The college bowl season has become a vexing time for the discerning couch potato.

   Well over half the 119 eligible FBS teams, including one with a losing record, are in the 35 bowls, and neither team has a winning record in four of those games.  Obviously some bowls are not worth watching.

   Intriguing bowl moments do exist, such as the 11 consecutive hours of bowl-viewing nirvana, when ESPN shows the Capital One Bowl, Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl  back-to-back-to-back from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2. 

    But the overpopulated bowl calendar and ever-changing bowl names make those segments  difficult to identify.  Last season, the Meineke Car Care Bowl was in Charlotte, N.C., but that bowl is now the Belk Bowl, while the bowl in Houston, which was the Texas Bowl last season, is now the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

   More confusing is the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas and Kansas State are playing in the Cotton Bowl but not at the Cotton Bowl, while Houston and Penn State are playing at the Cotton Bowl but are not participating in the Cotton Bowl.

    No bowl games will be played on Jan. 1, the date traditionally associated with the bowl-watching experience, because Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday, and the bowl credo is “Thou shalt not compete with the NFL.”

   In response to the viewing conundrum, we provide a Watchability Meter, a numerical rating from 0 to 10 for all 35 games in the 24-day bowl package, with 0 indicating “Keeping of with the Kardashians” would be preferable viewing and 10 suggesting the purchase of a big-screen HD TV for that one game would be money well spent.

   The Watchability Meter – or WM — is based on the significance of the game, quality of the participants, entertainment potential, star power and intangibles (such as game time, local interest and school name recognition).

   New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 17, 11 a.m., ESPN – Temple (8-4) vs. Wyoming (8-4): These teams aren’t absolutely horrible, which is a compliment for bowl season. Temple’s Bernard Pierce is sixth nationally in rushing. WM: 4.3.

   Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 17, 2:30 p.m., ESPN: Ohio (9-4) vs. Utah State (7-5): Exciting Ohio QB Tyler Tettleton is the son of former A’s catcher Mickey Tettleton, and the Aggies rebounded from a 2-5 start. Good time slot. WM: 4.9.

   New Orleans Bowl, Dec. 17, 6 p.m., ESPN: San Diego State (8-4) vs. Louisiana Lafayette (8-4): Aztecs sophomore Ronnie Hillman is third nationally in rushing. WM: 4.7

   Beef  O Brady’s Bowl, Dec. 20, 5 p.m., ESPN: Florida International (8-4) vs. Marshall (6-6): Teams that finished with the fourth-best records in the Mid-American Conference and Conference-USA don’t portend excitement. WM: 3.2.

   Poinsettia Bowl, Dec. 21, 5 p.m., ESPN: TCU (10-2) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4): Both teams won a conference title, TCU barely missed a BCS berth, and Tech won its final seven games. WM: 6.0.

   Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 22, 5 p.m., ESPN – Boise State (11-1) vs. Arizona State (6-6): Final college game for  Boise QB Kellen Moore, and he should go wild against ASU, which collapsed late in the season and fired coach Dennis Erickson.  WM: 6.3 (for the first half).

   Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24, 5 p.m., ESPN – Southern Miss (10-2) vs. Nevada (7-5): This is interesting for its weirdness, because Larry Fedora will be the Southern Miss coach, even though he’s accepted the job as North Carolina’s coach. WC: 4.9.

   Independence Bowl, Dec. 26, 2 p.m., ESPN2 – Missouri (7-5) vs. North Carolina (7-5): Both teams have pretty good quarterbacks (Missouri’s James Franklin, North Carolina’s Bryn Penner), but both were expecting more. WM: 6.0.

   Little Caesars Bowl, Dec. 27, 1:30 p.m., ESPN – Western Michigan (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6): Two nondescript teams following mediocre seasons.  Western Michigan likes to throw a lot, if that interests you. WM: 4.1.

   Belk Bowl, Dec. 27, 5 p.m., ESPN – Louisville (7-5) vs. North Carolina State (7-5): Each beat a team competing in the Orange Bowl, so that’s something, but both teams have lousy offenses. WM: 4.6.

   Military Bowl, Dec. 28, 1:30 p.m., ESPN – Toledo (8-4) vs. Air Force (7-5): If you like the old-school triple option, Air Force runs it to perfection. Toledo averaged 52.8 points over its final five games and has a 32-year-old head coach. WM: 5.7.

   Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN – Cal (7-5) vs. Texas (7-5): The presence of a local team that played well down the stretch against a traditional powerhouse should draw good TV ratings in the Bay Area. WM: 7.6.

   Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 29, 2:30 p.m., ESPN – Notre Dame (8-4) vs. Florida State (8-4): Two schools with high name recognition that played well at the end of the season.   Too bad it’s on a Thursday afternoon. WM: 6.4.

   Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29, 6 p.m., ESPN – Baylor (9-3) vs. Washington (7-5): Any game featuring a Heisman Trophy winner (Baylor QB Robert Griffin III) has appeal, and Washington quarterback (Keith Price) is pretty darn good too. WM: 7.2.

   Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 30, 9 a.m., ESPN – BYU (9-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4): A 9 a.m. game Friday morning makes this a tough sell on the West Coast, but the ball should be flying around and points will be scored. WM: 4.8.

   Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 30, 12:20 p.m., ESPN – Iowa State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (8-4): Iowa State beat Oklahoma State, but the thought of a football game at Yankee Stadium is disturbing. WM: 4.2.

   Music City Bowl, Dec. 30, 3:40, ESPN – Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Wake Forest (6-6): This is third of four games that will provide 13 consecutive hours of bowl action on ESPN. This is the least attractive of the four. WM: 3.9.

   Insight Bowl, Dec. 30, 7 p.m., ESPN – Oklahoma (9-3) vs. Iowa (7-4): Ranked No. 1 in preseason, the Sooners did not expect to be playing in this bowl against a team that was 4-4 in the Big Ten. Oklahoma QB Landry Jones is a first-round NFL talent. WM: 6.1.

   Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec. 31, 9 a.m. ESPN – Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Northwestern (6-6): The nation’s most disappointing team (Texas A&M) gets to play early on a Saturday morning. You can sleep in. WM: 4.0.

   Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, 11 a.m., CBS – Georgia Tech (8-4) vs. Utah (7-5): Neither team can throw the ball, so prepare for a lot of old-fashioned grind-it-out football.  Some people claim to enjoy that. WM: 5.1.

   Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m., ESPN – Vanderbilt (6-6) vs. Cincinnati (9-3): Vandy is one of three SEC bowl teams that had 2-6 conference records, but the Commodores nearly beat Georgia and Arkansas.  WM: 5.5.

   Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m., ESPN – Illinois (6-6) vs. UCLA (6-7): Both teams fired their coaches, so that says something, but the game is at AT&T Park, which may interest Bay Area fans. WM: 5.8.

   Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m., ESPN – Virginia (8-4) vs. Auburn (7-5): The defending national champs will be without star running back Michael Dyer (suspended), and the Cavaliers’ star is their coach, Mike London. WM: 5.7.

   TicketCity Bowl, Jan. 2, 9 a.m., ESPNU – Penn State (9-3) vs. Houston (12-1): Penn State’s off-the-field infamy and great defense against a Cougars’ offense that averages 50.8 points provides entertainment value, but a Monday morning game on a channel many don’t get makes viewing a chore. WM: 5.8.

   Outback Bowl, Jan. 2, 10 a.m., ABC – Michigan State (10-3) vs. Georgia (10-3): A pair of conference runnersup meet in a game that serves as worthy warmup to a strong day of bowl viewing. But it’s a Monday morning. WM: 6.4.

   Capital One Bowl, Jan. 2, 10 a.m., ESPN – Nebraska (9-3) vs. South Carolina (10-2): A decent game competing with three other decent bowl games in the same early weekday  time slot. Why do networks do this? WM: 6.1.

   Gator Bowl, Jan. 2, 10 a.m., ESPN2 – Ohio State (6-6) vs. Florida (6-6): Big-time programs experiencing small-time seasons, with the specter of Urban Meyer looming over both. WM: 5.9.

   Rose Bowl, Jan. 2, 2 p.m., ESPN – Oregon (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (11-2): Two top-10 teams that feature high-scoring offenses with outstanding running backs (Oregon’s LaMichael James, Wisconsin’s Montee Ball) and productive quarterbacks (Oregon’s Darron Thomas, Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson). WM: 8.1.

   Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 2, 5:30 p.m., ESPN: Stanford (11-1) vs. Oklahoma State (11-1): Both teams are ranked in the top four in the BCS, and both are ranked in the top five in scoring and have an outstanding quarterback – Stanford’s Andrew Luck, Oklahoma State Brandon Weeden. This is the second-best bowl game, and probably the most entertaining. WM: 8.8.

   Sugar Bowl, Jan. 3, 5:30 p.m., ESPN – Michigan (10-2) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2): The Wolverines always draw a big audience, and Michigan QB Denard Robinson will make the game exciting even though neither team deserves to be in this bowl. WM: 7.0

   Orange Bowl, Jan. 4, 5:30 p.m., ESPN – West Virginia (9-3) vs. Clemson (10-3):  Although it’s the worst of the BCS games, it is nicely placed on a Wednesday evening as the only game that night. WM: 6.4.

   Cotton Bowl, Jan. 6, 5 p.m., Fox – Kansas State (10-2) vs. Arkansas (10-2): This should be a BCS game. K-State is a surprising success story, and Arkansas lost only to LSU and Alabama while putting up big numbers. WM: 7.8.

   BBVA Compass Bowl, Jan. 7, 10 a.m., ESPN – SMU (7-5) vs. Pittsburgh (6-6): Try to say this bowl’s name three times fast, then let the kids watch Saturday morning cartoons.  Teams combined to commit 51 turnovers and allow 84 sacks. WM: 3.8.

   GoDaddy.com Bowl, Jan. 8, 6 p.m., ESPN – Arkansas State (10-2) vs. Northern Illinois (10-3): You would think two 10-win teams would produce an attractive bowl. Think again. NFL playoff games that day further trivialize this game. WM: 4.1.

