Polamalu Says Forget Prime Time, Whats Important is Streak

The Steelers are 11-1 in primetime regular season games under third-year head coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin is 4-0 all-time on Monday Night Football.

The Steelers have won 11 straight games in primetime under Tomlin. Pittsburgh is 2-0 this year in primetime games and is scheduled to play a total of five primetime games this season (Week 4 vs. San Diego, Week 9 at Denver, Week 12 at Baltimore and Week 14 at Cleveland).

Asked if there is something about playing under the lights, Steeler safety Polamalu said it is no different than any other game.

"I think what is important to keep our winning streak alive, and when you can do that against a team that has been successful its important," Polamalu said.

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Wyoming Wants a Piece of Cougars, & Their Recruiting Turf

Aside from their once-a-year meetings on the field, football coaches at Wyoming and BYU don't usually see a lot of each other. But that figures to change, now that former Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen has taken over the Wyoming program.

No, Christensen doesn't necessarily want to become best friends with BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff. The reason is because Wyoming has made it clear under Christensen that it intends to recruit the state of Utah more heavily, and that it is going after players of Pacific Island descent like never before.

"We are going to recruit the state of Utah probably more so than [Wyoming coaches] have in the past," Christensen acknowledged. "We have expanded our recruiting base drastically over the last year. We are willing to recruit everywhere and anywhere we can find a kid that fits our system and that can help us win."

The Cowboys (4-4) will have no Utahns on their roster when they take on the Cougars (6-2) Saturday (noon, the Mtn.) at War Memorial Stadium, but that will change in future meetings, coaches from both sides agree.

Jordan High lineman Billy Vavau, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound senior, committed to Wyoming earlier this season, and last year the Cowboys signed Cottonwood's Alo Moli, a defensive back who is currently on an LDS Church mission.

In the past, Wyoming coaches (and other Western States coaches) have avoided recruiting Utah not because the high school talent level is found lacking, but because the state has three Football Bowl Subdivision programs (BYU, Utah, Utah State) and two FCS programs (Weber State, Southern Utah), and beating all five programs for a local is difficult.

But when Christensen took over, one of his first hires was outside linebackers coach Mike Fanoga, a native of American Samoa who has strong ties to Pacific Islander communities in Hawaii, California, Texas, Utah and Las Vegas.

Mendenhall has noticed the difference.

"They are going after Polynesian kids," Mendenhall said. "... The comment was made [to a BYU assistant coach] that Wyoming wants to recruit the Polynesian kids that BYU is recruiting or [players] that they can beat BYU with on the field. So clearly, they are after an improved program, a conference championship, and to play at a very high level. To do that, they probably think they have to improve their recruiting base or talent level."

Mendenhall and BYU recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell both said they have a lot of respect for Fanoga and his reputation as both a coach and a recruiter. Wyoming's media guide lists Arizona, Hawaii and Utah as Fanoga's recruiting areas.

"I am sure that's one of the reasons for [Christensen] hiring him, because of his Polynesian ancestry," Tidwell said. "But it is also because he is dang good defensive line coach."

Tidwell said Wyoming isn't the only school just now discovering Utah high school talent and Polynesian talent.

Polynesians "are good athletes, and I think we are going to see more and more of them playing Division I football," Tidwell said.

BYU running back Harvey Unga, a Polynesian, said he is "thrilled" to see more schools recruiting players from the Pacific islands.

"I am happy that a lot more Polynesian kids are getting opportunities to go play at different colleges, to get out there and show what they can do," he said. "To go to college and get an education is awesome, as they will find out. So I am proud of those guys."

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Adapting an Offense for Masoli a Tall Order

Oregon coaches describe quarterback Jeremiah Masoli as a work in progress. And coaching Jeremiah Masoli? That's a work in progress, too.

Ducks coach Mike Bellotti and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly know that "coaching up" Masoli won't make him taller; so, they are continually searching for X's and O's that make a shorter quarterback more effective.

"It's the same thing as if you have a quarterback who doesn't run as well -- you change your protection up," Kelly said. "You've got to try to compensate a little bit."

