Category Archives: Pac-10 Outlook

Football starts in about a day now and that means our weekly look at mascots is back!  If you are new to this, here is how it will work.  During the Pac-12 non-conference schedule, I will write down who’s playing who each week.  I will then decide who will win this game based on who would win in a fight between each school’s mascot.  Some of these are easy, some are more difficult.  These are in no way predictions for the upcoming game.  We will have our predictions for each Pac-12 game but that post will come later in the week (or later today, in this instance).  This post is simply to let you know how dumb or awesome I think a school’s mascot is.  You’re welcome.  Once we move into conference play, I will be changing up the format and putting the mascots into competitions (like last season).  Enjoy!

Utah State Aggies at Utah Utes – Thursday 5 P.M.

This is one of the few match-ups that will have you looking at Wikipedia pages for both teams.  According to that website, Utah State Aggies is short for Agriculturalists.  Maybe that’s common knowledge, but, if it is, I do not have common knowledge.  Agriculturalists?  Really?  You are from Utah, but I bet you could name the team something better.  As for the Utes, they are named after a Native American tribe.  I tend to think of those people as tough.

Native Americans didn’t need Agriculturalists.  Also, I think their weapon of choice is probably a bow and arrow.  What’s an agriculturalist’s weapon of choice?  A hoe?  (Watch your mouth, Andrew). A map?  If anyone is dumb enough to say that a common agriculturalist could conquer a Native American, please post in the comments so that I could tell you how dumb you are.  The Utes win, and it’s no contest.

USC Trojans at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors – Thursday 8 P.M.

Umm… Where to begin?  Trojans are some of the greatest warriors ever known.  The weapon of choice seems to be a sword, a shield, or some giant wooden horse.  I guess I respect the Rainbow Warrior name.  Technically, the football team has chosen to be known as just the Warriors.  I don’t respect that choice.  The Rainbow Warriors, from the information, simply called themselves that because they had a rainbow in their logo.  Can it really be that simple?  Yes, I’m sure that Hawaii has some great rainbows in it, but is that a justifiable reason to just stick the word in front of another word?  Probably not, but it’s pretty funny!

Picture a Trojan fighting a Rainbow Warrior?  Not sure what a Rainbow Warrior looks like?  Me neither and, to avoid any insults, I’m not going to post a picture of one because it would just be my opinion of what it would look like.  Trojans beat the Rainbow Warriors.

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Arizona Wildcats – Friday 7 P.M.

I’ve got to be honest, I love the nickname Lumberjacks.  The school lies near a large pine forest, so it’s a fitting nickname which is great.  Consider that when the school opened it was named ‘Northern Arizona Normal School’ (you can’t make this stuff up) and this mascot name is off the charts.  Wildcats, on the other hand, are barely more than a house cat.  A wildcat isn’t simply in cat that is from the wild, it is a cat that lives in the wild but is roughly the size of your pet cat, Whiskers.  What a wimpy mascot.

Let’s see here.  A lumberjack with an axe against a cat?  The cat may make it interesting for a few minutes with its quickness and claws but in the end all we have is a cat that’s cut in half.  Lumberjacks win!

Nicholls State Colonels at Oregon Ducks – Saturday 4 P.M.

This one is ugly.  Almost as ugly as this game will be (Nicholls State lost to OSU 77-3 last year.  The Ducks might score 100).  Nicholls State is named after a Confederate soldier.  After realizing that this was a bit racist in 2004 (yes, it took that long) they changed their logo to, what looks like, a Nazi soldier.  But, is this really as bad as a university deciding that their mascot should be a duck?  Yes, it actually is.  The Ducks win by default.

Eastern Washington Eagles at Oregon State Beavers – Saturday 3 P.M.

We’re starting to get into some better mascot match-ups!  I love eagles.  They are as beautiful and majestic as an animal can get.  Plus, they are impressive hunters.  I’m also fond of the Beaver as Oregon State’s mascot.  As far as intimidation goes, a beaver might not be the best choice.  It is unique though and that’s important.  Also, let’s not undersell beavers’ accomplishments.  They build entire fortresses out of sticks!  I imagine that they can be feisty too, although I’ve never seen it.

As far as this battle, I don’t think a beaver can hold up to the aerial attack of an eagle.  The beaver would get pecked together and wouldn’t be quick enough to defend himself.  Eagles>Beavers. 

