USC? No, but Million Thanks

It’s all over and done with--call it ancient Mike Garrett history.

Pete Carroll is USC’s man, yet it doesn’t hurt to wonder how close Oregon State Coach Dennis Erickson and Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti came to becoming the next Trojan coach. Frankly, we could never see Erickson sitting in traffic on the Santa Monica Freeway on his way to work, and Bellotti looks so much like Oregon he could be on the cover of Lumberjack Quarterly.

But during a recent trip to Oregon, Erickson sounded like a man who agonized over the decision.

“It was an enticing situation for me,� Erickson said of the USC offer. “The timing just wasn’t right. I still think it’s one of the great programs in college football and it will always be.

“Five, 10 years ago, maybe it would have been different. I’ve been through a lot of wars, some good, some bad, but they are wars.�

Many believe Erickson was leaning toward taking the job but changed his mind when his coaching staff, many of whom have been with him for years, were reluctant to relocate to Southern California.

Regrets?

“No, I’m having fun,� Erickson said.

Bellotti was more diplomatic in his answer. USC turned to the Oregon coach after Erickson said no. Bellotti also interviewed for the Ohio State opening.

“It was interesting, especially a program like that,� Bellotti said of USC. “I’ve been courted by other people since I’ve been here, but it’s been because of what these kids and the staff has done.�

Bellotti is the winningest Pacific 10 Conference coach since taking over for Rich Brooks in 1995, going 49-22 overall and 30-18 in conference play.

Bellotti has two teenage children and another in grammar school and said he probably would not consider uprooting until his older kids are out of high school. The decision to stay in Eugene?

“It was easier for me than people think,� Bellotti said. “Life is pretty short. If you keep starting over all the time, pretty soon you run out.�

Plus, Erickson and Bellotti parlayed the USC offer into lucrative, million-dollar deals.

Bowl Business

The Aloha Bowl’s demise has altered the conference’s bowl lineup. The Seattle Bowl, formerly the Oahu, will feature the Pac-10 No. 4 versus Atlantic Coast Conference’s No. 4. The Pac-10’s No. 5 team now goes to the Las Vegas Bowl to play the Mountain West Conference’s No. 2

Explanation, please?

When the Aloha Bowl was shopping its game to San Francisco and Anaheim, the Pac-10 balked because it thought the Christmas Day game was a losing proposition. Yet, the conference has now agreed to play in the Las Vegas Bowl, being moved from Dec. 20 to Dec. 25. Jim Muldoon, the Pac-10’s assistant commissioner, recently explained that the Las Vegas Bowl “seems a different situation.� He said the conference believes because Las Vegas is a resort destination, fans will be more likely to travel around the Christmas holidays.

Muldoon also said the previous Dec. 20 Las Vegas Bowl date caused final exam problems for four schools.

Pac Bits

Arizona State, Stanford and Washington don’t open the season until Sept. 8, but they all get home starts: Arizona State plays San Diego State, Stanford hosts Boston College and Washington plays Michigan.

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Receiver saga: Charles Frederick, one of the nation’s top recruits out of Florida, has been giving Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel fits since walking out of camp after a fight with a teammate Monday. Frederick said he’d be back Wednesday, but again was a no-show. Clearly, Neuheisel’s patience is waning. “It’s not as though Randy Moss walked out of camp,� he said.

Oregon State tailback Ken Simonton on his school making the cover of Sports Illustrated: “The SI thing shocked a lot of people, but it was good for us. We already had a target on our back. I don’t think our players realized how big that target was. That kind of solidified it.�

Erickson on the Beavers’ newfound national status: “Some people are waiting for us to disappear just as quickly as we appeared.� An opening loss at Fresno State Sunday just might do the trick.