Ty and Dan talk with Ryan Abraham about Matt Barkley’s progression, the good side of Lane Kiffin, USC’s football facilities, and wild trysts atop tall buildings.  Plus, Stewart Mandel lays the lumber to a Verballer voicemailer.

Ty and Dan talk with Bryan Fischer from CBSSports.com about the breaking news about Oregon’s use of purported recruiting services and discuss whether the program could be in hot water.

Ty and Dan review a handful of conference championship games and dissect a bunch of projected bowl pairings.

Ty and Dan take a look at the NCAA’s ruling on Cam Newton, TCU’s move to the Big East, E. Gordon Gee’s stupid comments, and the Miami coaching vacancy.  Plus, Verballer voice messages, e-mails and locks of the week.

Ty and Dan break down a wild weekend that saw a monster upset by Nevada, a triumphant victory for Auburn, and a defining loss for Rich Rodriguez against Ohio State.  Plus, wackiness in the Big 12, closure in the ACC, and a host of listener Reverbs.

Ty and Dan deliver a super-sized episode, chock full of analysis for all the week’s biggest rivalries, listener e-mails and voice messages.

Ty and Dan talk about LSU’s close call, Nebraska’s dud, a potential Wisconsin-Stanford Rose Bowl, and the ongoing Dillon Baxter Experiment at USC.

Ty & Dan discuss the latest in the Cam Newton pay-for-play situation and the need to renovate Husky Stadium, and break down all the Week 12 action.

Ty and Dan talk with Jerry Palm from CollegeBCS.com and CBSSports.com about the latest round of BCS rankings, the chances of a non-AQ school making the title game, and the possibility of a one-loss team sneaking its way into the big game.  Plus, more Cam Newton news!

Ty and Dan preview all the Week Seven action on the eve of their first ever meeting in Nebraska for Verbacon 2010.

Today’s Chorus is brought to you by Jenn Sterger, who, as a Florida State grad, must be pleased with how Mark Stoops has handled the D. Whatever happened to her?

*****

• Alabama WR Julio Jones broke his hand in the first half of Saturday’s South Carolina game. He had surgery the following day to have a screw inserted. Psh, like his hand isn’t already made of bionic parts already.

• Oregon State WR James Rodgers is officially out for the remainder of the season after his knee injury at Arizona on Saturday. He’s a small dude, but as a Duck/football fan, I’m equally terrified and excited every time he plays. But mostly terrified.

• The Rose Bowl, the best/worst stadium in college football, is getting a $152 million dollar renovation. To be honest, I’m going to miss their original Gameboy-sized video screen, 20 minute waits in the entrance tunnels, and hot benches. Oh no wait, no I’m not. Huzzah!

• Three UCLA starters will be suspended for next Thursday’s Oregon game. Discipline is admirable, but only sending 8 guys out there against the #2 team in the country? Risky.

• Houston QB Case Keenum will apply for a medical hardship waiver after blowing out his knee against UCLA a few weeks ago. He’s also expected to summarily beg Dana Holgorsen to come back to the Cougars, which is the only way this story matters.

• The Pac-10 is working on splitting up into divisions in preparation for Utah and Colorado. Stanford and Cal are causing problems. Nerds!

• Two Washington State RS freshmen were growing dozens of pot plants in their rented house. Police said that growing that many plants was a “big deal.” The players are agreed, but their high five attempts with police were immediately rebuffed. (via SbB)

• EDSBS’s Spencer Hall ranks some college football announcers, submits his weekly Alphabetical column, while Holly Anderson (Peete) doles out some classy stickers.

• The season is about 40% done, so why not hammer out some Heisman thoughts? SB Nation’s Holly Anderson (Peete), SI.com’s Cory McCartney, and ESPN’s team of randoms are happy to oblige. Yahoo!!!!!!!! takes it one step further and ranks just about everybody by position.

• The Week in Schadenfreude from SVBFF and SB Nation’s Brian Cook. God help us all if this column becomes terrible and we all delight in its failure. That’s what’s called a double-meta blackhole. What does it meeeeaaaannnnn?

