ESPN College Football

In the Hemingway novel, "The Sun Also Rises," a character is asked how he went bankrupt. He replies, "Two ways ... gradually and then suddenly."

And so we have the firing of Arizona coach Mike Stoops midway through his eighth season Monday.

On Oct. 30 of last year, Arizona won at UCLA and improved to 7-1 overall. The Wildcats, then ranked 13th in the AP poll, were headed to Stanford for a marquee showdown. The program's first-ever Rose Bowl was in play. Stoops was coming off consecutive eight-win seasons. He appeared to be on the cusp of becoming a hot coaching prospect.

But the Wildcats were slammed 42-17. It would be the first of 10 consecutive losses to FBS teams. As the losses piled up, "hot" became the way to describe Stoops' seat instead of his prospects.

Stoops, 49, inherited a program in the absolute dregs in 2004. The Wildcats hadn't posted a winning season since 1998. After a slow start, he led Arizona to three consecutive bowl games.

But the wheels came off badly this season. After opening with a victory over Northern Arizona, the Wildcats were blown out in four consecutive games. The schedule was brutal. The losing streak included two losses each to Oregon, Stanford, Oklahoma State and USC. But it also included one to archrival Arizona State to end the 2010 regular season. Then on Saturday, the Wildcats lost to then 0-4 Oregon State.

When the Wildcats lost to the beleaguered Beavers, the universal reaction was Stoops was in trouble. But few figured it would end so quickly.

Stoops was told Monday afternoon by athletic director Greg Byrne of the decision to fire him. Defensive coordinator Tim Kish will serve as interim coach.

“It just ended," Stoops said. "That’s his decision as the leader of the program. It is what it is.”

Byrne and school president Eugene Sander told reporters at a news conference announcing the decision that the speculation on Stoops' future was becoming a distraction.

Stoops will get a $1.4 million buyout. When I talked to him Monday, he was more gracious than grim. It's possible that the losing and frustration were wearing him down as much as they were fans and administrators.

Stoops, who leaves Tucson with a 41-50 overall record and a 27-38 mark in conference games, was heavily criticized for his animated sideline persona. He was not a guy who tried to hide his frustrations -- at officials, players or other coaches -- during games. When he won, it was tolerated, even amusing. When he lost, it was seen as a significant negative.

And little went right this year, starting in spring practices, when injuries to several key starters -- most notably safety Adam Hall and linebacker Jake Fischer -- started a downward spiral.

Two other issues hounded Stoops: (1) He had the best quarterback in program history in Nick Foles (the Wildcats haven't had a quarterback who even approximates Foles); (2) the defense, Stoops' bailiwick, is terrible.

Don't cry too hard for Stoops, though. He'll land on his feet. He's respected and well-connected as a coach -- his brother is Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and he's good friends with Nebraska coach Bo Pelini. He'll get job offers, most likely in the short term as a defensive coordinator. And he's probably learned plenty of lessons during his first tour as a head coach that might help him get a second chance.

So what next for Arizona?

The first question: How much is Arizona willing to pay? Stoops' $1.4 million annual salary sounds great for most of us, but is fairly middling among marquee coaches. And beyond Stoops' replacement, you have to pay a coaching staff. Salaries for assistant coaches have gone way up, well beyond what Stoops' staff was paid.

Top name you will hear: Boise State's Chris Petersen. Three words: Huge long shot.

Second name: Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen. Three words: Huge long shot.

Just because Byrne knows Petersen and Mullen doesn't mean either is eager to bolt to an uncertain situation.

Other names: Former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and former All-American Ricky Hunley.

All three of those guys would raise enthusiastic eyebrows. Each has plenty to offer.

The Wildcats are off until playing host to UCLA on Oct. 20, a Thursday night game. It will be interesting to see how the players react. Part of the reasoning to dump Stoops now was to make it easier for players to focus.

If the Wildcats were to end their losing streak, that reasoning would make sense.

