Jake Locker apparently filled with common sense

Looks like 'Eer and I ('Eye) aren't the only ones who think ESPN's Todd McShay's constant blathering about Washington QB Jake Locker being the No. 1 pick of the upcoming NFL draft was ridiculous. McShay's take led to many media types critcizing Locker's decision to return to UW for his senior season.

According to Profootballtalk.com, Locker didn't receive a first-round grade from his NFL assessment. The source in the story though, does admit Locker could be drafted in the first round because of the need for quality QBs.

The Seattle Times says that the assessment came after Locker's decision to return to school, so he might have still thought he'd be the top pick of the draft when he made the call.

And to that I say - whatever. Locker will benefit greatly from another year under Steve Sarkisian.

And when you listen to Todd McShay tout players as "potential first round pick." Yeah, well, we're all "potential" first-round picks, Todd.

Game Day - Afternoon of chaos

- of COURSE USC lost. A week too late. Criminy.

Crazy loud home crowd? Check.
Great defensive effort? Check.
Solid QB play and gameplan. oh....

anyway, down go the Trojans in their typical PAC 10 style.

- Kirk Cousins, Michigan State quarterback, COME ON. In case you missed it, Cousins drove MSU down inside the Notre Dame 15 where a field goal would send the game into OT. Instead Cousins makes a horrendous decision to scramble then panic as he was thrown to the ground, just flinging the ball right to an Irish defender. MSU's ownership of Notre Dame Stadium came to an end.

- Virginia Tech - lucky as hell.

- Utah. Welcome to the world of the BCS has-beens.

- BYU will be joining you shortly.

Preseason: Pac-10 rankings

Yes. Way too early, but what the hey. I really, really wanted to pick someone other than USC. But, in reality, I just can't.

1. USC
Key players: QB Aaron Corp, RB Joe McKnight, RB C.J. Gable, FS Taylor Mays, DE Everson Griffen, WR Ronald Johnson
Predicted Record: 10-2
Yeah, I said it. Two losses. At Ohio State and at Oregon. Wishful thinking? Probably. Trojans will still win the Pac-10 though. Too much depth, too much talent, too much everything. All they need is solid play out of Corp and the offensive line to hold up.

2. Oregon
Key players: RB LeGarrette Blount, QB Jeremiah Masoli
Predicted record: 9-3
Chip Kelly takes over and the Ducks will score lots of points and I think they'll knock off USC at home. But somewhere along the way they'll just be too inconsistent on defense.

3. California
Key players: RB Jahvid Best, CB Syd'Quan Thompson, DE Tyson Alualu, DE Cameron Jordan, LB Mike Mohamed.
Predicted Record: 8-4
The Bears may actually have a functional defense this season with a lot of returning talent. Best is a great RB, but questions will still persist at QB.

4. Oregon State
Key players: RB Jacquizz Rodgers, WR James Rodgers, QB Lyle Moevau, QB Sean Canfield.
Predicted Record: 8-4
The Beavers have a lot coming back on offense and with the healthy Rodgers brothers coming back, should be able to move the ball. Defensively, OSU loses a lot from last year, but is traditionally solid, if inconsistent.

5. Arizona
Key players:RB Nic Grigsby, RB Keola Antolin, QB Matt Foles, QB Nick Scott, DT Earl Mitchell, LB Xavier Kelly.
Predicted record: 7-5
An interesting year for the 'Cats as Mike Stoops finally reached a bowl game last year, now real expectations follow and there's a QB battle. But the defense should be solid and the running game improved.

6. Stanford
Key players: QB Andrew Luck, QB Tavita Pritchard, RB Toby Gerhart, S Bo McNally.
Predicted record: 6-6
It could be a big year for Jim Harbaugh and the Cardinal if they can stop somebody, anybody. With Gerhart, Stanford has a nice big back and the competition between the talented Luck and experienced Pritchard will be interesting. But Harbaugh seems to have Stanford headed in the right direction, they're just a year away from being a nine-win team.

