Pac 10 Power Poll and Week Four Review

Week four was the first week where all games were played within the conference and the haves appeared to beat up on the have nots. Oregon was dominating except for a very strange fifteen minutes that occurred in the second quarter. Somehow Stanford put up 31 straight points mainly due to fumbles by Ducks going for extra yards. Give Stanford credit for staying in it for awhile but it appears that unlike many previous Bellotti regimes this one responds well in the second half of games. The Beavers has ASU on the ropes before poor QB play did them in. UCLA played much better defense but also lost starting QB Patrick Cowan so if Ben Olson can’t go next week they will have to play in Corvallis with a freshman QB. USC rolled up WSU as expected, not much to say about that one. This week the big game is Oregon versus Cal at Autzen with the boys from ESPN Gameday making their first appearance in Eugene since 2000. Whichever team can force some stops on defense should win this one. Oregon would be wise to punt it away from Desean Jackson every time they punt (which of course may not be very often . . .)

!. USC (1) – Rolling, rolling, rolling. Another week another ABC 5 PM special for USC. This week it will be in Seattle and UW doesn’t have the defense to contain USC’s offense. Husky Stadium will be rocking but it will all be in vain.
2. Oregon (2) – Outside of bad quarter the Ducks rolled Stanford. The good news was that the turnovers were all fumbles all caused by guys trying to make the extra effort. Dixon still hasn’t thrown a pick. The challenge next week will be whether the Oregon d can force a few turnovers. They will score against Cal’s defense. The winner may need 40 points on Saturday.
3. Cal (3) – The offense is top notch but questions remain on defense. The Cal-Oregon game will be the Bears second game on the national stage this year and in effort number one versus Tennessee they delivered in spades.
4. ASU (4) – I didn’t get to see this game as it like the Oregon was not on live TV. ASU from all appearances could have easily lost this game save for the moronic QB play of Sean Canfield. Makes you wonder that if OSU had not attempted a pass in the second half and milked as much clock as possible they could have won. ASU appears to be a solid 4 in this league but hasn’t faced much competition yet. Stanford won’t be the cakewalk it may have appeared so ASU could be on upset special lookout now that they are in the Top 25.
5. UCLA (8) – The Bruins came back strong from the debacle in Salt Lake City. With Cowan and Olson on the mend they may be playing a 3rd stringer in Corvallis next week. UCLA has dominated Oregon State in recent games and as long as the Bruins can force OSU to throw the Bruins will win.
6. UW (5) – Playing a murderers row schedule is likely starting to wear on UW as they faltered down the stretch. Having to play USC will only add to that problem. UW should however be able to put a nice run together late in the season when the schedule eases up.
7. WSU (6) – Clearly outclassed by USC the Cougs will travel down to the desert in a game of coaches on the hot seat. I’d wager the loser of this game will not be a Pac 10 coach next year, but then again we might have to say that about the winner too.
8. OSU (7) – The Beavs would be a Top 15 team if they had good quarterback play, they don’t and now it seems very unlikely that OSU will win more than 3 more games going down the stretch.
9. Stanford (9) – Give them credit for playing with some fire for the first time in who knows how long. Kimble ripped the Ducks up and the defense. They could sneak up on ASU this week.
10. UA (10) - Was putting up 24 points against Cal because the Wildcats found their offense or was it from the bad Cal defense. They host WSU this week in a must win game to have much chance to get to 500 this year.

