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Arizona State and San Diego State have agreed to play a home-and-home series in 2017 and 2018.

The games will be played on Sept. 9, 2017 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe and Sept. 8, 2018 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

"It is a pleasure to announce the renewal of a series that was so positive for both ASU and San Diego State University in the past," ASU athletic director Lisa Love said in a statement. "It is important for us to schedule home/home series with schools that are located in our geographical region. The city of San Diego is a destination that is very popular with our fans. San Diego State is a very nice addition to our future schedules, which already include Notre Dame, LSU, Wisconsin, Colorado, Missouri and Illinois among others."

The Sun Devils hold a 10-0-1 advantage in the series with San Diego State. ASU has won seven straight in the series, which dates back to 1934. The two schools tied, 27-27, in 1951 in San Diego.

This season, San Diego State went 8-4 and will play Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium on December 23.

Fourth in a series of Pac-10 thoughts that might come from unusual angles (you can see California's 2009 prediction here).

Don't be surprised if ... California quarterback Kevin Riley, after an inconsistent career, turns in a solid senior season.

Watching Riley during the Bears listless loss to Utah in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl made my head hurt, but the good news is it made me forget about stabbing my eyes out while watching him in the regular-season finale at Washington.

My overriding thought as Cal's extraordinarily disappointing 2009 season thudded to an end: No way Riley can start at quarterback in 2010. No way.

But Riley will start at QB in 2010. And my feeling for what Bears fans can expect from him has changed, and not just because Riley is a stand-up guy and an often amusing interview.

Let's put it this way: Think of yourself at this time last year. If I had written that Sean Canfield would be the first-team All-Pac-10 QB in 2009, you would have flown to Scottsdale and beaten me over the head with a stick. Canfield's resume last summer included: 1. 15 interceptions vs. nine TD passes in 2007; 2. A junior year as a backup with shoulder issues.

Then: Poof! Senior break through.

Former USC QB Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy in 2002 after a stellar season. The year before, he threw 13 TD passes and 12 interceptions.

Oregon fans were writing sonnets about Dennis Dixon before he got hurt in 2007. And so was I. Guy was unstoppable. And he became that way despite throwing nine interceptions and just two TD passes in the final six games of 2006.

Before USC's run, it was almost a prerequisite to have experience at QB if a team wanted to compete for the Pac-10 championship. Just look at the conference champions and the first-team All-Pac-10 QBs starting in 2002 and going back: Palmer and Jason Gesser, Joey Harrington, Marques Tuiasosopo, Todd Husak, Cade McNown, Ryan Leaf (albeit a junior who finished with 24 career starts), Jake Plummer, etc.

Sure, Riley completed just 46 percent of his passes and was sacked 18 times in Cal's five losses last year. But the Bears offensive line and receiving corps should be better in 2010 because -- just like Riley -- they are more experienced.

Is Riley going to win first-team All-Pac-10 QB? Probably not in a conference with Jake Locker, Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Nick Foles.

But the expectation here is that Riley will turn in solid numbers this fall.

California is the only Pac-10 sports program -- and one of only eight Division I schools nationally -- to record the "Major Sports Triple" in 2009-10.

The Bears played in a FBS bowl game (Poinsettia Bowl) and earned berths in the NCAA basketball and baseball tournaments.

The other schools to earn a "triple" are Georgia Tech, Florida State, Clemson, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida and Minnesota.

(Thanks to ACC blogger Heather Dinich for the note).

California started spring practices last week looking to put a disappointing 2009 season behind it.

The Bears, you might recall, jumped to a 3-0 start and rose to No. 6 in the country before being humiliated in back-to-back games against Oregon and USC. Combined score: 72-6.

Then they rallied to win five of six, including an upset win at Stanford in the Big Game. Redemption and recovery? Not really.

Two weeks later, the Bears got bombed 42-10 in a surprising season-finale at Washington and looked flat in a loss to Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Suffice it to say, the Bears were hard to figure, other than they were consistently unpredictable.

