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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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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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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Bruin Defense Stops Vols Short Of Victory

UCLA has earned the Pac Ten Conference some respect. With Oklahoma State going down at the hands of the Houston Cougars 45-35 at home the Big 12 should no longer be thought of as the second best conference in the country. The Pac Ten should start to shed the label of a pass happy conference that plays no defense. Before the season started UCLA might have been thought of as the fourth or fifth best team in the Pac Ten. The Bruins went to Neyland Stadium one of the toughest stadiums in the country to play and defeated the Volunteers 19-15.

With less than three minutes left in the game the Vols had a 4th and 2 inside the three and the Bruin defense stuffed them. On the next series QB Kevin Prince was sacked for a safety leaving the game in the hands of the Bruin defense and UCLA came up big stopping Tennessee on 4th down. UCLA held the Vols to 4/16 on third down conversions. The Volunteers passed for a total of 93 yards and that probably played a big role in Lane Kiffin’s decision to run the ball on 4th and 2. Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton threw three interceptions. Bruin DT Brian Price made his home on the Vol’s side of the line of scrimmage. S Rahim Moore finished the game with two interceptions. The way UCLA played defense resulted in them having an enjoyable plane ride back to Los Angeles.

The Bruin offense deserves some credit also. Coach Rick Neuheisel would have liked the offense to punch the ball in for a few more TD’s instead of relying on Kai Forbath to make field goals. QB Kevin Prince was 11/23 with no turnovers. Freshman RB Johnathan Franklin finished with 17 carries for 78 yards. The Bruins must enjoy this victory for a few days then quickly turn their attention to a very solid Kansas State team that will be visiting the Rose Bowl on September 19th.

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Inside The Pac Ten Week 1

It was evident after Week One in the College Football season that the USC Trojans and the Cal Bears are the two best teams in the Pac Ten Conference. The Trojans defeated San Jose State 56-3 and California beat Maryland 52-13. Oregon got out played and out coached in a 19-8 loss at Boise State. Another team must step up and prove that they can compete for first place in the Pac Ten. There are a number of good OOC match-ups this week such as UCLA at Tennessee and Stanford at Wake Forest. There are a number of players that must step up this week for their teams if they expect to get a victory in Week Two.

First year Trojan QB Matt Barkley had a very solid game going 15/19 and passing for 233 yards. One thing that will make life easier for Matt this year is the experience of USC’s offensive line. With players like C Kristopher O’Dowd (6-5 300), G Jeff Byers (6-4 285) and T Charles Brown (6-6 295) the o-line will provide more than adequate protection for Barkley and open up holes for RB’s Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight. Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News reports that O’Dowd should be ready for the game at Ohio State. RB Joe McKnight averaged 10.4 YPC against San Jose State and USC hopes to keep the running game going at Ohio State this week.

One of the question marks for the Bears coming into this season was there receiving core. With the Maryland defense concentrating on Jahvid Best that allowed QB Kevin Riley to pass for 298 yards and 4 TD’s. The WR’s stepped up against the Terrapins with Marvin Jones averaging 24.7 YPC, Verran Tucker 16.7 YPC and Nyan Boateng catching 2 passes for 22.0 YPC. The Bears have an easy opponent this week with E. Washington coming to Memorial Stadium. The Bears are now ranked #10 (AP) in the country. If California can win at Minnesota on September 19th they can put themselves in a very good position Nationally and in the Pac Ten.

One of the teams that most people are not talking about is the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford is 1-0 in conference after beating Washington State 39-13. Redshirt Freshmen QB Andrew Luck had a very solid game against the Cougars. Luck went 11/23, passed for 193 yards and 1 TD. This Saturday Stanford travels to Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 24-21 home loss to Baylor. Head Coach Jim Harbaugh will rely on RB Toby Gerhart to have a big game to take the pressure off Andrew Luck. Gerhart ran for 121 yards and 2 TD’s against Washington State. A victory at Wake Forest would be huge for the Stanford Program.

The UCLA Bruins started off slowly last Saturday against the Aztecs. San Diego got off to a 14-10 first quarter lead. The Bruins out scored the Aztecs 23-0 the last three quarters of the game. QB Kevin Prince got an opportunity to get a game under his belt before the Bruins take on the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday. When the Bruins travel to Knoxville they will need RB Derrick Coleman to have a big game and the UCLA defense will need to play well to keep this game close going into the 4th quarter. BlueReign of Bruinsnation.com talked about the importance of a good defensive performance by UCLA. With the Oregon Ducks in trouble, a win by UCLA at Tennessee would prove that they are one of the teams that could have a tremendous year in the Pac Ten this season.

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Cal Avenges 2007 Loss To The Terrapins

Last season the Bears were expected to beat Maryland, but the Terrapins handed Cal a 35-27 loss. In that game the Terrapin defense held Jahvid Best to 25 yards rushing. That would not be the case when Cal beat the Terrapins 52-13. Jahvid ran for 137 yards, caught two passes for 23 yards and he returned one kickoff for 18 yards. Jahvid more than made up for his performance in 2008.

Going into this season Cal had question marks at QB and the WR position. The WR’s look much better with a year of experience under their belts. Marvin Jones had three receptions for 74 yards and 1 TD. Verran Tucker averaged 16.7 YPC and Nyan Boateng averaged 22.0 YPC. QB Kevin Riley was very efficient in his first start of the year finishing the game 17/26, for 298 yards and 4 TD’s.