And, of course, Arizona fans can always start thinking about basketball season.

There was a way for California defensive coordinator Bob Gregory's departure to Boise State to not raise more than an eyebrow or two: If Gregory had bolted Berkeley for Boise on the day after national signing day and became the Broncos defensive coordinator, replacing Justin Wilcox, who was hired at Tennessee.

Such a move would have felt more seamless.

While few would call it a promotion to jump from the Pac-10 to the WAC -- even for a national power such as Boise State -- it would have seemed perfectly reasonable for Gregory to move on after being at Cal for eight seasons.

Sometimes change for the sake of change makes sense.

But the timing of Gregory's departure -- just over two weeks before spring practices begin on March 6 -- is hardly ideal, and it suggests this was a separation, even if it was an amicable one.

Moreover, Boise State hired Gregory as a "defensive assistant," not as the coordinator, a job that presently belongs to Pete Kwiatkowski, who was promoted from defensive line coach after Wilcox's departure.

Perhaps Gregory will get a "co-coordinator" slot. He was the Broncos defensive coordinator for a single season (2001) before being hired by Tedford, by the way. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. As for money, it's possible Boise State can match the $241,000 Gregory was making at Cal (before bonuses), at least when the salary is adjusted for cost of living.

Still, the vagueness suggests a hastily made deal.

Gregory did a good job at Cal. He rebuilt the Bears defense and his units were among the Pac-10 leaders in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.

You could argue, in fact, that Cal has had the conference's second-best defense during his tenure, though obviously rating well behind USC.

Still, there's a building sense of urgency that the Bears need to take another step forward after a disappointing season, and coach Jeff Tedford has been fairly frank this offseason about needing to be more aggressive on defense.

It's hard to believe that Tedford outright pushed Gregory out the door, and it's clear that both men don't want that to be the perception. Gregory didn't return a message left on what now may be an outdated cell phone, and Tedford didn't immediately reply to a text message.

Said Tedford in the official statement: “This was coach Gregory’s decision all the way to make what he feels is the best move for his family."

Said Gregory: “This decision is a great move for my family.”

Not to be insensitive on this, but let's consider the recent case of Dave Ungerer, who was hired this week to be Washington State's new special teams/running backs coach.

Last February, Ungerer "left" Oregon State, reportedly to be closer to his family on the East coast. He coached at Elon College in North Carolina in 2009.

Beavers coach Mike Riley replaced Ungerer with Bruce Read, a longtime Riley assistant -- and friend -- who had been fired by the Dallas Cowboys at the end of the 2008 season.

Sometimes coaches make tough decisions and they'd prefer not to go into the details why.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Third in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-10 teams, starting from the top of our preseason Power Rankings and working down.

Or at least that was supposed to be the sequence. As a few of you have pointed out -- in a wide variety of ways -- I screwed up and went with Arizona State after USC instead of MY No. 2 team, Oregon.

What I want to know is this: Where are you guys all the times I've successfully counted to 10? Why no e-mails then, telling me, "Good job today? You got all 10 numbers in correct sequence."

Sorry about that.

Up next: Oregon

Best case

Folks say anything can happen in rivalry games, but it hasn't been like that recently with Oregon and Washington. Oregon has owned the matchup of late, and 2008 is no exception, with new Ducks quarterback Nate Costa out Jake Lockering Jake Locker, running for 110 yards and passing for 225 in a 51-24 victory. Oregon doesn't match the school-record 465 rushing yards it rolled up against the Huskies in 2007, but coach Mike Bellotti doesn't complain about the 379 split between Costa, Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount.

After blowing out Utah State, Oregon heads to Purdue, where its touted secondary ends Boilermakers QB Curtis Painter's dark horse Heisman Trophy candidacy with four interceptions. Meanwhile, the lighting-quick Oregon offense makes the Purdue defense look like it's stuck in spilled boilermakers. Johnson particularly puts on a show with 252 yards of total offense.

