Pac 10 Conference Roundup - Week 8

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 21, 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
UCLA 30 ... California 21
Down one late in the fourth quarter, UCLA got a 27-yard Kai Forbath field goal for a 23-21 lead, but Cal got into instant scoring range on a big Jahvid Best kickoff return. On third and five from the UCLA 30, Nate Longshore got picked off by Alterraun Verner for the second time of the day, but this time it went 76 yards for a score. In the see-saw game, the Bruins got three Forbath field goals and a trick touchdown on a 29-yard pass from WR Brandon Breazell to Dominique Johnson, but the Bears kept pace with three Longshore touchdown passes including two to DeSean Jackson.


Pac 10 Player of the Week
Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart ran 32 times for 251 yards and two touchdowns, and caught three passes for 20 yards in the win over Washington

Conference Roundup

Arizona … And thanks for playing Mike Stoops; it's been fun. You can't lose to Stanford at home. Yes, USC did it, but Arizona isn't USC. The Wildcats are now on a three-game losing streak with a road trip to Washington next week followed up by dates against UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State. The passing game just isn't working as well as it needs to be, and while Nicholas Grigsby ran well against the Cardinal, the O needs to do more. The Cats had the ball for just 4:13 in the fourth quarter, and the defense paid for it.
Arizona State … Didn’t Play This Week
California … Where was the running game against UCLA? The Bruin D is good, but it's not so great that Cal should've been held to 67 rushing yards. Nate Longshore appeared to be a bit rusty coming off his ankle injury, but the big issue late was hit reliance on DeSean Jackson. The Cal offense hummed best when everyone got involved, and even though Longshore spread things out relatively well, Lavelle Hawkins and Jahvid Best each only caught three passes. Now the key will be to get fired up again with a trip to Arizona State up next. This once-promising season could quickly go in the tank with a three-game losing streak if the Bears aren't sharp.
Oregon There's no question the Oregon frontline offensive starters are as good, and as explosive, as any in America, but the concern was the depth after injuries have struck.  While it's vital for Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart to stay healthy, the win over Washington showed off how deep the Duck backfield is with Andre Crenshaw tearing off 113 yards and two scores as a dangerous option along with Stewart. It'll all have to be working next week against the USC defense.
Oregon State … Didn’t Play This Week
Stanford … Break up the Cardinal. With two wins in the last three games, and two Pac 10 wins in a row, the team is finding ways to come through in the clutch, even if it did lose late to TCU last week. Tavita Pritchard might not be flashy, but he was efficient against Arizona, even though he threw two picks. The defense did a nice job of keeping Willie Tuitama and the Wildcat passing game under wraps for the most part, and held well late. The turnovers will be there for the taking against Oregon State next week, and the offense will have to take advantage.
UCLA … You want to try to figure out this goofy Bruin team? Offensively, it's easy. If Pat Cowan is under center, things are fine, while on defense, the Bruins are living off of the big play time and again while also stuffing the running game. The Bears only got 67 rushing yards and never got into to an offensive groove when the passing game wasn't working. After all the problems and all the non-conference ugliness, the Bruins are still unbeaten in conference play with two of the league's lightweights, Washington State and Arizona, up next. Both games are on the road, so focus is of the utmost importance with Arizona State, Oregon and USC still to deal with.
USC  … Playing Notre Dame tends to make everything look O.K., but it's not time to talk about USC in the BCS Championship quite yet. Mark Sanchez appeared comfortable with no Irish pass rush whatsoever to worry about, while the defense took care of any potential concerns about an upset. Yes the team is getting healthy, yes the team looked better than it has in weeks, but lets wait and see what it does at Oregon next week. You and ten friends could hold Notre Dame to 165 yards.
Washington … For the second straight week, the run defense was pounded on. Oregon's offense is blasting past everyone, and Washington was able to stand toe-for-toe for three quarters, but once the Ducks started to pull away, the Huskies didn't have an answer. Jake Locker threw for big yards and four scores on only 12 completions, but he's still having major accuracy problems, and it's killing drives. Against Arizona next week, the key will be consistency. UW is the better team, and is at home, and now it has to play like it to try to save the season.
Washington State … Didn’t Play This Week

  Conference Overall Home Away
  W L PF PA W L PF PA STR W L W L
Arizona State 4 0 152 75 7 0 264 105 W7 5 0 2 0
UCLA 4 0 159 83 5 2 198 164 W1 3 1 2 1
Oregon 3 1 187 103 6 1 326 158 W2 3 1 3 0
USC 3 1 117 75 6 1 242 116 W2 3 1 3 0
California 2 2 125 112 5 2 246 183 L2 3 1 2 1
Oregon State 2 2 108 128 4 3 196 179 W2 3 1 1 2
Stanford 2 3 96 184 3 4 169 222 W1 1 4 2 0
Arizona 1 4 124 137 2 6 203 210 L3 2 2 0 4
Washington 0 4 109 170 2 5 189 225 L5 1 3 1 2
Washington State 0 4 61 171 2 5 172 258 L4 2 1 0 4
Saturday, October 20
3:30 PM at UCLA 30 ... California 21
CFN Prediction: Cal 34-21   Cal -9
3:30 PM USC 38 ... at Notre Dame 0
CFN Prediction: USC 28-13   USC -18
7:00 PM Stanford 21 ... at Arizona 20
CFN Prediction: Ariz. 34-21  Ariz. -10.5
7:30 PM Oregon 55 ... at Washington 34
CFN Prediction: Oregon 40-23  UO -11

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
Oct. 6 - Stanford 24 ... at USC 23
Oct. 13 - Oregon State 31 ... at California 28
Oct. 20 - at UCLA 30 ... California 21

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
Oct. 6 - Stanford QB Tavita Pritchard
Oct. 13 - Oregon State LB Alan Darlin
Oct. 20 - Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart

 

Related Stories
Pac 10 Conference Roundup - Week 9
 -by CollegeFootballNews.com  Oct 28, 2007
Pac 10 Conference Roundup - Week 7
 -by CollegeFootballNews.com  Oct 14, 2007
Pac 10 Conference Roundup - Week 10
 -by CollegeFootballNews.com  Nov 4, 2007

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