So we decided to check in with coach Jeff Tedford and see what his plan was as he enters his eighth season in Berkeley.

Before we look forward to spring practices, let's look back. Every coach reflects on the season that's past. I'm guessing 2009 was frustrating for you. What went wrong?

Jeff Tedford: Obviously, we hit a tough stretch with two tough teams, Oregon and USC, early. That was hard. I felt like we bounced back pretty well and beat Arizona and Stanford. But then we just didn't finish up. We were pretty banged up down the stretch but didn't finish up as strong as we needed to. We had a chance to win 10 games and came away with only eight wins. Consistency is a key -- to make sure we're more consistent. Depth is also something we need to build so that when the injury bug does hit us that we are able to still compete.

Did we overrate your 2009 team? Were there shortcomings that preseason analysis missed?

JT: Yeah. I think people should wait for rankings until mid-season or so to see where we're going. You can never figure it out. I don't know if you missed something. We didn't have the playmakers -- we needed to be a little bit better at receiver. But with Jahvid [Best] and Shane [Vereen] at running back and you had your quarterback [Kevin Riley] coming back, you felt pretty good about that. We had a veteran secondary coming back that really, quite honestly, didn't play up to their capabilities, so we need to improve there. I think when the injury thing started hitting us, we didn't have the depth to snap out of that.

You've been pretty honest about self-analysis in the past: Anything you wish you'd done differently? And any changes in the way you do things going forward?

JT: I don't look back at last season and think there was anything we could have done differently. I do take responsibility for us not finishing as strong as we should have. But I'm not one to make a lot of excuses. I'd just rather give the other team credit and put it on my shoulders for not getting it done. We're always going to look at things, though. At how we practice -- maybe we could be fresher for the games. Things like that you always have to take a look at. If there is anything I can do differently, I definitely want to do it. As I look back on it, there's nothing that's glaring that sticks out. It's about making plays. As for preparation, everybody has a big thing about us playing on the road and our struggles on the road. We were 4-2 last year, and they said, 'Did you do anything differently on the road?' We didn't. We did the exact same thing. We were just able to win the games. We have two new coordinators [defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and special-teams coordinator Jeff Genyk]. Special teams was a key last year -- a lack of success with special teams and with field position. That I think was a major factor for us. We need to improve that. We were 111th in pass defense, so that hurt as well. Those are the two obvious things that stick out where we need to improve.

I talked to quarterback Kevin Riley the other day and he told me that he sensed that some guys were a little content early in the season with how good they were, thinking they'd arrived. He said that you seemed to be emphasizing competition everywhere during the offseason to confront that. Fair to say?

JT: Yeah, it is. That's where I have to take a good strong look at myself, making sure that we continue to keep everything very competitive and make sure we're always grinding on what we're doing. I may have given us a little too much credit last year for things. But I'm going to make sure that everybody knows that we're going to play tougher. We're going to compete harder. A couple of things happened for the first time in [seven] years. There were a couple of games when we got blown out. So you have to look in the mirror and say, 'Why did that happen?' I don't think anybody gave up but we didn't compete hard enough, for whatever reason. We've got to change our mindset, obviously, because those games were not good. And then this is the first time in [four] years that we've ended the season with a loss. We'd won, I think, [four] bowl games in a row. The feeling going into this offseason was quite a bit different. Say we would have beaten Utah and ended up 9-4. Would it have put a little Band-Aid on the Washington game? Well, maybe it's a blessing in disguise and forces our mindset to be a little bit different.

Let's talk present. So here we go again: Where does Riley stand and how safe is he as your starting quarterback?

JT: He stands as the guy taking the first reps right now but he's not safe at all, just like other positions. He's got to compete and be more consistent. The games that Kevin played well, we were successful. The games that we didn't play well, it was not just him. Everybody wants to point at the quarterback, but he's got to have things around him be successful as well. But you go back and look at it, some of those games we missed critical plays. I expect Kevin to be better this year, given the experience. But also we're going to take a very strong look at Beau Sweeney and Brock Mansion in the competition part of it.