   National championship game, Jan. 9, 5:30 p.m., ESPN – LSU (13-0) vs. Alabama (11-1): About 50 future NFL players will be in uniform for this one. Not many points will be scored, but the hitting will be almost inhuman, and a national title is at stake.  The TV ratings in the Southeast will be off the chart. WM: 9.2.

Now the BCS debates begin in earnest, complete with regional biases, different ranking interpretations, convoluted tie-breaker rules and a variety of expletives directed at the system.

The issue is fueled by the fact that unbeaten Stanford remained at No. 4 in the BCS standings, behind Alabama, even though Alabama lost on Saturday to LSU.   The issue figures to become more contentious with Stanford hosting Oregon and Boise State hosting TCU this weekend.

— Debate No. 1: Will Stanford move ahead of Alabama if it beats Oregon at Stanford on Saturday?

Probably.  Not only would a win over the Ducks (No. 7 in the BCS) sway a lot of voters the polls, it should help the Cardinal’s computer ranking significantly.  The fact that Stanford is only No. 7 in the BCS computers is what is holding the Cardinal back at the moment, because it is No. 2 in the USA Today poll and No. 3 in the Harris poll,  which make up two-thirds of the BCS formula.

How decisively Stanford wins would be a factor too.  Some voters are still unsure how good Stanford is, but a big win over the Ducks might vault them well ahead of Oklahoma State.   The total number of votes a team gets in the polls is what  matters in the BCS formula, not its rank.   Stanford has only a slim lead over Oklahoma State in the coaches poll, and increasing that margin will have a significant effect on the Cardinal’s BCS standing.

— Debate No. 2: Where should Alabama be ranked in human polls, both of which have the Tide at No. 4?

After playing LSU to a virtual tie, many believe Alabama is still the second-best team in the country and should be ranked accordingly.   But should pollsters vote based on which teams they believe are the best or which teams have had the best results?  They are not the same.  If voters base their rankings on results, a one-loss team from one conference should not be ranked ahead of an unbeaten team from a comparable conference.  If voting is based on the perception of which team is better, Alabama probably would be No. 2.   However, by that logic, perhaps Alabama should still be No. 1, because the Tide might be considered the better team after outgaining LSU 300-222 during regulation time and having more scoring opportunities but losing only because its kickers had a bad game.

— Debate No. 3: How could the Southeastern Conference’s complicated tie-breaker method for determining SEC title game participants keep a team that will play in the national championship game out of the SEC title game?

Let’s assume No. 7 Arkansas beats No. 1 LSU on Nov. 25 and  LSU, Arkansas and Alabama end in a three-way  in the SEC West.  The BCS standings would determine the SEC West representative – but in a strange, complicated way.  The team with the highest BCS ranking would be the SEC representative, unless the tied team with second-highest BCS ranking is within five spots of the SEC’s highest ranked BCS team and beat the  higher ranked team head-to-head, in which case the lower ranked team would play in the SEC title game.

Consider this possibility, if the three finish tied:

If the Dec. 4 BSC standings have Alabama No. 2, LSU No. 4 and Arkansas No. 5 – which seems logical if Arkansas should beat LSU — LSU would go to the SEC title game because it would be within five spots of Alabama in the BCS standings and beat Alabama head-to-head .  Nonetheless, Alabama would go to the national title game.

Stanford Can Clinch

Even though it has three more games left, Stanford would clinch a berth in the Pac-12 championship game as well as homefield advantage for that title game if it beats Oregon on Saturday, which will be the first time in history that two top-10 teams have played a football game at Stanford.   The magnitude of the game is why ESPN’s “College Gameday” will be on the Stanford campus Saturday, to broadcast its morning preview show.

The Heisman Trophy competition should start any day now, but we’re still awaiting the green flag.  The qualifying times are in, and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has the pole position.  But that matters little at this point.

Three things matter:

No. 1: Team Ranking — The player’s team almost has to be ranked in the top five, and probably needs to be No. 1 or 2, when the ballots are cast.

No. 2: Late-season success in a high-exposure game – Voters have short memories. What they see the last few weeks in big games on TV is what sways voters.

No. 3: A “Did you see that?” moment – In the age of YouTube and round-the-clock SportsCenter, voters are awed and influenced by a single remarkable play they see again and again.

Opinions can change overnight.

Auburn’s Cam Newton went from fringe Heisman mention to front-runner after Auburn beat Arkansas 65-43 on Oct. 19.

Andrew Luck was not even in the Heisman discussion before two highlight-reel plays – neither of which involved his passing – vaulted him to contender status in 2010.  When Luck planted the devastating  hit on USC’s Shareece Wright after Wright picked up a fumble on Oct. 11, Luck entered the Heisman conversation.   When he bowled over Cal’s Sean Cattouse on his long run on Nov. 20, Luck rose to No. 2 in the Heisman totem pole, which is where he wound up.