• Smart Football’s Chris Brown has his Smart Notes up, which looks at the key types of plays that led to wins. I feel smarter just linking to this.

• ESPN’s team of CFB bloggers look back at the first half of the season and do a quick rewind/fast forward. Thankfully, they also finally show us how to properly trim spare ribs prior to cooking. Find the flap!

• Lost in the hilari-depressing USC season is the breakout performance of true freshman WR Robert Woods, who finished with over 200 yards receiving in the Trojans’ loss at Stanford. Quite simply, dude be fast.

*****

Today’s Video of the Day is a perfect commercial for Stella Artois, directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola. It’s too early for beer, Dan. It’s too early for beer.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pq8u2orRLU

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Ty and Dan review all the Week Five action and talk about another fabulous performance by Denard Robinson.

Ty and Dan replay all the Week Four action, including impressive wins by SEC teams, letdown showings by the Big 12, and the dawning of a special new Big Ten tradition.

Today’s Chorus is brought to you by Jeff Garlin, half of the funniest twosome on TV, and graduate of The U. Niversity of Miami. Here’s to hoping he makes his “big vagina” gesture (probably NSFW) at some point during tonight’s Pitt game. Just because.

*****

• The Playoff PAC is accusing the Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange Bowls of violating their claimed tax-exempt status as non-profits. Apparently, everybody made a crap-ton of money. Oops.

• North Carolina has suspended two defensive backs for receiving $1300 and $1400 in benefits, respectively. The horror.

• Michigan is still looking for somebody to kick it through two giant yellow goal posts. Or they’re not. Or something.

• SI.com’s Andy Staples profiles the Ft. Campbell High (Ky) football team, made up entirely of sons of soldiers, most of whom are overseas. Read this before the mascot story below.

• Early reports indicating Mark Mangino was hired to consult Minnesota coach Tim Brewster may be incorrect. This doesn’t mean something’s not afoot, though. In my experience, something’s always afoot. Always.

• One of BYU‘s receivers that has a traditionally last name as a first name has been suspended for “disciplinary reasons.”

• ESPN‘s bloggers predict games and tell us what to watch. Nowhere to be found in “What to Watch” is “The Solid Visual,” so their cred instantly takes a hit.

• If you’re holding out hope for Admiral Ackbar at Mississippi, you’re among furry friends.

• SI.com’s Stewart Mandel has a new mailbag. Would it be so bad if Stew and the guy who answers the Penthouse Letters switched letters for a week? Probably.

• The Pac-10 is discussing possible locations for a title game. The clubhouse leaders are probably Glendale, AZ and San Diego, but remember, never sleep on the Lehigh Valley.

Today’s Video of the Day is pure fluff. Fluff.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDWMG9_lxPU

Enjoy your Thursday.

Todays chorus is brought to you by James Caan, who briefly attended Michigan State. I say “briefly” because I assume he was too busy being Sonny Corleone and doing horrible (terrific) things in the grotto at the Playboy Mansion to worry about higher education or perfectly executed fake field goals.

*****

• Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, between a “Little Giants”-inspired fake FG to beat Notre Dame and a minor heart attack, had an eventful Saturday night. By comparison, I ate a bagel and had an orange soda. It’s a draw.

• Houston QB Case Keenum tore his ACL against UCLA… and backup Cotton Turner broke his clavicle (out for the year). Conference USA is officially open for business.

• ESPN‘s bloggers have published their conference power rankings. In response, I will publish my ESPN blogger power rankings. No spoilers, but SVBFF Ted Miller is getting fitted for his honorary Solid Verbal blazer as we speak

• The generally meaningless polls are out. I like Jon Wilner. I think Jon WIlner is a smart Pac-10 writer. I like it when Jon WIlner comes on the podast. I don’t think Jon WIlner uses much common sense when he votes in said meaningless poll.

• EDSBS‘s Holly Anderson offers her “Best in Class” for the week. She mentions Dr. Bernard Pierce, so you know her street cred is the through the roof.

• Dr. Saturday has his superlatives for the week. Ty and I missed “Best Couple” by that much.

