1.Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds believes all the nerves on edge because of expansion could be calmed if the NCAA passed legislation removing the minimum of 12 members needed to stage a conference championship game. Then there would be no need to add members in order to jumpstart revenue. The 12-team minimum is arbitrary. The rule originally had been written for a lower NCAA classification. The SEC got a ruling to apply the rule to Division I-A.
2.The Pac-10 has the best quarterbacks in the nation. Yet it will be interesting to see how sophomore passers Andrew Luck of Stanford and Matt Barkley of USC adjust to new quarterback coaches. Stanford quarterback coach Ron Turner returned to the NFL this week, taking a job with the Colts after spending a couple of weeks on The Farm. Turner is the second assistant in this offseason to accept an offer from head coach Jim Harbaugh and leave in a matter of days.
3.The most amazing aspect of USC hiring Fresno State assistant coach John Baxter as its special teams coach is that it took so long for an AQ program to lure him away. Baxter is renowned for turning a program that had trouble scraping together a cumulative C average into a shining light. If coaches emphasize books, players will respond. Baxter’s hiring is a smart choice by USC coach Lane Kiffin.