Pac-12 Championship Game

[cloverleaf]

The Pac-12 is moving its conference championship game to the new San Francisco 49ers' new stadium in Santa Clara for the next three years. The first three conference title games had been held at the home of the division champion with the best conference record - Oregon in 2011, Stanford in 2012 and Arizona State last year.

Neutral site good move in my opinion plus any of the gay players can party down in San Fran.

 

[GoSooners]

Nothing like Cal and Stanford having home field advantage. Well Stanford anyway. Cal is a long ways from smelling anything that says championship on it. Also the game being played Friday at 6pm. Conan, what up with that? Seems like an odd time.

 

[Conan]

Nothing like Cal and Stanford having home field advantage. Well Stanford anyway. Cal is a long ways from smelling anything that says championship on it. Also the game being played Friday at 6pm. Conan, what up with that? Seems like an odd time.

Nothing special. TV influence. Probably the first available slot of its own for a Friday night. Earlier than 6pm catches people in the Pac time zone that still have to make the drive home on Friday. Being the only game played on TV at the time puts the Pac-12 center stage. 7PM would put the start at 10PM on the east coast. That would be pushing it a little too much I think. What surprises me is the traffic headed up the 101 to the game. Serious grid lock about that time, especially Friday night. Could easily be an hour and a half drive from the Golden Gate. Also, there are traffic lights on US 101 S. of the Golden Gate through the city, so we are talking about at least a 2 hour drive from anywhere except for the few that go through San Quentin who might save 30 min. after driving an extra 30 min. Stanford fans have a 3-3½ hr. trek on their hands though it probably won't matter much this year.

 

[GoSooners]

Nothing special. TV influence. Probably the first available slot of its own for a Friday night. Earlier than 6pm catches people in the Pac time zone that still have to make the drive home on Friday. Being the only game played on TV at the time puts the Pac-12 center stage. 7PM would put the start at 10PM on the east coast. That would be pushing it a little too much I think. What surprises me is the traffic headed up the 101 to the game. Serious grid lock about that time, especially Friday night. Could easily be an hour and a half drive from the Golden Gate. Also, there are traffic lights on US 101 S. of the Golden Gate through the city, so we are talking about at least a 2 hour drive from anywhere except for the few that go through San Quentin who might save 30 min. after driving an extra 30 min. Stanford fans have a 3-3½ hr. trek on their hands though it probably won't matter much this year.

For some reason I got the idea that it was a 6pm east coast starting time. I thought I read it somewhere, but it didn't seem right. I'm really looking forward to watching the Pac-12 this year. I thought the conference was a little over hyped last year considering the player losses and coaching losses they had to deal with. But not this year. The Pac-12 is stacked! It should be a great year for the conference. Pezgordo just did a UCLA betting analysis for our website. The Bruins are going to be loaded this year. And I'll make a prediction right now, Brett Hundley will be one of the top 3 contenders for the Heisman this year. Unlike last year when they were dealing with a lot of injuries, he's got a talented and loaded front 5 in front of him. And being a dual threat QB makes him that much more dangerous. Plus he should get plenty of tv exposure with UCLA playing a few prime time games. But damn they have a brutal schedule, they draw Oregon, Stanford and UW from the north besides having to deal with USC from their own division. It doesn't get any tougher than that. But I think UCLA is the most talented team on the west coast.

 

[Conan]

I think it's a tossup for the talent crown for '14. insofar as the starting teams go, UCLA, Oregon, ASU... clearly the front 3 with the best front 5 (as it were.) Oregon's got the guns up front with their entire OL coming back (vs the Bruins with 4 returning starters on their OL) However the one thing that does stand out about UCLA is their receiver corps. I also have a few things to say about ASU, however this time I think I'll just keep it to myself until later in fall camp. The last time I spent much time picking apart the Sun Devils, they went from about last to first in penalty yardage in D-1A. That was the complete opposite of what I stated they would do but it wasn't seen so much as a prediction on my part (I had been elaborating about what they had been doing for years,) it was taken more like a dare and look at what happened. If that had anything to do with upsetting the apple cart, then this time they are on their own.

