ESPN College Football

Next Thursday California visits Oregon, and you know what that means?

Football? Nooo. Silly.

It means revisiting fake-injury-gate! Can I get a flop from the congregation!

Any Oregon fans know to what I am referring? I mean, you guys never bring this up or anything.

To refresh memories, in last year's surprisingly tight Oregon-Cal clash in Berkeley, a number of Bears clearly faked injuries -- some were poorer actors than others (Aaron Tipoti) -- in order to slow down the fast-paced Ducks offense.

Cal wasn't the first team to do this, and it won't be the last. But it became public that Bears defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi instructed his players to fake injuries. In other words, he lost the plausible deniability that other coaches had (yeah, talking to you Arizona State and Stanford).

And for that Lupoi was suspended for season finale at Washington by coach Jeff Tedford and athletic director Sandy Barbour.

Thinking ahead like all good beat writers do, Jonathan Okanes of the Contra Costa Times caught up with Lupoi to ask him about what went down last year. Lupoi, not unexpectedly, says he'd prefer to just leave it in the past and refuses to go into detail. But Lupoi, widely considered one of the Pac-12's best recruiters, also takes responsibility.

“Regardless if every opponent did it in the previous weeks, it doesn’t make it OK and it doesn’t mean that we or I can match the behavior of others,” Lupoi told Okanes. “Regardless of what everyone else is doing, it doesn’t make something OK.”

Lupoi tells Okanes, however, that he never heard a negative word about what he did afterwards. Perhaps Lupoi needs to spend more time on Addicted to Quack (but, really, don't we all?).

Lupoi ultimately describes the controversy as a learning experience:

“You always have to be thinking ahead. Every action you take, there could be a consequence involved. You have to evaluate every action you take. You have to be held responsible of your actions at all times.

“I’m moving on. The consequence was served and I took responsibility for what happened. The way this job works, you don’t have time to dwell on the past, good or bad. I think that’s where your focus has to be — living in the moment and trying to get better.”

Now Ducks fans, if a Cal player happens to get hurt next Thursday in Autzen Stadium, please don't automatically boo him. At least wait until you are 67 percent certain he's faking it.

No team in the Pac-12 wows you at defensive tackle. No team is a sure thing. There is a lot of "maybe" at the position. And probably some maybe not.

The uncertainty of quality -- both in terms of returning stars and depth -- made this a difficult position to rank. For example, Washington has a nice foursome at tackle, led by Alameda Ta'amu, who might be the best tackle in the conference.

That's great. Good for the Huskies. But they ranked 97th in the country in run defense last year. You sort of pause over that, you know?

So a lot of this ranking is feel thing, a projection of potential. And "great shape" here is relative to the conference. Nebraska, for example, wouldn't exchange its tackles -- Jared Crick and Baker Steinkuhler -- for any Pac-12 tandem.

Some of this figures to inspire a bit of debate.

Great shape

USC: This may be in some part based on fumes from the Trojans reputation at the position. It definitely includes a vote of faith that they will get a 100 percent Christian Tupou back from the knee injury that killed his 2010 season. If so, the threesome of Tupou, George Uko and DaJohn Harris is strong. And if you toss in Armond Armstead -- who missed spring with an undisclosed medical condition that threatens his career -- you'd have a clear No. 1.

Washington: Ta'amu seemed to find himself during the second half of last year, and the 330-pounder could end up getting some All-American consideration if he consistently plays like he did against Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. Sione Potoa'e and Semisi Tokolahi are both experienced, and Lawrence Lagafuaina a space-grabbing, 344-pound redshirt freshman.

Colorado: The Buffaloes are sneaky good here, even though they only ranked 48th in the nation in run defense in 2010. Both starters, Will Pericak and Curtis Cunningham, are back, but Conrad Obi was a revelation this spring. He looked like a future NFL draft choice, not a player who'd mostly been a bust. Nate Bonsu, who missed spring with a knee injury, also should help.

Good shape

Utah: The Utes, who ranked 11th in the nation in run defense in 2010, lost Sealver Siliga, but they believe they have a budding star in, er, Star Lotulelei, while James Aiono, LT Tuipulotu and Joape Peta are solid. Also, Dave Kruger, who played end this spring, is 280 pounds and can play inside.