Washington State Cougars at Auburn Tigers – Saturday 4 P.M.

This is the best match-up so far.  Some really nice cats from the wild battle each other.  Cougars are ferocious, fast and fierce.  Tigers are a little bigger and pack more of a punch.  Does Auburn also get the War Eagle?  To be honest, I don’t really think they need it.  Have you seen Life of Pi?  That tiger is huge.  Tigers win in a close one.

Boise State Broncos at Washington Huskies – Saturday 7 P.M.

I used to have a dog named Monte (R.I.P.).  We lived pretty close to some horses and when we went on walks, Monte inevitably would go over to the horses and start to chase them.  He would nip at their heels and send them into a frenzy, no matter how much we called him back.  He liked the thrill.  He drove those horses crazy but anyone who watched knew that he could be dead by one, well-placed hind kick from the horse.  I just don’t know if the horse was coordinated enough to do it.

This is another nice mascot match.  Broncos are better than just regular horses and huskies are better than just regular dogs.  In the end I think we have to go with that hypothetical hind kick.  Broncos win in a battle that could go on for days.

Northwestern Wildcats at California Golden Bears – Saturday 7:30 P.M.

We discovered in the mascot posts last year that Golden Bears are exactly that.  There is no breed of bear called a Golden Bear anymore.  They have gone extinct.  Then again, Trojans have also gone extinct so I’ve decided to reverse my opinion on the Golden Bear and reinstate them in ‘Mascot Match-ups’ as the power they once were.  I’ll have all season to hold the extinct thing over their head though.  Really?  More stupid Wildcats?  Golden Bears win with one mighty swipe of the paw.

Colorado Buffaloes at Colorado State Rams – Sunday 3 P.M.

Have you ever watched a buffalo run straight towards a ram?  That would be more interesting than this actual football game.  The ram’s horns are a nice weapon but they simply can’t match the size and speed of the buffalo.  If a buffalo runs straight at you, you are probably going to die.  Buffaloes crush Rams.

Buffaloes

Andrew

Last week, I started our quest to predict a Pac-12 alumni basketball tournament winner.  In case you missed it, I’m taking 10-12 of the best alumni each Pac-12 schools have and placing them on a hypothetical basketball team.  These teams would be playing today, so there aren’t  any old legends in them.  Most of the players I’m placing on the teams are playing professionally somewhere.

Today, we are assembling the last four alumni teams (I’ve gone in alphabetical order).  After this, the fun will begin and we’ll start our hypothetical tournament.  So, let’s get to the teams.

Utah:

C Andrew Bogut – Bogut was drafted in 2005 as the number one pick.  He is the last Ute to be drafted into the NBA.
G Andre Miller – Miller was drafted in 1999 and is still in the league.  Bogut and Miller are the only Utes still in the NBA.
F Britton Johnsen – Johnsen retired about 2 years ago after playing a few years in the NBA and overseas.  He is still only 33 and currently runs basketball camps.
F/C Hanno Mottola – Mottola is 36 but is still playing in a Finnish league.  He spent a few years in the NBA before going overseas.
G Carlon Brown – Only in a hypothetical tournament can you have a guy play for two teams! Brown also attended Colorado (he was a Ute longer).  Brown is currently in the D-league.
G Luka Drca – I still have to find four more guys.  Luka graduated from Utah in 2010 and now plays for  a Serbian professional basketball team.  All of these countries have basketball.
G/F Will Clyburn – I found another transfer! Clyburn had a good junior season at Utah, with 17 points/game.  Clyburn just signed with Sacramento as an undrafted free agent.  He’s probably the 4th best player on this team…
G Josh Watkins – Watkins was kicked off the team in 2012 while leading them in scoring.  There is no way the school would invite most of these guys back.  Not that it will matter as far as them winning games.
C Jason Washburn – Washburn graduated this year after a successful career at Utah.  He’s hoping to sign with an NBA team for summer leagues but hasn’t as of the time I published this.
C Luke Nevill – Nevill brings another huge guy to this Utah roster. Nevill currently plays for the Townsville Crocodiles in Australia (Australia and the NBA D-League are battling it out for best mascots).

Utah overview:  Aside from having 5 guys that are almost 7 foot (or over 7 foot), Utah is not good.  There aren’t many scorers here and, aside from Bogut and Miller, the talent is really lacking.

