Oregon’s Job Is Not Complete

Oregon dominated the Trojans 47-20. The Ducks got a Freshmen QB in Matt Barkley at home, but so did Ohio State, California and Notre Dame. Oregon did what they were supposed to do and that was beat a USC team that is inexperienced and trying to find their way. This was a very impressive win by the Ducks. Oregon’s Chip Kelly is in his first season as the head coach and he accomplished what Jim Tressel, Charlie Weis and Jeff Tedford who are coaches with much more experience could not do and that is defeat the Trojans when you have them at home. USC was ranked #5 in the BCS and this victory should result in Oregon climbing up the BCS Standings.

The Trojans have lost games the last few seasons. Oregon State beat them 27-21 in 2008. Stanford got by USC 24-23 in 2007 and Oregon State slipped by the Trojans 33-31 in 2006. USC has not been beaten as soundly as the Ducks beat them today since Pete Carroll has been the coach. Oregon had 613 yards in total offense. The Trojans gave up 392 yards on the ground. USC could not find an answer for Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli. Masoli finished the game with 221 passing yards and 164 yards rushing. RB LaMichael James finished with 184 yards and averaged 7.7 YPC. The Oregon defense held USC to 4/14 on third down conversions.

What Oregon cannot do is assume they have the Pac Ten Conference wrapped up. The Ducks have a chance to be the first team to win the Pac Ten in the last seven years. Oregon must remember that in 2008 Oregon State had the opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl before the Ducks pounded them 65-38. Before the Beavers get to think about getting their revenge and denying their rival a berth to the Rose Bowl the Ducks have some very tough games coming up. They face the third place Stanford Cardinal on the road on November 7th and if Arizona can beat Washington State and Cal that could set up another major Pac Ten showdown when Arizona gets Oregon at home on November 21st. Assuming the Ducks win the next three games in a row they will be under tremendous pressure to beat Oregon State at home in the Civil War on December 3rd.

The Ducks have put themselves in a great position to qualify for their first Rose Bowl since 1994 and their first BCS game since the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. Now the Ducks will prove how well they deal with the media attention they will receive after blasting the Trojans and how they respect and prepare for the teams remaining on their schedule. If they remain focused with Masoli and James leading the way Oregon could be on their way to the Rose Bowl.

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Who Are The Cal Bears?

California defeated Arizona State 23-21 on a FG kick by Giorgio Tavecchio with 21 seconds left in the 4th quarter improving the Bears overall record to 6-2. With four games remaining Cal is currently in third place in the Pac Ten. The Bears still have to face Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford and Washington. The Rose Bowl is a long shot, but the Holiday and Sun Bowl are still a possibility for Cal. There are four solid to above average teams left on the schedule and the Bears have not beaten a ranked team all season.

For the second season in a row Cal has not been consistent on a week-to-week basis. Cal jumped on Minnesota 14-0 and had to struggle to win that game and today the Bears went up 14-0 on ASU and needed a FG in the last 21 seconds to win the game. The Gophers and Sun Devils are average football teams. That would lead me to believe that Cal will have a difficult time with Stanford and Washington. The Bears have not beaten a ranked team since they defeated the Ducks 26-16 on November 1st 2008. Arizona is currently ranked #20 and it is possible that Oregon State could be ranked when they face the Bears next week.

Cal is at their best when the passing game and running game are clicking. Against ASU QB Kevin Riley was 27/44 for 351 yards and 2 TD’s. Jahvid Best was held to 63 yards rushing, but Best was heavily involved in the passing game finishing with 61 yards receiving and 1 TD. If Jeff Tedford can get Riley’s completion percentage above 60% and get Best and Vereen going again Cal would have a great chance of winning the rest of their games.

ASU is a one-dimensional team and they have difficulty moving the ball through the air. QB Danny Sullivan finished the game 16/29, passed for 244 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions. When Cal faces OSU next week they will be playing a team that is very balanced on offense. QB Sean Canfield is completing over 67% of his passes. RB Quizz Rodgers has over 800 yards rushing and 15 total TD’s. WR James Rodgers has over 50 receptions. The Bear team that shows up for this contest will have an effect on how this game will play out. Will it be the Cal team that just got by the Gophers 35-21 or the team that showed up against the Trojans and Ducks?

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A Lot On The Line At Autzen Stadium

On Halloween night the #5 USC Trojans travel to #10 Oregon Ducks. Before the season began California and Oregon were expected to challenge USC for first place in the Pac Ten. The Trojans defeated the Bears 30-3 and Oregon beat California 42-3. The Ducks could be the only team remaining on the Trojans schedule that has a shot at beating them. Autzen Stadium is a very difficult place for visiting teams to win. A lot of highly ranked teams have lost at Oregon. In 2006 # 15 Oklahoma lost 34-33. In 2007 #6 Arizona State lost 35-23. The Ducks have beaten USC four out of the last six games at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks need to play this game at a fast pace and make this game a shootout. Oregon has a better chance of winning this game 42-35. A low scoring game would favor the Trojans. The Trojans defense in a two-week span held Washington State to 6 points and California to 3 points. The last couple of defensive performances by USC might have Oregon believing that it’s possible for them to put a lot of points on the board this Saturday. USC gave up 27 points to Notre Dame and 36 points to Oregon State. The Ducks are second in the conference in scoring at 34 PPG and USC is ranked #1 in the Pac-Ten in scoring defense allowing only 15.1 PPG

This game will come down to how well Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli can throw the football. Freshmen RB LaMichael James is averaging 105 yards per game on the ground for the Ducks. USC is only giving up 79 yards per game on the ground. The Ducks must find a way to move the ball through the air. In six games Masoli is only passing for 150.8 YPG. Expect USC to sell out on defense to stop the run and force Masoli to prove that he can win the game through the air.

