Pac-12 facing divisions

• Washington State: We examined the recent trend of high hits that have resulted in some hard-to-understand penalty calls – remember the two in Seattle, the two after-the-play calls by the referee? – in our Pac-12 notebook this morning. (It was a popular subject, see below.) Don’t be surprised if some day in the not too distant future the uniforms have some sort of way of signaling the referee if a hit is high. Or maybe the instant replay official can come into the discussion. … We now pause in our usually scheduled morning post to pass along the news about an e-mail I just received. Dunkin Donuts has a new sausage breakfast sandwich. That brings up a bunch of questions. How did I get on a Dunkin Donuts mailing list? Does my spam filter know I am a sucker for Hillshire Farm sausage and let the e-mail through? Where can I get one in the next seven minutes? Now back to your post. … Freelancer Howie Stalwick has a Washington State notebook . … CougCenter’s Brian Floyd has a post on last week’s tempest. … And that’s about it for Cougar items, though we did have some notes on last night’s post . We’ll call that PBS (or Pre-Breakfast Sausage), a time when writing was much easier. No drool on the keyboard.

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• Around the Pac-12: The Seattle Times’ Bud Withers has his thoughts and opinions on the flags for the high hits. I agree with him. A well-intended rule that is tough to call correctly. … Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star has covers the same subject. … ESPN.com’s Ted Miller has a quick look at this weekend’s games, an examination of the Pac-12 tiebreakers and some numbers from around the conference. … Washington: The Huskies hope their improved depth will help them against the Ducks. … Oregon State: The difference in Stanford the past couple years? Andrew Luck. … The Beavers still have a lot to play for , according to coach Mike Riley. … Oregon: It’s going to take some chaos for a healthy LaMichael James and the Ducks to run back into the BCS picture . … California: Coach Jeff Tedford is going to stay with Zach Maynard as the starting quarterback – for now. … Stanford: With one of the three stud tight ends out this week, the Cardinal have a plan to adjust, though coach David Shaw won’t give an inch . … Colorado: Do the Trojans have a better quarterback than the Broncos? … Utah: A Utah player is ready for an on-field reunion . … USC: The Trojans may be able to get back to their old excellence after the NCAA sanctions expire, but the attitude could use a little adjusting. … A replacement for suspended safety T.J. McDonald is announced. … UCLA: Brock Osweiler is the Bruins’ fault . … Arizona State: The Sun Devils are slowly getting healthy . … Arizona: The Wildcats are moving quickly with their hybrid .

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• That’s if for this morning. We’ll be back after practice, as usual. Until then …