::Kolumnist Korner::

• SI’s Stewart Mandel is liking the Pac-10. And as far as I can tell, he at no point compares Ryan Whalen to Daniel Faraday.

• SI’s Andy Staples talks about the Texas defense and the Longhorns returning to Lubbock to avenge 2008.

• CBS Sports’s Eric Sorensen has a Week 3 wrap. It’d be better if somebody had a week 3 rap, but perhaps that’s asking for too much.

• ESPN’s Mark Schlabach looks at which teams could be careening off the college football cliff. He also has punny categories involving his own first name. This makes me briefly wonder why we don’t have columns like “TyBreakers” or “Dan Coverage,” until I realize that I’d rather take a nap or watch Mad Men.

Today’s Video of the Day is self-explanatory. It’s killer whales beaching themselves to attack sea lions. An outstanding way to begin the week. Unless you’re a sea lion.

Enjoy your Monday.

Today’s Chorus is brought to you by Elizabeth Berkley, who attended UCLA. At first she was SO excited about Kevin Prince and the Bruin offense, but now she’s … SO scared.

*****

• Rick Neuheisel has done a pretty terrible job at UCLA. The Daily News and Los Angeles Times concur. It’s also worth noting that the UCLA QB job is now considered to be open – which is something like saying a half woman/half lizard is now single and looking for love. But she was really attractive before the lizard experiment went horribly, horribly wrong. Ok, I’ll stop now.

Here’s the coach giving his traditional postgame pep talk to the crowd. Woo?

• ESPN‘s CFB bloggers put together their “What We Learned” and their weekly power rankings. The Solid Verbal’s bloggers put ESPN’s bloggers’ links online, are eating cereal, and trying to remember why Chelsea Handler is considered to be funny.

• Purdue WR Keith Smith is going through tests to see the the extent of a knee injury suffered Saturday. Smith is an All Big Ten WR and Purdue’s biggest offensive weapon. #sadpurduepeteface

• This week’s AP/Coaches polls are out and here’s how specific AP voters saw things. ***Spoiler Alert*** Scott Wolf of the LA Daily News may have had his ballot stolen by both Mack Brown and Les Miles.

• More and more, thanks to x-mo replay (and The Wiz), we get to see breakaway runners drop the ball while celebrating a couple of feet before the goal line. I’m usually not in favor of extreme punishment in such cases, but if a referee saw an Oregon player do it at a key time, I wouldn’t put up a fight if the player lost his scholarship and/or was sentenced to 5-10 at a Panamanian prison.

• The betting lines are out for this week’s slate of games, aka “Other than Some Interesting Pac-10 non-conference games, it’s Straight Garbage Until Conference Games.”

• Colorado won’t be joining the Pac Twen until 2012. Even though it seems far away, there’s already a buzz about the TV contract for Washington State/Colorado games, which promises to be the first major college football matchup to be broadcast solely on a closed-circuit middle school feed in a particularly rural part of Uruguay.

• EDSBS gave out some weekly “Best in Class” awards using stickers awarded to children. It made me want grapes. And recess handball.

Today’s Video of the Day celebrates the return of the new TV season. More specifically, The Amazing Race, which I’ll watch from time to time. Because there’s always a chance something wonderful like this happens:

Enjoy your Monday.

Today’s Chorus is brought to you by Ole Miss, the school that maybe (kind of) gave The Solid Verbal’s favorite rebel a shot to be their mascot. Even though things aren’t looking so good (right now) for the admiral, remember, it could always just be a trap.

*****

• Boise State beat Virginia Tech in DC. Which apparently, in college football logic, is reason enough to focus on why they’re not good and not deserving of anything substantial. **Yawn**

• Say what you will, but I liked the uniforms last night, most notable, Virginia Tech‘s helmets. The matte black was filthy. In a good way.

• Reggie Bush will be stripped of his Heisman. Whatever, that Impala was totally worth it – did you see those rims? SICK!

• Maryland beat Navy 17-14 in Baltimore yesterday, with the play of the game being Maryland LB Adrian Moten’s leaping over the offensive line to cause a Ricky Dobbs fumble. It was done in a way that’s been called, “Something average atheletes would never even think about doing themselves ever.”

