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We asked which coach you hated most in the Pac-12. You have spoken with much bile. Congrats.

It was sometimes hard to figure out exactly which coach you hated the most in your notes, as many of you listed several coaches. Some of you listed several coaches and provided many details on the sources of your hate.

In total, you named more than 20 different coaches. Even Oregon State's Mike Riley got a vote. So did legendary coach Bill Walsh (Huskies!).

The only sitting Pac-12 coaches to not get a vote? Utah's Kyle Whittingham and Colorado's Jon Embree. Guess you guys don't know them well enough to hate them. Yet.

The race for most hated was far closer than I thought it would be. (And this was hardly scientific because I only used votes that were specific and unambiguous. And I may have skipped over some of the 1,500-word essays).

Your most hated coach? Here's the nip and tuck final tally from the mailbag.

Chip Kelly: 29

Lane Kiffin: 30

Third place went to Rick Neuheisel with 19, though that's misleading because he was mentioned by many of you in some fashion, mostly in the line of, "I used to hate Neuheisel the most but now I hate..."

I was surprised that Washington's Steve Sarkisian got 11 votes, but I guess I shouldn't be because some Cal fans aren't happy with him (Tosh Lupoi, now at Washington after bolting Berkeley, got a bunch of votes but he didn't count because he's an assistant coach).

New Arizona State coach Todd Graham got five votes. New Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez got two. New Washington State coach Mike Leach got three. New UCLA coach Jim Mora got two.

For those who chose to look back, former USC coach Pete Carroll got 10 votes and plenty of mentions. Former Washington coach Tyrone Willingham got two. Former USC coach John McKay and former Washington coach Don James also got a handful of votes.

The most surprising vote -- other than Riley -- was one for former UCLA coach Bob Toledo.

Here are some comments. Obviously, some comments aren't appropriate for a family Pac-12 blog.

Steve from Seattle writes: By far the most hated coach is Chip Kelley. He certainly personifies the Oregon Fans with his snide comments to the media and better than everyone else attitude. Would love to see hard sanction get put on him and his institution!

Jack from Oakton, Va., writes: I cannot stand Chip Kelly. That smug grin he carries around as if he's the smartest guy in the world just makes me want to smack him.

Glenn from Renton, Wash., writes: Most Hated Coaches in the Pac-12: Chip Kelly. He's a smug jerk, but if I was an AD I would hire him in a New York minute.

Doug from Salt Lake City writes: The coach I hate the most is undoubtedly Oregon's Chip Kelly.Yes, he's a fantastic coach among the nation's elite. But he's a total jerk.The last straw for me came last season when, on live TV, he took time out from his postgame interview to scream at his own fans, "shut the hell up!"

Adam from San Francisco writes: Why is this even a question? Lane Kiffin.As for his new recent strides toward "maturity" - if I were a betting man, I'd bet a large portion of my heart, soul, and life savings that we all end up laughing at those statements by the time his tenure at Southern Cal is all said and done

Kent from Davis, Calif., writes: Coaches We Love to Hate: Lane Kiffin. The guy has less credibility and integrity than John Edwards. He's the only person in the world who could have made the late Al Davis look like upright and ethical. How this arrogant, imperious guy keeps getting plum jobs is beyond me but clearly you don't have to produce results on the field but simply keep wearing the "up and coming innovative offensive genius" tag to make it work.

Paul from San Francisco writes: No Pac-12 coach makes my blood boil more than Lane Kiffin. But it's not just his cavalier attitude and inexplicable career climb that drive me over the edge. It's his history against my Ducks. If you include his stint as USC's offensive coordinator from 2005 and 2006, Kiffin is 3-1 against Oregon, including last year's untimely win at Autzen that ended the longest home winning streak in the country. Needless to say, Nov. 3, 2012 has been circled on my calendar ever since

Kevin from San Francisco writes: Pete Carroll. I hate Pete Carroll. Everyone outside of USC hates Pete Carroll. He was classy in interviews, gave the other teams in the Pac 10 respect; in fact called the Pac 10 conference games the toughest part of his schedule. The reason why he is hated is because he was the leader of the most arrogant, abrasive group of fans and players to grace the Pac 10 in the last decade. Everybody is glad we no longer have to listen to Matt Leinart tell us that he doesn't think he's a celebrity, just everyone else in the world does. After every USC game we had to listen to the fans explain that "of course we knew we were going to win, just we thought it be over by the first quarter." And probably the part that irritates me and my Cal brethren the most is that despite a campus culture of a lot of drinking and little studying, students we met from USC always attempted to equate the academics to Cal. They aren't the worst school, but Cal is in another league.

Chris from Othello, Wash., writes: for us Oregon fans (And fans elsewhere in the conference), Rick Newheisel will always be a historical coach to hate. Growing up in the early 90's, I was consistently reminded about how that "New - weasel" in Seattle had consistently and infamously harmed our program throughout his various coaching positions. Even if he tried to turn a leaf while in UCLA, his history was never forgotten in Eugene.

Dee Dee from Portland writes: There is no possible way any coach in the Pac is hated more than Rick Neuheisel. The Weasel is universally abhorred by no fewer than THREE Pac12 fanbases. I don't even think UCLA fans like him that much any longer, and he's an alum. As a matter of fact, opinion on Slick Rick is the ONLY thing that Oregon and Washington fans have in common

Evan from Seattle writes: I must say, Steve Sarkisian is the lowest of low, slimiest of slime. Other than the obvious manner in which he talks, like a fake politician, he has a long list of shameless acts.

Dan from Spokane writes: I hate Steve Sarkisian more than any other Pac-12 coach and it's not just because of his ridiculous adherence to wearing a visor in the rainy northwest. His twitter account is insufferable. "Woof" every time a new recruit commits? Give me a break! He should tweet "whimper" every time the dawgs opponent hangs more than 50 points on them.Go Cougs!

