Snyder In Deep, Knee-Deep

You can bet next time the situation calls for it, Bruce Snyder will take a knee.

That situation should be right in front of his boss.

Right when the Arizona State football coach’s status for next year comes up.

By choosing to run the ball rather than take a knee in the final minute Saturday against Oregon, Snyder put his job in jeopardy. (For those who spent the weekend in an Oklahoma-Nebraska coma, here’s a brief recap: Sun Devils lead 49-42. Thirty-three seconds left. Third down at the ASU 17. Freshman Mike Williams runs the ball. He fumbles. Oregon recovers. Scores. Wins in double overtime.) Of course, Snyder defended his decision.

“I don’t feel like kicking myself around too badly,” he told the Arizona Republic.

No, that’s for the public to do: “… it’s not out of hatred, but rather a common-sense approach and love of the program that I say it’s time to thank Snyder for what he’s started, but politely show him the door when the season’s up.” “ … (Former athletic director Kevin White) coddled him … Gene Smith won’t. Snyder, by blowing this game, slit his own throat and will be fired after the season is over.” “Snyder is being paid off by Phil Knight.”

Those are just a few of the printable comments from ASU’s chat room. What Arizona State fans, players and alumni should find alarming is that Snyder had three chances to win this game. He swung and missed every time.

Before the fumble, let’s call that strike two, Snyder made strike one. Up 49-42, the Sun Devils had the ball, fourth-and-14 at the Oregon 33 with 2:16 left. Snyder didn’t go for a field goal. He didn’t pooch punt. He went for a first down. He didn’t make it. The drive, which should have sealed the game, produced nothing. Then there was strike three. In the second overtime, ASU scored to pull within one 56-55. Snyder called “red rooster” a two-point trick play. The Sun Devils had 55 points, and 667 yards in offense. Oregon had not stopped them all day. And they called for a trick play on a two-point conversion? “I don’t regret that one, either,” said Snyder who is 16-15 in his last two-plus years.

Well, unless the Sun Devils win out - they are home against USC and on the road at Stanford and Arizona - it may be Gene Smith’s duty to inform Snyder three strikes means you’re out.

Nine lives

Hold on just a second, it’s cats not Dawgs who are supposed to have nine lives, right? Well then what in the heck is going on at Washington? Two weeks in a row, the Huskies have rallied to win. First, they scored 23 unanswered points to beat Cal. Next, they allowed 22 unanswered points in the final 6 minutes, before streaking 80 yards in three plays in the final 29 seconds to win 31-28 at Stanford.

“It is great drama,” said UW coach Rick Neuheisel. “Nobody could have scripted the finishes that have taken place in this season.”

He’s not just talking about UW. He’s talking about the entire Pac-10. There have four overtime games. Fourteen out of 25 games have been decided by seven points or less. Ten games have been won by fourthquarter rallies or on the last possession of the game. Home teams have won only 13 of 25 games.

“If anybody is not getting their money’s worth by watching the Pac-10 then they’re crazy,” Neuheisel said. “It is absolutely phenomenal.”

The Pac-10 has been so hard to predict that even the oddsmakers are having trouble. In a normal year, the league leader would be a double-digit favorite over the ninth-place team. This week, the Ducks are only picked by nine over Washington State.

“Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, and Washington State, you can go down the list, are all very, very competitive teams,” Neuheisel said. “I think from top to bottom, this is an unbelievably competitive conference, and there is no such thing as a sure thing.”

Eager Beaver

Oregon State athletic director Mitch Barnhart said he is working on a new deal for football coach Dennis Erickson.

Erickson is sure to jump now.

There are two certainties in college sports: When a coach is given a vote of confidence, a call has already been placed to the Mayflower man. And when an A.D. starts working up a new contract - a la Gonzaga and Dan Munson - he is scrambling to keep a coach with one foot out the door.

Erickson, in the first year of a five-year contract worth $600,000 annually, is considered the main candidate for the USC job. Don’t worry, the Trojans job will be vacant by Nov. 26.

Erickson has the Beavers ranked No. 11 in the BCS, No. 14 in the AP poll and on track for a chance at the Rose Bowl.

“A lot of wonderful things have happened to our football program over the last two years,” Barnhart said, “culminating in two winning seasons, and quite probably a second bowl berth.”

In fact, the only thing remaining for Erickson to accomplish at OSU is playing in and winning the Rose Bowl. That’s as far as the Beavers will probably ever go. At USC, Erickson could have a chance to recruit L.A., turn around a loser and build a national championship team.

Simply put, the Trojans, with their deep pockets and huge stadium, have more to offer Erickson. And Erickson, with his ability to find that borderline person and turn him into a player, has more to offer the Trojans.

News and notes

Stanford was the first team to outscore Washington in the fourth quarter this season. … Cal has beaten USC three straight times. … The Beavers are 7-1 for the first time since 1964. That’s the last time they went to the Rose Bowl. … Oregon QB Joey Harrington is 11-1 as a starter. … Harrington and ASU QB Jeff Krohn combined for 866 passing yards and 11 touchdowns in the 56-55 double-overtime game last week. … Washington has trailed at some point in six of its seven wins. … Arizona has not allowed a rushing touchdown in six of its eight games.