• Cincinnati WR and former USC transfer Vidal “VH7″ Hazelton tore his ACL during the Bearcats’ game at Fresno State. Fortunately, given the horrible injury, he will be able to apply for a medical redshirt since it happened so early in the season. Also, I have opposite starting WR Armon Binns in the Solid Verbal fantasy league, so I’m sure he’s at least pumped about that.

• As mentioned above, Admiral Ackbar, for all intents and purposes, has been put to rest as an Ole Miss mascot possibility via an excellent ESPN commercial.

• Alabama and DE Marcel Dareus will not appeal the NCAA’s two-game suspension ruling. Don’t worry, Robert Bolden, it’ll just be some other future ineligible defensive lineman who turns your ribcage into Cream of Nittany.

• CNBC’s Darren Rovell reports on the replica jerseys being printed by schools, and which active players happen to have the same numbers as the ones that happen to be for sale. Also, Florida is still printing Tim Tebow, er #15 jerseys, though there is no longer a #15 on the team.

• ESPN’s Erin Andrews is thrilled to be hosting the first hour of College Football Gameday (Saturdays, ESPNU, 9 AM ET), or as it’s called on the west coast, ZZZZZZZZZZZZ/Pillow Drool/Stagger to Pee time. I’m sure she does a fine job with the SEC/Big 10/Big 12 news and features, it just doesn’t seem fair that, out here, we get this guy.

Today’s Video of the Day is of comedian (and reportedly new SNL cast member) Jay Pharoah doing a dead-on Denzel Washington and Will Smith. I can’t imagine that these two impressions will make SNL funny, but it’s certainly more entertaining than the status quo.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Ty and Dan mix it up on the final Thursday before the start of the 2010 season by talking about NBC’s Notre Dame coverage, the increasing turmoil in Chapel Hill and the stigma of team logo tattoos.  Plus, your voice messages, emails, and info on how to order the t-shirt!

Ty and Dan talk with ESPN’s Ted Miller about the impact of the NCAA’s penalties on USC, Oregon’s QB battle, Jake Locker’s prospects for 2010, and Nick Foles’ hairstyle.

Ty and Dan sift through a massive amount of listener feedback, delving into Tommy Tuberville’s comments on the Big 12, team affiliations, fantasy college football, and, of course, Russian spies.  Plus, with only two months until college football kicks off… it’s officially the preseason!

Ty and Dan grasp for college football news with feverish conference expansion talk seemingly in the past.  E-mails, voice messages and piling on Lane Kiffin.

Ty and Dan mull over Utah’s move to the Pac-12, Boise’s jump to the Mountain West, and the real winners and losers of conference realignment.  Plus, e-mails, voice messages and another round of “Where in the World is Dan Beebe’s Money?”

Ty and Dan talk with Spencer Hall about the Big 12′s slow death, Dan Beebe’s pyramid scheme, Texas A&M’s culture, Larry Scott’s clever maneuvering, and why Univision should broadcast everything, including college football.

Ty and Dan talk with Clay Travis about the NCAA’s decision to vacate USC’s wins, how the harsh penalties will affect the program, and the tall task in front of Lane Kiffin.  Plus, chatter about ongoing conference expansion and a giant pile of listener messages.

Ty and Dan mull over the latest rumors of the Pac-10 eating the Big 12 and dive into overflowing voice and e-mail inboxes.

Ty and Dan welcome back Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel to discuss the post-Tebow SEC, the crazy ACC Coastal Division, the quarterbacks of the Big East, the Lost finale, and the next step for The Mandel Initiative.

Ty and Dan get SI.com’s Andy Staples to explain all the angles of potential conference expansion, including Notre Dame’s chances of joining the Big Ten, the possible counter-moves by the SEC and Pac-10, and the reasons why the Big 12 and Big East should be fearful.  Plus, a breaking news update on God’s Power Offor.

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Ty and Dan dig deep into the currently unsponsored inbox to discuss (more) conference expansion possibilities, the chances of Alabama losing a game and bizarre coaching superpowers.  Plus, a hodgepodge of headlines from the last week in college football.

