FanHouse AlexBrink

As is the norm, there are big names who have moved on down the road in the Pac 10. From bowl-winning QB's to standout running backs, the list is a long one. But clearly one of the most exciting things about an upcoming season of college football is always the element of the unknown. What young players are waiting in the wings? What hotshot recruit with all the whispers that he is going to be special will finally be unleashed for public consumption? But as is usually the case, the young replacements come in to take the spots of some pretty established players who leave a large body of work behind them. With that, we look at the five biggest Pac 10 shoes that must be filled and the candidates to replace them.

JOHN DAVID BOOTY, QB, USC

The QB position for USC is always a glamor spot, and a perfect place to start. John David Booty came into the 2007 season as everyone's Heisman favorite, and for good reason. Booty was coming off a 2006 breakthrough performance, throwing for over 3300 yards and 29 TD's. But while USC went 11-2, won a share of the conference title, and Booty capped off his senior season with a fine performance in a Rose Bowl blowout of Illinois, still, things didn't quite work out. He threw for nearly 1,000 fewer yards in 2007 than he had the prior year. A broken finger on his throwing hand had a lot to do with it, and he even missed three games due to the injured digit. But that said, Booty was more about stats. He was a leader and a winner, and could be more difficult to replace than originally thought. This year we find out if Mark Sanchez is the answer. Or will we? Sanchez, as was reported last week, suffered a dislocated knee cap during non-contact drills. While still not 100% officially ruled out for the season opener at Virginia, the latest report has his status very much up in the air. Meanwhile, Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and redshirt frosh Aaron Corp will run the offense in a job that suddenly appears wide open. It could be worse though. Mustain didn't go completely bananas at Arkansas, throwing for a modest 894 yards in eight starts as a true frosh year in 2006. But he did go a perfect 8-0 as a starter, so, he's got that going for him. Which is good.

Houston Texans 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 - 26. Duane Brown, LT, Virginia Tech
Round 3 - 79. Antwaun Molden, CB, Eastern Kentucky
Round 3 - 89. Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia
Round 4 - 118. Xavier Adibi, OLB, Virginia Tech
Round 5 - 151. Frank Okam, DT, University of Texas
Round 6 - 173. Dominque Barber, SS, Minnesota
Round 7 - 223. Alex Brink, QB, Washington State

The Good: Coming into this draft, the Houston Texans only had five picks because of previous deals. So a trade down from the 18th pick to the 26th was welcomed to get picks in both the third and the sixth round. The Texans draft class looks like they went to the store with a shopping list, because they targeted very specific, key needs. They drafted for a zone-blocking o-lineman, a tall fluid corner, a young, fast change of pace running back, help for a thin linebacking group, a space eating DT and a quarterback who can be developed and live on the practice squad. (Watch HT.com video above or transcript here to see what GM Rick Smith and coach Gary Kubiak say about the draft).

The only key needs that they didn't get were a DE on the other side of Mario Williams and a free safety. (Barber is listed as a FS on the Texans website, but from what I've read, it seems like he is more of a strong safety). The top five picks of the Texans, however, were arguably the five positions the Texans needed the most.

It's been a long, tough ride for WSU's Alex Brink. The senior QB has shot up the Washington State record books, passing the likes of Jason Gesser, Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, Timm Rosenbach, Mark Rypien and Jack Thompson to become the all-time leader in passing yards and TD passes among many school records.

But the one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb to WSU fans has always been his inability to lift the team onto his shoulders and win the big one, however that is defined. Alex Brink tonight, however, showed all the doubters, the "Brinkhaters" and all others, that he could in fact have that shining senior QB moment that everyone had been waiting for.

In a seesaw battle that saw both teams combine for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense, Brink lit up the brisk Seattle evening with 399 yards and five TD passes. The last throw was maybe his best, as he beat a corner blitz and threw a rainbow 35-yard TD pass to a streaking Brandon Gibson with 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter, leading the Cougars to a 42-35 victory. That now gives Brink a 3-1 record in his four Apple Cup starts, the best WSU starting QB ever in terms of wins and losses in the 100-year history of the rivalry. That's more wins than Bledsoe, Leaf, Gesser, you name it.