USC is still hoping that Iowa and Texas drop a game so they can move up to #2 in the BCS standings. It is possible for the Trojans to move up, but getting past Oregon would be their most impressive win of the season. Matt Barkley has led his team to victories at Ohio Sate and Notre Dame, but the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium will be more intimidating than what he faced at those two venues. It will be important for the Trojans to keep the game close during the first quarter when the Ducks are feeding off their emotions and the fans excitement. This game might come down to experience and USC is use to playing on a big stage with a lot on the line. The Ducks must prove that they can handle the hype and what this game means to the BCS Standings and the Pac Ten race.

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Week Two: The Pac Ten’s Race To The BCS

After the second BCS Standings were released there was some movement at the top of the BCS. Boise State (.775) and Cincinnati (.774) are no longer ranked ahead of USC (.794). Most people would agree that the Trojans are a better team than the Broncos and the Bearcats. USC is now looking to pass Iowa. For USC to qualify for the BCS Championship game Texas and Iowa will have to lose. Now that the Oregon Ducks (.646) have moved from the eleventh spot to the tenth spot a must see match-up of the BCS #5 team vs. #10 in the BCS will take place this Saturday when the Trojans travel to Autzen Stadium to battle the Ducks.

The winner of the USC/ Oregon game will qualify for the Rose Bowl if they run the table. There are a few ways to look at the BCS when analyzing the USC/ Oregon game. If USC wins they control their own destiny as far as qualifying for the Rose Bowl and have an outside shot at the BCS Championship if teams ahead of them lose. USC could lose to Oregon and still qualify for a BCS at large bid if they can defeat Arizona St., Stanford, UCLA and Arizona. The Oregon Ducks are currently ranked #10 in the BCS and even with a win over USC this weekend the Rose Bowl would probably be the only option as far as the BCS is concerned.

The Arizona Wildcats (.224) are #20 in the BCS and tied for second in the Pac Ten with USC. The Wildcats have a bye this week, but if Oregon loses to USC the Wildcats will be in a tie for first place. The Wildcats are ranked too low in the BCS to qualify for the BCS Championship Game, but if the win out they would qualify for their first Rose Bowl appearance. After their bye week the Pac Ten picture will be crystal clear for the Wildcats.

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5-2 Arizona Wildcats Still Under The Radar

With the USC Trojans visiting the Oregon Ducks on October 31st for first place in the conference and Arizona on their bye week the Wildcats will continue to go unnoticed. Arizona defeated the UCLA Bruins 27-13 in a great defensive effort. The Bruins were held to 2/15 on third down conversions and 1/3 on fourth down. Three UCLA QB’s combined for a total of 146 passing yards and UCLA was held to 65 yards on the ground averaging only 2.8 YPC. Arizona held the Bruins scoreless in the 1st and 4th quarter of the game.

The whole country is familiar with the USC Trojans. The Oregon Ducks receive a lot of attention for their interesting uniform combinations, but the Ducks did qualify for the Fiesta Bowl in 2001. The Ducks have beaten high profile programs such as Michigan and Oklahoma over the last three seasons. The last time Arizona made a BCS game was in 1993 when they defeated the Miami Hurricanes 29-0 when the BCS was called the Bowl Coalition. Last season the Wildcats defeated BYU 31-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Before last years Bowl victory the Wildcats had not qualified for a Bowl game since the 1998 Holiday Bowl against Nebraska.

The rest of the Pac Ten and the entire country should pay close attention to what Mike Stoops is doing in Tucson, Arizona. The Wildcats at 30.5 PPG are the 4th best scoring offense in the Pac Ten. Arizona has the best passing offense in the conference with 259 passing yards per game. The Wildcats should have a very competitive team for the next three seasons, because QB Nick Foles is only a sophomore. Foles currently leads the Pac Ten in passing efficiency with a QB rating of 151.9 .

After the bye week the Wildcats have Washington State and California before they get the Oregon Ducks at home. When the Ducks come to Arizona Stadium on November 21st the Wildcats have a very good chance of being 7-2. The USC/Oregon game will have a lot at stake as far as what team can control their own destiny in the Pac 10, but before the conclusion of this season Arizona will be involved heavily in the race to become the Pac Ten Champion.

