Lane Kiffin said USC currently has 71 players on scholarship instead of the normal 85. Unless USC wins its appeal of the sanctions, it will be limited to 75 players each of the next three seasons. The days of the Trojans having a stockpile of talent appear to be over.
Rick Neuheisel on the USC sanctions: "I've been asked 100 times about the sanctions at our cross-town rivals - truthfully, we can't take the time to worry about that. They had something we wanted; they were the Pac-10 champs when we got here. Now Oregon has what we want."
Cal coach Jeff Tedford said he expects a good season out of QB Kevin Riley "if he wins the job.'' Apparently the senior is still competing with Beau Sweeney for the starting job. Should be an interesting August of training camp practices.
In true Chip Kelly fashion, the Oregon head man scoffed at the poll results, mentioning last year's, which had Oregon picked third and Arizona eighth (the Wildcats wound up in a tie for second). "I learned from last year's poll that we shouldn't put much stock in it," he said, even though the poll had correctly picked the league winner each year since 1999 before the Ducks' surge last season.
What is Mike Riley's secret to success? "We don’t feel like we do more with less,’’ Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said. "We feel like we do a good job evaluating players.’’
Steve Sarkisian on the importance of a Jake Locker..."Historically in this Conference, the teams that have won Pac-10 Championships or have been in that race at the end have had veteran leadership at that position. Ultimately, if you really want to win a Pac-10 Championship, you have to find a way to win on the road. We will take the advantage of having that senior quarterback who has been in those environments."
Dennis Erickson's reaction to being picked ninth in the media poll.."It's better than 10th," Erickson said. He chuckled. "To be very honest with you, I really don't pay much attention to it," Erickson said, "because we start (practicing) here in about three days. And the proof's on the field when you play. I personally think that this will be as good a team as I've had (at ASU)."
Arizona coach Mike Stoops reaction to the assumption that the Wildcats will be challenged on defense while breaking in eight new starters this year..."We've always had a good defense and I don't see that changing,'' he said.
Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh on what the future holds...Can I say that I will be the head coach of Stanford for life? I cannot say that. If the creek don’t rise, I will be. But you never know."
The Cougars finished dead last in the media poll but it wasn't unanimous like last year so they are making progress. "It happened the last two years, and with a one-win season, of course people are going to pick us last," said defensive end Kevin Kooyman, who accompanied Wulff here. "People don't believe in us, but we believe in ourselves. That's all we care about."