DG on PX - Pac 10 Things We Learned in Week 2

The savvy of Sean Canfield and Washington's big win highlight the second week of college football action in the Pac-10.

10 lessons learned digesting a wild week two from the home office

- Road house whoo
USC and UCLA survived wars on the road.

Now it’s Cal and Arizona’s turn, then Arizona State heads between the hedges.

It’s these kinds of challenges in non-conference play that have set the Pac-10 and especially USC apart during the Pete Carroll era. No other league tests itself in such fashion, but of course, you need to win to take that next step forward.

The Trojans have rolled over a who’s who of top programs – Auburn, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and now Ohio State – but the rest of the Pac-10 hasn’t been as successful.

The Bruins delivered with a victory in the heart of the South in front of 100,000 fanatics. Can the others match it?

If they do, that is how to put the Pac-10 on equal footing with the SEC and Big 12.

- What’s the point of a point of emphasis?
Said it on Twitter and I’ll say it again here – Why spend the summer talking about helmet-to-helmet hits and targeting defenseless players if it won’t be called at the most critical moment?

Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince was leveled with a blatant illegal shot but no penalty was called. It could have cost UCLA the game and the resulting injury from the hit could derail its season.

An equally egregious call that clearly wasn’t a foul gave Oklahoma State a first down in week one and they put the game against Georgia away with a touchdown afterwards.

The rules need to be clear for players’ safety and the game’s transparency. The NCAA would be best served by modifying what constitutes unnecessary roughness for everyone’s sake.

- From a Prince to a true freshman
The good feelings endeared by UCLA’s big win at Tennessee were dampened by the announcement Prince will miss up to a month with a broken jaw.

That puts the offense in the hands of true freshman Richard Brehaut and it’s not like the offense was roaring with Prince at the helm. The Bruins rank 99th in passing yards, 103rd in total offense and will probably be even more conservative with Brehaut.

Defense won on Rocky Top and must do the same versus Kansas State and at Stanford.

- The second tier remains jumbled
USC and Cal are clearly the top teams in the Pac-10. Who’s No. 3? Take you pick of Oregon State, UCLA (if they survive the Prince injury) and Arizona.

The Wildcats are the most intriguing, given how much better their containment of Central Michigan looks after Saturday. Nic Grigsby is a top running back if he can avoid the fumbles that sent him to the bench and All-American tight end Rob Gronkowski could return for a key game at Iowa.

- Oregon is in a world of trouble
It took two turnovers returned for touchdowns, a couple of great returns, a blocked extra point and a missed two-point conversion to avoid a loss to Purdue at home, masking another erratic offensive showing for the Ducks. They still have no lead back to replace LeGarrette Blount, instead relying on quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to do the hard work in the running attack.

That might work for a few games, but not over the long haul of the Pac-10 schedule. Not with a defense that has been on the field for more than 80 plays two straight weeks or a passing offense that can charitably be termed a work in progress.

With Utah and Cal up next and both games at home, the Ducks season is on the verge of becoming a catastrophe. Chip Kelly would be best served getting a split, as he doesn’t have the goodwill to handle a 1-3 start.

- Bears necessitate a road win
Cal doesn’t have a road win against a BCS opponent since beating Illinois in 2003, with their last two trips to Tennessee and Maryland ending in embarrassment. If the Bears really want to be a viable BCS title contender, they would be best served smashing Minnesota in front of a national TV audience.

- USC special teams need a shake-up
The big question coming into fall camp was whether junior college transfer Jacob Harfman could handle all three kicking jobs? The answer could come this week.

The Trojans were atrocious in the third facet of the game at Ohio State, missing a 44-yard field goal and having a mishandled snap go flying out of the end zone for a safety on a punt.

Harfman, who has the strongest leg on the roster, will get a long look as punter and placekicker in practice this week. He’ll win at least one of them.

- Sean Canfield does it again
Last year, Arizona. This year, UNLV. For whatever reason, Oregon State’s senior quarterback loves last-minute drives in the desert.

He might not be the flashiest player, but Canfield – and the Beavers’ other senior signal caller Lyle Moevao, for that matter – knows how to win.

- Washington is on the way up
Steve Sarkisian led the Huskies to their first win since knocking off Cal in Nov. 2007, now he welcomes Pete Carroll and the Trojans to town.

If ever there was a perfect trap game for USC, this would be it, going on the road after a draining marquee victory to face a team that knows all your tendencies and personnel.

The chances of Washington pulling the stunner are slim, but that day will soon come. Sark will get the needed athleticism on defense by selling playing time and competition, while he’ll draw playmakers intrigued by working alongside Jake Locker or Nick Montana.

Soon enough USC-Washington will be a battle for Rose Bowl.

- Washington State is going in the other direction just as quickly
While the Huskies were casting off the yoke of futility, down the road at Qwest Field it was being affixed to the hapless Cougars.

At least when the Cougars lost under Bill Doba, they did so in entertaining fashion, throwing the ball all over the place and drawing the opposition into a shootout. Paul Wulff’s teams lose in the most hopeless fashion imaginable. Falling behind 35-0 to Hawaii, which barely defeated Central Arkansas at home the week before? Inexcusable.

Washington State could well be a 50-point underdog coming into the Coliseum in two weeks. The scary fact is that number won’t inspire anger, but apathy. That’s how far the Cougars have fallen and Wulff doesn’t seem to be the man capable of picking them back up.