Previews

Wow, what a game last night between West Virginia and Louisville. Hopefully the Cal-USC game in two weeks is just as exciting. On to the previews for tomorrow:

Washington vs Oregon (-16.5)
Two teams moving in opposite directions. The Huskies are aiming to not lose their fifth game in a row, while the Ducks are trying to build up their confidence before their showdown at USC next week. UW has been competitive in their losses, as evidenced by their back-to-back overtime games, but they are still losses. Since Isaiah Stanback’s injury, Carl Bonnell has been the worst QB not named TC Ostrander in the Pac-10. Not a good sign for Washington’s biggest rivalry game outside of the Apple Cup and Oregon’s biggest outside of the Civil War. Luckily for UW, Kenny James should be back in action, giving them two runners to support Bonnell. Neither James nor Lewis Rankin have been all that impressive, but something is better than nothing when your quarterback’s rating is in the 90s. On the Oregon injury front, Jonathan Stewart should be healthy enough to play, despite getting only getting two carries before leaving the Portland State game last week. Jeremiah Johnson had a big day and plays backup again this week, but Oregon is also without their #3 and #4 backs this week. That means Andre Crenshaw is likely to lose his redshirt and get a chance to play in this game when Stewart gets hurt again. Stewart is fast becoming the Fred Taylor of college football, and he’s not even through his sophomore season yet. Even if Stewart does leave this game early, Dennis Dixon should have a field day playing against the 2^nd worst defense in the Pac-10. That said, UW hasn’t been out of a game since visiting Oklahoma and despite Bonnell’s penchant for throwing interceptions, he has kept the Huskies hanging around in both of his starts. At the very least, it should make for an interesting game.

What UW should watch out for: The Duck aerial attack
What UO should watch out for: What UW is capable of without Bonnell interceptions

Brian’s Pick: Oregon (-16.5)
Mike’s Pick: Washington (+16.5)

Arizona vs Washington State (-16.5)
The Cougars are on a pretty good roll. Even though they have three losses, they have all been to Top 10 teams. In the last two weeks, they’ve dominated the Ducks at home and the Bruins in the Rose Bowl. Alex Brink threw for 400 yards against a decent UCLA defense last week, and Arizona is no UCLA. Expect more fireworks from the Cougar offense this week. Given that the Wildcats haven’t beaten a 1-A team since slipping past BYU in their season opener (Stanford doesn’t count), it seems unlikely they will get a W tomorrow. They do get a little good news because both Willie Tuitama and Adam Austin are healthy enough to play this week. Could there be a quarterback controversy brewing in Arizona? Would anyone outside of Tucson care? It probably won’t matter who starts at QB anyways. Arizona has generated a grand total of 9 yards rushing in their last two real Pac-10 games. Sounds like the Cougar defense should have a pretty fun day.

What UA should watch out for: The Cougar’s point total increasing faster than the national debt
What WSU should watch out for: The Arizona run D

Brian’s Pick: Washington State (-16.5)
Mike’s Pick: Washington State (-16.5)

USC vs Stanford (+28)
This game wouldn’t even have warranted a preview if USC had won last week in Corvallis. That said, it barely warrants one now. The USC offense picked up after the bye week, even if it did produce four turnovers. 492 yards is nothing to laugh at in a road game. In fact, it was the best output for the USC offense all season. The special teams though, not so good. But even as bad as the USC special teams have been, Stanford’s are worse. They are just a special kind of bad. Stanford’s season only seems to get bleaker with every passing week. And if the Trojan players are upset and really come out firing, we may see an incredibly bleak showing by Stanford on Saturday.

What USC should watch out for: Depression after finally losing a Pac-10 game
What Stanford should watch out for: Every facet of the Trojan attack

Brian’s Pick: USC (-28)
Mike’s Pick: USC (-28)

UCLA vs Cal (-17)
Nate Longshore has cooled off over the last few games and he hasn’t thrown a TD since beating Oregon. Thankfully Marshawn Lynch is still a Bear. He has had his two best games of the season the last two weeks and has carried Cal on his back both times. Meanwhile, UCLA has played three games against three pretty good teams under the leadership of Patrick Cowan. And unsurprisingly, they have lost all three while the offense has sputtered under Cowan. And while the Bruins have now lost three in a row, Cal has won their last seven games. UCLA has, statistically, the second best defense in the conference. They’ll need it against a Cal offense that ranks ninth nationally in scoring and seventh in total yards. Unfortunately, they have struggled against the three best offenses they have faced, which uncoincidentally happened to be in the aforementioned three games. Something needs to turn around if the Bruins are going to end this season with a winning record.

What UCLA should watch out for: Longshore returning to form
What Cal should watch out for: Cowan finally breathing life into the Bruin offense

Brian’s Pick: UCLA (+17)
Mike’s Pick: Cal (-17)

*Pac-10 Game of the Week*
Arizona State vs Oregon State (-2.5)
Normally if ASU lost a receiver, their offense would suffer. But given how Dirk Koetter loves to run the ball now, not having Terry Richardson available is not as much of a problem. In fact, both teams have seen their fortunes turn since shifting their offenses to be less reliant on the pass. Both Matt Moore and Rudy Carpenter have looked infinitely better since they have been asked to do less for their teams. Ryan Torain and Keegan Herring have kept defenses off balance enough for Carpenter to rediscover his touch from last season. Meanwhile, Yvenson Bernard and Clinton Polk have done the same for Mr. Moore. Beyond the offensive styles, the Sun Devils and Beavers are extremely similar teams. One of the few differences between them is that Oregon State has the better run defense, while Arizona State has the better pass defense. The other difference is that the Beavers have the devastating Sammie Stroughter as their punt returner. Other than that, they practically mirror each other in all other aspects. The Beavers get Yvenson Bernard back for this game, and considering that they beat USC without him, the Sun Devils better be ready for a fight.

What ASU should watch out for: Bernard and Polk
What OSU should watch out for: Torain and Herring

Brian’s Pick: Arizona State (+2.5)
Mike’s Pick: Oregon State (-2.5)