The House Of Heat

This many wins! Yaaaay!

Want my reasons why ASU will beat Oregon this weekend? Eh, who has time? I'll say the top three deciding factors will be maximizing time of possession to keep the ball away from Dixon & Co., minimizing turnovers while creating a few for Oregon, and eliminating penalties, as Oregon only had one for five yards against USC.

Honestly, I think it's coin flip; their offense is marginally better than ours and our defense is marginally better than theirs. ASU's speed at linebacker needs to contain the run and force Dixon to beat them with his arm. Oregon is 81st nationally against the pass and the Duck D is prone to giving up yardage chunks through the air, especially with a tandem like Herring and Nance ripping off big gains. ASU hasn't seen an offense with the balance and potency of ASU's, and the Sun Devils haven't seen an offense like Oregon in years (not counting the 2005 ASU offense).

ASU has won two straight at Autzen, including upsetting the #6 Ducks 45-42. Revenge is a bitch, see last year's asswhipping. It may come down to a kick and like the Sun Devils, freshman Thomas Weber is undefeated at 15 makes and zero misses.

It won't take a perfect game to beat Oregon, but a full four quarters would be nice.


Here's where I've been wasting my valuable blogging time, composing my top 10 reasons this ASU team eerily resembles the 1996 Pac-10 Champion counterpart.

10) Speed and depth at linebacker.


4) A mobile quarterback who lacks outstanding numbers but exudes leadership and manages games well.



8) A deep and solid receiving corps led by a senior sporting #3.



9) A stable of talented running backs.







A victory over a Big XII North team.



6) A handful of comebacks.

5) Students rushed the field after a victory against Cal.



3) A stud starting running back is out for the season with an injury.


2) A senior-laden offensive line.



1) An undefeated Sun Devil team!

Watch me.

And me. Draw your own conclusions.

Labels: all these pictures and videos are givingme a seizure, ASU alumni, getting ahead of ourselves, opponent previews, the new era

Like this, with tv.

No tailgates. No out-of-town visitors. No calls from work. This will be the first lazy at-home Saturday of football watching in over a month, and a full day of football begets a full day of digital scribbling. I'll run a liveblog all the live long day, starting around noon EST and running until the end of the ASU game. Since I'm stuck with regional action I'll need schadenfraude updates from the UA-USC game so stop by early and often. But first, a few things to ponder regarding tonight's matchup with the Huskies.

Last week's game against WSU was far and away ASU's worst of the season, as the Cougs held a 451-296 yard edge in total offense and Jason Gesser Alex Brink had his way with the ASU secondary with 369 passing yards. Look for the Devils to rebound after their piss-poor showing on the Palouse with a ton of energy and excitement, especially back in fornt of the home crowd, which is projected to be a lowly 62,000. Still plenty of room on that bandwagon, unfortunately.

Washington QB Jake Locker is for real, but he's not yet Alex Brink in terms of passing ability and his receiving corps has a way to go before they get in the company of Bumpus, Gibson, et. al. The Sun Devil defense's weak link is definitely the weak side corner, manned by Baloney and Bolden. If Locker is able to pick on that duo and complete a few deep passes early it could open up an otherwise inept Husky rushing attack and make for a long night in Tempe. Locker's main weapon thus far has been his mobility, both while escaping pass rushes and through designed draws. Even though he's not tipping his hand, expect Coach Erickson to employ a spy on Locker, most likely the speedy and hard-hitting Robert James.

Eh, pass blocking. It has been the bane of the ASU offense all season, and they'll face a tsunami of blitzes once again until they start to make teams pay for doing so with hot routes, quick slants, shovel passes, etc. I wuld like to think the ASU staff has thought of this too, but perhaps they're saving it for a stronger opponent? One can only hope. ASU held a 9+ minute advantage in time of possession against Wazzu, and it really showed on the last two ASU drives as Ryan Torain had gaping, truck-sized holes through which he could run. It will peobably be pass to set up the run once again, but when called upon the run blocking has been superb.



I'm more nervous than usual about this one. UW has dropped three in a row against top-notch comeptition and is looking for the opportunity to break out with a statement game. ASU is 6-0 because they've been letting other teams beat themselves through penalties and turnovers, but the Huskies commit the fewest turnovers in the Pac-10 and they boast a conservative, run-heavy offense that will keep turnovers low. ASU needs to make an attention-grabbing statement of their own after shitting the bed in the first game the east-coast sleepyheads were able to watch. The Huskies have played tough in the first half of all of their games but have let opportunities slip away as teams make second-half adjustments. This is tailor-made for ASU, and look for them to pull away in the second half.