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Week One: The Pac Ten’s Race To The BCS

The first BCS Standings have been released and there are a few things that caught my attention. Boise State (.8083), Cincinnati (.7870) and Iowa (7869) are all ranked ahead of USC (.7695). The bottom line is the Trojans are a much better football team than Boise State, Cincinnati and Iowa. If the Trojans continue to win they will eventually pass those teams. Boise State will be hurt by their remaining schedule. It is highly unlikely that any team that Boise State faces for the rest of the season will be ranked. On the other hand, USC still has to face Oregon (AP #12) and there is a chance that Arizona State and Arizona will be ranked by the time they face the Trojans. The Iowa Hawkeyes still have to play at Michigan State and at Ohio State. The Bearcats have West Virginia, Illinois and Pittsburgh on their schedule. There is a lot of football left and upsets will happen.

The Pac Ten currently has three teams ranked in the first BCS Standings. USC is #7 (.7695) followed by Oregon #11 (.5849) and Arizona is #22 (.1138). USC still has a shot at the National Championship. Oregon is a long shot for the Title game and the Ducks would need a lot of help to move up that far. Arizona’s only option of making the BCS could be the Rose Bowl Game. The Trojans have the best chance of any Pac Ten team to qualify for a BCS game with two losses.

Arizona faces UCLA, Washington State and California over the next four weeks. If the Wildcats can win all those games they might find themselves in the top fifteen of the BCS standings. Over the next three weeks the Oregon Ducks are at Washington, USC (at home) and at Stanford. This week’s game at Washington is huge. The Huskies are 3-4 and 2-2 in the Pac Ten. Washington has already upset USC, they should have beaten Notre Dame and they loss on a blown assignment to Arizona State when the game should have went into OT. The Huskies need at least three more victories to become bowl eligible and it would not be a shock if the Huskies beat the Ducks. It is very important that the Ducks are not looking past Washington with USC coming up the following week. An Oregon win at Washington this Saturday would set-up a gigantic game against the Trojans on October 31st.

The Trojans, Ducks and Wildcats need to follow the old cliché and take them one game at a time. The way the college football season has gone so far it is very likely that a number of top twenty-five teams will lose this week. If these three teams are the class of the Pac Ten and continue to win games it will create some great games for the conference for the remainder of the season.

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Notre Dame’s Future Success Is Tied To Clausen

The Irish had an opportunity to send the game into overtime, but once again the Trojans found a way to get past Notre Dame 34-27. The Fighting Irish can only state with confidence that they are superior at the QB position and WR position. Matt Barkley is not better than Jimmy Clausen and it can be argued that Golden Tate is better than Damian Williams. At every other position on the field USC is just flat out better than the Irish. Notre Dame did a very good job of containing Joe McKnight holding him to 79 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD, but all three Notre Dame’s RB’s only combined for 70 yards on 20 carries and 1 TD. USC DE Everson Griffen was in the Irish backfield for the majority of the game. It was hard for Notre Dame to create pressure without blitzing. WR Damian Williams hit the Irish defense for a 41-yard TD on a WR screen when Notre Dame was caught blitzing at the wrong time. Even with the departure of players like Mark Sanchez, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Kyle Moore and Fili Moala Notre Dame still lacked the talent level to compete with USC.

If Notre Dame wanted to win this game their key players Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate had to have big games and they did. Clausen finished the game 24/43, threw for 260 yards and had 3 TD’s. Golden Tate finished with 8 receptions, 117 yards, 2 TD’s and 62 yards on kickoff returns. Notre Dame only has two playmakers and the Trojans have six or seven players that can change the outcome of a game. One major concern that needs to be addressed is how did ND allow Matt Barkley to throw for 380 yards. This was the first time this season that Barkley passed for more than 283 yards. Before this game Trojan TE Anthony McCoy’s best game was 3 catches for 64 yards against San Jose State. McCoy finished with 5 catches for 153 yards. Notre Dame can’t allow players who are seldom heard from to have the best performances of their career in a game of this magnitude.

If Notre Dame expects to have a chance against USC in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 2010 they will need Clausen and Tate to return for their senior seasons. If Clausen and Tate enter the 2010 NFL Draft the Irish do not have equal talent at QB or WR to replace those two players. With this season being used as a chance to get Matt Barkley some playing experience by next season Barkley will not only be considered one of the best QB’s in the Pac Ten, but he will be one of the best returning QB’s in the country. If USC faces Notre Dame next season without Clausen on the field the Trojans will have a major advantage at the QB position. When Notre Dame faces the Trojans in December of 2010 that game could have National Championship implications on the line for USC and the only way a BCS berth will be on the line for Notre Dame is if Clausen and Tate can be convinced to stay in South Bend for one more year.

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Will Irish Have Any Luck Against The Trojans?

Charlie Weis has not beaten Southern California and the last two games Notre Dame lost by a combined score of 76-3. A lot of people feel that Weis is best known for almost beating USC in 2005 when the Trojans got by the Irish 34-31 with the famous Bush Push, but the bottom line in College football is you have to beat your rival. Athletic Directors, Boosters and Fans pay strict attention to rivalry games. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Alabama vs. Auburn. Miami vs. Florida State. These are games that coaches must win. Notre Dame has not beaten USC in seven years. This game is a million times more important than Notre Dame’s win over Nevada, Michigan State, Purdue and Washington. At some point in time Weis must beat USC.

