Obviously the big story was Oregon State knocking off Cal, had the Bears won they would be the number one team in the country and likely #1 in the BCS as well. The Bears still control their own destiny to win the Pac 10 conference title which is something that only ASU and USC can also claim but clearly the loss will be one that will sting in Berkeley for years. Oregon State has to wonder what life would have been like this year had they had an experienced quarterback and a healthy Samie Straughter, the front seven for Oregon State has been stellar. Arizona State continued to win quietly but I still feel this team is untested. Oregon won big but their chances of going the rest of the year unscathed were dealt quite a blow by the losses of Jeremiah Johnson and Cameron Colvin. Wide receiver depth at the slot position is now very thin, Derrick Jones and freshman Aaron Pflugard need to step up big. Stanford’s win streak ended at one and Arizona put a scare in to USC before Joe McKnight (Reggie Bush Jr?) put the game away. USC should get McKnight more touches, after the bye week this week at Notre Dame they go to a hornets nest in Eugene to end out October.
1. UO (2) – The Ducks absolutely crushed Washington State but suffered two major injuries to key skill position players. They face what is most certainly a major trap game for them with the trip to Seattle. This is, amazingly, only the second time (1999 and 2003) in ten season that Oregon has played in Husky Stadium.
2. ASU (3) – Still untested and if there were a strange occurrence of events ASU could find itself the final BCS conference school undefeated after this week as they are on a bye week. ASU has very strong computer numbers but not much respect from voters.
3. Cal (1) – Will the OSU 2007 game be remembered like the 2001 Stanford game for Oregon? Cal should take care of UCLA pending that Patrick Cowan doesn’t play, if he does all of a sudden this one could be interesting particularly if Nate Longshore has to sit again and if Riley can’t shake the criticism from not throwing the ball away at the end of the Oregon State game.
4. USC (4) – USC’s defense was again stellar versus the run but there is major concern about the offense. This game was won on the special teams play of Joe McKnight, teams would be smart to not kick to him. USC gets Notre Dame at a good time, they shouldn’t be tested much and then they have to go up north for a revenge minded Duck team that wants to deliver a death blow to a USC squad that has owned them since 2002.
5. OSU (7) – The Beavs somehow just seem to pull out a win like this every year but rarely is it on the road. They were fortunate to avoid having to play against Longshore but they deserve much credit for beating a very talented team on the road. The Beavers now have the momentum to play themselves in to a bowl game, that looked like a distant memory after blowing early leads in previous games.
6. UA (8) – All in all the Cats defense dominated the Trojans, Mark Sanchez throwing the ball was not a factor. Had the Cats had better coverage on special teams and they could have easily knocked off USC. They have a very winnable game at home against Stanford, again the Cats are showing late season improvement like last year but a loss to the Trees would likely be too much for Stoops to survive.
7. Stanford (5) – They played tough against TCU but it was in the end a let down game after the huge win, Stanford had an outside shot at getting to 500 but the TCU loss cripples that I think.
8. UW (6) – UW’s murderers row schedule continued with a loss to the Devils. The Huskies would love to ruin the Ducks season but remember there is no rivalry!
9. UCLA (10) – If Patrick Cowan can play they have a shot against Cal, if Bethel-Thompson starts this one is over before it starts.
10. WSU (9) – Cougars fans are singing “Goodbye to You” in honor of Bill Doba’s farewell tour. They can’t get blown out by bye this week.
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