Labels: anecdotal evidence, hell hogs, opponent previews

The Vitals
Name: Oregon State University
Location: Corvallis, OR
Established: 1858
Enrollment: 19,362
Motto: Open Minds, Open Doors
Colors: Orange and Black
Mascot: Benny the Beaver
Stadium: Reser Stadium, capacity 46,000
Conference: Pac-10

While the school was founded as a prep school (Corvallis Academy) in 1858, it didn’t add college classes until 1865 and the first degrees were issued five years later in 1870, so it seems that Oregonians have been smoking weed and slacking off since the beginning of time (not that I have room to poke fun at folks for taking over four years to graduate). The campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the father of modern landscape architecture, to showcase the local trees and brick structures.

Nature, nature, nature. Do those people care about anything other than trees? You too can become a Master Gardener at Oregon State. OSU’s College of Forestry is also a consensus #1 in the nation as well. The school has roots (no pun intended) as an agricultural institution and it’s a land grant school, so I guess it’s to be expected. We can all thank the Ag program for developing the Maraschino cherry in 1924, for without them our Manhattans would be naked.

The feather in the Beavers’ academic cap is that they are one of only two schools in the nation to possess research grants in land, sea, sun, and space. Just think, if they add a research grant for Milla Jovovich they can surpass Cornell and have all five elements!

Notable Alumni
Heh heh, Beavers. Say no more, as OSU graduated TWO Playboy PMOY’s, Jodi Paterson (1998) and Sara Underwood (2006).

No available pictures of Jodi Paterson could be deemed safe for work. Find your own porn, you perv.

Some other folks too:
Douglas Englebart, inventor of the computer mouse
Pinto Colvig, the original Bozo the Clown
Leonard Shoen, founder of U-Haul
Dick Fosbury, 1968 Olympic gold medalist and inventor of the Fosbury Flop
Rich Brooks, former Oregon Duck and current Kentucky Wildcat head coach
Brent Barry, white boy dunk champ
Rick Barry, his dad and NBA hall-of-famer
Gary Payton, loud-mouthed basketball player
AC Green, born-again virgin and former LA Laker
Chad Johnson
TJ Hooshmazoo
Steven Jackson
Lots of other football players in the NFL recruited to OSU by Dennis Erickson

Traditions
Other than wearing orange, mocking the Ducks’ uniforms, and making "beaver" jokes, this was surprisingly difficult to find any information. I met a few OSU undergrads in 2000 when some fraternity brothers crashed at our house for the Fiesta Bowl. They all wore shirts showing a tapped keg with the words "a drinking team with a football problem." They said that anything over 6-6 is a bonus and that they only have fun with athletics, never expecting much.

Who's making fun of whom now?

Athletics
Beaver athletics were a lot of doom and gloom for most of the 20th century, but the arrival of vagabond coach Dennis Erickson changed all of that. In 2000 the Beavs went 11-1, including a 41-9 thrashing of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and a final national ranking of fourth. Before Erickson's arrival OSU had not been to a bowl game in 28 years. Although DE's stay was short, his tenure was a springboard as OSU football has seen four bowl games in the last five seasons, including last season's Sun Bowl victory over Missouri. Current head coach Mike Riley was also the head coach before Erickson's arrival, and his biggest career win would have to be upsetting USC last season.



OSU has also managed to put together a powerful baseball program that has claimed the last two National Championships. Even though Arzona State won the Pac-10 regular season championship, Oregon State got hot in the NCAA tournament and peaked to win the COllege World Series for the second year in a row. The school only has three National Championships in it's history, with the third coming in Cross Country in 1961.

Rivalries
Like everyone else in the Pac-10, the Beavers have a natural rivalry with the University of Oregon referred to as the Civil War. The Ducks lead the football rivalry 55-45-10 (10 ties! Jesus!) and while one might think the Ducks would possess recent dominance, they've split the last ten matchups with the Beavs and the home team has won all of them. In a Benedict Arnold fashion, Oregon State alum Rich Brooks is commonly credited with bringing the Oregon Duck football program to prominence with a series of NFL quarterback busts at the helm.