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Ty and Dan switch roles on a freaky Friday and attack overflowing voicemail and e-mail inboxes.  Will we see a shift away from the spread offense?  Which coaches rock the visor on gameday?  And what is the next frontier for players wanting to display area codes or biblical verses?

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Ty and Dan talk with George Schroeder from the Eugene Register Guard, SI.com and the Football Writers Association of America about Oregon’s latest troubles, coverage of conferences, and why the Pac-10 should target Texas for expansion.  Plus, the backstory of Ty and Dan’s improbable (podcasting) love and the unveiling of their Sweet Sixteen teams.

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Ty and Dan dissect TCU’s big win from a number of angles, evaluate Cincinnati’s BCS ceiling, bow down to Toby Gerhart, and batten the hatches for another Notre Dame coaching search. Plus, commentary from Jerry Palm and East Bay Greg, as well as voice messages and results from pick ‘em and fantasy football.

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Ty and Dan welcome Ken Gordon from the Columbus Dispatch and BuckeyeXtra.com to discuss Saturday’s big showdown between USC and Ohio State, the Big Ten conference, and the progression of Terrelle Pryor. Plus, witty voice messages, a ton of e-mail, and a very special announcement.

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Ty and Dan ramp up their efforts in preparation for the start of the college football season by inviting two guests to the program: Rob Moseley from the Eugene Register-Guard to talk Oregon and Anthony Dasher from UGASports.com to discuss Georgia.  Plus, some chit-chat about Rich Rodriguez and Dan’s adventure in the Canadian wilderness. (Episode 55)

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Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we break out the pachouli oil, impressive SAT scores, and our loudest protest bullhorns as we take a seat on Tightwad Hill to catch a glance at this year’s Cal Bears squad. Somewhere, Adam Duritz is totally feeling our vibe. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Impression

Cal is and should always be a good football school. There’s a good amount of talent in Northern California and a great amount in Southern California. The school boasts academics that almost nobody else around the country can. God help the entire Pac-10 if they ever get impressive facilities. Could you imagine if they actually cared about the program up there? Yikes. 

Moving on, Cal has become a consistent preseason second tier national program over the last five years, and there are games in which they absolutely deserve it. As good as Jeff Tedford is as a QB guru, QB play has been inconsistent, and at times, downright odd. 

In light of Ty continually calling Cal “Clemson West,” eventually they won’t have the usual Cal lull, win at least ten games again, and justify the yearly hype. I think. Maybe. 

Last Year

The season started out with a back and forth win over Michigan State (solid scheduling) that highlighted a tremendous running game in which Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen both notched hundred yard games. They then flew east to Maryland and played at what felt like 6:00 A.M., got down early and lost. Quite simply, the Bears weren’t prepared and they dun’ brain farted in College Park. 

Two painless wins over Colorado State and ASU begat a third quarter at Arizona that may have been the worst quarter played by any Top 25 team all year. UGLY. 28 points later, Tucson chewed up and spit out Cal’s case for Pac-10 contention. Woops. 

A win over UCLA led into a sloppy victory in the rain over Oregon. Quarterback play on both sides was abhorrent against the Ducks in Berkeley, and Cal even did all they could to hand the game away, but Oregon refused to do enough to win on a sludgy field. Cal wisely accepted the win and moved on. Clearly, I haven’t. 

Cal then lost to the top two teams in the conference on the road (at the time), USC and OSU, before closing out the season with two straight home wins and a home bowl game win over Miami. 

The year was essentially defined by the emergence of Jahvid Best, a surprisingly stout defense (over the second half of the season), and Nate Longshore agonizing epilogue. 

People

The first name in Cal football is now Jahvid Best. He’s the most dangerous open-field runner in college football. Luckily, and this is just a prediction, but the Pac-10 will almost assuredly only see him at 75-80% for a good period of time. Simply put, he gets beat up. 

Kevin Riley fully takes over for a (thankfully) departed Nate Longshore. Riley’s shown flashes of being really good (see: 2007 Armed Forces Bowl), but has also shown a knack for being really average. Touted RS freshman Brock Mansion has been challenging Riley during the offseason, but Riley has been the consistent #1 at camp.

