Last Week: Andrew (4-2), Dan (5-1), Joe (5-1), Matthew (5-1)
Overall: Andrew (29-5), Dan (30-4), Joe (30-4), Matthew (29-5)
Week 5:
UCLA—The Good Guys
Arizona St.—Dan, Joe; Oregon St.—Andrew, Matthew
Stanford—Andrew; Oregon—Matthew, Dan, Joe
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
Alright, time for me to get back on schedule with the blog. This was about the best week possible for the Pac-10 from a national perspective. I’ll take a look at the conference games first:
Oregon -42 Arizona State- 31
So, is Oregon not quite as dominant as they looked in the first 3 games? Or is Arizona State actually a good team? The easiest answer is a little bit of both. The Oregon defense was torn apart and Arizona State’s defense played pretty well against the Ducks amazing run game. If the Sun Devils hadn’t committed 7 turnovers who knows what would have happened. Take into account that it was 100 degrees and this score seems a little more reasonable. Still, the feeling after this game is that Oregon might not be as far ahead of the Pac-10 as we thought.
Arizona – 10 Cal -9
This is weird. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch any of these games, I’ve only read about them but this is pretty far from the prediction I had for this game. After getting torn apart by Nevada, I thought California wouldn’t be able to keep up with Arizona’s offense. They did. The Wildcats needed a late touchdown to win this one and Cal seemed in control most of the game. Arizona’s defense is obviously good but their offense can’t disappear like this if they want to win the Pac. When they’re at their best, the Wildcats could win the conference but when they aren’t, they’re just an average team. Give credit to the Cal defense for playing so well. Kevin Riley needs to be a lot better if they want to have a chance to contend. But, Kevin Riley isn’t very good so that probably won’t happen.
USC – 50 WSU -16
While the other two games weren’t what I expected, this was exactly what I expected. The Cougars scored first and passed pretty well against a questionable Trojan secondary but they never really stood a chance. Matt Barkley made a few questionable decisions in the first half, throwing two interceptions. He went on to say after the game that if they hadn’t committed 3 turnovers they would have scored 70. Good observation, Matt. Running back, Marc Tyler, told a reporter he could have run through the holes that the offensive line was making. To complete the awesome quotes, WSU receiver, Jeffrey Solomon, said, “We’re so close to being good, it’s not even funny.” This is my favorite quote of the year. I wish I would have started Stanley Havili on my fantasy team this game, as he was the Trojan’s leading rusher and receiver. Lane Kiffen lives to make me mad.
Now, the non-conference games:
UCLA – 34 Texas -12
Well, I thought Texas was overrated but I also thought UCLA was just pretty bad. Credit the Bruins, they have really turned things around since getting drilled by Stanford. Beating a national power like Texas at Texas is a huge achievement. UCLA didn’t look great in the first half, only picking up 77 yards but they took control in the 2nd and were never close to losing this game. Their defense is really starting to play well. Now, we get to see if they can sustain this success or not. Maybe the Pac-10 is really that much better than the Big-12. That’s what I like to think, but Nebraska showed me otherwise.
Oregon State – 24 Boise St – 37
I’m starting to believe the Bronco hype. This is the first year where I think they could actually challenge for the Pac-10 title. The poor Beavers will learn that they shouldn’t schedule two teams that are in the top-10, on the road, for their non-conference schedule. So, the Beavers aren’t an extremely elite team but they’re still dangerous. They played TCU and Boise close and are the best 1-2 team in the country. I don’t think that’s enough to challenge for the top of the Pac though.
Stanford – 37 Notre Dame -14
Yes, the Irish aren’t that great but Stanford looks fantastic. We knew the Cardinal had a lot of potential but it looks like they may be even better than what we expected. They are so physical and fundamentally sound that it just makes it tough to foresee a future letdown. With that being said, they haven’t been tested like they will be this week against Oregon. They dominated yesterday and look to ride that momentum into an early season showdown.
Next Week:
UCLA @ WSU
Arizona State @ Oregon State
UW @ USC
Stanford @ Oregon
Wow, those are some really interesting games. Someone should write to the Pac-10 and tell them not to have the Stanford-Oregon game at the same time as UW-USC. Because, I know that would do a lot of good to write to them… Power rankings after the jump. Continue reading
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
Last Week: Andrew (8-2), Dan (8-2), Joe (8-2), Matthew (8-2)
Overall: Andrew (25-3), Dan (25-3), Joe (25-3), Matthew (24-4)
Week 4:
USC—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
Texas—The Good Guys
Oregon St.—Andrew; Boise St.—Matthew, Dan, Joe
Arizona—The Good Guys
Oregon—The Good Guys
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
Last Week: Andrew (8-0), Dan (8-0), Joe (8-0), Matthew (8-0)
Overall: Andrew (17-1), Dan (17-1), Joe (17-1), Matthew (16-2)
Week 3:
Arizona—Andrew, Dan, Joe; Iowa—Matthew
USC—The Good Guys
Wisconsin—The Good Guys
Oregon—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
California—The Good Guys
Oregon St.—The Good Guys
SMU—The Good Guys
Houston—Andrew, Dan, Joe; UCLA—Matthew
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
Last Week: Andrew (9-1), Dan (9-1), Joe (9-1), Matthew (8-2)
Overall: (same)
Week 2:
California—The Good Guys
Washington St.—The Good Guys
Arizona St.—The Good Guys
Oregon—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
USC—The Good Guys
Arizona—The Good Guys
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
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
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
Week 1:
USC—The Good Guys
Arizona—The Good Guys
Arizona St.—The Good Guys
Oregon—The Good Guys
K St.—The Good Guys
Oregon St.—Matthew; TCU—Andrew, Joe, Dan
Ok. St.—The Good Guys
Stanford—The Good Guys
California—The Good Guys
-Dan
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
We’re going to start doing a look around the Pac-10 every week. This will include something like a review of last weeks games, a preview of this weeks games, and possible power rankings. Being that this is the first week, there isn’t much to review aside from injuries and lineup news. Since Matthew basically did that yesterday, I won’t go much into it. What I’m trying to say is this Pac-10 report will be shorter than the other ones. On to the first week!