Arizona: The loss of backup Willie Mobley to a knee injury hurts depth, but Justin Washington figures to take a step forward after an impressive true freshman season, Sione Tuihalamaka started four games in 2010. Depth is a question. The Wildcats ranked 33rd in the nation in run defense last fall.

Oregon: On the one hand, Oregon lost both starting defensive tackles in Brandon Bair and Zac Clark from a unit that ranked 27th in the nation in run defense. On the other, they played so many guys last fall, the new starters are experienced players. Further, Ricky Heimuli, Taylor Hart, Wade Keliikipi, Isaac Remington and Jared Ebert played well enough this spring to suggest the position will be a strength in the fall.

Arizona State: If Lawrence Guy didn't make his ill-fated decision to enter the NFL draft, the Sun Devils, who were 16th in the nation against the run last fall, would be in great shape here. As it was, Will Sutton had a great spring and looks like a potential All-Conference guy. Grinder Bo Moos is listed as the starter at the other tackle, though he could be eclipsed by Corey Adams. Toa Tuitea saw limited action last year.

UCLA: The Bruins defensive line was terrible last year, ranking 108th in the nation against the run, but the talent is there for a significant turnaround. Cassius Marsh, Nate Chandler, Justin Edison, Donovan Carter and Seali'i Epenesa should do a much better job plugging the middle.

California: Cal is actually fine here, despite the loss of NG Derrick Hill. For one, when you run a 3-4 defense, it's hard to rate your DTs, even if your DEs often operate like them. The Bears have two solid options at NG in Aaron Tipoti and Kendrick Payne, and it's also possible that touted 350-pound incoming freshman Viliami Moala will eclipse both of them.

We'll see

Oregon State: Dominic Glover moves inside from end and Kevin Frahm has experience, but this unit didn't play well last year -- 89th in run defense -- even with one of the best DTs in the nation in Stephen Paea. 340-pound Castro Masaniai could help but he missed spring after shoulder surgery and has off-field issues. There's also Mana Tuivailala and Ben Motter.

Stanford: Like Cal, Stanford runs a 3-4, so it naturally it is going to suffer a bit in DT rankings. More important: The loss of Sione Fua is significant. Terrence Stephens and Henry Anderson had solid springs but neither has much experience.

Washington State: Brandon Rankin, a returning starter, was listed No. 2 on the depth chart behind Anthony Laurenzi after spring practices, with redshirt freshman Toni Pole No. 1 at the other tackle. Justin Clayton, Steven Hoffart and Xavier Cooper provide depth. It's not unreasonable for Cougars fans to expect improvement, perhaps significant improvement. But a team that ranked 115th in the nation in run defense the previous season is automatically a "We'll see" here.

California was down an assistant against Washington because defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi was suspended for instructing a player to fake an injury against Oregon on Nov. 13.

Apparently Lupoi acted alone: Head coach Jeff Tedford was not aware that Lupoi instructed nose tackle Aaron Tipoti to take a dive on a play that was an almost comically bad acting job.

The Pac-10 released a statement from commissioner Larry Scott.

The Pac-10 takes the integrity of the game very seriously. Instructing a student-athlete to feign an injury is an unethical and unsportsmanlike practice in violation of coaching ethics as outlined in the NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations. This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Conference. Nothing is more important than the integrity of our programs and the role our play in building good character in our student-athletes. We commend California's Coach Jeff Tedford and Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour for the forthright manner in which they have addressed this issue and for the positive example they are setting by reinforcing the importance of the principles at stake.

Here's the San Francisco Chronicle on the matter. And the Contra Costa Times.

Hopefully this solves an issue that has lingered throughout the season: Defenses trying to slow down Oregon's fast offensive pace by faking injuries. It also was an obvious issue against Arizona State and Stanford, so Cal wasn't unique in this.

Lupoi is taking a fall in order to discourage this tactic in the future, which is a good thing.

But it also would be a good idea if Oregon fans stopped booing injured players. Twice against Arizona on Friday, legitimately hurt players were booed. Not good.

