Pac 10 Power Poll Week Eight

Evie and I
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Pac 10 Power Poll Week Eight
Sorry for the lateness this week has been tough, my work computer got infected with a virus on Monday and Evie has been sick with the flu. She is doing much better now which is a good thing since cleaning up vomit and or diarrhea at two in the morning is not my idea of a fun time. Was it really six days ago that the Pac 10 last played games, seems like much longer to me. Last week’s game of the week was surprisingly Stanford/Arizona which probably was an afterthought before the season started with the ASU/USC matchup on tap . With the win Stanford actually controls their own destiny for the Rose Bowl and does get to play USC at home. Stranger things have happened, Stanford is a well coached team who has now won 3 games in conference play and needs only two more wins to get to bowl consideration. The wheels have completely fallen off at Arizona State who is off on this week for a bye while they try to heal up for Oregon in two weeks, they got beat 28-0 at USC who played very flat themselves. Memo to Paul Wolff, don’t throw Mike Riley under the bus for running up the score. I am sorry your team is perhaps the worst the Pac 10 has ever seen but Mike Riley is about as classy and kind a person in sports you would ever run across. Have fun with USC in town this week, you have to wonder if Kevin Lopina is happy to be back from injury or not? The Oregon Ducks have frankly beat no one of any substance this year and that trend continued with the UCLA performance which outside of a great pass and catch TD from Masoli to Harper the passing game for Oregon was non-existent. Both the UO secondary and wide receivers need to learn how to catch the football. Too many dropped balls made the final score of UCLA/Oregon way closer than it should have ever been. This week looks like another set of dud games in the Pac 10.
1. USC (1) – Brought their C game and still won 28-0 versus ASU. The concern I see in USCland however is that Mark Sanchez doesn’t look that healthy to me since Nick Reed rolled up on his knee. Expect to see a lot of backups play major minutes in Pullman this week. No need to even bring Joe McKnight along for the trip.
2. Cal (2) - With Zona’s loss to Stanford this game lost a lot of its luster. The last time Cal played in Zona the Cats ruined Cal’s Rose Bowl shot. Jahvid Best should be back and it will be interesting to see how the QB situation will work for Cal this weekend. The Bears are the only undefeated team in conference play this year joining Stanford as the only schools who still control their own destiny for the Rose Bowl.
3. UO (3) – UCLA gave Masoli the run all night and he took it. Had the Ducks taken better care to actually catch the football and the Ducks could have made the game a laugher. I believe the return of Justin Roper will bring balance back to the Oregon offensive attack.
4. OSU (5) – Destroyed WSU and should destroy UW this weekend. The Beavs really should be 5-1 right now not 3-3. The Beavers have a very favorable schedule down the stretch and if they win out and Stanford losses a game they, not USC would be conference champs.
5. Stanford (7) – Was able to pull off a very important win versus UA and have kept their bowl hopes alive. I like what Harbaugh is doing down on the Farm. Stanford can’t afford a trip up to UCLA because they still have to play USC, Cal and Oregon down the stretch.
6. UA (4) – Just when you thought they might finally step out and be a contender the Cats blow a game they should win on paper. Not Arizona has to play Cal in a game that they must win if they have higher aspirations than the Vegas Bowl.
7. ASU (6) – In the words of Tommy Petty: “Free Fallin”. They have two weeks to get healthy for the Ducks – problem is the Ducks are magnificent after bye weeks and Justin Roper will be back.
8. UCLA (8) – Regretting that onside kick nonsense Neuheisal? UCLA was competitive against Oregon but the game would have gotten hand quickly if Oregon didn’t have hands of stone. UCLA can play spoilers this week to Stanford who has outside of the Washington game not played well on the road.
9. UW (9) – The best 0-5 team in America.
10. WSU (10) – Can it get any worse? Yes as USC is in town.