Tough times for UCLA's Dorrell, Arizona's Stoops

Seems as though it was only yesterday that college teams were sweating through two-a-days, targeting big bowl games and getting antsy for openers. But by the Ides of September, here were two Pac-10 coaches getting fried by their faithful, some of whom are ready to mail in their beer money to buy them out.

These aren't the best of times for either Karl Dorrell of UCLA or Mike Stoops of Arizona. Dorrell's teams have a nagging tendency to forget they have a game — as they did in losing 44-6 to injury-ravaged Utah — and Stoops' rebuild seemingly can't get out of neutral.

Their futures might not be what you think.

First, Dorrell. His team hosts Washington on Saturday. Rick Neuheisel's first offensive coordinator at the UW in 1999, he is an even-keeled, well-spoken gentleman.

But as a guy to rally the troops? It's become apparent he might have trouble leading the neighborhood kids to Baskin-Robbins.

Dorrell's five seasons at UCLA (he's 31-22) have been pocked with all sorts of epic plunges like the one last week. One of those came in 2005, when the Bruins, 8-0 and seventh-ranked on the first Saturday in November, lost 52-14 to an Arizona team that won three games.

But UCLA is a funny place. The school that has won more national titles in all sports has a way of thinking small in many respects. It has held the line on salaries, not necessarily a bad thing if you make the right choices.

Dorrell's pay isn't in the top half of Pac-10 coaches. Ben Howland's salary is about $1.3 million, or about a million less than the top-end basketball coaches. For years, UCLA struggled to find even a remote facsimile of John Wooden. It failed miserably, partly because it couldn't, or wouldn't, pay.

It doesn't have a fan or donor base that is particularly powerful or influential — witness its limp support of UCLA football on the road.

So the internal expectations for Dorrell aren't outlandish. The Bruins' schedule is relatively favorable, and if he's moderately successful, he's expected to survive — although following the loss to Utah with one to the Huskies would surely raise the temperature.

Stoops, meanwhile, is 13-24 in his fourth year in Tucson. The record shouldn't be as consequential as the fact the Wildcats can't seem to turn the corner. They appeared unstoppable last November with consecutive upsets of Washington State, Cal and Oregon, but just when they looked like they had arrived, they burped up a two-touchdown home loss to rival Arizona State and at 6-6, fell out of a bowl bid.

This was one take on Stoops before the season: He was hired by athletic director Jim Livengood, who also appointed his predecessor, John Mackovic. We all know how that turned out. So if it's a hairline call, would Livengood be inclined to admit that he botched one hire atop the disaster before it?

That may not be the dynamic. Last year, Arizona hired a new president, Robert Shelton, who could wield his own firm hand with Stoops (and even Livengood).

One place where Stoops — whose team has a tough date at Cal on Saturday — has left himself vulnerable: His overheated sideline demeanor. He got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty last week. When you're 13-24, you don't want to give the bosses an opening.

The other USC

Steve Spurrier takes his 12th-ranked South Carolina team to No. 2 LSU on Saturday, sporting the highest rating by the Gamecocks in six years.

They're not expected to make history, but they've never beaten a team ranked higher than No. 3. The Gamecocks have beaten two patsies, sandwiching a victory at Georgia.

Fifth-year senior Blake Mitchell leads South Carolina. He's advertised as the only quarterback in school history with wins over Georgia, Clemson, Florida and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, some folks are focused on the long-range coaching implications. LSU coach Les Miles is popularly seen as Lloyd Carr's successor at Michigan, and Spurrier is already being asked if he would then replace Miles.

"Tell LSU they had a shot at me back in 1986," Spurrier fired back at a Louisiana reporter who asked the question. "I didn't even get a second interview back then."

Rocky Flop

Tennessee has allowed 104 points in losses to Cal and Florida, fuel for critics of coach Phil Fulmer. The Memphis Commercial-Appeal points out that the Vols are only 2-8 in their past 10 games against ranked teams; that Fulmer is 4-8 against Spurrier, 0-3 against Urban Meyer and 2-4 against Mark Richt; and their past five ranked opponents have battered them for 218 rushing yards a game.

And what's more ...

• Nick Saban might be tough to work for, but his Alabama assistants are well-compensated. Records obtained by The Birmingham News show two assistants making $350,000 and the lowest-paid aide getting $170,000.

• The last time Oregon State won at Arizona State (1969), Richard Nixon had been president for eight months.

• Keep an eye on Boston College as a possible BCS team. The 3-0 Eagles have three easy home games, a roadie with Notre Dame and then a relatively mild ACC schedule. By then, you might be familiar with the name of their first-year coach, Jeff Jagodzinski.

• Hard to believe, but Penn State, which hosts Michigan, has lost eight straight to the Wolverines, and Joe Paterno is only 3-9, his worst record against anybody. "That first one against Fielding Yost was tough," Paterno cracked. JoePa isn't quite that old — Yost coached Michigan from 1901 to 1923.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com