GS and Pezgordo, if in any way that bit of rabble-rousing drove traffic into your site, more power to you. I think people underestimate what a well placed piece of journalism is capable of doing if the crowd reading it is fresh and looking for a well thought out place to roost. In my case, I deliberately said things that were controversial just to shed some light on a pretty damning problem that had persisted for too long at ASU.

Now let's compare a few things about Oregon and UCLA without going overboard. Both teams rely on speed at nearly every position on the field. Oregon has had a while longer to build its bench in that regard, however up front offensively they are very similar in that regard. But it ends there. The differences are two fold. First off, the Ducks have 5 returning starters on their offensive line. But the Bruins return 4 starters. There's a difference in experience there but in no way should returning starters be looked upon as a major difference. In my formula for picking winning sides, the superior OL wins games. UCLA loses the battle sizewise because the Duck OL has put on 100 lbs of bulk where it is needed the most, up front on offense. In terms of depth the Ducks are also bigger and faster overall. The Bruins probably run a respectable 2nd.

The Bruins have been improving since Mora took over as HC, however considering where they were just 2 years ago, they are vastly improved but they have a ways to go. Offensively they appear to be well on their way to developing plenty of depth. Given the time factor, I believe that Oregon has the Bruins beat in S & C. The Ducks' added bulk runs into their 2's and 3's and it's not all just a bunch of flab.

The Bruins have about 4 or 5 receivers with experience compared to Oregon with a big weakness at that position. I think there are only 1 or 2 guys with notable experience so they will need a surprise or 2 to step up. Tight end is a very different story with Oregon. Some pundits have said that the Ducks are sporting the best TE position group in the country.

I don't feel much like elaborating on the defenses at the moment, but safe to say that UCLA's defensive line is the strength of their defense. Oregon returns 3 with starting experience and perhaps the best D lineman in the conference, junior Arik Armstead to anchor a beefed up and speedy DL. Though he hasn't been called upon to perform for his highly talented team, his skill set and his speed according to the pundits are destined to be legend as far as his performance goes on the field of play. I don't remember exactly where he ranks as far as a blue chip recruit is concerned, but his time is now.

I'll pick this up some more in a few days when I don't feel so wiped out. The quarterbacks are just as close as can be expected. They seem eerily close as do the rest of the players and position groups mentioned so far. In only two instances I sense a clear advantage, one for each team. As it seems to be the case on the field, Oregon's talent at TE is something that cannot be developed the same way as a young wide receiver who needs his reps. To be a successful TE, it takes special physical attributes that you either have or you don't have. I have no idea what a 3 tight end offense looks like so before I can make any calls, I'll need to look up some of Stanford's games and watch how they handled it a couple of years ago.

If push comes to shove, I would choose the Ducks because they are a proven team with a proven formula. Let's see UCLA win 10 or 11 games in a regular season (plus Hawaii) before we go out on a limb with any predictions. Mariota vs Hundley in all likelihood is a match-up that will be revisiting us on Sundays for years to come.

 

[WinOne]

Conan~ I am not sold on Helfrich as HC at Oregon. Poor coaching lost them games against Stanford. I'm not sold on him. And they are a bad break away from not having MM at the trigger as there is not much depth behind him.

 

[CoachCB]

Also the game being played Friday at 6pm. Conan, what up with that? Seems like an odd time.

What's up w/ that? Because nobody gives a shit. Will likely have a better tv rating because it won't have to compete w/ SEC football. (just fucking w/ you Conan!)...

 

[REDEYE]

Conan~ I am not sold on Helfrich as HC at Oregon. Poor coaching lost them games against Stanford. I'm not sold on him. And they are a bad break away from not having MM at the trigger as there is not much depth behind him.

I'm not sold on Helfrich either...His leadership is very suspect in my mind...

 

[Conan]

What's up w/ that? Because nobody gives a shit. Will likely have a better tv rating because it won't have to compete w/ SEC football. (just fucking w/ you Conan!)...