Tomorrow: Talking defense, young players who need to step up and flying under the radar.

California's Kevin Riley knows the drill. He's being interviewed for the 868th time -- plus or minus -- after all. That means the senior will be asked about competing for the starting quarterback job (again). That means he'll be asked to analyze the inconsistency that has characterized his career (again).

He's a gimlet-eyed veteran who understands that when a team turns in a supremely disappointing season -- as the Bears did in 2009 -- the quarterback is almost always going to received a large share of the blame.

So, yeah, the 22-game starter is not surprised that, for a third consecutive spring, he's battling for the starting job (again).

"Something needs to happen," he said. "I need to play better for us to win more games. [Coach Jeff Tedford] is just giving the other guys an opportunity if I don't step up. It definitely keeps you motivated. I don't know what spring ball or fall ball would be like without competition. So I'm used to it."

The Bears began spring practices Thursday with lots of questions on both sides of the ball, but the biggest one for most Cal fans is whether Riley will take a step forward and, by doing so, fight away challenges from sophomore Beau Sweeney and junior Brock Mansion.

Riley ranked sixth in the conference in pass efficiency last year. He threw 18 touchdowns passes and passed for 2,850 yards, but he only completed 54.7 percent of his passes and hurled eight interceptions.

He also was sacked 31 times, which he admits is part of the reason his mechanics fell off and his accuracy suffered.

"I definitely missed some throws," he said. "I think when teams got pressure on us, that's when my game kind of went down hill. I started quickening up my throws and that didn't go real well. You could see in the games we lost, people got good pressure on me and that changed the way we played the game."

In Cal's five losses, Riley completed just 46 percent of his passes and was sacked 18 times.

As Tedford has said repeatedly, it wasn't all Riley's fault. The Bears offensive line often got whipped, particularly on the edges, while the receiving corps struggled to get open and make plays, other than Marvin Jones, who's six TD receptions were four more than any other receiver.

It's still hard for Riley to figure out exactly what went wrong -- team-wide -- in 2009. At 3-0, the Bears were ranked sixth in the nation before they suffered humiliating back-to-back defeats to Oregon and USC by a combined count of 72-6. They then rallied to win five out of six before getting drubbed at Washington in the regular-season finale and playing flat vs. Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl.

"We did have potential but we weren't all there in every aspect of the game, as you could see in the games we lost," Riley said. "After the first couple of wins, the team was just a little bit too satisfied. I don't think we worked as hard during the season as teams that keep on winning do. I think we were happy with our wins but then we didn't get better for a while."

That's why Riley won't be the only returning starter being challenged this spring. Offseason workouts have been all about competing and increased intensity.

"There's a little bit more drive with what we've done compared to last year," Riley said. "Last year, people talked about how we had the potential to be good, which we did, but we didn't do anything with it. People are competing more with each other now and working hard."

Riley has been working on his footwork, his throwing motion and his movement in the pocket. His focus on mechanics during one-on-one sessions with Tedford last offseason helped him win the job, but the key missing ingredient is... wait for it... yep, consistency over the course of a 12-game season.

It may help Riley and the Bears that they won't receive much preseason hype this go-around. They likely will be tapped somewhere in the middle of the Pac-10 pack, and it's unlikely they will receive a preseason ranking.

Will that help? "Maybe," Riley said, sniffing out a fluffy reporter angle.

When it comes down to it, Riley knows there's only one thing that the Bears can do to ensure they don't repeat the disappointment of 2009.

"I think people know we just have to work harder for us to be a better team," he said.

College bowl TV ratings were up 8 percent overall, with the Sun Bowl leading Pac-10 bowls with a 50 percent ratings boost.

You can see all the bowl game ratings here.

The Pac-10 finished fourth among BCS conferences in average bowl TV ratings, behind the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12. The Big Ten and SEC had two teams in BCS bowl games.

The Rose Bowl's TV ratings went up 13 percent. The Emerald Bowl, which featured USC and Boston College, was up 15 percent and ranked third among non-BCS bowls.