In 2009, Mark Ingram went from local story to Heisman front-runner when he rushed for 246 yards in a 20-6 win over South Carolina that pushed Alabama to the No. 1 ranking.

Stanford’s Toby Gerhart was receiving no Heisman mention until he rushed for 233 yards in a Nov. 7 upset of No. 8 Oregon and 178 yards in the “What’s Your Deal?” thrashing of No. 11 USC on Nov. 14.   And it was his “Did you see that?” moment on a swing pass against Cal, when he bulled past four Bears tacklers in an otherwise pedestrian performance, that nearly won him the Heisman, finishing a close second to Ingram, whose No. 1 team ranking carried the day.

At the moment, Luck leads every Heisman poll, but his Heisman fate will be determined in the Nov. 12 game against Oregon.  Alabama’s Trent Richardson could become the leader if the Tide beats LSU on Nov. 5 and Richardson has a big day.   And there is someone out there not even being mentioned on October 24 who will be a contender in December.

Pity poor Kellen Moore.  The Boise State quarterback has been in the top five in every credible Heisman poll for about  1,000 weeks in a row now.  But because of his non-flashy style and Boise State’s lack of exposure at season’s end, it’s almost impossible for him to produce that “Did you see that?” moment.   He’ll get invited to New York again, but has little chance to win it.

Rematch in Nation Title Game?

No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama have not yet met for the first time, and already there is talk in the South that the two could meet again in the national championship game.   That will be discussed for the next two weeks as both have byes before their classic Nov. 5 game in Tuscaloosa, Ala.   The talk has some merit.  Stanford must face Oregon on Nov. 12.  Oklahoma State has Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma remaining.  It’s unfathomable Kansas State could go unbeaten.  Clemson has South Carolina and the poor ACC image to deal with.  And voters will have hard time ranking an unbeaten Boise State ahead of a once-beaten Alabama or LSU.

—  The gruesome replay of LaMichael  James dislocating his right elbow on Thursday against Cal had to make orthopedists and Oregon head coach Chip Kelly wince.  James had rushed for 239 yards less than a minute into the fourth quarter, giving him 527 yards the past two games and a 170.4 average for the season, more than 20 yards per game more than the nation’s No. 2 rusher.  But suddenly the Ducks may be without James for at least a few games, and you wonder whether he’ll return for the Nov. 12 game against Stanford.  Can Oregon survive?

You may recall similar doomsday prophesies when LeGarrette Blount was suspended indefinitely after the Ducks’ 2009 season opener.  An unknown redshirt freshman named LaMichael James replaced Blount and finished ninth in the nation in rushing that season and helped the Ducks to the Rose Bowl.   This time a freshman named De’Anthony Thomas may fill that role.

— Kansas started 2-0, providing hope in Turner Gill’s second season as coach, but the Jayhawks have yielded 181 points in their past three games, which is 60.3 per game for those without a calculator.    Oklahoma State scored 56 of its 70 points in the first half on Saturday, and Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden played just 11 minutes before being replaced in the second quarter.  What makes Kansas fans wince is that next Saturday the Jayhawks play on national television against Oklahoma, which ranks sixth nationally in total offense and has scored 117 points its past two games.

— Utah figured to challenge for a berth in the first Pac-12 championship game, especially since neither Oregon nor Stanford is on its 2011 schedule.   But the Utes are 0-3 in the conference, supporting the notion that the step up in class would hurt Utah, which was 21-3 the past three seasons in Mountain West Conference games.   Utah fans are cringing, partly because Utah committed 10 turnovers in its past two games – both at home against conference foes – and because quarterback Jordan Wynn (shoulder) might be out a few more games, leaving the job to John Hays, who would be quarterbacking at Nebraska-Omaha now if it hadn’t shut down its Division II football program last March.

—Minnesota nearly beat USC on the road in its opener, suggesting new coach Jerry Kill may have something.  But Kill has since been hospitalized twice for seizures, and in the past three games, the Gophers have lost to an FCS team (South Dakota State) and were outscored 103-17 in their first two Big Ten games.  And Nebraska is up next.

Houston , We Have a Problem:

Other than Boise State, the team most likely to finish the regular season unbeaten may be Houston.   The Cougars are 6-0 and lead the nation in total offense.   With only one remaining game against a team with a winning record – a Nov. 19 home game against unranked SMU – and a possible Conference-USA title game, Houston could finish 13-0.   Being unbeaten these days usually puts a team in the national-championship discussion or at least in the running for a BCS game, regardless of its conference  That’s not likely for Houston, which entered the top 25 for the first time on Sunday, barely making it in at No. 25 on the AP poll.  It will be interesting to see where the Cougars stand when the BCS rankings are released for the first time next week.