Thanks for clarifying that Coach. Your sense of camaraderie is well noted and well taken. One of your SEC buddies has slipped a couple of gears which I promise to elaborate on pretty soon. Maybe it has something to do with a few of those academic standards down that way. Giving one's self time to understand in lieu of reacting to a few words that happen to beat their way through the haze is a sign of someone who's learned to overcome a reactionary personality.

 

[Conan]

I'm not sold on Helfrich either...His leadership is very suspect in my mind...

Nor I, yet... but not convinced he can't manage the job either.

 

[bigtendominator]

Terrible idea. The stadium will be half empty. While nobody wants to play in Eugene twice or at Stanford, etc, need to keep the games on campus. Unlike the Big 12 Men's Basketball tournament in KC or OKC, they are centrally located. SEC in ATL is perfect because so many alums from so many of the schools are in ATL.

 

[MackDonald]

Nor I, yet... but not convinced he can't manage the job either.

I still say, "let's give him, Helfrich, a chance"....His first year record was more than decent when you consider the Mariota injury and the 2013 Oregon road-schedule. You don't come in as a first-year head coach in a major college football conference like the Pac-12 and "steam-roll" the league. Here is a comparison; I purposely choose not to use Bret Bielema as an example: After considerable success at MSU Nick Saban was hired-on in November of 1999 at LSU and ended up with a 2000 first-year record of 8-4 and a Peach Bowl win; Welcome to the SEC (Tiger fans are cautiously patient). 2001- the great leap to the SEC "promised land" with a Championship and a Sugar Bowl win. 2002- 8-5 (LSU faithful becoming anxious, again); 2003- Voila...out of nowhere, a National Championship (LSU faithful placated). Then, suddenly, the bolt to the NFL (Money); Now, fast-forward to Tuscaloosa....2007- a first-year record of 6-6 (ouch) and then, 2007, 12-2 and we all know the rest.

Arguably, Nick Saban, today, is considered one of the top (and most successful) active college football coaches in the land.....He has achieved success the old-fashion way, patience & fortitude, and here we are. Getting back to Helfrich (who is no Nick Saban, at least not-yet), having to deal with the "Kelly Legacy" and the high expectations of last year and again this year (I refer to the Sporting News 2014 prediction), I would suggest this second-year head football coach has held-up quite well when all is considered, acknowledging he has a long way to go to achieve legendary status. It will be a very interesting season for this "new kid on the block" and all the Duck fans. All of major college football will be watching closely.

 

[WinOne]

I like the analogy however, Helfrich did not have the pedigree of Nicky Satan. Saban was a Belichek pupil and he coordinated an NFL defense. Not to mention the whole Don James mentoring, etc. Helfrich is kind of like the rich kid that inherits daddy's business and all the board members are holding their breath hoping he does not cause the stock price to plummet from making bad decisions.

This might be a little bit too much inside however, but with long time Oregon DC Nick Aliotti retiring, it would have seemed a "natural" that DC Justin Wilcox would have left the side of Steve Sarkisian and moved over to Oregon. However, rumors have it that Helfrich pissed the bed when it was suggested to him by Aliotti that he approach Wilcox about taking the DC job. The guy that told me this knows this program really well. I don't know if there is bad blood or what but the above is what I was told. He didnt share much more than that and when I asked if there were issues, I just got a smirk. This was a couple months back.

I don't know if it was because Wilcox went to UW, or what, but there seems to be something under the surface. I don't know their history.

 

[GoSooners]

I like the analogy however, Helfrich did not have the pedigree of Nicky Satan. Saban was a Belichek pupil and he coordinated an NFL defense. Not to mention the whole Don James mentoring, etc. Helfrich is kind of like the rich kid that inherits daddy's business and all the board members are holding their breath hoping he does not cause the stock price to plummet from making bad decisions.

This might be a little bit too much inside however, but with long time Oregon DC Nick Aliotti retiring, it would have seemed a "natural" that DC Justin Wilcox would have left the side of Steve Sarkisian and moved over to Oregon. However, rumors have it that Helfrich pissed the bed when it was suggested to him by Aliotti that he approach Wilcox about taking the DC job. The guy that told me this knows this program really well. I don't know if there is bad blood or what but the above is what I was told. He didnt share much more than that and when I asked if there were issues, I just got a smirk. This was a couple months back.

