ESPN College Football

Stanford’s Toby Gerhart is one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top college running back, while UCLA's Kai Forbath is a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to the nation's best kicker.

The other two finalists for the Doak Walker award are Alabama’s Mark Ingram and Clemson’s C.J. Spiller.

The other two for the Groza are Alabama's Leigh Tiffin and Georgia's Blair Walsh.

The winner of both awards will be announced on Dec. 10 as part of The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show, which will originate from the Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s Boardwalk at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. It will be televised on ESPN beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT.

That a bus full of men driving out of Eugene, Ore., was cheering the Ducks on Saturday night is not surprising at all. That it was full of Oregon State Beavers, well, that's something entirely different.

But the Beavers celebrated the Ducks thrilling 44-41 double-overtime win over Arizona just like many residents of the state that will become the center of the college football universe on Dec. 3.

"I think everybody saw the irony in that," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said.

Forgive the Beavers if they found a way to love on their rival Ducks. Their reasoning is sound, even from the perspective of this being another college football case of Hatfields and McCoys, though some Beavers fans may still be shaking off a frisson of disgust over such behavior.

"What they wanted for everybody's sake was a clear-cut deal," Riley said.

Clear cut? How about a Civil War with the stakes being nothing less than the Rose Bowl for the No. 8-ranked Ducks (9-2, 7-1) and the 16th-ranked Beavers (8-3, 6-2)?

The winner goes. The loser doesn't.

Two teams enter, one team leaves for Pasadena. The other listens to trash talk for 364 consecutive days.

Oregon hasn't played in a Rose Bowl since after winning the Pac-10 in 1994 (it also won the conference title in 2001 but was forced to play in the Fiesta Bowl because the Rose Bowl was the BCS championship game that year).

The Beavers Rose Bowl drought stretches all the way back to 1965.

Funny fact about 1965: That's the year a 12-year-old Riley moved from Wallace, Idaho, to Corvallis. The coach who led the Beavers to the Rose Bowl, Tommy Prothro, had bolted for UCLA, and the school replaced him with Dee "The Great Pumpkin" Andros, who hired Bud Riley as his defensive coordinators.

So Riley is well aware of how long it's been since the Beavers played in a Rose Bowl.

"Hopefully, there's some kind of significance there," he said, politely playing along with a reporter's insisting that there was.

Both teams will be off this weekend. It would seem to benefit the Beavers that they get extra time to prepare for the Ducks spread-option attack. Last year, the Beavers could have earned a Rose Bowl berth with a Civil War victory at home, but the Ducks and quarterback Jeremiah Masoli whipped them, 65-38.

The extra days, however, mean extra hype and extra thinking time. That's why Riley broke his normal routine and immediately talked to his team Sunday about the game and its meaning.

"It's lurking out there and everybody knows it," he said. "There's no sense not talking about it."

But his message probably sounded a lot like what Chip Kelly is telling his Ducks. The Ducks mantra is "win the day." Riley instructs his Beavers to "stay in the moment."

It might sound yawningly simple, but a consistent applying of both takes on the same message is a notable reason why these teams are in position for the big prize. Neither, after all, got caught up in dwelling on the past when things didn't start well.

Oregon's slow start at Boise State is a part of the permanent, national tapestry of the 2009 season. Oregon State's consecutive defeats to Cincinnati and Arizona were less loud but no less dispiriting for a program that was hoping to end a pattern of starting slowing.

"I had no idea who this team could be early-on," Riley said. "And when we lost those games, you naturally worry."

What happened next is Oregon State became itself -- a team that makes a late charge into the national rankings seemingly every season. The Beavers have won six of seven since the calendar flipped into October.

Now, to quote, Riley, "It's all out there in front of you."

They've got nine days to "live in the moment" and try to avoid thinking about the Rose Bowl.

Good luck with that.

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and holder Nate Costa of Oregon and California linebacker Mike Mohamed are the Pac-10 players of the week.

Masoli and Costa played key roles in Oregon’s wild 44-41 double-overtime win at Arizona. Masoli accounted for six touchdowns. He completed 26 of 47 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 61 yards and three additional scores. He threw a touchdown pass with six seconds remaining to send the game into overtime and ran for the winning score in the second overtime.

Costa, Masoli's backup, is the Ducks’ holder on kicks. After the game-tying touchdown with six seconds remaining in regulation, he dug out a low snap and got the ball set on the PAT that sent the game into overtime and kept the Ducks on track for the Rose Bowl.

