Jarrett Will Not Play?

It appears that DJ will not be playing this weekend against the Cougars. Evidently he wants to, Carroll isn't so sure he wants him too. If I were USC, I'd make sure to not clear Jarrett for this game. They are loaded at receiver and WSU's strength is not their secondary. Jarrett needs to be as healthy as possible for the Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame stretch at the end of the season. At least that is what USC fans should be saying. The rest of the Pac-10 would love to see DJ at less than 100 percent for the rest of the season.

Every Game Counts

Just an FYI for our readers (both of you), Mike and I are currently featured on the official NCAA football blog, Every Game Counts. They picked the ASU-Oregon game as a game of the week type deal and we did a little dueling blogger thing over there. So go check it out and let us know what you think!

Jarrett Will Play?

Well, it sounds like Dwayne Jarrett is going to try and play this weekend against Washington State. Pete Carroll doesn't need Jarrett this weekend, given the depth the Trojans have at wide receiver, but his presence is sure to keep Cougar DBs on edge. Hopefully he doesn't make it any worse.

The Weekly Rehash

On a serious note, just want to say congratulations to New Orleans for getting back on their feet. Now onto some football.

What a great weekend. The Pac-10 season started. Colorado almost took down Georgia. Stanford gave up another 800 rushing yards. Michigan State almost killed Touchdown Jesus. Surprisingly, only what happened in the Colorado game was unexpected. The Pac-10 only had one out of conference game on Saturday and boy was it exciting.

It was the much heralded return of Dennis Erickson to Corvallis with his Idaho Vandals. They put up almost 200 yards of offense on one of the Pac-10s poorer defenses and lost 38-0. Mr. Erickson has a lot of work to do if he expects Idaho to be competitive in the next few years. Matt Moore didn't do anything to assuage Beaver fan's quarterback fears, as he barely completed 50% of his passes. Sean Canfield came in and completed all of his passes and ran for a touchdown. A quarterback controversy is brewing, and you probably would have heard about it if anyone outside of Benton County cared about the Beavers.

Speaking of a game people did care about, Cal annihilated Arizona State. Nate Longshore found open receivers all day and Marshawn Lynch ran through the Sun Devil defense like Rosie O'Donnell through a pack of Ho-Hos. While Ryan Torain had an even better day than Lynch, Rudy Carpenter looked terrible. He threw four picks and only completed 45% of his passes. I don't know why I have to keep saying this, but if you play Cal, do not throw at Daymeion Hughes!! He had two more interceptions on Saturday and returned one for a touchdown. He is the best cornerback in the Pac-10 and absolutely shuts down his side of the field. Every Pac-10 QB take notice: if you don't want to turn the ball over, his side of the field should be off limits! In other good news for Cal, Nate Longshore has been on fire ever since leaving Knoxville and it looks like the Bears have completely put that game out of their minds. They look like the team everyone was expecting them to be and Longshore, Lynch and Jackson have become the best "Big Three" in the Pac-10.

Man, how is Stanford so terrible? Last year they were only one win away from making a bowl game and this year they'll be lucky if they get one win. They haven't even held a lead in three of their four losses. They started off the WSU game by giving up a safety and it all went downhill from there. They gave up 238 rushing yards to the Cougars and made Alex Brink look as good as Halle Berry. The Cardinal have let every one of their opponents score at least 35 points this season. It is going to be a long season in Palo Alto. WSU has now won three in a row and gets a chance to prove themselves in the Pac-10 this week as an average looking USC team visits Pullman.

Speaking of USC, they took care of Arizona. While it wasn't pretty, their defense was dominant and looks like one of the best units the Pac-10 has seen in years. Dwayne Jarrett tied the Pac-10 record for career TD catches, even though he may have pushed off a little from Antoine Cason. The Trojans kept their 20 point streak intact, but just barely. They just looked sluggish all night. Maybe if they could stop getting hurt all the time, they may look a little better. This Is Spinal Tap is my favorite movie, so seeing an article correlating the fate of Spinal Tap drummers to USC fullbacks is one of the most original and enjoyable articles I have seen in quite a while. Since that article was written, Stanley Havili went down with a fractured leg. If you're keeping score at home, that's three fullbacks USC has lost to serious leg injuries. Luckily, Havili is expected to miss only 6-8 weeks, not the season like Hancock and Powdrell. But USC keeps getting hammered by injuries. Not only the fullbacks, Sedrick Ellis and Josh Pinkard, but we also learned that Jarrett sprained his shoulder and will miss a couple of games. Given the way the Cougars have been playing, it makes the visit to WSU a little more interesting.

And finally, as I predicted, Isaiah Stanback's performance was the reason UW beat UCLA. The Huskies had 254 yards of total offense and Stanback accounted for 248 of them. The guy is a monster to matchup with and he has proven to be the most dynamic QB in the Pac-10 this season. Southpaw Jesus on the other hand, had his worst game of the season. He averaged four yards per pass and threw a pair of interceptions. The Bruins are in total disarry and Bruins Nation is looking for a new coach. On the bright side, they get Cardinal at home on Saturday. Watch out for some Bruin fireworks if Harris and Company miraculously pull out a victory.

And finally, the Pac-10 power rankings after four weeks:

Rank	Team	Blurb
1.	Cal	Back on their feet with a deadly offense
2.	USC	Offense is sloppy, defense is amazing
3.	Oregon	Bye
4.	Washington	Only managed 52 rushing yards vs UCLA
5.	Washington State	Held stanford to .8 yards per rush
6.	Oregon State	Trounced Erickson and the Vandals
7.	Arizona State	Looks like both the O and the D need help
8.	UCLA	Forced four turnovers and still lost by 10
9.	Arizona	Another loss, but the D held USC to 20
10.	Stanford	Looked about as good as Courtney Love

Looking Ahead

Alright, the Pac-10 season finally starts today (The UO-Stanford debacle doesn’t count) and there are some pretty intriguing match ups. And who knew Booty was such a hard name to pronounce? Lee Corso just referred to him as “Broty” four times in about ten seconds. And no one corrected him either. Oh well, onto the previews:

USC vs Arizona

The last four times USC has played Arizona, they have scored at least 40 points. I don’t know that the Trojan offense has gelled enough yet to rack up 40 points without some help from their defense, but they’ll definitely hit 20 again. The question is whether the Wildcats can get 20 and make it a game. It should at least be interesting, given that Pete Carroll’s kryptonite is conference openers on the road. Arizona has been disappointing thus far, but they played better last week even if it was against Stephen F. Austin. Arizona may cover the 23 point spread, but they just don’t have the athletes to beat USC.