Head to Head
Not too many of these things have been close in recent years with the exception of the 2002 game when Terrell Suggs single-handedly beat the Beavers in a 13-9 defensive fight. Outside of that slugfest, the average margin of victory has been close to 23, with the two teams splitting the last four games. Overall OSU has been Sparky’s bitch as ASU leads the all-time series 23-9-1, but it was the other way around last season as the Beavers dismantled the Devils 44-10 in a rain-soaked afternoon in Corvallis. Expect revenge to be on the minds of the Sun Devils on Saturday after suffering such an embarrassing loss a year ago. ASU safety Jeremy Payton will face off against his brother Bryn, who plays safety for OSU.

Phil Steele Says…
Last year was OSU's second best in school history, but there will be a drop off in play losing QB Matt Moore and SS Sabby Piscatelli but the season should be successful and the Beavers should go bowling again. The home team is 6-1 in the last seven matchups.

I Say…
A staunch defense loses All-Conference Safety Sabby Piscatelli but they return almost everyone else and they’ll be a physical, tough bunch, especially since they possess good depth on the front seven and stay fresh by continuously rotating players. Even without Piscatelli, the Beaver secondary won’t drop off much as their corners are seasoned vets that will want to take ASU’s young receivers to school. I’ve said it before, but Matt Moore was the cog that made last year’s Oregon State machine run, both emotionally and as a playmaker. Sean Canfield is getting a grasp of the offense and it wouldn’t surprise me if these Beavers finish on a tear as they did a year ago, but I don’t think they’re there just yet. Yvenson Bernard will be a beast on the ground, but if the Devils can avoid blowing coverages like they did against Colorado and SDSU it should be 4-0 for ASU.

Related Websites
Oregon State University
Wikipedia
OSUBeavers.com
Building the Dam

Labels: movie references, opponent previews

Not to be confused with UC-San Diego or the University of San Diego.


Moving stuff with your mind? That’s just crazy talk.

The Vitals
Name: San Diego State University
Location: San Diego, CA
Established: 1897, as San Diego Normal School
Enrollment: 34,500
Motto: “Minds That Move the World”
Colors: Scarlet and Black
Mascot: Monty (as in Montezuma) the Aztec Warrior
Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium, capacity 54,000
Conference: Mountain West

Considering the school is located on Montezuma Mesa in San Diego, which offers easy access to Mission Beach, the Gaslamp District, Pacific Beach, Tijuana, Stone Brewery, and what is possibly the greatest bar in the history of time(Lahaina’s in P.B.), I don’t know how they get anything done at SDSU. Even the weather is cooperative- the Aztecs have only played two home games in the rain since 1984. It’s no wonder that they received 57,167 admission applications for the upcoming fall semester, a school record and tops in California for 2007. With all of this going for them, they still sit 5th in Playboy’s party school rankings, two spots behind ASU. Bitches. As if all of that wasn't enough, the school has been the setting for Bring It On and Veronica Mars. Oooooo that's teh hotness!!!11!!1!!

Like ASU, SDSU started as a Normal School, then moved up to a Teacher’s College, then to a State College, and then became a State University (1970). In its humble beginnings as a Normal school, what is now SDSU was located upstairs from a downtown drug store. SDSU possesses a branch campus in Calexico, CA, which couldn’t be further from San Diego in terms of culture and nightlife. You know you’re in hell when you apply to SDSU and end up in Calexico. It’s like a smaller, less interesting, dirtier Tucson, which should speak volumes.

Notable Alumni
Julie Kavner, voice of Marge Simpson
Art Linkletter
Tony Gwynn
Mark Grace
Gregory Peck
Marshall Faulk
Vintage hottie Raquel Welch
Apollo motherfucking Creed!
Don “Air” Coryell
John Fox
Joe Gibbs
John Madden
Herm Edwards, seen here flipping the fuck out:


Tradition
People in the 1920s really had a sense of humor. Like many Western schools, SDSU faced naming issues after a school merger so they held a submission contest to solve the problem. Many alumni must be happy that “Aztecs” won out over such submissions as Staters, Professors, Wampus Cats(WTF?), Panthers, Balboans, and Thoroughbreds.

SDSU makes a special effort to play most of their games at night and they traditionally sport all-black home uniforms, but they were doing it way before Nike and the like were marketing to gangstas. The black uni’s were introduced in 1963 by head coach Don Coryell for an intimidation factor. Coryell is also credited with introducing the modern passing game to college football, and after great success with the “Air Coryell” offense at SDSU he was moderately successful with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. Coryell will always be known for SDSU's glory years, where the Aztecs went 55-1-1 in a span between 1965 and 1970, including a 25-game win streak.