The Las Vegas Bowl and EagleBank Bowl matched last year's rating.

The Holiday Bowl, a 33-0 Nebraska blowout of Arizona, was down five percent. The Poinsettia Bowl between California and Utah was down 25 percent, but that's due to last year's game featuring unbeaten Boise State and 11-2 TCU.

The Pac-10's bowl roster also will get a boost from the inclusion of the Alamo Bowl next year. The Alamo Bowl was the second-highest rated non-BCS Bowl.

These are mostly about 2009. But there's a little 2010 mixed in.

1. Oregon: A disappointing Rose Bowl loss doesn't ruin a great first season for coach Chip Kelly. And it's hard not to look ahead to an extremely promising 2010.

2. Oregon State: Making distinctions from here until No. 9 is difficult, but the Beavers finish No. 2 because, despite a bad loss to BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, they played for the Rose Bowl in their regular- season finale. And the returning cast should inspire optimism for 2010.

3. USC: Team turmoil! Still, the Trojans won their bowl game -- the conference's only bowl victory over a BCS foe -- and that means they finished with the second-most wins in the conference (nine).

4. Stanford: Sure, the Cardinal lost the Sun Bowl to Oklahoma, but it was a competitive game and the Cardinal were playing without their starting quarterback, Andrew Luck.

5. Arizona: The Wildcats fall in here and they know exactly why. Three words: Holiday Bowl disaster.

6. UCLA: While beating Temple isn't the sort of thing to lead a résumé with, a bowl win means the Bruins are one of just three conference teams to head into the offseason coming off a victory.

7. Washington: The Huskies finished the season with a two-game winning streak, beating Washington State and California, and a home run: Quarterback Jake Locker is returning for his senior season.

8. California: When California won five of six after getting whipped by Oregon and USC, it looked like the Bears had righted the ship. Nope.

9. Arizona State: The pressure is on coach Dennis Erickson to get the Sun Devils back to a bowl game in 2010.

10. Washington State: After another terrible season, the big question for the Cougars is what are optimistic yet reasonable expectations for 2010? Ninth in the conference?

What did we learn from the Pac-10's bowl season?

1. A 5-0 bowl season is more fun than a 2-5 one: Last year, the Pac-10 rolled through the bowl season 5-0. Pac-10 fans crowed, while Pac-10 critics said bowl games don't prove anything. This year, the Pac-10 went 2-5 in the bowl season. Pac-10 fans said bowl games don't prove anything, while Pac-10 critics crowed. Who's right? Both. Bowl games in large part operate as a separate season, and issues such as motivation and focus are telling. But bowl games are also football games. And if you lose, you lost. Shut up and stop making excuses. That said, I picked BYU to beat Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl, foreseeing a Civil War hangover. If they played on Saturday, I'd pick the Beavers.

2. It's fair to question Pac-10 defenses: As I wrote here, only USC beat its defensive season averages in yards and points allowed in its bowl game. UCLA eclipsed its season average in yards allowed and matched its points number (21). It's legitimate to raise questions about the performances of Pac-10 defenses, just as it was legitimate to point out the regular-season numbers, which went a different direction. Still, for the Pac-10 to genuinely enter the argument as the nation's best conference, it must get better on defense. Or, at least, it can't opt to take the bowl season off.

3. Oregon isn't ready to take over the Pac-10 -- and the nation -- just yet: The Ducks will be the Pac-10 favorites next year. They also could become national title contenders. But they need to get more physical on both lines and they need to refine their passing game to take the next step. The Ducks' offensive line was young. It will be better -- and more physical -- next fall. The defensive line is less certain. There's plenty of hope for the passing game, with the return of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and a host of talented receivers. Still, potential is just a word. Got to make it happen on the field over a 13-game schedule, which, of course, includes the bowl game.