Arizona: The Wildcats play at Toledo this Friday night. Toledo is probably better than what a football team from Toledo should be. If that made any sense to you, congratulations. In other words, they aren’t that bad. They had a 5-7 record last year and return 12 starters. They scored 54 points against Colorado at home last year. With all that being said, Arizona shouldn’t have much of a problem with them. Nick Foles and Nic Grigsby should put up a ton of yards and points. Arizona could have a top 3 offense in the conference, but their defense is suspect.
Arizona State: ASU picked the Steven Threet to lead their high-powered (sarcasm) offense and now he has to face the vaunted Portland State defense in week one (also, sarcasm). The Sun Devils start off their season against two FCS schools. That is a joke but I guess it’s not something to get riled up about since only one of those games count towards their bowl game. Arizona State will dominate the Pilots. But, it will be interesting to see how Threet will do compared to backup Brock Osweiler. Both will play and if Threet doesn’t come out very strong the quarterback race could be back on. See, even in these terrible games there’s something to watch for. Thank God for football!
Cal: After their terrible finish last year, Cal is somewhat of a mystery. They’re talented, no doubt, but will it be good enough to challenge for the top spot in the Pac? I’m guessing no, but I’m hardly ever right. They start off with UC Davis. Yeah… Umm… I can’t think of a reason to watch this terrible game unless you’re a Bear fan or like to see how many yards Shane Vereen can rush for in one half. That actually could be halfway interesting.
Oregon: Darren Thomas takes the reins as the Ducks QB. This was a good choice by the Ducks I think. I’ve never been impressed by Nate Costa and Darren Thomas seems to fit their offense a little better. It’s easy to forget that Costa was at Oregon before Kelly was so he wasn’t exactly recruited for that offense. Now, we have to wait and see just how effectively he can run the *ucks offense. He should have a soft landing this week, as Oregon plays New Mexico. As my friend Garrett says, “Everyone’s a Lobo.” I will be this week. The real question in this game is, does anyone in New Mexico watch football? I’m guessing no.
Oregon State: Aha! A good game! The Beavs head down to Dallas to take on TCU. As far as non-BCS schools go, TCU is my favorite. That’s not saying much because I don’t like any of them. Hopefully, Mike Riley has OSU ready to play and they beat up on the Horned Frogs. I don’t really think this will happen. Although, I look at the Beavers and always end up asking myself, “Why aren’t more people picking them to win the Pac-10?” They have 2 of the top 10 play-makers in the country. They’re always good on defense. I agree with Matthew, they are my second favorite Pac-10 team.
Stanford: Stanford plays Sacramento State on Saturday. Another lame game. Stanford should score around 40 by halftime and then sit golden boy, Andrew Luck, for the 2nd half. It will be interesting to see who emerges at tailback for the Cardinal. Stepfan Taylor is the starter and is more of a speed back than the backup Jeremy Stewart. They also get a chance to break in their new defense on a weak opponent.
UCLA: UCLA had a terrible Fall Camp as far as injuries go. They lost 3 offensive lineman and were already thin there. Keith Prince is hurting and questionable for the first game. The Bruins play Kansas State this week and we’ll get to see how good (or bad) they are. If UCLA doesn’t win this one, they could easily start 0-4 (with Stanford, Houston, and Texas on the horizon). A couple weeks ago I would have said the Bruins would win this easily, now I have my doubts. This will be one of the more intriguing games on Saturday, in my opinion.
USC: USC kicks off the Pac-10 football season Thursday night at Hawaii. The (Rainbow) Warriors aren’t very good and will get rolled by the Trojans. But hey, football! It will be interesting to see how if USC comes out with fire or lackluster after a terrible off-season. I’m guessing that they come out really strong against Hawaii because they’re probably ready to just go out and play football. I will be interested in seeing how physical they are since they didn’t tackle much during Fall Camp.
Wazzu: The Cougs prepare to get hammered by Oklahoma State in Stillwater this weekend. They could keep things close for a while. They did a little bit last year against the Cowboys and Oklahoma State shouldn’t be as good this year. It could be a somewhat interesting game for a while. In truth, I don’t think the Cougars stand a chance and will probably get blown out but I was trying to be nice. They could surprise this first game. Maybe they really have improved this off-season unlike last year.
Pac-10 Power Rankings after the jump Continue reading
Filed under Pac-10 Outlook
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