(This is the another in a series of columns that will look at Pac-10 football teams
- primarily by picking out elements that stood out from the previous week's box scores,
play-by-play and statistics of both the team involved and its prospective opponent.
Mercifully, the Alice in Wonderland analogy will be carried no farther than the
lead.)
PAC-10 STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE |
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Pac-10 |
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Total |
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Home |
Away |
Skip |
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W |
L |
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W |
L |
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| Oregon State |
2 |
0 |
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5 |
1 |
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Wash., Ariz., Stan.,
USC |
WSU, Oreg. |
UCLA |
| Washington State |
2 |
0 |
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5 |
1 |
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OSU, ASU, UCLA |
USC, Wash., Stan., |
California |
| UCLA |
1 |
0 |
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3 |
2 |
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Cal, ASU, Oreg., |
Stan., WSU, USC,
Ariz. |
Oregon State |
| USC |
1 |
1 |
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4 |
1 |
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Stan., WSU, UCLA, OSU |
Notre Dame, Wash.,
Ariz. |
Oregon |
| Oregon |
1 |
1 |
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4 |
2 |
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Cal, Stan., OSU |
ASU, Wash., UCLA |
USC |
| Washington |
1 |
1 |
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3 |
2 |
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Nevada, USC,
Oreg.,WSU |
OSU, Ariz., Cal |
Arizona State |
| California |
1 |
1 |
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3 |
4 |
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Ariz., Wash. |
UCLA, ASU, Oreg.,
Stan. |
Washington State |
| Stanford |
0 |
1 |
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2 |
1 |
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WSU, ASU, Cal, Notre
Dame |
USC, Oreg., OSU |
Arizona |
| Arizona State |
0 |
2 |
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2 |
3 |
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Oreg., Cal, Ariz. |
North Carolina, UCLA,
Stan., WSU |
Washington |
| Arizona |
0 |
2 |
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1 |
5 |
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UCLA, Wash., USC |
Cal, OSU, ASU |
Stanford |
PAC 10 FOOTBALL TV VIEWING GUIDE |
| Oregon vs. Arizona State |
12:30 p.m. |
ABC, ESPN GamePlan
(outside of West Coast) |
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| UCLA vs. Arizona |
3:30 p.m. |
Fox Sports Bay Area,
Fox Sports Northwest, Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports West |
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1:00 a.m., Sunday (replay) |
Fox Sports Arizona |
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2:00 a.m., Sunday (replay) |
Fox Sports Northwest |
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2:30 a.m., Sunday (replay) |
Fox Sports West2 |
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| Stanford vs. USC |
7:00 p.m. |
Fox Sports Bay Area,
Fox Sports Northwest, Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports West |
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2:00 a.m. Sunday (replay) |
Fox Sports West |
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7:00 p.m. Sunday (replay) |
Fox Sports West2 |
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| Washington vs. Nevada |
4:00 p.m., Sunday (replay) |
Fox Sports Northwest |
| Download null |
California |
This Week: IDLE |
| Last Week: L, 35-21 vs. Oregon
State |
| Key Facts: Adimchinobe Echemandu has
rushed for 147 and 146 yards in consecutive weeks. |
| For a team that was
struggling to consistently establish the running game earlier this year, they've had
success the past couple of weeks with Echemandu who's shown an ability to get into
opposing secondaries and make big gains. The last time Cal had a back gain more than 140
yards in consecutive weeks was 1996 when Tarik Smith gained 183 yards against San Jose State and 174 yards against San Diego State. As much as Cal's 9-of-34 passing for 52 yards
was bemoaned as probably one of the least proficient passing efforts in quite some time,
most Bear fans with long-term memories are trying desperately to shake off memories of
Cal's 45-0 loss to UCLA in 1979 when Cal QBs combined to throw an amazing
NCAA-record 10 interceptions. |
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Arizona |
This Week: vs. UCLA |
| Last Week: L, 30-7 at Washington
State |
| Key fact: The Wildcats did not allow
a sack by Washington State. |
| Those watching assorted
football games/highlight shows last Saturday must have been taken aback when at one point
Washington State was lea ding Arizona only 13-7 in the third quarter. If Arizona had
pulled this one off, after the firing of John Mackovic, this would have been the upset of
the season. Yet as close as the score might have been at one point, Washington State
dominated Arizona, outgaining them 513 to 198, limiting them to 0-of-13 on third-down
conversions, and holding Arizona passers to 19-of-36 for 133 yards. For the Wildcats, the
season can be summed up by this; they're last in the conference in scoring offense,
scoring defense, rushing offense, rushing defense, and passing offense. They are eighth in
the conference in passing defense - but this is due primarily to the fact that past a
certain point, teams don't feel the need to pas against them. Arizona's pass defense does
allow 8.7 yards per pass attempt, which is by far the worst total in the conference. |
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Arizona State |
This Week: vs. Oregon |
| Last Week: L, 37-17 vs. USC |
| Key stat: Arizona State's been
outscored 34-7 in the fourth quarter of its last two games. |
| The conference season could
end up to be excruciating for the Sun Devils as a team with top 3 hopes entering the
season was defeated soundly by Oregon State and USC. Against OSU, the Sun Devils were