Brian’s Pick: USC
Mike’s Pick: USC

UCLA vs Washington

Once again, the outcome of this game rests purely on the shoulders of Isaiah Stanback. Ben Olson has something to prove in his first conference game, but Washington is trying to prove that they are the only team that can win at Husky Stadium. Given that UW and UCLA are first and third in the Pac-10 in rushing, there is going to be a whole lot less passing in this game than most Pac-10 fans are used to. As a Trojan I would like to see the Huskies beat the Bruins, but I don’t know that they have enough of a home field advantage to keep UCLA out of it early.

Brian’s Pick: UCLA
Mike’s Pick: UCLA

Oregon State vs Idaho

To steal a line from the Rock, “Finally, Dennis Erickson has come back to Corvallis!” Ehh, doesn’t really work. Oh well, this is the game that all college football fans have all been waiting for, rivaling Steve Spurrier playing Florida and Chuck Amato or Mark Richt playing FSU. That didn’t work either. Hmmm. Guess this game doesn’t really matter. The Vandals are terrible and Beaver nation isn’t exactly thrilled with Mike Riley. So if OSU wins, no big deal. But if they lose, they’ll be calling for Riley’s head.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon State
Mike’s Pick: Oregon State

Washington State vs Stanford

Washington State at Stanford
Stanford: Nice new stadium, second year coach, same bad team. Really, things have looked awful for the Cardinal this year. Washington State struggled against Baylor last week, but should have enough offense to score on Stanford- okay, I can’t think of a team that doesn’t have enough offense to score on Stanford. Trent Edwards will put some points on the board for the Cardinal, but the defense will have to play significantly better than it has so far to win.

Brian’s Pick: Washington State
Mike’s Pick: Washington State

*Pac-10 Game of the Week*
Arizona State vs California

The Bears have seemingly recovered from an awful start against Tennessee. Of course, it’s easy to recover against teams like Minnesota and Portland State. Still, the Cal offense has performed like we expected them to at the beginning of the season. ASU will be a stiffer test, particularly for the defense. Rudy Carpenter has been extremely efficient so far. Last time Cal faced an efficient quarterback, they couldn’t tackle to save their lives. Still, in a game with two potent offenses, it’s the better defense that generally wins. Cal has experience and talent on the defensive side of the ball, much more so than ASU. A final statistic: Under coach Dirk Koetter, ASU is 0-10 on the road against California schools. Ouch.

Brian’s Pick: Cal
Mike’s Pick: Cal

Finishing Week Three

Wow, 2am on a Friday and I finally have some time to post. Just to finish the recap of last week before starting on this week, I’ll talk about this quick. ASU easily beat Colorado, holding them to a mere 219 yards. Rudy did throw 2 interceptions though, and he wasn’t nearly as sharp as has been the last few weeks. But, it was on the road against a Big 12 school, so keeping them scoreless after an opening drive field goal is pretty impressive. The Sun Devils continue to lead the NCAA in sacks after taking Bernard Jackson down four times in Boulder. Looks like ASU might have a little defense to go with that offense.

Arizona barely had to try to beat Stephen F. Austin. Willie Tuitama only threw nine passes for 61 yards, but it was easily his best performance of the season. Chris Jennings also had his best game, rushing for over 200 yards. The Wildcats didn’t come out of the gate with their best game, but they didn’t need anything near that to take down the Lumberjacks. They will need that if they want to compete with USC though.

Speaking of USC, the Trojans looked dominant in taking down the Cornhuskers. John David Booty is the real deal, though having Dwayne Jarrett to throw to sure makes his job look easy. Jarrett is just a force when he is healthy. He broke Mike Williams’ career TD record in the game, and he will likely break the Pac-10 record against Arizona. Losing Ryan Powdrell for the season will really hurt. After losing Brandon Hancock to a knee injury, the last thing USC needed was to see Powdrell dislocate his ankle like that. Major props to Brent Musberger and ABC for slowing down the replay of the injury so everyone could see Powdrell’s ankle snap. Really didn’t need to see that replayed after the commercial break. Twice. Thanks ESPN on ABC. Just for that, you're injury replays are on notice!

Next time leave the injury replays to youtube. As good as the Trojan offense has looked, the defense is what has been really impressive. They are leading the Pac-10 in scoring defense and have held Nebraska and Arkansas to a 3^rd down conversion rate of less than 30 percent. Looks like playing Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State isn’t the best way to warm-up for one of the top teams in the country.

The Weekend That Was

Well, lets start with the all the drama. It has become quite obvious through the replays and all the youtube videos that Oregon not only touched the onside kick before Oklahoma, but that they did not even recover the kick. It was pretty obvious at the time that the replay officials had no idea what they were doing, because Stevie Wonder would have overturned the call just based on the first contact. The Pac-10 suspended the officials, and rightfully so. How they awarded possession to the Ducks without even finding the football absolutely baffles me. All that being said, Oklahoma still had a lot of opportunities to win that game. They could have stopped Oregon at any point after the kick and should have made that field goal after Oregon blew their kick coverage. The pass interference call was bad too, but Oklahoma should have won that game regardless of the outcome of either of the replays. Sooner fan only has Oklahoma to blame for that loss. So please, stop threatening to kill the replay official. Stop trying to get the game voided. Everyone catches a break once and a while and the Sooners still should have won after the botched calls. What gets lost in all this is that Oregon and Oklahoma played one hell of a game. The Ducks came back from 13 down to win with only three minutes to play. Then they gave up a 55 yard kick return to set up a potential game winning field goal. Momentum was back and forth all game. The Ducks rolled up 500 yards of offense on one of the Big-12's better defenses, despite committing four turnovers. Adrian Peterson and Jonathan Stewart also had one of the best running back duels we will see all season. Just an incredible game all the way around. So hats off to Oregon and Oklahoma. For those of us who watched the whole thing, it is not a game we will forget any time soon.

