Pac 10 Power Poll Week Four

Well there were a few bright spots this week, one being the dominant performance by the USC Trojans who look like they might not get challenged this year, another was Oregon State getting a win for the first time this year and then finally Oregon has to be happy to snag victory from the arms of defeat at Purdue. On the other hand last Friday and Saturday, it can be argued, was perhaps the worst day of play by the Pac 10 as a whole in the history of the league. Washington State, UCLA and Washington were obliterated while Stanford, Cal, Arizona and ASU all lost games they should, on paper at least, have won. What the breakdown of all this means is that the Pac 10’s OOC record is really not looking good and that will hurt all teams outside of USC in the quest to get a second team to the BCS. I could easily see a scenario where Oregon goes 11-1 but gets kicked in the teeth by the Trojans and ends up at around 8th in the country but gets stuck in the Holiday Bowl. Pac 10 fans need to cheer against Utah, BYU, East Carolina and Notre Dame this year. At this point if you take USC out of the equation there is no doubt in my mind that if you compared the 9 Mountain West schools to the 2nd through 9th Pac 10 teams that overall the Mountain West is better. That is not a good sign for the 9 dwarves of the Pac 10 at all. As for this week we have a light schedule that is looking lackluster now after ASU lost to Mountain West doormat UNLV. ESPN Gameday is now not coming to Tempe and the Devils are not ranked in the Top 25 as the Bulldogs come to town. ASU has the chance to get their season back on track and highly ranked non-conference teams do have a history of losing night games in Tempe. Stanford simply needs to get things done and not blow another game to San Jose State, while the Cougs have their best chance for a win this year when Jerry Glanville brings his pigskin footbrawlers to Pullman. The remaining games are a non-conference tilt at Autzen between Oregon and Boise State where all eyes will be on the Ducks quarterback play and the Mildcats roll in to Pasadena to take on a UCLA team that thought they were playing BYE but was actually playing BYU.
1. USC (1) – Simple physically beat down and outclassed Ohio State. The Trojans will not overlook Oregon State like they did the last time they played in Corvallis. The game is on September 25th so the Trojans will be watching TV this weekend.
2. UO (3) – The Ducks didn’t bring their A game against Purdue and it showed but the team gutted out a win in less than ideal situations and got key special teams performances from Jairus Byrd and Matt Evensen. Boise State should bring an interesting matchup, I predict that BSU will try to sell out early to the run so the Ducks should try to go downfield early with Masoil. Roper may indeed be back for the USC game now. The Ducks should be 5-0 rolling in to that game since they face a scrimmage next week in Pullman.
3. Cal (2) – I will give Cal a pass for their performance in College Park last weekend. First of all why agree to a 9 AM Pacific start time, second of all why do you not fly in until 7PM local time the night before? Cal can now spend 2 weeks preparing for the Mighty Colorado State Rams.
4. ASU (4) – Classic trap game loss by the Devils. Now instead of hosting ESPN Gameday the Devils see themselves outside the Top 25 and will host the #3 team in the country in a game that could get ugly if the Devils can’t protect Rudy.
5. OSU (9) – Well they got their win but now face two likely losses after a bye this week. I’d rank this team lower but they were the only team below Oregon and USC who actually won this week so there is nowhere else to go.
6. UA (6) – Not terribly surprised the Cats lost to New Mexico but now they need to regroup and win a road game in LA. The Cats should be a better team than UCLA but it could depend on which UCLA team shows up. Stoops loses here and making a bowl game gets that much tougher.
7. LSJU (7)- Hurricane Ike kind of throw them for a bit of a loop with the early start date, probably not a game that the Trees were going to win regardless but one they could have won with a better effort. They can’t afford to choke to San Jose State yet again.
8. UW (9)- Worst loss in the history of Husky Stadium, I think that sums it up. Willingham seems to have survived to the bye week and because of that I think he lasts the year and resigns after the Apple Cup.
9. UCLA (5) – Nice use of that bye week UCLA. Did you guys think that the season was only one week long? Better be ready for Arizona this week.
10. WSU (10) – The last best chance for a win is this week versus Portland State. Now glory days in Pullman, how many fans make the drive from the Westside for this one?