AROUND THE PAC-12 BOWLS

JIMMY KIMMEL LA BOWL presented by STIFEL

OREGON STATE (7-5, 5-4) vs UTAH STATE (10-3, 6-2)

Sat., Dec. 18 • 4:30 pm PT • ABC

OREGON STATE: First bowl game since defeating Boise State in the 2013 Hawai’i Bowl. 2-0 under Jonathan Smith in games played in Los Angeles, including their win at USC this season, the Beavers’ first victory there since 1960. RB B.J. Baylor leads the Pac-12 with 1,259 rushing yards and looking to become the first Beaver to lead the conference in rushing since Steven Jackson in 2003. Converted 50.3% of their 3rd downs in the regular season which was 2nd best in the Pac-12 and 6th best in FBS. Allowed just 40 TFL on offense this season, the 2nd fewest in FBS

UTAH STATE: 0-3 all-time against Oregon State with the last meeting coming in 1998. Will be facing a Pac-12 team in a bowl game for the first time in school history. In his first year at Utah State, Head Coach Blake Anderson led the Aggies to just the fourth 10+ win season in program history. RB Calvin Tyler Jr. led the team with 764 rushing yards and 6 rushing TD this season. It’s Tyler Jr.’s first season with the Aggies after playing for Oregon State from 2017 to 2020.



SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION HOLIDAY BOWL

UCLA (8-4, 6-3) vs #18 NORTH CAROLINA STATE (9-3, 6-2)

Tues., Dec. 28 • 5:00 pm PT • FOX

UCLA: Playing in their first bowl game under Chip Kelly and making their 2nd all-time appearance in the Holiday Bowl (2012 vs Baylor). First ACC opponent since Virginia in 2015. Looking for their first 9-win season since going 10-3 in 2014. Ended the regular season with a 3-game winning streak, outscoring their opponents 148-67 with at least 42 points in each game. 8-0 this season when rushing for over 200 yards, 0-4 when held to 200 or less. RB Zach Charbonnet career-high 13 rushing TD this season including 6 over the final 4 games.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: 0-2 all-time vs UCLA with the last meeting coming in 1960. First time an ACC team will play in the Holiday Bowl. Last played a Pac-12 team in the 2017 Sun Bowl when they defeated Arizona State. Looking for their first 10-win season since going 11-3 in 2002. Finished this season winning 4 of their last 5 games. OT Ikem Ekwonu was named a unanimous first-team All-American.



VALERO ALAMO BOWL

#14 OREGON (10-3, 7-2) vs #16 OKLAHOMA (10-2, 7-2)

Wed., Dec. 29 • 6:15 pm PT • ESPN

OREGON: Playing in the Alamo Bowl for the 3rd time, splitting the previous 2 appearances. 5th straight season playing in a bowl game and have made the postseason in 23 of the last 25 seasons. Bryan McClendon is the interim head coach for this game, following the departure of Mario Cristobal. QB Anthony Brown led the Pac-12 with 38 completions of 20+ yards this season. RB Travis Dye had at least 100 scrimmage yards in 8 of the last 10 games and finished with 17 total TD (15 rush, 2 rec)

OKLAHOMA: Second time playing Oregon in a bowl game, beating the Ducks in the 2005 Holiday Bowl. 6-1 all-time against Oregon. Playing in a bowl for the 23rd straight season, 2nd longest active streak in FBS. Have not lost more than 2 games in a season since 2014 when they went 8-5. Bob Stoops is the interim head coach at Oklahoma for this game after Lincoln Riley left for USC.



SRS DISTRIBUTION LAS VEGAS BOWL

ARIZONA STATE (8-4, 6-3) vs WISCONSIN (8-4, 6-3)

Thurs., Dec. 30 • 7:30 pm PT • ESPN

ARIZONA STATE: 3rd appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl and 2nd time under Herm Edwards. Have won their last 4 games against Big Ten opponents and first bowl game against a Big Ten team since 2004 Sun Bowl (Purdue). Looking to win 9 games for the first time since going 10-3 in 2014. 7 of their 8 wins this season were by 15 points or more. QB Jayden Daniels has 670 rushing yards this season, the most by an ASU QB since at least 1996. Defense held opponents under 400 total yards in 10 of their 12 games this season.