A 60 percent completion rate is mediocre for quarterbacks these days

He has completed 85.6 percent of his passes this season – impressive but a mere afterthought compared with Griffin’s other stat of note:  He has thrown more touchdown passes (13) than incompletions (12) this year.  Ingest that for a moment while you peruse the other noteworthy numbers of the week:

14 – Number of FBS quarterbacks who have completed better than 70 percent of their passes this season.
7-0 – Combined record of the two teams (Florida and Iowa State) that average the most penalties per game this season.
8 – Consecutive losses against FBS teams by Arizona, which was 7-1 and ranked No. 13 when that streak began.
1-7 – Oregon State’s record since it was 4-2 after beating Cal 35-7 last season.  The lone win was a 36-7 pasting of then-No. 20 USC.
4-0, No. 19 — Michigan’s record and ranking after four games in 2011.
4-0, No. 19 – Michigan’s record and ranking after four games in 2010.  It finished 7-6 and coach Rich Rodriguez was fired.
3 – Victories by FCS (formerly Division I-AA) teams over FBS teams on Saturday: Southern Utah beat UNLV, North Dakota State beat Minnesota, and Sam Houston State beat New Mexico, which owns the nation’s longest losing streak at seven in a row and has lost 17 straight road games and whose coach, Mike Locksley, was fired Sunday.
72 – Age Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will turn on Oct. 7.  His team is 3-0 after beating Miami-Fla.
0-4 – Record of Eastern Washington, the defending national FCS  champion, which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason FCS poll.  The Eagles’ loss to Montana State on Saturday was their first defeat on their red turf (yes, red), which was installed prior to last season.   Indicative moment: An Eastern Washington cheerleader tore her anterior cruciate ligament while leading the team onto the field Saturday.
1.23 – Yards per rushing attempt yielded this season by Stanford, easily the best in the country.  In 2006, the Cardinal ranked 117th of 119 teams in rushing defense.
2.82 – Yards per play yielded this season by Alabama, the only team giving up less than three yards a play and one of just six allowing less than four yards a play.

Moment of the week I – Officials on the field as well as replay officials ruling a fourth-quarter Syracuse extra point good against Toledo when it was clearly wide left, which the coordinator of Big East officiating admitted after the game.  “I guess that means we won 30-29,” said Toledo coach Tim Beckman, whose team officially lost 33-30 in overtime.

Moment of the week II – Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict helping USC quarterback Matt Barkley up off the ground after Burfict had intercepted a Barkley pass and was tackled by Barkley, who had called Burfict “a dirty player” earlier in the week.

List of the Week

Quarterback Brandon Weeden, who is 8-0 in career road-game starts for No. 5 Oklahoma State and  turns 28 next month, is among this group of players who played their final high school season in 2001:
—Aaron Rodgers
—Alex Smith
— Vince Young
—Larry Fitzgerald
—Maurice Clarett
—Shawne Merriman
Smith, Rodgers, Clarett and Merriman are younger than Weeden.

It is, in fact, Washington State, known for much of the past three seasons as perhaps the worst team in Pac-10 history (although those Oregon State teams of the 1980s probably have that title wrapped up).

Here is the data that make the 2-0 Cougars an early-season phenomenon:

61.5 – Washington State’s scoring average, well ahead of the 56.0 of second-place Georgia Tech.  Granted, the Cougars’ conquests have come against Idaho State and UNLV, but who cares.

104 – Number of years since WSU has scored more in consecutive games than the 123 it racked up in the first two this year.

Blair Business College – The school WSU beat 84-0 in 1907 to complete a two-game scoring total of 132 points, and the Cougars had not equaled that two-game total until now.

Marshall Loebestael – The Cougars’ second-string quarterback who has engineered the scoring surge.  That’s right, WSU is doing this with its backup quarterback.  No. 1 quarterback Jeff Tuel played only one series this season before breaking his collarbone.

3 – WSU victories in its past five games dating back to last season, with the two losses coming to Cal, a game WSU trailed by just a point with six minutes left, and to Washington, a game that was tied with less than five minutes to go.

“They’re football players” – How WSU defensive coordinator Chris Ball described his unit after Saturday’s 59-7 win over UNLV, a phrase he probably could not have used the past two years.

Oct. 15 – The next time WSU will play a home game, against Stanford.

Worthwhile information from the weekend of Sept. 11:

948 – Total offense yardage racked up by Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson against Notre Dame the past two years.

10 – Turnovers by Notre Dame this season, most in the country.

Oberlin – The last Ohio school to beat Ohio State, which nearly had that 44-game unbeaten streak ended by Toledo before surviving 27-22.    Oberlin beat the Buckeyes 7-6 in 1921, perhaps payback for the 128-0 pasting Ohio State laid on the  Yeomen in 1916.

2 hours – How long after USC’s game against Utah had ended  that the Trojans scored points.   In another interesting ruling by Pac-10 (now Pac-12) officials, a touchdown on the game’s final play scored USC’s Torin Harris following a blocked field goal attempt was disallowed based on a new rule for celebrating before a touchdown is scored because.  USC players had streamed onto the field during Harris’ return causing the ruling.  So the game ended with USC winning 17-14.   But two hours later, Pac-12 officials ruled the play was called incorrectly and that the penalty should have been a dead-ball foul, keeping the points on the board.  Officially, Utah declined the penalty.  So after everyone had gone home, USC increased its winning margin to 23-14.

8.5 points – The amount by which USC was favored in Las Vegas.