4. We still don't know what USC will be like in 2010: Beating Boston College 24-13 in the Emerald Bowl shouldn't make USC fans think that the Trojans' ship has been righted. The game showed many of the same issues that the Trojans had all season -- inconsistency from quarterback Matt Barkley, the offensive line and the defense. And it also provided glimpses of Barkley's and the defense's upside. But when you combine the regular season, bowl game and the departure of Pete Carroll and a number of key players, 2010 feels like a great mystery.

5. The bowl flops may help the 2010 effort: For weeks preceding the bowl season, national pundits were touting the Pac-10 as the nation's best conference. Then: Splat. Maybe the talk went to a few teams' heads? The conference has rightfully taken some tweaks since going 2-5. But a quick review of what's coming back next fall suggest the Pac-10 should be even deeper and better top to bottom in 2010. With another rugged slate of nonconference games ahead, the conference should be plenty motivated to put the bowl implosion behind it with some marquee victories over other BCS conferences.

The Pac-10 bowl season didn't go well, but that doesn't mean you don't make an all-bowl team.

You may notice a lot of USC and UCLA players. You might remember that the LA schools posted the conference's only two wins.

OFFENSE

QB Matt Barkley, USC: Barkley completed 27 of 37 throws for 350 yards with two touchdowns against Boston College in the Emerald Bowl. He also had two interceptions.

RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford: Against an Oklahoma defense ganging up on him, he rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in a Sun Bowl loss.

RB Stanley Havili, USC: He only rushed for 2 yards, but he also he caught six passes for 83 yards with two touchdowns.

WR Damian Williams, USC: He caught 12 passes for a season-high 189 yards.

WR Damola Adeniji, Oregon State: He caught seven passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Beavers' Las Vegas Bowl loss to BYU.

TE Anthony Miller, California: He led Cal with five receptions for 55 yards in the Poinsettia Bowl loss to Utah.

OL Chris Marinelli, Stanford: The offense was without its starting quarterback, but Gerhart gained 133 yards and the Sooners only had one sack.

OL Mike Tepper, California: Cal's pass protection wasn't great against Utah, but running back Shane Vereen finished with 122 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

OL Charles Brown, USC: The Trojans didn't run terribly well vs. Boston College, but they only yielded one sack and gave Barkley plenty of time to throw.

OL Jake Dean, UCLA: He was thrust into the starting lineup after starting center after Kai Maiava was ruled academically ineligible, and the Bruins yielded only one sack vs. Temple.

OL Chase Beeler, Stanford: See Marinelli.

K Kai Forbath, UCLA: He kicked field goals of 40 and 42 yards.

DEFENSE

DE Kenny Rowe, Oregon: He set a Rose Bowl and Oregon bowl record with three sacks in a losing effort against Ohio State.

DT Jurrell Casey, USC: Casey had five tackles, a sack and a 22-yard return of a fumble.

DT Brian Price, UCLA: Price started slowly vs. Temple but he dominated the second half and finished with five tackles, with one coming for a loss.

DE Tyson Alualu, California: Alualu had five tackles, with 1.5 coming for a loss.

LB Akeem Ayers, UCLA: Ayers led the Bruins with nine tackles, two for a loss, and his leaping interception at the Temple 2-yard line, which he returned for a TD, was the play of the Pac-10 bowl season.

LB Kyle Bosworth, UCLA: He finished with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks.

LB Eddie Young, California: Young had seven tackles and returned an interception 31 yards for a TD.

CB Shareece Wright, USC: In his first game back after academic ineligibility, Wright grabbed a key interception.

CB Alterraun Verner, UCLA: Verner had seven tackles, two for a loss, and a pass breakup.

S Rahim Moore, UCLA: Moore had four tackles and an interception.

S Taylor Mays, USC: Mays had five tackles for a Trojans defense that shut down Boston College in the second half.

P David Green, Stanford: He averaged 44 yards on six punts, three of which were downed inside the Sooners' 20-yard line.

The Pac-10 went 2-5 during the bowl season, so it wasn't difficult to find many "worsts."

But there were some good things that shouldn't be overlooked.