WISCONSIN: 1-3 all-time against the Sun Devils and lost their last meeting in 2013. Playing in a bowl game for the 20th straight season, the 3rd longest active streak in FBS, but 1-3 against Pac-12 teams in those bowl games. First ever Big Ten team to play in the Las Vegas Bowl. Held 5 opponents this season to 7 points or less. Had a 7-game winning streak snapped in their final game of the season at Minnesota.



TONY THE TIGER SUN BOWL

WASHINGTON STATE (7-5, 6-3) vs MIAMI (FL) (7-5, 5-3)

Fri., Dec. 31 • 9:30 am PT • CBS

WASHINGTON STATE: Looking to win 8 games for the first time since 2018 when they went 11-2. Not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season, this is the 6th straight year the Cougars have made a bowl game. Prior to this streak, Washington State had never made a bowl game more than 2 seasons in a row.
QB Jayden de Laura leads the Pac-12 with 2,757 pass yards and 23 pass TD this season. 2-0 all-time in the Sun Bowl. 88 points off of takeaways, most in the Pac-12 this season.

MIAMI (FL): Rematch of the 2015 Sun Bowl which Washington State won 20-14 in their only previous meeting. Have lost 10 of their last 11 bowl games overall. New head coach Mario Cristobal will not coach the team in the bowl game instead will be led by interim head coach Jess Simpson. This is their 3rd time in the Sun Bowl and all 3 times will be led by an interim head coach.



ROSE BOWL GAME presented by CAPITAL ONE VENTURE X

#11 UTAH (10-3, 8-1) vs #6 OHIO STATE (10-2, 8-1)

Sat., Jan. 1 • 2:00 pm PT • ESPN

UTAH: First ever appearance in the Rose Bowl after winning their first ever Pac-12 Championship. 3rd ever appearance in a New Year’s Six bowl, winning both the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and 2009 Sugar Bowl. Pac-12 teams are 6-2 in the Rose Bowl since 2012 and 10-4 since 2004. Looking to win 11+ games for the 2nd time since joining the Pac-12 (2019) and 4th time in program history. 9-1 this season with Cameron Rising as the starting QB. RB Tavion Thomas with a school record 20 rushing TD this season including 18 in the last 8 games he’s played. Butkus Award finalist Devin Lloyd has a career-high 106 tackles with 22.0 TFL this season, 2nd most in FBS.

OHIO STATE: Making their 16th appearance in the Rose Bowl which is 3rd most behind USC (34) and Michigan (20). Their 8 Rose Bowl wins are tied for 2nd with Michigan behind USC (25). Won their only previous meeting with Utah back in 1986. Their loss to Oregon earlier this season snapped an 8-game win streak against Pac-12 opponents. Have won their last 5 bowl meetings with Pac-12 schools with the last loss coming in the 1985 Rose Bowl against USC.

I know the new coach will have his network and preferences but are there any current analysts with coaching experience who might be considered as possible position coaches? Would there be a negative connotation for not getting guys who are currently coaches? I look at guys like Costa, Agyeman, Gilbertson, and Woodiel as guys who have experience at some level and would provide some continuity. I don't know anything about Toth and Brumbaugh. Just asking what people's thoughts are. With the craziness of the transfer portal, NIL, coaching changes and the free year given to all players last year the turnover nationwide this year will be titanic! I counted in the neighborhood of 30 players who could opt out to the NFL (know that is not happening but available because of the 3 years on a campus rule-1 redshirt and 2 freshman-20 didn't count). BTW is the limit still 85 and 25, and how does the portal addition rule work?

Devon was a BEAST this year when we needed him most. So glad he ultimately ended up in Eugene after a pit stop @ SUC.


