The Weekly Rehash (The Jeweled Shillelagh Edition)

And down go the Irish! After dispatching its earlier Pac-10 opponents, the Cardinal and Bruins, Notre Dame had to visit the Coliseum.

USC 44, Notre Dame 24
Perhaps not surprisingly, Notre Dame got destroyed by the conference’s best team. After struggling at home against UCLA, the Irish let the Trojans jump out to an early lead and never look back. John David Booty was solid, CJ Gable had another excellent game and Dwayne Jarrett embarrassed the Irish secondary. Brady Quinn didn’t look very Heisman-like until his 60 yard scamper (which was aided by some bizarre USC half field coverage) in the second quarter and ended up with 3 TDs against a good USC defense. The Irish won the turnover battle, the time of possession battle and equaled USC’s offensive yardage output, but scored 20 less points. So why did Notre Dame lose? Fourth down conversions. The Irish were thwarted on four(!) fourth down attempts, which must be some kind of 21^st century record. Add to the fact that this game was for the Jeweled Shillelagh and likely decided the national championship aspirations for both teams and you can see how huge this game ended up being for the Trojans. Since this win was enough to move USC into 2^nd in the BCS, this weekend’s showdown in Pasadena will cement the Trojans’ status for Glendale.

MVP: Dwayne Jarrett – 7 catches for 132 yards and 3 TDs

Arizona State 28, Arizona 14
Just when it looked like the Wildcats couldn’t lose, they go and blow one at home for the Territorial Cup. After taking a 21 point lead in the first quarter, the Sun Devils added insult to injury by giving Arizona QB Willie Tuitama yet another concussion and knocking him out of the game in the second quarter. Adam Austin added a TD pass in relief, but the Arizona offense was totally inept, gaining only 177 yards. ASU on the other hand, had 432 yards of offense and dominated the game from the first snap. Ryan Torain had 138 rushing yards and Rudy Carpenter spread the ball around for 3 touchdowns in an attempt to keep Dirk Koetter around. But even the rivalry win wasn’t enough to save Koetter’s job. Now that he’s been fired, the new coach watch should at least be more interesting than the Sun Devil’s season.

MVP: Rudy Carpenter – 17 of 25 for 218 yards and 3 TDs

Oregon State 30, Oregon 28
What a great game. It looked like victory was well in the Beavers’ hands in the third quarter, when an Yvenson Bernard touchdown run opened up a 13 point OSU lead. But the Ducks showed some resiliency and scored twice in the final frame to take a one point lead with only a couple minutes left in the game. Alexis Serna countered with a huge field goal to give the Beavers back the lead, only to see the Ducks get into field goal range in the final minute. Thanks to Ben Siegert though, the score stayed the same as he blocked the field goal to win the Civil War for the North. That also secured a spot in the Sun Bowl for the Beavs. Coming into this game, OSU had only won one of the five games that Bernard had rushed for less than 100 yards in. He only had 68 yards on the ground on Saturday, but Matt Moore had another solid day at quarterback and Sammie Stroughter was the biggest benefactor with 114 receiving yards. For the Ducks, it means they tie for fourth place with four other teams, as long as UCLA loses to USC next week. I don’t know how they’ll work the tiebreaker out, but it has to be a disappointment for Oregon. After finishing 10-1 last season and only losing a couple of starters, expectations were high. But Dennis Dixon tanked down the stretch and the Ducks offense and defense were both terrible in their last three games. Even though it looks like they’ll end up in Vegas, it’s not the bowl that Duck fan was hoping for.

MVPs: Alexis Serna – 3 field goals from 40+ yards, including the game winner and Ben Siegert for blocking Matt Evensen’s potential game winner

Week 13 Previews

Even with a dearth of games, this is a big weekend for the Pac-10. USC takes on Notre Dame on Saturday and watches their other two out of conference opponents, Nebraska and Arkansas, play tomorrow. In Corvallis we have the Civil War and in Tucson, it's a battle for the territorial cup. I don't have a lot of time, so this will be quick.

The Civil War
Oregon vs Oregon State (-3)
The Ducks have been brutal lately, so I'm surprised to see them only being dogged by 3, on the road no less. I guess the oddsmakers think Oregon will show up for their rivalry game. I think they've got too many issues at quarterback and Oregon State wants this game a lot more.

Brian's Pick: OSU (-3)

The Territorial Cup
Arizona State vs Arizona (-3)
This is more or less the same situation as the Civil War. ASU was the more highly regarded team to start the season, who have since fallen on their faces, while Arizona has been much improved to end the year. The Sun Devils can't really salvage their season, but they could possibly save coach Dirk Koetter's job with a rivalry win. I think Arizona has a little more to play for, as in a bowl bid, plus they get to play at home.

