Two for the show
They both took their best shots at USC and fell short. Now, California and Arizona State — the Pac-10’s two ranked teams that aren’t No. 1 — square off against one another.
Both teams feature high-flying offenses, and not surprisingly, quarterback play that compares favorably to any other in the nation.
Cal’s Aaron Rodgers has become a master of head coach Jeff Tedford’s pass-oriented offense, and Andrew Walter has done the same in Dirk Koetter’s system at Arizona State.
Rodgers has completed an astounding 75 percent of his passes this season, including 14 touchdowns to four interceptions. Walter leads the conference this season with 21 touchdown passes, and with 76 in his career he is one shy of the Pac-10 record, held by John Elway.
“You’re talking about two really good guys,” said Oregon State coach Mike Riley, whose team lost to Arizona State and Cal in back-to-back weeks this season. “And they’ve both done great jobs with their teams this year. It’s hard to say if one of them is better than the other when they’ve both had great years.”
The differences in their numbers — Rodgers with the higher completion percentage, Walter with the gaudier yardage and touchdown totals — can be attributed largely to the offenses they run. While Rodgers is in a more conservative passing attack that values accuracy and precision, Walter is in a more freewheeling offense, putting an emphasis on the deep pass.
“We are a little bit more of a vertical passing team, as opposed to a quote-unquote West Coast passing team,” Koetter said. “Where in a West Coast offense it’s built around the slant route and a little bit higher percentages, your receivers run for more yardage after the catch. Even though we have West Coast principles, we’re more about vertical passes.”
One thing on which the two coaches this weekend can agree: The other team’s quarterback is dangerous.
“The concerning part is big plays from their offense,” Tedford said. “You really need to limit that because they can score a lot of points. You don’t want to get into a shootout with them.”
Said Koetter: “He makes next to zero mistakes. His efficiency is off the charts.”
Zook gets the hook
Pac-10 coaches expressed sorrow and regret over the fate of Florida coach Ron Zook, who was fired this week, but will finish the season, after his team lost to a big underdog in Mississippi State last weekend.
His entire staff was also let go, effective at season’s end.
“It’s probably the climate in major college football,” Stanford coach Buddy Teevens said. “It’s a reflection of the pro game as well. It’s certainly unfortunate any time you see that happen.”
One coach whose job security won’t be questioned anywhere in the near future, Southern California’s Pete Carroll, was upset about the decision. Carroll was fired twice as coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots.
“I think it’s always a tragedy for the whole program, whether it’s the NFL or college,” Carroll said. “I feel bad for everybody involved, the families and the kids, the coaches’ families.”
Carroll was also asked why he thought the firing came during the season, and he suggested there is little reason to do so.
“It surely doesn’t make much sense,” he said. “I think people who do that are maybe afraid that a guy’s going to do well. They have their mind made up, they might be afraid that he’s going to win some games here and then make it a tougher decision, I don’t know.
“I think it’s a pretty careless decision.”
Notes
Teevens said quarterback Trent Edwards should be able to play this weekend, despite missing much of last week’s game against Oregon after taking a big hit. Teevens said Edwards did not sustain a concussion, but was “woozy.” Running back J.R. Lemon is also back to full speed after struggling for much of the season with injuries. … Riley said that his team’s bye week before playing Washington on Oct. 16 was, in retrospect, probably perfect timing. Before the bye, Oregon State was 1-4. Since, the Beavers are 2-0.