Too bad Pittman QUIT early…since then we got a NEW aggressive OC, a NEW HC that lets his OC do their job AND a NEW opening in the WR room! #LifeLessons 😂

I think we are seeing the recent underperformance cycle of the Pac 12 ending. USC had done what's necessary. UCLA didn't panic and kept Kelly, and he just got a damn good QB. Utah will continue to represent while winning the conference. Oregon re-loaded with Lanning.

It's a start. It may take a few years to really get the conference going but it is headed in a good direction....

Lower left to the upper right ???? I think so.

TOP Power 5 Head Coaches that had Zero College HCing Experience before they got hired as HC at a P5 program...



Ryan Day

Lincoln Riley

Dabo Swinney

Jimbo Fisher

Kirby Smart

Pat Fitzgerald

Dan Mullen

Ed Orgeron

James Franklin

Kyle Whittingham

Mike Gundy

Paul Chryst

Gary Patterson

Tom Allen

Mark Stoops

David Shaw



Other notables...

The Chipster

Mel Tucker

Brent Venables

Dave Aranda

Steve Sarkisian

Lane Kiffin

Pat Narduzzi

Mike Leach

Shane Beamer

*And even your

*And even the home town boy Justin Wilcox....
**There are many others too...these are Top 25 Coaches and a few extra’s
***Now add Dan Lanning


There are reasons for this dynamic in big time college and pro sports...and it’s becoming more & more prevalent! I’ve personally experienced this and know it’s true. That’s part of why I was not only pleased & impressed with this hire...but I heard from the Lanning presser, right out of his own pie hole some things that I was impressed with, he shared them in his honest, humble, and transparent nature! He shared some very genuine thoughts about the coaching climb. If anyone is interested in my viewpoint..I will share...otherwise, this post would be too long and might lose its validity.

Pretty amazing in less than a year he can do this. Really good news. I bet he appreciates every day, as should we all.

Per Twitter, This is becoming a real possibility.

I think this would is a big hire. The recruiting will not miss a beat with the staff Lanning is putting in place.

Interesting, candid read on why Pittman left. Essentially under utilization and a scheme overloaded on the run, little inducement for a WR.

If I get this right....our HC is 35...his OC is 31...and we have the youngest team in the country.

Usually, in FB and BB, college or pros, when a team hires a young HC, they surround him with seasoned assistant coaches who are experienced.

I'd sure like to see that happen here.

This will be the least impactful early signing day for Oregon since they started. The timing of Cristobal's departure could not have been worse. Eight guys decommitted since he left and right now only eleven commits are left. The big one to watch for today is Teteroia McMillan, the gem of the remaining commits. We don't know, and I'm not sure Lanning knows, what he will or won't do today.

Overall I would expect less than ten commits today, maybe half that depending on how things shake out. On the bright side, Lanning can now select and recruit lots of guys that he and the new staff identify over the next six weeks before final signing day.

Stay tuned to this thread for the commits as they come in, but be forewarned, today will not be close to the early Christmas it has been in the past.

Adam Friedman looks at the new coaches and their early signing day classes. Cristobal and Lanning got the same grade.

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning officially announced the first member of his 2022 coaching staff on Friday, naming Kenny Dillingham the Ducks’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“I’m excited to announce the addition of Kenny Dillingham as our offensive coordinator,” Lanning said. “Kenny is one of the most innovative minds in football and will bring a dynamic and explosive offense to Eugene. He has been a part of some of the most explosive offenses in college football during his coaching career, and we are eager to see that track record continue to grow at Oregon.

“He is a tireless worker with a proven track record for developing quarterbacks. He also has strong ties to the West Coast, which will be important as we continue to build our roster through recruiting. He is passionate about the development of student-athletes, both on and off the field, and is one of the best leaders that I have worked with. We are honored to have him and his wife Bri as a part of the Oregon family!”

Dillingham comes to Oregon from Florida State, where he spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Seminoles. Prior to Florida State, Dillingham served in the same role at both Memphis (2018) and Auburn (2019). Lanning and Dillingham were on staff together at Memphis in 2016 and 2017.

