Pac 10 Conference Roundup - Week 5

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 1, 2007


Pac 10 conference roundup, standings, player and game of the week

Click on each team for game recaps, thoughts, schedules and more and scroll down for the games, results, players of the week  and the conference roundup.

 Arizona | Arizona StCalifornia | Oregon | Oregon St | Stanford
UCLA | USC | Washington | Washington St

Pac 10 Game of the Week
California 31 ... Oregon 24
Cal got 21 fourth quarter points on two Justin Forsett touchdown runs and a 31-yard DeSean Jackson scoring grab, but it had to hold on as the Ducks got in scoring range on the final drive, but Cameron Colvin, diving for a possible score, lost the ball through the end zone. After several minutes of review, it was ruled a touchback and Cal was able to run out the clock. Oregon held a 10-3 after a defensive first half, highlighted by a five-yard Jonathan Stewart touchdown run. Cal was able to tie it on a 25-yard Jackson score, but Oregon responded with a 42-yard Colvin catch. Oregon turned it over four times, with Dennis Dixon throwing two interceptions, while Cal didn't give the ball away
.

Pac 10 Player of the Week
California WR DeSean Jackson caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-24 win over Oregon.

Conference Roundup

Arizona … Now that's how it's supposed to work. After completely dismissing the passing game over several games, the Wildcats ran well with freshman Nicholas Grigsby, who had a phenomenal game against the porous Washington State defense. Of course, the win was all about the play of Willie Tuitama, who ran and threw well with no mistakes and five touchdown passes. The defense wasn't a rock, and struggled against the Cougar passing game, but if the offense plays like this against USC next week, things could be very interesting.
Arizona State … It took a little while for the machine to get rolling against Stanford, but once the offense found its groove, it was over. Rudy Carpenter had another efficient, solid game, avoided making major mistakes and keeping the chains moving after the first quarter, but this game was a blowout because of the defense. Seven sacks, including 2.5 from Dexter Davis, helped the Cardinal net a mere -2 yards rushing. If the D can keep getting offenses off the field, 7-0 (with Washington State and Washington ahead) is a must before dealing with California.
California … The defense was supposed to be beaten up and totally unable to stop the high-powered Oregon attack. While the Ducks rolled for almost 500 yards, the Bears hit like a ton of bricks, and forced four turnovers that proved to be the difference. There was tremendous offensive balance, with Nate Longshore playing a gutty game, keeping things moving late despite being hurt. After a win like this, now the spotlight will really be on. This was the official announcement that Cal is a real deal national title contender.
Oregon … Just a thought; the Ducks might have wanted to pay a wee bit more attention to DeSean Jackson. The Cal star is only one of the nation's most dynamic playmakers, but he managed 11 catches and turned out to be the game-changer. The offense got the yards, but four turnovers, most famously the fumble through the end zone at the end, were the difference. Oregon played well, but Cal just played a little bit better. Now the key will be to gear it back up against Washington State and not let things slip away. USC and Arizona State each have to come to Autzen; the Pac 10 title is still possible.
Oregon State … The Beavers are playing like a frustrated team that can't seem to find ways to make things happen. When the wheels fell off in the second half against UCLA, they went flying, mostly due to Gerard Lawson and his two fumbled kickoffs, but that wasn't the real issue. Once again, the quarterbacking of Sean Canfield wasn't up to snuff, and while it's not right to blame all the problems on him, the offense only converted one of 14 third down chances. Yvenson Bernard can't do it all by himself.
Stanford … Stanford's offense has to figure out how to keep pace with the better Pac 10 offenses, or this will be a long season. It starts up front, with the line coming off a horrible game against Arizona State. No one had any room to move, and QB T.C. Ostrander didn't have any time to breathe. 235 yards of total offense isn't going to get it done against anyone in the Pac 10, and two of 14 third down conversions was part of the reason for the problems.
UCLA … UCLA wasn't always great against Oregon State, but the defense was. The talented Beaver offense only gained 248 yards and turned it over five times, with two coming on special teams, as the Bruin defense came up with its most complete performance of the year. The offense took advantage of OSU mistakes, but it wasn't a consistent attack. Over the last two games, the O has lived by the home run to break games open, and it has to show it can keep the chains moving when the big play isn't there. If would be nice if Ben Olson could come up with a complete game. That might come against Notre Dame.
USC  … The only way USC could've lost to Washington was by screwing up and playing a dumb game. Three turnovers, a pick six, a blocked punt, and a whopping 16 penalties for 161 yards almost overcame a near-dominant performance by the defense. The running game remains dominant, with a nice rotation of backs taking turns to shine. The receiving weapons were decent, with a good game from Patrick Turner, but John David Booty has to come up with a big, dominant game soon. At the moment, get a pass rush on him and the machine breaks down. That's easier said than done.
Washington … Jake Locker needs help. He's such a great talent that it's easy to revolve everything around him, but Washington needs to get other weapons involved to get more offense going against the better teams. Louis Rankin hasn't been a forgotten man, but he was quickly abandoned from the overall game plan with just 12 touches. That means the running game became Locker, Locker, Locker. The team didn't show any quit against USC, and the defense played a gutty effort, but now things are starting to slip. This is the brutal part of the schedule with Arizona State and Oregon up next, so the team has to keep fighting, even if the results aren't there. This hasn't been easy in the past few years.
Washington State … Arizona's offense was struggling with its constancy, but the Cougar defense made it look like a juggernaut. The lack of a running game was a problem, with Dwight Tardy failing to ever get loose, but the real issue was a secondary that got roasted way too easily. The Cougars couldn't load up against the run after Willie Tuitama got hot, and the defensive line didn't pick up the slack, getting pushed around too easily. Things aren't going to get any easier over the next several weeks, so Alex Brink might just have to bomb the team's way out of its funk.

  Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
UCLA 3 0 129 62 4 1 162 123 W2 2 0 2 1
Arizona State 2 0 85 35 5 0 197 65 W5 4 0 1 0
California 2 0 76 51 5 0 197 122 W5 3 0 2 0
USC 2 0 74 38 4 0 161 79 W4 2 0 2 0
Oregon 1 1 79 62 4 1 218 117 L1 2 1 2 0
Arizona 1 1 75 65 2 3 154 138 W1 2 1 0 2
Washington 0 2 55 71 2 3 135 126 L3 1 2 1 1
Oregon State 0 2 46 84 2 3 134 135 L2 2 1 0 2
Washington State 0 2 34 95 2 3 145 182 L2 2 0 0 3
Stanford 0 3 51 141 1 3 88 141 L2 1 3 0 0
Saturday, September 29
3:30 PM California 31 ... at Oregon 24
CFN Prediction: Oregon 44-35   Oregon -4.5
6:30 PM UCLA  40 ... at Oregon State 14
CFN Prediction: OSU 24-23  PICK
8:00 PM USC 27 ... at Washington 24
CFN Prediction:
USC 45-20   USC -20
10:00 PM at Arizona 48 ... Washington State 20
CFN Prediction: Wazzu 35-28   Arizona -2.5
10:00 PM Arizona State 41 ... at Stanford 3
CFN Prediction: ASU 37-21   ASU -14.5

Past Pac 10 Games of the Week
Sept. 1 -
California 45 ... Tennessee 31
Sept. 8 -
UCLA 27 ... BYU 17
Sept. 15 -
New Mexico 29 ... at Arizona 27
Sept. 22 - UCLA 44 ... Washington 31
Sept. 29 -
California 31 ... at Oregon 24

Past Pac 10 Players of the Week
Sept. 2 - California RB Justin Forsett
Sept. 8 - Washington State QB Alex Brink
Sept. 15 - Oregon State WR Sammie Stroughter
Sept. 22 - Oregon QB Dennis Dixon
Sept. 29 - California WR DeSean Jackson

  

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