2-for-8, 8 yards, 2 interceptions – The passing numbers for Texas starter Garrett Gilbert before he was pulled in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ one-point win over BYU.

The Crowds

Michigan claims it set an attendance record with its crowd of 114,804, and, officially, it did.  But the folks who saw Notre Dame beat USC 7-6 on a blocked extra point 84 years ago might dispute it.

Top college football crowds in history:

123,000 (estimated) –  1927, Soldier Field, Chicago – Notre Dame 7, USC 6.

120,000 (estimated) — 1928, Soldier Field, Chicago – Notre Dame 7, Navy 0.

114,804 – 2011, Michigan Stadium – Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31

113,090 – 2010, Michigan Stadium – Michigan 30, Connecticut 10

113,065 – 2010, Michigan Stadium – Michigan State 34, Michigan 17

112,912 – 1929, Soldier Field, Chicago – Notre Dame 13, USC 12.

The quarterback position was the focus of Cal’s spring practice from Day One, and by the end of the Golden Bears’ modified scrimmage on the final day April 30, it had become apparent that junior Zach Maynard will be the Cal quarterback next fall.

Officially, the quarterback competition among three players – fifth-year senior Brock Mansion, sophomore Allan Bridgford and Maynard – continues, and coach Jeff Tedford said immediately after the April 30 practice that he is likely to make announcement regarding the quarterback position in about a week.

Tedford said he would “possibly” name a No. 1 quarterback in that announcement.     And if Tedford names anyone other than Maynard it will be a major surprise.    Maynard took all the snaps with the first-team offense during the April 30 scrimmage, and he got far more playing time than either Mansion and Bridgford.

Despite throwing two interceptions during the scrimmage, he showed he deserves the job.  And the way Tedford talks about Maynard tells you he’s excited about the possibilities the slender, athletic, left-handed Maynard offers.

“His physical abilities, his escape dimension,” Tedford said.  “He adds another dimension.  The reality is, every play doesn’t happen the way you draw it up.”

If the play breaks down, Maynard has the physical skills to make something out of the play, something Cal has lacked in recent years.  Cal even ran a bit of spread option in the scrimmage, giving Maynard an opportunity to make plays on designed runs.   Tedford has not had a player with these capabilities since he’s been at Cal, and he mentioned Akili Smith as one of the players who added that dimension when Tedford was the offensive coordinator at Oregon.

Tedford said adjustments to the offense to accommodate will be minor, so don’t expect Cal to be running a spread-option offense.   But you should expect option plays and called runs for Maynard.

Despite the dimension added by his running ability, Maynard has yet to prove he has Pac-12-caliber passing skills.  And his passing ability will determine Cal’s fate in 2011.

Zach Maynard -- while at Buffalo in 2009

Maynard transferred from Buffalo after being a starter as a sophomore for the 2009 season.   He came to Cal to be with his half-brother, Keenen Allen, a highly rated wide receiver who was a starter for Cal in 2010 as a freshman.    Maynard attended junior college in the fall to gain academic admission, and he enrolled at Cal in January.

He has game experience, which helps, but he was not familiar with the Tedford system, which inhibited his ability to play on instinct effectively.  He found himself running when under pressure instead of finding secondary receivers.

However, Tedford said Maynard made “tons of progress” in the spring.

The quarterback position has been a problem the past few years at Cal, especially after Kevin Riley was lost at midseason in 2010, forcing Mansion to take his place.  An offense that had been sputtering under Riley completely shut down under Mansion, and the shortcomings at quarterback was the chief reason the Bears finished 5-7, their first losing season under Tedford.

Whether Maynard will be a significant improvement remains to be seen.   He was an adequate quarterback at Buffalo, but he was not a star.   He threw 15 interceptions in 2009, and he threw two during the April 30 scrimmage.

Tedford is trying have a direct impact on improving that position by spending more time coaching the quarterbacks, something he did in his first several years at Cal but got away from in recent years.

The Bears have other issues, such has finding running backs to back up Isi Sofele, who assumes the No. 1 spot with the departure of Shane Vereen.

The Cal defense lost three standouts in SS Chris Conte, DE Cameron Jordan and ILB Mike Mohamed, all of whom were taken in the NFL Draft.   But the Bears seem to have sufficient depth on defense, and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast did a laudable job with the defense last season.

The issue, as it has been the past several years, is the quarterback.

NOTES

– The final scrimmage on April 30 did not resemble a game.   The first-team offense remained pretty much intact, but it went against a defense made up primarily of backups.   A number of starting defensive players were held out of the scrimmage because of minor injuries and because coaches wanted to take a look at other players.   Score was not kept, and the entire session resembled a regular practice in many ways, although officials were brought it.

– Head coach Jeff Tedford is taking a much more active role in coaching the quarterbacks this spring, much like he did in his early days at Cal when he developed Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers.   Tedford had tried to be more of a CEO in recent years and spent less time with the quarterbacks, but the quarterback problems in recent years have caused him to return to his earlier role.

