What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been for Pacific-10 Conference football.
First, the who-goes-to-which-bowl puzzle.
Second, both Arizona schools find themselves coachless.
Then, Southern California fires its coach, Paul Hackett.
And most recently, the Los Angeles Times reported that Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson supposedly turned down a $7.2-million offer from USC to replace Hackett, and that Erickson is now interested in the head coach opening at Arizona State.
(Deep breath.)
It all started when Oregon State beat Oregon in the Civil War. Had the Ducks won, there would have been no dispute as to which team went to what bowl.
However, with the Ducks being tossed back to a virtual third place in the Pac-10 due to tiebreakers, the Sun Bowl — reserved for the third-place Pac-10 team — said it would not have Oregon back for the second straight year.
Sun Bowl officials offered UCLA their Pac-10 bid Monday. The Bruins accepted, which means the Ducks will probably slide all the way down to the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 25, unless Oregon State snags an at-large BCS bid, which is unlikely.
Bruins’ head coach Bob Toledo is thrilled about going to El Paso.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “One of our goals is always to play in a bowl game, and our seniors will have been in three bowl games.”
Then there was Sun Devil coach Bruce Snyder, who was fired before his team’s intrastate matchup. Arizona State beat the Wildcats, 30-17, and Arizona head coach Dick Tomey made up his mind to resign before that game was even done.
While the coaching demise of Snyder and Tomey was more uncertain, Hackett’s downfall was not. The Trojan coach led the Pac-10’s arguably most talented team to a tie for last place in the conference standings.
Before the start of the season, USC was picked to win the Pac-10 title.
“For someone who has given three years of his life and for the last six months hasn’t slept or eaten, I’m very disappointed,” Hackett told reporters Monday. “I’m disappointed we don’t get a chance to continue this and complete this. I felt things were headed in the right direction.”
Perhaps the Trojans’ last-place finish urged them to reportedly pursue Erickson to replace Hackett. After all, Erickson did complete the Beavers’ dramatic turnaround from a Pac-10 doormat to a nationally ranked team.
But maybe Hackett’s firing was enough to keep the Oregon State coach out of California. And if Erickson is interested in the Arizona State coaching job, maybe it’s because Snyder coached there for nine years, while Hackett only lasted at USC for four-and-a-half years.
Oregon State athletic director Mitch Barnhart will complete a new contract, which he hopes will keep Erickson in Corvallis for years to come.
“We have no intention of giving up on what I think is an outstanding coach and coaching staff,” Barnhart said.
So what else could happen to make this Pac-10 season any crazier?
How about this: The Holiday Bowl selection committee chooses Oregon instead of Oregon State.
Although it probably would never happen, it would seem a fitting way to end such a unique season in Pac-10 football history.