Hoops Civil War Tomorrow!

OK, I admit it. I'm bummed that I don't have the chance to write:

- 18

Congrats to the Ducks for avoiding the dubious distinction that the Beavs did last season. But...

Would going 1-17 this season be worse than 0-18 last season?

From my point of view, the Pac-10 is worse than last year. Last year may have been the best collection of teams in the Pac-10 ever. All of the elite teams from last season (UCLA, USC, U of A, WSU, Stanford, and Oregon) are all worse than last year. Some more than others, but still. Of the improved teams (UW, ASU?, OSU, Cal) only a couple will probably make the tournament.

So who had the harder schedule? Would this years Duck team beat anyone in conference other than the Beavs? Would the Beavs of last season have beat this years Ducks at least once?

I think if the 08-09 Ducks team was transported to last season, they would have tied the Beavs at 1-17.

Thoughts?

Beavs win #5

Nice comeback win against the Cougs last night. Man, our offense is like a good running game. Before you know it, there's no time on the clock and you don't have time to win the game. Assuming things are clicking of course. If Ruland and Haynes can get hot again down the stretch, we may have a good shot at winning a couple more games. Too bad we let that WSU game get away earlier in the year.

Anyone know what the deal was with Omari Johnson? Was he sick or hurt?

Pac-10 Football High School Recruiting Maps for 2009

The Beavers must have racked up some frequent flier miles over last year. Perhaps by necessity, but definitely by design the OSU coaches now recruit to the south, southwest, mountain west, california, and the northwest (of course). After seeing the wide area that Oregon State got their recruits, it got me thinking. What do other schools in the Pac-10 do? What is the Pac-10's effective recruiting area?

This is the conference as a whole (excluding JC guys who mostly come from somewhere else but go to school in Cali):

Data is coming from ESPN - Pacific-10 College Recruiting

Pac-10 Football High School Recruiting Map for 2009:

ST Total
CA 94
AZ 18
WA 13
TX 11
HI 8
OR 7
CO 5
UT 5
GA 3
NV 3
MT 2
IL 2
NJ 2
ID 2
FL 2
OK 2
NY 1
MD 1
WI 1
AK 1
AL 1
NE 1
VA 1
Canada 1
Tot 187

Clearly, if anything happens to California the Pac-10 is screwed. Every team recruited California heavy. Only Arizona St. had a state other than California at the top of their list.

Here's the Pac-10 broken down by school:

Oregon State Beavers:

ST Total
CA 8
OR 5
AZ 2
OK 2
WA 2
AK 1
HI 1
MT 1
TX 1
Tot 23

The Beavs had the only Alaskan. Its pretty clear the Beavs are casting a wide net looking for players. That said, they are really holding down Oregon as well. Seems like a pretty good formula to me. Dennis started it years ago and Mike and the staff has kept it going.

Oregon Ducks:

ST Total
CA 14
OR 1
HI 1
GA 1
NV 1
AL 1
NE 1
Tot 20

Wow. One player from Oregon? They are definitely going national too, but a different way. Going up against the SEC, huh? Curious that they got two top 10 kickers. Seems like that might artificially inflate their total "power ranking"...

Washington Huskies:

ST Total
CA 8
WA 2
HI 2
Tot 12

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Washington State Cougars:

ST Total
CA 9
WA 7
HI 1
ID 1
UT 1
CO 1
CAN 1
Tot 21

This must be a pretty standard class for the Cougs. Good job getting those local players from the Huskies. Unfortunately, they only got one player in the top 50 at their position.

USC Trojans:

ST Total
CA 9
FL 2
AZ 1
HI 1
GA 1
NV 1
UT 1
Tot 18

Most schools barely have more than a few players in the top 50 at their position let alone the top ten. USC only has one player above the top 50 at their position. What? The dynasty continues...

UCLA Bruins:

ST Total
CA 17
HI 2
NV 1
UT 1
VA 1
Tot 22

Nice class for the Bruins. Keeping it local and with a lot of good players. UCLA could be on the rise under Slick Rick and Norm over the next few years.

Stanford Cardinal:

ST Total
CA 8
TX 4
AZ 2
GA 1
WA 1
ID 1
CO 1
NY 1
MD 1
NJ 1
WI 1
Tot 22

The pull of a Stanford education certainly must have done something because they went national and quite good. They need a lot to restock the cupboards, but if they keep getting classes like this then watch out. Next question: will anyone go to a game?

Cal Bears:

ST Total
CA 6
CO 2
UT 2
TX 1
WA 1
NJ 1
OR 1
Tot 14

Small class with some quality.

Arizona Wildcats:

ST Total
CA 7
TX 5
AZ 4
IL 2

Tot 20

Good quality at the top, but not spectacluar.

Arizona State Sun Devils:

ST Total
AZ 9
CA 8
CO 1
MT 1

Tot 19

Dennis is following a similar pattern to some of the OSU years. Getting the best local kids and going from there. Looks like a decent, if not spectacular, class.

Oregon State Football Signing Day!

Go to the official web site to get all of the signing day updates!