“I am so excited to be coming to Oregon,” Dillingham said. “Oregon is a national brand. Being born and raised on the West Coast, the opportunity to be at Oregon – a place known for explosive, high-powered offense – is an honor and a privilege! I cannot wait to get around our student-athletes and start getting to know them as players, but most importantly as young men. “

Dillingham directed one of the most explosive offenses in the nation in 2021 despite multiple injuries at quarterback and along the offensive line. Florida State ranked 18th in the FBS with six plays of 60-plus yards, and eighth with three touchdowns of more than 75 yards. The Seminoles were also among the top teams in the red zone, scoring on their final 32 red-zone opportunities to close the season, the second-longest streak in the nation in 2021.

In his first season in Tallahassee in 2020, Dillingham’s offense averaged 5.11 yards per rush and 199.9 rushing yards per game, ranking 20th nationally among teams that played at least nine games. FSU topped 400 yards of total offense five times in its last seven games, including two games with more than 500 total yards and the program’s first game since 2016 with at least 250 yards rushing and 250 yards passing.

Dillingham was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn in 2019, when he coached freshman quarterback Bo Nix to SEC Freshman of the Year honors. Nix broke the program’s freshman records for completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns while becoming the first true freshman QB to start a season opener for Auburn since 1946. The Tigers’ offense ranked third in the SEC and 28th nationally with 33.2 points per game.

In Dillingham’s final game as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, the Tigers scored 48 points in a win over No. 5 Alabama, the most allowed by the Crimson Tide under head coach Nick Saban.

Dillingham started his collegiate coaching career as an offensive assistant at Arizona State in 2014 and 2015 under offensive coordinator Mike Norvell, who he followed to Memphis in 2016. Dillingham spent 2016 as a graduate assistant and 2017 as the quarterbacks and tight ends coach before being elevated to offensive coordinator in 2018.

With Dillingham coordinating the offense, Memphis broke program records for both total yards of offense (7,324) and rushing yards (3,919) in 2018. The Tigers ranked fourth nationally in both total offense (523.1 YPG) and rushing offense (279.9 YPG), seventh in scoring offense (42.9 PPG), and second with 48 total rushing touchdowns. Memphis had two 1,000-yard rushers in a season for the first time in program history, with unanimous all-American and Doak Walker Award finalist Darrell Henderson ranking second nationally with 1,909 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.

Dillingham got his start in coaching at Chaparral High School in Arizona after tearing his ACL as a senior. He began working with the junior varsity team before being elevated to the offensive coordinator role of the varsity squad at the age of 21. Dillingham coordinated the No. 1 offense in Arizona in 2013 as the Firebirds won 12 games and advanced to the Division II state championship game.

Great year for Autzen games. Plus Georgia to kick off the season.

Fired today.

Per Oregonian has not decided either way. Not great for Max the receiver but fingers crossed think he is gonna be a good one

Looks like Lanning might be targeting Lupoi for a coaching position. He could definitely help the Cali recruiting

So the time has come again for a head coach hot board. While this developed fast, the one thing we know for sure is that Rob Mullens knows a thing or two about searches. One thing to consider, Oregon has been 'agented' each of the last five seasons. What we saw last night with the story in the Oregonian is that I think the athletic department has decided that they can play 'agenting' as well as anyone. The secrecy which surrounded Lincoln Riley to USC was reverse agenting and I think that there is the potential that Oregon does the same thing here. So, we are going to go off of what we get from some sources within, some outside sources; but understand that some of what we get from inside the athletic department could be subterfuge as they look at a lot of potential replacements.

Today we start with a long list of candidates. I have to throw the obligatory internal candidates, but I think those are about as likely as anyone on this site to become the next head coach. But we have to at least include them in our list. We start with the internal, then some external ad finally some dark horse candidates.

INTERNAL CANDIDATES:

To start the hot board we must start with internal candidates no matter how unlikely, so we do so first.

