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USC, in terms of national championships, Heisman Trophy winners, All-Americans, great traditions and NFL success, might be the nation's preeminent program, apologies to Alabama and Notre Dame. So calling the Trojans "sleepers" seems, well, odd. Bu...

If your buddy Otis jumped off a cliff, would you? That used to be a parental standby to elicit the begrudging answer, "No." Yet from the "whatever you can do ridiculously I can do just as ridiculously file," UCLA has matched rival USC by offeri...

Regrettably, there is no too young in recruiting. Not anymore. USC coach Lane Kiffin apparently has offered receiver Nathan Tilford (Upland, Calif./Upland) a scholarship. Tilford has yet to play a down of high school football, which makes this ...

The college preview magazines are hitting bookstore shelves now, and Athlon's was kind enough to mail me its Pac-12 preview, thereby creating another reason for me not to stand up. Here are some highlights: The magazine ranks the Pac-12 second...

The most newsworthy part of a "Heath and Well-Being" initiative the Pac-12 announced Monday was the conference's intention to reduce contact in football practices. From the news release: Football Contact Reduction: The Pac-12 will codify into a f...

That rug really tied the room together. Arizona has a commitment from a receiver. A radio interview with a QB who has committed to Arizona State. Win probability for California's season. Now former Colorado AD Mike Bohn wasn't your typical ...

Happy Friday. This is the mailbag (Say to self in James Earl Jones voice). Follow the Pac-12 blog on Twitter. To the notes! Oscar from Irwindale, Calif., writes: If and when USC and Lane Kiffin decide to part ways I know for a fact it will b...

What is becoming increasingly clear from the early preseason polls is that most so-called pundits see the Pac-12 as a five-team race. In the North Division, it's Stanford and Oregon. Or is that Oregon and Stanford? Oregon State and Washington migh...

Last year, we looked at returning 3,000-yard passers, so the headline here shows how the Pac-12 has become more run-based, defensive minded of late. And, of course, the conference's top two passers, Arizona's Matt Scott and USC's Matt Barkley, are...

There should be no joy when a college football player shows "poor academic judgment," as Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson described his turn of misfortune, thereby earning a suspension that ended his 2013 season before it began. So stop smili...

Welcome to the mailbag. Can we get you something to drink? Follow the Pac-12 blog on Twitter. To the notes! John from Portland writes: Ted, you said in an article you recently wrote that Oregon's athletic department is "notoriously tardy wit...

Jesse Scroggins is a guy who should be able to provide some insight into USC's high-profile quarterback competition. After all, he practiced with Cody Kessler and Max Wittek for a year. He's witnessed their strengths and weaknesses and their makeup a...

Every game counts. But some games count more. Or tell us more. We're going through the Pac-12 and picking out one game that seems most important -- or potentially most revealing -- for each team from our vantage point today. And then we'll let ...

Say what you want about the flagging reputations of former USC quarterbacks, but at least they keep things interesting. One of the big questions for the 2013 NFL draft this week is the fate of Matt Barkley. Will he still get picked in the first ro...

Welcome to the mailbag. Follow the Pac-12 blog on Twitter. We can't guarantee it will make you smarter, but it probably will. To the notes! Bruce from Los Altos, Calif., writes: Re: Oregon's penalties for NCAA infractions. How do you think t...

Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti knows transition. He's coached at Oregon in five different decades and under four head coaches. He's seen tough times and BCS bowl games. So Chip Kelly's departure to the Philadelphia Eagles isn't going shake...