Every worthwhile skill position guy is back, and the addition of RS freshman Marvin Jones to the receiving corps should add flash to an already decent group (Nyan Boateng, Verran Tucker). 

The big places where the Bears take an equally devastating hit are at center and linebacker. Alex Mack was generally considered to be the best center in the country last year, and Cal’s experienced, focused LBs anchored a defense that carried the team throughout the second half of the season. Plus, LB Worrell Williams apparently doesn’t like me, so I’m happy he’s out of the state. 

The defense will need to get lockdown performances out of Syd’Quan Thompson (9th year senior) and the rest of the secondary, but as stated before, it’s a running league this year, so much of the pressure should be off of the defensive backfield. 

This Year

Cal will blow at Maryland the first week of the year. Book it. The very next week, I could see Eastern Washington taking down Cal. Ok not really, but I’ll do my best to predict Cal’s bonehead loss(es). 

Minnesota has certainly improved, and even though the game is in Minny’s new stadium,  the Gophers only seem to beat up on bad teams, which the Bears certainly are not. 

Here’s where it get’s tricky. Cal gets another road game, this time at Oregon, which is one of their two hugely difficult tests. Lucky for Cal, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory has schemed superbly against Oregon’s spread the past few seasons, and the Ducks are coming off of a September schedule that includes games at Boise State and against Utah. Cal finally goes down here. 

It doesn’t get any easier the next week, but at least USC comes to Berkeley this year. By this point, USC at home may be more attractive than the Ducks in Eugene, especially since I’ll be in Autzen Stadium, giving the Ducks that extra something. Ok, the Dan Rubenstein shoehorning ends here. 

The rest of the season should be fairly easy to navigate: UCLA is better, but still building; ASU can say the same; Oregon State is always able to develop and insert players (and beat Cal); Arizona is tricky but comes to Cal; Stanford is fiesty, but breaking in a new QB; Washington is abysmal. 

Conclusion

Is this the year Ty stops calling Cal “Clemson West?” Maybe. USC is as vulnerable as they’ll ever be. The schedule isn’t brutal. other than LB, and the middle of the offensive line, there’s experience everywhere. That said, there’s still a part of me that knows that they’ll beat a good team and lose to one, and then they’ll beat up on a bunch of lower teams and then lose to one or two. Oh Jeff Tedford, we know ye too well!

Prediction

9-3. They lose to Oregon, USC, and Stanford. I think. Ok, I have no idea, but it feels right. 

Game Highlights Set to Unfortunate Music

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjhyWdEF54

-Dan

Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, I will be insufferable and go into way too much detail about the Oregon Ducks. Our uniforms are bright, our mascot picks fights, and our cheerleaders are better looking than yours. See, I’m insufferable already. 

First Impressions

It seems that Oregon is in that perennial “Who Can Challenge USC?” position with Cal, and for good reason. The Ducks have an explosive offense, are well-coached, and have distinctive home field advantage at Autzen Stadium. 

That said, 2009 is a transition year, but has the possibility to be much more. Chip Kelly, the Ducks’ offensive coordinator the past two years, takes over for the former Dean of the Pac-10©, Mike Bellotti. There’s always concern with a regime change, but since the hire was from within, and nearly all of the staff was retained, the transitions have and should be minimal. 

The schedule is devoid of non-conference cupcake games, but a weird year in the Pac-10 should provide for a number of interesting opportunities for the Ducks to vie for a conference title. 

Last Year

In what turned out to be Mike Bellotti’s final season, the Ducks had an uneven start, in no small part due to what has become an Oregon trademark -- quarterback issues. 

After beating two terrible teams in Washington and Utah State, the Ducks needed double overtime to win in West Lafayette over Purdue. The following week saw a Boise State cheap shot take down Jeremiah Masoli early on in his first start, which came as a part of a 37-32 loss. The supposedly-dominant secondary got burned by play action all day. 

Including the expected loss at USC, the Ducks won their next three of four, due in large part to the emergence of JC transfer LeGarrette Blount at running back and the steady rushing of senior RB Jeremiah Johnson. 