Getting back to the Pac-10, this was a great weekend for the conference. Not only did Oregon beat Oklahoma, but we swept the Big-12 on Saturday. Bruce Feldman finally moved the Pac-10 up to third on his power rankings. I say it's still not high enough!!!

The Cougars took care of Baylor, but just barely. They had to kick a last second field goal just to win at home. For those of you who may not rememeber, the Bears have not even played in a bowl game since 1994. Cougar fans are not happy with the performance of one Alex Brink and rightfully so. He was a disaster against Auburn and despite their depth at wide receiver, Brink has been unable to get Jason Hill and company the ball.

UW took down Fresno State, who must be disappointed after almost beating Oregon. Of course, if they would have made that extra point, they might have had a shot at winning. Isaiah Stanback proved that his play decides the level of competitiveness for the Huskies. When he can create with his feet and find his receivers, UW is going to be a threat. Coach Willingham, you have reason to celebrate, as the Pac-10 Apostle no longer has you on notice!

Cal handled Portland State easily at Memorial Stadium. We didn't really learn anything from this game. Marshawn Lynch only needed six carries to break 100 yards and Cal overmatched the Vikings from kickoff. Lost in all of Lynch's hype is that DeSean Jackson is fast becoming one of the best receivers in the country. After 114 yards and three TDs last week, he had another 100 yard game against PSU. Daymeion Hughes returned a pick for a touchdown as well. Lesson to all Cal opponents, beware the risks when you throw the ball near Daymeion Hughes!

Walt Harris, good god, what are you doing? You let Navy get 30 first downs and they only completed nine passes!!! Everyone knows they are going to run the ball down their opponents throat, but you couldn't stop them at all. UMass and Eastern Carolina both put up better fights then you. Next week, try showing up.

I'll post more when my hectic schedule is over.

USC's Powdrell Hurt

Wow, that was a brutal tackle. Nebraska's defender landed right on the back of Powdrell's leg as Powdrell was twisting down. It looked like a broken leg, but ESPN on ABC on COX on TV said it may be a dislocated ankle. Thats two fullbacks out for USC's season now. The Pac-10 Apostle wishes you good luck on your rehab Ryan.

Oregon Wins a Thriller!!

What a great game. A win like this should mean the Pac-10 gets a little national respect. Unfortunately, the refs screwed up two calls that went to instant replay. When Dan Fouts is arguing against Oregon, you know the call is pretty obvious. So I am sure we will see people complaining that the Ducks shouldn't have won. Oregon probably shouldn't have gotten the chance to win, but they put Oklahoma in a position where they could win the game, and the Sooners choked. The Ducks played a perfect offensive game in the last couple minutes, then screwed up on special teams to almost cancel out the victory. If Oklahoma didn't get a chance at a makeable field goal after Oregon took the lead, I'd say the victory was a little tainted. But they did have that chance to win and the Ducks stepped up to preserve the victory. Long live Mike Bellotti!!!!

What a Day

Seriously, could the NCAA have tried to schedule Separation Saturday a little earlier in the season? No TiVo = sucks to be me. The Pac-10 has a lot to prove against the Big-12 today. Kirk Herbstreit agrees. Baylor, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado are going down!!

-Here is a bigger piece on how important the OU-UO game is to the Pac-10. Oregon can't lose to the Sooners three times in a row, can they?

-Pat Forde favors both USC and Oregon today. He has a good reason for picking USC - they have not lost at the Coliseum since Pete Carroll's third game as coach. Bruce Feldman feels exactly the same way.

-You know, people often say that kickers aren't real football players. I admit, their position is a little different and they are the only players who put their actual foot on the ball. But how many players get stabbed by their teammates and are ready to play after one week?

-Conquest Chronicles has some great takes on the whole Reggie Bush marketing saga. Bruins Nation has some if you hate USC. I say we wait for the NCAA to do something logical. If athletes can go pro in one sport and still retain eligibility in another, the NCAA will always have problems differentiating between amateurs and professionals. In my opinion, I think the NCAA needs to contribute a lot more to the student-athlete dichotomy than they currently do, otherwise players will always feel like they are being exploited and deserve some kind of payment.

Pac-10 Game of the Week

USC vs Nebraska

This is it, the USC home opener!! I hate bye weeks early in the season because it kills momentum. People were questioning USC after losing two Heisman winners and nine other players to the NFL. USC rolled into Arkansas and summarily dispatched the Razorbacks with nary a whimper. Then they had to sit around for two weeks and wait for someone to come to the Coliseum. How much you want to bet that the Trojans are just waiting for someone to come into their house and then unleash that extra week of aggression on them? That someone is Nebraska. Surprisingly, the Huskers dont run the option anymore. Who knew? I didn't, but that is probably because Nebraska has been hiding under a rock and most of us haven't heard anything about them in a couple of years. That kinda sucks for USC. The secondary has the most questions of any unit on the team and they are again being decimated by injury, this time by Josh Pinkard. That is the good news for Zac Taylor. The bad news is that USC still has a pretty good front seven. He will be under pressure. A lot. And he will be sacked. A lot. For USC, this is a chance to put themselves and the Pac-10 in the limelight. Even though it seems like every important game is happening this week, USC still has something to show to voters. Yes, they beat an SEC team, but it was Arkansas. How will they do against an actual defense? I say the USC offense is too strong for the Blackshirts. They have a very athletic front seven, but Adam Carriker won't get to Booty much if he has to get past Sam Baker. Two of the best in the country going mano-a-mano and it should be the individual matchup to watch all game. If Baker does give Booty time to throw, he will find Jarrett and Co. and keep the Huskers from stopping the Trojan offense. It should be a very good matchup, but Nebraska just doesn't have the offensive balance to score another 50 points Saturday. USC is not Nicholls State.

Brian's Pick: USC
Mike's Pick: USC

Week Three Preview: Part Two

Arizona State vs Colorado

Colorado lost to 1-AA Montana State and has scored 20 points in two games this season. The Sun Devils are 8^th nationally in scoring, the Buffs are 109^th. I could keep rattling off stats, and talking matchups, but there’s no reason.