Brian's Pick: Arizona (-3)

The Jeweled Shillelagh
Notre Dame vs USC (-7)
No team has ever beaten Notre Dame football five times in a row. As it currently stands, USC has taken the last four from the Fighting Irish. There are big implications surrounding this game. Pride for both schools, a #2 BCS ranking, and of course the prettiest of all the rivalry trophies. Nationally, this is probably the second biggest game of the season, behind last weeks OSU-UM classic. A win for the Tojans and they head to Glendale. A blowout for the Irish and they may hop Michigan and get a shot at OSU. Notre Dame is a lot like Cal. Excellent offense with playmakers at all the skill positions and good special teams. The defense is athletic, but isn't quite as good as it should be given their individual players. USC's offense is comparable, but the defense is what makes the biggest differnce. They covered last week and I thought it would be close. Given what this game means to Pete Carroll and the boys, I won't pick against them again.

Brian's Pick: USC (-7)

The Weekly Rehash

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 46^th. Last season he led the NCAA in yards per attempt, this year he’s 38^th. 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.

Week 12 Previews

Yes, we are lame and are getting these up late, but better late than never!


Oregon State vs Stanford (+15)
Somehow the Tree managed to win a game last week. Not sure what Ty Willingham was doing in preparation for this game, but somehow the Huskies couldn’t run the ball or pass the ball or stop the pass. Does that mean Stanford is actually good now? No. For the Beavers, after losing to UCLA, they cannot afford to have a losing streak going into the Civil War. Their season is still alive, unlike UW’s. Look for the Beavs to rely heavily on Yvenson Bernard as they take the Cardinal to the woodshed.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon State (-15)
Mike's Pick: Oregon State (-15)
Graham's Pick: Oregon State (-15)

Arizona vs Oregon (-15)
The Wildcats just upset the Bears, right after upsetting the Cougars. Is a trifecta in the works? The biggest advantage they had over Cal was that it was in Tucson, not in Berkeley. This week, they have to play in Eugene, in Autzen and likely against some heinous uniforms. Oregon is coming off a rough loss against the Trojans. Despite losing by 25, the Ducks moved the ball pretty well between the 20s, just never into the end zone. Arizona doesn’t have the same defense as USC, so Oregon should put up around 30 points again. But given Arizona’s recent year-end success, don’t count the Wildcats out. I don’t think they’ll pull off another upset, but 15 points isn’t enough respect for the Pac-10’s giant killers

Brian’s Pick: Arizona (+15)
Mike's Pick: Arizona (+15)
Graham's Pick: Arizona (+15)

Washington vs Washington State (-8.5)
Bonnell! Brink! It’s the Apple Cup!! Who’s not excited for this one? If the Huskies didn’t lose to Stanford last week, you might get a lot more people interested in the game. Sadly for Husky fan, they were destroyed by the Cardinal. Bonnell and Durocher had an unimaginably brutal game between the two of them, especially since it was against Stanford. Just a terrible loss on every level, made all the worse because it’s now six losses in a row for the Huskies. The Cougs didn’t look much better against ASU, but the big difference is that the Sun Devils aren’t the worst team this side of Duke and Temple. I mean Alex Brink didn’t have a negative QB rating, so something went right. The Huskies are hurting after that loss, and Ty Willingham may not make it to next year after the promise his team showed to start this season. WSU still has a shot at a bowl, so expect Alex Brink to throw it early and often. If Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus play, expect the Huskies to have trouble covering them and to give up lots of points.

Brian’s Pick: WSU (-8.5)
Mike's Pick: WSU (-8.5)
Graham's Pick: UW (+8.5) (WSU wins)

UCLA vs Arizona State (-6)
Just when we thought UCLA’s season was over, they go and knock off the Beavers. Even if it was in Pasadena, it was still an impressive performance by the Bruins. Patrick Cowan finally out-quarterbacked his counterpart across the sidelines, and voila, UCLA won a game. Though the numbers weren’t pretty, especially the 154 penalty yards, UCLA dominated the turnover battle and kept the Beavers out of the end zone. The Sun Devils also showed up last week, with Rudy Carpenter having a great game despite not having any receivers. With Jamaal Lewis and Terry Richardson coming back today, the ASU offense could be even better than the 500+ yard, point scoring machine they had against the Cougars. But the UCLA defense is not the WSU defense, which should keep ASU from scoring every time they touch the ball. The loser of this game will finish with a losing record in conference play, so it’s a big one for a bowl game. On top of the game itself, the Bruins have to deal with the emotional ramifications of losing a former teammate and I don’t know that the Bruins will have enough left to stop the Sun Devils in Tempe. Condolences to Marcus Cassel’s family.