In the past Notre Dame has faced more experienced QB’s when they played USC. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty and Mark Sanchez have all taken their turns defeating the Irish. This season Notre Dame gets freshmen Matt Barkley in South Bend. After leading the Trojans on a game winning drive over Ohio State, Barkley should not be intimidated by the atmosphere this Saturday. USC has not hit their stride yet this season. If Notre Dame cannot beat a Trojan team that is still trying to find their way, it will be next to impossible to beat them with Barkley under center for the next two seasons.

The country will find out on Saturday if USC still has more talent on their roster than Notre Dame. The recruiting process has a direct effect on which team is successful in this rivalry. USC gets better recruits than Notre Dame every year, but the Irish have a very big advantage at the QB position. Jimmy Clausen is light years ahead of Matt Barkley at this point in time. This season Clausen has 12 TD’s, 2 INT’s, 1,544 passing yards and he is completing 67.6% of his passes. Notre Dame also has the best player at the WR position in their match-up against Southern California. WR Golden Tate has 33 receptions, for 602 yards, 4 TD’s and Tate is averaging 18.2 YPC. Clausen and Tate must have gigantic performances if they plan on beating the Trojans.

Notre Dame defensive coordinators Corwin Brown and John Tenuta must come up with a scheme that will shut down USC RB Joe McKnight and confuse 1st year QB Matt Barkley. A big reason the Trojans lost to Washington earlier this season was, because the Huskies had the superior QB and their defense was able to give USC fits. Charlie Weis was brought to South Bend, because he was regarded as an offensive genius. Weis should have the superior offensive playbook and he has the best QB. Now all he has to do is beat the Trojans for the first time.

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Stoops Makes A Major Mistake On 1st Down

The Arizona Wildcats have an overall record of 3-2 and they are 1-1 in the Pac Ten Conference and tied for second place with five other 1-loss teams (Stanford, USC, Oregon State, Washington and Arizona State). The Wildcats were one play away from being undefeated in conference play. With 2:55 remaining in the game with a 33-28 lead Arizona had the ball and Washington only had two timeouts remaining. The very first play should have been a run, because it was important to get the clock running and force Steve Sarkisian to decide when he would use his timeouts. The absolute worse case scenario should have been Arizona running the ball three straight times and punting the football. The decision by Stoops to pass the ball resulted in QB Nick Foles throwing a ball low that bounced off WR Delashaun Dean’s foot and landed in the hands of Washington LB Mason Foster. Foster quickly returned the interception for a 37-yard TD. According to Bobby Stover of the Arizona Daily Wildcat Coach Stoops took full responsibility for that play call.

The Wildcats have to overcome the loss to the Huskies and focus on their next opponent the Stanford Cardinal. The Wildcats dominated the game against Washington. Arizona had 384 yards passing and 461 yards on offense. WR David Roberts was unstoppable with 12 catches for 138 yards and 1 TD. The Wildcats are ranked 4th in total defense in the Pac Ten. Arizona has enough talent on both sides of the ball to win a lot of games and qualify for a higher profile Bowl than the Las Vegas Bowl that they won 31-21 over BYU last season. If the Wildcats qualify for a Bowl game this season it will be the first time they would have qualified for back to back bowl games since the Insight.com Bowl in 1997 and the Holiday Bowl in 1998.

In the next four games Arizona gets Stanford, UCLA and Washington State at home before traveling to California. Arizona has the talent to win the next four games and improve to 7-2 if they can avoid turnovers and coaching mistakes, but it is very possible that they can be 7-2 before they host Oregon on November 21st.

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Ducks Continue Their Winning Ways

A month ago the Oregon Ducks season could have easily continued on a downward spiral. Boise State defeated them 19-8 and the Ducks star RB LeGarrette Blount was suspended for throwing a punch. The schedule after the Boise State disaster was Purdue at home followed by Utah at home. At that point most people would have written off the 2009 season for Oregon. The Ducks were able to defeat Purdue 38-36, Oregon beat the 18th ranked Utah Utes 31-24 and they blasted #6 California 42-3 and climbed all the way back up to #13 in the AP Poll.

At the start of the season either Cal or Oregon was expected to challenge the USC Trojans for first place in the conference. Now that Cal is completely eliminated from the discussion the Ducks have put themselves in a great position with six games left to play.

UCLA is probably the best defensive team the Ducks have faced all season. The Ducks were held to zero points in the first half of the game. It wasn’t until the second half of the game when the Bruins could not stop turning the ball over that Oregon was able to take control of the game. After trailing 3-0 at halftime, the Ducks outscored UCLA 24-7 in the second half of the game. The Oregon defense held the Bruins to 6/16 on third down conversions and 0/2 on fourth down. UCLA QB Kevin Prince was 13/25, threw for 81 yards and had 1 interception. Bruins QB Richard Brehaut was 5/10, for 64 yards and 1 interception. The same offensive woes continued for UCLA with their inability to move the ball in the air.

Ducks QB Nate Costa only threw for 82 yards, but RB LaMichael James finished the game with 20 carries for 152 yards. After the Blount suspension James has taken advantage of his opportunity. James has a total of 581 rushing yards, 4 TD and is averaging 6.3 YPC. Without the services of starting QB Jeremiah Masoli and S T.J. Ward this was a big win for the Ducks. Now Oregon heads into the bye week with a lot of momentum. The Ducks have an opportunity to get healthy and their next three games will have a huge effect on where the Ducks end up in the Pac Ten Standings. Oregon is at Washington on October 24th. They get the USC Trojans at home on October 31st and they are on the road against Stanford on November 7th.

