— Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti will retire after 21 seasons (over three stints) with the Ducks. The 59-year-old spent the 1998 season at UCLA prior to his most recent stretch in Eugene.

— Washington defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox will join Steve Sarkisian at USC after the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

— Forbes examines the importance of luck in the rise of Oregon football.

— A win over Boise State doesn’t answer looming questions for Oregon State football.

— NAU coach and former Arizona manager Jack Murphy looks back on the Wildcats’ 2002-03 season, one that saw the top-seeded team fall short of the Final Four.

— Arizona State and Texas Tech are trying to schedule a home-and-home football series starting in 2017.

— Cal is losing two juniors to the NFL draft.

— Stanford guard David Yankey’s history traces back to Australia, Ghana and Slovakia.

— Utah tight end Jake Murphy will declare for the NFL rather than return for his senior season. The 24-year-old happens to be close friends with UCLA offensive lineman Xavier Su’a-Filo, who is mulling his own draft decision.

— Washington football manager Danny Razore is known as “Coach Passion.”

— Washington State basketball is relying on a trio of newcomers.

— What if college basketball were a one-semester sport? The Wall Street Journal examines the implications.