I don't know if it was because Wilcox went to UW, or what, but there seems to be something under the surface. I don't know their history.

Interesting stuff. So your saying that Helfrich is one of those guys who was born on third base and thought he hit a triple. Reminds me of somebody else. Cough cough...Lane..cough...Kiffin

 

[Conan]

Interesting indeed. I hadn't heard that story either.

Here are a few things about Helfrich in support of what I have been telling people about his role in Kelly's offense:

Initially, after the 2006 season Mike Bellotti contacted Helfrich about possibly joining Oregon before Chip Kelly was hired in 2007, but Helfrich declined to leave Colorado after only one season.[SUP][9][/SUP] Two years later, Helfrich was named Oregon's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on April 30, 2009, replacing Chip Kelly's position as he had been promoted to head coach.[SUP][4][/SUP]

During Helfrich's four seasons as Oregon's offensive coordinator the offense produced tremendous success, ranked highly nationally in several offensive categories and became well known for their extremely fast-paced offense built around speed. Although Chip Kelly called the plays on offense, Helfrich still played an integral role in Oregon's system.[SUP][10][/SUP] He had a large amount of involvement in the game planning, scripting, and coaching on a weekly basis while having a high amount of input in what plays are called and why they are called.[SUP][11][/SUP]

With Helfrich coordinating under the philosophy of innovative spread offense guru Chip Kelly, the Ducks played in four straight BCS bowls from 2009 to 2012, won three straight Pac-12 Conference championships,[SUP][12][/SUP] and continuously energized college football with one of the nation's best offenses in scoring, rushing, and total offense in each of those four seasons. As offensive coordinator during the Kelly era, the offense averaged 44.7 points per game with an average of 283.4 rushing yards and an average of 500.7 yards of total offense. In 2012 Oregon's offense was hailed as its best ever[SUP][13][/SUP] as they averaged 49.6 points per game with an average of 537.4 yards of total offense with 315.2 of those yards per game from rushing.

 

[Conan]

For some reason I got the idea that it was a 6pm east coast starting time. I thought I read it somewhere, but it didn't seem right. I'm really looking forward to watching the Pac-12 this year. I thought the conference was a little over hyped last year considering the player losses and coaching losses they had to deal with. But not this year. The Pac-12 is stacked! It should be a great year for the conference. Pezgordo just did a UCLA betting analysis for our website. The Bruins are going to be loaded this year. And I'll make a prediction right now, Brett Hundley will be one of the top 3 contenders for the Heisman this year. Unlike last year when they were dealing with a lot of injuries, he's got a talented and loaded front 5 in front of him. And being a dual threat QB makes him that much more dangerous. Plus he should get plenty of tv exposure with UCLA playing a few prime time games. But damn they have a brutal schedule, they draw Oregon, Stanford and UW from the north besides having to deal with USC from their own division. It doesn't get any tougher than that. But I think UCLA is the most talented team on the west coast.

You know what GoSooners. Not long ago I remember a string of bad luck injuries on the Bruins offensive line coupled with some pretty bad luck keeping their starting QBs healthy. It was really bizarre how predictable it was just suggesting they might be cursed. (The curse of the Arroyo Seco de la Santa Ria to be precise.) I even remember at least during one period when they had 4 freshman playing the front 4 for keepers. These guys would be extremely banged up year after year. I didn't notice this last year because I wasn't paying such close attention to that aspect... or perhaps because no news is good news about the Bruin's OL. They weren't so great but they weren't so bad. A year's worth of seasoning figures to be the best you can say about them which is a pretty unique thing to say about the Bruin offensive line going back a considerable way. Today, including their depth and experience they are at the top of the south.

 

[WinOne]

Interesting indeed. I hadn't heard that story either.

