Good Morning from Oregon
COUGARS • UPDATED: 8:15 A.M.
One thing about living on the eastern edge of a time zone, it gets lighter earlier in the morning – and darker earlier as well. So it was a good 20 minutes later than we're used to today before the sun starting streaming in through the windows. It didn't matter. We were already awake. Heck, it's football Saturday and the game is early. It's time to get going with Washington State football. Read on.
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• Washington State: You can start your day thinking about football – we have our advance along with the 2-minute drill – or you can start it with basketball – we have our advance to tonight's season opener. You're choice. ... If football is your pick, there is also this preview in the Seattle Times courtesy of Bud Withers. ... And you can peruse Christian Caple's Pac-10 picks from the Daily News. UPDATE: Jim Moore has his thoughts on today's outcome and he may just be right. About the score.
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• Around the Pac-10: ESPN.com's Ted Miller starts us off here with his stock report. ... Jon Wilner has his picks. ... Washington: Bob Condotta, as usual, has a lot of news on his blog. This post includes information on Apple Cup tickets from the Husky perspective. As we said earlier this week, there are still quite a few tickets available for the game. ... Oregon State: So, there was this paragraph in the Oregonian's advance this morning that included an interesting quote from Jacquizz Rodgers. "Rodgers noted that he felt the offense did a better job blocking the scout team in practice this week, which 'translates well to the game.' " Did he just compare WSU to the Oregon State scout team (probably not, but it's fun to point out)? ... So, the past couple years that may have been appropriate, but this season? No one thinks that's the case. ... Oregon: The Ducks' offense is expected to get a stern test in Berkeley this afternoon. ... As is the Oregon defense. ... Mike Bellotti confirms he's talked with Colorado about the Buffs' coaching position. ... Cal: Can Strawberry Canyon supply the Bears with a home-field advantage? ... They need every bit of help they can get. ... Stanford: The Cardinal leads the nation in a key stat: third-down conversions. ... Can ASU lay a trap for Stanford? ... USC: Pride is the key word for the Trojans today. ... UCLA: A lot of basketball news, but football stories are in short supply. ... Arizona State: Do you know who held Oregon to its lowest offensive output of the season? Yes, it would be the Sun Devils. They may just give Stanford a shock today. ... Arizona: There are three letters that will give the Wildcats motivation today: U, S, and C.
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• That's it for this morning. We'll be back before the game with more thoughts. And remember, we do a lot on game day on Twitter at vinceg55. Until later ...
