Up And Down The Coast, Pac-12 Lunch Links: Protecting The Rose Bowl

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for links, where were bring you the latest news, notes and commentary throughout the Pac-12 conference. Let's go ahead and get rolling.

• As we discussed earlier this morning, four former Pac-12 players -- California QB Steve Bartkowski, Colorado OG John Wooten, UCLA OT Jonathan Ogden and USC TE Hal Bedsole -- have been named to the College Football Hall of Fame's 17-member 2012 class. Though maybe the hall of fame's irrelevant anyway.
• Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis quipped that a college football playoff will not have games played at home sites on campus, but at neutral sites, in an effort to preserve the Rose Bowl, which he says is "critical."
• Want to take that even further? Rachel Bachman of the Wall Street Journal opines that the Pac-12 and the Big Ten must opt out of a college football playoff in order to preserve the Rose Bowl.
• USC can only sign 15 players for its next recruiting class as the result of NCAA sanctions, but it already has six commits for the class of 2013 and the list is growing. On Tuesday, the Trojans got a commitment from Ty Isaac -- a running back from Joliet, Ill. Rivals.com rates him as the No. 18 player nationally and the second-best tailback. Here are some highlights.
• CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman calls UCLA running back/wide receiver Steven Manfro one of his "most pleasant surprise players" of spring practice.
• Yesterday, the USA Today released its annual report, examining revenue and spending in college athletics. Our SEC friends at Team Speed Kills helped break down the finances.
• Speaking of money, here's an interesting stat: Oregon's revenue growth over the last six years is at 90 percent. Oregon State, comparatively, is at four percent. They say winning helps.
• College baseball is still ongoing, and currently, the Pac-12 has six teams in Baseball America's top-25 poll in Oregon at No. 9, UCLA at No. 11, Arizona at No. 14, Stanford at No. 17, Arizona State at No. 19 and Oregon State at No. 23.
• Here's a quick update on some of the Olympic sports: On Sunday, Stanford women's water polo won the national championship, beating USC 6-4 in the title game in San Diego. The Pac-12 track & field championships were also held in Eugene, where Oregon finished with a clean sweep.

For everything related to Pac-12 football, basketball and Olympic sports, stay tuned at Pacific Takes or follow us on Twitter.