Ouch.

Did I just hurt myself, or am I faking it? Hard to say.

That's a topic Oregon fans are obsessing about this season: Opponent's defenses are apparently faking injuries in order to force the fast-paced Ducks offense to stop while that player is helped off the field.

And then said player returns -- apparently after a miraculous recovery -- either one or two plays later.

First, Oregon fans do need to hear this: Yes, you are correct. Teams are faking injuries. Without a question.

While there's video from the California game that many Ducks fans find most damning -- and hilarious -- my favorite continues to be what I suspect was a purposely poor acting job from Stanford linebacker Chase Thomas that -- again, I suspect -- was intended to goad the crowd at Autzen Stadium.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly mostly danced around the topic during the Tuesday Pac-10 coaches call.

"We don't talk about it. If the league wants to look into stuff like that, that's their problem. That's not coming from me," he said. "Obviously you don't know when a player is really injured and not injured. I don't know really what can be done about it."

And that is the issue: Little can be done. Wrote Pac-10 vice president of communications, Dave Hirsch, "Officials cannot decide if someone is faking an injury or not."

Don't think for a second Kelly isn't bothered by this. We've all seen him wildly gesticulating on the sidelines and yelling at officials about apparently fake injuries during games. We've heard his halftime quips, such as when he noted at Arizona State, "It's kind of like a World Cup game with this crowd. And the injuries." Kelly was referring to the diva bad acting you often see in soccer games in order to draw yellow and red cards.

When a questioner who operates a Washington Huskies fan website asked if the booing from Oregon fans was poor sportsmanship, Kelly allowed his true feelings to show.

"I know what our fans reaction is when he's carted off the field and he looks like he's going to surgery, and then he's back immediately the next play," he said.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford was asked directly about whether his team faked injuries during the game Saturday.

"People get hurt during games, and in fast-tempo stuff, there's cramps," he said. "That's not the deal. I know that anytime anybody goes down against Oregon, they always think that's the case. But it's not the case."

Tedford is typically a straight-shooter. But not in this case. Defensive tackle Aaron Tipoti's cramp from nowhere that appeared immediately after he took a long look at the Cal sidelines is going to to earn him the Pac-10 blog's Worst Actor award.

While there's little that can be done about opponent's faking injuries, Kelly did note that as far as strategies go, it's a weak one.

"You basically have thrown up a white flag and said you can't play at our pace," he said. "Do you really want to say you can't play at this level of football that we're playing?"

The Ducks are off this weekend. They play Arizona on Nov. 26. Wildcats coach Mike Stoops was asked if he has any opinion on faking injuries to slow Oregon down.

"I've never even seen it so I wouldn't even know what you are talking about," he said. "I don't know what that is. That's not something we use as part of our game plan."

We shall see.

Good information in this California notebook from Jonathan Okanes.

Okanes notes that coach Jeff Tedford has been more open about revealing the pecking order at competitive positions, which is a great help when practices are closed.

So there is a lot of choice info here:

On offense, [Tedford] said the definitive starters as of right now are QB Kevin Riley, RB Shane Vereen, WR Marvin Jones, WR Keenan Allen, TE Anthony Miller, LT Mitchell Schwartz and C Chris Guarnero. Allen was the only player he quantified with “as of now.”

On defense, Tedford said the only concrete starters are DE Cameron Jordan, ILB Mike Mohamed and OLB Mychal Kendricks.

Tedford also said Giorgio Tavecchio would handle both kickoffs and field goals if the season started today.

Key tidbit there: That's true freshman Keenan Allen at receiver next to Jones, which confirms the scuttlebutt coming out of practices that a number of freshmen are in the mix.

As for defense:

A few days ago, Tedford said Keith Browner was the starter at weakside linebacker. But today he said true freshman Dave Wilkerson is still in the mix there. Tedford also said Kendrick Payne is probably the starter at nose tackle, but it is still competitive with Derrick Hill and Aaron Tipoti in the mix.

Tedford said both corner positions are still up in the air, with Darian Hagan, Steve Williams, Bryant Nnabufie and Marc Anthony competing for the two spots.

