Weekend

Nice win for UCLA last night in a tough and entertaining road game.  I don't think there is any doubt that Hundley and Mariota are the cream of the crop at QB in the West, though you can make a case for OSU's Mannion, who is an advanced pro-style pocket passer and likely has a bright career in the NFL ahead of him.

If you're into the statuesque throwers, like Manning and Brady, Mannion is the guy. He also has the benefit of a world-class receiver in Brandin Cooks who can get open any time he wants to it looks like.

But as you know, I also like Chuckie Keeton of Utah State.  He can throw and run, and has the great handle.  Chuckie, baby.  How's it goin'?

In fact, Chuckie plays tonight.  I'm gonna check that out.

Stanford's Kevin Hogan and Washington's Keith Price are a couple of other good ones, and they face off tomorrow night in what ought to be the most interesting game in the West, one I'm certainly looking forward to for a lot of reasons.

The Texas/Iowa State game last night was also great from a fan's perspective.  Came down to the last play, and that is always good fun.  It's nice to not care who wins, though I found myself rooting for ISU because who doesn't like a bunch of unheralded recruits knocking the crap out of the bigger, supposed better athletes that riddle Texas's roster?  In fairness to Texas last night, the Longhorns were playing with their number two QB and that is always problematic, but they pulled the game out with some nice defensive work.

You never really know, because so much of it is hidden from public view, but it seems like Oregon has a great mentality this season.  A cohesiveness and team concept that is sterling.  It's pretty clear that Oregon's style is to tell its kids that hard work is mandatory inside the program.  If you can't do that, pack your bags. An interesting aspect of any program you follow is to watch the end of the season and see who disappears and ascertain why. Many kids don't like to sit on the bench in college after being stars in high school, so attrition plays into the game. Some simply decide college isn't for them.

One advantage Oregon has is that by being so good a lot of players get on the field, and that keeps some of the kids happy enough.  But the point is they all want to be stars, and that never happens.  Some will choose to leave for a second chance elsewhere.

Look at Oregon in that regard.  If Mariota, just a RS Soph., chooses to return next year, his two talented backups will likely evaluate where they stand in a whole new light.  They're both good, one of them might choose to leave to find a more competitive situation. Oregon has had some very good players leave in the past, including Lache Seastrunk and Tra Carson, two Texans who went home.

Anyway, the sun is shining today after a couple of dismal weeks of clouds and rain.  I don't feel one-hundred percent, but I wonder who does these days?


TS