Joe Salave’a: ‘Big Joe’ is listed as an assistant head-coach and run game coordinator. He has a lot of knowledge and experience and is likely to bring stability. He has also never called plays and has not had to build a program. He has a young family and does not seem like the type to want to keep moving. I don’t know that he is ready for being the head coach, though. He might be a great fit to keep on the sidelines for the next head coach.

Tim DeRuyter: He has been a head coach before at Fresno State and had a couple of really good years before the Bulldogs fell completely off the charts. While he has experience, I don’t know that this would be a good fit for the program. This one is not really likely at all, but he is currently on staff and has head coach experience, so I included him in this portion.

EXTERNAL CANDIDATES:

Dave Aranda: Simply put, this is someone that Oregon has targeted. He knew that the opening was likely coming and this is a program he would consider leaving Baylor for; his resume as a defensive coordinator speaks for itself. The Bears were not very good his first season, but he has the team on its way to a New Years Six bowl game in year two. Aranda is probably the best candidate around.

Chip Kelly: The former Oregon head coach, now at UCLA, is thought to be interested in a return and there is a faction of people within the Oregon program who would welcome his return. I know this is a very polarizing name at this point because there are still a lot of people who have an affinity for his offensive prowess; but he has a lot of flaws that need to be fixed to be a good fit this time around. I know that some people have put him at the top of their list, but I also think that some of this is reverse agenting from Oregon.

Justin Wilcox: I have already said that there are some fences to mend here if this is going to happen. I do know that there are people close to Wilcox that say he regrets the decision to spurn Oregon when they came calling for him as a coordinator, but he would have to show something more than he has at Cal. He is a good defensive coach, but has not shown a proclivity for finding a good offense to go along with that; probably not going to happen this time.

Matt Campbell: A year ago, I thought Campbell should have taken a bigger opportunity; the regression at Iowa State this year for what was – on paper – his best team ever, is concerning. He did a good job getting the Cyclones to respectability, but is that his ceiling? I don’t know that Oregon goes this direction unless he has a really strong plan for getting the right recruiters on board and the right offensive coordinator.

Luke Fickell: Obligatory. But, not going to happen.

Dan Mullen: Look, Mullen was almost the head coach instead of Willie Taggart. That did not happen, but he is likely to get the tires kicked some. Do I think he is going to be the next head coach? No. One thing that the last 5 seasons have taught Oregon fans is that it IS possible to get top ten recruiting classes, but it requires work; Mullen had a difficult time recruiting to Florida where the talent is a stones throw away, he was competing in the SEC, and had plenty of resources. I think that will likely hold him back unless he presents a plan that shows an elite recruiting force of assistant coaches.

Chris Petersen/Kellen Moore: I put these together because there are a contingent of folks who think Petersen really wants to coach at Oregon and wants to return. I would imagine, though, that the same grind that caused him to step down might be a reason for folks to ask that he get Kellen Moore to come. Personally, I think that the the Moore connection would be better; he is young, has NFL experience and could put together a dynamite staff.

Kalani Sitake: I know not everyone likes him, but he has done a really good job as the head coach of BYU and is a former defensive coordinator at Utah (2005-14) and Oregon State (2015) before heading to BYU. He is not afraid to let his offensive coordinator run the offense and would be a really solid coach in the conference. Would it be a home run? No. But the Ducks could do worse than Sitake.

DARKHORSE CANDIDATES:

Dan Lanning: The Georgia defensive coordinator is young, an ace recruiter with a great background and would bring instant credibility to the hire. His name has come up for a couple of jobs this carousel and was even at one point thought to be the leading candidate at Oklahoma. He does not have many ties to the west – except for some time at Arizona State under Todd Graham, but he would be a good hire.

Blake Anderson: The former Arkansas State coach is now at Utah State and has done a tremendous job getting the Aggies to a Mountain West title in his first season. He runs a great offense and has done a lot of good work with QBs in the past. I don’t think Oregon goes down this road, but he is one of those dark horse types.