Best performance, defensive player: Oregon's undersized but quick defensive end Kenny Rowe set a Rose Bowl and Oregon bowl record with three sacks in a losing effort against Ohio State. He finished the season with 11.5 sacks, which led the Pac-10.

Best performance, offensive player: In his final game in a USC uniform, receiver Damian Williams caught 12 passes for a season-high 189 yards in the Trojans' 24-13 win over Boston College in the Emerald Bowl. It's fair to say that Williams was USC's most consistent player over the entire season.

Worst performance, period: There was nothing good about Arizona's 33-0 loss to Nebraska in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Nothing. Feel free, though, to look at this box score and try to find something.

Best play: With UCLA trailing Temple 21-20 in the fourth quarter, and the Owls pinned on their 8-yard line, Bruins outside linebacker Akeem Ayers -- after falling down on his initial pass-rush burst -- leaped into the air and intercepted Vaughn Charlton's pass and gamboled 2 yards into the end zone.

Worst play: Trailing 19-17 in the Rose Bowl, Oregon faced a second-and-2 from Ohio State's 18-yard line. A huge hole opened. But running back LeGarrette Blount couldn't handle a high handoff from quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. The Buckeyes recovered the fumble and dominated the rest of the game.

Worst play, II: After BYU tied Oregon State 7-7 in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, the Beavers took over at their 40-yard line. On second down, running back Jacquizz Rodgers couldn't handle a backward pass from Sean Canfield, and Matt Bauman returned the loose ball 34 yards for a touchdown. That was the first fumble of Rodgers' career, and the Cougars dominated the game from then on.

Best performance under tough circumstances: Oklahoma knew Stanford had no passing offense without quarterback Andrew Luck. So it ganged up on running back Toby Gerhart. Nonetheless, the Heisman Trophy runner-up rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in a rugged effort in the Sun Bowl loss.

Worst pass defense: California made Utah true freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn look like an All-American in the Poinsettia Bowl. Against what was supposed to be one of the nation's best secondaries heading into the season, Wynn completed 26 of 36 passes for 338 yards with three touchdowns. He shook off an early pick-six to run the Bears ragged.

Best second-half defense: UCLA held Temple to 41 yards and zero points in the second half of the EagleBank Bowl.

Worst performance you didn't see coming: Canfield, Oregon State's quarterback, earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors this season. He has been invited to the Senior Bowl and is going to have an NFL career. Nonetheless, he had a horrible Las Vegas Bowl and was outplayed by BYU's Max Hall, who threw three touchdown passes. Canfield completed just 19 of 40 passes for 168 yards with an interception and no touchdowns, and he seemed completely befuddled by a strong wind and the Cougars' secondary.

Best unsung performance: USC fullback Stanley Havili always seems to sneak up on folks. In the Trojans' win over Boston College, he caught six passes for 83 yards with two touchdowns, including a 53-yard jaunt on a screen pass. He also had a critical tackle after one of Matt Barkley's two interceptions.

Only one coach at 2010 Pac-10 media day will be able to say he led a bowl winner the previous season.

Unless, of course, UCLA's Rick Neuheisel joins now-former USC coach Pete Carroll and opts to bolt for another job. Then there will be none.

Ah, there are many ways to slice and dice a 2-5 bowl season. None is very tasty.

Things started badly: Oregon State got thumped 44-20 by BYU in a frigid, windy MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. Then California meandered through a 37-27 defeat to Utah in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

Hey, 0-2 vs. the Mountain West.

Things appeared to reverse course with victories by the LA schools, with both USC and UCLA winning with dominant second halves. The Trojans bested Boston College 24-13 in the Emerald Bowl, while UCLA held Temple to 41 yards after halftime of a 30-21 win in the EagleBank Bowl.

But that was the end of the, er, glory.

Arizona got throttled 33-0 by Nebraska in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, an inexplicably bad performance. Stanford, playing without starting quarterback Andrew Luck, who injured a finger during the regular-season finale vs. Notre Dame, fell to Oklahoma 31-27 in the Brut Sun Bowl.