7. Arizona State
Key players: QBs - any of them, LB Mike Nixon, DT Jonathan English, DE Zach Brown
Predicted record: 5-7
Nobody's sure what to make of the Sun Devils, who disappointed last season after an initial high ranking. The defense returns some very good players, but a huge hole at quarterback and on the offensive line might relegate ASU to another second-division finish.

8. UCLA
Key players: QB Kevin Prince, QB Kevin Craft, OL Micah Kia
Predicted record: 5-7
While Rick Neuheisel had a nice recruiting haul and seems to have people excited about UCLA again, the Bruins have major problems at QB and OL. Not a good combination. At QB Kevin Craft is back, but is untalented. Patrick Cowan is back and is slight less untalented. Kevin Prince has some talent but no experience. UCLA will be improved simply because they'll have better depth to keep some games close.

9. Washington
Key players: QB Jake Locker, CB Quinton Richardson, S Nate Williams
Predicted record: 3-9
Not sure if Steve Sarkisian was aware what he'd bitten off when he took the UDub job. The Huskies are in disarray with questionable commitment from the athletic department. Jake Locker's back, but that doesn't mean much. Three wins would be a nice showing this year.

10. Washington State
Key players: QB Whoever it is, any DBs, anybody really.
Predicted record: 2-10
Wazzu might have been the worst BCS team in history last year, unless it's this year's team. Two wins might be a stretch.

Apple Cup

As Washington State travels to Seattle to play rival Washington for the 101st Apple Cup it may be hard to find a more pathetic match up during that stretch. Wazzu is 1-10 (thanks to Portland State) and 0-8 in the Pac-10. The Huskies are even worse at 0-10, 0-7 as the miserable Ty Willingham era is close to coming to an end.

It's amazing to see how far these two programs have fallen. Washington won a share of the 1991 National Championship and going to Seattle used to be one of the toughest road games in the nation.

The Cougars can claim Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf as former QBs and recently won 10 games in three consecutive seasons (2001-03).

This is the worst Division I game of the season and maybe ever. Someone will win Saturday, but will anyone really care?

Willingham fired/resigns - Notre Dame fans scream "See! We told you so!"

Well, that's two coaches down in 2008. Ty Willingham's firing from Washington was certainly not as surprising as Tommy Bowden's ouster at Clemson, but the mid-season ax is always a bit shocking.

Of course, Notre Dame fans are excited because this gives them a scapegoat for last year's nightmare in South Bend - namely Willingham's recruiting. Ty's well-known lax efforts on the recruiting trail didn't help in Seattle, where UW is behind other school's in facilities and has a smaller recruiting base in the Pacific Northwest. UW just never had the depth or talent of opponents and when Jake Locker was called for that silly penalty that ultimately cost them an upset of top-10 BYU earlier this year, the Huskies never recovered.

And say what you want about Willingham's coaching ability, the guy's got cajones - or he's not really paying attention. The day he gets fired, he does his radio show, including an interview with the UW president on why he fired Ty. That's weird.

So, who's next to go?
I would say Syracuse's Greg Robinson, but frankly he's coaching as if he's already been fired.

The rumors continue to fly around Phil Fulmer and Tommy Tuberville in the SEC. Mike Stoops seems to have saved his gig for awhile after playing USC tough once again.

Lane Kiffin's name continues to be hot for a few of the jobs and his Pac-10 background would be a good fit for UW. But I question exactly what Kiffin has done to earn a shot at a premium coaching spot. At USC he took over for a year or two after Norm Chow left before Al Davis hired him on the cheap in Oakland.
The best pick would be Gary Pinkel, a Don James disciple who's turned Missouri around, but I don't see Pinkel leaving Mizzou at this point in his career. Possibly, Mizzou offensive coordinator Dave Christensen would be the right fit.

UW is a good job if a new coach can upgrade the facilities and recruit California.