Brian’s Pick: ASU
Mike’s Pick: ASU

Arizona vs Stephen F. Austin

This week, Willie Tuitama and Arizona should get back on track. That is usually what happens when you play a 1-AA team (unless you’re Colorado). Arizona has been unimpressive in both of their games this season. They escaped with a win against BYU and got hammered by LSU last week. Coming into this season, most people were expecting them to be competitive in the Pac-10. The way they have started, it doesn’t look like they’ll be getting more than two wins in conference play again. This game should say a lot about whether Arizona is going to come to play for the rest of the season.

Brian’s Pick: Arizona
Mike’s Pick: Arizona

Washington State vs Baylor

The Bears best player is a punter.

Brian’s Pick: WSU
Mike’s Pick: WSU

Washington vs Fresno State

The Huskies and the Bulldogs both put up good fights last week. Fresno State’s was expected, Washington’s wasn’t. Dwayne Wright ripped apart Oregon’s run defense last week, and I don’t think that Washington’s is going to be able to stop him this Saturday. So, UW will have to go after Tim Brandstater. Washington kept it close with Oklahoma because they forced turnovers. If they can get Brandstater to make some mistakes, Rankin and James will get the chance to really wear down Fresno's defense. But like all UW games this year, this one depends on Stanback. Is he going to play like a predator or play like prey?

Brian's Pick: Washington
Mike's Pick: Fresno State

Week Two Recap

Hmm, don’t really know what to say about this week. Overall, it was a pretty disappointing weekend for the Pac-10. Stanford AND Oregon State lost to WAC teams, Arizona was outgained by 300 yards by an SEC team, and both UCLA and Oregon had much closer games than they wanted. On the bright side, WSU rebounded nicely with 56 points, Cal did the same against Minnesota and the Sun Devils dropped almost 500 yards on Nevada.

So let’s take a look at what we learned this weekend:

-This just in: Adrian Peterson is good. The Huskies actually showed up for the Peterson led Sooners and played them tough for 3 quarters. Unfortunately, the other quarter saw Peterson and Oklahoma score 17 points. Isaiah Stanback had a pretty rough game, so UW was lucky to get good performances on the ground from Rankin and James. Evidently, getting beat up by Rufus Alexander resulted in Stanback designing a hideous myspace page.

-Cougar fan has to be glad that Alex Brink rebounded from his miserable performance at Auburn. Even without starting tailback DeMaundray Woolridge, WSU still ran for almost 350 yards. As I wrote earlier, can’t wait to see more Dennis Erickson. Only two more weeks!

-As a Trojan fan, the thing that scares me the most in the Pac-10 right now is Oregon’s defense. Their safeties fly all over the field and they hit the Bulldog’s hard all night long. Jeremiah Johnson was a more than suitable substitute for Jonathan Stewart(who did score a TD), so the Ducks should have a nice two-headed monster for the rest of the season. Oregon did give up way too many yards on the ground though.

-Hey OSU, what happened? Things were looking good when you scored the first 14 points of the game, but then you gave up 42 in a row. 42! You also can’t give up 300 yards on the ground to a WAC team. Matt Moore has to be on the hot seat after another lazy effort. Looks like readers over at Building The Dam are hopeful that Canfield starts against Idaho.

-We found out that Cal isn’t dead, which is good news for them. But Coach Tedford, where was this gameplan against Tennessee?? Nate Longshore actually looked like a quarterback and Marshawn Lynch also restarted his Heisman campaign with 139 yards and two touchdowns. Like I predicted, Minnesota rushed for less than 200 yards and lost. Look for Cal to do more of the same against Portland State.

-Stanford, holy crap. What the hell happened? I was singing your praises at halftime, and then you went and laid an egg in the second half. How do you not score during an entire half of football versus San Jose State? Unbelieveable. Walt Harris, you have now taken over Ty Willingham’s position as Pac-10 coach who should immediately be fired. Pat yourself on the back Walt, you're on notice!

-USC didn’t play this weekend, but Reggie Bush did. I watched the game and wasn’t alone in thinking that he looked pretty impressive.

-UCLA pulled off a victory against Rice, though Ben Olson didn’t look quite as sharp as the week before. Markey and Bell both had amazing games though. Bruins Nation isn’t very happy with Mr. Dorrell.

-Arizona didn’t really have much of a chance against LSU, but they should have put up more than a field goal with a minute left. 54 yards in the first three quarters? Good god. Thanks for helping make the Pac-10 look respectable. Willie Tuitama left the game with a concussion, but Adam Austin didn’t play much better. So far this year, Willie has a completion percentage under 50 and is averaging 4.2 yards per pass. Maybe he’s had a concussion all season....

-Dirk Koetter’s decision to start Rudy Carpenter is looking pre-tay, pre-tay good. His quarterback rating through two games: 205.99. Too bad its been against Northern Arizona and Nevada. Next week: Colorado, who lost to a 1-AA team. I say Carpenter has another great game.

So after all that, what do my Pac-10 rankings look like this week?

1.	USC	Didn't play
2.	Oregon	Beat a good Bulldog team
3.	Arizona State	Carpenter lit up the skies again
4.	UCLA	Only beat Rice by 10
5.	Cal	Came back to life with 531 total yards
6.	Washington State	46 point win, but it was against Idaho
7.	Arizona	Eaten alive by the Bayou Bengals
8.	Oregon State	Gave up 42 points in a row
9.	Washington	Couldn't keep pace with the Sooners
10.	Stanford	Speechless

Feel free to post your thoughts!

Non Pac-10 Thoughts

-Iowa played terribly yesterday, beating lowly Syracuse 20-13 in double overtime. But watching them hold off Syracuse was incredible. Syracuse had eight consecutive plays inside the five yard line in the second overtime. Yes, eight! And yet they still couldn't get across the goal line. Simply the best goal line defensive stand I have ever seen, even if they did commit two pass interference penalties.

-Akron and NC State had a great ending to their game as well, even though the first 58 minutes were terrible. Akron scored the game winning touchdown with no time left to drop the Wolfpack. Coach Amato, you are now at the top of the coaching hotseat.