Brian’s Pick: ASU (-6)
Mike's Pick: ASU(-6)
Graham's Pick: ASU (-6)

*Pac-10 Game of the Week*
Cal vs USC (-6.5)
I’m pretty sure that each game of the week is going to involve USC the rest of the season. That said, this one is huge for Cal too. Whoever wins this goes to the Rose Bowl and if USC wins, they have a shot at the national championship game. Cal’s offense is a little better than USC’s, but the Trojan defense is much better than the Golden Bear’s D. The USC running game is hurting this week, with Chauncey Washington questionable to go and Emmanuel Moody out until the Trojans’ bowl game. The biggest difference is special teams, where DeSean Jackson will kill the Trojans if given the chance to return kicks. Pete, pay attention, here are your two rules when facing Cal: Don’t punt to DeSean Jackson and don’t throw at Daymeion Hughes! If Pete follows my rules, USC gets the edge, especially with home field, though don’t be surprised if this game goes down to the wire.

Brian’s Pick: Cal (+6.5)
Mike's Pick: Cal (+6.5)
Graham's Pick: Cal (+6.5)

The Weekly Rehash (Reversal of the Reversal Edition)

What an insane weekend for college football. First Louisville loses on Thursday to freaking Rutgers, then four more top 15 teams lost on Saturday. Somehow Texas lost to Kansas State, Auburn lost to Georgia and Cal lost to Arizona of all teams. Tennessee also lost, but it was to Arkansas so it can’t be considered it an upset. Florida would have lost if they didn’t block three(!) kicks against the other USC, but they squeaked out the victory and let USC catch up to them in the polls. I did clear up the BCS picture a little bit and likely gave USC the inside track to the title game against the OSU-UM winner.

Arizona 24, Cal 20

Well now it looks like the Cats may go bowling. After a disappointing start, Arizona has really turned it around in the last two weeks. As our esteemed Commander in Chief would say “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me, you cant get fooled again” Or something like that. Anywho, it looked like last week was an aberration, but it turned into a trend. Nate Longshore had a terrible game after lighting up UCLA last week, but DeSean Jackson kept the Bears in the game with two first half touchdowns. After watching Nick Folk line a punt right to Jackson, I had a feeling he would return it for a TD, and after he made a final move on Folk, it was a TD. He now has four punt returns for TDs this season and five in his career, both of which are Pac-10 records. But the real story was Longshore and his turnovers. With three picks, Longshore gave the game to Arizona, including one that was returned for a score by Antoine Cason. That gave the Wildcats their first lead and after Longshore’s third and final pick with 1:32 left, Arizona claimed victory. The Arizona offense was pretty blah, getting outgained by about 100 yards and averaging less than 4 yards a play. But they didn’t turn the ball over once, so the +3 differential was what decided the game. The Bears just kissed their national championship status goodbye.

MVP: DeSean Jackson – 6 receptions for 131 yards and a TD, 3 punt returns for 128 yards and a TD

Stanford 20, Washington 3

That whole picking the favorite in every game thing really didn’t work for me this week. In fairness, I don’t think anyone picked the Cardinal to win this game. Unfortunately, this probably moves Stanford out of ESPN’s bottom ten this week, or least way down the list from their #2 perch. But we must give the Husky QBs credit for one of the worst performances ever bestowed upon the Pac-10. Carl Bonnell threw up an amazing line of 10/35 for 118 yards and one INT, for a magnificent rating of 51.17. Ty finally decided that enough was enough and brought in Johnny DuRocher to test his hand. Somehow, he was even worse than Bonnell. DuRocher ended the night 1/9 for 4 yards and 2 INTs, which is a rating of -29.6. I didn’t even know it was possible to have a negative passer rating, but DuRocher let us all know that it is. TC Ostrander actually had a decent game for Stanford, his best of the season with 206 yards and his first TD pass of the season. But it was the Cardinal D that won the game (I think that’s an oxymoron), limiting the Huskies to 161 yards of offense and forcing three turnovers. Stanford gets OSU this week, will a winning streak be in order for Walt Harris? Wtf is going on at the bottom of the Pac-10?

MVP (for Stanford): UW’s Johnny DuRocher – 1/9 for 4 yards and 2 INTs

UCLA 25, Oregon State 7

Patrick Cowan may have saved his starting job on Saturday. With a pair of TD passes in the second half, Cowan led the Bruins to victory over the Beavers in the Rose Bowl. Matt Moore’s second homecoming was again not what he was hoping for, as he didn’t throw a TD pass and the Beaver’s only generated 259 yards of offense. The Bruin D also forced four fumbles and limited Yvenson Bernard and Sammie Stroughter to their worst combined game of the season. UCLA made sure to capitalize on the OSU turnovers and they moved themselves back into the bowl game mix.