Another true freshman in Wilkerson. Payne ahead of Hill is a bit newsy, too, but that's three pretty good nose tackles, which is a key position to keep fresh in a 3-4 defense. As for cornerback, my money is on the first two -- Hagan and Williams -- but it's not like I've seen them practice this month.

California

2009 overall record: 8-5

2009 conference record: 5-4 (tied for fifth)

Returning starters

Offense: 8, Defense: 6, punter/kicker: 2

Top returners: QB Kevin Riley, OT Matt Summers-Gavin, OT Mitchell Schwartz, RB Shane Vereen, LB Mike Mohamed, DE Cameron Jordan, P Bryan Anger

Key losses: RB Jahvid Best, OT Mike Tepper, DE Tyson Alualu, CB Syd'Quan Thompson

2009 statistical leaders (*returning starter)

Rushing: Shane Vereen* (952)
Passing: Kevin Riley* (2,850)
Receiving: Marvin Jones* (651)
Tackles: Mike Mohamed* (112)
Sacks: Tyson Alualu (7.5)
Interceptions: Mike Mohamed* (3)

Spring Answers

1. Jordan steps up: Defensive end Cameron Jordan has the talent to be a first-team All-Conference player, but he's never broken through as a consistent performer. Heading into his senior year, however, he asserted himself this spring and established himself as the leader of the defensive line with the departure of Tyson Alualu. If that continues, he'll catch the attention of NFL scouts.

2. Attacking defense: Coach Jeff Tedford said the Bears would be more aggressive -- read: stunting, blitzing, etc. -- even before he hired Clancy Pendergast to replace Bob Gregory as coordinator. It became clear this spring that Pendergast, a veteran NFL coach, will focus on making life as difficult as possible for opposing QBs.

3. Replacing Tepper: Four starters return on the Bears offensive line, but the one void is sizable: 6-foot-7, 319-pound Mike Tepper. It appears that Matt Summers-Gavin will slide over from left guard to fill that void. While right tackle Mitchell Schwartz remains a possibility -- he played the position in 2008 -- Summers-Gavin is more athletic, which should help vs. speed rushing ends.

Fall questions

1. Will Riley arrive? Kevin Riley again fought off his challengers and will be the starting quarterback, despite his inconsistency during 22 starts over the previous three season. He's had plenty of good moments and he has ability. If he puts it all together as a senior, the Bears could be a factor in the conference race.

2. Who's the No. 2 tailback? Shane Vereen is the clear No. 1, but Tedford has always used tandems. Each of the four candidates -- Trajuan Briggs, Covaughn DeBoskie-Johnson, Isi Sofele and Dasarte Yarnway -- had productive moments this spring, but none separated himself. Sofele is almost certain to get touches as a scatback, hybrid runner/receiver, but the battle for No. 2 will be at issue early in preseason camp.

3. Who's the noseguard? Derrick Hill, a two-year starter, has been solid, but he's struggled to stay healthy. Sophomore Kendrick Payne had a great spring. He could end up winning the job. Considering coaches aren't afraid of playing Aaron Tipoti either, the good news is there's depth at the position.

Which freshmen or redshirt freshmen stood out in 2009?

A lot of them. And a lot of them already have familiar names.

The quality is very high here, which speaks well of the future.

Went with three receivers and no tight end, by the way.

Offense

QB Andrew Luck, Stanford

RB LaMichael James, Oregon

RB Chris Polk, Washington

WR James Johnson, Washington

WR Gino Simone, Washington State

WR Brice Butler, USC

OL David DeCastro, Stanford

OL Michael Philipp, Oregon State

OL Carson York, Oregon

OL Jonathan Martin, Stanford

OL Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA

K Vince D'Amato, California

Defense

DL Nick Perry, USC

DL Travis Long, Washington State

DL Aaron Tipoti, California

DL Chase Thomas, Stanford

LB Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State

LB Shayne Skov, Stanford

*LB Devon Kennard, USC

DB Desmond Trufant, Washington

DB John Boyett, Oregon

DB Sheldon Price, UCLA

DB Josh Hill, California

P Jeff Locke, UCLA

*Kennard started the final three games of the season at linebacker after playing end most of the season.