Masoli, a dangerous runner who has struggled with the passing game in his first year at Oregon, is listed as 5-foot-11, and probably isn't that tall. One of Masoli's issues is vision -- he simply can't see over the taller linemen in front of him.

"It's tough, man," said 6-5 center Max Unger. "I think I might be the shortest one out there. There are some big bodies flying around out there."

Kelly likes to quote former coach Lou Holtz, who, when asked how tall his quarterback has to be, said: "Tall enough so his feet touch the ground."

Kelly put together a highly effective game plan for 6-6 Justin Roper in last year's Sun Bowl, where Roper threw for four touchdowns in a 56-21 win over South Florida.

In the offseason, the coaching staff began searching for ways to best use a much-shorter quarterback. They were thinking of Nate Costa, the 6-1 sophomore who would suffer a season-ending knee injury in fall camp. Masoli fit that thinking, too.

A sophomore who came to Eugene after one season at City College of San Francisco, Masoli arrived at a good time for a shorter quarterback. Chase Daniel, a 6-foot native Texan who went basically unrecruited by Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, was making a run at the Heisman Trophy at Missouri. Todd Reesing (5-11) was doing the same thing at Kansas.

So the Oregon coaches' search led them to Columbia, Mo., where the Tigers have turned Daniel into a towering offensive weapon. Like the Ducks, Missouri uses the no-huddle spread offense. The Tigers rank fourth in the nation in passing (352 yards per game) and scoring (45 points per game).

But the talks with Missouri's coaches didn't accomplish much. To use Masoli as Missouri uses Daniel would have required a revamping of the running game -- the Ducks' strength (they rank fifth in the nation at 274 yards per game).

"They put (Daniel) at a different depth," Bellotti said. "They deep drop him. They separate him from the line of scrimmage, but they don't have the running game we do. It changes the mesh point for a lot of the run stuff. It also puts a lot more stress on your tackles. They do a lot more two-tight end stuff, too, for that exact reason -- to eliminate the tackle being one-on-one with a defensive end.

"Are you going to change that and change your running game to match it? Because right now, the depth of our quarterback and our two open edges give us two areas to attack and we can spread people. If you bring them back in, you create more opportunities for the defense to run their stunts and blitzes and that type of thing."

Bellotti said to expect some new wrinkles in the bowl game. In the offseason, Kelly will hit the road again, doing research and development. It's all part of the job for Kelly, who is also UO's quarterbacks coach: To go where ideas are working, and then "borrow" them.

"Show me a coach who isn't stealing from somebody else -- they're lying," Kelly said. "If you weren't in a room with Amos Alonzo Stagg and Knute Rockne, then you got it from somebody else."

So what would make Masoli more effective? Experience. Beyond that, opinions differ.

Tight end Ed Dickson, whose production has suffered along with the passing game's struggles (one catch for four yards in the past four games), said he'd like to see Masoli roll out more -- to his side, of course.

"In my opinion, we need to get him out of the pocket a little bit more," Dickson said. "He's a great scrambler, and he's great rolling and throwing.

"We think we got our guy, we just have to find a system that works for him. That's where the offseason comes in handy. If he's our guy, we're going to find something that fits him. We're going to make it work, basically."

In the Civil War, Masoli's counterpart will be 5-11 Lyle Moevao. The quarterback who was most effective against the Ducks this season was Boise State's Kellen Moore, a 6-footer.

"I'm not the only quarterback who's not 6-6," Masoli said. "It's just passing lanes. It's not really seeing over the line as much as through the line."

The Ducks are a run-oriented team, but they spread things out to do it. And that spread formation, with bigger gaps between the linemen, helps create passing lanes. When the offense is clicking -- even if it's Roper doing the throwing -- the passes are thrown through the lanes.

So it's a matter of getting Masoli to see through those lanes. And if Kelly has to fly a few thousand miles to help complete a 10-yard pass, then so be it. You can only do so much on the ground.