“Last year, he dropped into quarterback meetings from time to time,” said Brock Mansion, a fifth-year senior who started four games in 2010, “but now he’s at every meeting giving his two cents.   Now it’s more of a two-headed meeting with him and coach (Marcus) Arroyo (the new quarterbacks coach).”

What is interesting is that Jim Michalczik, who carries the title of offensive coordinator, is not in those meetings.  He is the offensive line coach.

–  Because Cal’s home stadium – Memorial Stadium – is torn up for renovation and because the field Cal was expected to use for spring practice developed structural problems, the Bears held spring practices at a variety of off-campus sites.   They practiced at high schools in San Jose, Sacramento and Danville, and held most of their practices, including the final scrimmage, at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, about 20 minute from campus.

PLAYERS WHO MADE SPRING ADVANCEMENTS:

WR Kaelin Clay – The redshirt freshman is not going to displace either Marvin Jones or Keenan Allen as the starting wideouts, but he appears to be the No. 3 wide receiver, and the Bears figure to use a lot of three-wideout sets.   He provides a lot of speed on the outside, and may be used on kickoff returns as well.

TB Mike Manuel – A walk-on from junior college who is now a junior, Manual has impressed Jeff Tedford with his running ability and work ethic.  He was slowed a bit by injuries late in the spring, but he remains in the competition for the backup running back spot behind Isi Sofele.  That’s important, because the backup tailback traditionally gets quite a few carries in the Tedford scheme.  Manual is currently No. 3 on the depth chart behind Sofele and Covaughn DeBoskie-Johnson

LB Chris McCain – Although he was signed in February of 2010, he did not enroll at Cal until January 2011 because he needed to fulfill some academic requirements at junior college.   He is one of several linebackers – including freshman Cecil Whiteside, redshirt freshman David Wilkerson and sophomore Nick Forbes – who figure to get playing time in 2011.

S Avery Walls – Walls, a freshman who graduated from high school in December and enrolled at Cal in January, impressed coaches during the spring, and he may play as a true freshman, because the Bears need some depth at the safety spot.

C Michael Coley – A redshirt freshman, Coley is in much the same situation as Walls after an impressive spring.

OT Tyler Rigsbee – The junior played with the first-team offense during the spring scrimmage, and Jeff Tedford made special mention of his progress.   However, he was with the first team only because Mitchell Schwartz sat out the game with a minor injury.

NT Austin Clark – A third-year sophomore, Clark should get playing time in 2011, and he could be a starter, depending on the impression made by incoming freshman Viliami Moala when he arrives in the fall.

QUOTE: “You have to have quality depth at quarterback, as we saw last season.” – Cal head coach Jeff Tedford, following the Bears’ April 30 scrimmage.   Last season, Cal slipped to 5-7, partly because Brock Mansion could not move the offense after starting quarterback Kevin Riley went down with a knee injury in the eighth game.

THE CAL OFFENSE: The offense will be as good as the quarterback position makes it.   That has been the team’s weakness the past few years, and it appears newcomer Zach Maynard is going to be the starter in the fall.   A transfer from Buffalo, Maynard gives the Bears’ offense a running dimension it has never had at the position under Jeff Tedford.  He rushed for 455 yards in 2009 when he was Buffalo’s starting quarterback as a sophomore.  Avoiding the pass rush and making plays when situations break down were things Cal’s quarterbacks have been unable to do in recent seasons.    However, Maynard also threw 15 interceptions while completing 57.5 percent of his passes in 2009, and those are not good passing numbers these days.  The offensive line should be good enough with the return of most of the starters, and the Bears have adequate receivers in TE Justin Miller (45 catches) and wideouts Marvin Jones (68 catches, 4 TDs) and Keenan Allen (48 receptions, 5 TDs).   Running back is a concern.   Isi Sofele is expected to be the starter, and he rushed for 338 yards last season as Shane Vereen’s backup.  However, he is small, so it’s uncertain he can take pounding as an every-down back.   No one has assumed the role of backup, and it may fall to one of the touted freshmen backs who will arrive in the fall.

THE CAL DEFENSE: Although Cal lost a key player at each level of the defense – DE Cameron Jordan, ILM Mike Mohamed and SS Chris Conte, all of whom were taken in the NFL Draft – the Bears should be solid on defense.   The Bears had a few bad defensive games in 2010, but, for the most part, the Cal defense played well under new defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, who returns for his second season in that role.   No defense stymied Oregon’s high-powered offense as effectively as Cal did last season.   Outside LB Mychal Kendricks is probably the standout and big-play performer on the defense, but its strength is its depth at linebacker.   The secondary should be good enough with FS Sean Cattouse capable of making big plays, and CB Marc Anthony getting better all the time.   The defensive line in the 3-4 alignment remains a concern, and a lot will depend on the production of incoming freshman NT Viliami Moala, a 310-pound run stopper who could make a big difference if he is as good as recruiting experts claim.