Week Three Review and Pac 10 Power Poll

The big story of the week has to be UCLA losing to a previously winless Utah team by a score of 44-7. Though certainly there is no shame in losing to Utah in most years in Salt Lake City (Oregon lost there in 2003) losing 44-7 to a team without its starting backfield by 37 is beyond shameless. With the amount of returning starters UCLA brought to the table this result confounds me. UCLA has dropped further in two weeks than any school in the history of my pool I would be willing to wager. I will hand out kudos to Oregon, USC and Cal for rolling but my biggest props actually go out to Jim Harbaugh and the Stanford Cardinal who shut out the always pesky Spartans from San Jose State. After going zero for Mountain West and losing at home to neighboring New Mexico it will take a major miracle for Mike Stoops to be in Tucson in 2007. To assure the job saving bowl invite the Cats are now in the position of having to win 6 Pac 10 games to get to 7 wins. Starting out the league slate in Strawberry Canyon is a horrible way to kick that off. Karl Dorrell lost all the good will he built up with winning 10 games in 05 and beating USC last year with that horrible Utah performance. Look for Stoops, Dorrell and possibly Doba if the Cougs struggle in league to be on the unemployment line come December . . .

1. USC (1) – Went out and did what they do, the running game is dominant, outside of some injuries in the back 7 and inexperienced wide receivers this team looks lethal.. LSU is probably the better team now but give USC another month and they will deserve their #1 ranking. I see no issues with them facing WSU at home this week. Brink will get some numbers but the WSU defense can’t hold the Trojans down.
2. UO (2) – Finally blew out Fresno State. I am glad to see that series end, the Bulldogs always put up a fight and seemed to leave the Ducks with a series of injuries. Oregon shouldn’t have too much problem with the Trees so hopefully they will be 4-0 heading in to the match-up with Cal.
3. Cal (3) – Blew out La Tech and should have revenge on their mind next week for Arizona which cost them a Rose Bowl bid last year. If I could put both UO and Cal at 2 I would but I decided to keep my ranking the same from last week.
4. ASU (5) – Didn’t have much trouble with San Diego State now they will face an emotional home game versus Dennis Erickson’s old Beaver squad. ASU hasn’t been challenged much this year and I don’t see the Beavs putting up much of a fight either.
5. UW (6) – Somehow they lost by 19 and went up a spot. Well no shame in losing to Ohio State and the Dawgs were ahead at halftime. UCLA all of a sudden looks very vulnerable, I think the Dawgs go down to the Rose Bowl and put up a W next week.
6. WSU (7) – The Cougars put up big numbers versus Idaho but again they should do that. The defense is too shaky to have any shot at USC.
7. OSU (8) – If you are going to schedule a 1-AA team at least play Portland State to give that program a little green and keep it in state. The Beavs will face a much better defense at ASU than Idaho State and unless Canfield has drastically improved the Beavs will get get shredded in the desert.
8. UCLA (4) – Not much more I can say. Dropping from 2nd to 8th in two weeks takes talent but the Bruins pulled it off. They now face a very tough home game versus UW. Better not drop any more winnable games Dorrell or you’ll find yourself an NFL assistant next season.
9. LSJU (10) – When was the last time Stanford shut someone out? Don’t celebrate too long boys the Ducks are coming to town.
10. UA (9) – Hey Mike, better call up Bob to see if he has a spot on his staff for you in 2008.

Pac 10 Power Poll and Week Two Review

Well obviously the big story of the week was Oregon steamrolling Michigan in the Big House. Even the biggest Oregon fan wouldn’t have predicted a 39-7 drubbing that frankly could have been a lot worse had the ducks not put on the brakes a bit and had some unlucky breaks in the redzone. Michigan looked slow and confused and I think they will struggle to be bowl eligible. Luckily they get to play Notre Dame next week who I would be shocked gets to 6 wins this year either. The second biggest story of the week has got to be the resilient Washington Huskies led by freshman Jake Locker. The Dawgs ended the nation’s longest winning streak and with TCU losing left Hawaii as the only team with a shot out there of being a BCS Cinderella (and Hawaii was on life support in Ruston). UCLA and Cal had to be a bit disappointed with their play against Mountain West foes while the Beavs need to seriously upgrade their QB play if they have any hope of making a bowl game.