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The Pac Ten’s Best QB Is?

After the first five weeks of the season the Pac Ten race is very close. There are three undefeated teams in conference play Stanford (3-0), Oregon (2-0) and Arizona (1-0). Three teams in the Pac Ten are only 1 game out of first place. The USC Trojans are 2-1, Oregon State is 1-1 and the Washington Huskies are 1-1. If a player can emerge as the best QB in the conference their team has a great chance of winning the Pac Ten Championship.

It is very possible that a QB can have a lot of individual talent, but the supporting cast might not be that good. Washington Huskies QB Jake Locker has 1,283 passing yards, 7 TD’s and 3 rushing TD’s. Locker has the ability to beat teams with his arms and his legs, but he does not have the best offensive line, running backs or receivers in the conference. The top five players with the highest QB ratings are Arizona Wildcat Nick Foles (156.9), Stanford Cardinal Andrew Luck (147.7), USC Trojan Matt Barkley (139.6), Oregon State Beaver Sean Canfield (134.0) and Jake Locker (129.1).

The top four QB’s have a very good supporting cast. The Arizona Wildcats RB Nic Grigsby is averaging 8.1 YPC and Arizona has three receivers with over 10 catches. The Stanford Cardinal have Toby Gerhart the Pac Ten’s leading rusher with 650 yards and WR Ryan Whalen is averaging 17.2 YPC. Trojans RB Joe McKnight is averaging 7.1 YPC and Damian Williams leads USC with 24 receptions. Oregon State’s Quizz Rodgers has 9 TD’s and WR James Rodgers has 37 receptions.

Defense will play a big part in how successful the QB’s are in the Pac Ten. The ability to get crucial stops and turnovers that allow the offense to get the ball back will result in more victories and a first place finish. The top five defenses in the conference are Arizona St, USC, UCLA, Arizona and Oregon. Taking the offensive weapons and defense into account the best QB’s in the Pac Ten after five weeks are Andrew Luck (Stanford), Matt Barkley (USC), Jake Locker (Washington), Nick Foles (Arizona) and Sean Canfield (Oregon State). Some of the best QB’s in the conference will play in these games this week Arizona at Washington, Stanford at Oregon State and Oregon at UCLA.

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Jeff Tedford’s Indecision At QB Is Puzzling

The California Golden Bears have dropped their last two games by a combined score of 72-6. In those two losses to the Oregon Ducks and the USC Trojans the Bears are 15/46 on third down conversions. Against the Ducks Cal QB Kevin Riley was 12/31 for 123 yards and against the Trojans Riley completed 15/40 for 199 yards and 1 interception. I don’t have a problem with Riley having bad games, but I do question Jeff Tedford’s resistance to putting in a different QB. This has been an issue with the Bear’s program for the last couple of seasons. Former Bear QB Nate Longshore had a lot of bad games, but kept his job. Riley took over for Longshore for the last couple of games last year, but Tedford went right back to Longshore for the Emerald Bowl. Cal has been lacking consistent play at the QB position since Aaron Rodgers left for the NFL.

If you look at the Pac Ten Conference there are a number of teams starting young QB’s that are producing in games. Pete Carroll decided to go with first year QB Matt Barkley and Barkley has led the Trojans to victories at Ohio State and California. UCLA was starting red-shirt freshmen Kevin Prince at QB until he was injured and Prince led the Bruins to a victory at Tennessee. Red-shirt freshmen Andrew Luck has led Stanford to a 4-1 record and the Cardinal are in first place in the Pac Ten. These teams have proven that they can be successful with a freshmen QB under center.

The question is does Cal have a young QB that was highly rated coming out of high school that could be playing? QB Allan Bridgford was the 15th rated QB in the country from last year’s recruiting class according to Phil Steele. Phil Steele had USC QB Matt Barkely #5, Kevin Prince was # 49 in 2008 and Andrew Luck was #8 in 2008. Why have coaches like Pete Carroll, Rick Neuheisel and Jim Harbaugh come to the realization that starting these young QB’s this year will make their programs extremely better over the next three seasons, but Tedford seems to lack that same kind of vision. If Matt Barkley can take the Trojans to the Rose Bowl his confidence will be out of this world at the start of next season. Andrew Luck has a great chance of leading Stanford to their first bowl game since 2001 and once Kevin Prince returns from injury the Bruins will probably make their first bowl game since 2007.

Jeff Tedford has been touted as a QB guru so he should not have a problem getting another QB on his roster ready to play. Cal has a bye week before traveling to UCLA on October 17th. If a change is going to be made this would be a good time to make it. If Tedford sticks with Riley for the rest of the season, Cal will begin the 2010 season with Riley being the only returning QB on the roster with starting experience. USC, UCLA and Stanford will be ranked ahead of the Bears in every pre-season poll in 2010, because all three programs would be returning second year QB’s who were productive and gained valuable experience in the 2009 season.