MVP: Marcus Everett – 3 receptions for 64 yards and both UCLA TDs

Arizona State 47, Washington State 14

Put a fork in the Cougars. After whipping the Ducks and Bruins into shape a few weeks ago, WSU didn’t stand a chance against either Arizona school. With 568 yards of offense, the Sun Devils came out running on all cylinders and never let the Cougs get into this game. Rudy Carpenter had his best game since demolishing Nevada in the season’s second week, with 3 TDs and 327 yards passing. ASU also had an astounding 50 carries in this game on their way to 29 first downs. Meanwhile, Alex Brink led WSU to an awe-inspiring 190 yards of total offense, albeit without his top two receivers. Dwight Tardy can be blamed for some of that as he managed only 29 yards on his 11 carries. Of course when you’re down 30-7 at halftime, chances are you won’t be running much the rest of the game. Also, put ASU freshman CB/WR Grant Crunkleton on your All-Name team. I’m not sure how he has time to play football. Shouldn’t he be touring with Lil Jon?

MVP: Rudy Carpenter – 14 of 23 for 327 yards and 3 TDs

USC 35, Oregon 10

Ok, its time for the Pac-10 to fire all their referees. The UO/OU calls were terrible, UW lost their chance at beating USC because of you, and now you have made a complete mockery of refereeing and instant replay with your incredible call in the third quarter when you re-reversed a TD call that you had just reversed. Oregon actually challenged your reversal after replay, and you actually went back and changed your call. Incredible!! If

that TD had actually mattered, I don’t know what people would be saying today. But here’s what I say: Sitting in the stands watching you waste about 20 minutes of my life trying to figure out if your own reversal, which you deemed correct mere nanoseconds ago, was in fact correct was one of the stupidest moments I have ever witnessed, let alone experienced myself, in Pac-10 history. You Pac-10 refs are just plain bad, and now

you’re on notice!

It was homecoming for USC on Saturday, and they dispatched the Ducks in style. The box score doesn’t show it, as Oregon gained more yards and won the turnover battle, but the Ducks were never in this one. The Duck running game never got off the ground and while Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf put up more yards than JD Booty, they only led the Ducks to two scoring drives. Lawrence Jackson finally decided to show up, in the box scores at least, as he garnered his first three sacks of the season on Saturday night. But the big story for

USC was the breakout of Chauncey Washington. After watching Emmanuel Moody go down with an injury early, Washington took the game into his hands. With 119 yards and 3 TDs on his 15 carries, Chauncey literally carried the Trojans to victory. The USC defense has to be happy with its performance, letting the Ducks march from 20 to 20 is irrelevant when you never let them put points on the board. This win, coupled with all those incredible losses, pushed the Trojans all the way back to #3 in the BCS, meaning that unless OSU and UM play a really tight game, the voters will likely put the Trojans at #2 if they win the rest of their games. Add to that the fact that they play two very good teams in Cal and Notre Dame, plus a solid UCLA team, the computers will still like the Trojans. Next week decides the Ro

se Bowl and it could decide the national championship game as well.

MVP: The Referees – I’m pretty sure that if the game wasn’t televised, no one would believe that the reversal of an instant replay reversal actually happened.

The Pac-10 Apostle’s Disciple of the Week

Arizona pulled off the biggest upset of the week by beating Cal, and Antoine Cason’s pick-six is what sealed the deal for the Wildcats.

Congratulations Mr. Cason, you’re the Disciple of the Week.

Week 11 Previews

Let’s see if I can be shorter and sweeter than Graham.

Stanford @ Washington (-19.5)
The Cardinal are coming off a 42-0 loss at home against USC. If they don’t get fired up for the chance at beating UW, they may not be a very good football team. Or it could be the fact that they have been outscored by 185 points in their six Pac-10 games that makes them a bad football team. I am really not sure. This game should be Carl Bonnell’s first victory as the Husky quarterback. If its not his first win, look for Johnny Durocher to get his shot at QB.

Brian’s Pick: Washington (-19.5)
Mike's Pick: Washington (-19.5)

Cal @ Arizona (+14)
The Wildcats finally pulled out a real win last week against the Cougars. This week, I can’t imagine that they pull off another W. Cal is playing for a shot at the national title, while Arizona is just trying to become bowl eligible. Add to that the fact that Arizona hasn’t even scored the last two years against the Bears. I say it’s more of the same this week.

