It's a pretty great time to be in Oregon and out of the Midwest. I've been cold for the last 3 days, something I haven't felt in weeks.

As for the quack today. It's a bit rough. I guess everyone was too busy blowing things up. Here's what I could find.

• Mark Helfrich was tabbed by the Orlando Sentinal as an assistant coach to watch. While the article is probably overstating Helfrich's contributions a bit, calling it "his" offense, even though, well, that's just not the case. But while they may get their reasoning wrong, they may not be all that much off in that he's a coach to watch. When Chip Kelly almost left for the NFL, Helfrich was widely rumored to be the choice to succeed him.
• The college football postseason is becoming much more clear, with the ACC now assured a place at the big boys table. Also, I may have missed it, but it hasn't been discussed much around here. I'm really, really excited for the new importance of New Years and college football. Two straight days of great college football? Count me in.
• Jon Wilner has more on the Pac-12 Network which launches next month. He has an overview of the current situation (we're still waiting on the Dish companies, but don't panic until Aug 29th), and answers some specific reader Q&A. At Pacific Takes, Avinash has a few more comments.
• At FishDuck, Josh takes a look at how to defend the spread. Zone or man? While Cal was very successful two years ago with the cover 0, it has not been easy for anyone (even them) to get consistent results with any scheme.

Annnnnnd, that's it. We're in the home stretch though. Less than a month until fall camp and the Olympics start this month. We'll get through this. Just make to share anything else in the comments. GO DUCKS!