Sorry, bad quoting. I meant how likely is it they win the championship? It sounds like he listed some other reasons anyway.
The only team they lost to this year was Oregon, and that game was in Eugene. Next (or later this) year they play in Palo Alto, where Stanford beat them two years ago.
Sure, Stanford loses people, but so does Oregon. And Harbaugh’s recruiting classes and player development have been excellent; they can reload at most positions. Even if Harbaugh leaves, they’re stocked for a while.
Oregon will be the favorite to win the conference next year, but Stanford will be right up there. And, right now, it looks like the rest of the Pac-12 is a battle for third again. USC’s got issues and is on probation anyway. Sark still needs a year or two to get the talent level at UW up to par to really compete for the conference title, but things are trending up. Arizona started strong but finished the season in a tailspin; the last time they won a game was Halloween. Oregon State loses a Rodgers brother or two. UCLA’s a disaster. Cal’s soul searching after yet another mid-season collapse and they’re busy cleaning house. Etc, etc. Arizona State actually might be in a decent place; they lose like two or three kids to graduation, everyone else returns. If ASU hadn’t played two lower-division schools they would have gone bowling. WSU? Long live Wulf!!!
So Luck’s gotta figure Stanford has as good a shot as any other team in the land right now.
Or maybe he really just didn’t wanna play for the Carolina Panthers.
That may be very well true too, but I’d find it hard to believe that Luck isn’t looking at the schedule and thinking he’s got a reasonable shot. They’re going to finish this year in the top 5.
Lorini
1845
He may have given up a lot of money if the proposed rookie salary cap is in place by the time he gets to the NFL though. On the other hand, had he come out and there would be no season next year because of the lockout, he would have been better off staying in school.
Bluto
1846
That’s it. The NFL labor apocalypse has a lot of guys scared.
It’s hard to blame Luck for not coming out. He’s the number one guy at a great school in a beautiful part of the country. He’s a king there.
bluemax
1847
I still think Oregon is the overwhelming favorite to win the Pac 12 North, even if Harbaugh comes back.
Stanford is nowhere near the level of being able to simply reload.
AlanC
1848
If there is a rookie salary cap, won’t it be in place for the 2011 draftees?
I thought that was the reason we saw a lot of guys leave college early last year.
Lorini
1849
I would think it would depend on if there was a 2011 season or not :) I would also doubt that the rookie salary cap would go into place this year; normally those types of things are usually done with a year’s grace period in order to give people (players) time to adjust.
Because there are still a lot of negotiations to be made and compromises to be decided upon, everyone is just using best guesses and crystal balls to decide whether it’s better to come out this year or next. Hard to say anyone is really wrong.
Sarkus
1851
I’ve heard mixed things about whether the rookie salary cap would apply, but most of the people who say it wouldn’t are pundits and not insiders. One former NFL exec I heard last night said that the draft would basically be the last thing done before the NFL would shut down with a lockout, so his assumption is that all contracts, including those for rookies taken in that draft, would be under the new rules.
Sarkus
1852
Man, Mike Leach is going to be unemployed for a long time.
Wonder if any NFL team would hire a craaaaaazy offensive coordinator.
Enidigm
1854
I know this sounds bizarre but what are the odds this was either leaked by or otherwise connected to Tuberville so that he could break contract and leave? Wouldn’t his contract allow him to ditch Tech if they “violated” their terms by committing offenses previous to his tenure that significantly damaged his department’s position?
Rimbo
1855
Mr. Harsin, welcome to Austin.
As a poster on a UT BBS posted… “Can we go back to being arrogant assholes now?”
No. Win 6 games next year and then you can think about it.
My first reaction was “who?”
After Googling his name, my second reaction was “lawl stealing from the WAC”
Just teasing though. I’m glad you have something to keep you in a wired state for the next 8 months straight, Rimbo.
Yeah, because a better team will have the first pick in 2012.
Rimbo
1859
Enjoy it while it lasts. It won’t last long.
Lorini
1860
The rookie salary cap and when it will apply would be negotiated under the new contract, so no one can know for sure.
