Roundup: Rose Bowl showdown between Oregon and Florida State is here

Tough loss for the Pac-12 Wednesday in the Fiesta Bowl, but now it’s time for the College Football Playoff. There’s no better setting for a semifinal than the Rose Bowl, where No. 2 Oregon takes on No. 3 Florida State (2 p.m. PT, ESPN). Chantel Jennings gives us a Rose Bowl viewers’ guide to digest in preparation for kickoff. I’m sure the week leading up to the game has been fun for Ducks fans, but Oregon football was trying to avoid distractions as it prepared for the Rose Bowl, writes Andrew Greif.

But back to the Fiesta for a bit… Arizona fell to Boise State 38-30 despite a hard-charging comeback, and quarterback Anu Solomon took the blame for Arizona running out of time on its final drive (he was tackled in bounds on the last play of the game, allowing the clock to completely bleed out). Also, Anthony Gimino writes that Arizona’s defensive focus came too late to save the Wildcats. The defense was stellar in the second half and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown; problem was that Boise State put up 31 in the first 30 minutes.

Scott Wolf (among others) reports that Tim Drevno is leaving USC to be the offensive coordinator at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. He was the offensive line coach for Sark in Troy.

Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press writes that a three-game win streak to end the season has renewed optimism for Stanford football in 2015. It also helps that wide receiver Devon Cajuste will return to Stanford for a fifth season.

Hey, did you know that UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley and Donovan McNabb share the same barber in Arizona? Hundley says the two talk at least once a week.

Paola Boivin writes that Arizona State’s D.J. Foster is everything that is right with college sports. Foster recently announced he’ll be returning for his senior season.

Christian Caple ponders which position would be best for Shaq Thompson in the NFL. The Washington linebacker/running back has not decided one way or another yet with respect to entering the draft or returning for his senior year.

Nice – now-former Washington State wide receiver Vince Mayle has accepted an invite to the NFL combine.

Heading into conference play, Colorado men’s basketball doesn’t have any big wins on its resume. The Buffs are 0-5 against the RPI top 150, writes Brian Howell.

Connor Letourneau of The Oregonian gives us five questions facing Oregon State men’s basketball as it enters conference play. The Beavs open up with the Quacks Saturday in Eugene.

Kyle Goon of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Gabe Bealer has joined the Utah men's basketball already. He signed in November and was expected to play his sophomore year at City College of San Francisco (same juco as Delon Wright), but he sustained a season-ending knee injury and elected to get a jump-start on his academics in SLC (obviously, he won’t be playing this year). He should be a sophomore next season, provided he gets a medical redshirt for this season.

Conference play is just around the corner, so read some Cal basketball game notes as it prepares for the Pac-12 lidlifter against Washington Friday night at Haas Pavilion (only on the Pac-12 Networks, y'all).