Pac 10 Football Preview for Week #15
The Pac-10 Conference’s Rivalry Week, Part 2, belonged to the Oregon Ducks.
Seven days after California beat Stanford in the Big Game and Washington State edged Washington for the Apple Cup, the Ducks and their in-state rival the Oregon State Beavers squared off in the annual grudge match known as the Civil War.
It turned out to be no contest.
Propelled by a high-octane offense that produced 37 points in the first half and 28 more after the intermission, visiting Oregon soared to a 65-38 victory last Saturday in Corvallis, foiling Oregon State’s chance to clinch a long-awaited Rose Bowl berth.
As a result, USC now has the inside track to represent the Pac-10 in Pasadena on Jan. 1. The Trojans will line up Saturday against cross-town foe UCLA during the conference’s Rivalry Week, Part 3.
If coach Pete Carroll’s fifth-ranked Trojans prevail over UCLA in the battle for the Victory Bell, they will earn the outright conference championship and will meet Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Here is a look at Saturday’s Pac-10 slate, which includes the rivalry clash between the Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils.
Washington (0-11 overall, 0-8 Pac-10) @ California (7-4, 5-3)
1 p.m. MST Saturday
Tyrone Willingham will coach his final game for the Huskies as Washington attempts to avoid a winless season.
California appears set to accept an invitation to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco. The Golden Bears likely will hand the ball early and often on Saturday to tailback Jahvid Best, who ran for 201 yards two weeks ago against Stanford and has rushed for 1,083 yards on the season.
The Huskies defeated the Golden Bears last year in Seattle, 37-23. Washington hasn’t won since.
Prediction: California 38, Washington 17
USC (10-1, 7-1) @ UCLA (4-7, 3-5)
2:30 p.m. MST Saturday
The Trojans have clinched at least a share of their seventh consecutive conference title. They can win it outright with a victory over UCLA and can consequently earn their fourth consecutive Rose Bowl appearance.
The Bruins will be aiming to duplicate their rivalry performance of two years ago, when they sprang a 13-9 upset over the Trojans, costing USC an opportunity to play in the national championship game.
More likely is a repeat of the type of contest which took place last season, when USC held the Bruins to 168 total yards and forced four turnovers in a 24-7 victory.
This year’s USC team is ranked first in the nation in scoring defense and total defense, allowing just 7.8 points and 210.5 yards per game. The UCLA offense does not figure to have any more success against the Trojans than Notre Dame did last week, when USC romped 38-3, limiting the Fighting Irish to 91 total yards and four first downs.
Prediction: USC 34, UCLA 0
Arizona State (5-6, 4-4) @ Arizona (6-5, 4-4)
6 p.m. MST Saturday
The winner of Saturday night’s Duel in the Desert not only will enjoy statewide bragging rights and possession of the rivalry’s Territorial Cup — they’ll also receive a trip to Vegas.
For the Sun Devils, it’s all or nothing. If they defeat the UA for the fourth consecutive season, the Las Vegas Bowl awaits. If the Sun Devils fold, their season becomes a bust, with a losing record and no offer to participate in any bowl game.
For the Wildcats, the consequences for losing wouldn’t be quite so bad — they’d still receive an invitation to Honolulu to play in the Hawaii Bowl. Nonetheless, this is a case for Arizona where the importance of the victory outweighs the relative value of the reward.
In other words, while the Wildcats certainly have nothing against the premise of spending a week in Hawaiian paradise, they’d much rather experience the sights and sounds of Sin City — if defeating the archrival Sun Devils is the required means to get there.
The outcome of the UA-ASU matchup figures to be decided by what happens throughout the night when the host Wildcats have the ball. While the Arizona offense — featuring quarterback Willie Tuitama, running backs Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin, wide receiver Mike Thomas and tight end Rob Gronkowski — is capable of putting up 30-plus points, the Arizona State defense boasts a cadre of playmakers who possess the ability to shut the Wildcats down. The Sun Devils showed off their defensive skills on Nov. 28 in a 34-9 victory over UCLA, holding the Bruins to three field goals and returning four UCLA turnovers for touchdowns.
If the Duel in the Desert evolves into a shootout, the mundane Arizona State offense will be hard-pressed to keep up. Heading into the season, the Sun Devils had the on-paper look of a juggernaut, but it hasn’t turned out that way. While the passing offense led by fourth-year starting quarterback Rudy Carpenter has been reasonably productive (averaging 229.1 yards per game), the ASU rushing attack has been pathetic (gaining an average of 93.7 yards per contest).
Prediction: Arizona 20, Arizona State 17
By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer
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