The Weekly Rehash

Oregon 30, UCLA 20
Guess that UCLA defense wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Dennis Dixon had his way with the Bruins, throwing for two touchdowns and spearheading a three-headed running attack alongside Jonathan Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson. Brian Paysinger had 100 yards and a TD to upstage teammate Jaison Williams, and the Ducks jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up. Patrick Cowan had a brutal day in his first start at quarterback for the Bruins, barely completing half his passes and only averaging 3.6 yards per pass. Chris Markey was the lone bright spot, averaging almost six yards a carry and getting Khalil Bell in position to score twice. It was a big win for Oregon, who rebounded nicely from their beating in Berkeley. UCLA on the other hand, is going to be searching for answers. How such a strong defense can give up so many yards, albeit to an elite offense, is cause for concern. UCLA dropped all the way from second in the nation to ninth in total defense thanks to Dixon and friends. Thankfully the Bruins only have to face Notre Dame, Cal and the possibility of revitalized ASU and USC offenses to end the season. That must be refreshing. At least Southpaw Jesus comes back in a few weeks.
MVP: Dennis Dixon - 10/17 for 144 yards and 2 TDs, 11 carries for 69 yards

Arizona 20, Stanford 7
I didn’t think Stanford could get any worse, but I was wrong. With only 53 yards of total offense and four first downs, it seems like the Cardinal players are trying to get Walt Harris fired. Arizona finally got their offense moving behind Chris Henry and Chris Jennings, both of whom scored a touchdown and averaged over five yards a carry. The only semblance of hope Stanford seemingly had was the potential breaking-out of quarterback Trent Edwards, and he got injured before the first Stanford drive ended. I really don’t know how it’s possible, but Stanford may fare even worse next week against ASU. Even more surprising than that is the fact that almost 40,000 people showed up for this game. Way to put on a show for your homecoming crowd. They must all be really proud.
MVP: The Wildcat defense, 53 total yards, 1-8 on third downs

Cal 21, Washington State 3
Well Cal finally broke their streak, even though they didn’t look very good. After having lost every game in Pullman over the last three decades, the Bears finally pulled through. Even with Nate Longshore’s worst performance since Rocky Top, Cal dominated the Cougars on the scoreboard. The stats make this game look a lot closer. In fact, Alex Brink actually outplayed Longshore. The big difference though, was on the ground. Marshawn Lynch ran for 152 yards and two scores to lead a 177 yard charge on the ground. WSU got a 70 yard run from Derrell Hutsona, but they managed only 18 yards on their other 18 carries. That dominance on the ground allowed Cal to control the clock despite losing the turnover battle. Another reason why WSU lost? They didn’t follow my cardinal rule of playing Cal: Don’t throw at Daymeion Hughes! He had yet another interception against WSU, which gives him six on the year and puts him back in second place nationally in interceptions. So, I’ll recommend to the Huskies that they don’t throw at him if they want to win. As for the Cougs, it’s the second top ten team they have played tough at home, and their other loss was at Auburn. The game was closer than the score indicated, though you can’t turn the ball over in the red zone if you want to win. If they can somehow beat Oregon, they’re the frontrunner for third place in the Pac-10.
MVP: Marshawn Lynch – 25 carries for 152 yards and 2 TDs

Oregon State 27, Washington 17
Matt Moore’s first five games: 156 passing yards per game
Versus Washington: 308 yards passing yards
Just when I thought Matt Moore couldn’t get any worse, (Superfluous reason to listen to a “Dumb and Dumber” clip, just replace Lloyd with “Mike Riley”) he somehow goes out and has his best game since last year’s season opener. So even while Moore has been throwing incomplete passes and interceptions, he has thrown for more yards in each successive game. I guess that kinda means he has been getting better, but not really, at least not until Saturday. Moore wasn’t the only reason the Beavers won though. Riley finally let Yvenson Bernard carry the ball and he responded with 144 yards and two scores. Sammie Stroughter also had a big game, with 223 receiving yards including an 80 yard touchdown that put OSU ahead for good in the third quarter. Even with 488 yards offense, the Beavers turned the ball over three times and made the game a lot closer than it should have been. With all the gifts the Huskies had, they should have won the game. But Washington lost this game because Stanback was terrible. He only had 173 yards of total offense, his worst output since the disaster that was Oklahoma. In each of UW’s losses this year, Stanback has been horrible. That shouldn’t be a problem next week, because Stanback messed up his ankle in the fourth quarter of the game and may not play against Cal this week. Congratulations go out to both teams, who were a combined 3 for 23 on third downs. That’s why neither of them will be going to a good bowl game.
MVP: Yvenson Bernard – 29 carries for 146 yards and 2 TDs

USC 28, Arizona State 21
The Trojans got off to a fast start, but in what has become a common theme this season, they let the Sun Devils back into the game. USC scored the first 21 points of the game and it looked like they were finally going to be in control of an entire game. Not so much. The Sun Devils scored the next three touchdowns to tie the game, until USC scored the final points near the end of the fourth quarter with a Chauncey Washington touchdown run. Coming into this season, JD Booty and Rudy Carpenter were expected to each have huge years and bring their teams to glory. Carpenter hasn’t done anything in his last four games and hasn’t helped ASU do much of anything aside from slide out of the top 25. Booty started off strong, but his last two games have been nothing to write home about and this game against the Sun Devils was probably his poorest performance of the year. Misreading an option route Dwayne Jarrett ran, Booty threw a pick that Keno Walter-White returned for the game tying touchdown. Two drives earlier, Booty decided that fumbling was a good idea. Those are the kinds of plays that a team like Cal or Notre Dame will use to put the Trojans away. USC can’t keep losing the turnover battle, which they haven’t won since Nebraska came to town.
MVP: Chauncey Washington – 22 carries for 108 yards and a TD