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Navy Accepts Invitation to Texas Bowl

The United States Naval Academy has accepted a bid to play in the 2009 Texas Bowl, it was announced Saturday.

Navy's 23-21 win over Notre Dame on Saturday secured its spot in the December 31 bowl game, as the Midshipmen will play a team from the Big 12 at Reliant Stadium.

"We are very proud to host the Midshipmen at the Texas Bowl this year, and we want to congratulate Coach [Ken] Niumatalolo and the entire Navy program on the tremendous victory today," said Texas Bowl manager Heather Houston. "Navy has had a great season thus far and will provide a great match-up for the Big 12 opponent. Our fans will be in for quite a game."

Navy's win Saturday improved the team to 7-3, the best record among FBS independent teams. The Midshipmen are the first team this season to accept a bowl invitation.

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Rey Sees Ray-Ray

When he was drafted by the Bengals back in April, it wasn’t said but people just assumed that head coach Marvin Lewis now had his Cincinnati version of Ray Lewis in the form of Rey Maualuga.

Same first name. Same swagger and intensity. Same division.

Even Ray Lewis, who was drafted and groomed into a Pro Bowler when Marvin Lewis was his defensive coordinator, figured it, too.

“I’ve watched him at USC,” Ray Lewis told the Baltimore media Wednesday. “I think he was a young kid who liked flying to the ball. I think they’re kind of bringing that same atmosphere over there. Marvin’s got him somebody who can turn into a thumper and be a leader over there.”

And Maualuga was watching Lewis long before this season.

“He’s definitely a person I want to see myself as. An intimidator. This will be a perfect game to make a statement,” said Maualuga, speaking as much for his fellow backers as for himself. “He’s a beast. A great player. Someone that can make an impact on a defense.”

Maualuga has had a more than a solid rookie year. He clearly brings the wood like few guys in the league with two forced fumbles, a pass defensed, a sack, and a team third-best 38 tackles. But he knows if he wants to be like Lewis, he’ll have to do something with the ball.

“Be alert,” he said. “Look for me in the end zone.”

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Agent Says Vakapuna is Back

The agent for Fui Vakapuna said Tuesday his client has agreed to re-sign with the club. Since the Bengals don't announce deals until they are signed, it appears Vakapuna plans to sign his contract when he arrives in town. Agent Dave Lee said Vakapuna is moving to the 53-man roster from the Arizona practice squad, where he has been since the Bengals released him just before the start of the regular season.

When the Bengals decided to cut seventh-rounder Fui Vakapuna and keep Jeremi Johnson on the active roster and Chris Pressley on the practice squad, they weren’t down on Vakapuna. What Johnson and Pressley have on Vakapuna at the moment is their ability to anchor and absorb jolts from linebackers and defensive ends in the blocking game.

But the Bengals love the 6-0, 260-pound Vakapuna’s athleticism and think he’s a good player whose best days are in front of him. Vakapuna, who re-signed with the club Tuesday, is a bright, engaging guy that knows all of this.

“They just want that punch, that shot, explosiveness,” Vakapuna said Wednesday before his first practice back. “Getting out and just hitting somebody. I think it is more leverage, learning how to get my legs under me, my hips, my thrust, everything.”

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Ross Apo Named All-American

Arlington (Texas) Oakridge senior receiver Ross Apo got to cross off one particular accomplishment he set for himself two years ago: Play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

"I wrote down my goals to start my sophomore season," Apo said. "And this was one."

Apo received his formal invitation Tuesday from the Army Strong contingent cutting a swath through North Texas with announcements that Plano West defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat and Haltom defensive end Reggie Wilson also were named. There are more North Texas announcements coming the next three days.

Apo received his traditional U.S. Army jersey (No. 10) at Oakridge, a small private school in Southwest Arlington. He'll play in the 10th Anniversary game Jan. 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The East vs. West matchup will be televised live on NBC and feature 90 of the nation's top high school football players.

Apo represents a new generation of players coming through the All-American Game in the last decade.

"The first players I really remember watching are DeSean Jackson (2005) and Ted Ginn (2004)," Apo said.