Athletics
In addition to Coryell, there’s really only two names to know here: Tony Gwynn and Marshall Faulk. Baseball Hall Of Famer Gwynn played both baseball and basketball for the Aztecs, and since retiring from Major League Baseball he has returned to his alma mater to coach the baseball team. SDSU plays their games at the on-campus Tony Gwynn Stadium, which has to be trippy for Tony. Marshall Faulk burst on to the college football scene in 1991 where, as a freshman, he ran for 386 yards and seven touchdowns IN ONE GAME against The University of the Pacific. He went on to do ok in the NFL, too.

Chuck Long is in his second year as head coach for the Aztecs. He went 3-9 in his first season and he’s a former Hayden Fry assistant. You know who else is? It’s amazing that SDSU has a problem getting a long-term coach considering the coaches they have produced. In addition to Coryell, there are three Aztec alums that have coached in the Super Bowl: John Madden(XI), Joe Gibbs(XVII, XVIII, XXII, XXVI), and John Fox(XXXVIII). Herm Edwards went there too.

Rivalries
They don’t seem to really have any, at least as far as football goes. Out of all of their opponents they’ve faced Fresno State the most (50 times, 26-20-4 all-time) but the two teams haven’t seen each other since 2002. It seems that since SDSC converted to a University in 1970, they left their small college rivals (26-8-1 against UC-Santa Barbara) behind for larger schools with better programs. The Aztecs are 0-20-1 against UCLA, so at least you know they hate somebody with a bloody passion.

Head to Head
The last time ASU played against San Diego State, they went down 22-0 to the Aztecs early in the first half when head coach Dirk Koetter pulled starting quarterback Chad Christensen for the relatively unknown Andrew Walter. A-Dub threw four touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ 39-28 victory, including TD’s on each of his first two passes en route to the school record for career passing yards and touchdowns. Arizona State leads the all-time series 9-0-1 outscoring the Aztecs 352-88, however SDSU gave the Devils a big scare in the 2000 season opener but shanked a field goal in the waning moments allowing ASU to escape with a 10-7 win. Thanks for shaving years off of my life, Jeff Krohn!

Phil Steele Says…
The Aztecs have had a bad run of things. They lost 32 starts due to injury in Chuck Long’s first year as coach, including their top two quarterbacks, but they have nine starters returning on offense. They lost 3 games by a total of 12 points, and they didn’t have their top quarterback or running back for most of the year, leading to a weak-ass 16.3 points per game in 2006. They’re usually talented since they’re located in a great recruiting area but the whole never seems to equal the sum of the parts. (sound familiar?) Even though they’ll be better, they probably won’t be in contention for a bowl until 2008.

I Say…
After watching some youtube highlights, SDSU looks like they have some playmaking wideouts that could cause fits for the weak Sun Devil secondary. The Aztecs only have four returning defensive starters from a 3-9 team, which gives me confidence should a shootout occur. The three close games the Aztecs lost last year were to relative creampuffs and they rolled over against the tough teams they played. As long as ASU doesn’t look ahead to Oregon State, they shouldn’t have any problems with SDSU. The Aztecs have played one game so far, where they received a 45-17 thumping at the hands of Washington State.

Related Websites
The University’s official website
SDSU’s official athletics site
The Wikipedia page
The College Football Data Warehouse Page

Labels: opponent previews

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine...


The Vitals
Name: University of Colorado
Location: Boulder, CO
Established: 1876
Enrollment: 28,624
Motto: “let your light shine”
Colors: Silver and Gold
Mascot: Ralphie (live) and Chip (costume)
Stadium: Folsom Field, capacity 53,750
Conference: Big XII

The University of Colorado was founded in 1876 in Boulder, Colorado at the base of the Flatiron mountains because the settlers were just too damn lazy to make the uphill trek. The campus features uniform Italian Rural architecture, boasting a light-colored sandstone and steep sloped, red-tiled roofs that give it a classic Ahwatukee look and feel, sans the garage doors.

The CU folks won't get that joke, but anyone who's been to the Took will find it hilarious.) The campus really is beautiful and Boulder's a great city, highlighted by the Pearl Street Mall, which is like Mill Avenue but instead of kids bumming change they have mimes and street performers. Well, scratch that, they have bums in Boulder too.

