Bruins honored as Pac-10’s best
All-Pac-10 honors were announced Monday and three Bruins were
selected for the 2000 first-team: junior wide receiver Freddie
Mitchell, junior running back DeShaun Foster and sophomore
cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. As none of the three are seniors,
their selection signifies the team’s future depth. Mitchell
was earlier selected as a first-team All-American as well as a
finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, whose winner will be announced
Dec. 7.
UCLA players selected to the second-team include junior
linebacker Robert Thomas and sophomores place-kicker Chris Griffith
and punter Nate Fikse.
Junior safety Marques Anderson, senior offensive guard Oscar
Cabrera, freshman defensive tackle Rodney Leisle and junior
split-end Brian Poli-Dixon all received honorable mention
distinction.
Bowl rumor mill
With Miami’s 52-6 victory over Boston College and
Oklahoma’s narrow 12-7 win over Oklahoma State Saturday,
Washington’s chances for the Orange Bowl were statistically
eliminated, and a Husky-Boilermaker Rose Bowl is now set for New
Year’s Day.
Oregon State still awaits its fate for the Dec. 3 BCS
selections, though the Beavers’ chances for a BCS invite seem
farfetched, considering Notre Dame virtually decided their BCS fate
with a win over USC (the Irish are likely going to the Fiesta
Bowl), and the Virginia Tech Hokies prompt much more national
interest than the upstart Beavers. Tech’s decisive 42-21 win
over Virginia leap-frogged them ahead of Oregon State in the latest
BCS standings as well. It will, therefore, be more likely that fans
will witness the Beavers in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl.
The rest of the Pac-10 picture would likely be determined if it
weren’t for the complications with the Sun Bowl agreement.
Arizona State sealed a Pac-10 berth with its 30-17 victory over
rival Arizona and, although tied with UCLA in conference and
non-conference records, they are likely to be the fifth team in the
scenario because of UCLA’s larger fan base and recognition,
as well as the fact that the Bruins beat the Sun Devils earlier in
the season.
Though Oregon is the conference’s third-place team (based
on non-conference record), they are not likely to gain an invite to
El Paso’s Sun Bowl because of contractual obligations with
the bowl sponsors. Because the Ducks have already played the other
invite, Wisconsin, during the regular season, combined with the
fact that they played in the Sun Bowl last year, it is possible for
the bowl sponsors to swap invites with another bowl, most likely
the Insight.com bowl at Tucson, Arizona.
The remaining bowl-eligible conference teams ““ Oregon,
UCLA or Arizona State ““ would likely be invited to the Aloha
and Oahu bowls, respectively.
Trojans finally “˜Sack the Hack’
After months of speculation, USC head coach Paul Hackett was
fired by the university on Monday, only a few days after a 38-21
loss to Notre Dame in their rival matchup. It was the third season
of Hackett’s disappointing coaching stint with the Trojans,
during which he went 19-18. This season’s 5-7 record was the
first losing season for the Trojans since 1991.
There has been talk that Trojan management bought out the final
two years of Hackett’s contract for an estimated $800,000.
USC has made it clear that their search for a replacement has
already begun, and the spot is open to a variety of successors.
High on the list of desired Hackett replacements are Oregon
State coach Dennis Erickson, Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez and Mike
Riley, a former USC assistant now coaching the San Diego
Chargers.
Notes compiled by Joshua Mason, Daily Bruin Contributor.