No Wonder He Moved! Dennis
Inherits Loaded Roster

       By Pigskin Pete

Coach Dennis Erickson has moved once again, and all Pac10 rivals should be shaking in their respective boots. The much traveled Erickson (Idaho twice,Wyoming, Washington State, Miami, Oregon State) succeeds fired Dirk Koetter as head gridman at Arizona State and inherits a loaded roster. The Sun Devil lineup for 2007 includes starting QB Rudy Carpenter and top rusher Keegan Herring, a plethora of returning receivers and no shortage of returnees on defense.

Erickson won’t rely upon his vaunted recruiting abilities until the 2008 season. He has already proven his coaching prowess with a pair of national titles at Miami and a quick turnaround of a moribund Oregon State program. He is unequaled in success with convincing junior college all-Americans to join his rosters.

Poor Idaho! Dennis obviously used the Vandals as a return to college coaching after failing to succeed in the NFL at Seattle and San Francisco. He inherited a talent vacuum last season at Idaho. Now he moves to a situation where the key is already in the ignition for a run at BCS notoriety. The 2007 Pac10 season will be more than very competitive. USC, Cal and Oregon all return their primary offensive talent. Now add ASU to the title mix and left coast season ticket sales should smash all previous records.

       Bowl Game Forecast

       Bowling begins anon and here are our picks for these matchups (u indicates upset):

       Texas Christian by 10 over Northern Illinois
       Oregon over Brigham Young by 7 (u)
       Troy over Rice by 3 (u)
       South Florida by 3 over East Carolina
       San Jose State by 3 over New Mexico (u)
       Utah over Tulsa by 3
       Arizona State over Hawaii by 3 (u)
       Central Michigan over Middle Tennessee by 7
       Florida State over UCLA by 3 (u)
       Alabama over Oklahoma State by 6 (u)

       Rutgers over Kansas State by 6
       California over Texas A&M by 7
       Clemson over Kentucky by 14
       Oregon State over Missouri by 6
       South Carolina over Houston by 13
       Purdue over Mareyland by 3 )u)
       Texas Tech overf Minnesota by 7
       Boston College over Navy by 7
       Texas over Iowa by 10
       Virginia Tech over Georgia by 1
       Miami over Nevada by 14
       Auburn over Nebraska by 7
       Tennessee over Penn State by 7

       Wisconsin over Arkansas by 1 (u)
       West Virginia over Georgia Tech by 3
       USC over Michigan by 12
       Boise State over Oklahoma by 3 (u)
       Louisville over Wake Forest by 3
       Notre Dame over LSU by 3 (u
       Cincinnati over Westerm Michigan by 3
       Southern Mississippi over Ohio by 7
       Ohio State over Florida by 10

Yes, there are too many bowl games, but money talks for most venues!

© 2006  Oregon Magazine