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.

Read more

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.

Read more