Over the last two years, NCAA violations have given me a whole lot to write about: how Stanford’s academics-first approach casts doubt on pay-for-play systems for collegiate athletes, how sanctions like those at Ohio State often harm fan bases and entire institutions instead of the perpetrators within the violating athletic department and how USC’s postseason ban made a mockery of the inaugural Pac-12 Title Game.
Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball have combined for 9,252 career rushing yards, the largest total for two starting running backs the history of the Rose Bowl. The previous record, set by Ball and James last year, was a measly 8,069 yards, and this will be just the fourth Rose Bowl in the last 40 years to feature two tailbacks who have combined for at least 7,000 over their careers.
With just about everything on the line, three-touchdown underdog No. 13 Stanford (8-2, 6-1 Pac-12) hopes to knock off No. 2 Oregon (10-0, 7-0) tomorrow night. As if the game didn’t have enough of a David-Goliath feel to it, the Cardinal will have to pull off the upset in Autzen, where the crowd noise can grow so loud that the pellets on the turf start to shake.
With one of the biggest football games in Stanford history upon us, we asked Patrick Malee of Oregon’s The Daily Emerald and Jack Blanchat of The Daily to tell us what might happen if their worst fears are realized on Saturday night.
With a top-10 team coming to town, College GameDay at the Farm for the first time ever and national title hopes hanging in the balance, Saturday’s clash with Oregon is much more than just a normal football game. If LSU-Alabama was the “Game of the Century,” then Oregon-Stanford looks to be the “Game of the Century: Watchable Edition,” or at least the “Game of the Century: Now with Offense!”
Monday night’s BCS National Championship Game marked the end of the 2010-11 college football season, which turned out to be very eventful for the Pac-10.
We ran an experiment this week under the guise of a poll. The task was simple: choose your top three choices for the Heisman Trophy at the halfway point of the college football season. We bombarded The Daily’s staff with e-mails and reminders. Ultimately, 22 people voted.