By snoadmin
Well, it might be a little late to begin throwing around my brilliant ideas and exquisite sense of humor in week 5 but my arm is ready, and as my great grandpappy use to always say “it doesn’t matter when you begin the season as long as you start and end it with a bang.” So let’s talk PAC-10 football.
I’ll start off by saying isn’t it great to have four PAC-10 teams nationally ranked in the top 23 with two in the top 10 at no surprise USC No.1, California No.6, Oregon No.13, and Arizona State No.23. This gives the PAC-10 more teams nationally ranked in the top 23 than both the ACC and Big 10 and tied with the Big 12. That PAC-10 vibe is making college football much more exciting and entertaining on the west coast. Sure there isn’t much adversity for top teams in the PAC-10 when playing weaker conference opponents, some may argue, but six of the PAC-10 teams were invited to bowl games last year, that’s one more than the Big 10, with three coming out victorious. So now we are at week 5, almost half way through the season for some and there have been no immediate surprises. USC is still undefeated and began their dominance through the PAC-10 last week at home against Washington State; other top opponents California, Oregon, Arizona State, and UCLA are all challenging for top spots in the conference; and the quarterback play has been proven to be exceptional. However, what subtly jumps out at me is Oregon’s Dennis Dixons emergence as an elite college quarterback; he has the necessary qualities in spreading out the defense with his legs and arm as well as throwing the ball with accuracy. He currently has 11TD with no interceptions in 96 attempts and he is averaging 6.1 yards/attempt along with him accounting for 65% of the Duck’s offense which averages 48.5 points/gm. Yes, he hasn’t been playing against the greatest defenses, but he did have his better games on the road with one at Michigan. He will be tested this weekend against PAC-10 foe California.
Game Previews: Week 5
UCLA v OSUOther than the excitement surrounding the Oregon California game. The match up between Oregon State’s No.2 run defense and the tag-team tandem of Kahlil Bell and Chris Markey is going to be interesting because Ben Olsen hasn’t been playing well and much of the game for the Bruins is going to come down to their experienced offensive line. If the Bruins offensive line can open holes for Bell and Markey, then the game is in their favor. Nevertheless, Oregon State’s stingy rush defense has only given up 29.5 yards/gm and isn’t No.2 for no reason. ASU v StanfordStanford is undefeated outside its conference, but inside it’s a different story playing against PAC-10 opponents where they are 0-2. There is only one thing Stanford has going for them and that is they are at home and Arizona State hasn’t played away from their homely confines this season. I hope the Cardinal fans start flapping their wings early to try and prevent Rudy Carpenter from exploiting their secondary, which is suspect.
Cal v OregonSweet revenge is in the minds of Oregon’s players whom last season were 4-0 and ranked No. 11 when the team headed south to face California. The Ducks lost 45-24, starting a slide that saw them lose five of their next eight games for a 7-6 finish. Cal, at the time ranked 16th, went on to win five of their next seven and wrap up the season 10-3. Oregon is again 4-0 and ranked No. 11, while Cal is No. 6 and also undefeated as the Golden Bears try to repeat in Eugene. Neither one of these teams will dismantle after a loss this weekend as the Ducks did last year, but this is a huge game for both teams because each have not faced a quality opponent and a win is necessary for PAC-10 and bowl game implications. It will also be nice to see safety Thomas DeCoud and the California defense try and slow down Duck’s quarterback Dennis Dixon. Both teams are known to put up big numbers on the scoreboard and it’s going to come down to which defense can make more big plays.
USC v WashingtonFirst, the Huskies will have to stop the pass, if that happens; they then will have to stop the run and still try to put up enough points against USC’s strong defense. Last year Washington kept it close and only lost to USC by 6 points. The Huskies this year can hopefully keep the game close and capitalize on turnovers, if any, which is a must when you are playing a brute USC team. I’m anticipating an exciting game from the young-talented quarterback Jake Locker who needs to have a good game to keep up with USC’s offense. Washington’s defense, however, will have a rough time trying to contain running back Stafon Johnson along with quarterback John David Booty. We’ll also see if tight end Fred Davis could repeat for another solid performance. In order to contend against tougher opponents, Davis will need to be a big part of USC’s offense due to the lack of experience on the outside
WSU v ArizonaBoth teams are fighting to keep up in the PAC-10 with each already losing a conference game. No one of these teams could afford another loss this early in the season from their conference. This is definitely a stay afloat or die game for both teams. Watch out for Washington State quarterback Alex Brink, who has the most touchdown passes in the PAC-10 with 12, and who I am predicting as the PAC-10 player of the week.
PAC-10’s Stars of the Stats: Week 4
Passing:John Booty (Sr., USC): 28/35, 279 yards, 4TDDennis Dixon (Sr., Oregon): 27/36, 367 yards, 5TD (4 pass, 1 rush)Rudy Carpenter (Jr., ASU): 25/36,361 yards, 4 TD
Receiving:Mike Thomas (Jr., Arizona): 12 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TDFred Davis (Sr., USC): 9 receptions, 124 yards, 2 TD Cameron Colvin (Sr., Oregon): 8 receptions, 136 yards, 1TDJaison Williams (Jr., Oregon) 7 receptions, 113 yards, 2TD
Rushing:Jonathan Stewart (Jr., Oregon): 19 attempts, 160 yards, 1 TDChris Markey (Sr., UCLA): 14 attempts, 193 yards, 1TD
Defense:California safety Thomas DeCoud was named PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Week. DeCoud had an outstanding game with 10 tackles, a sack and an interception in California’s 45-27 victory over Arizona. He also forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and recovered a fumble that set up another score for the Golden Bears.
Special Teams:Senior Matthew Slater (UCLA) was selected the PAC-10 Special Teams Player of the Week for his nicely maneuvered 85-yard kick return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Washington. Overall, he has three kick returns for 127 yards and was the team’s leading special-teams tackler.
PAC-10 Player of the Week: Week 4For the second time this season, Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon has been named PAC-10’s offensive player of the week. Dixon produced career-highs of five touchdowns (4 pass, 1 rush), 367 passing yards and 27 completions in leading Oregon to their first PAC-10 road victory against Stanford, 55-31.
The senior from San Leandro, Calif., also took home the award in Week 2, following his solid four-touchdown performance in the Ducks’ 39-7 victory at Michigan.