Pete from Missoula, Mont., writes: When Utah first entered the Pac12, I instantly did not like Lane Kiffin. However, when I saw the class of not only him but the USC fans when my beloved Utes played them last year, my hatred shifted a bit. I decided that I need to stick with the hate that I already know. Hating Coach Sark from the Washington Poodles. You see Ted, it is easy to hate something you have hated before. I remember the years of hating Sark as the Team Down South, byWHO quarterback. I will always love to HATE byWHO, even if we do not play them anytime soon after this year. So Ted, this is the reason I hate Sark. It comes very naturally

Tana Vea from Sandy, Utah writes: Most hated coach in the Pac-12. Todd Graham hasn't coached a game yet but I already hate his guts. But I use to hate Chip Kelly, not as much anymore.

Henry from slymar, Calif., writes: Why limit your hating coaches column to head coaches? What about assistant coaches? I hate Tosh Lupoi mainly because he betrayed his alma mater for a boat.

Tim from Austin, Texas writes: Nobody outside of Tucson likes Richy Rod!

Sar from Tacoma, Wash., writes: regarding your request for all-time most hated coach. As a washington fan the answer is easy : 1992 Stanford Cardinal coach Bill Walsh. His well-timed (for him) block to the back of the Huskies football program is what I hold responsible for Don James' departure and a downward spiral to an eventual 0-12 season for the Huskies.

David from Tucson writes: In order to answer which coach I hate the most I have to exclude any and all ASU coaches because, in my humble opinion, that football program is the worst thing to happen to college sports since...ever. So, that being said I'd have to say that I hate Jim Mora the most, and for a purely trivial reason: his smile makes me want to punch babies.

David from Calgary writes: I hate Coach Mike Riley. Only because I was raised a Duck, and he's really like-able. So I hate that I can't hate him.

Natural rivalries breed natural animosity toward opposing coaches. Unnatural rivalries breed unnatural animosity. And it seems like Oregon has been developing a lot of unnatural rivalries over the past couple years. So continuing with ESPN.com's Love to Hate series this week, today's theme is all about the coach in the Pac-12 you love to hate because he wins so much.

And since the guy in Eugene has won the Pac-12 championship three consecutive years, well, it takes a lot of the guess work out of the selection process.

Lots of teams have plenty of reasons to hold, shall we say, certain frustrations toward Chip Kelly. For starters, he embarrasses your team and gets paid a lot of money in the process. His career average margin of victory is 21 points. He makes you fake injuries and laughs at you when you don't cut the grass on your field in a feeble effort to slow down his thoroughbreds.

He challenges you to games in parking lots. He flirts with the NFL, does the wine and dine thing, then says: "Gosh, you're great. But it's not you, it's me. It's what I'm going through. I hope we can still be friends."

He's as conventional as square wheels.

Oh, how you love to hate Chip Kelly if you're a Stanford fan. After all, he single-handedly cost Andrew Luck the Heisman two years in a row. Right? All his fault.

And what about you, Washington fan? How you love to hate him eight-fold. (OK, he wasn't there for all eight consecutive loses. But does that really make it easier?)

And the Civil War? He has been Sherman to Oregon State's Atlanta. Burn, baby, burn.

Kelly is a winner. In three seasons he has amassed a 34-6 overall record and a 25-2 mark in the Pac-12. He's gone to two Rose Bowls and a national championship game. He doesn't come from blue-blood coaching pedigree or a rich NFL background. He wasn't a "big name" when he came to the conference. But his teams get it done with swagger and an unforgiving confidence. Doesn't it just make you want to jump up and down.

He can even get away with telling his own fans to shut up one second and then he goes and issues one of them a refund another.

He closes practices -- a big point of contention with the media. As the saying goes, don't ever get into an argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel. Amendment to that: unless you win the Rose Bowl. Then do whatever the heck you want.

And you know what really irks about him? He's a nice guy (unless you're a reporter covering his team). He even gave Mike Riley a ride home in the Oregon jet a couple years ago after media day.

He's big into the military. The spring games are annual tributes and he has even gone overseas to visit and speak to troops in Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan.

And then there are the Chip-isms. The catchy one-liners that Oregon fans love oh so much.

Folks are anti-Kelly because his teams are everything that you want yours to be. Kelly knows that you love to hate him. And it just burns you up that he couldn't care less.

The Pac-12 is supposed to be a collegial league. Folks throw the ball a lot and mostly get along. There are strong rivalries, but no real villains.

Or not!

Heck, the new Pac-12 is loaded with villainy. At least it is when my bosses tell me to write a story about the top coaching villains in the Pac-12 as part of our "Love to hate!" series this week.

Villains? Iago, Darth Vader and Loki have nothing on Pac-12 coaches.

• New Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez ruined a great Michigan program. Well, it was him and a bad administration, bad players and a bad streak of duplicitous jealousy from former coach Lloyd Carr. But it's more fun to just blame Rich Rod. And Greg Robinson.
• New Arizona State coach Todd Graham left Pittsburgh high and dry after just one season to take over the Sun Devils. His rosy-cheeked players cried for days, though it's possible they were more upset about hearing the truth about the Easter Bunny -- he's doing 5-to-10 in New Jersey State Prison for vandalizing gardens.
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Kyle Terada/US PresswireOregon's Chip Kelly might be considered a villain in the Pac-12, because he can be abrasive with the media, and he wins a lot.
• California coach Jeff Tedford has failed to build on the incredible success of his predecessor, Tom Holmoe.
• Colorado coach Jon Embree made his team play 13 consecutive games last season with no bye. Wait ... that wasn't his fault? Oh. Well, I heard Embree yell at practice once.
• Oregon coach Chip Kelly fails to have a sunny disposition around reporters on a consistent basis. Dante reserved a special level of hell for coaches who aren't nice to the media.
• Oregon State coach Mike Riley... Er. Hmm. Well, one might smile, and smile, and be a villain, yes?
• Stanford coach David Shaw is always throwing his Stanford-ness in your face. You know the, "Oh I played receiver for Stanford," "Oh, I've got a B.A. from Stanford," "Oh, I'm the coach of Stanford," "Oh, I didn't get rejected by Stanford's graduate English program like you did," etc, etc.
• UCLA coach Jim Mora wasn't all rainbows and roses with Doug Gottlieb in a radio interview once.
• USC coach Lane Kiffin? Lane Kiffin! Don't listen to revisionist history. He's still Lane Freaking Kiffin!
• Utah coach Kyle Whittingham might act all soft-spoken and nice, but he sports a gotee and he's buffed up like a linebacker. He's clearly just waiting for everyone to turn away so he can snap your spine over his knee. And don't act like you haven't thought the same thing.
• Washington coach Steve Sarkisian? Two words: Coach thief.
• Washington State coach Mike Leach shot Yogi the Bear. Or was it Boo Boo?

