Opponent's Notebook: 7/15/08

We've truly reached the dog days, and I'm sure we all look a little bit like the dude in the picture...but don't worry...keep telling yourself there's only 48 days until kickoff.

Here's what's up amongst ASU's foes this week:

The Lumberjacks are a top-20 FCS team in both 1-AA polls, and their joined by several Big Sky buddies. (Arizona Daily Sun)

Nike is still slowly taking over the world. Next stop: the UNLV Rebels. (UNLV Rebel Yell, pictures here)

Athens police insist there's not a behavior problem with the UGA football team. I beg to differ...7 times over. (AJC)

Uga VII will have his coming out party on opening day. (AJC)

Pete Carroll blogs about his trip on the USS Stennis. No word on whether Matt Leinart fell overboard. (USCTrojans.com)

On a serious and tragic note, a UO freshman FS drowned and passed away this weekend. PFN sends thoughts and prayers. (The Oregonian)

Todd Doxey was considered a high character player for the Ducks...a "coaches dream." (Eugene Register-Guard)

Folks in friendly Winnipeg are NOT happy with the Blue Bombers slow start, but at least they're not taking it out on poor former OSU K Alexis Serna. (The Oregonian, Winnipeg Sun)

While ASU's marketing campaign declares Rudy Carpenter and Luis Vasquez "superheroes," Oregon State declares USC and California "#1 wannabes." (OSUBeavers.com)

Chris Chandler, the most easily injured QB in the history of football, not a fan of UW anymore. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Our good buddy, recruiting insider Eric Hess, has the fallout from the Nick Foles ASU to Michigan State to UofA debacle. (Arizona Daily Star)

The University of Arizona...the next Tight End U? (Tucson Citizen)

Opponents News and Notes

SDSU has 17 straight losses against Pac-10 opponents, including a 45-17 loss this past weekend against Washington State. Expect some inflated stats on Saturday; the Aztecs are the worst in D-I in Total Defense AND Pass Efficiency Defense. Early game prediction: 52-14, Sun Devils, easily covering the 27 1/2 point spread.

Oregon State couldn't handle Cincinatti's speed defense last Saturday resulting in 7 turnovers, including 6 interceptions. The Beavers face Idaho State this weekend, tuning up for the September 22nd showdown at Sun Devil Stadium.

Stanford was idle this past weekend, but will face San Jose State this Saturday. Last year, San Jose State came back from a 34-14 halftime deficit to beat Stanford 35-34. This year's contest will be dedicated to Bill Walsh, who coached both teams. Stanford is favored by 7. With the game dedicated to Bill Walsh and with revenge on their minds, my prediction is that Stanford will cover.

Washington State quarterback Alex Brink is a one-man wrecking crew.

It's not going to get easier for freshman phenom quarterback Jake Locker. Washington has to face Ohio State, UCLA, and USC all in the next 3 weeks. The Huskies are 4 point dogs this week at home against the Buckeyes, and I have no prediction as of yet. If the Huskies play smart with limited mental mistakes, anything is possible.

A lot of unexpected excitement in the Cal-CSU game this weekend, but Cal hung on for the 34-28 victory with the help of reserve running back James Montgomery. Cal returns home on Saturday to face Louisiana Tech, and are 33 1/2 point favorites.

Not only did Michigan get beat on the field by Oregon, but they lost off of it as well. 3 prized recruits that Michigan brought in this weekend decided that they now want to go play for the Ducks. Oregon is favored by 15 1/2 this weekend at home against Fresno State, a team that lost to top-25 ranked Texas A&M in triple overtime last weekend.

Opponents Notebook 9/7

It doesn't look like Colorado linebacker Michael Sipili is going to get his suspension lifted in time to get down to Tempe, as he pled guilty to misdemeanor assault yesterday. Probably a good idea to keep this guy as far away from Mill Avenue as possible.

Oregon State couldn't get anything going against Cincinnati last night, getting embarrassed 34-3.

Even with the blowout loss to UCLA, it's still way too soon to predict how Stanford will fare under the tutelage of Jim Harbaugh.

Wazzou Safety Terry Mixon has left the team. The Cougars face San Diego State this weekend, which will be a good test as to whether the team goes 1-11 or 0-12.

Washington's Jake Locker has vowed to pull a Babe Ruth on Saturday, promising a boy with an inoperable brain tumor that he'll point to him when he scores his first touchdown. The Huskies face Boise State this weekend, so Locker should get the chance to make a score.

Cal Tailback Justin Forsett is looking forward to showing off his skills at 5,000 feet when the Bears travel to Colorado State this weekend.

Opponent's Notebook 8/31

The San Jose State Spartans have been digging into the vault to figure out what Dennis Erickson will throw at them.

Quarterback Cody Hawkins makes his debut for Colorado at Invesco Field in Denver on Saturday against Colorado State.

Oregon State seriously injured four Utah players in their 24-7 win last night, breaking the leg of running back Matt Asiata.

Lacking quality depth, Washington State will start true freshman Chima Nwachukwu at cornerback this weekend against Wisconsin at Camp Randall. No pressure, kid.

Speaking of debuts, Washington's Jake Locker makes his tonight.

Cal prepares for Tennessee, who may or may not have star quarterback Erik Ainge in the lineup on Saturday.

Over at Bruins Nation, they can't wait for the season to start, but Karl Dorrell just wants his team to finish.

USC will play 6 true freshmen Saturday against Idaho.

Opponents Notebook, 8/27

San Jose State may have a capable quarterback, but their wide receivers have been less than spectacular during camp.

The Buffaloes are all about being out with the old and in with the new.

San Diego State's rebuilding process can't begin until they have something that resembles an offensive line. Meanwhile, every quarterback not named Kevin O'Connell is fighting for the backup spot.