After a surprisingly easy victory over Boise State and a mistake-filled slog at Washington State, the No. 8 and 5-0 Ducks head down to USC, which three weeks before moved up to No. 1 in the nation after whipping Ohio State.

With USC leading, 10-7, midway through the second quarter, the Ducks take over on their 6-yard line. And they commence a 14-play touchdown drive consisting of eight runs and six passes. It's a stunning show of spread-option efficiency, and the Ducks begin to light up the scoreboard against the nation's best defense.

When the smoke clears, the Ducks win, 42-30, and become national title contenders.

Next to a Eugene Register-Guard story on Oregon's new No. 2 ranking, is a split picture between Costa and Johnson. The headline reads: Heisman duo?

An easy home win over UCLA, followed by a pair of gritty victories on the road over California and Arizona State follow -- the win over the Devils not secure until end Nick Reed sacks Rudy Carpenter at the 10-yard line as time expires in a 34-30 victory.

It comes down to the Civil War. Unbeaten and now No. 1-ranked Oregon and its 14th-ranked rivals, Oregon State.

The Beavers take a 14-10 halftime lead, with Costa throwing his fourth and fifth interceptions of the year before the break.

Then offensive coordinator Chip Kelly looks at Mike Bellotti: "Ludicrous speed?" he asks. "Yes, Ludicrous speed," Bellotti replies.

Thirty unanswered points later, and Oregon finishes the 2008 season unbeaten.

The BCS computers speak: Oregon meets Missouri in Miami for the national title.

The game, it turns out, is a bit of a bore -- unless you wear Duck green. The unbeaten Big 12 champs simply have no answer for Johnson, Blount and Costa, who take a 28-7 halftime lead and coast home with a 40-24 victory.

Oregon wins its first national championship.

And Duck fans, henceforth, vow to be nicer to everyone.

Worst case

It's not easy being a first-time starter at quarterback in the Pac-10, and that becomes abundantly clear when Washington announces its return to the conference race with a 33-17 win inside a stunned Autzen Stadium that couldn't even muster a cheer when the new giant scoreboard showed Kenny Wheaton's celebrated interception.

Too much good stuff from Washington's Jake Locker. Too much bad stuff from Oregon's Nate Costa.

Oregon, after licking its wounded feathers, has little trouble with Utah State the following week, but two Costa interceptions put him on the bench and Justin Roper on the field. Roper then starts and plays fairly well against Purdue. Only the Ducks celebrated secondary gets picked apart by Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter, who bolsters his dark horse Heisman Trophy candidacy with three touchdown passes in a 42-35 win.

After splitting with Boise State and Washington State, the Ducks head down to a showdown at No. 1 USC. It becomes clear, however, that Pete Carroll has figured out the spread-option -- or at least when it doesn't feature Dennis Dixon. Roper goes down with an injury in the second quarter, and Costa quickly throws a pick and fumbles.

Meanwhile, the Trojans run right at the Ducks' defense, which is forced to put eight and nine men in the box to stop the stable of USC backs. Then Mark Sanchez goes over the top for two touchdowns and the stomping is on. Final count: 63-17.

Coach Mike Bellotti announces the following Monday that Chris Harper will be the new quarterback. It's a bold coaching move going with a freshman quarterback, but it pays off. The Ducks, with now muted expectations, win three of their next five games.

It comes down to the Civil War as to whether Bellotti will avoid only his second losing season in 14 years. A 6-6 finish also would get the Ducks into a bowl game.

But the 14th-ranked Beavers won't be denied in this bitter, bitter -- BITTER, I SAY -- rivalry. Their front seven, which transformed from "completely rebuilt" to "completely dominant" throttles the Ducks' spread in a 21-10 win.

The Ducks stay home for the bowl season.

And on Dec. 13, Nike founder Phil Knight files for bankruptcy.