-Northwestern lost to 1-AA New Hampshire, 34-17. How a BCS team gives up 34 to a 1-AA opponenent, neither I nor Dan Hawkins know.

-Air Force, how do you go for a two point conversion with almost no time left, on the road, versus the #11 team in the country? Kick the extra point and give yourself a chance to win later.

-Ohio State took it to Texas, holding them to 154 yards. One of the few times in my life I will ever pull for the Buckeyes to win.

-Notre Dame and Auburn both leapfrogged USC in the AP poll, thanks to impressive wins on Saturday. In week three, USC gets Nebraska, Notre Dame gets Michigan and Auburn gets LSU. Should make for an interesting weekend.

UW Made it Interesting

-This is the same team that almost lost to San Jose State? I don't believe it. Trent Edwards is picking them apart right now.

-Thankfully the Cougars destroyed Idaho. 650 yards from WSU? The Dennis Erickson era looks like it will be tremendous.

-LSU is bringing the pain to Arizona. The Wildcats have 30 yards(!!) and we're almost at halftime.

ESPN Does Some Things Right

My friends and I always get a kick out of listening to Mike Gottfried announce games on ESPN because he always sounds like he had a few before the game. He slurs his words, adds bizarre voice inflections, tacks an extra ‘s’ on to the end of words, interjects obscure analogies and pauses for a few seconds between syllables. He’s like the Rick Sutcliffe of college football. In short, right now I am enjoying this Rutgers and Illinois game a lot more than I should.

Week Two Preview: Volume Two

Oregon vs. Fresno State – The Pac-10 Apostle Game of the Week

Ok Oregon, it’s up to you to save the conference this week. Like OSU, you’re playing a tough WAC team on the road. The big difference is that you’re a better team than the Beavers. But after hyping you up last week, you gotta come through. A loss here will mean that no one outside of the Pac-10 will believe in this conference. Tom Brandstater won’t be mistaken for Paul Pinegar this week, but Dwayne Wright tore through the Nevada defense last week and looks like he has recovered from his knee injury. Stanford ran the ball hard against Oregon last week, but only for 2.9 yards a carry. Fresno State will have much better success, even with the inexperience of Brandstater. Oregon really enjoyed playing a suspect Cardinal defense, and the Bulldog’s isn’t likely to fare much better against Crowton’s spread this week. Jonathan Stewart may be limited after spraining his ankle, but there shouldn’t be much of a drop-off as Jeremiah Johnson looked almost as good as Stewart did last week. Oregon has a tough road matchup this weekend, but they have the talent to overcome a raucous Bulldog crowd. As long as Oregon keeps the turnovers down, they should leave Fresno with a W.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon
Mike’s Pick: Oregon

UCLA vs. Rice

Rice had great 2005, finishing 1-10 in a tough Conference USA. Sorry, I was trying to make this game sound competitive. Rice hung tough with Houston in their season opener, but they don’t have much talent on offense or defense. UCLA won by 40 points last year, and you can expect more of the same again this week. Ben Olson gets another chance to sharpen up before conference play begins for UCLA next weekend. The thing to watch in this game is whether Bell, Markey or Moline takes over as the heir apparent of Maurice Drew.

Brian’s Pick: UCLA
Mike’s Pick: UCLA

California vs. Minnesota

Cal needs to get back on the horse today. After a devastating loss to Tennessee, they’ll need this one to keep Bear fan from calling for Jeff Tedford’s head. Minnesota isn’t much of a passing team; they love to run the ball. That’s good news for Cal, as they showed that no Tim Mixon means they cannot stop the pass. Marshawn Lynch and whoever gets to play quarterback need to get on track early, as Minnesota is going to run for a lot of yards. They had more than 300 against lowly Kent State last Saturday, but it’s their strength and they’re going to go to it all day. If Cal can keep them under 200 yards on the ground, they shouldn’t have a problem in this one.

Brian’s Pick: Cal
Mike’s Pick: Cal

Arizona State vs. Nevada

After skipping past 1-AA Northern Arizona, the Sun Devils need to prove they can beat real football teams. Jeff Rowe is a pretty good quarterback, but he doesn’t have the weapons around him to be that effective. ASU should be able to score at will, as Nevada gave up 38 points per game last year, including 55 to Washington State. Rudy Carpenter will have passing lanes free all night long, so don’t expect anything but a high scoring affair.

Brian’s Pick: Arizona State
Mike’s Pick: Arizona State

ESPN Has Gone Too Far

I'm pretty sure my brain just imploded. College GameDay just started off a segment that showed how great of an athlete Bo Jackson was. No problem there, but what does Bo Jackson have to do with anything this weekend? Obviously, it was to compare him to Jeff Samardzija. What!? You're comparing the greatest athlete (running back, center fielder, decathlete) of modern times (who also happend to be a Heisman Trophy winner, remember that ESPN researcher?) to a wide receiver/pitcher? Please. I don't know if I have ever seen a more asinine comparison on national television. Samardzija is a good player, but he couldn't be Bo's bathroom attendant. Can you imagine how upset I would be if Bo actually went to a Pac-10 school? Just ridiculous. Doesn't ESPN have quality control? How could this happen? I just don't get it. So to you ESPN, in the immortal words of one Vin Scully, Bo Jackson says "hello?!"

Week Two Preview: Volume One

Washington vs. Oklahoma

The Huskies shut down the San Jose State running game last week, any chance they duplicate the feat this week? I doubt it. Adrian Peterson had more than 200 yards last week against UAB and he’s likely to run all over Washington again on Saturday. Paul Thompson isn’t Rhett Bomar, but he doesn’t have to be with Peterson behind him. Whatever Stanback and Shackelford can do against a tough Oklahoma defense, it likely won’t be enough to keep up with Peterson, let alone the rest of the Sooner offense..

Brian’s Pick: Oklahoma
Mike’s Pick: Oklahoma

Washington State vs. Idaho

Dennis Erickson and Idaho gave up 400 yards of total offense to Michigan State in their season opener. In 2005, the Spartans averaged 500 yards per game. Holding a team 100 yards under their average is a nice showing for a little WAC team. Given how the Cougars didn’t exactly set the world on fire against Auburn, this game is probably going to be pretty close. Because OSU already lost to a WAC team this week, we can’t have it happen again. Woolridge probably needs a big game if the Cougars are going to pull this one off.