Brian’s Pick: Cal (-14)
Mike’s Pick: Cal (-14)

Oregon State @ UCLA (+2)
The Beaver pass rush is going to be too much for the Bruins. Plus Matt Moore lost by 23 in his return to the Rose Bowl last season and I think he wants revenge. With injuries to Yvenson Bernard and Clinton Polk, it is up to Moore to win the game for the Beavers (Unless Sammie Stroughter returns like 3 punts for TDs). Ben Olson will suit up for the Bruins, though Patrick Cowan will still start. Look for the Bruin fans to boo if Cowan plays poorly again and UCLA heads towards their fifth straight loss, then beg for Southpaw Jesus to return behind center.

Brian’s Pick: OSU (-2)
Mike's Pick: UCLA (+2)

Washington State @ Arizona State (+1)
I don’t know how to pick a game where every skill position player seems to be injured. ASU’s top FIVE receivers are likely to miss this game. Plus, starting tailback Ryan Torain has a sprained ankle. Zach Miller has been Rudy Carpenter’s favorite target all season, but he better get him the ball more than five times if the Sun Devils plan on winning this game. For the Cougs, no Jason Hill or Michael Bumpus at receiver. As a consolation, two of their top three running backs are hurt too. It’s like the Pac-10 caught whatever disease Fred Taylor’s groin and Ken Griffey Jr’s hamstring have. Seriously, how are you supposed to pick this? I guess that’s why it’s only one point. WSU has fewer injured players, and I think that may be enough to win this game by a final score of 2-0.

Brian’s Pick: WSU (-1)
Mike's Pick: ASU (+1)

*Pac-10 Game of the Week*
Oregon @ USC (-8)
It’s homecoming this Saturday for USC. If the Trojans lose this game, they are destined to visit El Paso to go bowling. I don’t think Pete Carroll and the boys want that. Look for an aerial assault coming from the Trojan offense this week. On the other side of the field, Dennis Dixon hasn’t been throwing the ball well as of late. He does however, run better than any QB in the Pac-10. Add Jonathan Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson to the mix and you probably have the best trio of runners in the nation. Should make for an interesting game, but I think the Duck pass defense is more overmatched than the Trojan run D. (Just a side note, USC and UO haven't played each other at the Coliseum in six years. Thank god every team plays one another from now on.)

Brian’s Pick: USC (-8)
Mike's Pick: USC (-8)

Wow, I took all the favorites to cover. Somehow I don’t think that bodes well for me….

Graham's Lines & Predictions for 11/11

This week's picks are going to be short and hopefully sweet. At least sweeter than last week. I started off rocky, going 2-3. The Cal loss was close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Apparently Oregon State wanted to make a statement and ASU wasn't going to try and stop them. Well, here we go again:

PAC-10 Picks:

Stanford @ Washington (-19.5)
Stanford is horrible. Obviously, everyone knows that by now. The thing that scares me is the way this line has jumped up 2 points this week. Washington has had QB troubles and the real question is if they can score enough points to cover. Stanford will only score 13, so do you think Washington will score 33? I don't.

Pick: Stanford (+19.5)
Prediction: UDumb 31 - Trees 13

Cal @ Arizona (+14)
Is this right? I know AZ just beat a pretty decent WSU team, but only 14? Cal seems to be for real and my pick to take the PAC-10. I really liked this before it hit that 14 point barrier that could end in a tie. Oh well, take the Bears to beat up on the school with the hottest coeds this side of the Mississip!

Pick: Cal (-14)
Prediction: Cal 42 - Arizona 20

Oregon St. @ UCLA (+2)
This is Matt Moore's chance to send off the coach that didn't believe enough in him with a nice kick to the groin. As much as I'm not a big OSU fan, I think they have their Beaver swagger and the Moore factor will come into play. Beavers pull out a close one and keep their 3rd place hopes alive.

Pick: Beavs (-2)
Prediction: OSU 31 - UCLA 27

WSU @ ASU (off)(pick)
The unknown status of Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus have this game off the line. ASU seems to have lost it (see last week vs. OSU). Koetter is definately on the hot seat and I think he will be looking for a job in the next month. UCLA assistant? Anyway, I think team from Washington scores more than the team from Arizona. There's no science involved in this one, just pure guesstimation.

Pick: WSU (cause they can drink more)
Prediction: WSU 35 - ASU 24 (ASU's coeds are hotter)

Game of the week:
Oregon @ USC (-8)
East coast college football fans, meet the next big running back of the PAC-10; Jonathon Stewart. The Toejams looked good against Stanford last week, but so does a Ford Focus when it races a Yugo. I think the Oregon athleticism makes it a tough day for USC. Look for the USC running game to struggle while Oregon runs, runs, runs, runs, play action. Turnover margin will decide this one.