While Alex Brink continues to rack up the passing yards on a weekly basis, a crucial element to the WSU offense has fallen off the face of the earth: the running game. In what is considered a staple of the modern version of the Dennis Erickson-Mike Price one-back offense, WSU has emphasized balance in recent years as a key to offensive success. And in the Bill Doba era, which has seen Mike Levenseller and Timm Rosenbach design the offense and call the plays, the offense has been running at nearly a 50-50 run-pass ratio. But this year? Forget it. The balance has completely disappeared in 2007, and the trend is becoming a big worry for WSU.

Right now, the offense is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. That's good for 108.6 yards per game, which places them ninth in the Pac-10. That's ok, you say, WSU still leads the conference in passing yards per game at just a shade under 300, so big deal. Well, it is a big deal because WSU's offense needs that balance to be successful. Alex Brink is who he is, a solid player who is at his best when he has a strong running attack behind him. But force Alex into 2nd or 3rd and long, and like any QB in the nation, it's a whole different deal. But to really put that 108.6 rushing yards per game in proper perspective, you must realize that it is the lowest per-game average in the Bill Doba era. But the further you go back, the worse it gets. Going back to 1997, 108.6 is the lowest yards per game over that span. The second-worst rushing mark is 114 yards, turned in by a dreadful 1999 team, a team so bad that Mike Price dubbed himself the "King of Poop Island".

It's even worse when you look at just the last couple of years to see how important the WSU running game actually is to wins and losses. Late last year the season fell apart in a three-game losing streak, as WSU struggled vs. Arizona, ASU and UW. In the Arizona and ASU losses, the Cougars were held under 100 yards rushing. In both losses they were held to under two yards per carry. In the season finale against UW, they did barely crack the 100-yard mark at 102 yards, but it came on just 3.3 yards per carry. That's even worse than the 3.6 yards per carry they are averaging this year.

While simply getting a victory this Saturday at Oregon is the top focus for WSU, this is also a homecoming of sorts for QB Alex Brink. Brink hails from Eugene, and was passed over by Oregon, Oregon State, and even the rest of the Pac-10 before committing to Boise State. He then changed his mind and accepted an offer from WSU, and the rest as they say is history. But while Brink acknowledges the homecoming, he's more worried about the final outcome this week:

"It's certainly an opportunity I've been looking forward to my entire career ... but we need to win a football game bad. That's first and foremost," Brink said Tuesday.

Last week saw some history in that Alex Brink has now become the all-time leading passer in WSU history. Players like Jack Thompson, Mark Rypien, Timm Rosenbach, Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf and now Jason Gesser are all looking up at Brink's career passing yards. Brink topped Gesser last Saturday vs. ASU, and now has over 8,900 yards passing. With seven games still on the schedule, it's not out of the question that Brink will surpass the 10,000-yard plateau before it's all said and done.

Last year, Brink was excellent against Oregon, as the Cougars upset the 16th-ranked Ducks in Pullman. Brink set a school record for completion percentage, going 20-for-23 through the air. But yet, there's a somewhat hollow feeling to Brink's flashy numbers. It's always been a bit of a controversy with Alex Brink and the WSU faithful, where for reasons that would take weeks to explain he hasn't exactly been Mr. Popular. Whether it's fair or not, he bares the blunt of the blame for a failure to return the program to postseason play during his time as the starting QB. But it's very difficult not to be appreciative of what Brink has achieved, despite the fact that he's only had one non-losing season and the team is currently sitting at 2-4. But this is really nothing new, at any school in America. The QB and also the head coach will always be front and center in the blame game, and that view isn't likely to change anytime soon.

