PAC 12: Week 10

Oregon 8-0 / 5-0 @ USC 6-2 / 4-2: USC is 5-7 vs Oregon in the past 12 meetings, but SC’s upset win last year, kept the Ducks out of the BCS National Championship Game. The Trojans are coming off a 39-36 loss to Arizona while Oregon enters the contest fresh off a pounding of Colorado, 70-14! Oregon’s ranking is slipping in the computers and UO needs a statement win in this game to stay strong in the Human polls. Last time the Ducks were in LA, 2010, resulted in a 53-32 pounding of the Trojans.

Arizona 5-3 / 2-3 @ UCLA 6-2 / 3-2:  The Wildcats have won the past five contests, the most consecutive wins they have had in their series with UCLA. Last year’s game was an embarrassment for the Bruins, who trailed the Wildcats, 42-7, at halftime. Both of these teams have new head coaches and UCLA can play its way into the PAC 12 Championship game if it wins out!

Washington State 2-6 / 0-5 @ Utah 3-5 / 1-4: The last time Utah hoasted the Cougars was in the 2000 season, a State victory, 38-21. The 2011 game was a overtime affair, with the Utes finding a way, 30-27! It should be noted, that the home team has yet to win a game in this series! WSU, new coach, Mike Leach, has been in difficult coaching situations before … but the Cougars might be his greatest challenge to date!

Arizona State 5-3 / 3-2 @ Oregon State 6-1 / 4-1: The Sun Devils have dropped three straight in Corvalis to OSU, but the last two games have been close, 2008, 27-25 & 2010, 31-28! Fair or not, the head coaches in this game have a much different public image. OSU’s, Mike Riley, is viewed as a loyal pillar of the Beaver commuinity (having offers to / from stronger programs and more $’s… yet he has remained at OSU) while ASU’s, Mike Graham is seen as someone who follows the $’s (leaving Pitt after one year and reportly notifying his players via a text … he also left Rice after one year for Tulsa). OSU can play its way into the PAC 12 Championship Game but ASU needs all kinds of help to be the South Division  representative!

Stanford 6-2 / 4-1 @ Colorado 1-7 / 1-4: The Cardinal have won 3 straight by an average of 17 points, but lost the last time they were Boulder, in 1990, 21-17! The Buffs’ 1990 team is/was nothing like this current addition … a sorry excuse for a Division I football team! There is little question that this version of Colorado football is the weakest product that they have produced… probably ever! Last year Stanford scored on its first seven possessions … enough said about this game!

Washington 4-4 / 2-3 @ California 3-6 /2-4: Washington has won 3 straight in the series, but the visitor 1 and 6 in the past seven games! The Huskies won a close game the last time they traveled to Berkeley, 16-13! Neither of these teams have much of a chance …. to none at all …. regarding the division crown in the north. That said, both teams have an opportunity to become bowl eligible! Cal is a longshot needing to win all three of their games …. Oregon and Oregon State are two of the three! Meanwhile, UW has four games to play and needs two more victories; they have (besides Cal this week) Utah, Colorado, & Washington State to play … a much more favorable road to travel than California to go bowling in 2012!