Pick: Oregon (+8)
Prediction: Oregon 31 - USC 27

Other Picks:

Louisville (-7.5) @ Rutgers:
Louisville won lat years game by 40+ points. Is it really going to be THAT much closer? The jokes on me if it is.
Pick: Louisville (-7.5)

NC State @ Clemson (-17)
The paper tigers were favored by 13 last week against Maryland and disappointed. They are a much different team at home. How much different? NC State is up and down this year. My bet: NC State keeps it close... REAL close.
Pick: NC State (+17)

Temple (+36) @ Penn State
Will Joe Pa even be able to see the field from the booth? Those Coke bottles will be tested this week. So will the Nittany Lions. Ok, not really. Penn St. has averaged 16 points on offense the last 5 weeks. While their defense might rock, their offense is embarassing and 36 points is a lot.
Pick: Temple (+36) (holy crap, I'm actually picking TEMPLE!?)

Boise St. (-14.5) @ San Jose State
While SJSU has actually looked respectable this year, Boise State is goooood. Unless this game is played at like 8:00am like it was a couple years ago, I don't see anything odd happening. Look for Boise to continue to dominate. They'll be whining in a couple weeks after they are overlooked by the BCS even though they are undefeated.
Pick: Boise State (-14.5)

Good luck this week!

Graham

The Belated Weekly Rehash

Sorry for the lack of updates. I realize both of our readers are disappointed, but you're still getting your recap of last week and some previews. Also, be on the lookout soon for our basketball preview. Basketball sure crept up on us fast. Anyways, back to last week:

Oregon 34, Washington 14
This was a big win for the Ducks. Now sitting at 4-2 in the Pac-10, tied with the Beavers for third place and a game behind the Trojans, Oregon controls their own destiny for the Holiday Bowl. If they can run the table, at worst they’ll be in San Diego and have knocked USC down to a Sun Bowl berth. The Duck offense got off to a slow start in this game, but once Jonathan Stewart made it into the end zone in the second quarter to retake the lead, the floodgates opened. When the third quarter was over, the Ducks were up by 17 and the game was over. The Huskies pretty much forgot to show up for this game, as Oregon rushed for more than 300 yards and won by more than 20 points despite losing the turnover battle, 3 to 1. Carl Bonnell finally threw for more touchdowns than interceptions, but only completed 15 of his 34 passes for a mere 125 yards. Add to that a running game that averaged less than a yard a carry and it’s pretty easy to see why UW lost this game. What has to be disconcerting for the Ducks is the state of their offense. Despite their rushing success, Dennis Dixon had another poor day at quarterback. He averaged less than five yards a pass and threw two picks and no touchdowns. It was just a few weeks ago that people were starting to whisper about Dixon entering the Heisman race, now he gets relieved by Brady Leaf every week. If Oregon still wants to chase after San Diego or Tempe, they better right the QB ship against the Trojans on Saturday.

MVP: Jonathan Stewart – 25 carries for 159 yards and 2 TDs

Oregon State 44, Arizona State 10
Wow, talk about impressive. I figured the USC game was an aberration because the Trojans had bad turnovers and still racked up yards on offense, but I guess I was wrong. The Beavers came out firing and held a 17-0 lead by the end of the quarter. That was all they would need to win, but they racked up another 27 points and dominated the Sun Devils. For once, Matt Moore even had a better game than Sean Canfield, who was 0-6 when he relieved Moore in the fourth. Yvenson Bernard scored a pair of touchdowns for the Beavs, but only managed 60 yards on 22 carries, while Sammie Stroughter broke the century mark in receiving yards again. Meanwhile, the ASU offense was terribly ineffective. Rudy Carpenter had his worst game in more than a month and the Sun Devils didn’t even average three yards a carry. That lack of production coupled with their inability to stop OSU on third down (they converted 9 of 16), meant they didn’t have a chance.

MVP: Rudy Carpenter (for OSU) – 9 of 27 passing for 124 yards and 2 INTs

Arizona 27, Washington State 17
This was the game that no one saw coming. After getting hammered at home by USC, UW and OSU, the Wildcats somehow pulled out a 10 point win in Pullman. Washington State should have still been on a high after climbing into the top 25, but their running game never got started (27 carries for 45 yards) and the Cougars only converted 2 of 13 third downs. Evidently they got complacent with that #25 rating. Willie Tuitama played the entire game at quarterback for Arizona, and Chris Henry only managed 94 yards on his 35 carries, but scored a pair of touchdowns. Alex Brink had another solid game for WSU, but forgot about Jason Hill, who only had 2 catches for 21 yards. He’s one of the best receivers in the country, Alex! Like Keyshawn says, “Give him the damn ball!” The Cougars may have better luck next time if you do.