The projected airshow hit Tucson alright, but it was extremely one-sided. Arizona's Willie Tuitama absolutely shredded the hapless WSU passing defense to the tune of 346 yards and five TD passes in the 48-20 domination. All told, Arizona would total an astounding 567 yards of total offense against a WSU defense that is, without a doubt, completely overmatched against above-average competition.

It's not so much that Arizona had success through the air. You knew going in that they would rack up yards in bunches against this Cougar pass defense. But Arizona's ground game took off behind true frosh running back Nicholas Grigsby, who had 186 impressive yards in his first home start of his career. Grigsby averaged 6.2 yards per carry, and oh yeah, he led Arizona in receptions with nine, including a touchdown. Arizona only punted one time, and that's now just one punt over the last eight quarters that the WSU defense has "forced". When you can't get the other team's offense off the field, how can you ever expect to win?

The Cougar offense did what it could, and Alex Brink kept them in the hunt into the 3rd quarter. His TD pass to Brandon Gibson would tie it up at 20 on the first drive of the second half, and it looked like momentum swung WSU's way. But Arizona just kept doing whatever it wanted to, possession after possession, and when the WSU offense stalled, that was all she wrote. Brink would finish with 347 yards and three TD passes, very respectable numbers against a veteran Arizona defense. And WR Brandon Gibson continued his excellent 2007 start with 11 catches for 127 yards and a TD. Gibson is one of the best WR's in the conference and even an all-conference cornerback like Arizona's Antoine Cason couldn't slow him down.

Meanwhile Mike Stoops can at least dial down the temp on his hot seat to medium after Arizona's best offensive show in Stoops' four-year tenure. This new Texas Tech spread offense seems to fit Tuitama like a glove, and after some bumpy spots early in the season, there's no telling how many good things are coming for Arizona the rest of the way. In the offense-happy Pac-10, the Wildcats have the look of a team that could cause some major headaches over the rest of the season. But the temp on WSU's Bill Doba's hotseat is now officially turned up to the max. With Arizona State up next, and the ASU offense under Dennis Erickson rolling into Pullman next Saturday, the 2007 season for WSU is now on life support. A couple of more nights like this one and it will be plug-pulling time in the Palouse.

If you are a fan of prominent passing attacks, then tune in Saturday night as WSU faces Arizona down in Tucson. Both teams love to air it out, and while the Cal-Oregon game gets the hype this week for Pac-10 offensive fireworks, the Cougars and Wildcats aren't to be overlooked.

Arizona leads the Pac-10 in passing offense, at just over 318 yards per game. But WSU is third, at 282 yards per game, so, doing a little math, that's 600 total passing yards combined that is a regular day at the office for these teams. With the game starting at 7 PM pacific time, Bill Doba quipped "We might not get back until Monday".

However, often in match-ups like this, it's not necessarily the obvious strengths that will decide this one, but more so it's how teams handle their weaknesses that factor in the most. The most troubling thing from a Cougar angle is that WSU's defense, especially against the pass, has been not only among the worst in the conference, but one of the worst pass defenses in the nation so far this year. As we pointed out earlier this week, WSU is 101st in the country in passing yards allowed, and dead last at 119th in opponent third-down rate, allowing an unfathomable 57.9 percent. That third down rate is especially troubling, as everyone knows, in that it shows how long the opposing team can keep their offense on the field. That's really bad news in that it also plays keep-away from the WSU offense, which is clearly the strength of the team in 2007.

Coming up with a list of the best players in the Pac Ten conference is no easy task. It would be very easy just to go down the roster of the University of Southern California and pick at random and you'd probably come up with five players that are arguably among the best at their position. We tried to resist the urge...but came up short. Enjoy the list.

1. John David Booty, QB, Southern California

If the Heisman Trophy is going to return to the West Coast this year, it will be going to Trojan quarterback John David Booty. In his first year as a starter for the Men of Troy, Booty only led his team to a Pac Ten title and a win in the Rose Bowl. Not shabby, but not quite what Trojan fans have come to expect. If Booty hopes to finish his career with as few losses as his predecessor, he'll have to run the table and he just may. Booty is not without his shortcomings, however. His mechanics mean that the Trojan signal caller has a low trajectory when he releases the ball--which can lead to some inopportune tipped balls in key situations, especially with a short field. What's more, Booty lost his two favorite targets--receivers Dwayne Jarrett and State Smith--to the NFL, meaning he'll have to earn every plaudit laid upon him in the 2007 season.