Apo (6-3, 190) is considered one of the nation's top recruits and is giving Brigham Young a highly rated class along with Seattle quarterback Jake Heaps. Apo's Oakridge teammate, 6-foot-6 offensive tackle Tayo Fabuluje Jr. and hard-hitting linebacker Teu Kautai, also have committed to BYU and were in attendance at Apo's announcement.

Oakridge hopes Apo returns this week against Cistercian. Apo has been recuperating from a leg injury and hasn't caught a pass in Oakridge's last two games. Apo last caught a pass in the first quarter (for a touchdown) of a Sept. 18 victory over Austin St. Andrew's.
The Owls certainly would like their star receiver back. He's been a mainstay of the program since he transferred in to start his sophomore year.

"The first time I saw him, I could tell he was going to be a special player," Oakridge coach Phillip Farhat said. "He had size, speed, explosiveness and great hands. And he loves to play. If I was as good as he is, I'd love to play too."

Apo has 10 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns in his limited time. Apo's athleticism also shows with touchdowns on a punt return and an interception return as well. Apo had 37 catches for 764 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior and 27 catches for 331 yards and one touchdown as a sophomore.

As a college prospect, he's looked as a wide receiver who has the length and frame to possibly morph into a tight end or H-back. Apo is proud of his accomplishments as a receiver against some of the nation's top players. He shined at a Stanford camp this summer as coaches set up a one-on-one matchup in skills drills between Apo and Palmdale, Calif., star defensive back Joshua Shaw.

"(Shaw) was burning everybody and the coaches got me to go against him about five times," Apo said. "He jammed at the line, but I made the catch. Coming from a private school, a lot of people don't think you play the best competition but I like to prove that we can."

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Heimuli is an All-American

Representatives from the U.S. Army All-American Bowl made a stop in Utah on Tuesday to officially announce Salt Lake City Brighton defensive lineman Ricky Heimuli as a member of the West roster for the 2010 edition of the game. In front of his teammates and school peers, Heimuli accepted his selection and reiterated a desire to work hard and represent his school and state well.

The excitement of the occasion was evident as Heimuli was flanked by family and friends Tuesday morning and he sees it as an opportunity to compete against the nation's best.

"I just get to go out there and play against some of the best in the nation," commented Heimuli.

For the humble 280-pound lineman however, it's easy to keep things in perspective considering all the attention he has received during the past year.

"I just see it as going out to have fun doing what I love to do," he said. "I really don't know what to say, I'm speechless right now. I want to thank the school for supporting me. It's a great opportunity."

Heimuli has been playing organized football since he was eight, and comes from a bloodline of football players. In the state of Utah, the Heimuli name is practically synonymous with football these days, considering Heimuli's uncles both played collegiately and his cousin, Latu Heimuli, currently plays for Utah.

Recruiting has kept up a rigorous pace with 22 offers and counting now for Heimuli, his most recent offer coming in from the East Coast.

"The newest one is West Virginia," he said. "I'm starting to do my research on them. I've gotten a few calls from the coaches, and they seem pretty nice."

Of the 22 schools vying for Heimuli's services, the schools he seems to be hearing the most from these days are Washington, UCLA, USC, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

So with schools coming and going, has Heimuli gotten to a point where he is ready to narrow his list from 10 down to five?

According to Heimuli, things have changed since he eliminated schools in August, and now he has opened things back up.

"That top 10 stuff was just to kind of get everyone off my back," admitted Heimuli. "They kept on bugging me so I just threw out a few names, but everybody still has a chance - I'm still considering all schools."

Looking ahead, a decision for the Rivals100 lineman will most likely not come until Signing Day if things keep going the way they are.

Said Heimuli, "Right now I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dragging this out until February."

When pressed about where his coaches and teammates want to see him end up, Heimuli indicated one school in particular seems to be brought up more than any other.

"A lot of the (coaching) staff members are thinking I'm going to go and play for USC," he said. "But I told them I don't know yet."