Notable Alumni
espn's Chris Fowler
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park
Rae Carruth, noted wide receiver and murderer
Rashaan Salaam, 1994 Heisman Trophy winner
Skier/footballer/dreamboat Jeremy Bloom
Chauncey Billups, 2004 NBA Finals MVP
Robert Redford
Dr. James Naismith, inventor of basketball
Second Lady Lynne Cheney
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia

Tradition
Colorado boasts one of the best traditions in all of college football, the running of Mascot Ralphie before each half at home games. Ralphie is in select company as one of the few live mascots in college football, joining Texas’ steer Bevo, Georgia’s UGA the bulldog, Auburn’s War Eagle (Tigers anyone? –ed.) and LSU’s Mikey the Tiger. Current mascot Ralphie IV can reach speeds of more than 30 mph, and happens to be female since the neckerchief-clad chaps found it too difficult to keep up with and control a male buffalo. It has been discussed that Ralphie may make the trip to Tempe and run on Frank Kush Field, but no official decision has been made. You know who really needs to let a live mascot run on the field during games? Florida.


If you thought it was bad that ASU has changed from the Owls to the Bulldogs to the Sun Devils, check this out:

Prior to 1934, CU athletic teams usually were referred to as the “Silver and Gold,” but other nicknames teams were sometimes called included Silver Helmets, Yellow Jackets, Hornets, Arapahoes, Big Horns, Grizzlies and Frontiersmen. The student newspaper decided to sponsor a national contest in the summer of 1934, with a $5 prize to go to the author of the winning selection.

The schools official colors are silver and gold referencing the state's rich mineral deposits, but black was substituted for silver since the original colors didn't match well on uniforms.

Wow, they even have their own Whizzer White! Wilford “Whizzer” White attended Arizona State College from 1947-1950 and has his #33 retired at Sun Devil Stadium, but Byron “Whizzer” White played football and basketball for Colorado in the 1930s. Weird. Both are considered to be among the all-time elite athletes of their respective alma maters.

Athletics
Although they have run up against recent struggles in the wake of Rick Neuheisel and Gary Barnett’s NCAA violations, the Colorado footballers have had a fair amount of success in recent years. They won the Big XII Championship in 2001 and made their only appearance in the BCS, falling to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. That was the first in a run where CU won 4 out of 5 Big XII North Championships, although 2001 was their only outright conference title in that span.

The glory days of Colorado football happened under coach Bill McCartney in the late 1980s, where they won three straight Big 8 Conference Championships in 1989, 1990, and 1991 behind a powerful option attack. Know who Sal Aunese is. For every reader that doesn't acknowledge Sal's legacy, revere him, and weep a bit after watching the linked video, I will personally barbecue a basket full of puppies- not that you'll care, because you obviously brokered your soul in exchange for dirty motel sex with an underage orphan boy years ago. Anyway, the team leader and starting quarterback contracted stomach cancer and passed away in 1989, but the team’s spirit was unconquered as they dedicated their season to his memory and won a share of the National Championship by defeating Notre Dame in the 1990 Orange Bowl.

A funny thing happened on the way to the national championship, the forever controversial 5th down situation. The Buffs were running a hurry-up offense late in the 4th quarter at Missouri and marching down the field quickly- so quickly, in fact, that the chain gangs were having a hard time keeping up. CU spiked the ball to stop the clock on second down but the sideline marker was never changed to reflect the loss of down. CU scored on the drive and won the game, but many critics point to this incident as the asterisk in Colorado’s championship. Nebraska fans all at once: cheater cheater pumpkin-eaters!

If there is one single play that Coloradoans will always remember, it’s the Miracle at Michigan. No time left, down by five, 64 yards from the end zone. In the Big House. Against the #4 Wolverines. Using periods for effect. Is. Kinda. Lame.


Like the Sun Devils, the Buffaloes have an abysmally bad basketball program but they've hired a new coach. Unlike the Sun Devils, CU has a monster ski team that has won 16 National Championships. This compare to the Snow Devils, an ASU club that does little more than throw huge keggers. Not to be outdone, Colorado has a more casual ski/snowboard organization for students called Boulder Freeride, that with over 3,000 students is larger than CU's Greek system.

