Tuesday Notebook: Eugene, BCS and Sam Bradford

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

EUGENE, Oregon -- I made it.

After waking up Monday in Cincinnati, driving to Dayton, flying to Washington, D.C., flying to Phoenix, flying to Portland and crashing at a hotel there late last night, I drove down picturesque Interstate 5 this afternoon and arrived at my hotel at about 5 p.m. Pacific time.

I can tell the Canon 50D is going to be busier this week than my liver was last week. Great to see old friends in the Queen City, sure, but equally certain is how badly I need a break from all that fun, and signs point to such relief here in this sleepy pocket of the very scenic Pacific Northwest where I know exactly nobody.

Efforts to secure a credential for Saturday's USC at Oregon game have been shut down, but the investigation into a reasonably priced single ticket is pending. Not only will this game likely decide the PAC 10 champion, but it's Halloween and the fans at Autzen Stadium are notorious party people, so keep your eyes open for some good imagery this weekend.

Until then, it looks like I'll get some post-practice interviews Wednesday, but before I get that far, here are some other tidbits to consider this week:

+ Many are talking about how a USC win makes it a serious BCS National Championship game contender, but you know what? I'll say the same about the Trojans' opponent Saturday. Oregon is No. 10 in the BCS rankings, and beating Pete Carroll's highly ranked USC gang would shoot those Ducks squarely into the mix, and very deservedly so.

+ Wouldn't it be funny to see Oregon leapfrog ahead of Boise State in the BCS standings?

+ Iowa, Cincinnati, Boise State and TCU are the second-tier contenders for a spot in the BCS title game. Those entirely in control of their destiny include Florida, Alabama, Texas and most likely LSU and possibly USC. I think Florida or Alabama might actually need to lose twice for one of those second-tier squads to jump ahead. That means that heading into the last month of the season, no fewer than seven and maybe as many as nine losses are needed among the elite names currently among the Top 10 for, say, Iowa or Cincinnati to earn a trip to Pasadena. Such a feat would be just as dramatic than what happened down the stretch in 2007. But don't expect that scenario to materialize. I still think it's going to be Florida and Texas, though I'd prefer to watch Florida and USC.

+ Please stop with the second-guessing of Sam Bradford. Too often we hear the TV pretties talk about the importance of staying in school to get that education, if not to at least enjoy the college experience. Bradford did exactly that, and now Todd McShay, who I typically like, leads the pack of those repeatedly broadcasting the disappointing truths about millions of dollars lost. Tyler Hansbrough came back twice when experts thought he was ready for the next level, and the only reason people don't rip him is because he didn't get hurt. Don't go hindsight and blast a kid barely out of his teens for wanting more school. Bradford knows his decision to stay will cost him in the long run, but he'll still be a good NFL quarterback.

I'm Cool With Bradford, McCoy Being Buds

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

ATLANTA -- If many in our culture had to pick one thing they dislike about sports, it might be something about an absence of sportsmanship.

At least at the high school and college levels, there's an expectation that there's more to life for young athletes than the games in which they play. Perhaps being in school and not playing for a paycheck are reasons why there's a standard for conduct and punishments are severe for unacceptable behavior. LeGarrette Blount, anyone?

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So why is there even a conversation this week that begins with the question, "Do you think Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford should be friends?"

Are you kidding me?

YOUR THOUGHTS: Cool For Bradford, McCoy To Be Buds?

I've told this story before and I'll tell it again. My dad was a great high school football player and even played at Notre Dame under Frank Leahy. Got a tryout with the Packers, too. And while my athletic career didn't extend past high school, I still picked up from him plenty of valuable lessons about interscholastic sports.

Perhaps my favorite story he told was how, even though his team was about to beat somebody by 40, the squad he quarterbacked would suspend its pre-game stretches in order to applaud the other team as it took the field. Very classy move.

Do I expect teams to do that nowadays? Hardly, and that's fine. But for talk-show hosts to think they should have an opinion about who a 22-year-old football star is friends with is more than presumptuous. And if these pundits must weigh in, they need to remember that the games they're paid to analyze are just that -- games. There's a winner and a loser and when it's over, people go home and return to their lives. Certainly prepare well during the week and try hard as hell to kick the crap out of that friend's team as the clock is ticking, but afterward, friendships last forever.

Chris Brown Riffs on Sam Bradford, Dallas' New Crib

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma running back Chris Brown said Tuesday that everybody should be getting amped up and added that kickers are just a bunch of followers.

OK, OK, what he really said was that his teammates have been following the lead of a more vocal Sam Bradford in preseason workouts. And it's not just the guys in the offensive huddle. It's everyone, even the kickers.

That's all summed up in the video immediately below, and in the one below that, Brown says the many Dallas players on OU's roster are excited to play in that city's brand-new, trillion-bazillion-dollar stadium Saturday vs. BYU.