Bulldog Stadium leaves lasting memory with Wisconsin standout

So what's Wisconsin safety Chris Maragos' favorite place to play on the road?

Penn State? Nope. Michigan? Nope. Ohio State? Nope. You can find the answer in this excerpt of this story from the Badger Herald student newspaper:

Chris Maragos: Camp Randall Stadium. You can’t beat Camp Randall, but if I had to say an away game, because I’m biased toward Camp Randall, I have to say — you see, I didn’t go to Penn State, so that’s one stadium I haven’t seen — Michigan was just average I thought, Ohio State was pretty cool, that was definitely a cool one. But I’ll tell you this, though, when we went and played Fresno State last year, that was crazy.

Their fans were so nuts, we’re coming out and their fans were like on the cages banging it and stuff, ripping over the security guards and barking at us. It was intense; that’s probably the rowdiest I’ve ever seen.

Did Ryan Mathews make the right decision?

The Fresno Bee followed a report by ESPN that star Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews is declaring a year early to the NFL.

Was it the best decision for Mathews? Did he have anything left to prove at Fresno State? Will the money be too much to pass up? What round will he go in during April's NFL Draft?

Couldn't have scripted it better

"Tommy drafted by broncos," read the text message I received en route to a wedding on Sunday afternoon. "First pick in 6th round."

Before I could even react that oh-so-familiar beeping alert of another text message popped up. "49ers select bear!" Yep, it came from a happy Niners fan.

My reaction -- wow, what a perfect situation for both these guys. Jay Cutler leaves the Denver Broncos, and Fresno State Tom Brandstater, a guy who's been considered a marginal prospect by many goes to the team with the least quarterback depth in the NFL. No one, not even Tommy B. himself, expected he'd get a starting job right away. And there's a heck of a chance he still won't. But the good thing for him is he's got a solid chance to make a roster and he doesn't have a steep hill to climb with the guys in front of him (Kyle Orton and Chris Simms) looking more like foothills than mountains.

Bear Pascoe, Fresno State's lovable calf-roping champion of a tight end, gets to be a San Francisco 49er. Another sixth-round pick, it's pretty much certain Pascoe will see the field right away, probably as the 49ers No. 1 blocking tight end in short-yardage situations. The good thing is -- no matter how slow his 40-time was perceived to be at the combine -- Pascoe's got great hands and good game speed. He'll make plays at the next level and become a fixture. Just a hunch, but don't be surprised if Mike Singletary falls in love with Pascoe's style of play.