Boy howdy, was that ever a game between Ohio State and Michigan. Regardless of whether or not USC wins out, it’s tough to argue that the Wolverines are not the #2 team in the country. But if the Trojans do take down Notre Dame and UCLA, they’ll have played the toughest schedule in the country and only lost one game on the road, by two points, to what has become a surprisingly good team, and was practically a perfect storm of mistakes for them to lose. Onto the recap…..
Oregon State 30, Stanford 7
Looks like there will be no winning streak in Palo Alto this year. The Beavers dispatched the Cardinal easily, leaving them in the dust by halftime. Yvenson Bernard had a big day on the ground with 166 yards and for the fourth game in a row, Matt Moore didn’t throw an interception. Add that to Stanford’s total ineptitude and you have an effortless victory for Oregon State. With the Civil War and a game in Hawaii left, the Beavs still have a chance to get 9 wins and end their season in El Paso. The Cardinal on the other hand, well their season was over about three months ago.
MVP: Matt Moore – 15 of 24 passing for 176 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs
Arizona 37, Oregon 10
I thought the Wildcats were being dogged a little too hard with that 15 point spread. Then they went out and covered by 42!! Just an absolute beating delivered to the Ducks, at Autzen no less, by Arizona. Willie Tuitama probably had the game of his life with 2 TDs on 8 of 9 passing that resulted in an astounding 274 QB rating for the day. Arizona has officially become the “David” of the conference as they have slayed three “Goliaths” of the Pac-10 in the last three weeks. Chris Henry had another big day on the ground for Arizona and has 342 yards and 6 TDs over the last three games. Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart were both shut down for the second week in a row, and not coincidentally, Oregon lost both those games. One has to wonder what happened to Dixon. Once upon a time the Ducks were 5-1 and it appeared that Dixon was having a breakout season. Since then they have lost 3 of 5 games and Dixon continues to cede playing time to Ryan Leaf’s brother.
MVP: Chris Henry – 29 carries for 191 yards and 2 TDs, plus a 21 yard TD reception
Washington 35, Washington State 32
Oh the excitement that is the Apple Cup! The Pac-10’s first rivalry game of the season, and possibly the greatest rivalry in the history of sport, ended with an upset and a Husky victory. Both team’s tailbacks eclipsed 100 yards on less than 20 carries, which was indicative of the big plays that decided this game. Wazzu probably should have won this game. They had 12 more first downs and won the turnover battle, but gave up huge play after huge play to UW. With scoring plays of 64, 69, and 77 yards, the Huskies didn’t need to control the ball. Add an 87 yard kick return and a blocked punt (that was returned for a TD) to the mix, and you have a recipe for a Cougar loss. Carl Bonnell also had his best game of the season for the Huskies, though his completion percentage was still terrible. Brandon Gibson had a big day filling in for Jason Hill, catching 8 passes for 115 yards and a TD. Even with those six straight losses prior to this game, an Apple Cup likely means no hot seat for Ty Willingham. It also means that WSU needs to get pretty lucky to get a bowl invite from somebody. 6-6 may mean the team is bowl eligible, doesn’t make you bowl desirable.
MVP: Louis Rankin – 17 carries for 119 yards and 2 TDs
UCLA 24, Arizona State 12
Did the good UCLA defense show up for this game or what? After racking up 568 yards of total offense against WSU, the Bruins held the Sun Devils to less than half of that in Tempe. No TDs, only four field goals and another terrible game from Rudy Carpenter. Seriously, what’d Dirk Koetter teach this kid in the offseason? Last year he only threw two interceptions, this year he has 12. Last year he led the NCAA in quarterback rating, this year he is 46th. Last season he led the NCAA in yards per attempt, this year he’s 38th. Yeah, he’s been sacked a little more and the O-line has been hurt, but it can’t make that big of a difference, can it? The biggest difference this year there is likely that there is no Derek Hagan to throw to and every receiver sans Zach Miller has been hurt this year. Miller is the only player who even has 20 receptions on the team this year. So maybe Koetter can blame his disappointing season on injuries, but I don’t think the ASU brass is going to care. If he falls this week to rival Arizona, he is going to be cashing unemployment checks soon. Or at least he would if he worked a normal job and hadn’t been paid millions of dollars for six years of mediocrity. Patrick Cowan actually had his best game since beating Arizona last month. Most of that success though, can be attributed to Brandon Breazell and his big plays. Now that the Bruins are bowl eligible, it’s now a matter of whether or not a bowl wants a team that, if they lose to USC, will finish no better than sixth in the Pac-10.
MVP: Brandon Breazell – 2 big receptions for 91 yards and 2 TDs
USC 23, Cal 9
This was the big game of the week for left coast fans, and unless they were rooting for the Bears, they didn’t walk away disappointed. Having attended this game and sitting in the visitors section for the first time, I can honestly say those are the worst seats in the history of sports. I feel sorry for all the visiting fans that come to see their team play in the Coliseum. When you’re in the SE section, all the way in the corner, you can’t see the jumbotron or the scoreboard, you sit on 80 year old benches with no back support and you can’t hear the referees or PA announcer. Add to that the fact you can barely see whats happening on the field and you’re a USC fan and you get one hell of a great game experience. So at least the Trojans won, and my only solace was really that one Cal fan brought a portable TV so we could at least see the replays from our seats. And end rant. The victor of this game was going to be the Pac-10 champ, so big implications here. Both teams came out of the gate pretty flat, with USC giving up a safety and a TD in the first half, while Cal gave up two short Mario Danelo field goals. USC’s defense really shined in the second half, as they held Cal scoreless and the Trojan offense scored the game’s final 17 points. The Bears only had 275 yards of offense, as Nate Longshore, Marshawn Lych and DeSean Jackson all had sub-par games. Freshman CJ Gable played well, replacing an ineffective Chauncey Washington in the backfield, with 159 all-purpose yards for the Trojans. This marks the fifth straight Pac-10 title for USC and they really look like a championship contender now. The defense is finally forcing turnovers, Booty has been sharp the last few weeks and the running game has been effective despite all the injuries. So this one decided the Rose Bowl at least, which means that USC will be in either Pasadena or Glendale come January. They just need a little help from the computers, which should come if they beat Notre Dame and UCLA, to meet Ohio State in the championship game. Cal will have to beat Stanford and finish in the top 14 of the BCS plus have USC end up in the national championship game and then hope the Rose Bowl committee picks them to play Michigan, otherwise it’s off to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.
MVP: John David Booty – 18 of 31 for 238 yards and 2 TDs, including a great read on fourth and one against Daymeion Hughes that put the game out of reach
The Pac-10 Apostle’s Disciple of the Week
Arizona once again pulled off the biggest upset of the week, this time by beating Oregon, and running back Chris Henry led the way. When you rack up more than 200 yards of offense and 3 TDs, you earn yourself a little recognition. So congratulations Mr. Henry, you’re the Disciple of the Week.
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