He's baaaaaack.

You might not like what Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh has to say, but he's just keeping it real. Behind this fearless leader, you can bet on Stanford to put a scare into a few teams this season.

My fearless prediction; Washington State will go 0-12 this season.

Ty Willingham has said that practices this week will include artificial crowd noise while preparing for Friday night's game at Syracuse.

Bad news first: Cal's offense has improved since last year, and that's saying something with the departure of star halfback Marshawn Lynch. The good news: Keno Walter-White will not be covering anyone (so I guess nothing has changed).

Oregon might need someone besides Jonathon Stewart to step up at running back if he has another injury plagued season.

If you don't know the name Khalil Bell, you will by mid-season. With the Bruins depleted at fullback, Bell will get a lot of snaps to take the load off of starter Chris Markey.

Southern Cal has already set its sights on the National Championship in New Orleans. They really need to focus on Pac-10 play first, even though all of the mainstream media has already awarded them the National Championship.

And in international news, U of A is notably inexperienced on special teams. We're not so different after all.

Opponents Notebook, 8/25

San Jose State linebacker Matt Castelo was given the cold shoulder as a recruit, but proved himself to be a viable college linebacker by leading the nation with 165 tackles last season.

I'm starting to think Oregon State is going to be a force to be reckoned with when they visit the House of Heat on September 29th, even if they are still without Sammie Stroughter.

Stanford prepares for UCLA by filling up their last O-Line spot a week before the opener.

Jahvid Best is all the rage up in Berkeley.

Torain, Herring and Dewitty should have an easy time against Oregon when the Sun Devils visit Autzen Stadium

UCLA's defense wants to put some points on the board this season.

USC is having issues at tailback despite having 9 of them on their roster. In related news, former Trojan running back and SI coverboy Emmanuel Moody is debating a transfer to Florida.

Mike Stoops believes that his team is as physically capable as any other team in the country, but the mental side just isn't there yet. By the way Willie, I hope all those concussions don't make you forget to file your TPS reports.

Opponents Notebook, 8/22

Even if Josh Barrett knocks San Jose State quarterback Adam Tafralis out of the game early, the Spartans have reserves who can step in at a moment's notice.

Colorado is having some issues with its defensive line.

Lynell Hamilton, a former freshman All-American running back for San Diego State, is having trouble staying on the field due to chronic knee problems. Don't expect Mel Kiper to be talking about this guy come April.

Sammie Stroughter, Oregon State's All-American Wide Receiver and Punt Returner, is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team, citing the deaths of prominent male role models in his life. Sammie is a senior, but has not used up his redshirt status yet.

Washington State's inexperienced offensive line is looking towards Vaughn Lesuma, a 25-year old native of Fiji, to provide leadership.

The Huskies seem excited about a middle linebacker they've dubbed a "diamond in the rough."

Some Cal bloggers break down the Arizona State football program. Try and find out what the point of the post is, because I still can't figure it out.

Oregon's professors are pretty pissed off about that whole $100 Million Nike donation to the athletic program.

UCLA has some major problems with their backfield, with backup safety Christian Rameriz shifting to running back and linebacker Fred Holmes moving to fullback.

Pete Carroll puts USC up in a hotel on the night before their scrimmage to mimic gameday situations.

U of A sophomore kick returner Devin Ross says he plans on "returning one kick for a touchdown every game."

Opponents Notebook, 8/20

Cal has an entire section of their site devoted to the DeSean Jackson Heisman campaign, including highlight videos, a photo gallery, and DeSean's advice to freshmen. The video you see here is not on the site, but happens to be my favorite.

USC is taking preemptive steps in the fight against ignorance of the parents of players by conducting seminars to inform them how to prevent being a part of an NCAA violation.

UCLA's offense underperformed in their scrimmage, with Karl Dorrell and quarterback Ben Olson saying the purpose was to keep opposing scouts in the dark. I wish ASU could have used that excuse for its own poor offensive effort in Friday's scrimmage.

Not much in football news for Arizona, but in basketball news, Richard Jefferson has donated $3.5 Million to U of A to build a practice facility baring his name.

Oregon's defensive line has taken a hit due to the transfer of senior end Victor Filipe.

Chris Johnson is a long way from home, but now has his time to shine at Oregon State.

One writer up in Pullman thinks his quarterback isn't being treated fairly by the Wazzou fans.

Colorado has released their depth chart, with coach's son Cody Hawkins leading the team at quarterback. Freshman standout receiver Josh Smith is out indefinetly with a bruised kidney.

Opponents Notebook, 7/16

USC running back #29 Emmanuel Moody(left) is transferring.

Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins seems to be leaning towards naming his son, Cody, starting quarterback over JuCo transfer Nick Nelson

Luke Laolagi looks to make his presence felt at middle linebacker for San Diego State this season.

Even with Sammie Stroughter sidelined by nagging injuries, Oregon State isn't worried about their wide receiver situation.

Oregon will be practicing at Nike Headquarters on Saturday.

Good luck pronouncing the name of the new walk-on kicker for Washington State.

Washington fullbacks Luke Kravitz and Paul Homer excited to see the endzone more with the new spread offense incorporated by offensive coordinator Tim Lappano.

Opponents Notebook

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reminds us not to overlook Oregon State (September 22nd, 7 PM, Sun Devil Stadium)

Washington State players looked sluggish during a scrimmage due to the heat with temperatures reaching all the way into the mid-80's. Coach Larry Doba didn't sound too concerned as he said, "It's not like we're playing tomorrow." Looks like someone is going to be challenging Stanford for last place in the Pac-10 this season.

UCLA news and notes courtesy of Bruins Nation, including a diary entry on the reinstatement of Wide Receivers Coach Eric Scott.

Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh found his new defensive coordinator on the internet.