Rivalries
It's hard to beat a rivalry of the University of _________ vs. __________ State University. Colorado has always been considered the more elite of the two schools, both in athletics and academics, and they're always sure to point it out their Colorado State counterparts. Their natural rivalry is unique in that they are in different conferences, but their football teams still face off every year at Denver's Invesco Field. The all-time series is a bit lopsided in CU's favor at 59-20-2, but CSU has made small strides in recent years winning four of the last eight. Arizona State has caught a scheduling break both last year and this year by facing the Buffs the week following their highly emotional rivalry game.

Like most of the other teams in the Big XII North and the old Big 8 Conference, Colorado hss a strong dislike for the University of Nebraska, especially after their three National Championships in the mid-1990s. Nebraska's chief rivalry with Oklahoma has waned in recent years after the teams were put into different divisions, and since then the Huskers have begun to return the resentment to their neighbors to the West. The two teams play every year on Thanksgiving weekend, and the game often carries implications on the Conference Championship. Since the formation of the Big XII in 1996, these two teams have combined to win eight of the possible ten Division Championships.

Head to Head
Even though the two states kiss at the four corners, last year’s match up was the first between ASU and Colorado. The Sun Devils won 23-3 on the wings of Rudy Carpenter’s newly broken throwing hand. Last year's storyline was about former Koetter assistant Dan Hawkins taking over as Colorado Head Coach and poaching Mark Helfrich from the ASU staff to be offensive coordinator at CU. It didn't make much difference last year and it sure won't make much difference this year either now that Koetter's ship has sailed.

Phil Steele Says…
Nine starters back on offense will help the Buffs immensely after they averaged a lowly 16.3 points per game last year. Four of last year's losses were close by Steele's standards, but CU was surprisingly +8 in turnovers. Steele expects their defense to be in the top half of the Big XII, returning six starters from a unit that allowed only 341 yards per game, the lowest average for a Colorado squad in eight years. Even though their schedule contains seven teams that were bowl eligible last year, Steele thinks they have a shot at bowl eligibility.

I Say…
Nine starters on offense are nice and all, but the most important position on the field is a mess. Bernard Jackson, the incumbent quarterback, was bumped down to third on the depth chart by the end of spring practice by redshirt freshman Cody Hawkins and JuCo transfer Nick Nelson, who are #s 1 and 2, respectively. No matter how well the coach's son knows the offense he'll receive a trial by fire having to start his career against Colorado State at Invesco and the play in Sun Devil Stadium in an early season night game where the crowd will be big and well-lubricated. Phil Steele seems to think that the offense will improve based on the you can only go one direction from last year philosophy, but I don't think a ton of improvement will occur with an unproven QB. Yes, they'll probably do better, but improving from 16.3 points per game doesn't mean that you'll set the world on fire. They may have a shot at bowl eligibility since they're in the Big XII North, but I don't think their chances of defeating ASU in Tempe are too good. Losing all-everything kicker Mason Crosby won't help, either.

And don’t think for one second that I’ll pass up the opportunity to post this:


Related websites
The University’s official website
CU's official athletics website
NetBuffs, an unofficial athletic site and message board
The College Football Data Warehouse Page
The Wikipedia page

Labels: opponent previews

This will be a weekly feature on the upcoming opponent and it's a bit of an homage to the M Zone's recurring "Know Your Foe" pieces. Enjoy!



The Vitals
Name: San Jose State University
Location: San Jose, CA
Established: 1857, as Minns’ Evening Normal School
Enrollment: 28,932
Motto: Powering Silicon Valley
Colors: Gold and White
Mascot: Spartans
Stadium: Spartan Stadium, capacity 30,456
Conference: Western Athletic (WAC)

San Jose State University is celebrating their sesquicentennial this year and proud we are of all of them. They pride themselves on being an incubator for the fucking yuppie interns of the local corporate scene, hence their motto “Powering Silicon Valley.” SJSU also wants to make sure you know that they are the oldest institution of higher education on the West Coast, lending to their other motto “where tradition meets tomorrow” even though it ought to be THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAH!!!

SJSU has a historical correlation with Arizona State as both were founded in the 19th century as Normal schools to educate frontier teachers. Tower Hall is considered the most recognizable building on the SJSU campus since their “Old Main” was destroyed in 1906 by…you guessed it, an earthquake.