2. DeSean Jackson, WR, California

Expectations are high for the University of California's DeSean Jackson. Rivals.com and The Sporting News have him ranked as the nation's leading receiver and Rivals says he is the best special teams player in all the land. Jackson is on several watch lists for post-season honors, including the Belitnikoff and Randy Moss Awards--and something in the air in Berkeley has his name being touted as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Last year, Jackson averaged 18 yards a catch on 59 receptions and was the lone bright spot in the Bears' loss to Arizona, with a career-long 62-yard touchdown catch and a 95-yard punt return en route to 285 all-purpose yards. Nearly one out of ever five times the ball is punted to Jackson, he returns it for a touchdown--making him a dual threat for the Golden Bears.

With the 2007 spring football session now officially in the rear-view mirror, it's time to look back on the last month of work, and more importantly, look ahead at what needs to be done before the Cougars open the 2007 season.

The overall assessment thus far is that the defense is the side of the ball that needs the most work. Gone are six senior starters from last year's team, including three out of four in the secondary, highlighted by NFL hopeful and All-Pac-10 selection Eric Frampton; two out of the three starting linebackers, led by three-year starters Steve Dildine and Scott Davis; and the best defensive end in many years at WSU, All-Pac-10 selection Mkristo Bruce.

That's a lot of talent and experience to replace, and to be realistic, it's going to take some time before things fully settle down on defense. Youth and inexperience generally means a lot of mistakes early, although to hear Bill Doba tell it, he's going to do his best to keep things as simple as possible so as to not confuse the young players, but it's still likely to be a bumpy ride early on. The discouraging thing is that the secondary in particular appears far from settled, to the point that Doba made reference to players that weren't even on campus yet completely in the mix for the starting nod at both cornerback positions. JC transfer Terry Mixon has looked promising - on film anyway - as a safety, but Doba has already said he'll get a long look at corner once he shows up this summer. Others mentioned include cornerbacks China Nwachukwu, Tyrone Justin, Devin Giles and Romeo Pellum. If this were a conference that loves to run the ball 75% of the time, it wouldn't be in the end of the world, but in the Pac-10? Not what you'd call a recipe for success. Green corners generally get their lunch handed to them, and it often times takes a JC transfer a good half of a season to get comfortable with their new teammates, coaches and just playing on a much higher level than they are used to, so the break-in period can be just as rough on juniors as it is freshman.

Auburn's schedule has been scrutinized by every college football prognosticator in the land. They all point to LSU, Florida and Georgia as the key games in the Tigers run toward a national championship. A game that continues to be overlooked is the one Saturday night at Pat Dye Field.

Don't expect Washington State to come into town and lay down for the Tigers. These guys play Pac-10 football and will be every bit as good as Georgia Tech was on opening night a year ago. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has spent all week preaching that to his players.

Auburn comes into the game a 15 1/2 point favorite. Don't expect the point spread to be easy to cover. Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges is familiar with the Cougars after spending seven years in the PAC-10. "They're a tough opponent, a lot tougher than a lot of people think," Borges said.

He should know. While coaching out west, Borges worked along side Cougars head man Bill Doba. In fact, Doba was defensive coordinator at UCLA at the same time Borges served as offensive coordinator. Does that give either man an advantage? Probably not. What it does give them is a working knowledge of each others systems.

Despite only winning four games a year ago, Washington State does bring back its quarterback, Alex Brink who threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns last year. Auburn's secondary will be tested often and early by two preseason All-Pac 10 selections, Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus.

Before everyone starts looking ahead to LSU don't forget we've got two very dangerous games coming up in the next couple of weeks. I have faith the coaches will have the players ready.