So who is the top coaching villain in the Pac-12?

The easy answer is Kelly. He's gruff. He's closed practices. He flirted with the NFL. And, well, he wins too much.

But watch out for Kiffin. If USC again climbs back to the top of college football, that success might inspire Kiffin to again tweak his critics and adversaries. Not unlike Kelly, Kiffin has a pretty amusing, sarcastic sense of humor that isn't for everyone and sometimes doesn't translate well to print. Can he really keep that muzzled forever?

In fact, the Pac-12's biggest villain likely will be the winning coach when Kiffin and Kelly square off in the Coliseum on Nov. 3. The winner likely will be front-and-center in the national title race.

And no one likes a winner.

USC might be No. 1 in the College Football Live spring Top 25 rankings. But it's No. 4 Oregon that has the best chance to knock the SEC off its six-ringed mountain. So says ESPN college football analyst Brock Huard, who laid out three reasons (all extremely sound and logical) why Oregon is actually the team to beat in the Pac-12 this season.

Here's a minor re-hash of his three points.

Regarding the quarterback situation: Cam Newton and AJ McCarron won BCS titles the past two seasons as first-year starters under center. McCarron filled the role of game manager, while the Heisman Trophy-winning Newton was the ultimate game-breaker. For Oregon in 2012, either redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota or sophomore Bryan Bennett will be under center as a first-year starter, a point that isn't lost on coach Chip Kelly, but also one that doesn't scare him, either.

The Ducks have an SEC-worthy defensive front: "Yeah, our group thinks they could be [on that level]," Kelly said. "We have some size with Wade Keliikipi [6-foot-3, 300 pounds] and Ricky Heimuli [6-4, 321] that will match some of those guys. Football starts up front. We've learned that in our battles with LSU and Auburn. I really think our defensive line will be the strength of this football team."

Throw in returning first-team all-conference defensive end Dion Jordan (6-7, 245), lengthy and productive redshirt junior Taylor Hart (6-6, 289) and four-star recruit Arik Armstead (6-8, 297) and it becomes clear as to why the normally reserved Kelly gets so excited about his team's prospects up front.

The schedule favors the Ducks: The only road trip in the first six weeks is to face the Washington State Cougars, and not even in Pullman, but rather at Century Link Field in Seattle where the Green and Gold could very well equal the Crimson and Grey in the stands. The easy early slate will provide a soft landing for Oregon's first-year QB.

This will obviously be a major point of contention for both USC and Oregon fans, assuming both teams do as expected, until Nov. 3 rolls around. [Utah fans, feel free to jump in on this until Oct. 4 -- and beyond if your team can top the Trojans at home]. Still, it doesn't mean we can't stoke the fires a little early.

How much can we really learn from spring? Funky scrimmages with backwards scoring systems; depleted depth charts; completely new installs for four teams. Actually, more than you'd think. Here are five things we learned about the Pac-12 during spring.

1. Quarterbacks are still in limbo: Be it Stanford, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon or Colorado, almost half of the teams still don’t know who is going to be under center when the season starts. Stanford funneled its list of five down to two, Josh Nunes and Brett Nottingham. ASU still has a three-way battle with Michael Eubank, Mike Bercovici and Taylor Kelly -- though coach Todd Graham said they have a better idea than they are probably letting on publicly. The very private competition between Marcus Mariota and Bryan Bennett at Oregon remains in question -- though Mariota was spectacular in the spring game while Bennett faltered. Still, coach Chip Kelly said that one game isn’t going to be his basis for comparison. UCLA coach Jim Mora wanted to name a starter by the end of spring, but no one has “grabbed” it, so we’ll have to wait until August before learning whether Brett Hundley, Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut gets the gig. And at Colorado, the competition was put on hiatus when Nick Hirschman broke a bone in his foot and couldn’t compete in spring drills. One has to think that was a huge advantage for Connor Wood to get almost all of the reps with the first-team offense.
2. Not everyone has quarterback issues: Teams thought to have quarterback question marks heading into spring seemed to have resolved them. In Utah, Jordan Wynn is completely healthy, and both coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson have declared Wynn their guy. While Mike Leach hasn’t officially declared Jeff Tuel his starter, it’s hard to imagine anyone else winning the job in the fall, short of Tuel suffering a significant injury or amnesia. He had a splendid spring, and appears to be a great fit for Leach’s offense. And at Arizona, Matt Scott seized the job early and left little room for any competition. Coach Rich Rodriguez has been gushing about how quickly Scott has adjusted to the offense. At Cal, Zach Maynard, once thought to be challenged by freshman Zach Kline, appears to not only have held on to the job, but distanced himself from pursuers.
3. Wide receivers aplenty: And there are plenty of those in the conference. USC has probably the best tandem in the country in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Cal’s Keenan Allen (though he missed spring drills) should continue to put up big numbers, and Washington State’s Marquess Wilson should flourish in the Cougars’ new system with Tuel as his quarterback. Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks could challenge the USC duo statistically if quarterback Sean Mannion continues to develop. There are stars on the rise at Arizona State (Jamal Miles) and Stanford (Ty Montgomery), and a potential star at Washington (James Johnson). Look out Biletnikoff, the Pac-12 is a comin'…
4. The conference of defense? The Pac-12 might never bunk its reputation as an offensive-centric conference (especially when it keeps churning out offensive talent). But there is a surplus of talented defenses and defensive players who were on display this spring. Washington seems to have plugged its leaks with new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. There’s a 3-4 trend sweeping the conference, and with notable playmakers like Star Lotulelei (Utah), John Boyett (Oregon), Dion Jordan (Oregon), Chase Thomas (Stanford), Josh Shirley (Washington), T.J. McDonald (USC) and DeAndre Coleman (Cal), it’s easy to see why some of the Pac-12 defenses will get the same kind of love as the offenses do in 2012.
5. Confidence is at an all-time high: As it should be in the spring. The four new coaches all feel confident about the systems they have installed. Stanford feels as good as it ever has about its running game. USC and Oregon should get lofty preseason rankings, and this is the time of the year when fans go through the schedules game by game and always seem to come up with a minimum of six wins. Sorry to say, there are teams in the conference that won’t make it to a bowl game this season. But when you hear the coaches talk about their teams, you’d think the conference is going to go 12-0 in the postseason. This is a magical time for fans filled with hope and possibility. Enjoy it while it lasts.

There were a lot of new and few answers this spring in the Pac-12.

The new is four new coaches: Rich Rodriguez at Arizona, Todd Graham at Arizona State, Jim Mora at UCLA and Mike Leach at Washington State. The lack of answers comes mostly at quarterback, though it now seems in vogue for coaches to downplay -- or refuse to provide -- a post-spring depth chart, thereby leaving just about every position allegedly up for grabs.

Or as Oregon coach Chip Kelly cryptically explained when asked if any Ducks questions were answered this spring, "I don’t know what that phenomena is, but we don’t have answers that are answered after spring, Grasshopper."

He didn't say "Grasshopper," but it seemed to be strongly implied.

USC and Washington entered and exited spring with QB certainty, with Matt Barkley and Keith Price ranking among the nation's best. California, Utah, Arizona and Oregon State appear solid at the position. Washington State is just short of set with Jeff Tuel, as Tuel's lights-out performance in the spring game -- 19-of-21 for 285 yards and two touchdowns -- made his position seem strong with an injured Connor Halliday on the sidelines.

That leaves Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford and UCLA. All five entered spring with QB uncertainty, and they exit it that way.

The Ducks QB situation was a national story after Darron Thomas surprisingly -- and unwisely -- opted to enter the NFL draft. Before spring began, Bryan Bennett, who played well in relief of Thomas last year, seemed like a strong frontrunner over Marcus Mariota. But Mariota overwhelmingly outplayed Bennett in the spring game, an ESPN3 broadcast that was the Ducks' only open practice, looking good as a runner and passer.

Still, Kelly only acknowledged what everyone saw and said onward to the summer.

Arizona State and UCLA started spring with three legitimate challengers at QB. While it seemed as though there was daily speculation of an emerging pecking order, both programs placed "ORs" between their troikas on their post-spring depth chart. While it would seem that Mike Bercovici and Michael Eubank are ahead of Taylor Kelly for the Sun Devils, and Brett Hundley and Richard Brehaut are ahead of returning starter Kevin Prince for the Bruins, those competitions are unresolved, according to both head coaches.

Same can be said for Stanford, though the Cardinal only have a two-man race with Brett Nottingham and Josh Nunes. Neither played terribly well in the spring game, so Andrew Luck's very, very large cleats remain unfilled.

Still, know that the coaches have a pretty good idea of the pecking order, even as they opt to be coy. Mora said he'll name his starter by Aug. 16, while Graham intimated his ultimate decision isn't far away.

"We're a lot closer than what it appears probably from the outside," he said.

Colorado's QB competition never really got started. Pre-spring frontrunner Connor Wood, a Texas transfer, was pretty much handed an opportunity to take the job with Nick Hirschman out with a foot injury, but Wood failed to break through. While Wood may well still be the frontrunner, it's also possible incoming freshman Shane Dillon could get into the mix, as could Jordan Webb, a former starter at Kansas who may end up in Boulder via transfer.

Embree isn't eager to prolong the indecision.

"If it's a clear cut deal, I'm not going to waste time," he said. "I think it's important that the team knows and that quarterback know that they're going to be leading the team."

What this all means is that nearly half the Conference of Quarterbacks is undecided at the position and likely will remain that way until mid-August. Or later.

Of course, feel free to consult the heavens -- or the message boards -- for hints at what might lay ahead.

Dion Jordan is flattered, but ultimately unmoved by comparisons. Oregon's defensive end has heard most of them -- Jevon Kearse, Terrell Suggs, Dwight Freeney, to name a few. Not exactly shoddy company, mind you.

"I think it's cool and I've been compared to a few of those guys in the past," Jordan said. "But I want to bring my own game to the table. I've watched those guys in the film room. I've studied the great pass-rushers and outside linebackers that drop into coverage. I want to get as much as I can out of them and then roll that into my own game."

And if all goes according to plan, Jordan's game in 2012 will be to create chaos.

Jordan, a returning first-team all-conference defensive end last season, was one of the most disruptive players in the Pac-12, finishing fourth in the league with 7.5 sacks. There's no reason to believe he isn't poised for equal or better numbers in his senior season. Nor is it out of the realm of possibility to consider him a legitimate candidate for conference defensive player of the year.

"First, I've got to finish up school, graduate and become a better leader for my teammates on the field," said Jordan, who totaled 13 tackles for a loss last year. "My main goal is to get after the quarterback more so I can increase those stats. That will help me and my team a lot. If I can get my hands on the ball, I believe I can get in the end zone one or two times."

Spoken like a true offensive player at heart. Coming out of Chandler, Ariz., as a 6-foot-6, 215-pound receiver/tight end hybrid, he never imagined himself on the defensive side of the ball -- or on the line, for that matter. But he's grown an inch since arriving in Eugene and is playing at about 245 pounds now -- a proportion he's happy with.

"I can definitely add more weight, but my real goal is to get stronger," he said. "Last year I played at about 240, but if I gain too much, I won't be as effective with my feet. I gotta get stronger. More time in the weight room, take care of my body and stay healthy. That's all that matters right now."

He's being touted early on as one of the top 20 players in the 2013 NFL draft -- something that's crossed his mind, but it's not on his mind. Like all good team leaders, he's got his attention focused on the first game of the season.

"When the season starts, everyone has the same record," Jordan said. "You really can't buy into the hype. All you can do is prepare and come out ready to play. Coach [Chip] Kelly makes sure we're prepared every week to compete against anybody we play. And we feel like if we prepare good enough, we can compete with anybody in the nation."

All of the ingredients are in place. Jordan plays on a high-profile team that's going to win a lot of games and is expected to be in the national championship hunt. And according to defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, he could be Oregon's best defensive player. Kelly is equally thrilled with Jordan's progress.

"I'm really excited about Dion," Kelly said. "He's really come into a leadership role this spring and he's emerged as one of the top players in our conference."

And he's one of the top players on a defense that is loaded with talent. With playmakers like Michael Clay, Kiko Alonso, Taylor Hart and John Boyett -- to name a few -- the Ducks defense looks poised to again be one of the best in the conference.

"It's not about one or two guys standing out," Jordan said. "I honestly think we all do a good job complementing each other in our own way. We work hard. If you look at previous games, not everybody is going to play their best game every week. We do a good job picking each other up."

1. Commissioner John Marinatto paid for his inability to keep the two constituencies of the Big East Conference on one path Monday when he submitted his resignation. Whether anyone could have kept the conference’s original basketball-oriented members and its football-playing newbies happy is a fair question. It’s no knock on Marinatto, a back-of-the-house guy, that he failed. The conference presidents made a poor decision when they promoted him, as Dana O’Neil wrote Monday, and it may be too late to fix.

2. Alabama and LSU, the teams that played for the BCS Championship -- can we say playoff finalists yet? -- had a combined 10 freshmen enroll in January in time to participate in spring ball. At Oregon, which is on the quarter system, coach Chip Kelly chose not to begin spring ball until April, when spring quarter began. Three Duck signees who didn’t finish high school in December completed their studies in time to enroll for spring quarter. It’s a wonder more coaches don’t advocate for the quarter system.

3. Nebraska assistant coach Ron Brown wrote an open letter, published by the Lincoln Journal-Star over the weekend, saying he would never punish a gay athlete in his charge. As proof, he cited the Huskers who have played for him without repercussion even as they had heterosexual sex outside of marriage. That, too, is a sin, Brown wrote. If you’re scoring at home, Brown is using fornication to defend his ability to coach. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

Our topic is new looks to old rivalries. Other ESPN.com writers are looking at Ohio State-Michigan (Urban Meyer vs. Brady Hoke), Oklahoma State flipping the script on Oklahoma and the new feel of Clemson-South Carolina.

So why am I tossing Oregon-Washington into that pool?

Well, there's this conversation that has taken place between trash-talking Ducks and Huskies fans for years.

Ducks in 2004: We beat you 31-6.

Huskies in 2004: But when did you last win a Rose Bowl!

Ducks in 2005: We beat you 45-21.

Huskies in 2005: But when did you last win a Rose Bowl!

Fast-forward.

Ducks in 2012: We've beaten you eight consecutive years by an average margin of 25 points and never by fewer than 17 points.

Huskies in 2012: But when did you last win a Rose Bowl!

Ducks in 2012: Ha!

Huskies in 2012: Drat.

When Oregon outlasted Wisconsin 45-38 in January, it won its first Rose Bowl in 95 years. We know this because immediately after the game, coach Chip Kelly -- who often tells reporters he doesn't care about such things -- hollered to the crowd, "It's been 95 years since you could say: Oregon Ducks, Rose Bowl champions!"

I have long been an accidental tourist with this rivalry. I covered Washington's seventh -- and last -- Rose Bowl victory after the 2000 season. I've also covered a bunch of Ducks-Huskies games. I've been accused by each set of fans of being a homer for the other at least once a week since the Pac-12 blog crawled out of the Mother Ship in 2008 and went, "Ooooooo, a mailbag! This is where I'll get compliments from everyone!"

When I first arrived in Seattle in 1999, having no idea these programs hated each other, the Huskies were still the Big Brother in the Northwest. They mostly owned Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State. Now the Ducks are the top, er, Ducks. Not only have they beaten Washington eight consecutive times, they also haven't lost to Washington State since 2006 or Oregon State since 2007.

The Ducks' dominance of Washington -- winning and winning big -- has been mostly stunning. Still, the Huskies had some grounds for rebuttal. The program had been a national power and certainly would be again. And its trophy case contained seven Rose Bowl trophies. Oregon fans could -- fairly -- accuse the Huskies of living in the past, but the Rose Bowl tweak scored a point. And any honest Oregon fan will tell you it smarted.

Or it did smart. It's no longer valid. That page has turned, thereby redefining the rivalry in a measurable way.

Of course, Huskies fans can still hoist a national title into the air. Oregon still doesn't have one of those.

Yet.

PHOENIX -- Pac-12 coaches and athletic directors generally expressed optimism over the expected move toward a four-team college football playoff in 2014, but there was plenty of caution as well as a smack of defiance during the conference's spring meetings at the posh Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

Some, such as Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and Washington State coach Mike Leach, don't think four teams is enough. Some worried about losing the bowl games, particularly the Pac-12's longstanding and storied connection to the Rose Bowl. And just about everyone was concerned about the selection process.

That defiance? It's rooted in the general belief that some other conferences excel at masterful scheduling (read: avoiding challenging competition) and massaging public perception (read: creating a consensus of superiority based significantly on subjective judgments).

If the Pac-12 and Big 12 play nine conference games, and the ACC, SEC and Big Ten play eight, then those conferences are playing by different standards that have myriad measurable effects. If one conference features a majority of teams playing at least one or two tough nonconference foes a year and another features a majority of teams playing four directional schools, then those conferences are playing by different standards that have myriad measurable effects.

Even if one of those conferences has won six consecutive national titles.

"You need some competitive equity within all of the conferences if you are going to do this thing," USC athletic director Pat Haden said. "But if you're going to have a conference, it seems to me you should be playing your conference opponents rather than non-conference opponents. In USC and Stanford's case we really have 10 conference games if you include Notre Dame, because we both have a long history of playing Notre Dame."

While the sentiment is strong among the coaches to reduce the Pac-12 conference schedule to eight games, sentiments mostly lean the other way among the athletic directors. The topic was discussed this week, but commissioner Larry Scott confirmed that there is no short-term plan to reduce the conference slate to eight games.

A big reason for that: There's a wait-and-see attitude on the details of the four-team playoff. While, based on media reports, there seems to be considerable momentum behind incorporating the bowls into the new system, there is little consensus on the selection process for the four participating teams.

That is where the coaches have a dog in this fight. They don't really care where they play, but they do want to know how they get there.

"I'd hate to go to just one little group or one committee that picks the teams," Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. "I think it's way too important. The more people you have involved, probably the better."

Oregon coach Chip Kelly pointed out that if there was a final four in place last fall, then Stanford would have been in and his Ducks would have been out, despite their decisive win in Palo Alto. The biggest reason for that? Oregon lost to LSU in the season-opener, giving it one more defeat than Stanford. If the Ducks had played San Jose State, they almost certainly would have finished fourth.

"There seems like there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered before anybody can say, 'Hey, that's a great idea,'" Kelly said.

Therein lies the caution. And the defiance. There was a clear undercurrent with Scott, the coaches and athletic directors that they didn't want to be pushed into anything, particularly when the Pac-12 (and Big Ten) are being asked to sacrifice something -- their tie to the Rose Bowl -- while other conferences aren't. There's a widespread perception that the BCS standings favored an SEC way of doing things, and played a role in that conference's recent dominance. So how does it help the Pac-12 if the new format still relies on a BCS-like evaluation?

There's a concern that if, say, Oregon and Alabama both finish 11-1 that the Crimson Tide would benefit from a "just because" edge, one based entirely on a subjective judgment of SEC superiority. Such a judgment could give the SEC a near-annual second team in a final four while knocking the Pac-12 -- and other major conferences -- out entirely.

"I think a lot of people are going to want the human element out of it, because it would be hard for humans to make those decisions and not be biased in some way," USC coach Lane Kiffin said.

Which is why some, such as Whittingham, favor an expanded playoff.

"From my perspective, you can take it out of the hands of voting and more to on-field performance," he said.

Said Leach, "I'd like to see it more than four. My suspicion is eventually there will be. Because, five years ago, if somebody had said this was going to happen, the room would have started laughing."

Meetings here were long, and there were plenty of other topics, from officiating, to bowls, to scheduling. But the back-and-forth on the potential new playoff scenarios was the centerpiece of the week, at least in terms of intrigue.

Change is coming. That's almost certain. But the process this summer of putting together a concrete plan among entities with competing agendas figures to be contentious.

Said Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, "I think there are still a lot of conversations to go."

1. West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, at the Big 12 spring meetings at the Arizona Biltmore this week, viewed the coming four-team playoff as an endorsement of his school’s decision to leave the Big East. Luck said West Virginia needed to be “across the fault line” dividing the haves and have-lesses before the BCS changed. One problem, Luck added: West Virginia now must pay Big 12 salaries. Dana Holgorsen’s three new defensive assistants got significant raises; the school’s other coaches won’t be far behind.

2. After hearing a BCS playoff update from Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott at a meeting Tuesday morning at the Biltmore, Chip Kelly of Oregon said the league coaches don’t care about when and where the games will be played. They want to know the criteria for making the Final Four. “Just tell us how to get there,” he said. With Pac-12 champion Oregon finishing No. 5 last season behind two non-champions (Alabama and Stanford), it’s no surprise that Kelly endorsed conference winners only for the new playoff.

3. If you didn’t know that Stanford coach David Shaw expected an immediate contribution from offensive lineman Andrus Peat, the 6-foot-7, 300-pounder from Tempe, Ariz., you’ll figure out from the uniform number Peat will wear. “I asked him, ‘Do you know who wore No. 70?'” Shaw said. That would be Shaw’s Cardinal teammate, Bob Whitfield, who started as a true freshman, became an All-American as a junior in 1991 and played 15 seasons in the NFL. The most impressive thing about Peat? “He knew,” Shaw said.

The Pac-12 blog loves hype. It loves to throw down bait and watch you folks go at each other.

Such as: Oregon's recent success trumps Washington's historical dominance of the Northwest ... discuss.

But with our subject today -- Oregon's quarterback competition -- we're resisting hype, hyperbole and grand pronouncements.

Yes, the Pac-12 blog watched Oregon's spring game. Yes, redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota impressed me. A lot. And it wasn't just him completing 18 of 26 passes for 202 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Or an 82-yard TD run that included an option fake that screamed, "DENNIS DIXON!"

It was his smoothness. He looked poised and completely in control. And Bryan Bennett did not.

Yet the best reaction to this as we head into the offseason probably should be, "Hey, that was interesting!" And little else. For one, if both were lousy, Ducks fans, would you be in a panic? No. Everyone would be insisting, "There's no need to panic. This, really, is the Pac-12 blog's fault."

Every spring, players break out or flop. And then they do the opposite in the fall when we play actual games. Last year, I wrote that Colorado defensive tackle Conrad Obi and UCLA defensive end Datone Jones looked like dominant players. I wrote that because they looked like dominant players when I watched them and their coaches supported what my eyes told me.

My eyes were wrong.

Two springs back, I felt fairly confident that Nate Costa would beat out Darron Thomas for the Ducks' starting job. That's what my eyes told me. And it was also a strong hunch. My eyes and hunch were wrong. Two springs ago, I wasn't very impressed with Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler. Three days ago, he was picked in the second round of the NFL draft. In 2000, I saw nothing from Washington's spring game that suggested the Huskies were going to win the Rose Bowl and finish ranked in the top 5.

My point: While it's impossible to not be impressed with Mariota and to give Bennett a deduction, it's premature to hand the job to Mariota. Based on the little we know coming out of closed spring practices, the distance between the two during the previous 14 workouts wasn't great.

Remember how well Bennett played coming off the bench for an injured Thomas against Arizona State last year? Remember how well he played in his one start at Colorado? While it wasn't good that Bennett seemed rattled Saturday, the guy already has shown poise in pressure situations. Know what I think was bothering him? I think -- and this isn't really a good thing -- that he was frustrated by how much worse his offensive line was performing compared to Mariota's

Bennett's team, which lost 41-14, couldn't run the ball and it yielded three sacks. Bennett was consistently under pressure, Mariota was not. Mariota also had De'Anthony Thomas and a much better cast of receivers. Bennett had Kenjon Barner, who had one carry. For one yard.

Bennett labored under adverse conditions, but he did have some nice moments. Mariota thrived under better conditions, but he wasn't perfect.

This isn't over.

So what are some fair takeaways?

• Rumors of Mariota's impressive potential are true.
• Oregon has two solid options to replace Thomas. This is not a position that will keep Chip Kelly up at night.
• Whatever they did in previous scrimmages behind closed doors, Mariota, er, won the day when the doors were opened and the pressure was on.
• At the very worst for Mariota, he and Bennett head into the offseason in a dead-heat.
• Mariota now knows his candidacy is serious. And so does Bennett. Now how will each react to that knowledge?
• Closing 14 practices -- and two previous scrimmages -- may have skewed perception of this competition. The burden for that now falls on Bennett, who will have to deal with everyone acting like Mariota will win the job. Yes, it will be annoying for him.

Before spring practices, I believed Bennett was a solid favorite. As of today, I'd rate -- again, with limited information -- Mariota a slight favorite. My opinion, by the way, means not a thing.

The spring game was interesting. Perhaps even revealing. But we probably won't know the accuracy of anyone's hunches until a week before the opener against Arkansas State on Sept. 1.

Oregon's spring game will be televised Saturday at 2 p.m. ET -- 11 a.m. PT -- on ESPN3.

Go here and look at the schedule. Notice anything?

Yes, the Ducks spring game is the last televised college football before Texas A&M visits Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Aug. 30. So that's a reason to watch right there. It's going to be a long, hot summer. Reports on changes to the college football postseason are only so fulfilling.

Further, it's the only time anyone -- fans or media -- will get to see Oregon play this spring, perhaps even the only time before the season-opener against Arkansas State on Sept. 1. Ducks coach Chip Kelly opted to, for the first time in program history, completely close spring practices. So media reports have been unusually scarce.

The Ducks have been evenly divided into two teams via a draft -- Team Aliotti and Team Helfrich -- and they will play two 12-minute quarters, with a running clock in the second half. Obviously, that's defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti vs. offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich.

So, now that Kelly is letting civilians look at his super-secret football team, what's at issue?

• Quarterback! It's not only Aliotti vs. Helfrich, it's Bryan Bennett vs. Marcus Mariota. Team Aliotti has Mariota at QB and some key playmakers, including De'Anthony Thomas, Josh Huff and Colt Lyerla. Team Helfrich will feature Bennett and runnning back Kenjon Barner.
• Who replaces defensive end Terrell Turner and rover Eddie Pleasant? Those, really, are the only two questions on a defense that should be very good. Of course, with the teams split up, it might be difficult to figure out what the exact pecking order is.
• The Ducks most questionable position is receiver. Well, it's supposed to be questionable, at least until we see how much redshirt freshmen Devon Blackmon, Tacoi Sumler and B.J. Kelley have improved. If all three look good, well, then the position looks brighter. It also will be good to see how Josh Huff, Rahsaan Vaughn and Daryle Hawkins look.
• More than a few Ducks fans are eager to see how touted true freshman offensive tackle -- just kidding! -- defensive lineman Arik Armstead looks.
• Word is defensive end Dion Jordan and linebacker Kiko Alonso have looked good this spring. Will they -- both members of Team Helfrich -- dominate the spring game?

According to the official website, the game will benefit the local Food Bank as well as pay tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces. Admission will be three non-perishable food items, which will be donated to Food for Lane County

For those who are planning to attend, a Fan Fest starts at 9 a.m. PT. From the website: "Much of the pregame, halftime and postgame festivities will include participation from the armed services, including a joint service color guard and ceremonies to honor the men and women from the state and their families for the sacrifices of their time overseas, a halftime flag-folding ceremony and a pre-game fly-over by military aircraft."

The Ducks spring game drew a team-record 43,468 spectators last year.

It appears that a lot of college football players are smoking pot. And Oregon is one school that ESPN Magazine reports is doing it a lot.

Does this surprise me? No.

Do you have kids in college? Do you think they smoke pot?

If you said, "No way, not my kid!" It's probably 50-50 whether you are wrong. For a lot of young people, pot has replaced alcohol as the first-choice recreational drug of choice.

First, let's deal with this: Smoking pot is not only illegal, it's also against the rules for, my educated guess posits, every college football team IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, including Oregon.

So, while many folks, most particularly ardent Ducks fans, will react with a shrug, it's important to note that Oregon players are -- allegedly -- breaking rules set down by coach Chip Kelly, as well as the United States of America. How often do you think Kelly overlooks players doing the opposite of what he requests?

No matter your opinion on marijuana laws, the allegation that many Oregon players are routinely breaking a team rule is not good, even if it's likely that many schools also see the same team rule frequently broken.

In Oregon's defense, its situation is different than most football programs, due to state laws that restrict drug testing. For one, there is no random testing, and probable cause can't just be just a "hunch" that a player who smells of sandalwood incense has been sucking some bowls -- and not Rose Bowls.

Here's a statement from athletic director Rob Mullens:

“Student-athlete welfare is of the utmost importance to the University of Oregon. Similar to many college campuses wrestling with the same issue, the University of Oregon actively works to address potential use of any illegal substance through a combination of education, prevention and enforcement activities. Student-athletes at the University of Oregon are tested for illegal substances to the full extent possible under existing Oregon state law, which prohibits random testing. We continue to work diligently to educate our student-athletes on the harmful impact of illegal substances. In addition, we have articulated our illegal substances policy to our student-athletes and have clearly defined sanctions for a positive test.”

As for the Ducks policy, the first two positive tests only get counseling. On a third positive test, "The student athlete will be immediately ineligible for competition. They will remain ineligible until they have missed the equivalent of 50% of a season," according to the school. A fourth positive test, and the athlete is dismissed from the team and loses his scholarship.

No, that doesn't sound very strict, particularly when you consider testing can't be random due to state law.

Now, after 430 words, comes my, "But."

As a sports writer with the latitude to opine on such matters, I often try to advise fans how they should "feel" about certain issues -- the option to take it or leave it being plainly available. If I were an Oregon fan, I would worry about this for 17 minutes. Perhaps 20. For a powerful booster with access to Kelly and Mullens, you would be perfectly justified expressing sentiments to them that "I'd rather not read a story like this again."

Question: Is Oregon graduating its players?

Yes.

Question: Are Oregon's players among the best conditioned in all of college football?

Yes.

Of course, breaking the law is breaking the law. It leads to plenty of embarrassing moments for a program -- hello, Cliff Harris.

That said, alcohol is legal, and it's the common denominator for a vast majority of bad headlines for college football programs -- such as this and this and this. How often do you read about someone under the influence of pot doing something like this?

You can legally purchase grain alcohol in this country while pot is illegal. Not to get too political, but that is nonsensical.

Yes, creating more reasonable drug laws lingers on the periphery of this conversation. Many folks in the 18-25-year-old bracket certainly no longer buy anti-marijuana arguments that have since been found to be medically untrue.

But that's the periphery. Today, the issue is a slightly embarrassing one for Oregon.

The Ducks player should know that they just made Kelly's life a little bit more difficult. It's possible he might shortly return the favor.

EUGENE, Ore. -- While Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas' decision to enter the NFL draft a year early shocked many outside the football program, it didn't surprise many of those close to him, including his fellow Ducks quarterbacks. Thomas had brought up the possibility a number of times throughout the year, so backup Bryan Bennett and talented true freshman Marcus Mariota knew he was eyeballing a potential departure.

Though the news was greeted with more than a few gasps, many Ducks fans didn't spice their surprise with disappointment. Some had felt that Bennett -- despite Thomas' record-setting numbers -- was a better quarterback, or at least that he had more upside. They had seen what he'd done in limited action in 2011, coming off the bench in a big win over Arizona State and a start at Colorado.

Inside the program, not only was it not a big surprise, it also wasn't viewed as a perfunctory passing of the torch. There was a mystery man, an X factor, with whom fans and media weren't terribly familiar because Oregon has shut down access to practices: true freshman Marcus Mariota.

Mariota, a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder out of St. Louis High School in Honolulu, had shown enough in one impressive redshirt year to be viewed by his coaches and teammates as a legitimate threat to win the job.

"When DT left, I told Brian, 'You got to work for it. Marcus Mariota is a very good quarterback,'" said center Hroniss Grasu, Bennett's roommate and good friend. "It's going to be a great competition."

What you keep hearing when you ask players and coaches about Bennett and Mariota is that they are notably similar. Both are tall and fairly thin -- Bennett is 6-3, 205 pounds. Both are athletic and comfortable running an option attack. Both are capable passers. Both have low-key personalities.

"We feel real confident as a staff in our quarterback situation," said coach Chip Kelly, whose Ducks begin spring practices Tuesday. "They just haven't played significant amounts. I'm real confident in whoever ends up out of those guys pulling the trigger that we'll have a pretty good one."

There's good reason for that. Since Kelly arrived as the Ducks' offensive coordinator in 2007, Oregon has been good to outstanding at the position. He transformed Dennis Dixon from a guy who threw more interceptions than touchdowns in 2006 to a leading Heisman Trophy candidate before he got hurt. He made Jeremiah Masoli, an unknown summer junior college transfer, into a swashbuckling, dual-threat force. And under his tutelage, Thomas ended up throwing more TD passes than any previous Ducks QB.

Kelly insists he has no preconceptions: "Our program is founded on competition," he said. Of course, many coaches throw the "competition" coaching platitude around. What actually happens on the depth chart demonstrates that most still favor seniority, particularly at QB. Coaches believe in the value of experience and they are more comfortable with players with whom they've built up years of familiarity. To win a job, a younger player must decisively demonstrate superiority.

But Kelly has shown he's not like that, and we need look no further than the last quarterback competition in Eugene between senior Nate Costa and Thomas, then a sophomore.

Costa was the feel-good story after Masoli's ugly departure. He was the one-time spread-option prodigy who'd been done in by bad knees, but heading into 2010 spring practices he was again healthy and ready to lead the Ducks with his moxie and still substantial skills. Thomas was a skinny guy from Houston with an odd throwing motion who lacked Costa's polish.

Just about everyone thought Costa would win the job, perhaps even by the end of spring practices. But a funny thing happened: Thomas was announced as the starter in late August.

Bennett was a true freshman observer of that competition, at least the fall camp portion. And, just as Thomas didn't surprise him when he opted to leave for the NFL, he also didn't surprise Bennett when he won the job.

"At first, I saw Nate as the older, senior, who kind of took control more," Bennett said. "I think it could have gone either way, but I wasn't too surprised. I thought it kind of started to lean towards Darron at the end."

Fair to say Bennett knows he can't expect his limited experience -- 369 yards passing, six touchdowns, no interceptions -- to give him a substantial advantage, at least not as baubles that will impress Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. But that experience could become a foundation or launching point that helps Bennett develop faster, which could provide a competitive advantage. The game should be slower to him than to Mariota. He knows how it feels when the lights are on for real, and how his teammates and coaches react. He knows how to prepare as a starter. And he saw how Thomas won the job over Costa.

"Since Darron left, I have taken it on myself to present myself as a leader of this team," Bennett said. "I would like to be the starting quarterback of this team. In my mind, I'm going to continue to tell myself that I need to get better and worry about the things I can control. It could come down neck-and-neck. It could be decided in spring ball. I really don't know. It's more a competition with myself, because I can control what I do. I can't control what [Mariota] does."

When fellow Ducks talk about Mariota, they talk about how quickly he's picked up the offense. Mariota, in a revealing moment of humility that supports that very point, said it took him "a week" -- a whole week! -- to feel comfortable running the offense in fall camp his freshman year.

"I feel we are going in evenly," Mariota said. "Bryan is a very good player. He's been in this system for a while now. I'm just going to take it day by day. We both are. And whoever wins, we'll be rooting for each other."

Mariota adds: "If Bryan wins the job, I will be behind him 100 percent. This is a team thing."

This "team" thing has changed at Oregon. Three years ago, the Ducks starting QB was only of local, perhaps regional interest. After three consecutive conference titles, it's now a position of national import. The last three Ducks QBs have been in Rose Bowl and national title hunts.

The expectations aren't any lower in 2012, even with Thomas' surprising/not-so-surprising decision.

"I know whoever the quarterback is, he will do a great job," Grasu said. "Hopefully even better than last season. I know last season was a great season, but I think with the team we've got coming back everywhere else, we can be very successful."