Kevin Gemmell, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Pac-12 morning links

Could it be? In a bizarre twist, a horse is abusing a jockey. Might this be the start of a terrifying planet of the horses? In this announcer's opinion, almost certainly yes. And away I go.

Leading off

While there are still plenty of questions swirling about the Josh Shaw situation, we at least have some confirmation that his original story was a lie. As a result, Shaw has been suspended indefinitely from the team and has retained counsel.

Here's a few of the stories that are out there:

  • From ESPN.com

  • From USA Today

  • From The Associated Press

  • From the Los Angeles Times

What a rush

Interesting little stat here courtesy of the Pac-12 Networks.

 

I like Oregon to continue their streak. The only argument against being that with three backs it's possible that we could see three guys in the 700- 800- 900-yard range. Plus you factor in injuries, assorted carries for whoever has the hot hand and a quarterback that's going to rush for about 700 yards and it's possible Oregon doesn't get a 1K rusher. Possible, but not probable.

Stanford is going to be really interesting to watch as they move back to a by-committee backfield. But even when they had that approach in previous years, they were still able to produce a 1,000-yard rusher. A lot of it will depend on who emerges as the 15-20 carry back (if there is one) and how quickly the four new offensive linemen come together. But if I had to bet, I'd like both of these schools to continue this streak.

Heisman love?

Chris Huston, who runs the site Heismanpundit.com released his preseason straw poll for 2014. It's a small sample -- only 10 Heisman voters from around the country -- but the results are slanted heavily toward the Pac-12, including a couple of names we haven't previously seen connected with the award. First, the results (first place votes in parentheses):

1. Marcus Mariota, Jr., QB, Oregon — 24 (6)

2. Jameis Winston, So., QB, Florida State — 19 (3)

3. Brett Hundley, Jr., QB, UCLA — 6

4. Bryce Petty, Sr., QB, Baylor — 5

5. Myles Jack, So., LB/RB, UCLA — 3 (1)

6. (tie) Leonard Williams, Jr., DT, USC — 1

Melvin Gordon, Jr., RB, Wisconsin — 1

Ty Montgomery, Sr., WR, Stanford — 1

Mariota, we expected. Same for Hundley. Even Jack we'd heard had been getting some Heisman love. (And in case you missed it, the Pac-12 blog talked with Jack about all of the preseason attention he's been getting). But it's interesting to see USC's Leonard Williams and Stanford's Ty Montgomery on the list.

Williams, we know, is an All-America defensive linemen and considered by many to be the best in the country and a top five pick in the 2015 draft. Chances are this is just some preseason posturing from voters. There's always talk in the preseason that a defensive player will break through and win. We saw it with Jadeveon Clowney and Ndamukong Suh. And while the Pac-12 blog would love to see the day that "the best" college football player wins the award (see this column from 2012, Huston is actually quoted), the odds of it happening are slim.

Even for a guy like Montgomery, who is expected to be a significant special teams contributor to go with his receiving stats. We'll see how this all shakes out in November and December. As the Pac-12 blog wrote last week, we've been fooled by preseason favorites before. Still, nice to know the rest of the country has its eyes on the West.

News/notes/practice reports

  • Arizona's cornerbacks are looking to build off of last year.

  • ASU is hoping for some better special teams play in 2014.

  • Jared Goff is in control for the Bears.

  • The Buffs are giving Colorado State's quarterback a lot of respect.

  • A nice look at why Ifo Ekpre-Olomu decided to come back.

  • Victory Bolden looks to lead Oregon State's receiving corps.

  • Kevin Hogan brings some stability to Stanford.

  • Some video of Eric Kendricks talking about Virginia's offense.

  • Video of Hayes Pullard talking about USC blocking out the distractions.

  • Rice-Eccles is getting a new scoreboard. Plus an Idaho State scouting report.

  • Nice feature on Washington's Psalm Wooching.

  • Scouting the Washington State-Rutgers matchup.

Just for fun (LA themed)

Some new artwork in the Coliseum.

 

What say you, America?

 

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