USC Throttles Cal; Other Pac-10 Games
At the beginning of the season, the biggest game on the Pac-10 schedule was the USC-Cal matchup at Berkeley. Remember, Cal was the team that beat USC in triple overtime in 2003 and took USC within one inch of its life in 2004. The difference in this Cal team, however, was the quarterback. Cal’s Aaron Rodgers was a pro-style quarterback who was able to pick the Trojans apart, opening up the middle of the field for J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch. In 2005, USC was able to stack eight in the box against a scared Joe Ayoob; the first-year Cal Bear found the Trojans on four occasions and catapulted USC to a 35-10 win. Of course, 35 points is a meager output for the Trojans, who came in averaging nearly 50 per game.
UCLA came back well from their first loss of the season with a 45-35 win over Arizona State. The Bruins and Sun Devils scored 56 points in the first half of the game as both teams took the “Ole!” approach to defense: hold up a red cloth and pray the bull misses you. In the second half, both defenses stiffened up and the Bruins came out on top. There’s no argument here that the Bruins have a strong offense; the concern for UCLA is whether they can stop anyone. Right now, it looks like the only way the Bruins will stop anyone is if they recruit a CHP officer for their secondary.
Oregon won – but did not cover – against Washington State. While the Cougars are still winless in conference, they are a team that has improved markedly in recent weeks. For the Ducks, their secondary continued to show its warts; the final play of the first half resulted in a Hail Mary touchdown for the Cougars. For Oregon, QB Brady Leaf got a chance to show what he could do in the same stadium that brother Ryan once dominated. Of course, Leaf isn’t the only one at QB for the Ducks, as they have also gone with a change of pace in speedy soph QB Dennis Dixon. For WSU RB Jerome Harrison, it was consecutive triple-digit rushing game #13 in a row. Good thing he’s not triskadekaphobic, as that one set a Pac-10 record.
Stanford was the laughingstock of college football a little over a month ago when the Cardinal dropped a tough one to perennial veterinary medicine powerhouse UC Davis. The Cardinal have learned coach Walt Harris’ new schemes quickly, and are now back in the middle of the Pac-10. The concern for Stanford is that QB Trent Edwards has been blasted in the last few weeks and was forced to leave the win over Oregon State. After the hard-nosed Edwards is gone, the cupboard is somewhat bare. This one wasn’t too pretty for the Beavers either, as QB Matt Moore was injured in the game and will miss the Civil War against Oregon.
And in this year’s “Who Cares” bowl, Washington pounded Arizona, 38-14. Weird game, this football; Arizona looked like the best team in the Pac-10 in dismantling UCLA, and the Wildcats slipped right back to the bottom with the loss. While true frosh QB Willie Tuitama looked decent for U of A, it looks as if Isaiah Stanback has improved by leaps and bounds for the Huskies. Ty Willingham’s got a job to do, and it certainly looks as if he’ll do it.
Lenny Del Genio is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Lenny_Del_Genio.htm
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