Pac 10 Power Poll and Week One Review

Oregon had very high hopes going in to their matchup versus Boise State but saw their dreams shattered by an embarrassing offensive performance on the blue turf. The post-game meltdown of LaGarette Blount will be forever remembered as lore in college football perhaps as much as the famous punch that ended the career of Woody Hayes. Chip Kelly’s legacy as a coach may well be defined by how he gets his team to respond to the horrible performance both on and off the field. Blount, I believe, was a divisive force in the locker room but now that he is gone the entire team will either come together and play at the level they are capable of or they could see the season tailspin in to a year ala 2004 where the Ducks find themselves in the unusual position of being outside of the bowl picture. Playing Purdue is probably the best thing for Oregon right now but they are also not a team that they Ducks can automatically beat ala a Portland State. If the Ducks can’t beat Purdue (Autzen Stadium at night, long travel, body clocks thinking the game starts at 10:15) the Ducks will be lucky to beat anyone on the schedule outside of Washington State. If they can regain their mojo on offense versus Purdue the Ducks should be able to get things back on track and finish towards the top of the Pac 10. In the other notable game Washington showed they may have a pulse again in their performance versus LSU. Jake Locker was fairly effective as a drop back passer and Polk gave them a real running threat for the first time in well I can’t remember. The Dawgs have lost 15 straight games but that streak will end this weekend versus the putrid Vandals of Idaho. Stanford looks to be improved but it is tough to gauge anyone when they play WSU but a league road win is still a league road win. Cal, USC, ASU and OSU all rolled up on sub-standard competition but I was particularly impressed by Cal’s demolishing of a Maryland team that beat the Golden Bears last year. Let’s see how the Bears respond to playing Oregon but if they keep it up I think this Cal team has a legit shot to end the USC Pac 10 championship streak. UCLA and Arizona both got wins which is positive but they were not overly impressive. The Cats defense did a good job holding high flying CMU to 6 points but to only score 19 at home versus a MAC team could be some warning signs that Matt Scott could struggle a bit this year to match what Tuitama gave them.
1. USC – USC started out a bit slow versus San Jose State but then ended up putting 56 on the Spartans. Ohio State in Columbus is a much different experience and Matt Barkley may not have as much confidence as he showed in game 1. The Buckeyes played like dung versus Navy but may well have been looking past the Midshipmen to the Trojans. Pryor is a great athlete at QB and the Trojans have suffered a few losses over the years to duel threat quarterbacks in Vince Young and Dennis Dixon. I think USC will squeak out a win versus Ohio State but would by no means be surprised to see Ohio State pull the mild upset.
2. Cal – Dominant performance versus Maryland but this was also to be expected. An ACC team traveling west to play at night against a high powered offense that wants revenge is a recipe for disaster. Cal has a scrimmage versus EWU this weekend so the main key is to avoid injuries.
3. OSU – Not much can be gleaned from the performance versus PSU outside of the fact that Jaquiz Rodgers seems to be on the mend. The Beavs can’t afford a slip up to UNLV but it is a dangerous game for them. The Pac 10 was mauled by the Mountain West last year and that trend needs to be reversed.
4. LSJU – Jim Harbaugh has set the bar high for his Trees and they got a much valued road W in league play. Ofcourse it was against Big Sky front runner Washington State but hey a win is a win. Stanford travels all the way to Winston-Salem this weekend to play Wake Forest. Tough place to play and the travel will be tough but a very important game for Stanford to win if they wish to go to a bowl game for the first time since 2001.
5. UW – Husky Stadium was rocking, UW had some swagger and they gave LSU a battle though the final score was padded by a TD by Washington on the last play of the game. The streak should end versus Idaho if it doesn’t there is something ghastly wrong still with the Huskies. USC awaits the week after as the Trojans continue their tour of loud opposing stadiums to play road games in but I don’t we will get a real gauge as to how much Washington has improved until they face Stanford on the road on 9/26.
6. UO – Not much more needs to be said. The Ducks need to regain focus and need to remember that it is not about your name or how you look but how you play if you want to be a champion. Masoli needs to learn how to check down if he wants to remain a starter and the defense can’t be made to play another 40+ minute game.
7. UA – Solid defensive performance versus a high flying offense means that Stoops defense may be one of the better in the conference. The Cats do have to be concerned about only putting up 19 but they get to scrimmage NAU this weekend before they go out to face an Iowa team that should have lost to FCS member Northern Iowa.
8. ASU – Not a team I have much confidence in and playing Idaho State who is the worst team in the Big Sky means nothing as they have a bye this week the Devils get an incomplete grade from me.
9. UCLA – San Diego State is a terrible team and UCLA got the W versus them but now they have to go to Knoxville to face a revenge minded and seemingly rejuvenated Volunteer team with a freshman QB at the helm. Not a good sign for Kevin Prince or the Bruins who can hopefully rally the next week for Kansas State in Pasadena.
10. WSU – The Cougars played decently against Hawaii last year and this is a winnable game for them as well as next week’s battle versus SMU. If the Cougs can’t pull either of these out they are looking at 0-12 in the face unless they pull another Apple Cup miracle.