A sloppy game (from both sides) led to a sloppy loss at Cal, but was followed by a close win at home against Stanford, another close one in Eugene in a shootout over Arizona, and the most satisfying game of the season, the deconstruction of both Oregon State and their Rose Bowl hopes in Corvallis, OR. 

In what always seems like a good, high scoring game, the Ducks outmuscled Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl to send Coach Bellotti into retirement in style. Despite the expected losses in personnel going into 2009, momentum is present. 

People

The Duck losses in personnel are significant and can’t be overstated: S Patrick Chung, RB Jeremiah Johnson, CB Jairus Byrd, DE Nick Reed and both starting defensive tackles, C Max Unger and two other OL starters, plus the talented, but inconsistent WR Jaison WIlliams were all lost to the draft or graduation. 

In addition, the turnover in regime led to some expected transfers: QB Justin Roper, WRs Chris Harper and Aaron Pflugrad, and a rotation defensive tackle all decided to transfer after the spring. 

Beyond alllllll of that, the Ducks return a number of playmakers and important pieces. SI cover boy Jeremiah Masoli finished the year stronger than any QB in the country, LeGarrette Blount is joined by LaMichael James in the backfield to form the best-named RB duo in the Pac-10, if not the country. 

The offensive line is being rebuilt, but the group up front has been stocked well in recruiting. Defensively, the rebuilding process of the defensive line is more troubling because of the number of top notch RBs in the conference (Rodgers, Best, Gerhart, Grigsby, and 12 different USC guys). The younger, quick LBs are the strength of the D, while the secondary could go either way. It always helps that four year lockdown CB Walter Thurmond III returns, though. 

This Year

The question/story of the tear is if the Ducks can develop up front on both sides of the ball. If the offense can open up holes and give Masoli enough time in the pocket, Duck running backs should maintain their recent level of productivity and Masoli should sit atop the conference as its best quarterback. If the defensive line can hold their ground, Oregon’s linebacking corps should similarly be among the best in the conference. 

The schedule is a bit tricky, but the conference portion is ideal. September without a down week (@Boise St, Purdue, Utah, Cal) makes for a tough first month, but every key Pac-10 game (USC, Cal, OSU) will be played in Eugene, with the possible exception of Arizona in late November. If the Ducks come out of September unscathed, they’ll be a top 8 team. One loss is more realistic and frankly, as a fan, I’ll take it. 

UCLA is improving, but they’re not there yet, the Washington schools will continue to be freebies (thanks Ty Willingham!), and USC is as vulnerable as they’ll ever be. Once again, it all rests on the defensive line. 

The Ducks always seem to have trouble in Arizona, but if they’re still healthy come week 11, the Ducks should have the firepower to finish the year strong against the Wildcats and then an Oregon State team in Eugene that has significant losses on both sides of the ball. 

Conclusion

I’ve never been great at predicting an Oregon football season. They’ve had more line turnover than they’ve had to deal with in quite some time (as if that needed to be repeated). Nine wins isn’t unreasonable, ten would be a really good season, eleven is probably a best case scenario, with twelve only in the discussion if weird, fluky circumstances in the Pac-10 are coupled with unexpectedly dominant play from the Ducks. See? I promised insufferable and biased, and I delivered. 

Prediction

10-2. I’ll go on the record today and say Boise won’t even be close. Ducks by at least 17. 

Game Highlights Set to Unfortunate Music

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDU_jAcmkS8

-Dan

Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season.  Today, we travel to the metropolis of Corvallis, Oregon, which boasts the slogan “Business is Good Here”, calls itself a “bike-friendly city”, and is known as the “fifth smartest city in America” according to a recent study by Forbes magazine.  So, it’s got that going for it, which is nice.

First Impression

Dan Rubenstein hates beavers.  All of them.  Especially ones from Oregon State.  We don’t want PETA dishing out any DDOS attacks on SolidVerbal.com, but in the interest of full disclosure, we just had to put that on the table.

