The Great Pac-10 Puzzle

It seemed like a typical Pac-10 season: USC at the top, Cal and Oregon their prime competitors. However, that was until a no-show from Boise, a monumental upset in Seattle, and a blowout from Eugene walked in the door.

Everything changed with those three attention-getting bombshells; thus, “The Mystery of the Pac-10 Conference” is proving to be a tough case to crack—even for the toughest and most hard-boiled detective in a smoky, sultry film noir classic from the 1940s. No definitive answers can be extracted from the numerous clues already discovered:

The Cal File

His name was Best—Jahvid Best—and he was certainly living up to his name…until last weekend. How can a running back who ran for five touchdowns against Minnesota be held to 55 yards by Oregon a week later? He didn’t go down alone though; the previously sixth-ranked Golden Bears were turned into golden eggs by the Ducks in Eugene, losing 42-3. What occurred at Autzen Stadium that day could only be described as a “smash mouth” battle—the Ducks’ smashes on the Bears’ mouths—but sometimes that’s what happens when you get your first taste of real competition; bringing down the likes of Maryland and Eastern Washington won’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of your true enemies—they require more convincing proof.

That proof may be found in the form of injury-riddled USC this weekend; Cal—playing at home—can hand the Trojans their second conference loss and, in the process, all but vanquish their hopes of an eighth straight title. If that happens, the Bears will escape the hardest part of their conference schedule with fewer wounds to lick, and gain a golden opportunity to see what their dreams can become.

Cal’s BIG Question: Can Best return to form as the most dangerous player in college football?

The Oregon File

You would think that a group backed by a major conglomerate (Nike) would be protected from harm, but you would only think that if you hadn’t seen Oregon’s performance at Boise State on opening weekend, a 19-8 defeat. Star running back LeGarrette Blount may have caught a Bronco player with a haymaker afterward, but it was his college career that truly got KO’d on that Thursday evening in Boise (NOTE: Chip Kelly’s having a press conference today to announce a possible readjustment of the penalty); having lost Blount for the season, the Ducks were fighting an uphill battle out of a tight corner. When that is the case, though, sometimes the best thing to do is just go home; the Ducks returned to Eugene and won three straight games, which included an end to Utah’s nation-best 16-game winning streak and the aforementioned crushing of Cal.

However, Oregon lost something in the process too: Highly regarded defensive back Walter Thurmond III. A fourth straight home game against Washington State this weekend should delay a lot of concerns from emerging in broad daylight, but will Oregon turn into lame Ducks again when they return to more hostile streets?

Oregon’s BIG Question: Can the Ducks, no longer with the services of two of their best players, find a way to win on the road?

The USC File

Pete Carroll has never shown up to a fight outgunned, but there’s that old adage: “It’s not about the number of bullets, but where you shoot them.” Unfortunately, not only have there already been misfires from the Trojans, but they’re also carrying fewer bullets. None of that was apparent, though, when USC went to Columbus and beat a top ten Ohio State team with the help of a last minute drive. Of course, even the armor of a Trojan can be paper thin, and that was proven true with the injuries that have plagued The Men of Troy.

Starting quarterback Matt Barkley (shoulder) and All-American safety Taylor Mays (knee) were bestowed with the burden of watching their colleagues fall victim to a sniping by Washington at Husky Stadium, 16-13. A week and a half later, running back Stafon Johnson injured his throat by dropping a barbell on it and is lost for the season; that will force starter Joe McKnight to figure out his own dropping problem and stop fumbling the ball. If The Men of Troy hope to take down Cal this Saturday, they must reload and refocus, or else they will lack the firepower to prevent their conference title hopes from being shot down in flames.

USC’s BIG Question: Can true freshman Barkley continue to develop fast enough to lead the Trojans to another conference title?

The Big Picture

All three teams are dealing with cases of possible mistaken identity; one week they may look unstoppable, only to turn that image into a flimsy façade the next week. In order for each squad to return to top form, they must solve a respective mystery:

- Cal must solve the mystery of crumbling against an equal opponent.

- Oregon must solve the mystery of whether or not they’re exclusively a home team.

- USC must solve the mystery of getting up for games against inferior opponents.

A break in any of these cases will lead to a greater chance of tracking down the big prize: A blonde, blue-eyed beauty known as The Pac-10 Championship. Regardless of who eventually prevails, the solution to that problem will be anything but elementary.