started. I picked Oklahoma and Alabama to play in the BCS National Championship game. I was half-right. And I picked Luck to win the Heisman. Totally wrong there. Most of my conference championship picks were wrong, too.

Continue Reading…

LSU took care of business against Arkansas. Alabama took care of business against Auburn. While LSU still must win the SEC Championship game against Georgia, I don’t think anyone outside of Athens, Ga., believes the Bulldogs can win that game. Although, wouldn’t that be a great, big kick in the pants?

So what happens to the BCS if LSU loses to Georgia? Well, there are greater minds than mine that can tell you that. But Alabama would most certainly move into the No. 1 spot, and there would be plenty of debate as to whether a team that didn’t win a conference championship should be playing in the BCS national championship game.

In fact, shouldn’t we be having that debate to begin with? If every game matters, as the BCS people would have us believe, than didn’t Alabama get its shot to unseat LSU already? I find it rather heinous that the Crimson Tide, as good as they are would be the No. 1 team in the final BCS rankings if LSU lost to Georgia.

To me that exposes a real flaw in the entire system. After 14 weeks a team that couldn’t even reach its conference championship game would be considered the No. 1 seed, as it were.

If we’re really interested in fairness, then the next time the BCS restructures itself, it should create a rule that doesn’t allow teams from the same conference to play each other in the BCS National Championship game. The college football season is about winnowing down the field, and part of that is the process of determining conference champions. If you don’t win your conference, then I don’t think you should play in the BCS National Championship game.

Even if you’re Alabama and you have the misfortune of playing in the same conference as LSU. Them’s the breaks.

But that’s all moot if LSU beats Georgia, as I expect. Then, LSU will play Alabama and we’ll just have to live with it.

And now the PigskinU Top 25 for Week 13.

Continue Reading…

The weekend started with this headline: Iowa State beats Oklahoma State. BCS chaos ensues.

They weren’t kidding. This was the most chaotic weekend of the season.

By the time the weekend was over, Oklahoma lost to Baylor, Oregon lost to Southern California and the path to an Alabama-LSU rematch was clear.

Alabama received the kind of help it needed to get back into the hunt. When the new BCS rankings come out Sunday night, the Crimson Tide will be No. 2. They’re also No. 2 in our poll.

After Oklahoma State lost on Friday night I think most people thought they were staring at an insane scenario with a wealth of one-loss teams vying for the right to play LSU.

Well, Oregon had a chance, but the Ducks squandered it against Southern Cal.

Oklahoma still had a chance, but they squandered it against Baylor.

But could there be more chaos?

LSU must play two more games to get to the BCS National Championship game. First, Arkansas comes to down, and don’t discount the Razorbacks. They’re playing fantastic football right now and could go right down to Baton Rouge and screw everything up. Alabama could still lose to Auburn. Don’t think so? It’s a rivalry game. Anything could happen.

But in the short term, Alabama certainly benefits the most from this largesse of upsets. And the Tide only has to win one more game to solidify its credentials as a BCS Championship game contender.

At the start of this month there seemed to be so many ways this could go, so many potential great matchups for January.

Who would have thought that 15 days after LSU beat Alabama we’d be talking about them playing again. Legitimately.

But, to paraphrase my favorite baseball manager, “Sometimes that’s how football go.”

And now the PigskinU Top 25 for Week 13.

Continue Reading…

Yes. You know, I never thought one time during last week’s scandal that the Nittany Lions should have canceled the game. That would have been the easy way out, frankly. Yes, there are members of the Penn State administration that failed these young men miserably. But they’re gone now, and the vast majority of the PSU community didn’t know until everyone else did. And Happy Valley did it right on Saturday, making sure the game didn’t overshadow the situation. That entire community needed to start healing, and this game surely helped.

In case you weren’t aware, students and alumni at Penn State have been raising money for child abuse charities since the day after the scandal broke. According to news reports, they’ve raised nearly $300,000. The students get it, even if you don’t think they do. Penn State should take it one step further and match their donation.

Our other subjects this week include Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas, the fall of Boise State from the ranks of BCS title contenders, the Heisman hopes of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the wake of the Cardinal’s loss to Oregon, and who the lead contender is in the Big East. More after the jump.

Continue Reading…

Once again, the BCS gets a lucky break. Or two.

Boise State loses to TCU. Stanford loses to Oregon. And two potential, controversial, discussions about who deserves to play in the BCS National Championship game go away.

Now the path is clear. As long as LSU and Oklahoma State win out, they’ll face each other in the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans.

But, first a few words about the losers.

Boise State will start crashing the BCS party on a regular basis in 2013. Boise can now recruit better. Its strength of schedule will now improve. It doesn’t have to hunt out tough games in September. The reconfigured Big East still won’t be a great conference, but it will be better than the Mountain West. And Boise is already good enough to compete.

As for Stanford, look for the Cardinal to take a fall next year unless it can shore up its defense, which looked much more porous against Oregon than I anticipated. The Cardinal’s run defense numbers for the season were a phantom, created by quarterback Andrew Luck’s impressive season. Opponents have played from behind all year, a situation that compels them to eschew the run for the pass. Oregon, and RB LaMichael James, exposed that weakness Saturday night. If Stanford wants to be a consistent winner, it must defend the run better.

And find a replacement for Luck next year.

As for the Heisman, Luck threw for 271 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also fumbled once. This game doesn’t destroy his Heisman chances, but he’s no longer the lead-pipe lock he was a couple of weeks ago. And now James is back in the mix in a big way.

So, Oklahoma State, the stage is yours. The Cowboys have never won a Big 12 championship and have the best team the program has ever had.

Funny, we were saying similar things about Stanford last week. I guess we’ll see.

The PigksinU.com Top 25 for Week 11 is below.

Continue Reading…