1. USC (1) – They didn’t play and have had two weeks to prepare for a hostile crowd in Lincoln, the Huskers avoided losing the trap game in Winston-Salem (had Riley Skinner played Wake wins) but will have major issues offensively hanging with USC. Nebraska is still a year away from getting back to where they could compete against a USC team at home.
2. Oregon (5) – I’ve been watching Duck football for almost my whole life and never has there been a better offensive half of football by an Oregon team than the first half in Ann Arbor. Michigan looked lost on defense and doesn’t have the game plan or personnel to come back once they get down early. Even though this Michigan team has proved its self to be as huge of a disappointment we’ve seen in recent memory this win for Oregon has to go down among its best road wins ever.
3. Cal (3) – Cal’s defense has some holes, they played a pretty mediocre CSU team and never put them away. This was a classic let down game for the Bears after the big, emotional win over Tennessee. La Tech should score a lot of points against Cal but not nearly as many as Cal will score against the pathetic defense of La Tech. Look for Desean Jackson to put up numbers to try and get up their in the Heisman rankings.
4. UCLA (2) – I really only put them here because they played at home rather than on the road. BYU is a tough team coming off a 2 game winning streak against Pac 10 opponents. UCLA should be able to handle a beat up Utah teak this week. It is hard for me to differentiate much between UCLA, Cal, ASU and Oregon right now.
5. ASU (5) – Got down 14-0 early to CU at home then received nicely to destroy the Buffs. Ryan Torain continues to put up good numbers and Rudy Carpenter looks like he is making better decisions. San Diego State shouldn’t present any issues to ASU this week.
6. UW (7) – The second most impressive win of the week and the best win of the Willingham era in Montlake. Locker now faces what is likely too large of a test when Ohio State comes to town but I wouldn’t completely count the Huskies out. Ohio State is sputtering on offense and managed only 20 points in a home win versus Ohio.
7. WSU (8) – Nice bounce back win for the Cougs in a game they needed to win to have any shot at getting to a bowl game this year and saving Bill Doba’s job. The annual battle with Idaho awaits and the Cougars can’t be over-confident, Idaho played a solid game at USC all things considered and have upgraded their talent a bit over the last two years.
8. OSU (6) – The Beavs were downright awful in Cincinnati, without some massive improvement at QB the Beavs will struggle to get to 500 this year. They should be Idaho State 55-7 or so but that game won’t do much to prepare Canfield and understudies for the Pac 10 schedule.
9. UA (9) – They beat a 1-AA school , can’t say that means much and this week New Mexico invades with perhaps their best team in the last 3 decades. Arizona needs to find some offense and soon or they will lost to New Mexico in a game that would require the Cats to win 5 Pac 10 games to ensure a bowl bid, and Stoops must get that bowl bid to continue his employment.
10. LSJU (10) – If Stanford can’t beat San Jose State with two weeks to prepare then they are hopeless.

Evie and I in front of Autzen Stadium

Evie and I in front of Autzen Stadium
Originally uploaded by pete4ducks.

Wow how bout them Ducks!?! Polar difference from the first half of the Houston game to Michigan. The Wolverines looked slow and confused the while the Ducks played their greatest half of offensive football in putting up 32 in Ann Arbor. There is a golf course calling Lloyd Carr's name . . .

Pac Power Poll and Week 1 Review

Overall a pretty solid day for the Pac 10 with only Arizona really being a disappointment by taking a loss to the Mid-Major BYU team but I can’t really call that result much of an upset. Cal’s impressive win over Tennessee was of-course overshadowed by what has to go down as one of sports biggest upsets ever in Michigan losing to Appalachian State.

