Week Seven Review and Pac 10 Power Poll

This week was a painful one for starting QB’s. Washington lost their starting QB and arguably most important player to a season ending injury. Arizona is now looking at Kris Heavner starting as Willie Tuitama and Adam Austin are both hurt and Stanford now faces life without both Trent Edwards and TC Ostrander. As has been the case this year Cal, Oregon and USC are clearly the most talented teams in the Pac 10 and though they haven’t always won pretty they are winning all the games they should and I don’t see that changing. Washington really is in a world of hurt now in their attempt to get back to a bowl game. The offense was really based around the mobility of Stanback and either Carl Bonnell or Johnny Durocher will not provide the same sense of mobility that will keep opposing offenses at bay. Washington now likely has only one automatic win on the schedule meaning they will need to beat Stanford and hope they can defeat either ASU or WSU to get to a bowl. Oregon State on the other hand may have turned their year around and if they can win at Zona this week have likely gotten them-selves in position for a bowl game. Mike Riley just yet may save his hide. Same cannot be said for Mike Stoops if he loses this week to OSU. In other games Oregon faces their biggest challenge until the USC match-up. The Ducks usually have just enough to win in Pullman and I see that continuing. Washington will likely get crushed with a new QB on the road in Berkeley while I see UCLA just not having the horses to hang with USC. In the final game Stanford travels to Tempe and ASU will see their 3 game losing streak end post haste. In fact ASU could set themselves up for a nice win streak and end this year 9-3 which could get them to the Sun Bowl.

1. USC (1) – Again playing with fire, this team continues to win ugly with a ton of young players. Thankfully the schedule has been amazingly favorable and I think the bye week comes at a perfect time giving Troy 2 weeks to prepare for what could be a bad weather game against a resurgent Beaver team.
2. Cal (2) – Offense didn’t roll as much as many may have thought in Pullman but again it wasn’t needed as Cal’s defense shut down the Cougar attack. The Bears have to be licking their chops at the thought of playing UW in Strawberry Canyon without a green QB.
3. UO (3) – Oregon rebounded in a game that wasn’t as close as the scoreboard showed. The Ducks have some major worries with regards to special teams, short yardage running and defensive depth. In typical Oregon fashion the Ducks were great in their first 20 offensive plays scoring 3 first quarter TD’s then once the plays weren’t scripted the offense sputtered. This trend needs to be reversed to beat WSU and USC.
4. ASU (7) – The Devils mounted a valiant comeback on the road at USC but just like so many before them came up a bit short. Now that the Murderer’s Row schedule of ASU is over the Devils have a legit shot to win out the rest of the year and on paper they should. If Dirk Koetter wants to continue to be the coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils I highly recommend he win every game he should on paper in reality. Playing Stanford at home should help Rudy Carpenter regain his confidence.
5. UCLA (6) – I am not sure what to think of UCLA other than that they play some very boring football. Unfortunately they have to play their second straight road game, this time versus a rested Notre Dame squad. It could get ugly early if this one turns in to a track meet.
6. WSU (5) – I expected a bit more from the Cougars offense last week against Cal. The quad still looks like they are online for a bowl game and you know they would love to ruin Oregon’s year after the close escapes that the Ducks have had in the second home field in Pullman. Not sure if it is a good thing for Oregon that they get WSU at home next as they last time these two squads met in Eugene Bellotti was handed his worst loss ever.
7. OSU (8) – Nice win on the road that not many expected and they can easily make it 2 in a row this week in Tucson which would leave the Beavs in prime territory to sneak in to a bowl game. I think the Beavs are more comfortable on the road right now due to the hostile treatment the coaches and players are receiving from the “fans” of Beaver Nation.
8. UW (4) – Not sure I have ever dropped a school four places this late in the year but the Dawgs just lost their heart, offensive MVP and team leader last week in the loss to the Beavers. Losing Stanback will make UW one dimensional on offense and with the task of having to play road games in Berkeley, Eugene and Pullman the chances for a bowl game for the formerly Purple Helmets just got bleak.
9. UA (9) – That win over Stanford deserved a ticker tape parade, oh wait, maybe not. Arizona really needs to win every game they have a shot in to keep Stoops around next year. Kris Heavner has started for Arizona in the past with not much success and the Beavs seem to have regained some heart. I think Zona loses this one at home but it will be close. Do they have another Pac 10 win on the schedule?
10. Stanford (10) – No where to go but up from here, too bad they are going to be the punching bag that gets Rudy his groove back in Tempe this weekend.