Two years ago, Jim Harbaugh and Stanford buried USC’s hopes at a national title, 23-21, in what’s largely believed to be the biggest upset against the point spread in college football history. Last year, USC went to Palo Alto and won 45-23 in a game that got a little coach-chippy with some unnecessary scoring in the final minutes, with Pete Carroll telling reporters that he “doesn’t care what [Harbaugh] does.” Mr. Carroll, it might be time to start caring.

(What’s the deal?” “No, what’s your deal?” “No, what’s YOUR deal?” “No, YOUR deal…”)

It’s a toss-up whether to characterize last weekend’s 55-21 score as “misleading”; on one hand, Stanford absolutely put it on USC, running all over the Trojans for the entire game. On the other, it was still a 7-point game in the fourth quarter before the Cardinal broke it open; in fact, if last year’s late scoring was a misdemeanor, this was a gross felony, with Harbaugh even going for 2 late to try to hang 50 on the Trojans. Carroll, as you can imagine, was unamused.

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After Jim Harbaugh took a slap at Pete Carroll upon his hire at Stanford three years ago, no one should be surprised that the The Card didn’t exactly purport themselves with class during their 55-21 beatdown of USC today at the L.A. Coliseum.

The video of Stanford’s Drew Terrell and Ekom Udofia taunting USC fans today with a mock “Fight On” was preceded by Coach Harbaugh’s very own wound-salter.

(Chris Dufresne of LA TIMES, Jerome Solomon of Houston Chronicle) Read more…

• Danica Patrick could be removing her racing suit to pose for an all-nude (yet tastefully done) pictorial for ESPN The Magazine.

(Well, it’s a start)

• And the Rick Pitino sex-tortion scandal gets more & more pitiful.

• This FIBA Americas basketball tournament is getting quite rough. If it isn’t Mexico & Uruguay throwing punches & chairs, it’s security hassling Charlie Villanueva & his mother.

• College football players could lose their hotel privileges - for home games. But keeping the kids out of the local Motel 6 could actually be a bad idea.

• Are fantasy sports bad for your relationships? Well, in Texas, it can certainly be bad for your health.

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• While Stanford suffers through athletic budget problems, football coach Jim Harbaugh gets himself a new $70,000 private bathroom & shower.

• The SEC is certainly a selfless b-ball conference. When the players aren’t giving up scholarships to allow other people onto the team, their coaches are giving up raises so they can afford team trips to Australia.

• UConn is taking the first steps to curtail catastrophic cheerleader injuries.

• Schools aren’t sold on Bud Light’s plans for college-colored Fan Cans.

• Are fantasy sports a nightmare for relationships & fan allegiances?

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We’re all well aware of the financial difficulties facing may college athletic programs. Schools are constantly looking for ways to help trim budgets, whether it’s halting the practice of hosting football players in hotel rooms before home games, or convincing basketball coaches to turn down raises so their team can afford trips to Australia.

Stanford is one such school not immune to budgetary shortfalls. 20 Cardinal athletics employees have already lost their jobs, and some of the less revenue-generating sports could be headed for the chopping block. So it seems like just as good a time as any to build football coach Jim Harbaugh a $70,000 private bathroom.

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Jim Harbaugh is one of the bright young coaching lights in college football, having completely turned around Stanford’s program in 18 months. So why is he now tiptoeing around football’s bottomless pit? (See Black Hole.)

(No word if Davis requires Harbaugh’s first-born to secure head coaching job)

The SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS reports that the Raiders “are very interested in talking with Harbaugh about becoming their next coach.”

When confronted by the media about the report, Harbaugh neither confirmed nor denied his interest. I wonder who that’s worse news for, the coach or the Cardinal. Read more…

The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports this afternoon that, “University of Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham has resigned. Willingham will coach the Huskies through the end of season.

“Willingham and athletic director Scott Woodward made the announcement at a news conference Monday.”

Many will point to Willingham’s replacement at Notre Dame, Charlie Weis, as contributing to Willingham’s demise at UW. But the program was long gone before ND arrived last Saturday.

So this is a low point for Willingham, but far from, in my opinion, the end of his coaching career. Read more…

Stanford offensive lineman Chris Marinelli talked a big game earlier this week when he said that he “hated” Notre Dame, Catholics, and pretty much anyone who’s ever lived in the state of Indiana. He backed it up with…well, he’s an offensive lineman so it’s kinda hard to quantify what he did exactly. But his team lost, so all that yapping really worked out for him.

Marinelli’s motivation apparently worked for the Irish, though, who built a 28-7 lead before holding on for a 28-21 win over the Cardinal in South Bend. But we were treated to a little extra drama, as the teams scuffled after the final whistle and then Jimmy Clausen accused Jim Harbaugh of giving him the cold shoulder afterward. And, naturally, Pac-10 officials screwed up a call in the second quarter that had Harbaugh livid.

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When you have one of the best new stadiums in college football but also one of the most perpetually lousy programs, you need to get creative to put butts in seats. And that’s exactly what the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE is reporting Stanford is trying to do with their latest offer: If you aren’t happy with the “entertainment value” of your season tickets, you can get a full refund.

This is bold, and certainly better than their Plan B marketing strategy: “Remember How We Beat USC At The Coliseum Last Season? Maybe We’ll Do It At Home This Year!”

And therein lies the catch of this incredible offer.

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• SONS OF STEVE GARVEY tosses out some fun photos of Jackie Chan kickin’ it with the Dodgers.

• STEROID NATION comes across strange news of Chinese authorities reportedly testing performance-enhancing drugs on prisoners, and somehow hoping the results can help disqualify Western athletes & give more medals to China.

• DEUCE OF DAVENPORT passes along news that Dan Marino will be giving this year’s commencement speech for the University of Pittsburgh.

• JOE SPORTS FAN can’t find any relief, as this Wrigley visitor decides to turn a urine trough into a Slip ‘n’ Slide.

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