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Huskies Fall In OT In South Bend

The Washington Huskies had their chances to put Notre Dame away and they could not do it. At the end of the third quarter Washington had an opportunity to go up by more than 10 points, but QB Jake Locker was stopped on a 4th down QB sneak. The thing that sticks out the most about this game is that Steve Sarkisian has the Huskies headed in the right direction and he has not been in Seattle for a full year yet. Sarkisian is instilling an aggressive attitude that may not pay dividends until next season. The Huskies went for it on fourth down three times converting 1/3 fourth down attempts. Going for it on fourth down is something that Pete Carroll did on a regular basis when Sarkisian was on the staff depending on where the ball was and the situation in the game. The attitude and fearlessness that makes up the Trojans program is being poured into the Washington Huskies by Steve Sarkisian and former Trojan defensive coordinator Nick Holt. Washington just lacks the horses right now.

Washington has been very impressive this season. Washington fans have not forgotten their 0-12 record from 2008. This season the Huskies lost 31-23 to the now #4 ranked LSU Tigers. They beat Idaho 42-23. The following week the Huskies shocked the college football world with a 16-13 win over USC who was ranked #3 that week. They had an emotional let down and lost to the Pac Ten’s first place Stanford Cardinal 34-14. Today they went down to Notre Dame 37-30 in OT. Once Steve Sarkisian has a couple of recruiting classes under his belt the Huskies will have better talent on the field that will result in a lot more wins.

The Washington coaching staff has began to pull the natural ability out of QB Jake Locker. In 2007 Locker only completed 47.3% of his passes. In 2008 Locker completed 53.8% of his throws. After the first four games this season Jake is completing 58.1% of his passes. Other than Locker, Washington does not have many playmakers on the roster. RB Chris Polk has been relied upon a lot this season and has produced some good numbers. Against the Irish Polk had 22 carries for 136 yards and 6.2 YPC. Sophomore WR Jermaine Kearse finished with 8 catches for 94 yards. The Huskies defense could not slow down Notre Dame. WR Golden Tate finished the game with 9 catches for 244 yards and he averaged an insane 27.1 YPC. Irish QB Jimmy Clausen only had one good leg, but the lack of talent on the Huskies defense could not stop him from completing 23/31, for 422 yards and 2 TD’s. Irish fans need to be concerned. Charlie Weis is in his fifth year in South Bend and this season Notre Dame has already lost 38-34 to Michigan, got past Michigan State 33-30 and held on to beat Purdue 24-21. Washington has the ninth ranked defense in the Pac Ten and Notre Dame couldn’t put the Huskies away until OT.

If Washington can make a Bowl game this year it will be a big step forward for the program. The next three games the Huskies get Arizona at home, Arizona State on the road and Oregon at home. The Huskies have to win two out of the next three games to put themselves in a good position so they can make a run at their first bowl appearance since the 2002 Sun Bowl. The Huskies have shown that they are well coached and they play with enough effort to get at least four more victories this season.

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Bruins And Cardinals Play For First Place In The Pac Ten

UCLA travels to Stanford on October 3rd with first place in the conference on the line. UCLA’s top priority will be to stop the Stanford running game. Toby Gerhart is leading the conference with 516 rushing yards. Stanford will be running directly at a Bruin defense that is only giving up 2.3 YPC on the ground. The goals for both of these programs going into this season was to become bowl eligible. Stanford has not been to a bowl game since the Seattle Bowl in 2001 and UCLA’s last bowl appearance was the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl. Stanford is 3-1 after beating Washington 34-14 and the undefeated Bruins (3-0) are coming off a bye week after beating Kansas State 23-9 on September 19th.

Both of these teams have to find a way to advance the ball down the field through the air. After the fourth week of the season UCLA has the ninth best passing offense (167.3 Passing Yards Per Game) in the conference and Stanford has the seventh best passing offense (185.8 Passing Yards Per Game). Cardinal QB Andrew Luck is completing 60.2% of his passes and has a QB rating of 146.4. On the other hand, both Bruin QB’s are completing less than 60% of their passes. Kevin Prince is completing 55.8% and Kevin Craft is completing 54.2% of his throws. The team that gets a big performance out of their QB will have a big advantage in this game.

This game is very pivotal in the Pac Ten race. UCLA and Stanford face some tough opponents following this game. UCLA gets Oregon and California at home before traveling to Arizona on October 24th. Stanford is at Oregon State and Arizona before getting Arizona State at home on October 24th. The next four weeks will determine what Bowls they can qualify for and if they will be Bowl eligible at all.

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Ducks Take Bears To The Woodshed

California entered Autzen Stadium as the #6 team in the country with the hopes of finally living up to expectations and capturing a Pac Ten Title this season. The Bears leave Autzen Stadium with an embarrassing 42-3 loss to the Ducks. Now the USC/Cal game next week might be an elimination game leaving the loser with no shot at the Rose Bowl. After going down to the Ducks it will be very difficult for the Bears to come back and beat the Trojans next week. Oregon was off the radar after their disappointing 19-8 loss to Boise State in the first week of the college football season. Since that defeat the Ducks bounced back and beat Purdue 38-36 and Utah 31-24. After this impressive win over the Bears, Oregon will be ranked again and are back in the hunt for first place in the conference.

The Ducks were lights out on defense. They held Cal to 3/15 on third down conversions and kept the Bear defense on the field for the majority of the game. The Ducks limited the Bears to only 76 yards on the ground. Oregon won the time of possession battle 32:47 to 27:08. After this performance Jeremiah Masoli is now neck and neck with Jake Locker as the best QB in the Pac Ten. Masoli was 21/25, for 253 passing yards and 3 TD’s. Just a few weeks back when RB LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the season many thought that the Oregon running game took a major hit. Redshirt Freshman LaMichael James has proven that he can be a threat out of the backfield. James finished the game with 21 carries, for 118 yards, 1 TD and 5.6 YPC.

The Ducks have Washington State at home next week before traveling to UCLA. On October 10th at the Rose Bowl the Ducks could be unbeaten in conference play and the UCLA Bruins could be undefeated. This game will be the marquee game in the Pac Ten and the winner will be in a very good position for the remainder of the season. The way the games have been playing out after the first month there is not a team that will separate themselves from the rest of the pack until the last couple weeks of the season.

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Bruins Belong In The Top 25

The UCLA Bruins have taken some steps forward to prove that their football program is on the rise. With Redshirt Freshman QB Kevin Prince behind center the Bruins opened the season with a 33-14 victory over San Diego State. The following week UCLA went into a very hostile environment and defeated Tennessee 19-15. Not many teams in the country can travel to Neyland Stadium and pull out a victory in front of 102,000 fans. Kevin Prince was lost to an injury and the Bruins didn’t have an emotional letdown as they came back home to defeat Kansas State 23-9. Teams like Kansas (#20), Nebraska (#25) and North Carolina (#22) are ranked in the Top 25 without an impressive win on their schedule. A few more wins should secure a spot for UCLA in the Top 25.

When you think about this football program the names that come to mind are Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow. The Bruins are not that great of an offensive team right now.
UCLA is the 8th best passing team in the Pac Ten with 167.3 yards per game. There are a lot of young players on that side of the ball. WR Taylor Embree is a Sophomore (7 Catches, 114 Yards). RB Jonathan Franklin is only a Freshman (242 Yards, 2 TD’s). QB Kevin Prince is a Redshirt Freshman and had a QB rating of 105.52 before he got hurt. As the season progresses the offense will start to produce more once the players start to understand their roles in the offense better.

It’s been the defense that has warranted UCLA being among the Top 25 teams in the country after their third game of the season. The Bruins are only giving up 74.3 yards per game and only 2.3 YPC. UCLA has the fourth best-run defense in the Pac Ten. With players like DT Brian Price, DE Korey Bosworth and CB Alterraun Verner leading the defense the Bruins have a chance to beat Stanford and Oregon over the next few weeks and remain undefeated when they play California in the Rose Bowl on October 17th.

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UW Proves Trojans Lack Playmakers

Before today’s 16-13 loss to the Huskies, a lot of people thought that QB Aaron Corp would be allowed to throw the ball more than Matt Barkley did at Ohio State. Corp finished the game 13/22 for 110 passing yards, 1 INT and only 5 yards per completion. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Nick Holt were familiar with all things USC, but Washington does not have the talent that the Trojans possess and this game should not have been close. The one position that matters is the one that the Huskies had an advantage at and that is the QB position. QB Jake Locker went 21/35, threw for 237 yards and no turnovers.

It is very hard to ignore the turnover margin, which was 3-0 in favor of UW, but the Trojans couldn’t get anything going with the passing game for the second week in a row. Joe McKnight is not a huge part of the passing game despite USC’s plan to utilize him the same way that they used Reggie Bush. McKnight finished the game with three receptions for six yards. McKnight only touched the ball a total of 14 times. Steve Sarkisian found a way to get the ball to his RB Chris Polk 28 times. Pete Carroll continues to lose quality coaches and it might finally be catching up to the USC program.

Despite the loss of WR Ronald Johnson, USC still has WR Damian Williams, FB Stanley Havili and the under utilized Joe McKnight that should be making an impact in the passing game. Nine different players caught passes for the Washington Huskies. Freshman WR James Johnson finished the game with seven catches for 72 yards for UW. The one stat that contributed to the Trojan loss was going 0/10 on third down conversions.

Pete Carroll has to get his offensive coaches going in the right direction. USC plays at California and at Notre Dame in October and the 15.5 points the Trojans have averaged over the last two games will not be enough to beat those teams. As good as USC recruits RB’s and defensive players they have not reeled in an abundance of talent at the WR position and it will be interesting to see if they address this problem this recruiting season.

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Bears Take Another Step Forward

The Bears defeated the Golden Gophers 35-21. After jumping on Minnesota 14-0, California was outscored 21-7 before taking control of the game in the fourth quarter. The question is did the Bears make a great impression with this win? Minnesota is probably the fourth or fifth best team in the Big Ten with Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and maybe Iowa ahead of them. On the other hand, Cal is expected to compete for first place in the Pac Ten. A 14 point victory in a new stadium on the road should not be overlooked, but the Bears should have put this game away before halftime. Cal has experienced a lot of trouble on the road going 1-4 in 2008.