within 2 TDs going into the fourth quarter before the Beavers but them away. Against USC,
ASU was tied at 10 at halftime before USC blitzed ASU 27-7 in the second half. ASU's
Andrew Walter is struggling to regain last season's form - last year he finished the season
ranked 19th in passing efficiency averaging 8.0 yards per attempt and a completion
percentage of 56.7%. After last week's game, he was ranked 72nd with 6.5 yards per attempt
and a 51.9% completion percentage. |
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Oregon |
This Week: at Arizona State |
| Last Week: L, 17-13 at Utah |
| Key stat: The Ducks have allowed 9
sacks in the last two games after allowing 5 in their first four. |
| After having allowed more than 300
yards passing in its last three games, Oregon now ranks 109th in pass defense out of 117
teams. Arizona State's Andrew Walter is showing signs of returning to last year's form,
which could be trouble for the Duck defense this Saturday. Even with Oregon's recent
struggles, head coach Mike Bellotti appears to be committed to his QB rotation of Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife. Although Clemens' passing numbers are slightly better, Fife's a
better runner - which could become an issue if opposing teams continue to have success
rushing against Oregon. |
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Oregon State |
This Week: IDLE |
| Last Week: W, 35-21 at California |
| Key fact: Steven Jackson leads the
nation with an average of 30.5 carries per game. |
| Jackson's has two hallmarks -
he's consistent and he generally runs as well late in the game as he does early. In his
six games this year, he's run for 129, 128, 166, 122, 105, and 227 yards, averaging 5.6,
3.8, 4.7, 4.1, 4.0, and 6.4 yards per carry. He hasn't engaged in ridiculous stat-padding
versus weak teams either, which is something one will usually see by people touted for
postseason honors. The latest Heisman flavor du jour is Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald who
leads the nation in receiving yards a game (145.75). So far Pitt has played Kent State,
Ball State, Toledo, and Texas A&M, which are currently ranked 83, 89, 41 and 62 in the
SportsLine ranking of 117 Division I-A teams. |
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Stanford |
This Week: at USC |
| Last Week: IDLE |
| Key stat: Out of 92 pass attempts,
QB Trent Edwards has had only one completion of 30 yards or more. |
| Stanford's now entering their
toughest stretch of the season - with consecutive games against USC, Washington State, and
Oregon. Going into this weekend, the Cardinal will have only played three games,
compared to most other teams who have played six or seven games. Whether this means an
advantage - Stanford's players will be fresher and less beaten up or a disadvantage - teams
generally shouldn't have to worry about working off ring rust in the middle of October -
remains to be seen. Stanford's three top receivers have a total of 33 catches for 282
yards for a rather low 8.5 yards per reception. |
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UCLA |
This Week: at Arizona |
| Last Week: W, 46-16 vs. Washington |
| Key stat: QB Drew Olson is averaging
15.0 yards per completion in his last two games after averaging 9.6 per in the first three |
| The biggest improvement in
UCLA's offense has been QB Drew Olson's ability to throw down field. In 65 attempts
against Illinois and Oklahoma, Olson had only two completions of longer than 20 yards.
In the past two second halves, UCLA has outscored the opposition 56-7. Against
Washington, UCLA has a season-high 127 yards in penalties; 64 on offense and 63 on
defense. |
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USC |
This Week: vs. Stanford |
| Last Week: W, 37-17 at Arizona
State |
| Key Stat: After coming back from an
injury, QB Matt Leinart was 7-of-14 for 158 yards in the second half. |
| After having to share
carries with Herschel Dennis and Reggie Bush, it appears that freshman LenDale White might
have emerged as the latest frontrunner in the tailback sweepstakes as he had 21 carries
for 140 yards while Dennis and Bush combined for 8 carries. Trojan QB Matt Leinart
suffered a leg injury early in the second quarter and upon his return in the second half
with USC trailing 17-10, helped guide the Trojans to 27 straight points. Leinart and
reserve QB Matt Cassel had four completions of longer than 30 yards including a 57-yarder
and a 55-yarder. After managing just two sacks against Cal the previous week, USC had five
against ASU. |
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Washington |
This Week: vs. Nevada |
| Last Week: L, 46-16 at UCLA |
| Key Stat: In the first half vs.
UCLA 276 yards in 6 possessions; in the second half 91 in 9. |
| One of the more baffling
listings in last week's top 20 was Washington's #18 ranking. The Huskies were defeated
handily by Ohio State in their opener, and handily beat three teams with low expectations
(Indiana, Idaho, and Stanford) and for that they were nationally ranked? Washington's now
lost decisively in its only two games against opponents that could be considered above
average. In its two losses, Washington's OL gave up 7 sacks (compared to a total of four
in its three wins). |
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Washington State |
This Week: IDLE |
| Last Week: W, 30-7 vs. Arizona |
| Key Stat: Inside the red zone, WSU
has scored only 8 TDs out of 24 possessions. |
| In a season where almost
every Pac-10 team has had its share of mysterious results, Washington State is one of the
teams that you could just as easily finish the conference season undefeated as it could
finish with three losses. Their two major results this year (narrow loss versus Notre
Dame, big win against Oregon) were against teams that have turned out to be weaker than
originally expected. What's startling is that against a schedule that's included Arizona,
New Mexico, and Idaho, the Cougars have scored 8 touchdowns to go with 11 field goals out
of 24 red zone possessions. In the past three games, QB Matt Kegel is 60-of-107 for 903
yards, 1 interception, and 5 touchdowns, but has also been sacked 9 times for -57 yards. |
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