Thursday, Jul. 16, 2009

Trouble ahead for UW, WSU defenses

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

I've never played college fantasy football, but a friend of mine once worked at a place where they took it one step further -- a league in which the fantasy pool was only Pacific-10 Conference players.

According to this month's free newsletter from Rotowire.com, the Pac-10 conference features three of the nation's top-five college fantasy running backs.

At No. 1 is Oregon senior LeGarrette Blount. Rotowire can envision an 1,800-yard season with 25 TDs for the 6-foot-2, 240-pound machine. The Mississippi JC transfer managed 17 TDs, averaged 7.3 yards per carry and 1,002 yards while sharing the rushing load with now-departed Jeremiah Johnson. Blount, a native of Florida, might be the 2009 Pac-10 version of DeAngelo Williams, the Carolina Panthers tailback who helped me win my NFL fantasy league last season. Recruiting such as this begins to explain why Mike Bellotti and the University of Nike ruled the Northwest for the past few years.
— Wazzu plays at Oregon on Oct. 3.
— Oregon plays at Washington on Oct. 24.

At No. 2 is California junior Jahvid Best, the defending Pac-10 rushing champion. Husky fans will remember the product of Vallejo, Calif., rolled up 311 yards vs. the UW last season. Cougs will recall his TD runs of 80 yards and 86 yards in Cal's 66-3 romp. He's a speedster at 5-10, 190 pounds, and akin to Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a dual-threat product of UCLA. Best finished with 1,580 yards and 16 TDs rushing to go with 246 receiving yards. He also is a dangerous kick returner as he's been clocked in the 100 meters at 10.31 seconds. He'll share the running load with another fleet-footed tailback, sophomore Shane Vereen, to form what Rotowire called "perhaps the nation's top backfield tandem." Best's performance in the 2008 Emerald Bowl lifted Cal over Miami and helped me finish third in our college bowl pool.
— WSU plays at Cal on Oct. 24.
— UW closes out its regular season by playing host to Cal on Dec. 5.

At No. 5 is Jacquizz Rodgers, the sophomore from Oregon State who was leading the Pac-10 in rushing as a freshman until his season-ending shoulder injury. At his size -- 5-7, 190 pounds -- durability always will be a concern, but he made quite a splash by averaging 114 yards per game rushing with 11 TDs. He also caught 29 balls for 247 yards and a TD. He's the returning Pac-10 Offensive MVP, the first time a freshman has won the award. It's a wonder this kid made it out of his home state of Texas, considering he set that state's prep record for TDs. The recruitment of 'Quizz and his older brother have helped Mike Riley again turn around OSU in this is his second stint as coach of the Beavers.
— Washington plays at OSU on Nov. 14.
— The Beavers are in Pullman on Nov. 21.