Brian’s Pick: Washington State
Mike’s Pick: Idaho

Stanford vs. San Jose State

We all saw last week that the Spartans were pretty competitive against the Huskies. We also saw the Cardinal cower in shame at the offensive force that is the Oregon Ducks. This is probably going to be a close game, even though it shouldn’t be. Stanford could barely manage to put points on the board last week, but Edwards should be able to get the scoreboard numbers rolling in Stanford’s favor. Walt Harris, I will tell you the same thing I told Coach Willingham: Do not let this game be close! You’re representing an entire conference here. I will put you on notice if you do not win this handily.

Brian’s Pick: Stanford
Mike’s Pick: Stanford

Arizona vs. LSU

The Tigers haven’t lost to a Pac-10 team since 1979. Pretty sure that’s still going to be true tomorrow night. The Wildcats struggled to put away BYU, I doubt they’ll even be that competitive in tomorrow nights game. Willie better pull off something special, because LSU is better at virtually every aspect of the game. LSU hammered Lousiana-Lafayette by 42 last weekend, so every Tiger is ready and waiting for the feast that is Arizona. Good luck Stoops! I am hoping you can somehow pull the major upset off, but I think it is still a year too early.

Brian's Pick: LSU
Mike's Pick: LSU

Thank You Beavers

Another out of conference loss. The Pac-10 is really impressing all of its doubters. Cal goes down in flames on national TV. Washington State couldn't even get its best player the ball against Auburn. Now OSU loses on primetime to a WAC team. Faaaantastic. Arizona and Washington are probably going to lose tomorrow to LSU and Oklahoma too. I ask you Pac-10, where is your pride? Somebody aside from USC do something to assuage my fears.

Oregon State vs. Boise State

There should be some fireworks in Idaho tonight. OSU gets a chance to help prove that the Pac-10 isn't soft, but theyll have to beat a decent Bronco team on the road. Yvenson Bernard is likely to be the focal point of the OSU attack, but it should be interesting to see how much time Matt Moore spends on the bench. Sean Canfield played much better than Moore a week ago and likely has earned some playing time tonight. Jared Zabransky's job is safe at Boise State and he leads a talented offense against an unproven Beaver secondary. They were awful last year, and one game versus Eastern Washington didn't truly show if they have improved. Since both teams are likely to light it up if given time to throw, this one is probably going to be won in the trenches. The Beavers have a little more to prove than Boise State, who have shown they're one of the top non-BCS programs in the country. If the Beavers offensive line can keep holes open for Bernard, hopefully the Beavers can take this one.

Brian's Pick: OSU
Mike's Pick: OSU

AP Poll

The new AP Poll is out, and it's good news for USC as they made a big leap from #6 up to #3. The bad news for USC is that safety Josh Pinkard is out for the season. USC isn't the only top 25 team to lose a key player. Other players out for the season after just one week include RB Michael Bush of Lousiville and LB Anthony Waters of Clemson. USC has to either replace Pinkard with freshmen or move Dallas Sartz from linebacker to safety. If Sartz moves to safety, it clears up a bit of a logjam at linebacker and would let Cushing, Lua, Maualuga and Rivers all play in the 3-4. Considering that Pete Carroll loves playing freshmen and two of USC's top recruits last year were safeties, USC shouldn't have a problem filling the spot with them or Sartz. Inexperience at the position could be a problem though. USC does get a week off before they play Nebraska, so whoever fills in for Pinkard should get enough reps in practice to be effective against the Cornhuskers.

Cal took the biggest hit of any team in the poll, dropping from #9 to #22. Along with Miami, they are the only teams in the top 25 that took a loss. I know some people think Cal's season is over, but conference play hasn't started yet and they could still go 11-1. It isn't that likely to happen, but it could with improved play from Ayoob or Longshore or whoever lines up under center. That running game is going to be scary for each and every Pac-10 defense that has to face it, not to mention Minnesota this weekend.

Evidently, Oregon only moved up because Cal lost, despite their dismantling of the Cardinal. They may get some much deserved respect if they can tame Fresno State's offense and put on another show in Fresno this weekend.

Arizona State fell down to #25 after their victory over Northern Arizona. They better get their heads on straight against Nevada and Colorado, because they have a tough stretch playing Cal, Oregon and USC in consecutive weeks.

The Pac-10 announced its players of the week: UCLA's Ben Olson on offense, USC's Keith Rivers on defense and Arizona's Nick Folk on special teams

Week One Recap

Well, Wazzou didn't pull the upset, and the Pac-10 teams hold their united heads in shame after losing two of three to the SEC. The good news is we swept the Mountain West and won the rest of our games, so at least we don't look as bad as Colorado and the Big 12. Cal was utterly disappointing in their visit to Tennessee, but at least USC dominated Arkansas to save some conference face.

So what did we learn this weekend?

-The Huskies won. However, I think Willingham has to be on the hot seat after escaping, at home, with a six point win over lowly SJSU. I'm not alone in my disappointment, as U-Dub Dish points to some unhappy fans. It was also the smallest crowd at a UW home game since 1981.

-David Irons is really good. He held All-American Jason Hill to a mere four catches for 18 yards. The good news for WSU is that DeMaundray Woolridge looks like he has a little Jerome Harrison in him.

-Oregon clearly became the primary challenger to USC for the Rose Bowl seat. Jonathan Stewart is much man, and he showed it against a hapless Stanford defense. Cause for concern: 120 penalty yards.

-Sean Canfield looked better than Matt Moore, though every Beaver looked pretty good against Eastern Washington. We'll learn more next week against Boise State.

-Stanford has a pretty good quarterback in Trent Edwards. They do not however, have a good defense.

-Cal is probably not a national title contender. They can still salvage the season though, but they have managed to discredit the whole Pac-10. And as bad as Cal's loss was, I still don't think it was as bad as UW's win over San Jose State.

-USC is still the class of the conference. A dominant win over a vengeful SEC team on the road. Booty looks like the real deal, and so do the 17 freshman running backs on USC's roster. Also, USC may actually have a defense this year, though the Josh Pinkard injury is not good.

-UCLA won't suffer much of a falloff this year. Ben Olson filled Drew's shoes admirably and Logan Paulsen did the same for Marcedes Lewis' footwear. Kahlil Bell however, is no Maurice Drew.

-ASU needed a scare before finally showing up against Northern Arizona. The only thing you can really see from a 1-AA opponent is that the Sun Devil secondary looks pretty vulnerable after letting Jason Murietta and Alex Watson connect 11 times for 206 yards and a pair of scores.

-Arizona did not play that well. Luckily for them, BYU didn't play very well either. Arizona was actually outgained by BYU despite holding them to 24 rushing yards. Willie Tuitama will have to actually complete some passes if the Wildcats are going to keep it close against LSU.

This is how I would rank the Pac-10 teams in terms of last week's performance:

1.	USC
2.	Oregon
3.	UCLA
4.	Oregon State
5.	Arizona State
6.	Arizona
7.	Washington State
8.	Stanford
9.	Cal
10.	Washington

In other news:

-Trojan Football News has an article from the LA Times concerning the emergence of one John David Booty.

-Bruins Nation was very excited to see "Southpaw Jesus" succeed versus Utah.

-Bruce Feldman writes about his foolishness in jumping on the Cal bandwagon.

-ASU WR Jamaal Lewis was suspended from the NAU game because he was charged with criminal speeding after getting caught going 115 mph after a visit to a Scottsdale nightclub.

-Both Chase Lyman and Mike Hass were cut from the Saints roster, as they moved down to the 53 man threshold. Building the Dam points out that Hass already signed with da Bears.

-Not football related, but the "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin, was killed by a stingray off the coast of Australia.

Thanks For The Memories

Looks like you Bears won't be competing for the national title this year. I was looking forward to the battle with USC for Pac-10 supremacy, but it sure looks like you won't be giving the Trojans a run for the conference title this year. After Oregon's dominating game against Stanford, they look ready to assume your position at the top of the Pac-10. Now USC needs to reaffirm their dominance with a win over Arkansas tonight. Otherwise, the conference looks no better than the Big Sky in most pollster's minds. So Congratulations go out to you Cal. You've managed to undermine our week of effort to get the Pac-10 some credit. Now we have to pray for a Cougar victory to win our battle with the SEC today. They're only two touchdown underdogs, so they have that going for them, which is nice.

Week One Preview: Volume Four

Alright, it's really Saturday now, so I will make the last two previews short and sweet.

Stanford vs. Oregon

Trent Edwards looks more like an NFL quarterback with each game he plays, but this is still a team that lost to UC Davis last year!! I still don’t believe that really happened. Stanford somehow managed to win five other games, but they don’t have the running game or the defense to keep this one close.

Jonathan Stewart is the obvious star of Oregon’s spread attack. Their most heralded recruit a year ago, he adapted slowly to the college game last season. This season, he is expected to be ready to go and be type of player Mike Bellotti had envisioned last season. Demetrius Williams and Tim Day won’t be targets this season for either Brady Leaf or Dennis Dixon, whoever wins the most playing time at quarterback. That means Cameron Colvin needs to become the deep threat that Williams was last year. On defense, the Ducks lost Haloti Ngata, which is a huge blow to their run defense. The good news is that Williams and Ngata were reunited when Baltimore drafted them both last April. Other than that, Oregon is just looking to improve and hope that the 4-2-5 defense will be effective. In the end, they should still have enough offense to beat the Cardinal at Autzen.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon
Mike’s Pick: Oregon

Cal vs. Tennessee - The Pac-10 Game of the Week

At least Cal finally named a starting quarterback. This will be a tough game for Cal, but the combination of Marshawn Lynch and Justin Fosset are too much for some NFL defenses. Tennessee quarterback (and native Oregonian) Erik Ainge will lose half the field due to the presence of cornerback Daymeion Hughes and Brandon Mebane should provide good pressure for the Bears up the middle. The linebackers for Cal are tremendous and nationally underrated because they play in the Pac-10 (Damn you, east coast bias! Damn you!) and should be active enough to disrupt the Vols offensive gameplan. A healthy Cal team should be able to pull out a close one at Tennessee.

Brian’s Pick: Cal
Mike’s Pick: Cal, then Tennessee, then back to Cal again

-For some other predictions, you can check out Bruce Feldman at ESPN and Stewart Mandel at SI.com

Week One Preview: Volume Three

Washington State vs. Auburn

Auburn comes into this season off of a stellar 2005, which was really only marred by their loss at the end of the season to Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. Running back Kenny Irons looks to improve on his 1300 yard 2005 campaign and leads an offense that lost most of its talent at wide receiver, but finds itself with a veteran quarterback and offensive line. The other Irons brother on Auburn, defensive back David, will find himself matched up against WR Jason Hill all day with hopes of shutting him down. Aside from losing Marcus McNeil at tackle and most of their wideouts, the other big change for Auburn is shifting Will Herring from safety to linebacker. After being a dominant figure in the Tigers secondary for the past three seasons, they are now trying to get Herring more involved in the action by moving him into the box. Like traditional SEC teams, Auburn should sport a pretty solid defense to go with a great running game. If they are going to stay near the top of the polls all season, Brandon Cox will really have to find open targets downfield, and that means Courtney Taylor improving upon his disappointing 2005 season.

If WSU is going to win this game, they will have to stop the run. Fortunately for the Cougars, their strength is in the front seven. Mkristo Bruce leads a defensive line that knows how to put pressure on the quarterback. WSU’s secondary has not been impressive over the last few seasons, though Cougar fans are hoping the experience of this year’s group means a vast improvement in that area. The big question for Washington State is how to replace Jerome Harrison’s surprising production at running back. DeMaundray Woolridge was effective as Harrison’s backup last season, but is still just a sophomore. QB Alex Brink gets to work with one of the best receiving corps in the conference, if not the country. Jason Hill will obviously be the top target, but the Cougars will really need solid play from Michael Bumpus if they are going to keep Hill from being double covered on a consistent basis. Will Herring’s move from safety to linebacker may leave just enough inexperience at the third level for Jason Hill to make a couple of big plays. That may be the advantage that WSU needs since Auburn figures to be more reliant on the run than the pass, and the Cougars stand a much better chance at stopping the run.

