1. Tim Beckman, fired by Illinois on Friday, extends the program's remarkable parade of coaches who didn't succeed. Since Hall of Famer Bob Zuppke retired in 1941, Illinois has had 11 head coaches. Only two of them, Mike White (1980-87) and John Mackovic (1988-91), left the program with winning records overall and in the Big Ten, and White resigned because of repeated NCAA violations. The university sits within three hours of Chicago and St. Louis, two rich recruiting veins. It shouldn't be that hard to win there.
2. Stanford head coach David Shaw would prefer to have five solid starters on the offensive line and two or three backups that he trusts. Last season, he had five total, and the line struggled for 10 games to protect quarterback Kevin Hogan and open holes for the running game. Midway through preseason practice, Shaw already thought he had "seven, maybe eight" offensive linemen who can play regularly. The left side of the line, with co-captain Josh Garnett at guard and Kyle Murphy at tackle, will be the stronger side.
3. Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost said that when graduate transfer quarterback Vernon Adams arrived in Eugene, they could get right down to business. When freshman recruits arrive, Frost said, they're "still a little naïve, most of them, naive and dreaming about what college football would be like ... . Kind of like when guys get drafted to the NFL? It blows my mind when they get their name called. They go up and give [Commissioner) Roger Goodell a hug. What did Roger Goodell do? But they're in such euphoria about getting drafted, they're hugging everybody. A lot of incoming freshmen are that way.”