Pac 10 Sports Blog

The California Golden Bears defeated visiting Oregon, 26-16, in the rain at Berkeley last Saturday, improving to 4-1 in the Pac-10. The Bears trail first-place USC (a 56-0 winner over Washington last week) by a half-game, and the two contenders will face off Saturday night in a showcase matchup in SoCal.
Meanwhile, the Oregon State Beavers are also very much a factor in the conference race at 4-1. With an earlier victory over USC in their pocket, the Beavers kept chopping wood in the title chase by holding on for a 27-25 win over Arizona State last week.
Stanford, Arizona and Oregon each have two losses in the league. The Cardinal posted a 58-0 shutout over Washington State last week, while the UA Wildcats had a bye.

Here is a look at Saturday’s full slate of games in the Pac-10.

Stanford (5-4 overall, 4-2 Pac-10) @ Oregon (6-3, 4-2)
3:30 p.m. EST
The Ducks didn’t take to the water in the California quagmire last week. Oregon’s lengthy list of miscues included two turnovers that led to short touchdown drives for the Golden Bears.
Stanford running back Toby Gerhart needs 89 more yards to become the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher since the player known in Cardinal lore as “Touchdown Tommy” achieved the feat 17 years ago. Tommy Vardell, who went on to a productive NFL career as a first-round draft choice for the Cleveland Browns, churned out 1,084 yards on the ground for Stanford in 1991.
The Ducks won last year’s game over the Cardinal, 55-31. This one figures to be much closer.
Prediction: Oregon 24, Stanford 21

Arizona (5-3, 3-2) @ Washington State (1-8, 0-6)
5 p.m. EST
Arizona is closing in on qualifying for the Tucson school’s first bowl game since 1998. One more win would make the Wildcats bowl-eligible, while two victories would virtually guarantee them a bowl-game invitation.
Meanwhile, in Pullman, an early-season win over Division I-AA Portland State can’t mask the fact that Washington State is having one of the worst seasons ever by a Pac-10 team.
Just how bad have the Cougars been in 2008?
They have lost their six conference games by scores of 66-3, 63-14, 28-3, 66-13, 69-0 and 58-0.
They have scored a total of 33 points in those games.
They have already set a Pac-10 record in defensive futility by allowing 350 points in their conference games, and that total could approach or eclipse the 500-point plateau by the time WSU’s league schedule is complete.
Back on Aug. 30, Arizona hung 70 points on its over-matched opening-night opponent, the Idaho Vandals. A repeat performance for the Wildcats could be in the offing on Saturday.
Prediction: Arizona 63, Washington State 6

Oregon State (5-3, 4-1) @ UCLA (3-5, 2-3)
6 p.m. EST
Oregon State quarterback Lyle Moevao left last week’s game against Arizona State in the second quarter with an injury, but backup Sean Canfield passed for 218 yards and two touchdowns to guide the Beavers to a hard-fought victory over the Sun Devils.
Oregon State tailback Jacquizz Rodgers needs 55 more rushing yards to become the third freshman in Pac-10 history to reach the 1,000-yard mark. He leads the league with 118.1 yards per game and is on pace to become the first freshman ever to win the league rushing title.
UCLA defeated Oregon State last season, 40-14. An approximate reversal of that score sounds about right for Saturday’s game in Pasadena.
Prediction: Oregon State 38, UCLA 10

Arizona State (2-6, 1-4) @ Washington (0-8, 0-5)
7 p.m. EST
In an attempt to provide a spark to their moribund rushing attack, ASU gave junior Shaun DeWitty his first career start at tailback last week against Oregon State. DeWitty responded by rushing for 110 yards on 16 carries, and he’ll aim to surpass those numbers Saturday against winless Washington.
While the Sun Devils have lost six straight, they still can qualify for a bowl game if they win their last four over Washington, Washington State, UCLA and Arizona.
Prediction: Arizona State 34, Washington 14

California (6-2, 4-1) @ USC (7-1, 5-1)
8 p.m. EST
The Golden Bears can shake up the Pac-10 title race by pulling off an upset against the seventh-ranked Trojans. In order to do it, however, No. 21 California will have to solve a USC defense that has allowed more than 10 points in a game just once all season.
Oregon State scored 27 in its stunning victory over the Trojans on Sept. 25. In their other seven games, the Trojans have allowed 7, 3, 10, 0, 0, 10 and 0 points, for a total of 30.
For the season, USC is first in the nation in both scoring defense (at 7.1 points per game) and total defense (211.6 yards per game).
The Trojans will need to be prepared to face either California starting quarterback Kevin Riley, who left the Bears’ game against Oregon last week with a concussion, or backup and sometimes-starter Nate Longshore, who filled in admirably with 136 passing yards, or both.
The Golden Bears stayed close in this matchup last year, losing to the Trojans, 24-17, at Berkeley.
Prediction: USC 27, California 10

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer