ESPN College Football

Our theme today, as part of our "Love to hate" week at ESPN.com, is "Left in the lurch." This is about coaches who bailed out on a Pac-12 program at an unexpected or awkward time. We're not including Urban Meyer leaving Utah for Florida or Jim Harbaugh leaving Stanford for the San Francisco 49ers because their departures were not unexpected and came only after unprecedented success.

Of course, these situations vary greatly in terms of circumstances and reaction. There aren't many college football jobs out there considered better than one in the Pac-12, so most of the coaches who bailed out on their programs left for the NFL.

But here is a sampling from the Pac-12. Feel free to provide your own thoughts below.

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  AP Photo/Don RyanPete Carroll stunned USC fans when he left after the 2009 season to coach the Seattle Seahawks.
  California got dogged twice. First, after going 10-2 in 1991, Bruce Snyder bailed on the Golden Bears for Arizona State. It's rare for a coach to jump from one conference program to another, and it certainly hurts more. Then, in 1996, Steve Mariucci lasted just one year in Berkeley before jumping aboard with the San Francisco 49ers.
• Dennis Erickson twice left Pac-12 teams for sunnier pastures (at least in theory). After two years at Washington State, Erickson bolted for Miami after the 1988 season. Then, after a strong run at Oregon State from 1999-2002, Erickson left Corvallis for the San Francisco 49ers. He has repeatedly said that was the worst move of his career.
• Dick Vermeil lasted two seasons at UCLA. After going 9-2-1 in 1975 and upsetting No. 1 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, he left for the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Rick Neuheisel shocked many when he left Colorado for Washington before the 1999 season for a million-dollar contract, which was at the time considered exorbitant. He left behind NCAA sanctions for the Buffaloes and immediately got into trouble with the Huskies. It didn't make folks in Boulder feel any better when the Huskies and Neuheisel swept a home-and-home series over the next two years.

But two departures really stand out.

Don James is on the short list of greatest college football coaches of all time. In 18 seasons at Washington, from 1975 to 1992, he won a national title and four Rose Bowls. He went 153-57-2 (.726) and set a then-record of 98 conference victories. From 1990-92, the Huskies won 22 consecutive games.

He is the Dawgfather.

And that's why many Huskies fans will tell you the lowest moment in program history is when he resigned in protest of NCAA and Pac-12 sanctions on Aug. 22, 1993. (James really, really didn't like Washington president William Gerberding and athletic director Barbara Hedges, either).

His resignation just before the season forced Washington to promote defensive coordinator Jim Lambright, a good man and a good defensive coordinator but not an ideal fit as head coach. Other than a Rose Bowl victory after the 2000 season under Rick Neuheisel, things have never been the same in Husky Stadium. Not yet, at least.

A more recent shocker: Pete Carroll bolting USC after the 2009 season for the Seattle Seahawks.

Carroll's hiring in 2001 was widely panned, but all he did thereafter was build a college football dynasty, winning national championships in 2003 and 2004 and falling just short of a third consecutive title in 2005 in a thrilling loss to Texas. He went 97-19 (.836) in nine seasons (11-2 versus rivals Notre Dame and UCLA), won six BCS bowl games and finished ranked in the AP top-four seven times. He won 34 consecutive games from 2003-05 and coached three Heisman Trophy winners and 25 first-team All-Americans.

So, yeah, he accomplished a lot. And many thought he would coach USC for life, though many others also suspected the lure of the NFL would prove too much.

It was the timing of his sudden, stunning departure that frustrated many Trojans fans. While Carroll has repeatedly denied oncoming NCAA sanctions had anything to do with his decision to leave, that's a hard line to buy. He skipped town after a 9-4 season that featured blowout losses to Stanford and Oregon and left behind a team with a two-year bowl ban and deficit of 30 scholarships over three seasons.

Still, not unlike how James is viewed by Huskies fans, Carroll is mostly spared the wrath of Trojans fans because of what he accomplished.

There's no question, however, that both programs were left in the lurch.

It was a meeting of minds that had never really met. Still, Jim Mora knew that he wanted Noel Mazzone running his offense.

Mora, who has spent virtually his entire career in the NFL, was looking for someone with deep college roots. But he also wanted someone who could give him a mental sparring match.

"In watching his offense, I watched it like a defensive coach would watch it, because I'm a defensive-minded coach," said Mora. "I'm watching his plays and wondering 'How am I going to defend that?' And I thought, I don't know. When it posed those problems to me initially, I thought that's the guy."

And Mazzone jumped at the chance -- even though he only knew Mora by reputation.

"It was sort of the four degrees of Jim Mora separation," Mazzone said. "That's how coaching is anyway. There is always a little bit of a tie because you know a guy who knows a guy who worked with that guy. I didn't even really know him. A good friend of his was someone I worked with at the Jets."

Mora, who had been in broadcasting since being fired as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, had spent a lot of time watching college football. And he kept a close eye on what was happening at Arizona State, where Mazzone had served as offensive coordinator to Dennis Erickson.

"I love his personality," Mora said. "I love his energy. I love his experience. I know he's great with quarterbacks. Now I'm watching his offense and I don't know how I'm going to stop it. With all of the experience I have -- going against [Bill] Belichick and [Mike] Martz and Bill Walsh. Man, I thought, this guy is special."

And that's how Mora and Mazzone came together. And both feel it's going to be a mutually beneficial relationship.

"Well, I haven't missed on a third-and-short to keep the defense off the field yet," Mazzone said. "So we'll see what happens the first time that happens."

Mazzone's up-tempo spread offense comes from years of picking and grabbing what other offensive minds have done for more than three decades. His first influences were Jack Elway, Joe Gibbs and Don Coryell. Then he became friends with Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen and spent time with Mark Richt. Through the years, he's molded his own philosophy and approach to the game from watching others.

"There's not a lot of earth-shattering, unique, new ideas out there because a lot of this stuff was being done in the '30s," Mazzone said. "But an old coach once told me, it's not the plays, it's the presentation. That's how I think of offense. It's not the plays, but how do you present it. How do you present your team to the defense. I've just taken from my past experiences and built something."

And the results have been undeniable. He completely revamped a struggling Arizona State offense into one of the better attacks in the country in just a couple of years. Now Mora is hoping he'll do the same with the Bruins, a team that's been in the bottom half of the national offensive rankings the past few years.

"I watched a lot of college football these last two years," Mora said. "I knew Noel briefly and we'd competed against each other when he was at the Jets. We had common friends. And I always enjoyed his personality and approach. I think it's going to work out great."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Amanda Pettas, daughter of former Washington offensive coordinator John Pettas, dashes into the middle of the Arizona State scrimmage. You wonder: Is she possessed by the ghost of former Sun Devils linebacker Vontaze Burfict, determined to do something completely nuts?

The whistle blows, and immediately Pettas raises a pair of flags -- maroon and gold, of course.

The reporter on the sideline, widely known for being phenomenally observant and preternaturally insightful, is given three ultimately futile guesses as to what the heck Pettas is doing.

Sports information director Mark Brand then explains that Pettas is charged with running to the ball and raising the flags so coaches, watching film later, can know for sure which players are running full-go until the whistle is blown and which, thinking they are away from the play and can relax, might slow down a second or two before the whistle.

New coach Todd Graham doesn't like that. To him, it's loafing. The Sun Devils over the past few seasons did a lot of that.

That phenomenally observant and preternaturally insightful reporter saw little loafing on Tuesday. Also, his ears are ringing. Graham has enlisted a crew of assistants who aren't shy about making a point colorfully.

"The first couple of weeks were a little rough," offensive tackle Evan Finkenberg said.

It's a seeming requisite when observing a new coaching staff for folks -- fans and media -- to paint a "There's a new sheriff in town!" picture. Everything the fired coach did becomes inferior and everything the new coach changes becomes brilliant and inspiring. These, naturally, are superficial judgments made before games are played.

But this is different. Everybody dresses the same -- there are no fashion statements at practice. Walking on the field is verboten. While former coach Dennis Erickson mostly observed practice, Graham is active at just about every moment. He barks, instructs and jokes with his players incessantly. And so do his assistants.

Different, of course, guarantees only change, not success. And the players Graham inherited -- a roster with many questions -- might not be capable of winning more than six games next fall, as they did in 2011, even with a dramatic change in culture.

But six wins with fewer penalties, more consistent effort and a more disciplined, mature locker room likely would be embraced by the Sun Devils' frustrated fan base. And would bode well for the future.

Some observations:

• Quarterback competition? It's interesting because Mike Bercovici, Michael Eubank and Taylor Kelly are so different, something that won't be the case going forward when Graham and his staff recruit specifically for their offense. No question Bercovici is the best passer by a wide margin. Graham wants to throw downfield aggressively, and Bercovici -- big arm, quick release -- has the potential to do that as well as anyone in the conference. But Bercovici isn't a runner, and QB runs are a staple of Graham's offense. The general consensus is Eubank is the future. He's got a nice arm and his 6-foot-5, 242-pound frame makes him a physical, if not terribly speedy runner. On Tuesday, however, Eubank seemed reluctant to throw, even when guys were open. Kelly is likely in third place, but he can run and he also throws fairly well, though he seems to aim the ball in a way that defenses will be able to pick up.
• The Sun Devils are deep at running back, particularly if Deantre Lewis gets back up to speed after missing last year with a gun shot wound that left him with nerve damage in his upper leg. There's starter Cameron Marshall and James Morrison -- a couple of bangers -- touted incoming players, Marion Grice, a JC transfer, and freshman D.J. Foster, as well as hybrid WR/RB Kyle Middlebrooks and Jamal Miles.
• The offensive line has looked better than expected and the defensive line is solid, though it will be much better if suspended end Junior Onyeali gets reinstated.
• Areas of concern: linebacker, receiver and safety. There are intriguing players at each spot, but experience -- particularly at linebacker and wide receiver -- is an issue.
• Last year, the Sun Devils played an up-tempo, no-huddle, spread offense. They needed roughly 20 to 22 seconds between plays. Graham's goal is 16 to 18 seconds. That's really fast, perhaps not even doable on a consistent basis. But the effort to get there certainly increases the pace at practice.

Athletic directors don't last long when football and men's basketball struggle, and that appears to be what has happened to Lisa Love at Arizona State.

Love will be replaced as the Sun Devils athletic director by Steve Patterson, the school announced Wednesday. Patterson was hired in July as the athletic department's chief operating officer and managing director of the Sun Devil Sports Group.

The school's official release says Love "is leaving ASU to pursue other career opportunities." The Arizona Republic, however, reported that she was fired after meeting with school president Michael Crow on Tuesday.

Love was hired in April of 2005. While many of the the Sun Devils' nonrevenue sports have thrived, Love's big-name hires haven't, including Dennis Erickson for football and Herb Sendek for men's basketball. Love also had a contentious relationship with successful baseball coach Pat Murphy, who was fired in November of 2009 during an NCAA investigation. Further, the search for a replacement for Erickson, which eventually ended with Todd Graham's hiring away from Pittsburgh, was far from smooth.

Patterson's background is mostly in pro sports. He spent nearly a quarter of a century as an executive in the NFL with the Houston Texans, in the NBA with the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, and in professional hockey with the Houston Aeros. Prior to joining ASU in July 2011, he was the president of Pro Sports Consulting.

Quotes from the press release:

"In his time at ASU Steve Patterson has shown a level of sports management expertise rarely seen at the college and university level," said President Michael M. Crow. "He is the ideal person to build on the foundation Lisa built and to take Sun Devil sports to the next level - to the highest level.

"I wish to thank Lisa for seven years of excellent service. During her tenure here ASU won seven national championships and the academic performance and graduation rates of our student-athletes improved dramatically."

"I'm excited that Dr. Crow gave me the opportunity to oversee Sun Devil Athletics," said Patterson. "We expect to have a program that consistently competes for Pac-12 championships, with athletes that graduate, connect and serve our community, and operate with integrity, discipline and respect. It's time for our men's basketball and football programs to compete for championships and perform at the same level as our successful spring sports."

More Patterson background from the release:

Steve Patterson has built championship professional teams and designed, financed, built and run stadiums and arenas. As General Manager of the Houston Rockets he built the 1994 NBA Championship team. Later, he successfully led the effort to bring the Houston Texans NFL team and Super Bowl XXXVIII to Houston, Texas. As President of the Portland Trail Blazers, The Rose Garden and Rose City Radio, Patterson refined his skills as a turnaround specialist, while garnering national recognition for his player acquisition skills player acquisition skills when he took over as the team's General Manager.

Patterson also served as the President, General Manager and Governor of the Houston Aeros hockey team. For his efforts he was named the 1995 winner of the Andy Mulligan Trophy as the IHL's Executive of the Year.

In addition to his roles with the Aeros, Patterson also acquired and served as President and Partner in Arena Operating Company, which managed and operated Compaq Center, Houston's home of the Rockets, Aeros and Comets.

Born and raised in Beaver Dam, WI. Patterson attended the University of Texas, graduating with honors earning a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration in 1980. He graduated from UT's Law School in 1984.

Oregon and Oregon State fans may not provide glowing recommendations for Patterson, whose tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers was stormy on multiple levels.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- On Jan. 6, Mike Bercovici was chilling with some friends when he got a call from Arizona State receiver Aaron Pflugrad. There, it seemed, was some big news for the Sun Devils' backup quarterback.

In a surprise to many, junior Brock Osweiler, the Sun Devils' starting quarterback, had decided to enter the NFL draft.

"My mindset changed immediately," Bercovici said. "I was really excited when I heard the news."

Of course he was. It's natural that the backup becomes the favorite to win the job when the starter leaves. Osweiler's decision meant Bercovici was suddenly in line to become No. 1 on the depth chart a year earlier than expected -- as a true sophomore.

But, as everyone also knows, Osweiler also wasn't the only person who bolted the Sun Devils. When coach Dennis Erickson was fired, offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone and his spread passing attack moved on to UCLA. Enter Todd Graham and his spread-option, Oregon-esque offense, which asks the quarterback to be a running threat.

Bercovici has a big arm but isn't really known for his ability to run the ball.

"I'm not as familiar with the zone read," he said.

The guy who lost out on the backup job to Bercovici last preseason, sophomore Taylor Kelly, however, does have experience running the spread option. And, oh by the way, redshirt freshman Michael Eubank, an impressive athlete at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, was recruited by Graham to play quarterback at Pittsburgh.

"He tells me he knows me. He's told me that numerous times since he's been here," Eubank said. "But I'm fighting for the job like the rest of the guys. I don't feel like I have any advantage just because I know him."

What we do know: This feels like an honest-to-goodness battle. This offense seems to fit Kelly's and Eubank's comfort zone better than Bercovici's, but Graham's offense also emphasizes throwing the ball downfield -- much more so than Mazzone's quick-hit passing attack. Bercovici can hurl the rock downfield, there is absolutely no doubt about that.

But Graham isn't talking so much about the different skill sets of his signal-callers. For one, spring practices only start Tuesday, so he hasn't seen them in action. But he makes clear that there's a lot more to playing the position than passing and running.

"We spend a lot more time focusing on the intangibles, the mental part of it," he said. "The guy who will win this job will be the guy who can lead our team."

That said, becoming proficient with the spread option is a key component of the competition. But it's not all about athletic ability and blazing speed, either.

"The read zone is a part of what we do," Graham said. "We want to hurt them with our legs but slay them with our arm. Most of the guys in this system have been between 4.8 and 5-flat [in the 40-yard-dash], but if you have great technique you can be very deceptive in the option game."

(Graham said his offense best compares to what Chad Morris runs at Clemson and what new Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn ran as Auburn's offensive coordinator).

None of the three has any real college experience. And all three are young, so whoever wins could be in line to be a three- or (in Eubank's case) four-year starter. Graham and offensive coordinator Mike Norvell said each will get equal time with the first-team offense until a pecking order establishes itself.

"I don't have a timeline for when we're going to cut it to a two-man race or when we're going to name a starter," Norvell said. "It's a process and it's going to take its course. We're going to see how the guys compete."

And the competition is almost certain to extend well into fall camp.

Said Norvell, "I think I'll find it hard to name a starter after just 15 practices."

Oregon coach Chip Kelly was baffled in a phone interview before the Rose Bowl. How the heck could little-old-him be important to a reporter?

"The big story," he said conspiratorially,"is all these new coaches."

Well, it's the big story now as the Pac-12 turns its attention away from the 2011 season and toward 2012 spring practices. And, of course, Kelly is part of a reason there are four new coaches in the conference. Mike Stoops, Dennis Erickson, Rick Neuheisel and Paul Wulff -- fired at Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington State, respectively -- never beat Kelly and, in fact, came within double digits of his Ducks only once (Arizona, with a 44-41 loss in 2009).

But the story isn't just four new coaches. It's four new coaches whom folks have heard of, each of whom is getting a big-boy salary that would fit in among the SEC or Big Ten. Big salaries are the new normal in the Pac-12 after the conference signed a $3 billion TV deal with ESPN and Fox.

So out goes Stoops and his $1,456,000 salary, and in comes Rich Rodriguez and his $1,910,000 paycheck. Out goes Erickson and his $1,503,000 salary, and in comes Todd Graham and his $2 million tab. Out goes Neuheisel and his $1,285,000 salary, and in comes Jim Mora and his $2.4 million annual take. Out goes Wulff and his $600,000 salary, and in comes Mike Leach and his $2,250,000 price tag.

The chief idea is obvious: Pac-12 schools are paying for an upgrade in coaching talent, and there are high expectations for getting their money's worth. And, by the way, there's an added bonus for each hire: Each new coach has a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.

• In 2010, Rodriguez was ingloriously dispatched at Michigan after three tumultuous and unsuccessful years. Athletic director Greg Byrne is betting that Rodriguez is far closer to the highly successful coach he was at West Virginia than the one who got run out of Ann Arbor, and Rodriguez surely wants that impression to be his legacy. It helps that he got his man, Jeff Casteel, to run the Wildcats' defense, which he failed to do at Michigan.
• Graham took a lot of heat from a pandering, sanctimonious media and a whiny Pittsburgh fan base for how he left the Panthers. "He didn't even say goodbye," they collectively sobbed. "Waaah." Of course, Graham does have an unfortunate habit of describing every job as his "dream job." All that stuff is mostly hogwash, though. What matters is winning, and if Graham does that, the media will all come down en masse to Tempe pretending they didn't trash Graham's character for taking a better job, in a better conference, in a better place to live while making his family happy in the process.
• Mora was fired in 2009 after only one season with the Seattle Seahawks, and he's bided his time looking for another head-coaching job. Seeing that he was two or three names down UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero's coaching list -- Chris Petersen! Kevin Sumlin! -- some Bruins fans reacted with disappointed smirks to Mora's hiring. Then Mora hired an outstanding staff. Then he reeled in an outstanding recruiting class. Some of those frowns are turning upside down.
• Leach was fired at Texas Tech in 2009. He's one of the best offensive minds in the nation, and the almost universal reaction is athletic director Bill Moos hit a home run with this big-name hire. The Pirate Captain looks like the perfect match for Pullman and the Cougs, and he'll be plenty motivated to prove his critics wrong and erase the bad ending in Lubbock.

It's fair to say these four hirings have generated positive momentum for these programs, though, of course, to varying degrees. There's a hope among the fan bases that these four can create quick turnarounds.

And that also leads into another major coaching story entering the spring: The Pac-12's most senior coaches, California's Jeff Tedford and Oregon State's Mike Riley, sit on the hottest seats.

Tedford enters his 11th season in Berkeley having followed up his first losing campaign -- 5-7 in 2010 -- with a middling 7-6 finish in 2011. Riley, the man deserving the most credit for making one of the worst programs in college football respectable, enters his 12th year in Corvallis -- two tenures wrapped around an ill-fated stint with the San Diego Chargers -- burdened by consecutive losing seasons, including a 3-9 finish that felt so 1987.

Spring practices for Tedford and Riley will be about setting up turnaround season that give their frustrated fan bases hope -- and keep their athletic directors from issuing dreaded votes of confidence while checking their coaching Rolodexes.

Meanwhile, Kelly and USC's Lane Kiffin, still relative coaching newbies in the conference, enter spring likely trying to tone down the positive hype. Both will begin the 2012 season ranked in the top 10. USC could be preseason No. 1. Both are overwhelming favorites in the North and South Divisions. And their meeting on Nov. 3 in L.A. could have national title implications.

But that's looking ahead.

The big story this spring in the Pac-12 is newness and rebirth. One-third of the conference's teams hope that newness at the top of their programs will create a rebirth in the Pac-12 standings.

Todd Graham's first few weeks on the job at Arizona State have been about fences:

• Building them.
• Mending them.
• Figuring out how to put a "de" in front of them.

Graham, in essence, has three No. 1 priorities. In the immediate future, his first No. 1 priority has been building a fence around Phoenix to keep the region's top talent at home, then venturing out into the rest of the state before dipping the fiery pitchfork into California, Texas and somewhat into Florida.

"There are 4.5 million people in Phoenix and one major university," Graham said. "There is no setting like that in the nation. We want to get the best and brightest Phoenix has to offer. We have to get out in the community, show them what we're all about and put a product on the field, in the classroom and in the community they can be proud of. You have to send a message and then actually deliver on that message."

But one cannot sustain in the Pac-12 on Arizona alone. He knows that after planting his flag in the desert, hitting the Golden State -- among others -- is key. Last week, Graham was in Seattle, Atlanta, Tampa, Lafayette, New Orleans, Houston, California and then back to Arizona.

"If Phoenix and Arizona are priority No. 1, California has to be priority No. 2," Graham said. "Los Angeles, Northern California and the rest of Southern California. We have to be successful there, no doubt. But we want to win Phoenix first, then Arizona. We can't ignore our base."

And so far, he hasn't. He picked up a big commitment last week with Scottsdale, Ariz., running back D.J. Foster.

On to the second No. 1 priority. Once the fences are up -- and it will take more than a few weeks and a couple of commits, mind you -- it's on to mending the fences and getting Phoenix excited again about its college football team. After a season that started off so promising, followed by a second-half meltdown, the firing of Dennis Erickson, a bowl-game debacle against Boise State and the exodus of quarterback Brock Osweiler, there are lots of pieces that need to be picked up before next season.

"Results," Graham said. "I think you show them in results. That's getting out there and competing."

And that's what was lacking -- results -- at least in the second half of last season. After opening the year winning five of their first six -- which included signature victories over No. 21 Missouri and No. 23 USC -- the Sun Devils collapsed down the stretch. They dropped five straight to close the year -- including a 56-24 thrashing by Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Restoring confidence won't be easy. But so far, Graham is saying all of the things a new head coach should say.

"I'm not going to recruit the guys to the scheme and then win. We're going to win with the guys we have," he said.

Which leads us to his third No. 1 priority: defense. In order to win with the players they have, the Sun Devils will have to figure out how to keep the other team out of the end zone. ASU ranked in the bottom half of the country (74th) in points allowed last year and 91st in total defense.

"This is probably the most difficult conference in the country to play defense in," Graham said. "You have explosive offenses everywhere you look. The key to winning the championship in this conference is playing championship defense. The biggest challenge is defending week in and week out these very prolific and very high-powered offenses."

Despite zero all-conference players on the defensive line, Graham said that's where he likes his team's depth. He plans to play multiple fronts and said they will be very aggressive. His Pittsburgh squad last year was third in the nation in sacks with more than three per game.

"We're solid inside," Graham said. "We have a lot of depth out at defensive tackles and three technique and nose shade. We'll stand one of those ends up, sometimes they'll put their hand down and sometimes it's preference. We'll be very multiple in what we're doing, but we'll be attack-oriented. We're not going to sit and defend, we're going to get after it."

What were the top 10 games or moments of the 2011 season? Here's a stab at a list.

10. Colorado wins 17-14 at Utah: If the Utes had won Nov. 25, they would have won the Pac-12 South Division -- instead of UCLA -- and played at Oregon in the first Pac-12 championship game, in their first year of Pac-12 play. As it was, the Buffaloes' surprising victory ended a 24-game losing streak outside of the state of Colorado.

9. Shelly Lyons' pick-six vs. Matt Barkley: Arizona State ended an 11-game losing streak to USC on Sept. 24 in a quaking Sun Devil Stadium. The most memorable play was Lyons returning an interception 41 yards for a touchdown to ice the 43-22 victory. This victory seemed to announce the Sun Devils' arrival as a top-25 team.

8. Third-and-29: Arizona State's shocking 29-28 loss at UCLA on Nov. 5 was the first of five consecutive losses that derailed the Sun Devils' season and got coach Dennis Erickson fired. While it's most remembered for kicker Alex Garoutte missing three field goals, the biggest play of the game was the Bruins converting on a third-and-29 play on their go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter. Kevin Prince connected with Nelson Rosario for 33 yards to the Sun Devils' 6-yard line. After that play, pretty much nothing went right for the Sun Devils the rest of the season. Further, UCLA wouldn't have played in the Pac-12 championship game without that play.

7. Halliday! Celebrate! Freshman Connor Halliday, the third quarterback Washington State used this season, threw for a Pac-12 freshman-record 494 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-27 victory over Arizona State on Nov. 12. It was his first significant playing time.

6. Utah at USC, Sept. 10: It was a good game that wasn't decided until the waning moments, with USC prevailing 23-14, but that's not why it was memorable. It was the first official Pac-12 game. (California's trip to Colorado earlier in the day didn't count as a conference game; it had been pre-scheduled as a nonconference game).

5. LSU-Oregon, third quarter: The Ducks were statistically superior but trailed LSU 16-13 at halftime on Sept. 3 because Tyrann Mathieu scored a touchdown after stripping the ball from Kenjon Barner on a punt return. Then the third quarter happened. Two fumbles from De'Anthony Thomas in Oregon territory set up a pair of Tigers touchdowns, and the game was pretty much over before it got to the fourth quarter.

4. Stanford wins at USC 56-48 in triple overtime: Start with this: The Oct. 29 meeting was a fantastic game, clearly one of the top five regular-season contests in the nation this year. What was most memorable to me wasn't the fumble that ended it, but Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck regrouping after throwing a 33-yard pick-six to Nickell Robey and coolly leading a 76-yard touchdown drive to tie the count with 38 seconds left.

3. USC wins at Oregon 38-35: When the Ducks missed a late field goal to tie the Nov. 19 game, several things happened, starting with the end of a 21-game home winning streak as well as the end of a 19-game conference winning streak. It eliminated Oregon from the national title hunt. It also announced USC's return to national relevance. This victory -- as well as quarterback Matt Barkley's decision to return for his senior season -- is why many see the Trojans as 2012 national title contenders.

2. Black Mamba strikes in the Rose Bowl: For those in the college football world who only remembered De'Anthony Thomas from his fumbles in the opener against LSU, they got reintroduced in the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl. Thomas' touchdown runs of 91 and 64 yards were two of the most stunningly athletic plays of the bowl season. Immediately everyone thought: 2012 Heisman?

1. No Fiesta for Williamson: Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed a 35-yard field goal wide left as time expired that would have given the Cardinal a victory over No. 3 Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. Williamson then missed from 43 yards in overtime, setting up the game-winning kick for the Cowboys. Of course, Stanford wouldn't have been in that situation if it had stopped the Cowboys on one of their two fourth-down conversions. Or if they tackled Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon better. Or if they hadn't fumbled inside their 10-yard line.

Taking a look back at some of the best and worst moments from the Pac-12's bowl season.

Best overall performance (team): We're a field goal away from flipping a coin between Stanford and Oregon. But the Ducks won, and to the victor go the spoils. Say what you want about Wisconsin being overrated; Oregon beat a very good team with one of the most productive college running backs in history, and the Ducks did it on a major stage.

Best offensive performance (individual): Keith Price outdueled Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, passing for 438 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for three more scores. And the Huskies lost! Someone on the Washington defense better be carrying his books around campus until the start of next season.

Best offensive performance (team): As good as Washington's offensive show was against Baylor, Oregon did it against a tougher opponent and under a brighter spotlight. LaMichael James and De'Anthony Thomas both went for more than 100 yards, Lavasier Tuinei turned in season highs in catches (eight) and yards (158) to go with two touchdowns and the offensive line had its way with Wisconsin.

Best defensive performance (individual): In the conference's five losses, teams gave up an average of 41 points. Still, Cal first-team all-conference linebacker Mychal Kendricks did all he could to limit Texas to 21, notching nine solo tackles (10 total) and 1.5 tackles for a loss.

Best defensive performance (team): Pass.

Best offensive performance in a losing effort: Andrew Luck's one interception was the lone stain on an otherwise fantastic performance, in which he completed 27 of 31 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He was 15-of-15 on all of Stanford's scoring drives and 4-for-4 on the final drive that set up the almost-game-winning field goal.

Worst offensive performance: Both Cal and UCLA faced fairly tough defenses in Texas and Illinois, respectively, and their 24 points combined reflected that. (For the record, Washington had 35 by halftime and Oregon had 28 at the half.) But the nod goes to Cal for 7 rushing yards on 36 attempts. That's 0.2 yards per carry. ASU was actually worse with minus-11 rushing yards, but at least it put up 24 points (well, 17 if you take away Rashad Ross' 98-yard kick return).

Worst defensive performance: As a conference, Pac-12 teams gave up an average of 455 yards in their bowl games. Washington was the worst offender with 777 yards yielded.

Best bang for buck: Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas. Two carries, two touchdowns, 155 yards and a 77.5 yards-per-carry average.

Best supporting cast: While Price was fantastic, lest we forget that Chris Polk ran for 147 yards, Jermaine Kearse caught five balls for 198 yards and a score and Devin Aguilar added two receiving touchdowns.

Best holiday spirit: Cal certainly got into the season, giving the ball away five times to Texas.

Best "Oh jeez" moment: Stanford running back Jeremy Stewart taking out teammate Ty Montgomery after he tried to run a kickoff out of the end zone. Stewart, a fifth-year senior, stopped the true freshman right at the line and dropped him, much to the chagrin of 69,927 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Worst "Oh jeez" moment: Watching Dennis Erickson try to call a timeout when ASU had fourth-and-goal at the Boise 1-yard line. Then watching his face as Jamar Taylor picked off Brock Osweiler and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.

These are final power rankings of 2011-12. They look back and measure the totality of the season.

We're looking ahead with the next power rankings later Tuesday.

And, by the way, if you don't like where you ended up in the power rankings ... you should have played better.

Here are the Week 1 power rankings. And here are the pre-bowl power rankings.

1. Oregon: Chip Kelly and Oregon just can't win the big one. Oh, wait! They did. A thrilling Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin capped another great season in Eugene and left the Ducks, again, atop the Pac-12 at season's end. So, in the history of the program, which is the all-time best season: 2001, 2010 or 2011? Or should we hold off judgment on that until after the 2012 campaign?

2. USC: The win over Oregon, the stomping of UCLA and the final top-five ranking were cool, but the return of quarterback Matt Barkley created major momentum heading into the offseason. And if the Trojans had been eligible for the postseason, the Pac-12 bowl record would have been better.

3. Stanford: I'm sure Stanford fans were annoyed by the stunning ignorance among pundits discussing the Cardinal before the Fiesta Bowl. It seemed like many thought Oklahoma State was going to blow Stanford out -- calling the Cardinal "overrated" in the process. You and I knew that was an absurd position. If Stanford and the Cowboys played 10 times, the series would have gone 5-5. And that's being very generous to Oklahoma State. One last thing: Goodbye and good luck Andrew Luck. You were great for Stanford and great for college football.

4. Utah: Yep, the grind of a Pac-12 schedule really wore down the Utes. Yep, the Utes just couldn't handle it. But, with all due humility, how many other conference teams won four of their final five games and a bowl game? If you're looking for a sneaky-good team in the South Division next season, you might want to cast your gaze to Salt Lake City.

5. Washington: The Alamo Bowl loss to Baylor was, at least, an offensive spectacle. Quarterback Keith Price certainly introduced himself to a national audience by outplaying the Heisman Trophy winner. But, wow, that defense. After the Huskies lost four of their final five games, it's fair to say the best thing going their way at year's end was the hiring of A-list defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox.

6. California: Cal, Cal, Cal. The Holiday Bowl was winnable against a middling Texas squad, but not with a 5-0 turnover disadvantage -- 5-zip! As Charles Barkley might say: "Turrable." If the Bears had won, they would been a candidate for "potentially sneaky-good team in the North Division in 2012." Now we're holding off judgment. On the plus side, recruiting is rolling along nicely.

7. UCLA: Another season of inconsistency in Westwood earned coach Rick Neuheisel his walking papers, and the graceful way Neuheisel handled himself after getting fired made it seem all the more sad that he couldn't get the job done at his alma mater. Jim Mora takes over a program that needs an injection of discipline and a cultural shift.

8. Arizona: Sure, the Wildcats fired their coach and finished 4-8. But they won their last two games, including a win over Arizona State, and head into the offseason with positive momentum after the hiring of Rich Rodriguez.

9. Arizona State: The Sun Devils completely collapsed, losing their final five games. They fired their coach. Their coaching search was a meandering mess, and the hiring of Todd Graham away from Pittsburgh didn't exactly inspire much celebration. Then their best player and leader, quarterback Brock Osweiler, made a fairly surprising decision to enter the NFL draft. The good news is there has to be some good news ahead, right?

10. Oregon State: A second consecutive losing season, a 3-9 one at that, has Beavers fans understandably frustrated, particularly with what's going on in Eugene. Just two years ago, coach Mike Riley seemed certain to retire as the Beavers coach. So much for certainty. The good news -- or is it an excuse? -- is Oregon State was extremely young in 2011 and should be better in 2012. The surprising late-season win over Washington also provided some consolation.

11. Washington State: The Cougars started 3-1 and looked like a bowl team that would save coach Paul Wulff's job. They then lost seven of their final eight games and Wulff got canned. The late-season win over Arizona State was nice, but the Sun Devils were in the process of waving a white flag over their season. Yes, it was another bad season, but there are more smiles today in Pullman than in years after AD Bill Moos pulled coach Mike Leach out of his hat.

12. Colorado: Colorado isn't buried in the basement here. You could, in fact, make an argument for the Buffs promotion a couple of notches: They, after all, won two of their final three games, beating both Arizona and Utah. Still, 3-10 is 3-10 and 2-7 in conference play is 2-7 in conference play. As is finishing last in scoring defense and scoring offense among Pac-12 teams. The Buffs also have some big holes to fill in their starting lineup. Further, they don't have the "New Coach Is Here to Save Us!" storyline heading into year two with Jon Embree.

New Arizona State coach Todd Graham has indefinitely suspended defensive end Junior Onyeali "for not meeting the high standards of the Sun Devil football program," according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.

Onyeali was previously suspended from the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl by outgoing coach Dennis Erickson. According to Haller, that was due to a "heated exchange" with Erickson at practice.

It would appear Graham also is unhappy with the incident and, perhaps, how Onyeali reacted thereafter.

Onyeali, the Pac-10's 2010 Defensive Freshman of the Year, looked like a potential All-Conference player in the preseason, but he missed five games with a knee injury and didn't play particularly well when he returned.

Graham appears to be sending an early message about discipline. It will be interesting to see when — if? — Onyeali gets reinstated.

1. Thanks to all of you who responded to my question Tuesday regarding U.S. senators who played college football. Two current senators, John Boozman (R.-Ark.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) played at Arkansas and Wake Forest, respectively. Among the former senators who played varsity football: J. William Fulbright (D.-Ark.) at Arkansas, Milward J. Simpson (R-Wyo.) at Wyoming, George Allen (R.-Va.) at Virginia and, of course, Richard Nixon (R-Calif.) at Whittier College.

2. Tom Williams, who resigned as Yale head coach on Wednesday, replaces UCF coach George O’Leary as the example of how not to write a résumé. Williams said he had been a Rhodes Scholarship candidate as a Stanford linebacker two decades ago. Not quite. Williams said he had been asked at Stanford to apply. In his mind, he was a candidate. That may not have been good enough for Yale, but I understood it. The San Francisco 49ers refuted his claim that he had been a free agent with them. Williams is a good man and a smart guy. Like O’Leary at Notre Dame a decade ago, he got dumped for being sloppy.

3. Here’s the reason that 11-1 Boise State didn’t trip over its cleats when it played 6-6 Arizona State in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas. Disciplined beats undisciplined every time. The Sun Devils underachieved under Dennis Erickson and he probably would be the first to tell you as much. Arizona State made the same penalties and suffered the same breakdowns it made in going from 6-2 to 6-6. What a mess. As usual, Boise State won’t get credit for beating a big-name team. But the Broncos, as usual, simply were better.

Three keys for Arizona State (6-6) if it's going to shock the world and upset Boise State.

1. Fast and physical: All things being equal, it's not unreasonable to at least mostly subscribe to AQ conference snobbism -- Arizona State should have bigger, faster players than Boise State. That obviously didn't help Georgia when the Broncos took the lumber to the Bulldogs in the season opener, but the Sun Devils should be able to win many one-on-one matchups and make plays in space. Somehow, they need to exploit that superiority. Or is it mythical superiority?