Mohamed keyed California’s defense in the Bears‘ 34-28 Big Game victory at Stanford. He had a team-high 10 tackles -- six solo -- including 0.5 tackle for loss. He also intercepted a pass at the 3-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the game to preserve the win for California. It is the second player of the week honor for Mohamed this season.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were running backs Shane Vereen of California, Chane Moline of UCLA, Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State and Toby Gerhart of Stanford and wide receiver Juron Criner of Arizona. Also nominated on defense were tackle Brian Price of UCLA, linebackers David Pa’aluhi of Oregon State and Eddie Pleasant of Oregon and safety Delano Howell of Stanford.

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.

• Should Arizona's Mike Stoops have gone for two and the OT win? The Wildcats aren't healthy at running back, but they need to buck up because there's a lot to play for.
• Arizona is hurting, but Arizona State is desperate and it needs to beat the Wildcats.
• California was the more physical team in the Big Game. For Bears fans who want all of the Big Game stuff at their fingertips. And this is worthy of note: Jeff Tedford has transformed the "student" part of "student-athlete" on his football team.
• Looking back and looking forward for Oregon. The cheerleader is OK.
• A Civil War for the Roses is nothing new for Oregon State, though the Beavers are hoping for a different ending.
• Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck had his first bad day of the season against Cal. The Pac-10 blog would like to encourage critics of the Stanford band to apologize for lacking a sense of humor and then, please, shut up.
• It may prove difficult for UCLA to earn an at-large bowl berth if it doesn't beat USC, but beating the Trojans is bigger than any bowl game any way.
• Are the tables turning between USC and UCLA?
• The Apple Cup will answer a big question: Who is worse?
• It's uncertain if quarterback Jeff Tuel will be ready for Washington State.

Oregon State's stakes are much bigger than Oregon's in the Civil War on Dec. 3 in Autzen Stadium.

How so? Aren't both teams playing for the Rose Bowl?

Well, yes. The winner is going to the Rose Bowl.

But, in the event of a loss, the Ducks and Beavers will have far different bowl fates.

If Oregon loses, it's going to the Holiday Bowl as the Pac-10's No. 2 team. End of story.

Of Oregon State loses, the most likely scenarios have the Beavers dropping all the way to the Las Vegas Bowl, which is the conference's No. 5 bowl.

Why?

Because there are no tiebreakers in bowl selection procedures. If, say, four teams finish at 6-3 in conference play, the Holiday Bowl can pick any of them it wishes. And it's going to pick the team it figures will: 1. Buy the most tickets; 2. Boost TV ratings.

So, if Oregon State gets passed over for the Holiday Bowl, why wouldn't it go to the Sun or Emerald Bowls?

Well, the the Beavers played in the Sun Bowl last year and the bowl game has the option of using a no-repeat clause. It probably would.

As for the Emerald Bowl, it wants a Bay Area team, either Stanford or California. And it has the option of picking either the conference's No. 4 team or No. 5 team. So it could not only take a Stanford team that lost to Oregon State, it could take a Cal team that: 1. Lost to the Beavers; 2. Finished a game behind the Beavers in the standings. It's the bowl's option.

That's how the Beavers could fall to the Las Vegas Bowl.

Here is an outline of rooting interests for the Pac-10's bowl-eligible teams.

Arizona

Goal: Holiday Bowl.

• Beat Arizona State and USC. Finish 8-4, 6-3
• Root against teams that will or could finish 6-3 in Pac-10 play to look bad -- i.e., Oregon State to lose badly to Oregon; Stanford to get upset by Notre Dame; California to fall to Washington.
• If tied with Oregon State and/or Stanford, it's likely the Holiday Bowl would favor the Wildcats because of a head-to-head wins as well as geography.

California

Goal: Holiday Bowl.

• Beat Washington on Dec. 5. Finish 9-3, 6-3.
• Root against teams that will or could finish 6-3 in Pac-10 play to look bad -- i.e., Arizona to lose at least once (though the Bears probably would be selected ahead of the Wildcats) and USC to lose at least once. Stanford isn't an issue, even if it whips Notre Dame.
• The Holiday Bowl likely would pick Cal over Oregon State -- even though the Beavers prevailed head-to-head -- but it would make the Bears situation better from a PR perspective if Oregon blows the Beavers out in the Civil War.

Oregon

Goal: Rose Bowl or bust.

• Beat Oregon State on Dec. 3. Go to Rose Bowl.
• Lose, go to Holiday Bowl.

Oregon State

Goal: Rose Bowl, of course, but, failing that, Holiday Bowl

• Beat Oregon on Dec. 3. Go to Rose Bowl.
• Or, lose a close game to Oregon, finish 8-4, 6-3.
• Root against everyone else: USC needs to lose once. So does Arizona. California needs to lose to Washington. And it would help if Notre Dame upset Stanford.
• In that scenario, Stanford and Oregon State would finish with 6-3 Pac-10 records but the Beavers would have a better overall record and a head-to-head win. That could tip the scales in the Beavers favor.