Notable Alumni


Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks
OJ prosecutor Christopher Darden
Sissyboy NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia
Amy Tan, author of the unreadable The Joy Luck Club
The Smothers Brothers
John Carlos and Tommie Smith- shame on you for not knowing who they are.
The late great Bill Walsh
Dick Vermeil
Krazy George Henderson, inventor of the wave
Current student Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, human hot dog vacuum
Fulmer Cup Champion Ellis T. Jones, III
Joe Trippi, Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign manager who let this happen:



Athletics
SJSU boasts a bitchin’ judo program that has claimed 40 out of 44 possible National Championships. From their site, check it out:

SJSU Judo head coach Yosh Uchida — who also was the coach of the first U.S. Olympic judo team in 1964 — has established his Spartans program as a mecca for judo hopefuls. Over the years his SJSU teams have won 40 out of 44 national collegiate titles.

Coach Keith Nakasone was captain of the 1980 Olympic judo team, and Coach Mike Swain received the bronze medal in judo at the 1988 Olympic Games. Former team member and Olympian Ben Nighthorse Campbell, became a United States Senator representing Colorado.

They’re also pretty thrilled with their recent gridiron success, having just returned from their first bowl game in 16 years as they defeated New Mexico 20-12 in the 2006 New Mexico Bowl. The team is supported by the Spartan Squad, an organized student section club with their own website, t-shirts, and such. Those dicklickers have SJSU listed as playing motherfucking Arizona on September 1, so I hope somebody gives every single one of their beloved Spartans the DeSean Jackson treatment. They have this wacky tradition of putting three fingers in the air, not unlike our pitchfork, but its significance isn’t written anywhere on their websites. Fucking posers.

Spartan Spirit!

Head to head
The Sun Devils and Spartans last squared off in 2001 at Sun Devil Stadium and ASU gave the visitors a 53-15 smack. Surprisingly enough the Sun Devils only hold a 18-11 all-time record against the Spartans but have taken the last 11 dating back to 1967 and all but one of SJSU’s wins in the series came before 1961. Current SJSU head coach Dick Tomey is 9-5-1 lifetime against ASU, earning a 1979 victory as head coach of the University of Hawaii and the rest while coaching at the University of Arizona.

Rivalries
University of the Pacific is the school’s most genuine and oldest rival, as the two schools first played against each other before 1900 (no exact date given). They play each year for “The Bell” a bell-shaped trophy (duh) painted SJSU colors on one side and UP colors on the other. It is one of the oldest in collegiate sports as some believe it to have been introduced in the early 1900’s but again, no one seems to know for sure. Campus lore tells of a game in the late 1940’s where a fire truck was on the field before the game. (Why? I don’t have a fucking clue, just roll with it) The clouds rolled in and torrential rain ensued, so much so that the truck became stuck at centerfield and was unable to be moved. The Spartans triumphed after playing the entire game with the fire truck sitting on the 50-yard line. Pacific discontinued football in 1995 for unrelated reasons.

Fresno State is considered one of the Spartans' chief rivals and their football series dates back to 1921. FSU holds the series edge 35-33-3 but a more lopsided feel has been created in recent years due to the Bulldogs’ streak of 14 straight wins from 1992-2006. The SJSU campus hosts “no red” days whenever they host the Bulldogs and ask that the students and faculty wear as little red as possible. The teams meet annually as they are both WAC members.

A forced rivalry was formed with nearby Santa Clara in 2002. They play each other in all sports on a points-based system and compete for an unnamed trophy, basically because they’re only 4 miles apart.

Phil Steele says…
The Spartans were bowl eligible last year and despite losing their top three wide receivers and three of their top four tacklers this should be a better team, even though their record may not show it. Their schedule is a lot tougher with only 5 home games this season and Steele has his doubts since they benefited from +9 turnovers last year. Even with these challenges, he expects them to go bowling again in 2007. SJSU is 2-16 in their last 18 road openers and based on his outlook I don’t think he expects them to be successful against the Sun Devils.

I say…
Tomey scares the shit out of me. He’ll come to town with a hard-hitting defense, a bevy of trick plays, and confidence in the knowledge that he has owned ASU for the better part of his career. The Spartans are going to be pumped for this one and will want to make a statement against a BCS conference team. ASU will take Frank Kush Field for the first time in the Erickson regime, dealing with new schemes on both sides of the ball along with a new long snapper and kicker. I don’t know enough about the Spartans, so I’ll defer to Phil Steele's positive outlook on this one because after all if he says it, it’s gotta be true.

Related Websites
The University’s official site
Spartan Athletics
The Spartan Squad student association
The wikipedia page
The College Football Data Warehouse page

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