Some Hope This Leaf Falls Far From the Tree

They’ve turned over a new Leaf at Oregon, and how many more times is Brady Leaf going to hear that one?

He is the youngest brother of Ryan Leaf, perhaps the most outrageous bust in the history of the NFL draft, and Saturday he helped No. 10 Oregon to a 34-31 victory at Washington State, his brother’s alma mater.

“They were on my case a little bit. That’s to be expected when you’re the quarterback for the other team,” said Brady, who came off the bench and passed for 99 yards with one touchdown and a fourth-quarter interception.

Ryan, who had a record-setting career at Washington State before his flameout with the San Diego Chargers, was on the field at Martin Stadium on Saturday.

“He stood kind of toward the end zone on the Washington State sideline,” Brady said. “I knew he’d be there, but I didn’t know where.”

At 6 feet 5 with a powerful arm and a No. 16 jersey, Brady is reminiscent of Ryan.

But nobody wants to know if they’re the same. They want to know if Brady is different.

“I learned a lot through his experience,” said Brady, a sophomore who is nine years younger than Ryan, now 29. “He had an unbelievable college career. His NFL career was short-lived. He did a lot of things people didn’t agree with. It’s helped me understand things, like how you deal with the media.”

And teammates. And coaches. And ...

“He was treated unfairly in some circumstances, and sometimes he handled things poorly,” Brady said.

The younger Leaf wasn’t supposed to play much this season except as the holder on field goals and extra points. He played quarterback only in mop-up duty until Kellen Clemens suffered a broken ankle last month.

Dennis Dixon, another sophomore, became the starter, but Brady came off the bench against California and threw the winning touchdown pass in overtime.

In the last two games, he has completed 21 of 30 passes for 192 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

“Dennis is the starter, but Brady has obviously come in and led us to touchdowns and added his own flair to the game,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said, adding they’ll continue to share time.

Brady was recruited by Washington State but chose not to play in his brother’s shadow.

“It was one of my schools during the recruiting process, but Coach [Mike] Price was leaving and I just liked it here,” Brady said.

He and Ryan, who is living in Montana after returning to Washington State to complete his degree, speak almost every week. But the three Leaf brothers -- Ryan, Brady and their middle brother, Jeff, an actor who lives in Venice -- have their own personality.

“Ryan was the quarterback, and when I was in fourth or fifth grade he was already off to college and we would go to his games,” Brady said. “My brother Jeff is more like a comic, the kid who was cracking jokes. I played quarterback because my older brother did, but yeah, I’m more laid back and not really high-strung.”

At the moment, the biggest controversy Brady is likely to be involved in is a quarterback battle with Dixon, and Leaf is low-keying it.

“We’re both sophomores,” he said. “It easily could go for a while. We try not to think about it. We’re 9-1 and we’ve got one game left. We can’t be starting a quarterback controversy at the very end of the season.”

After the Storm

Louisiana State began the season ranked No. 5.

Then came Hurricane Katrina, a postponed season-opener against North Texas, a home game that was moved across the country to Arizona State and a collapse against Tennessee in which the Tigers blew a 21-point halftime lead and lost in overtime.

Fast forward to Saturday, when LSU knocked Alabama from the list of undefeated teams with a 16-13 overtime victory in Tuscaloosa.

That makes the once stress-weary Tigers 8-1, ranked fourth, and two victories against teams with losing records -- Mississippi and Arkansas -- from playing in the Southeastern Conference title game.

“It’s definitely special,” senior center Rudy Niswanger said. “Guys who were seriously affected by both Katrina and Rita as they came through have been able to really concentrate and play well.

“The SEC stepped in and gave financial help to certain guys and their families.

“The coaches also worked hard to help. I mean, people were trying to locate their families for several days and couldn’t find them.”

Garrett Wibel, a junior offensive lineman from Metairie, La., knew his family was safe because they were with him in Baton Rouge.

Their house on Lake Pontchartrain, however, is a near total loss.

When his parents returned to the family home two weeks after Katrina, they found five feet of water in a house that had been almost split in half by an oak tree

“My parents told me we’ll have to rebuild everything. We don’t want to leave. We love the city of New Orleans,” Wibel said.

“I haven’t seen it yet. I know after the bowl game I’ll be able to get home -- but I guess I’m really not able to go home.

“Football has helped me by not having much time to think about it, and by knowing that if we do well, it will pick up the whole state of Louisiana.”

No BCS, but Still Some Controversy

The playoff system in Division III seems like the purest way to determine a national champion.

That is, until you consider that undefeated Occidental’s first-round opponent Saturday is undefeated defending national champion Linfield -- the team that eliminated Occidental in the Elite Eight last season, 56-27.

How do No. 1 Linfield and No. 5 Occidental meet at McMinnville, Ore., in the first round of a 32-team tournament?

“People thought I was crazy when I was telling them it was a real strong possibility,” Occidental Coach Dale Widolff said.

“It has to do with money. The NCAA pays for all the travel. By matching the two of us up, they only have to pay for one team in the country to fly.

“Every other team will bus because their trip is less than 500 miles.”

NCAA spokesman Kent Barrett confirmed the Division III bracket is “regionally oriented,” and travel expenses are a factor.

But what does it cost in competitive fairness?

Widolff isn’t crying foul, even though Occidental’s eight-team bracket has four of the top five teams in the American Football Coaches Assn. poll, led by Linfield.

“We’re fine,” Widolff said. “We played these guys last year and we’re excited to play the best team. We anticipated if we are going to go anywhere in the playoffs we’d have to go to Linfield in the first round, second round or third round.

“In some ways, it’s real comfortable. We know what hotel we’re staying in. We know what the locker room is like. We know what to expect.”