MVP: Willie Tuitama – 10 of 17 for 159 yards and a TD

USC 42, Stanford 0
So at least the Trojans aren’t dead. A week after losing in Corvallis, USC got a nice rebound game by getting to play in Palo Alto. Surprisingly, this was only the second time all season that the Cardinal were shut out. They had another miserable day on the ground, netting only 30 yards on 30 carries. TC Ostrander actually played relatively well, setting a season high for passing yards with 178, but he still threw a pair of interceptions and didn’t lead Stanford to a single scoring drive. Over on the USC side of the ball, things went much better. JD Booty had 3 touchdown passes and didn’t cause a single turnover. In fact, not one Trojan had a turnover in this game. Chauncey Washington chipped in with 74 yards and a TD on 12 carries, while blue chip freshman Stafon Johnson saw his first action of the year with 3 carries for 17 yards. Cause for concern for the Trojans: only gaining 108 rushing yards on a terrible Stanford defense, the best performance by the Cardinal this season. Didn’t matter though, USC called off the dogs in the third quarter and probably could have put up bigger numbers. Maybe next time Stanford.

MVP: Dwayne Jarrett – 5 catches for 118 yards and a TD

Cal 38, UCLA 24
Another day, another win for the Bears. Nate Longshore had his way with the Bruin secondary and completely outplayed Patrick Cowan. At least Chris Markey had a nice game for the Bruins, with 199 total yards from scrimmage and a TD. Marshawn Lynch was solid, but unspectacular, only 81 yards and a TD on 20 carries. DeSean Jackson returned his third punt for a TD this season, which cinched the game for the Bears in the third quarter. The Bear defense did give up more than 500 yards, but UCLA couldn’t capitalize on enough of their possessions in large part due to Cowan’s timely interceptions. I can’t believe that I have to say this again, but note to ALL PAC-10 COACHES AND QBS: DO NOT throw the ball near Daymeion Hughes. He’s the best corner in the country and he will make you pay if you do not respect him. When Cowan threw the ball near Hughes on Saturday, what happened? Hughes had another interception. Please stop tempting fate and leave that side of the field alone if you want a chance at winning the game. If you want Cal to beat you, by all means, throw at Mr. Hughes at all times. And Cal, could you please drop the heinous yellow jerseys? No one outside of Eugene wants to have their retinas burned when watching a football game. So for the sake of everyone who is watching you play, please retire those outfits already.

MVP: Nate Longshore – 20 of 24 for 266 yards and 3 TDs

The Pac-10 Apostle’s Disciple of the Week

No fancy graphic this week, but we're giving the award to Willie Tuitama. In his valiant return from multiple concussions, Willie led the Wildcats to victory over the heavily favored Cougars from Washington State. Congratulations Willie, you're the disciple of the week!

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)

The Weekly Rehash

Oregon State 33, USC 31
Well, a USC loss had to happen sooner or later. But most people were expecting Cal or Oregon to put one over the Trojans, not Oregon State. Despite three bad first half turnovers, USC was only down by six going into the third quarter. But the third quarter was when things started clicking for the Beavers. They scored 17 points in a row off a solid touchdown drive, a punt return and a field goal after another USC turnover. By then, the Beavers had a 23 point lead and it looked like USC was down for the count. But the Trojans bounced back and despite turning the ball over on downs inside the red zone, JD Booty and Steve Smith still managed to score the game’s next 21 points and come within two points of tying the game. Jeff Van Orsow saved the game for the Beavers, as he tipped Booty’s two-point conversion pass at the line of scrimmage and kept USC from tying the game. After the onside kick was recovered by OSU, the Trojan win streak was over and Cal moved into the driver’s seat for the Rose Bowl.

The Trojan pass rush showed up for the first time since playing Arizona, outsacking Oregon State’s conference leading pass rush, 6 to 2 (Also, it would be nice for USC fans if Lawrence Jackson would show up this season. After recording 10 sacks last year, he still hasn’t gotten to the quarterback once this year). In the end though, it didn’t matter how well the USC defense played, the offensive mistakes consistently gave the Beavers a short field to work with and they took advantage of it. Matt Moore had a solid game, Clinton Polk was a more than adequate replacement for Yvenson Bernard, and Sammie Stroughter could barely be touched by the Trojans.

Going into this game, you would never have predicted that Booty would turn the ball over more than Matt Moore, Clinton Polk would outgain the entire Trojan backfield in his first collegiate start, and that USC would leave Corvallis with a negative turnover margin on the year. After finishing in the top 5 nationally in turnover margin the last five seasons, USC now ranks 71^st in turnover margin.