With Oklahoma and Virginia Tech losing on Saturday the Bears should be moving up in the polls. California hosts E. Washington on September 12th, but the country will learn if Cal is for real when they play at Minnesota on September 19th. The Bears still have to prove that they can come up with a dominant performance on the road. They will get their chance against the Gophers.

Opposing defenses will learn quickly that Cal has a number of playmakers on their roster not named Jahvid Best. RB Shane Vereen finished with 1 TD and 48 yards and RB Covaughn DeBoskie averaged 6.0 YPC. It will be up to Kevin Riley to manage the game and get the football quickly into the correct hands on any given play. Riley has a lot of help on offense and if he takes advantage of the situation he’s in the Bears can win a lot of games.

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Boise State Dominates Ducks

When any team plays an OOC game not only is the reputation of the team on the line, but the conference as well. If it were not for a number of turnovers and missed field goals by Boise State the Oregon Ducks could have been embarrassed. Give Oregon credit for playing at Boise State, but the reality of the situation is the Ducks were out coached and outplayed. In any game star players have to perform like star players. Oregon did not get good production from QB Jeremiah Masoli or RB LeGarrette Blount. Masoli was 14/27, 0 TD’s and 1 INT. Blount ran for –5 yards. The one thing that was evident in this game is that the Ducks did not deserve their # 16 ranking. Oregon did not get a first down in the first half of the game and finished the game 1 for 10 on third down conversions.

RB LeGarrette Blount had choice words for Boise State during the week of the game and after averaging –0.6 YPC Blount could not back-up those words. What was more disturbing was his behavior after the game. After a Bronco player gave him a hard slap on the shoulder pads Blount responded by punching the Boise State player in the jaw and dropping him to the turf. Blount was already suspended a few months ago and another suspension is sure to come. The Ducks coaching staff will have to deal with the confidence of the team and disciplinary action in the next few days. This type of incident could have a lingering effect on the football program and it will be up to Coach Kelly to get things turned around quickly. I don’t want to overreact over one game, but if any Pac Ten team challenges the Trojans for first place this season it won’t be the Ducks.

Chip Kelly will have to find a way to get the offense to move the ball consistently and start picking up first downs. The offense was so inept against Boise State that it is very difficult to tell how good the Oregon defense is. Boise State came out on top in time of possession 42:32 to 17:28 for Oregon. In the first half Oregon only had the ball on offense for five minutes. The Ducks cannot afford to put their defense in those type of situations. The defense should be applauded for only giving up 19 points. Oregon has the Purdue Boilermakers coming to Autzen Stadium on September 12th and the Ducks better be prepared if they want to avoid the same type of performance they had against Boise State.

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Experienced Pac Ten QB’s Must Perform Well In OOC Games

The Pac Ten is the second best conference behind the SEC, but a lot of people feel the Big 12 is the second best conference. The Pac Ten went 5-0 in Bowl Games last season, but the conference did not perform well in OOC games last season. Oregon State got beat 45-14 by Penn State and Utah edged them 31-28. Boise State beat the Oregon Ducks 37-32. Arizona State suffered a horrible 23-20 OT loss to UNLV. The California Bears didn’t feel the need to arrive in Maryland a few days early and get adjusted to the time change and an early East Coast kickoff time. As a result, the traveling mistake aided the Terrapins in beating the Bears 35-27. If the Pac Ten wants to take a big step forward players that have experience behind center must lead their teams to victories in OOC games.

Cal announced that QB Kevin Riley would be the starter when Cal opens up against Maryland on September 5th. Riley was in and out of the line-up last season when Nate Longshore was on the roster. In 2007 Riley had a tremendous game in the Armed Forces Bowl. In that game Kevin was 16/19, threw for 269 yards and 3 TD’s. In 2008 Riley’s play declined, because the Bear’s played with a lot of WR’s that did not have experience. Coach Jeff Tedford said that Riley worked on his throwing motion in the off-season. As a result, Kevin should be more accurate with the football this season. Now that the WR’s are more comfortable in the offense and Riley has Jahvid Best lined up behind him there is no excuse for Cal not to play at a high level in their OOC games. California is ranked # 12 in the country. If they truly deserve that ranking they cannot lose to Maryland or Minnesota.

The Oregon Ducks have a very good player at the QB position that is not a household name around the country. QB Jeremiah Masoli ran for 718 yards and passed for 1,744 yards. Masoli has the ability to beat defenses with his arm and legs. With the USC Trojans going with a freshmen at QB the Ducks will have an opportunity to make a move in the conference. Oregon’s rise in the standings begin with their OOC games starting on September 3rd against Boise State. With a year of experience under his belt Masoli could make a big statement by leading Oregon to a victory in a Primetime game on the Blue Turf. After the game at Boise State the Ducks get Purdue and Utah at home. If Jeremiah plays well in those games Oregon has a great chance of starting the season 3-0.

The Oregon State Beavers have two experienced QB’s in Lyle Moevao and Sean Canfield. Moevao threw for 2,534 yards, 19 TD’s and 13 picks in 2008. Canfield threw for 703 yards, 6 TD’s and 2 INT’s. The Beavers are notorious for starting the season off slow. Last year the Beavers began the year 1-4. With two SR. QB’s on the roster Oregon State should be able to avoid a slow start this season. The Beavers open the year with Portland State at home, at UNLV and Cincinnati at home.

For the Pac Ten to start getting recognition around the country they need to start qualifying two teams for BCS games on a regular basis. One of the ways to get two teams in the BCS is for multiple teams to not suffer losses in OOC games. The Trojans could get the benefit of the doubt and have two losses and still qualify for a BCS game, but another team in the Pac Ten must finish the 2009 season with no more than one loss.

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