Talking football

Will the Rose Bowl lose luster with a playoff?

Let’s touch on some various football topics.

First one, is a story I wrote for Thursday’s edition of the GT. It’s one the proper time and way to get football players ready for high school.

Why the story, you ask? I’ve been wondering this for a while. Many times Oregon State coach Mike Riley finds players who start football in high school or even later.

So, I asked local high schools coaches what they needed for players to be ready for the prep level. I also wondered what it’s like coaching Pop Warner, trying to explain blocking schemes and pass routes.

It’s not like I have an easy time teaching a youth player how to bunt or hold runner on first coaching baseball.

On the topic of local football, two Crescent Valley High offensive linemen are going to Portland State. So the Vikings are ahead of the Beavers in commits by at least one.

Check out this column on the idea of playing college football players now that there’s a playoff coming soon. Here’s more of news story about the idea.

And it looks like the GT editorial board likes the four-team playoff. I was not in on the editorial meetings.

ESPN’s Ted Miller looks at the purgatory we are in as we wait for the football playoffs to begin, while using the BCS system for two more years.

And for some bowl game breaking news, ESPN reached a 12-year extension with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Big Ten Conference and the Pac-12 Conference to continue the company’s long-standing relationship with the Rose Bowl Game.

The agreement, which begins in January 2015, include rights to the annual Rose Bowl Game across ESPN’s platforms through 2026. Each year, the game will be played Jan. 1 at 2 p.m.  (or on Jan. 2 in years when Jan 1 is a Sunday) and will feature the champions from the Big Ten and Pac-12.