Up And Down The Coast, Pac-12 Lunch Links: Gaffney To Pursue Pro Baseball

We're less than two months away from the start of the college football season, so here are some pigskin-centric links. Enjoy:

• Stanford loses another player from its 2011 backfield, as running back Tyler Gaffney, who rushed for 449 yards and seven touchdowns, has opted to pursue a baseball career full-time. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• Though the automatic qualifiers were expected to fade out under a four-team playoff system, it looks as if conferences such as the Pac-12 will still have bowl tie-ins. [Examiner.com]
• The Sporting News ranks USC and Oregon State's non-conference schedules as the No. 8 and No. 9 best in the country, respectively. Comparatively, Oregon and Colorado are graded as having the No. 6 and No. 8 worst schedules. [Sporting News]
• Who are the 50 most valuable USC players this season? Quarterback Matt Barkley the logical guess at No. 1, but who's next? [Orange County Register]
• Quarterback Jordan Webb has officially transferred from Kansas to Colorado. Webb has graduated and will be eligible to play this season. [Denver Post]
• Former Washington State wide receiver Shawn McWashington has been hired by the Cougars as a broadcaster, joining their three-man crew. [Seattle Times]
• A week one primer for the Pac-12 South. [ESPN Pac-12 Blog]
• Utah fans reflect on the Utes' first year in the conference. [Block U]
• On the basketball front, Dick Vitale says UCLA and Arizona will lead a resurgence for the conference in 2012-13. [ESPN.com]

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