Brian’s Pick: Washington State (Yes, it’s a total homer pick, but I think there’s a possibility they could really scare Auburn)
Mike’s Pick: Auburn

USC vs. Arkansas

A great passing attack would be the easiest way for the Razorbacks to attack the Trojans’ defense. Unfortunately for Arkansas, they have a relatively unspectacular passing game and pedestrian receivers. Tailback Darren McFadden is the apple of Houston Nutt’s eye, but he it appears he won’t be healthy enough to contribute to the Arkansas ground game. With McFadden doubtful due to lingering effects from toe surgery, Arkansas is relying heavily upon Felix Jones to replicate his performance from last year. He is a great kick returner with blazing speed, who also happens to catch the ball well from the backfield. If his performance is going to affect the outcome of the game, Arkansas’ defense better stop the Trojans on more than one occasion. Led by linebacker Sam Olajabutu, the Razorback’s defense is fast and a noble opponent for a new USC offense.

Yes, they lost Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Matt Leinart and eight others to the NFL during the off-season. Despite that, they have the best wide receivers in the country, two top quarterback recruits and more talent than any other football team. That’s what happens when you consistently have the best recruiting classes in the NCAA. John David Booty takes over for Leinart and a stable of running backs, headed by Emmanuel Moody, take the baton from Reggie and LenDale. The offensive line lost three starters, but once again the recruiting of Pete Carroll has left USC with an extremely talented but inexperienced line. USC’s weakness last year (aside from Vince Young) was on the defensive side of the ball. This year’s defense will be more experienced and figures to be much healthier and in turn, a much better unit. Led by one of the best linebacker factions in the country, USC defenders should be swarming on opposing ballcarriers on almost every play. The secondary figures to be the weakest link, but enough pressure on the quarterback from Lawrence Jackson and company should give the Trojans enough breathing room on gameday. Even with Arkansas seeking revenge for 2005’s dismantling, USC knows it cannot afford to lose this game and stay in the picture for the national title.

Brian’s Pick: USC
Mike’s Pick: USC

Week One Preview: Volume Two

San Jose State vs. Washington

The Answer: 1990. The Question: When was the last time San Jose State played in a bowl game? It has been a long road for San Jose State. After a lowly 3-8 record last year, Dick Tomey is still trying to resurrect the Spartan’s football program. Even as poorly as UW played last year, they were still light years ahead of San Jose State. Don’t expect this Saturday to be any different. Isaiah Stanback should have no trouble throwing on San Jose State's secondary or running past their linebackers. This one should be a laugher, but ASU’s game last night should have been a laugher too. If UW struggles in this one, and I mean really struggles, fire Ty. Seriously, if this game isn't dominated by UW, Ty didn't do his job.

Brian’s Pick: Washington
Mike’s Pick: Washington

BYU vs. Arizona

Bronco Mendenhall started the turnaround at BYU last year, and they should be better in 2006. John Beck won’t have any problems throwing touchdown passes in the Cougar’s wide open attack this season, but he won’t be able to throw enough at Arizona to bring down the Wildcats. Antoine Cason will shut down half the field for Arizona on defense and Beck will have to focus most of his passes on TE Jonny Harline if BYU is going to make this one competitive. Arizona fans are hoping Willie Tuitama gets started on his 2006 Heisman campaign, but they will probably have to wait until next year for anyone else to join them. With a little bit of help on the ground from Chris Henry and company, Tuitama and Arizona shouldn’t have a problem beating the Cougars at home.

Brian’s Pick: Arizona
Mike’s Pick: Arizona

Utah vs. UCLA

Urban Meyer has left his imprint on the Utah program. After going undefeated with Alex Smith at quarterback in 2004, Utah was still able to put up 30 points a game last year. Senior Brett Ratliff takes over for Brian Johnson and his torn ACL as the starting QB this season. Ratliff led the Utes to an Emerald Bowl win against Georgia Tech to put a stamp on last years somewhat disappointing season. Last year’s star running back, Quinton Ganther, will be missed by head coach Kyle Whittingham, but he still has stud safety Eric Weddle on defense. In case you missed it, Weddle held GT’s All-American WR Calvin Johnson to 19 yards in the Emerald Bowl.

UCLA is looking to continue their success despite the departure of most of their offense from last year: QB Drew Olson, RB Maurice Drew and TE Marcedes Lewis. Highly regarded Ben Olson, AKA “Southpaw Jesus,” looks to step in where Drew Olson left off. It may be difficult though, without all the proven weapons that Drew had last season. Junior Taylor or Joe Cowan will have to really step up for UCLA to win more games than it loses. Unfortunately, UCLA also has to replace all of their linebackers as well as safety Jarrad Page on defense. That makes defense the real question mark for the Bruins this year. This game could be a test for UCLA, but the Bruins should have enough weapons to take down Utah.

Brian’s Pick: UCLA
Mike’s Pick: UCLA

The Season is Underway..

And the Pac-10 is 2-0 baby! Good start to OSU's season, as they clobbered Eastern Washington and ASU blew out Northern Arizona after getting on track in the fourth quarter. Shockingly, Mike and I both picked those games correctly. But, tomorrow is when the fun really starts, as we get to play three SEC teams while Stanford and Oregon kick off conference play.

Some other notes:

-Chris Fowler talks about the SEC vs Pac-10 games this weekend an how the Pac-10 was the only conference brave enough to use the 12th game to play good teams. He also said that the other conferences would find a 12th game against a D1 opponent to be "too tough." Couldn't have said it better myself.

-SI.com has their power rankings of the top 25 teams up. The Pac-10 got four teams in: USC at #4, Cal at #8, Oregon at #18 and ASU at #23. Still waiting for someone other than the lone AP voter who put Arizona at 25 on his ballot to put another Pac-10 team in the top 25.

-The Tucson Citizen picks USC to win the Pac-10.

-In Pac-10 related news, Brynn Cameron's baby daddy sprained his shoulder last night.

-In Saints camp, Reggie Bush is a lock to make the 53 man roster, but two other Pac-10 alums are fighting to be the team's fifth wide receiver.