Leaching the Pac-12

Hello Cougar Nation! Hope you’ve had a great week.

As for me, well, its been a tough one. As you all know, while I was not exactly a great fan of our former defensive coordinator (but I’d love for Ball to stay on as coach of the secondary), I was a HUGE fan and supporter of Paul Wulff. So, to see him go right when he was on the cusp of breaking out of the losing, well, it was a bit hard to take.

That said, color me excited about our new hire Mike Leach. So click on the old jumpa-vegas to check out the topic of this week’s “Getaway” column…

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Nation, while it is pretty hard to evaluate the impact of Leach’s hiring on our Pac-12 brethren at this early stage, it is also pretty clear that his hiring has shook up the Pac-12 universe a bit. And so in the following few lines, I offer you the extent to which the Leach hire registers on each program’s Mark Richter scale.

Accordingly, we start with the South Division:

Colorado Buffaloes (7.5). Mind you, Colorado is one heckuva university and one helluva gorgeous campus.  Moreover, when you take a look at their finish (having won two of three), you have to like the fight of their players and their program. But, the bottom line is all of this is while the rest of the conference is increasingly replete with splash and dash, Colorado is rebuilding with their version of Paul Wulff.  While I think that Embree’s ethnicity will help him make vital recruiting inroads (especially in a league of mostly white coaches), CU has a HUGE hole to climb out of. And Leach made that hole a crater–especially if we put 60 on em in Pullman next year.

Utah Utes (6.5). If you asked me at the beginning of the season to name the two most underrated coaches in the country, I would have given you “I’m a Man!” from Oklahoma State and Kyle Whittingham from Utah. And really, nothing has happened this year to dissuade me from that–especially when you consider that the man won 7 games in spite of having an extremely limited offense. But in spite of Utah’s upside, the fact of the matter is that they are now seeming to really, really miss on the sexy side of the ledger in a Division (and league) that figures to look more Hollywood each year. So, if you take at face value that Utah needs to establish themselves right below LA and Oregon in the California recruiting wars, and well, Leach just took a handfull of arrows out of the Utes’ quiver.  And that’s not a good thing.

UCLA (9.0). In my mind, the Leach hiring is, at least temporarily, a massive jolt to UCLA. Why? Well, for one, anytime someone forks out 2.25 for living in Pullman, the cost-of-living calculator goes nuts making the translation for LA. So, while Westwood struggles to figure how to get 4 mill. for the headcoach, the bigger issue is the compensation for the Assistants. I mean, as is, UCLA’s assistants routinely have to live an hour plus from the school because the cost of living (housing) near Westwood is prohibitive. Thus, the Ruins not only face needs for 6 million in staff compensation (at the same time the university is getting KILLED with budget cuts and massive tuition increases), they also need schools in the middle or bottom of the Pac to NOT get better along the way. Simply put, its REAL hard to win 7 conference games a year when the conference doormats look like perennial Bowl Contenders….

Arizona (6.0). Hard to know about what to think about Rich Rod. On one hand, Michigan’s resurgence this year suggests that RR left the cupboard FAR from bare in Ann Arbor. At the same time, folks that watched the Wolverines finish out last year know that they were playing REALLY bad football when he left. What’s more, part of the challenge with RR’s system is that it takes a while for him to find players to fit his system. Mind you, I think RR will make the Mildcats dangerous, but you have to wonder how patient the fanbase will be since both ASU and WSU figure to be WAY ahead of him in the rebuilding process.  AZ just became a much tougher job.

USC (1.9). In the longterm, Leach’s hire means nothing to the men of Troy, who will continue to get the greatest recruits the planet has to offer. In the short-term, however, Leach could be a small thorn in Troy’s side. Why? Well, with scholarship reductions on the way, SC’s depth figures to take a sizable hit somewhere. And if ASU fails to land Sumlin, then WSU figures to represent a unique scheme for the Trojan’s D to prepare for in the coming seasons…And in a league that figures to get tighter by the day, Leach doesn’t make the cross-division tilts any easier for SC, especially when the Cougs and Troy collide in 2013 and 2014 with Halliday behind center.

Arizona State (6.5). Hard to know about the Sun Devils, a program which really represents the perpetual sleeping giant in the Pac-12. Will they hire Sumlin? My guess is its 50-50. But if they don’t, then the Leach hire not only figures to take the sizzle out of whomever ASU lands, it may also open up opportunities for the Cougs to raid the Devils’ recruiting closet. Not good if you’re a Sun Devils fan.

Pac-12 North

Washington (6.9). Is Leach a catastrophe for the University of Washington? No. Is Leach a good thing for the University of Washington? Probably not. Mind you, as long as Sark is at the helm, Washington figures to get the majority of the states’ blue chip recruits, and that new stadium they’re building at Muttlake? Fortetaboutit. At the same time, Washington’s incremental progress re: Wins and Losses has been aided greatly by WSU’s slow/no progress, as well as Oregon State’s drop-off in the last two years. So, what happens, for example, if the Huskies win 7 games next year, and the Cougs win 9? What will that say about Sark’s progress relative to Leach’s? All in all, next year is a HUGE year for both programs.

CAL (1.4). Best team in the Pac-12 that no one is talking about right now? Its CAL. GREAT school that gets most of the blue chips in NoCAL. In my mind, if CAL could simply find a QB (memo to Tedford, Todd Sturdy is looking for a job right now and he could REALLY help you), they’d be a National Contender. And truly, if you’re looking for a program that is ready made to compete with SEC schools, outside of SC, CAL is your next leading candidate.

Stanford (6.5). Lots and lots of Grade A Beef in Palo Alto. And judging by what I saw of Shaw this year, there’s no reason to think that he can’t recruit nationally the way that Harbaugh did for four amazing years. The problem with the Trees is that speed still kills them, even as they showed their ability to be overpowering/dominant throughout the year. But, now that they’re out of Luck, their ability to keep up with the fast Joneses of the North will really be put to the test.  And Leach just made that test really hard–even for the Nerds.

Oregon (.3). The only thing that disrupts Oregon’s train is if they get the Willies, of the Lyles variety… 

Oregon State (9.7). Without question, Corvallis is on Tsunami Alert right now, even though the Beavs carry two GIGANTIC butt-kickings of the two Washington schools in their back-pockets into the off-season. But, with Riley signed through the next millennium and with Leach threatening to reach with R-Rod into the Beavs’ Texas recruiting lanes, well, it gets dicey for the Beaver Backer nation.The Good News: Craig Robinson may finally have a breakthrough year. And as we all know, when you have a good Hoops team, not being very good at football isn’t the end of the world.

Alright, enough of my yackin’. Hope you all have a great weekend following a week of off-field drama that is certainly one for the ages. Go Cougs!