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Flu outbreaks, however, can knock down an entire team, and since this strain is so contagious, it is spreading like wildfire across college campuses, where students are always in such close proximity to one another. This isn’t an isolated problem at just a few schools.

My issue is that players are, at times, probably still playing games even though they don’t feel 100%. That leads to outbreaks at other schools, since football is a contact sport. Let’s look at the spread of flu over the past few months:

• Duke: One player was confirmed to have swine flu this August, and dozens of others from the team experienced flu-like symptoms.
• Tulane: A week before their season opener, 27 players had “mild” flu symptoms.
• Washington State: 16 players missed practices right before the season opener, and many also missed the game due to a flu outbreak at the school.
• Georgia: Safety Makiri Pugh tested positive for this strain of the flu and sat out during week one. So far, no other players have reported illness.
• Mississippi: The number of players experiencing symptoms is still growing. We’re sitting at around 30 right now, including quarterback Jevan Snead.
• Wisconsin: So far, at least 10 players have the flu.

None of these school has been as highly affected as Div-II school Stillman, however. They had to cancel their season opener, which couldn’t be rescheduled due to time issues. Ouch.

The problem is that players are worried that missing practices or games is letting the team down. If they are able, they attend, even if they’re still sniffling. Coaches need to be more forceful with players, telling them to stay home and isolate themselves for at least 48 hours before returning to the field. We don’t want to see games get canceled, and we definitely don’t want to see teams lose just because they’re down so many first-string players.

Post from: EveryJoe

Swine Flu: Where Will it Hit Next?

Oregon 35, Stanford 28

• Ducks: Oregon-Stanford report card at Statesmanjournal.com
• Football: Rollercoaster at The Stanford Daily

Arizona 59, Washington State 28

• WSU Breaks Scoring Slump Against Arizona at Washington State Football News
• Cougars Downed By Arizona, 59-28 at KNDU Sports

Oregon State 34, UCLA 6

• Oregon State clobbers UCLA at KVAL Sports
• Oregon State beats UCLA 34-6 at Sport Snipe
• Oregon State roars past UCLA, 34-6 at Bruinville

Arizona State 39, Washington 19

• Huskies Fall to Sun Devils, 39-19 at Washington Football

#7 USC 17, #21 California 3

• Inside The Numbers: USC at California Golden Blogs
• Winning California-Style at Jimokes of USC Football
• California-USC Report Card at Bears Necessity

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

(check back soon if the link isn’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 11: Blogging about the Pac-10

Their 59-28 win over Washington State is no surprise, of course (WSU is now 1-9), but with tonight’s win, Arizona became eligible for a bowl game for the first time in a decade.

You can read about the game here, but that’s not the real story. How they won isn’t as important as the simple fact that they won. No school deserve to go year after year without a bowl. Even though we’ve often heard that bowl games can be really expensive for smaller schools (they have to sell tickets or pay for them, plus pay for travel, putting many schools in the hole), it is just good for team spirit. Whether you win or lose, it is about pride – making it to a game of importance. To not even have that chance in over 10 years…sucks.

So congrats, Arizona. With a record of 6-3, you may not be a top-ranked team, but you may finally get your bowl.

Post from: EveryJoe

Arizona is Bowl Eligible. Finally.

California 26, #24 Oregon 16

• Grades and Analysis: California at Oregon Ducks Football
• Cal vs. Oregon – Post Game Thoughts at California Golden Blogs

Stanford 58, Washington State 0

• Stanford Thrashes Washington State at Stanford Cardinal News

#5 USC 56, Washington 0

• USC-Washington Report Card at Inside USC with Scott Wolf
• Five observations: USC-Washington at OC Register’s USC Blog
• Washington Beatdown at Jimokes of USC Football

Oregon State 27, Arizona State 25

• Oregon State holds off Arizona State 27-25 at Original Signal
• Oregon State holds on in nail biter at KVAL Sports

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

(check back soon if the link isn’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 10: Blogging about the Pac-10

The players reportedly rocked the buses while waiting to pile off and play Washington State on the road. Their day was nothing short of record-breaking. USC’s Mark Sanchez was the first quarterback in the history of USC to throw five touchdown passes in a half. This was also the biggest shut-out win since 1931 that the school has seen. Everyone, including Sanchez, Broderick Green (see right), Rey Maualuga, and C.J. Gabel (see below) had a great day, and they were basically just running drills. It wasn’t pretty for Washington State, but then, that team isn’t exactly what I’d call “good” this year. In fact, they very well might be the worst Div-I football team. Harsh, but true.

