Pac-10 Outlook: Week 2

A fairly predictable week in the Pac leads to another one.  This week, like last, doesn’t have a ton of huge match-ups.  That comes next week.  So lets take a look at how each school did and who they’ll be taking on this week:

Arizona
Last Week: Arizona-41, Toledo-2
This Week: Home vs. The Citadel
Arizona was the team that probably impressed me the most this week.  Toledo isn’t very good but they’ve played a couple BCS schools tough when they get them at home.  The offense did everything they were supposed to and the defense was a pleasant surprise.  The Wildcats had questions on defense but this game helps silence those for the time being.  This week will be a cakewalk and then they have a huge match-up against Iowa.  Expect a blow out this week.  Keep an eye on their running back, Nic Grigsby.  I’m not sold on that guy and he didn’t go off last week.  If he becomes great then the Arizona offense could be the best in the league.

Arizona State
Last Week: Portland State-9, ASU-54
This Week: Home vs. Northern Arizona
The Sun Devils did exactly what they were supposed to last week.  This week, the Sun Devils will do exactly what they are supposed to do.  My dad always used to joke about how the Huskies should schedule the school of the blind for football, Arizona State has gotten pretty close to that.  The main thing is for the Sun Devils to stay healthy this week so that they can go get stomped by Wisconsin next week and not have any excuses for losing.

California
Last Week:  UC Davis-3, Cal-52
This Week: Home vs. Colorado
Dang, the Huskies should have started with one of these terrible teams.  We are so smart with scheduling… Anyway, Cal was impressive.  This week they face a little better quality of opponent but should still win.  Colorado is not a great football team and doesn’t match up well with an athletic team like Cal.  It should be a fairly close game but the Golden Bears should end up winning pretty easily.  Keep an eye on Kevin Riley; he needs to take a step up this year if Cal wants to be in the upper tier of the conference.

Oregon:
Last Week:  New Mexico-0, Oregon-72
This Week: @ Tennessee
I don’t care who you play, 72-0 is impressive.  Also, New Mexico shouldn’t have a football team.  No one plays football in that state.  I don’t know if anyone does anything in that state.  Oregon has a test this week when they go down to Tennessee.  The Vols aren’t the powerhouse they used to be but they’re still athletic and have an intimidating environment.  Go Vols!

Oregon State:
Last Week:  Oregon State-21, TCU-30
This Week: Bye
Oregon State played pretty well by most accounts.  They played a tough team in a tough environment and, if it weren’t for a few mistakes, could have won the game.  That loss didn’t make me think any less of the Beavers and I still think they’ll finish in the top 3 in the Pac.  Now, OSU gets a week off before they take on Louisville (which should be a pretty easy win for the Beavs).

Stanford:
Last Week:  Sac. St.-17, Stanford-52
This Week: @ UCLA
Another blow out against a terrible opponent.  There’s not a lot you can say about these games so onto this week.  Pac-10 play begins!  Stanford starts Pac-10 play the way everyone wants to begin it, against UCLA.  Expect a win this week, although it should be an interesting game.  Stanford has some injury problems but no one really knows what they are because they aren’t being specific.  It’s a weird deal.

UCLA:
Last Week:  UCLA-22, Kansas St.-31
This Week: Home vs. Stanford
UCLA might have had the most disappointing loss of any Pac-10 team this week (I’d argue it’s between them and Washington but Kansas State is a lot worse than BYU so that’s my reasoning).  UCLA looked pretty bad and I don’t see them winning many games this season.  Stanford is a tough way to start Pac-10 play.  The Bruins were run over last week by a Kansas State line that is nowhere near as good as Stanford’s.  But, Brett Hundley did just commit which is something to be excited about if you’re them.  Man, this was a bad weekend to be a Husky fan.

USC:
Last Week:  USC-49, Hawaii-36
This Week: Home vs. Virginia
USC may have looked the worst of any Pac-10 team (not counting WSU).  At least defensively.  Their offense looked incredible.  But, the defense was terrible.  We don’t know if it was because of it being a season opener or not but giving up almost 600 yards to a WAC opponent is terrible.  They could be in for a lot of shoot outs this year.  It will be interesting to see what the defense will do against a mediocre Virginia team.  I expect them to be much better at home.  But, for now they look like a middle of the Pack team in the conference.

WSU:
Last Week:  WSU-17, Oklahoma St.-65
This Week: Home vs. Montana St.
What to say?  WSU looked improved for about 6 minutes in this game when they scored 10 unanswered points.  Other than that they looked worse than last year or the year before.  Yes, I said worse.  Now, we get to see just how awful they are as they play Montana State this week.  The fact that WSU losing this game is possibility shows you what kind of state that program is in.  If they lose this one, Wulff should be fired immediately.  With that being said, even the Cougars should win this game.

Pac-10 Power Rankings after the jump

Pac-10 Power Rankings:

1.  Oregon- This is their spot to lose.  They looked the part in week one but this week will tell us a lot more.
2.  Arizona- Arizona was very impressive in week one, hence the huge jump in the power rankings.  I’ll be looking forward to their game against Iowa to see how they stack up but they definitely have proved the most of any Pac-10 team last week (which, obviously, isn’t much).
3.  Oregon State- They lost but also played the toughest opponent.  They have a solid team and didn’t show me anything to think otherwise on Saturday.
4.  USC- Could be 4th, 5th or 6th.  They have more talent than anyone but looked terrible on defense.  Depth could become a big issue fast for the Trojans.  For now they hold the 4th spot because of their offense. 
5.  Stanford- Stanford could be very good but we don’t really know yet.  This week will tell us more.  Injuries are an issue right now.
6.  Cal- So much rides on Kevin Riley for Cal and that’s not always a good bet.  Cal could surprise or could fall off fast.  They do have Shane Vereen and that is a pretty sweet deal for them.
7.  Washington- I can’t really put them anywhere else right now.  They weren’t awful but weren’t very good.  If they want to be in the upper half of the conference they have to win games like last Saturday.
8.  Arizona State- They won and will win again this week.  But, I just don’t see how they can be very good.  There aren’t many offensive weapons there right now.
9.  UCLA- The opening loss hurts, now it will be a surprise if they don’t start 0-4.  Injuries really hurt them on the offensive line and the defensive line looked weak on Saturday.  They could surprise though.
10.  WSU- They are awful.  They just don’t stand a chance against any mediocre, or better, team right now.

More coming later this week, it’s a new week and a week that should bring a win (just keep telling yourself that).  Thanks for reading!

Andrew