1. USC (1) – I watched part of their game against Idaho, you’d probably expect more points for the offense but nothing should be a red flag here. It was a bit scary for them to see Brian Cushing taken off on a cart but it appears as if his ankle is just a sprain and he shouldn’t miss any games. USC has a bye week to prepare for the road test at Nebraska and mend up Cushing. I am assuming Carroll didn’t show much of his hand for Idaho and kept a tight reign on the offense. Those who took the under and Idaho with the points got a nice parlay.
2. UCLA (2) – No problems at all in their visit to the Farm. Beating Stanford is not really much to get to excited about compared to Cal beating Tennessee however UCLA didn’t do anything wrong so I can’t justify knocking them down behind Cal yet. A game at home against BYU should be a bit tougher as the Cougars shut down Arizona.
3. Cal (3) – Looked like they had all the explosiveness we’d expect from I would say could be the nation’s best triad of offensive players in Longshore, Forsett, and Jackson. Cal shouldn’t have too much trouble with Colorado State on the road because they just don’t have the speed to handle the bears. Of course going in to Fort Collins is never easy but this CSU team is not the one of the late 90’s that was the cream of the Mountain West for a bit.
4. ASU (5) – Didn’t see a lick of the game versus San Jose State but looks like Ryan Torrain had a very solid game with 123 yards on only 17 carries with 3 Tds. You probably can’t judge too much based on a home game versus San Jose State but the Spartans were a bowl team last year and have made some strides under Dick Tomey. The challenge should rise a bit next week with CU in town but I’d expect that the Sun Devils will throw in a lot of blitzing to try and confuse true frosh Cody Hawkins and the Buffs.
5. UO (4) – The good for Oregon was the rushing numbers and Dennis Dixon finding his short passing game in the second half along with much improved kicking and coverage on special teams. The Oregon secondary played fairly well save for some missed tackles. The bad news is that Oregon’s front seven was walked all over the field by a C-USA team with a QB playing his first game and the Ducks still lack the ability to complete anything other than short routes. Defensive coordinators should be stacking the box against Oregon and using press coverage to dare Dixon to beat them deep. Michigan losing to Appalachian State did nothing good for Oregon. The Ducks will face a bunch of embarrassed Wolverine’s with a good game plan for stopping Oregon. Interestingly enough App State and Oregon run a very similar system, this game should be a shootout and if the Ducks can avoid throwing picks and fumbling they can win. In the end I think Big Blue will mot lose twice in a row at home to teams not named Ohio State so the Ducks will come back to Autzen 1-1 for the match-up versus the always pesky Fresno State Bulldogs.
6. Oregon State (7) – The Beavs won a grind them out game against Utah who looked pretty solid early until they lost their starting tailback and quarterback to injuries and after that lost any offensive momentum they had. The Beavers are clearly raw at QB right now and dropped a lot of balls too. Bernard looked stellar and I’d expect them to ride him a lot this year especially if Stroughter doesn’t play. A solid win at home but this team has the look of a 500 squad to me unless there is some major improvement from Canfield and/or Moevald. A trip to Cincinatti on Thursday will be a challenge, going east is always hard and the Bearcats can put up points.
7. UW (9) – The big mover on the board the Huskies look great in a win that saw them have to travel all the way across the country for a 9 am Pacific start. Jake Locker looked about as impressive of any Pac 10 freshman QB I can remember in his debut. The schedule is probably too much to ask for Washington to make a bowl game this year but I could see them beating a few mid range Pac 10 teams this season and possibly get to 6 wins. Boise State is probably a bit much for UW to handle right now but there is, for the first time in many years, a reason to have hope for the future for Husky football and that is because of Jake Locker.
8. WSU (6) - No shame in losing in Camp Randall Stadium to a very good Wisconsin team but there are clearly some major issues with the Cougars defense that need to be resolved. With the next two games being against SDSU and Idaho I’d expect to see WSU be 2-1 once Pac 10 play starts and hopefully the experience they got playing in Camp Randall will help them prepare for their Pac 10 schedule.
9. UA (8) – I saw none of the BYU Arizona game but for the Wildcats to only score 6 points against a MWC defense is a very bad sign. They should mend up nicely with NAU in town this week but I warn the Cats to not look past their Championship Division brethren.
10. LSJU (10) – Glass half full thought is that they scored 17 against a Top 20 team in UCLA. Unfortunately they gave up 45 points and UCLA toyed with their defense all day. Harbaugh will make things interesting on the farm at least and that really can’t be said for any Stanford coach since the days of Bill Walsh and Dennis Green.