Bryan Harsin: If only Harsin had known a year earlier that the Oregon job would be open, he would be blowing Rob Mullens’ phone up with calls. He really did covet the job at one point. If it were not just his first year at Auburn. Would he bolt after a single season? No clue.

Bill O’Brien: He has head coaching experience and did a really good job turning around Penn State in the wake of massive sanctions. His first few seasons in Houston showed promise, but he lost control of that team. He has done a fantastic job this season with Alabama, but I am not sure that Oregon will be the right fit for him. I think he could do some really good things, though and put together a really good staff.

Chiefs @ Chargers
5:20pm PST on FOX

Oregon fans feel devastated over only 7
Signed commitments, by comparison

USC has only 6 signed commitments

UW has 4 signed commitments

Duck Wire reports that Johnson's hiring by Lanning is a Duck win by rebuffing Miami, saving Seven and keeping a critical recruiter here.

That press conference was a bit different than what we have watched over the last few years. Even Jerry Allen seemed to have a slightly different demeanor this go around than in the past. He seemed a bit guarded. I got the early impression that folks are still very disappointed in how MC left and while they may understand the move, still have a bad taste in their mouth.

Dan Lanning looks every bit of a young coach that understands the magnitude of this opportunity. He was a bit nervous, you could tell his mind was racing 100 mph, and he likes to pronounce it "progrum". I believe he is going to give this program everything he has and that he is beyond excited to be the head coach. When he said his heart beats a little faster when the word football is brought up, I believe him.

But the more I listened, the more I heard many of the same things that MC said. Trust the process, doing things the right way, Oregon can get into any living room in the country. All of those things may be true but it was hard to separate the typical coach speak from what we've heard over the last four years from the person that left us. It was eerily similar to dating someone new that uses many of the same terms and expressions of an ex.

And then it hit me why so many are not completely satisfied with this hire. Many folks are looking for a two horned unicorn with the unicorn representing a National Championship and each horn representing a pillar of devotion and allegiance. With the exception of one, none of our last four coaches were true Men of Oregon in the sense that they had been around long enough to be truly engrained into the school and the state equally. True Men of Oregon understand the difficult history, the homegrown heros, the irony and duality of hearing "It Never Rains At Autzen", and the state pride that comes with growing up in or residing in Oregon. Oregon is different or shall I say unique in it's loyalty to itself. Many won't want to admit it but the fact is, there were many Duck fans pulling for the Beavers to whoop Notre Dame (and they did) for an outside shot at being crowned National Champions way back in 2001. Try the same thing with other in state rivals like Miami vs Florida State, Texas vs Texas A&M, North Carolina vs Duke. It just doesn't happen.

So what does that mean today as our Ducks have hired a new coach in Dan Lanning and what did we learn from the press conference? I think we learned Dan Lanning is a standup guy who doesn't know how to do a job any other way than rolling up his sleeves and giving it everything he has. I believe he believes everything he said about Oregon being a powerhouse, a national brand, a great place to raise a family. I also understand that being a young coach has just as many disadvantages as it does advantages like relating better to the players although I think there is too much written into that (see Nick Saban age 70) . What young coaches don't have that the older ones do is obviously the experience and I believe that was on display at the press conference. It's certainly not a knock on Dan and over time, he will obviously become more comfortable. And while I believe our new coach will pour every ounce of his time into planning, scheming, teaching, etc. his bag of wiley tricks will still not be as full as the older and more experienced coaches until it is... through experience.

All of this is to say, I like the hire for now and based on what Oregon has in the cupboard it seems like a good fit. Will Dan Lanning bring Oregon the Natty? I don't think in the first 4 years but there is a real chance he can have our team knocking on the door. If he is able to successfully navigate the PAC12, develop a genuine and lasting love for the state, and become so engrained into the history and culture of the University that it becomes part of his DNA, he could have a shot at being our unicorn that delivers the first National Championship to our beloved "progrum". Wishing him the best.

Landing 5 star OL's at Texas is getting easier. Longhorns with a Heart, lol.