Northwest hires have sizzle, but what about substance?

Sporting News, The, Jan 25, 1999 by Mark Blaudschun

With the hiring of Dennis Erickson at Oregon State and Rick Neuheisel at Washington, the Pac-10's presence in the Northwest certainly will be elevated on a national level. But will it be better?

The Washington situation smells worse than rotting salmon. First, Huskies athletic director Barbara Hedges gave coach Jim Lambright an endorsement--or so he thought--in November. A month later, following Washington's 45-25 loss to Air Force in the Oahu Classic on Christmas, Hedges fired Lambright. When asked about reneging on her pledge of support, Hedges said: "That was then, this is now."

Hedges was impressed with Colorado's 51-43 win over Oregon in the Aloha Bowl earlier on Christmas. So much so that last week she gave Neuheisel a seven-year deal that could pay him as much as $1 million per season.

Was Neuheisel the right choice? His star faded with 5-6 and 8-4 campaigns the last two years, respectively. The most disquieting aspect about Colorado those years was its sloppiness. Regardless, Neuheisel offers a change for Washington, if nothing else, and enthusiasm, which he showed with his statements upon taking the job: "Washington football will not take a back seat to anyone in the United States." But for those words to have meaning, Neuheisel will have to produce with more than rhetoric. At Colorado, he didn't do that.

The Oregon State situation is less complicated. The Beavers have not had a winning season since 1970. In just his second season, Mike Riley came close by leading Oregon State to a 5-6 mark, the school's best since 1971. That persuaded the San Diego Chargers to hire him.

Enter Erickson, fired after four seasons as the coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He knows the college game, having won two national championships with Miami (Fla.) and boasting a career record of 113-40-1 in 13 seasons of winning records.

Erickson's Northwest roots--he grew up in Everett, Wash., and served as head coach at Washington State and Idaho--will make his transition to Corvallis easier than Neuheisel's to Seattle. Hence, Erickson's chances for immediate success would seem to be greater than Neuheisel's.

Mark Blaudschun covers college football for the Boston Globe. E-mail him at blaudschun@sportingnews.com.

RELATED ARTICLE: inside dish

CAMPUS RUMBLINGS, LOCKER ROOM WHISPERS

Look for Arizona and Penn State to meet in the Pigskin Classic, which would be a great matchup. Both should be preseason top 10 teams. The original matchup was San Diego State-Nebraska, but the TV people nixed it.... The BCS may tinker with its qualification system. A minimum of nine wins and a top 10 ranking are being discussed to qualify for one of the BCS bowls. Had those criteria been in place last season, the Big East would not have had a team in a BCS bowl.... The Notre Dame-to-the-Big Ten saga continues. The feeling now is the Irish will remain independent. The Big Ten, however, seems committed to adding a 12th member, sooner rather than later. Syracuse could be a target, but the Orangemen seem inclined to remain in the Big East. Spurned by the 'Cuse, the Big Ten will look to Texas or Missouri. The Notre Dame rejection should come down the next few weeks.... Connecticut has applied to become the Big East's ninth member. Since the Huskies are a charter member of the conference in basketball, the approval by league presidents is merely thought to be a formality.