Pac 10 Things We Learned This Week

Commissioner Jim Delaney, the Big Ten and especially Ohio State can now start openly rooting against the Beavers, who moved one step closer to the Rose Bowl by knocking off California.

-The best revenge…
Intentionally or not, all five Pac-10 games this week had rather intriguing subplots, fitting into what ESPN dubbed “Revenge Saturday.”

USC lost to Stanford, a 41 point underdog, last season. Oregon saw its national title hopes crumple on the turf at Arizona Stadium. Cal lost its chance to become the nation’s top team after falling to Oregon State. Arizona State knocked off Washington State, ultimately costing the Cougs a bowl and coach Bill Doba his job.

And then there was Rick Neuheisel’s much-ballyhooed return to Montlake for the first time since his controversial firing.

The Trojans and Ducks rose to the occasion, securing a small measure of retribution.

-… doesn’t always happen
Of course, the lowly Bruins ripped the Huskies, the Beavers downed the Bears and Washington State’s woes continued.

-Arizona and Oregon have plenty of fans in the state of Ohio right now
It’s a very simple equation: if Oregon State wins out, Ohio State loses out on the BCS. The Beavers secure a trip to Pasadena with two more wins, sending the Trojans to another BCS bowl along with second teams from the Big XII, SEC and an automatic qualifier outside the big six conferences.

-A lot of small schools will be in the Beavers’ corner
Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl, USC goes to the Fiesta or Sugar and that leaves as many as three Pac-10 bowl bids unclaimed. That’s great news for the San Jose States, Nevadas and Buffalos of the world, who might otherwise be shut out of the postseason.

-The next great Pac-10 rivalry is USC-Stanford
Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll clearly don’t like each other. The last two minutes of Saturday’s 45-23 Trojan romp proved that as the coaches traded shots across the bow.

Harbaugh sent out the field goal unit with seconds remaining, only for Carroll to call a time out. Harbaugh reversed course and put the offense back on the field, Alex Loukas threw a touchdown with no time left and gamblers everywhere surely groaned at the backdoor cover.

The post game handshake was positively frigid. Assuming these two stick around for the long term, they could make the Oregon-Washington feud seem downright tame.

One side note: Harbaugh couldn’t have been pleased that the biggest crowd to date at the new Stanford Stadium was the result of USC fans making the trip north.

-You can’t beat the Trojans without turnovers
It took four interceptions, a fumble recovery and a goal line stand to beat USC last season.

Stanford managed just one takeaway and lost by 22 points despite playing a much better game than last year’s upset at the Coliseum.

-Jeff Tedford really needs a win in the Big Game
The Bears have lost their way offensively, largely because of continued erratic quarterback play, and fans are openly questioning if Tedford has taken the program as far as it can go.

Regaining the Axe answers those questions and all but ensures his fifth season of eight or more wins in six years at Cal, who closes with Washington on Dec. 6.

-Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in America
The sophomore has eight touchdowns in seven games and didn’t play against Idaho, Toledo and New Mexico.

In the nine Arizona wins he has played in dating back to last season, Gronkowski is averaging 19.6 yards per reception and scored 12 times.

-Maybe Oregon really does have a quarterback
Jeremiah Masoli had a career-day against the Wildcats, completing 80 percent of his passes for 298 yards and a touchdown along with 89 yards and three scores on the ground.

If Masoli can improve his accuracy and timing, the Ducks might be able to overcome massive personnel losses and be a factor in the conference race next season.

-The Apple Cup will certainly be interesting
0-10 versus 1-10. The 116th ranked scoring defense versus the 118th scoring offense. The 117th scoring offense versus the 118th scoring defense.

Hey, it beats watching Notre Dame play Syracuse.