The Daily 12-PAC is back from a three-day weekend, and we got some good stuff for you today. Is Washington poised for a BCS berth in 2013? Oregon coach Chip Kelly talks about "winning the day". OSU's president talks about a college football playoff. And most importantly - how to survive a cougar attack.
See you after the jump.
Bruce Feldman Says Washington Is Nearing BCS Contention
CBSSports.com college football columnist Bruce Feldman is one of the most respected voices covering our sport. Last week he fielded a question about U-Dub in his mailbag segment about whether the Huskies were headed in the right direction and how far away they were from a BCS bowl.
Here is what Feldman had to say:
Definitely. Steve Sarkisian has continued to recruit and mold the personnel to his system and expectations. Obviously, on defense they were a mess in 2011, but I really like the changes he made on that side of the ball. Justin Wilcox and Pete Sirmon are two terrific young coaches, who not only will help solidify the defense but also will help in development. Sirmon is a very good recruiter too. On top of that, Sarkisian landed D-line coach Tosh Lupoi, who is one of the best recruiters in all of college football. Lupoi will make a huge impact for this program and enable U-Dub to be a player on national recruits.
My hunch is they are a year away from seriously contending for a BCS berth. Keith Price had an excellent debut season as a starting QB. He's a good one to build around and he's got some impressive young receivers (Kasen Williams and Austin Seferian-Jenkins) to work with.
The problem is they lost a superb back in Chris Polk, and for as bad as the defense was, it still lost most of its top talent, including leading tackler Cort Dennison. This defense needs a lot of work just to get to being respectable, much less championship caliber.Josh Shirley (eight sacks) and Sean Parker (four INTs) are guys who do appear to be future stars though. Better still, USC, which is poised to make a BCS title run this fall, will have to replace Matt Barkley and figures to take a step back in 2013.
All that coming from someone who is an authority on college football, and has a great feel for the pulse of what's going on nationally, has to bring a smile to the face of Husky fans.
For what it's worth, and I am on record saying this numerous places, when I saw the first pass Keith Price ever threw in a college game (TD against USC in 2010), I said the Huskies would win the PAC-12 in 2013.
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In-depth Interview With Oregon Coach Chip Kelly
Here is a video produced by, among others, Oregon football player Nick Cody. It's an exclusive interview with Oregon head coach Chip Kelly discussing why he came to Oregon, his "Win The Day" philosophy and more.
It's an extremely informative piece, check it out:
"Win The Day" (via TheNC61)
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Oregon State's President Vocal About CFB Playoff
The PAC-12 and its constituents have been vocal advocates of a playoff system in college football. University presidents recently met in Los Angeles to discuss there conference's stance on the current BCS system.
"I don't hear anyone saying business as usual is acceptable," said Edward Ray, Oregon State University's president and chairman of the Pac-12 universities' CEO group. "We need change."
OSU president Edward Ray was among the meeting attendees and spoke with the Arizona Republic. Based on his comments, it seems we are getting closer and closer to reform of the current system.
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How To Survive a Cougar Attack
Cougars are a ferocious animal. So if Washington State's mascot attacks you, this is how to survive:
How To Survive a Cougar Attack (via Howcast)
I kid, I kid. It's a slow news day, and Mike Leach hasn't kicked anyone off the team yet this week. Hope you got a laugh, though.
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Make sure to follow Scott (@scottenyeart) and SB Nation Seattle (@sbnseattle) on Twitter.
To join in on the discussion and find more great college football commentary and analysis, make sure you follow the Huskies at UW Dawg Pound, the Cougars at Coug Center, the Ducks at Addicted to Quack, and the Beavers at Building the Dam.