2. Disrupt Boise State's rhythm: Boise State is 10th in the nation in scoring defense and ninth in scoring offense. The Broncos pretty much do everything well. The Sun Devils need to take away what they most want to do on both sides of the ball and force them into a plan B. Easier said than done against a team with no obvious weaknesses. We were going to say the Sun Devils need to force turnovers and pressure Kellen Moore, but the Broncos are 15th in the nation in turnover margin -- they protect the football -- and are No. 1 in sacks allowed, surrendering fewer than one per game. Arizona State should try to do those things, sure, but most other teams have failed.

3. Smart and efficient play, yes, but playing loose and frenzied, too: Simply, if Arizona State has a bunch of turnovers and penalties it's going to get stomped. But the Sun Devils under Dennis Erickson have always been edgy and messy. They posted some of their better wins by mixing athletic, big plays with boneheaded ones. It's unlikely they reinvent themselves on the final day of his tenure. So go crazy, Sun Devils. Jump around. Play until the echo of the whistle. Perhaps get Boise State off its game with extracurriculars. If both teams are sloppy, you'd like the Sun Devils' chances a lot better.

The Pac-12 bowl season kicks off Thursday night in Vegas, as Arizona State tries to save face after a late-season collapse when it takes on Boise State.

Here's a quick preview of the matchup:

WHO TO WATCH: The quarterbacks. This is Kellen Moore's final game for Boise State after one of the best careers in college football history. To hear the skeptics who question his NFL potential, this might be the last start of his football career. He had another brilliant season, but -- not unlike his team -- fell off the national radar after a loss to TCU. A remarkably consistent performer, it's hard to imagine he wouldn't go out strong. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils' offense flows through Brock Osweiler. He'll need to be at his best against a sound, statistically impressive defense.

WHAT TO WATCH: Both teams' fire. Arizona State lost its final four games and its coach, Dennis Erickson, was let go. Boise State was expecting a berth in a BCS bowl, not one before Christmas against a .500 team that fired its coach. The general expectation is a disciplined, businesslike Broncos team will do its usual thing while the Sun Devils won't be able to stay focused and intense after their ruined season. But it's possible the opposite will happen, right, with Boise State playing without interest and the Sun Devils trying to prove the pundits wrong?

WHY TO WATCH: Moore, for one. He's enough of a reason. And there has to be some curiosity about whether Arizona State will show up, not to mention whether linebacker Vontaze Burfict will play -- and, if so, how well and with how much discipline. Further, it's a Boise State matchup with an AQ-conference team. That always raises an eyebrow.

PREDICTION: Boise State 41, Arizona State 24. It's possible that the Sun Devils might try to win one for Erickson on his way out. Or that they might adopt an "us against the world" mentality and play with fire we haven't seen since October. But even at their best, the Sun Devils would be underdogs. Hard to imagine they'll be at their best after losing four in a row to end the regular season, blowing the South Division title and getting their coach fired.

Is the Arizona State team that whipped USC 43-22 still somewhere inside the Arizona State team that lost 31-27 to Arizona? That Sun Devils squad that lost four in a row to finish the season -- cumulative record of foes: 21-28 -- can't possibly transform back into the hard-nosed, opportunistic unit that won 35-14 at Utah, can it?

Other than Illinois, which beat Arizona State during a 6-0 start but lost its final six games, no other team in the country captures that whole Jekyll-and-Hyde thing quite like the Sun Devils.

They started 6-2, earned a national ranking and were almost certain to win the Pac-12 South Division title. Then they completely collapsed. It's still difficult to figure out exactly what happened.

"It's not one thing you can put your finger on," senior linebacker Colin Parker said. "It was a combination of things. Every game was different. Sometimes our problems were on special teams. Sometimes our problems were on defense. Sometimes our problems were on offense. It was never the same."

The current problem the Sun Devils have is Boise State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. Boise State went 11-1. It is ranked eighth. It is unhappy to be in Las Vegas -- again -- instead of the BCS bowl game it deserved, but the Broncos are not the sort of program that mopes and whines and turns in a flat performance. In fact, when the Broncos see an AQ-conference team on the opposite side of the field, they go all Bruce Banner-to-Incredible Hulk.

They last lost to one on Sept. 8, 2007 -- Washington, of all teams.

Meanwhile, it's reasonable to ask if the Sun Devils, a 14-point underdog, will show up. We already know that defensive end Junior Onyeali won't. He's been suspended. And we don't know what will happen with linebacker Vontaze Burfict, whose been running with the second team since he got benched against California in the season finale for a pair of personal foul penalties.

And, of course, this will be Dennis Erickson's last game as Sun Devils coach before Todd Graham takes over. Players might want to win one for Erickson, or they might not care because he's out the door.

Parker says the Sun Devils will be motivated.

"It's about sending the seniors out and especially the coaching staff out," Parker said. "Everybody here has only played for Coach Erickson and his staff. We've grown close together and none of us want to see him go. But it is what it is."

Parker said the time off away from the field has helped the team heal mentally and refocus.

"We've cleared our minds a little bit," he said. "We know what we are capable of. We've just got to go out and play like we did our first six games. We feel like we can play with anybody in the country."

The team that started 6-2 certainly could go nose-to-nose with Boise State. The team that went 0-4 in November, however, doesn't stand a chance.

So who shows up?