Here are a few things about Helfrich in support of what I have been telling people about his role in Kelly's offense:

Initially, after the 2006 season Mike Bellotti contacted Helfrich about possibly joining Oregon before Chip Kelly was hired in 2007, but Helfrich declined to leave Colorado after only one season.[SUP][9][/SUP] Two years later, Helfrich was named Oregon's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on April 30, 2009, replacing Chip Kelly's position as he had been promoted to head coach.[SUP][4][/SUP]

During Helfrich's four seasons as Oregon's offensive coordinator the offense produced tremendous success, ranked highly nationally in several offensive categories and became well known for their extremely fast-paced offense built around speed. Although Chip Kelly called the plays on offense, Helfrich still played an integral role in Oregon's system.[SUP][10][/SUP] He had a large amount of involvement in the game planning, scripting, and coaching on a weekly basis while having a high amount of input in what plays are called and why they are called.[SUP][11][/SUP]

With Helfrich coordinating under the philosophy of innovative spread offense guru Chip Kelly, the Ducks played in four straight BCS bowls from 2009 to 2012, won three straight Pac-12 Conference championships,[SUP][12][/SUP] and continuously energized college football with one of the nation's best offenses in scoring, rushing, and total offense in each of those four seasons. As offensive coordinator during the Kelly era, the offense averaged 44.7 points per game with an average of 283.4 rushing yards and an average of 500.7 yards of total offense. In 2012 Oregon's offense was hailed as its best ever[SUP][13][/SUP] as they averaged 49.6 points per game with an average of 537.4 yards of total offense with 315.2 of those yards per game from rushing.

Conan~
We'll see. I guess I see it as Chip's offense since he brought it from New Hampshire. And Chip was always a go-go fast pace guy. Time will tell. The one thing you won't be able to doubt is the talent because the pieces are in place to continue to get top notch kids. I always thought Kelly was calling the plays however I might be incorrect on that. In this Ducks offense, I believe plays are called by Scott Frost now.

 

[cloverleaf]

Men, guess I'm just old fashioned but I really like what David Shaw has accomplished at Stanford.

Ground and pound on offense, play strong toughass defense and wear the opponent down.

More of the same this season.............

 

[Conan]

That is correct. Kelly must have placed a ton of trust in his OC to allow that. Maybe Helfrich still retains some veto power in critical situations as is true with many teams with HC's that are also former OCs. I doubt that Frost is 100% independent from Helfrich in day to day operations, but he takes a considerable load off of his boss.

As a player, Frost was Tom Osborne's QB during the season Nebraska won their last NC (1997) beating Peyton Manning in the Orange Bowl that year to lock up the #1 spot. He also worked under Bill Walsh when he played at Stanford before transferring to Nebraska and later Bill Parcells and Bill Belechick in the NFL, interestingly on the defensive side. He joined up with Oregon in early 2009 under Kelly and Helfrich as the Duck's wide receivers coach and held that position for the following 4 years. In his only season as the Duck OC under Helfrich last year, his offense set an all-time school record for total offense (7345 Yds.) His current salary is about $400,000 or about double what he was making as WR coach in 2012.

 

[ajm]

Nothing special. TV influence. Probably the first available slot of its own for a Friday night. Earlier than 6pm catches people in the Pac time zone that still have to make the drive home on Friday. Being the only game played on TV at the time puts the Pac-12 center stage. 7PM would put the start at 10PM on the east coast. That would be pushing it a little too much I think. What surprises me is the traffic headed up the 101 to the game. Serious grid lock about that time, especially Friday night. Could easily be an hour and a half drive from the Golden Gate. Also, there are traffic lights on US 101 S. of the Golden Gate through the city, so we are talking about at least a 2 hour drive from anywhere except for the few that go through San Quentin who might save 30 min. after driving an extra 30 min. Stanford fans have a 3-3½ hr. trek on their hands though it probably won't matter much this year.

I think you've got your geography mixed up a little bit. Maybe you're thinking Santa Rosa?

Stanford is only about 15 miles north of Santa Clara, and you definitely don't need to go through The City. You could go 101S or El Camino without any real problems (other than typical commute traffic). The new stadium is just south of the bay.