THE CAL SPECIAL TEAMS: P Bryan Anger may be the top pro prospect on the team.   He gets off booming high punts fairly consistently, giving the defense a lot of help.   PK Giorgio Tavecchio is adequate but not great, and he did not have an outstanding spring.    He could use a little more length on his kickoffs, too, although he’s getting better. Redshirt freshman Kaelin Clay could give the Bears a major threat as a kick returner because of his speed, and Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen give the Bears adequate punt returners.

PLAYER NOTES

– QB Beau Sweeney left the team in the final week of spring practice and will transfer.  He was not among the three quarterbacks competing for the starting job.   He was the No. 2 quarterback at the start of last season, but he has fallen down the depth chart since.

– WR Tevin Carter left the team during the early portion of the spring.   He redshirted as a freshman in 2010, but was expected to contribute in 2011.   However, coach Jeff Tedford said he had lost his passion for football and wanted to be closer to his home in southern California.

– TE Spencer Ladner injured his knee during the spring, and he was on crutches during the spring scrimmage.

– OLB Mychal Kendricks sat out the April 30 spring scrimmage because of a concussion.  He was named to the preseason Lott Trophy Watch list for 2011 in mid-April.

– LB D.J. Holt sat out the April 30 scrimmage because of a broken wrist.  He had been practicing despite the injury, but coaches wanted to take a look at other linebackers in the scrimmage anyway.

– LB Mike McCain missed a good portion of spring practice with a concussion, but he was able to participate in the last few practices.

People often judge a book by its ending, in which case the NCAA Tournament would not become a best-seller.

Let’s take a look at the numbers that made Monday’s title game — won by Connecticut over Butler 53-41 — such a disappointing piece of entertainment.

9 – The place in the final Big East standings occupied by Connecticut.   This is a personal issue, because it demeans the importance of four months of regular-season play based on the results of a series of single-elimination games.   The Huskies finished tied for ninth in the Big East (they didn’t even claim ninth place by themselves), yet they are the national champs.  Something just doesn’t seem right about that.

You don't have to be a math professor to realize the number don't look pretty

18.8 – Butler’s shooting percentage on Monday, the worst ever in an NCAA title game and the third-worst ever in any NCAA Tournament game.   It was the worst since Harvard’s catter attack in a 1946 tournament game against Ohio State.   When you consider that shooting percentages typically ranged in the 30s if you go back 50 or 60 years and that some NCAA Tournament games featured such mismatches as Purdue against Fairleigh Dickinson,  Duke against Campbell and Ohio State against Towson, this milestone is hard to believe.  You will see this figure countless times for years, and Butler coach Brad Stevens may see it in his dreams forever.

26.1 – Combined field-goal percentage of UConn and Butler, the worst in a title game since Kentucky and Baylor combined to shoot 25.9 percent in the 1948 finals. Baylor’s 15-for-64 shooting that night was similar to Butler’s 12-for-64 shooting on Monday. (The schools’ names are even similar – six letters, start with B, end in R, with rhyming final syllables.)

3 – Two-point field goals made by Butler.  Incomprehensible.

53 – UConn’s point total, which was the fewest by a winning team in a championship game since Kentucky scored 46 while beating Oklahoma State in the 1949 title game.  (Alex Groza scored 25 for the Wildcats that night; no one else on the team had more than five.)  In the shot-clock era,  no winning team had scored fewer than 61 points to win a championship game.

41 – Butler’s point total, the lowest in a title game since Oklahoma State scored 36 in that 1949 game.   No team had scored fewer than 50 since then.

44 – Points scored by Bill Walton in the 1973 title game.  He went 21-for-22 from the field that night.   That’s nearly twice as many field goals as Butler had as a team Monday.

94 – The teams’ combined point total Monday, the lowest in a title game since that 1949 game won by Kentucky 46-36.  Oklahoma State had just 9 field goals in that barn-burner.   But only 10,600 were in attendance for that one, while 70,376 had to sit through Monday’s display.

103 – Points UNLV scored by itself in the 1990 title game.

109 – UConn’s point total in its two Final Four games, the lowest since Oklahoma A&M in 1946.

2 – Three-point shots made by UConn in its two Final Four games combined.  The Huskies went 2-for-23 from long range against Kentucky and Butler.  And these are your national champs.

7.7 – Monday’s shooting percentage for Butler’s Matt Howard, who went 1-for-13 after averaging 16.7 points (best on the team) on 49.5 percent shooting for the season coming into the game.

5-for-28 – Combined shooting of Butler’s top two scorers, Howard and Shelvin Mack, who made his final two shots in the last 2:07, after the game was decide, or it would have been worse.

17 – Times a team has made it to the title game in consecutive seasons.  Butler became the 17^th.

4 – Times a team lost in the finals in consecutive seasons.  Butler joins Michigan (1992-93, the Fab Five), Houston (1983-84, Phi Slamma Jamma), Ohio State (1961-62, but Buckeyes won it in 1960).

5-for-16 – Shooting by the game’s high scorer, UConn’s Kemba Walker, who had 16 points.

68 – Jim Calhoun’s age, making him the oldest coach to win a national title.

34 – Brad Stevens’ age.

68 – How old Brad Stevens feels today after his team’s shooting performance.