LOS ANGELES — By my count this is the 11th Rose Bowl I’ve helped to cover for The O, but the first since Oregon and Wisconsin played in the 2012 game.
My initial reaction: where is everybody?
The national media is MIA. What is left of it is at today’s College Football Playoff. The Rose Bowl has become a side show.
This is what the playoff has wrought. In years when the Rose Bowl isn’t part of the four-team CFP, it has more in common with the Holiday or Alamo Bowls.
OK, it’s still a New Year’s Day game. . There will be a world-famous parade and a big crowd. I expect Oregon and Wisconsin to play well Wednesday in one of college football’s most iconic settings.
But the national landscape has changed. College football has evolved. I think the evolution should continue and the playoff should grow beyond this closed, contrived four-team format.
Mark Whicker of the Los Angeles Daily News argues those who knock the College Football Playoff have long agendas or short memories. He thinks the CFP selection committee has slotted the four best teams into this years playoff.
That’s his opinion. Everybody has one, and each one is subjective. In an expanded playoff, the four semifinal teams would be determined objectively, on the field.
— The Pac-12 flopped in yesterday’s bowl games. Iowa blew out USC in the Holiday Bowl. Air Force chewed up Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl.
I’ve never thought results of bottom-feeder games prove much. They are tacked on artificially to a regular season ending weeks earlier. They’re like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: you never what you’re going to get.
That said, USC’s 40-24 loss to Iowa was the last thing the Trojans needed, coming, as it did, so soon after they chose to keep coach Clay Helton.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes that under Helton USC football has gone from bad to worse.
It almost certainly means changes on USC coaching staff.
Washington State’s 31-21 loss to Air Force was predictable. Air Force’s option offense, which chewed up an awful WSU defense, was designed to control the clock and time of possession. It left WSU’s dynamic Air Raid offense watching from the sideline.
The Falcons’ edge in time of possession was 43:24 to 16:36.
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OK, more links:
The O’s John Canzano: These Oregon Ducks show up best in big games, and the Rose Bowl is a big game.
Oregon linebacker Troy Dye leads the Ducks into the Rose Bowl with one hand and all of his heart.
For UO safety Brady Breeze, the 2020 Rose Bowl is a dream come true.
How Breeze and Bryson Young go from odd men out to primetime players for the Ducks.
Rose Bowl is a full-circle moment for Breeze; thumb’s up for Dye. (R-G)
Five unsung players that have helped this Rose Bowl season for Oregon. (The Athletic)
Dye is sorry — but not for coming back for his senior season. (NBCSN)
UO defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux is within reach of his season goal of 10 sacks.
Badgers brace for Thibodeaux, Oregon’s impact defensive end. (Wisconsin State Journal)
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Run-first teams Oregon and Wisconsin meet head-on in this year’s Rose Bowl.
The Ducks will have their hands full with Wisconsin’s physical offensive line.
UO defense must deal with dynamic Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor. (R-G)
How the Oregon and Wisconsin running backs compare. (NBCSN)
The NFL advice for UO cornerback Thomas Graham: stay in school.
Oregon receiver Mycah Pittman is expected to return from a broken arm to play in the Rose Bowl.
Wisconsin QB Jack Coan’s lacrosse roots serve him well. (Wisconsin State Journal)
Wisconsin linebacker Chris Orr isn’t surprised the Badgers’ seniors with NFL futures have chosen to play in the Rose Bowl. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
After missing the Rose Bowl as a player, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is eager to coach in it. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Wisconsin corner Caesar Williams’ journey to the 2019 Rose Bowl involved more than a trip across the country. (The Athletic)
Why a victory in the Rose Bowl would solidify a complicated legacy for the 2019 Badgers. (The Athletic)
Andy Staples of The Athletic: The next Pac-12 team that will make the College Football Playoff looks to be … Oregon.
Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune: New SEC TV deal is horrible news for the Pac-12.
The Merc’s Jon Wilner: Pac-12 attendance declined in 2019, and the drop was even worse in the SEC.
Antonio Morales of The Athletic: Undisciplined defense and shoddy special teams hamstring USC in the Holiday Bowl, and that has to change.
USC defense collapses in the Holiday Bowl. (SCNG)
USC quarterback Kedon Slovis gets knocked out of the Holiday Bowl. (SCNG)
Slovis will undergo an MRI on his injured right elbow. (ESPN)
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John Blanchette for the Spokesman-Review: Sour Cheez-It Bowl shows just how far Washington State regressed in 2019.
Air Force ground game overpowers Wazzu. (Arizona Republic)
Tough season comes to a tough conclusion for the Cougs. (Seattle Times)
Cougars squander opportunities while losing the Cheez-It Bowl to Air Force. (Spokesman-Review)
Air Force stays on-brand, the Air Raid stays on the sideline. (Colorado Springs Gazette)
Air Force running back Kade Remsberg takes down another Pac-12 team. (Colorado Springs Gazette)
The Air Force option offense slices up WSU. (Lewiston Morning Tribune)
Utah safety Nephi Sewell wasn’t expecting to play this season, but he will start in the Alamo Bowl. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah’s depleted secondary faces a major challenge. (Deseret News)
With OC Andy Ludwig in charge, Utah’s offense took a big leap forward in 2019. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah will need to defy Pac-12 history to win the Alamo Bowl and end the season on a successful note. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah’s trip to San Antonio will be all-business. (Deseret News)
What Utah gains with the arrival of grad-transfer quarterback Jake Bentley from South Carolina. (The Athletic)
Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley is all-in on Texas recruiting, and here is how it’s paying off. (The Athletic)
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham earns the Dodd Trophy. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Arizona State’s Case Hatch thrives in under-appreciated roles. (Arizona Republic)
New assistants want Arizona State to become Wide Receiver U. (Arizona Republic)
Sun Devils get a warm greeting as they arrive in El Paso for the Sun Bowl. (Arizona Republic)
Jake Curtis of Cal Maven: The Redbox Bowl will determine how Cal’s season is viewed.
Linebacker Evan Weaver doesn’t lack for an identity, and neither does the Cal defense he helped bring back to life. (BANG)
With Jacob Eason leaving for the NFL, Washington has questions at quarterback. (The Athletic)
Eason is gone and it’s time for the Huskies’ QB competition to begin. (Seattle Times)
UW defenders Levi Onwuzurike and Elijah Molden will return for their senior seasons. (Seattle Times)
Colorado corner KJ Trujillo hopes to build upon his freshman season. (Boulder Daily Camera)
— Ken Goe
kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe
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