Oregon State 28 - Arizona State 17 (pick: ASU 27-17)
Big win in the desert for the Beavs. season saving win to be frank. Not that they are out of the woods by any imagination but a loss to the Sun Devils would likely have pushed their season over the brink. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect was Sean Canfield's solid play. With a credible passing threat, the Beaver offense opened up the game for the Rodgers brothers and they both took full advantage.
Stanford 24 - UCLA 16 (pick: Stanford 28-13)
Go ahead and say it out loud. "Pac-10 leading Stanford Cardinal" - just rolls off the tongue doesn't it? The thing is you probably better get used to saying it . Stanford is going to be a handful for everybody this year and it is unlikely they will have a conference defeat before Oregon visits on November 7th.
Oregon 52 - Washington State 6 (pick: Oregon 48-10)
According to script except for the injuries to C.E. Kaiser and Jeremiah Masoli. The Cougs are brutally bad - it is possible they will lose every remaining game by more than 28 points. Think how much fun that will be in Martin Stadium in November.
Notre Dame 37 - Washington 30 (pick: Washington 24-17)
The Huskies should have been forced to walk home from South Bend after letting this one get away from them. Twice the Huskies were first and goal from the one and settled for field goals. In spite of themselves they were leading by five with three minutes remaining, then gave up a 63-yard scoring drive giving the Irish the lead 30-27. The Huskies tied the score with six seconds remaining but did nothing with their possession in overtime. Take two things from this - one, Charlie Weis speaking out that his team deserves to be ranked higher is the epitome of arrogance after escaping with this win and two, Washington apparently hasn't improved that much since last year.
USC 30 - California 3 (pick: California 31-17)
From the looks of it, those tree-sitters outside Memorial Stadium would hold the Bears to a field goal and another hyped California season evaporates into nothingness.
Saturday, October 10
Oregon at UCLA
Indications are that back-up Nate Costa will start at quarterback for the Ducks. After three knee surgeries the kid has earned his shot. The Bruin defense is good but not overwhelming and Costa is mature enough to settle in and play to his potential pretty quickly. Even if injured quarterback Kevin Price does return, the UCLA offense isn't likely to find many points against Oregon's defense. Costa shakes the butterflies and guides the Ducks to a 27-13 win in the Rose Bowl.
Stanford at Oregon State
It is not that Oregon State can't beat Stanford - if Sean Canfield has another solid outing and the Rodgers brothers are able to stretch the field, the Beavers could take advantage of a suspect Cardinal defense and pull off the upset. The preeminent thought however is that Toby Gerhart will pound the Beavers between the tackles and shorten the game with extended drives to the tune of a 24-17 Stanford win.
Arizona at Washington
After last Saturday's performance this is Washington's make or break game. Beat the Wildcats and regain a measure of confidence to take into the rest of the Pac-10 schedule. With a loss, the Huskies fall to the back of the pack with only thoughts of the Apple Cup offering hope for the Montlake faithful. It's more the way the Huskies lost to Notre Dame than it is the fact the Huskies lost to Notre Dame that makes the Wildcats the pick 24-18.
Arizona State at Washington State
The Sun Devil offense is not very good, but it is good enough to put 36 points on the Cougs. Since Washington State won't score 36 points over the rest of this season, mark this one a 36-3 victory for Arizona State.