For now, the focus for the highly sought-after lineman will be getting his team into the state playoffs. The Brighton Bengals will face off against cross-town rival Jordan High School Tuesday night in a playoff elimination game.

"We just need to go out and play how we usually play. We sometimes step down to their level, but we just need to stay on our level and that way we can win."

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Masoli Named National Player of the Week

The Ducks jumped four spots in the USA Today coaches poll to No. 8, and three positions in the AP top 25 to No. 7. Oregon was 10th in last week’s BCS rankings, which will be updated later this afternoon.

Oregon junior quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has been named the national offensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Masoli ran for a season-high 164 yards and passed for 222 more, totaling 386 yards of offense in UO’s 47-20 victory over then-No. 4 USC. He also rushed for one score and threw another.

Over his past four games, Masoli has a quarterback rating of 156.91, completing nearly 71 percent of his pass attemps with six touchdowns through the air against zero interceptions. During that span he has four rushing touchdowns and is averaging 260 yards of total offense.

Masoli is the second Duck to receive the weekly honor his season. Ed Dickson earned the award in Week 4.

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Masoli Make Trojans Pony Up

Oregon’s spread-option offense lived up to its billing in Saturday’s 47-20 win over No. 4 USC, the 10th-ranked Ducks spreading the field with screens in the passing game and gashing the Trojans on the ground with the option.

Jeremiah Masoli completed 19 passes, none longer than 23 yards, and also ran for 164 yards. He complemented the efforts of redshirt freshman tailback LaMichael James, who had a career-best rushing total for the third straight game, with 183 yards.

“You have to defend the entire field because of how good our running backs are, how well our offensive line is playing right now, and the quarterback,” UO coach Chip Kelly said. “It really stresses a defense when you’ve got all that clicking.”

A week after running for 154 yards against Washington, and two games after reaching 152 at UCLA, James put on his best show yet for the home crowd. He ran for 91 yards in the third quarter, when USC’s defense wilted under Oregon’s pressure.

“I was telling them to speed up,” James said. “I was like, ‘Go faster, go faster, they’re getting tired, they’re getting tired.’ And that’s what they did.”

With his patience and elusiveness Saturday, James resembled the other Willamette Valley wonder, Oregon State tailback Quizz Rodgers, who also has run the Trojans ragged the past two years. James’ yardage came on 18 carries, for an average of 9.4 yards per rush.

“They’re different in style, but very, very effective, and (James is) very fast,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “On this turf, he was flying out there tonight. We just lost track of him back in the backfield about four or five times when he got 10 or 15 yards on us. They were making seven, eight yards a carry on bad plays for them. It was a terrible night for us, and he enjoyed the fun of that one. I don’t know who’s better and that kind of stuff. They’re both really good, and they’re too good for us.”

Masoli, meanwhile, av-eraged 11.8 yards on his 13 carries. It was possible to forget that, barely more than a week ago, there were fears that the knee injury that sidelined him against UCLA might do so for much longer.

With his three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Masoli went over 1,000 rushing yards in his career.

“We had a tough time tackling Masoli tonight, and we didn’t feel that was going to be the big issue,” said Carroll, who said earlier in the week that Masoli’s running ability was the key to Oregon’s offense. “We thought we’d be able to get to him and get him down when we had our chances.

“They did everything that they wanted to do. It was really pretty easy for them tonight.”

Each of Oregon’s final four touchdown drives featured big runs by James and Masoli. James slipped a tackle for a 33-yard gain to set up the Ducks’ first score of the second quarter, and Masoli tucked the ball on a pass play later in the period for a 48-yard gain.

Similarly, Oregon’s first touchdown drive of the third quarter featured a 26-yard gain by Masoli, and the second included a 23-yard gain by James. The latter drive also included a 17-yard run by Masoli that was similar to his big 48-yard rush, when he took advantage of USC’s man coverage in the passing game to find room to run.

“We didn’t expect to do that, necessarily,” UO offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said of the Ducks’ season-best production. “But at the same time, our guys are capable of doing that when you get kind of close to the total package working.”

Which was the case Saturday.

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