And, finally, Oregon went down 26-17 to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi, with Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor turning in the game of his life while the Ducks' offense sputtered.

It was a very bad end to what had been a good regular season.

The Pac-10, discussed much of the year as perhaps the nation's best, or at least, deepest conference, led all conferences with five teams ranked in the final BCS standings. But only two -- No. 11 Oregon and No. 22 USC -- ended up ranked in the final polls.

The bowl season also left a large crack in what had been a 21-9 record vs. the nation's toughest nonconference schedule.

Still, this was only the second time the conference had seven bowl teams (2002 was the other). The Pac-10 never previously had boasted six teams with eight or more wins, and seven teams finished with winning records.

And the conference, with eight returning starting quarterbacks, looks to be even deeper in 2010.

So perhaps these postseason woes will prelude a breakthrough next year: Two BCS bowl teams.

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.

• A not-to-gentle assessment of Arizona's Holiday Bowl fiasco. But the season, other than the bowl, was mostly a success.
• Will Jahvid Best be a good pro and is California better off without him? Good analysis, but I'll also answer: 1. Yes. 2. No.
• Oregon's goals in 2010 should be high. Very high. That's because the Ducks should be good in 2010.
• Some Oregon State notes.
• Looking ahead for UCLA: The offense should improve, but the defense is a question.
• Hard to say if USC's self-imposed sanctions for basketball violations mean anything for football
• Some reasonable perspective on the Pac-10 D'oh -- er, bowl -- season (Jon Wilner also has some good insights into Stanford). Also here. And here, too.

It's Christmas Eve. It's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.

• Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski hasn't decided if he will return next fall or declare for the NFL draft.
• Candidates to become Arizona State's new offensive coordinator include a Boise State assistant, among many others.
• California has one last chance to put a positive spin on a disappointing season.
• This guy is a special-teams standout for Oregon.
• That was an ugly performance in Las Vegas for Oregon State.
• It looks like quarterback Kevin Prince will be ready to go for UCLA.
• And it looks like Allen Bradford will be USC's starting tailback in the Emerald Bowl on Saturday. Pete Carroll takes responsibility.

I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about. Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

• Arizona coach Mike Stoops has done more with less -- what would he be able to build if he got more? A good season for Arizona has been frustrating for backup QB Matt Scott.
• Arizona State loses a QB commitment for its 2010 class, possibly because it's still looking for an offensive coordinator.
• The Poinsettia Bowl might help California offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig silence his critics, considering many of them are Utah fans. Cal fullback Brian Holley is a walkon from nowhere who made good.
• Going to the Rose Bowl is special for all Oregon folks, but particularly so for long-time defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti. Some Ohio State players apparently are in trouble.
• It's been a long, twisting road for Sean Canfield at Oregon State. Missed this must-read story the other day: John Canzano visits the incarcerated father of James and Jacquizz Rodgers. BYU says it's focused this year.
• Stanford is happy to go to the Sun Bowl, but not for financial reasons.
• UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin is working on ball-security.
• USC is thin at tight end and thick with bad news. More on the Joe McKnight situation.
• Washington is battling Texas Tech for a linebacker recruit.
• Washington State's all-decade team takes an interesting turn, and is another Pac-10 coach trying to poach Coug recruits?

California's All-Pac-10 cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson may miss the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl against Utah on Wednesday because of a nagging sprained ankle, Jonathan Okanes of the Contra Costa Times reported.

That's not good news in any event, but it's particularly worrisome because Thompson was likely going to focus his efforts on neutralizing the Utes top receiver, David Reed.

Further complicating things in the secondary is a shoulder injury to No. 3 cornerback Josh Hill.

That means if Thompson can't go, he would be replaced by redshirt freshman Marc Anthony, who will be making his first career start. According to Okanes' report, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said Anthony has passed junior Darian Hagan in the pecking order. Hagan began the year as the starter opposite Thompson.

Thompson is a four-year starter, so missing practice time isn't critical. His availability figures to be a game-time decision.