The Trojans are the measuring stick for every team in the Pac Ten and Cal is trying to dethrone USC. The Trojans played the first or second best team in the Big Ten in Ohio State on the road and won by three. Last season USC beat Virginia on the road by 45. In 2007 USC beat Nebraska by 18 on the road and Notre Dame by 38 in South Bend. As the Trojans have shown when you have elite talent and a strong belief on what you are trying to accomplish the site of the game does not matter. The Bears have enough talent to beat a lot of teams by more than 20, but Cal is not playing up to their talent level. With Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen in the backfield and a talented group of WR’s, after the half it should not take until the fourth quarter to get a first down. Jahvid Best was on the sideline a lot in the second half. Best should always be on the field even if the ball is not going to him, because he demands so much attention from the defense that things will open up for other players. Jahvid finished the game with 26 carries for 131 yards and 5 TDs.

Going forward the key to the Bears season will be their ability to win games on the road. Next week California plays at Oregon. Later in the season the Bears play at UCLA, at Arizona State, at Stanford and at Washington. If the Bears plan on making a move nationally and in the Pac Ten Conference they will be forced to overcome their difficulties on the road. California’s defense will be a big reason why this football team starts to win on the road. The defense held Minnesota to 37 yards rushing and 4/12 on third down conversions. Next up is a difficult game in Autzen Stadium. If the Bears can get past the Ducks it would set-up a major match-up against the Trojans on October 3rd.

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Showdown In Corvallis

Cincinnati is the best team in the Big East and they visit the Beavers on September 19th. This is a very good match-up that is not getting that much National attention. Last season the Bearcats fell to Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl 20-7 and Oregon State needed one victory to make it to the Rose Bowl, but loss to rival Oregon 65-38. This year the Bearcats have defeated Rutgers and South Missouri State by a combined score of 117-18. The Beavers defense must be prepared to stop a potent offense if they want to win this game.

Cincinnati QB Tony Pike is completing 77.2% of his passes. Pike has thrown for 591 yards and 6 TD’s. WR Marshawn Gilyard (6-1 187) is Pike’s favorite target. Gilyard leads the Bearcat receivers with 14 receptions for 200 yards and 3 TD’s. The Beavers lost a lot of their key players from last season’s defense. The best way for Oregon State to slow down the Bearcats high-powered offense is to control the clock by giving the ball to RB Jacquizz Rodgers. Against UNLV the Beavers won the time of possession battle 33:03 to 26:57. In his first two games this season Quizz has rushed for 269 yards, 4 TD’s and he is averaging 6.4 YPC. Rodgers is one of the best RB’s in the Pac Ten and at 5-7 193 he is very hard for the defense to locate. Oregon State is the first real test for the Bearcats this season and for Cincinnati to be successful they must stop the Beavers running game.

Conference pride is also at stake in this contest. The MWC is proving that they are more deserving of an automatic bid than the Big East Conference with memorable victories such as Utah over Alabama and BYU over Oklahoma. In 2005 TCU defeated Oklahoma 17-10 and in 2008 Utah beat Michigan 25-23. Is there a recent Big East victory in an OOC game that people remember? These are the kind of games that people will point to if the Bearcats lose to support the opinion that the Big East should not automatically qualify for a BCS game. The Pac Ten is also fighting for respect. USC gets a lot of credit and the Trojans deserve it, but other Pac Ten teams are not feared like teams in the SEC or Big 12 are. A lot will be on the line on September 19th. If the Beavers win they will most likely be in the Top 25 next week.

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Trojans Don’t Panic

100,100 people in Ohio Stadium plus the football team and coaching staff believed they had USC beat for fifty plus minutes of the football game. USC fought and scratched and never gave up and finally took the lead with less than a minute to play in the game. RB Stafon Johnson was held to 50 yards on 11 carries, but it was Johnson that gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead and put them ahead 18-15 in the fourth quarter. On the last drive it was the Joe McKnight show. McKnight caught passes and made a nice cut back run that set-up the go ahead score.

The whole country was waiting for Ohio State to fold as they have in their past meetings against top ten opponents. The Buckeyes did a tremendous job of erasing last season’s 35-3 loss to USC from their minds. Ohio State’s defense did a tremendous job of stopping the Trojans offense for the majority of the night. Matt Barkley was 15/31, passed for 195 yards and 1 interception. WR Damian Williams was held to 5 catches for 51 yards. The Buckeyes held the Trojans to 6/16 on third down conversions and kept USC in bad field position for the majority of the night. The Trojans are a team that usually dominates teams with their running game, but Ohio State only gave up 118 rushing yards.

USC had a number of reasons to lose that football game. Matt Barkley was inaccurate with a number of passes. The USC offensive line could not push around the front seven of the Buckeyes. There were a couple times that WR’s Williams and Ausberry should have scored TD’s, but they were an inch or two from staying inbounds. The first TD that Ohio State scored was a blown assignment by Taylor Mays. The Trojans were able to put all those miscues aside to put together the game winning drive. This game came down to what QB would make the most plays Pryor or Barkley. The bottom line is when you look back on this game two things will stand out, the last drive lead by Freshman QB Matt Barkley and Jim Tressel’s play calling that gave the Trojans the opportunity to tie the game before heading into halftime.

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