Now, with that in mind, nobody would hold it against you if you chose not to root for Oregon State’s college football team after its pyrotechnic 3-0 victory over Pitt in last year’s Sun Bowl.  (We’d totally understand — that game would’ve made Baby Jesus cry.)  However, there are reasons to be excited about Beaver football in 2009, mainly because of the dynamic duo of Jacquizz and James Rodgers.  Jacquizz led the team with 1,500 total yards from scrimmage; James was just as dangerous with 1,000 total yards; together their speed and versatility figures to cause many long nights for opposing defensive coordinators.  That, combined with the impressive way with which Oregon State rounded out its 2008 season, and there is reason to be optimistic.

The main question, though, is who will be in charge of getting the Rodgers brothers the ball.  Lyle Moevao led the Beavers last season in passing, but in recovering from shoulder surgery this spring, has given Sean Canfield the chance to steal his job.  Regardless, coach Mike Riley knows he needs more consistent quarterback play in ’09 if he hopes to survive the meat of his Pac-10 schedule.

Last Year

The Beavers pulled their season together quite nicely in 2008 after an extremely rough start with back-to-back losses to Stanford (of all teams) and Penn State.  But after a win against Hawaii and a bye week to figure itself out, Oregon State pulled the year’s biggest upset by taking down USC by a 27-21 score.  Despite a let-down loss to Utah the following week, the Beavers won their next six games before being blown out in the Civil War against Oregon.  And then there was that Sun Bowl victory, but we should probably just agree to delete that from memory.

People

It will be interesting to see how Mike Riley handles his quarterback situation.  Lyle Moevao led the team in passing in ’08; however, his 13 interceptions were troublesome and didn’t instill a whole lot of confidence.  Both Rodgers brothers return, but Riley has his work cut out for him on the left side of his offensive line, where his team figures to be particularly inexperienced, likely starting a redshirt freshman at tackle.  Defensively, Mark Banker has a bit of a project on his hands, especially coordinating a way to stop the pass, but listen for names such as Keaton Kristick and Stephen Paea.

This Year

Though the Beavers will be dealing with some inexperienced units, there is a distinct possibility they could start the year 6-0, setting up a showdown in the Coliseum with USC.  Portland State, UNLV, Cincinnati, Arizona, Arizona State and Stanford are all very winnable games.  But common logic leads you to believe that USC will be fired up and ready to avenge last season’s upset, and you should well expect a monstrous blowout at the hands of the Trojans on October 24th.

It doesn’t get any easier after USC, as the Beavs square off against a much-improved UCLA squad on Halloween, then on the road against Cal the following week.  Both will be difficult games, look for Oregon State to split.  The final regular season game (the Civil War) is anyone’s guess.

Conclusion

Oregon State has a knack for sneaking under the radar.  It usually does this by suffering a bad loss early in the season and then slowly creeping its way back into the discussion.  Arizona State, USC, Cal and Oregon feel like losses for the Beavers in 2009, and not surprisingly, all are road games.  Throw in a random home loss just for good measure.

Prediction

7-5

–Ty

Ty and Dan talk with Jon Wilner from the San Jose Mercury News about the troubles of the Pac-10′s television deal, the obstacles facing USC, and the ongoing Mike Stoops Experiment.  Plus, new features on SolidVerbal.com and tons of listener e-mails.

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Ty and Dan reach the vaunted 40 subscriber plateau and plan out the madness of the Solid Verbal Combine.  Plus:

• Dan’s trip to Austin
• SEC referees beating up quarterbacks
• Texas Tech hiring kickers that win contests
• Inmates hitting the recruiting trail
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Ty and Dan ponder a USC-Ohio State game without a Beanie Wells injury and assert that Ohio State should no longer be allowed in a BCS Title game. Plus, the duo talks about…

• Dan’s muddy trip to Iowa City and his subpar experience outside Kinnick Stadium
• The illustrious “Phil Steele Threshold”
• Auburn’s soccer-style victory over Mississippi State
• The curse of the Oregon Quarterback and how Oregon alums are preparing themselves accordingly for possible knee injuries
• The Pac-10′s choke job against the Mountain West Conference
• Predictions for the week ahead

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