So what we’ve seen from USC so far this year is that they have a more consistent defense than last season, but the secondary is young and they don’t create turnovers. The offense has been steady, yet unspectacular without the big plays of Reggie Bush. Those two issues go hand in hand. When the offense was crazy good and teams were always playing catch up, USC was forcing teams to make more dangerous throws and they were getting 40 turnovers a year. This year, the Trojans haven’t gotten out to a big lead against anyone since taking a 23 point lead into the fourth quarter against the Razorbacks. That means teams don’t have to be overly aggressive on offense to stay in the game and USC hasn’t done anything to convince teams otherwise. Now the question is whether or not the Trojans will even cover the 29 point spread against Stanford next week. On the bright side, USC scored 20 points in their 59^th straight game. How pointless is that streak. They also get a chance to rebound against Stanford before beginning the brutal final four games of their schedule.

MVP: Steve Smith – 11 receptions for 258 yards and 2 TDs

Washington State 37, UCLA 15
Washington State looks better and better every week, don’t they? At least the Bruins kept it close in the first half, going into the break with a 15-14 lead. Once the third quarter started though, this game was all Cougars. All told, WSU dominated UCLA in every phase of the game. They outgained the Bruins 515 to 326, converted 3 of their 4 fourth down conversions and had the ball for 14 more minutes than UCLA. Alex Brink had another monster day with 405 passing yards and three touchdowns, and now leads the Pac-10 in passing yards. He also remembered that Jason Hill is a pretty capable receiver and actually got him the ball enough for his second 100-yard game this season.

For UCLA, it looks like it’s still impossible to tell which defense is going to show up: Notre Dame at home gets their offense pretty much shut down, WSU’s offense on the road goes berserk. One thing the Bruins can count on: kicker Justin Medlock. He took over the conference lead in scoring with nine more points against the Cougars. He has been absolute money for the Bruins this year, hitting on 90% of his attempts. Given how poor UCLA has been at scoring touchdowns, it’s not a good sign for the Bruins that Medlock has already tied his career high in field goal attempts. Hey, at least the Lou Groza Award may be in his future.

MVP: Alex Brink – 28 of 38 for 405 yards and 3 TDs

Arizona State 26, Washington 23
The Huskies did it again. A week after taking Cal to overtime, they took Arizona State into an extra session as well. And just like Cal, the Sun Devils scored on their second play of overtime to tame the Huskies. Rudy Carpenter had another very efficient game passing the ball, though he let Ryan Torain and Keegan Herring carry the bulk of the offense. The defense played well too, forcing Carl Bonnell to throw two interceptions before getting hurt and limiting the Huskies to only 274 yards.

So why was this game so close? A trick play touchdown on a pass from UW receiver Sonny Shackleford and ASU’s 16 penalties for 127 yards. Good god, Dirk. Have you instilled no discipline in your team? 127 penalty yards? I didn’t know Husky Stadium was that much of a home field advantage. But that advantage isn’t working, as Washington continues to fall. After busting out of the gate with a 4-1 record, they now sit at 4-5 and without Isaiah Stanback, probably won’t make a bowl game this year. Next year Ty and Co. should have something to show the Pac-10.

MVP: Keegan Herring – 6 carries for 98 yards and 2 TDs, 3 receptions for 43 yards

Oregon 55, Portland State 12
Even with a dominating victory, it’s hard to tell what the state of your team is when you play 1-AA schools. Oregon looked fairly solid, though the run D could have been a little better. The Ducks continue to score a lot of points and posted another 400 yard day on offense, but they had a dozen penalties and Dennis Dixon only completed 56% of his passes, his lowest mark of the season. Jeremiah Johnson and Jaison Williams each had big games, and Oregon got contributions in this game from pretty much everyone on the roster. The Ducks have to feel better after rebounding from their loss to the Cougars, but they still have a tough UW team to play, a visit to USC and the Civil War. It's going to be a rough November for the Ducks.

MVP: Jeremiah Johnson – 17 carries for 86 yards and 3 TDs, 2 receptions for 23 yards.

The Pac-10 Apostle’s Disciple of the Week

Once again, this goes to player who had the biggest effect on the biggest victory in the Pac-10 this week, so obviously it must be going to a Beaver.

Stroughter had a punt return for a TD and caught 8 passes for 123 yards en route to the Beavers 33-31 upset of USC. He was pretty much invincible against the Trojan secondary and wasn't even touched on his punt return. Congratulations Sammie, you're the Disciple of the Week.