And that’s why I won’t get on USC’s case and say that they ran up the score. On paper, a 69-point victory seems mean-spirited, but what do you want the kids to do? Not play? They’re a cocky team, but I don’t think they were being cocky about things on Saturday. Says Maualuga:

“Our intention wasn’t to come out and beat these guys by 80 points. Our intention was to come out and play a great football game.”

Sanchez didn’t even play for a full three quarters, let alone four quarters. Coach Pete Carroll actually started pulling out the first string at the end of the first quarter, when the score was 21-0. During the second half, the team ran basic plays…more like drills. Nothing too fancy to show off. Still the Cougars only had ONE first down the entire second half – and their fans gave them a standing ovation.

My point is this – USC, they’re assholes, but even they aren’t complete dicks. In fact, at the end of the first half, they let time run out on the ten-yard line. They could have scored. So everyone who’s saying they ran up the score or were bad sports about it? Shut the hell up.

Pictures via Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Did USC Run up the Score?

#6 USC 69, Washington State 0

• USC-Washington State Report Card at Inside the USC with Scott Wolf
• USC Washington State: Final Score 69 – 0 at Dreadnaught
• USC 69 Washington State 0 at A Muchness of Me

UCLA 23, Stanford 20

• Bruins tighten their game to beat Stanford at UCLA Stories

Oregon State 34, Washington 13

• Oregon State Defeats Washington 34-13 at Washington Football News
• In response to: Postgame reaction: Oregon State 34, UW 13 at Washington Huskies Insider

Arizona 42, #25 California 27

• Arizona Recap at California Golden Bears Football Blog
• Post-Arizona Game Thoughts: \\\”All the Little Things\\\” at California Golden Blog

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC 

(check back soon if the link isn\\\’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 8: Blogging about the Pac-10

Arizona against Stanford

• Stanford Edges Arizona 24-23 In Homecoming Thriller at Stanford Cardinal News
• Second guessing, chapter I at AZStarNet.com

Arizona State against #8 USC

• Ugly Sanchez: USC 28, ASU 0 at No Joshin\\\’
• Arizona State University 0 USC 28 at A Muchness of Me
• USC shuts down Arizona State 28-0 despite sloppy play at South Bay Chat

Oregon against UCLA

• UCLA loses a close one in Oregon at UCLA Blog
• Oregon\\\’s Late Start Pushes the Ducks Past Bruins at UCLA Bruins News
• Oregon Fans Are Rick Neuheisel Haters at Larry Brown Sports

Oregon State against Washington State

• Game Recap: Oregon State 66, Washington State 13 at Building the Dam
• Beavers Break Down Cougars On Record-Setting Day at Oregon State University Headline News

Did not play this week:

• California
• Washington

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 7: Blogging about the Pac-10

Are you gearing up to the first game of the season? Most teams have announced who they’re playing, when, and where…so here’s a little list of the Pac-10 games taking place during Week One – I’ll give you another update closer to that time!

Pac-10 Games during Week One – Thursday, August 28 – Monday, September 1 (times are all EST)

Arizona hosting Idaho: Saturday at 9:00 PM
Arizona State hosting Northern Arizona: Saturday at 10:00 PM
California hosting Michigan State: Saturday 8:00 PM
Oregon hosting Washington: Saturday, time TBA
Oregon State @ Stanford: Thursday at 9:00 PM
UCLA hosting Tennessee: Monday at 8:00 PM
USC @ Virginia: Saturday at 3:30 PM
Washington State hosting Oklahoma State: Saturday, time TBA

Post from: EveryJoe

Countdown to the First Pac-10 Games of 2008

1. Convince an awesome coach to come coach for their team.
2. Convince their awesome coach not to leave.

I can just hear the talks going on. They all sound like used car salesmen. “You aren’t going to find a better opportunity that this. Teams like this only come around once in a lifetime. COACH NOW! No iterest until January 2010!”

Some teams have already made their hires, so their athletic departments can breathe easy:

Arkansas: Boby Petrino

Baylor: Art Briles

Georgia Tech: Paul Johnson

Mississippi: Houston Nutt

Navy: Ken Niumatalolo

Nebraska: Bo Pelini

Texas A&M: Mike Sherman

Washington State: Paul Wulff

It may be interesting to you to note that just one of these new hires is  a minority. To me, I couldn’t care less. Black, white, yellow, red, purple…it doesn’t matter what color your skin is. All that matters is how well you can coach. The best man should be picked for the job every time, regardless of pressure to choose a minority.

Post from: EveryJoe

New Coaching Hires: Update