USC:

F Nikola Vucevic – Vucevic was drafted in 2011 and played for Orlando last year.
G O.J. Mayo – Mayo was drafted in 2008 and played for Dallas last season.
G DeMar DeRozan – DeRozan was drafted in 2009 and played in Toronto last year.
F Taj Gibson – Gibson was also drafted in 2009 and played in Chicago last season.
G/F Nick Young – Young was drafted in 2007 and is currently a free agent in the NBA.
F Brian Scalabrine – Scalabrine is the veteran of the group (35).  He retired from the NBA in 2012
G Desmon Farmer – Farmer finished at USC in 2004 and has bounced around since then.  He played for the Reno Bighorns last year (D-League).
G Gabe Pruitt – Pruitt was drafted in 2007 but has been in the D-League since.  In the past year he decided to go overseas and play in Greece.
G Jio Fontan – Jio graduated this year.  He went undrafted but is hoping to sign somewhere.
G Dwight Lewis – Lewis now plays in Spain after finishing at USC in 2010.
C Alex Stepheson – Stepheson finished at USC in 2011 and now plays in Europe.  This USC team was in need of a center and Stepheson fills that role.

USC Overview:  USC is sneaky good.  They have a lot of guys who can score and six guys in the NBA.  All the other guys play professionally somewhere else.  They have a lot of long, athletic guards and a few good post players.  This team will be a tough out.

Washington:

G Nate Robinson – Nate was drafted in 2005.  He played in Chicago last year and is currently a free agent. 
G Isaiah Thomas – I.T. was drafted in 2011 and has played in Sacramento the last few years.
G Tony Wroten – Wroten was drafted in 2012 and played in the NBA and the D-League last year.
F Terrance Ross – Ross was also drafted last year and plays for Toronto.  
C Spencer Hawes – Hawes was drafted in 2007 and currently plays for the 76ers. 
F/C Jon Brockman – Brockman played for a few different teams in the NBA before playing overseas last year.  He is currently playing for the New Orleans summer team.  He was drafted in 2009. 
G Will Conroy – Conroy finished at UW in 2005 and has hopped between the D-League and the NBA ever since.
G Justin Dentmon – Dentmon, like Conroy, has hopped between the D-League and the NBA since he finished at UW in 2009.
F Quincy Pondexter – Pondexter was drafted in 2010 and now plays for Memphis.
F Justin Holiday – Holiday graduated in 2011 and has played in the NBA and D-League ever since.
F Brandon Roy – While Roy has retired, and will coach the Huskies once Romar is done (you heard it here first), I believe that he would be one of the better players on the court if he only had to play a few games.  He was drafted in 2006. 
C Matthew Bryan-Amaning – MBA is the only guy on the team who hasn’t made it to the NBA.  He currently plays in Serbia after finishing at UW IN 2011.

UW Overview:

This team is as deep as anyone in the league.  They may not have as much star talent but there are plenty of scorers.  They have depth at every position.  It was hard to decide on the 12th guy because there are a few that could easily be on the team (Tre Simmons and Bobby Jones, most notably).

WSU:

F/G Klay Thompson – Thompson was drafted in 2011 and currently plays for the Golden State Warriors.
C Aron Baynes – Baynes finished at Wazzu in 2009 and played overseas before joining the Spurs this year.
G Kyle Weaver – Weaver was drafted in 2008 and now plays in the D-League.
F Brock Motum – Motum graduated this year and is playing with the 76ers during the summer league.
G Derrick Low – Low finished at WSU in 2008 and currently plays overseas.
G Taylor Rochestie – Rochestie (Joe’s favorite guy) finished school in 2009 and now plays in an Italian league.
F Ivory Clark – Clark currently plays in an Israeli league after finishing at WSU in 2007.
F DeAngelo Casto – Casto finished at Wazzu in 2011 and has played in Turkey and South Asia leagues since.
G Marcus Capers – Capers graduated in 2012 and now plays in Finland.
G Faisal Aden – Aden has played for a D-League team, Italian team, German team and signed a contract with a Belgium team (who he never played with) after finishing at Wazzu in 2012.

WSU Overview:

Wazzu has the star but the supporting cast isn’t the best.  There aren’t many guys in the NBA but they are all playing professionally somewhere and they are relatively young.  WSU isn’t the best team in the tournament but they could surprise some people.

The tournament starts soon!

Andrew