Stanford

Goal: Holiday Bowl.

• Blow out Notre Dame with Toby Gerhart rushing for 200-plus yards and three touchdowns. Finish 8-4, 6-3. Get back into the national rankings.
• Root against everyone else. USC needs to lose once. So does Arizona. California needs to lose to Washington. And it would help if Oregon blew out Oregon State.
• In that scenario, Stanford and Oregon State would have identical records, though the Beavers would have a head-to-head win. The Holiday Bowl might take the Cardinal because of the shorter trip from the Bay Area, the presence of Heisman Trophy candidate Toby Gerhart bolstering national interest and the Beavers bad loss to end the season. It might help if Stanford promised that Tiger Woods would show up.
• This might be the toughest scenario to call.

UCLA

Goal: A guaranteed bowl berth.

• Beat USC. Finish 7-5, 4-5.
• Root for Arizona to lose its final two games -- at Arizona State and at USC. In that scenario, both teams would be 4-5 in conference play. Arizona would have a head-to-head win, but the Bruins would have a better overall record 7-5 vs. 6-6, not to mention a four-game winning streak to end the season to compare to a four-game losing streak. All of that probably won't matter, though, because the Poinsettia Bowl would be thrilled to get the southern California tie-in with the Bruins.

USC

Goal: Holiday Bowl.

• Beat UCLA and Arizona. Finish 9-3, 6-3.
• Root for Oregon to beat Oregon State in the Civil War.
• Know that, if those first two happen, it doesn't matter what anyone else does.
• The Holiday Bowl is salivating over the prospect of getting USC. The bowl has never had either LA school, and USC would fill the stadium and boost TV ratings.

Stanford running backs coach Willie Taggart will be named the new head coach at Western Kentucky, the AP is reporting.

A news conference is scheduled for later today.

Taggart, a former Western Kentucky player and coach, would replace David Elson, who was fired two weeks ago but agreed to finish the season. The Hilltoppers are 0-10 and have lost 18 straight games dating to last year, the nation's longest active losing streak.

Taggart is in his third season at Stanford.

This probably not a big issue for the Cardinal as it finishes up its regular season on Saturday vs. Notre Dame. Toby Gerhart doesn't need much coaching between now and a bowl game.

This might be of interest to you Oregon-Oregon State adherents:

Per Bruce Feldman:

Tweet of the day from Oregon State QB Lyle Moevao:

@MOEVAO3: This is what I've been waitin for. Payback is a b"#+@!

Guess here is the Ducks' 65-38 win last year in Corvallis is still on Moevao's mind.

Civil War trash talk? We have 10 days for this. Great fun!

Release the hounds!

The state of Oregon is the center of the college football universe. Or, at least, the Pac-10 universe.

So pack the Birkenstocks.

No. 1 and seven through 10 stay the same and USC again mans the middle -- still feels odd typing that -- but there was lots of movement in the top half.

By the way, welcome back Cal.

1. Oregon: The Ducks have won with flash. And they've won with grit. They'll need both to beat Oregon State on Dec. 3 and earn the program's first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1994 season.

2. Oregon State: You again! The Beavers are like the Tortoise in Aesop's Fables. While the Hares hop about and make a lot of noise, the Tortoise just does its thing, slow, steady and relentless. The Beavers need only beat the Ducks to earn their first Rose Bowl berth since 1965.

3. California: In 2007, the Bears fell apart when they fell off their lofty perch. In 2009, the Bears showed character after their fall. An optimist might cogitate over that and conclude that this disappointing season could be a springboard to, perhaps, the "next step."

4. Stanford: Was "hubris" Stanford's undoing in the Big Game, as coach Jim Harbaugh worried about last week? A good way to feel better, Cardinal, is to take out frustrations on a limping Notre Dame team that -- oh my -- struggles against the run.

5. USC: By not playing, USC had a good week. With Stanford's loss, the Trojans now seem primed to earn a Holiday Bowl berth. That is, if they can beat UCLA and Arizona.

6. Arizona: This will be a season of what-might-have-beens for the Wildcats. Two losses due on unusual deflections. Another in double overtime. And toss in a fourth in which they used the wrong starting quarterback (at Iowa). I'm pretty hard-boiled about things, but watching stricken senior safety Cam Nelson fight to maintain his composure -- successfully, by the way -- during postgame interviews Saturday night stood as a reminder about how much these games mean to these guys. The Wildcats' resolve will be tested over the next two weeks on the road at Arizona State and at USC.

7. UCLA: After five consecutive conference losses, the Bruins have won three in a row and are now bowl eligible. Things are much happier in Westwood these days.

8. Arizona State: The loss at UCLA insured the Sun Devils will suffer consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1946-47. A win over rival Arizona on Saturday might partially salve those wounds. A loss will make for a loooong offseason.

