Rising:
Oregon St: They’re still alive. Huge win for the Beavers.
Washington: They’re still alive. Big win for the Huskies.
Stanford: The Cardinal take another step towards a BCS at-large bid.
Hovering:
Falling:
Cal: Horrendous loss for the Bears.
UCLA: The Bruins really needed this win, and are now in a lot of trouble.
USC: Just a really ugly loss for the Trojans.
Stanford (-6.5) 48, @ Cal 14
my pick: Stanford 31, @ Cal 27
What to take from this:
If you’re Stanford:
Just one more game, and they SHOULD be in a BCS game. This was a huge win for Stanford, finally winning at Cal for the first time in a decade, and in dominant fashion no less. This is an elite football team, and unless they gag against Oregon St (possible; it’s a huge chance for a letdown game), they deserve a BCS bowl bid.
If you’re Cal:
Just an awful showing all around. They got destroyed in pretty much every aspect of the game. They should still make a bowl game, since they’ll be favored against Washington, but there’s no question that this season has been a failure. There’s going to be a lot of pressure to make things better in 2011, even if they do beat Washington and win their bowl game. The pressure will only be tougher if they don’t win those two.
@ Washington (-2) 24, UCLA 7
my pick: UCLA 35, @ Washington 31
What to take from this:
If you’re UCLA:
The Bruins really needed this game, and they didn’t even come close. With USC’s Barkley injured, they’ll have a shot at the Victory Bell, but first they will need to win at ASU for that game to have any meaning besides pride. That’s going to be a very tough task.
If you’re Washington:
Through everything that’s happened, the Washington Huskies are still alive. Provided they don’t blow the Apple Cup, the game this weekend at Cal will be for a bowl game. Not where they wanted to be, but there’s still hope.
@ Oregon St 36, USC (-3) 7
my pick: @ Oregon St 24, USC 21
What to take from this:
If you’re USC:
The Trojans just got destroyed in this game. Yes, Barkley’s injury hurt this team, but he wasn’t the reason the defense got torched, or why the run game never really got going. This was a total team failure. 10 wins is now done as a dream, and with legitimate challenges remaining against Notre Dame and UCLA, they need to find a way to rebound or this season, once seeming like it was going to be a nice success despite all the obstacles, could turn into a major failure.
If you’re Oregon St:
Up and down all year, now back to up. 5-5 with two brutal games remaining, the Beavers are probably not going to make a bowl game, but they’ve got a shot. When they’re at their best, they’re extremely tough to beat. It’s not over yet.
Pac-10 Games Record:
This Week: 2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS
Season: 55-11 SU, 28-31-1 ATS
National Games of the Week:
Ohio St (-3) 20, @ Iowa 17
my pick: Ohio St 28, @ Iowa 27
Virginia Tech (-2.5) 31, @ Miami 17
my pick: Virginia Tech 28, @ Miami 24
Arkansas (-3) 38, @ Miss St 31 (OT)
my pick: Arkansas 31, @ Miss St 21
@ Texas A&M 9, Nebraska (-2.5) 6
my pick: @ Texas A&M 27, Nebraska 21
National Games Record:
This Week: 4-0 SU, 3-0-1 ATS
Season: 26-14 SU, 21-17-2 ATS
Bad Lines
NC St +2.5 @ UNC
Covered by 6.5 points and outright upset
Rutgers +13.5 @ Cincy
Missed by 17.5 points
Iowa St +11 vs Mizzou
Missed by 3 points
UL-Lafayette +10 vs FIU
Missed by 11 points
Bad Lines Record:
This Week: 1-3
Season: 18-30-3
Mr Pac-10's 2010 Blog
Questions, comments or suggestions? Email me at cfn_ms@hotmail.com