Roundup: Cal football showing major signs of improvement

Want some signs of an improved Cal football team? It’s scoring early and executing in the red zone, writes Jeff Faraudo.

As one would expect, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota leads the latest Heisman Pundit straw poll.

It looks like Buck Allen will need to continue to go beast, because USC running back Tre Madden is unlikely to play against Boston College (turf toe). And hey, look at this campaign poster to vote for USC to make the College Football Playoff.

Let’s read another feature on UCLA two-way stud Myles Jack, this one written by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. Jack had his first touchdown run of the season Saturday night against Memphis, and it was pretty impressive. Oh, and a very nice article by Chris Low of ESPN on why Jim Mora stayed at UCLA when both Washington and Texas (this week’s opponent) took a run at landing his services.

Really good feature on Carolina Panthers quarterback Derek Anderson. The former Beaver led the Panthers to a Week 1 victory over Tampa Bay in Cam Newton’s absence. He’s had a lot of ups and downs in his career, but it looks like he’s trending upward again.

Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post looks at Colorado football’s struggles in Pac-12 play. This week’s opponent, Arizona State, has outscored the Buffs 153-44 over the last three seasons, but Mike MacIntyre isn’t looking for a moral victory by trying to keep it close; he’s looking to go 1-0 this week, as per usual.

Let’s learn a little more about Washington running back Lavon Coleman, who has had a very good first two weeks of the season (196 rushing yards on almost six yards per carry). Welcome back to the roundup, Christian Caple.

Time to check back in with Tyler Lockman, who writes about Laiu Moeakiola’s transition to linebacker. He made the switch from safety to LB, and it hath paid off. After a nine-tackle performance against New Mexico, Moeakiola has been named a team captain.

Sure, the Utes have scored 115 points in their first two weeks combined, but Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham says his team can improve offensively. I mean, I guess Utah could have scored 60 against Fresno State instead of 59…

There’s a new receiver on the Washington State football team – Barry Ware (freshman, 6’2’’, 213 pounds). Leach says he looks good, but it’s unlikely that he’ll play this season.

Kevin Gemmell examines the “shaky” line play for Stanford football. The offensive line was flagged thrice for holding all of 2013 but twice already through two games in 2014.

College basketball sage Jon Rothstein thinks Arizona men’s basketball will be deeper this coming season. Gabe York and Elliott Pitts figure to be key role players for a team that has a loaded starting five along with some very nice freshmen and a Juco transfer (Kadeem Allen).