9. Washington: The Huskies are coming off a bye. Want to know how to ruin many of the positives from Steve Sarkisian's first season? Lose the Apple Cup at home to woeful, injury-riddled Washington State.

10. Washington State: Want to know how to spin a miserable season forward in a positive way? Post an Apple Cup victory in Husky Stadium.

The Rose Bowl picture has cleared. Most other things are muddy.

And the end result might not make some folks happy.

When I pencil out the rest of the season -- for what that is worth in this sometimes nutty conference -- I project four teams will finish with 6-3 conference records: USC, California, Oregon State and Stanford.

In that scenario, no way the Holiday Bowl passes up USC. The Trojans will sell tickets. They will boost TV ratings. And, at 9-3, USC probably will be back in the top-half of the national rankings.

The Sun Bowl then likely would take Cal, even though it lost to Oregon State. The Bears will have a better overall record -- 9-3 vs. 8-4 -- and, most of all, the Beavers played in the Sun Bowl last year.

The Emerald Bowl then would grab Stanford, hoping that the local connection will boost local coverage and ticket sales. Not to mention that Heisman Trophy candidate Toby Gerhart would be a good guy to put on the game posters.

So Oregon State heads to the Las Vegas Bowl. Arizona then goes to the Poinsettia Bowl.

As for UCLA, the Bruins are now the Pac-10's seventh bowl-eligible team. But the Pac-10 only has six bowl contract, so the Bruins will need to find an at-large berth with a bowl that has a vacancy. I just said Humanitarian because that's what Mark Schlabach said last week, and rumor has it Schlabach owns a crystal ball.

Here's a handy bowl schedule. And other bowl projections.

• Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi: Oregon vs. Big Ten
• Pacific Life Holiday: USC vs. Big 12
• Brut Sun: California vs. Big 12/Big East/Notre Dame
• Emerald: Stanford vs. ACC
• MAACO Las Vegas: Oregon State vs. Mountain West
• San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia: Arizona vs. Mountain West
• Roady's Humanitarian: UCLA vs. WAC

What did we learn from Week 12 of Pac-10 action?

1. It all comes down to the Civil War: After a frenzy of a race, the smoke has cleared and two teams are still standing: The Ducks and Beavers, who will do battle on Dec. 3 in the biggest Civil War in state of Oregon history. The winner in Autzen Stadium goes to the Rose Bowl. The loser must watch its rival celebrate with a rose between its teeth. Both teams are off this weekend, so there will be plenty of time to get healthy and prepare. And think.

2. It all comes down to the Civil War, part 2: Who's the first-team All-Pac-10 quarterback? Oregon State's Sean Canfield entered the weekend as the frontrunner and he played fairly well at Washington State with two touchdown passes, which gives him 19 for the year. But Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli made a statement with six touchdowns -- three running, three passing -- at Arizona. Masoli doesn't have the passing numbers Canfield has, but he has 12 rushing TDs to go along with 14 TD passes. That's a lot of production. The quarterback who comes out on top in the Civil War might be the one who comes out on top for postseason honors.

3. It ain't easy being the Pac-10's hot team: Stanford is the latest "hot" conference team to face-plant. It did so against California, which knows all about it. Oregon started things off with a terrible performance at Boise State after an appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated and a loss at Stanford following its big win over USC. Remember when road warrior USC was reloading, not rebuilding? Arizona was nationally ranked until it fell at Cal two weeks ago. The only contender that hasn't been the flavor of the week is Oregon State, which might become the "it" team at exactly the right time: The final weekend of the season.

4. The Rose Bowl is easy, the rest of the pecking order is hard: Consider the Pac-10 standings. Sure, things have cleared up at the top, but the rest is a muddle. Four teams -- Arizona, California, Stanford and USC -- have three conference losses, and an Oregon State loss in the Civil War would be the Beavers' third. Stanford is done with its conference schedule. Arizona and USC have two more conference games, including one against each other on Dec. 5. Cal will be favored at Washington on Dec. 5. The ultimate pecking order in completely unsettled and won't be decided until the final weekend of the regular season, and even then there may be some hurt feelings when the bowls pick teams they want for reasons other than pure merit.

5. The Pac-10 sure can put on a show: The past college football weekend was mostly a yawner -- except in the Pac-10, which produced a pair of thrillers featuring three ranked teams and a fourth, Arizona, which is pretty darn good. The Pac-10 blog is obviously not a fan of the eight-game conference schedule because it hurts the conference's national perception. But it does make every weekend of the regular season pretty darn fun, though Jim Harbaugh and Mike Stoops -- who both want to revert to an eight-game schedule -- probably aren't enjoying their Sunday.