Pac-10 Power Rankings
It was a rough week for the Pac-10, as Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA all lost to Mountain West teams. Only three teams managed victories, with USC's being the most convincing. The Trojans' dominating performance against Ohio State shed some light on just how far the rest of Pac-10 remains behind them. Oregon squeaked out a win against Purdue, and the Ducks' offense appears to again be one of the nation's best. Oregon State rebounded after two losses, to easily beat Hawaii.
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USC is the number one team in the Pac-10 and after their dismantling of Ohio State and Georgia's struggles with South Carolina - there should be little argument that they are the number one team in the nation. USC's defense would give some NFL offenses fits and they held the Buckeyes to only 207 yards. The Trojan offense is so balanced that Mark SanchezClick Here to view this Link. gets 4 touchdown passes on only 172 yards. They have weapons everywhere, great coaching, unparralled confidence and a schedule that screams BCS Title Game. Just don't tell that to stanford and Oregon State! NEXT: OREGON STATE.
Oregon got a scare against Purdue this week - squeaking out a 32-26 win in overtime. Despite the closer then expected outcome, they still managed 503 yards of offense. It's evident the high powered Ducks offense has returned - even without Dennis DixonClick Here to view this Link. and Jonathan StewartClick Here to view this Link.. Through three games they are averaging 47.3 points and 562.3 yards but they will eventually have to toss the ball around better if they want to continue the success. As it stands they sit comfortable with USC on top of the Pac. NEXT: BOISE STATE.
ASU lost a shocker against UNLV this week - just one of many losses for the Pac-10. UNLV used a 10 point fourth quarter to force overtime when UNLV's Malo TaumuaClick Here to view this Link. blocked a field goal to give them the upset win. The loss deflated the supposed big-time matchup against Georgia next week. ASU is winning with defense but that defense's back was put against the wall after numerous sacks, an interception deep in their territory, and a Sun Devil offense that wasn't efficient in the redzone. This loss hurts, but it will all be forgotten if they can bounce back next week. NEXT: GEORGIA.
Noon starts are hard on the east coast - I can barely drink my coffee at 9 a.m. Maryland scored on heir first three possessions and and Cal found themselves down big when they finally woke up. This was a head scratching loss as Cal gained 461 yards to Maryland's 297. California had 26 first downs to the Terrapin's 19. They even had more time of possession and one less turnover yet still managed to lose the game. Excuses aside, this was a bad loss against a not very good Terrapin team that lost to Middle Tennessee State a week ago. NEXT: COLORADO STATE.
A really good win over Tennesse and a very bad loss at BYU equals questions. UCLA allowed quarterback Max HallClick Here to view this Link. to tie a school record with seven touchdowns in 59-0 route. The Rick NeuheiselClick Here to view this Link. honeymoon is over and they better hold on tight because after giving up 337 yards and seven touchdowns through the air they get the high flying Arizona Wildcats next. UCLA couldn't get the running game out of the gates and only netted nine rushing yards. After Jeckyll and Hyde performances it hard to know what to expect next. NEXT: ARIZONA.
Yet another team to lose against a Mountain West opponent . It's hard to win when you turn the ball over five times, and the Wildcats were fumbling the ball all over the field. Willie TuitamaClick Here to view this Link. again tossed for over 300 yards, but it wasn't enough to make up for the mistakes and New Mexico running back Rodney Ferguson's 158-yard effort on the ground. This is the season the Wildcats were supposed to turn the corner, largely because of their non-conferance schedule. This puts a wrench into their plan - but they could rebound quickly against a UCLA team that was shredded through the air against BYU. NEXT: UCLA.
Stanford appeared to make great strides from last season in their dominating first game win over Oregon State. Back to back losses have brought the Cardinal back to earth and this last one hurt. TCU dominated every facet of the game, out gaining Stanford by a 100 yards and Stanford turned the ball over three times. Up next is a must win game against San Jose St. that would have them back to a respectable 2-2 (1-1) record. NEXT: SAN JOSE ST.
Jacquizz RodgersClick Here to view this Link. ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Oregon State beat down Hawaii 45-7. Quarterback Lyle MoevaoClick Here to view this Link. bounced back after a couple of rocky games and completed of 20 of 34 passes for 268 yards and three scores for the Beavers. This was a must win game with USC and Utah up next and the Beavers were up the challenge, only allowing 211 yards of offense. NEXT: USC.
The University of Washington was embarrassed against Oklahoma 14-55. The Huskies are giving up an unbelievable 520 yards and 42.3 points per game and the offense hasn't been able to pick up the slack. Besides Jake LockerClick Here to view this Link. who accounts for 70 percent of their offense - no one has stepped up consistently. There are some winnable games ahead for the Huskies - but can they mentally prepare themselves after all that has happened so far in 2008? NEXT: STANFORD.
It was supposed to be a down year for Washington State - but no one saw losing their first three games by a combined score of a 150-33 against below average competition. Last week Baylor blew them out 45-17 as the Cougars allowed 555 yards to the Bears. The Cougars allowed Baylor's running backs Robert GriffinClick Here to view this Link. (217 yards) and Jay FinleyClick Here to view this Link. (119 yards) to gash them all game long. The Cougars are still searching for a quarterback to run new head coach Paul WulffClick Here to view this Link.'s spread offense. Up next they have must win against Portland State - and if they can't get one then - it could be a long hard season for the Cougars. NEXT: PORTLAND ST.
USC:
- QB Mark Sanchez: 17-28 for 172 yards and 4 td
- RB Joe McKnight: 12 rush for 105 yards
- WR Damian Williams: 3 rec for 49 yards and 2 td
Oregon:
- RB LeGarrette Blount: 29 rush for 132 yards and 2 td
- RB Jeremiah Johnson: 17 rush for 96 yards
- WR Ed Dickson: 7 rec for 93 yards
Arizona State:
- QB Rudy Carpenter: 13-23 for 242 yards and 2 td
- WR Kyle Williams: 3 rec for 115 yards and 1 td
- RB Dimitri Nance: 20 rush for 92 yards
California:
- QB Kevin Riley: 33-58 for 423 yards and 3 td
- WR LaReylle Cunningham: 7 rec for 138 yards
UCLA:
- QB Kevin Craft: 23-39 for 230 yards
- WR Terrence Austin: 8 rec for 88 yards
Arizona:
- QB Willie Tuitama: 27-50 for 321 yards and 3 td to 2 int
- WR Mike Thomas: 12 rec for 136 yards and 1 td
- WR Delashaun Dean: 6 rec for 106 yards and 1 td
Oregon State:
- QB Lyle Moevao: 20-34 for 268 yards and 3 td
- RB Jacquizz Rodgers: 26 rush for 110 yards and 2 td
- WR Shane Morales: 5 rec for 93 yards and 1 td
Washington:
- QB Jake Locker: 16-24 for 154 yards, 12 rush for 44 yards and 1 td
- WR D'Andre Goodwin: 9 rec for 82 yards
- WR Devin Aguilar: 5 rec for 71 yards
Washington State:
- WR Brandon Gibson: 8 rec for 128 yards