Pac 10 Sports Blog

The Oregon Ducks squared off against the Oregon State Beavers in what was a de facto Pac 10 title game.  The Ducks got the victory 37-33 behind the running of LaMichael James and LeGarrette Blount.  James, only a freshmen, ran for 166 yards and three scores.  Blount made his 1st appearance since being suspend following a season opening loss to Boise State and was very effective running for 51 yards and a score.  The victory sends Oregon to the Rose Bowl to face Big Ten Champion Ohio State.  The Beavers will face BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. For the entire college bowl schedule look to our friends at Football-Bowl.com.

The “Civil War” battle between the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers took place last night with a Rose Bowl berth on the line. While the road teams had been victorious in recent years in this series, the home team won this one as the Oregon Ducks won 37-33 to earn a berth in the 2010 Rose Bowl. Oregon got the ball from Oregon State with over 6 minutes remaining and held onto the ball the remainder of the game to ensure the victory. Oregon State now appears to be heading to the Las Vegas Bowl to face Utah per the latest bowl projections.

The Trojans of USC defeated in city rival UCLA 28-7.  The victory moved USC up two slots to #18.  The Stanford Cardinal jumped back into the rankings after a thrilling victory over Notre Dame.  Stanford scored in the final minutes of the game for a 45-38 victory to vault them to #24 in the BCS college football Top 25 rankings. The conference title will be on the line in the Civil War as #16 Oregon State travels to #7 Oregon on Thursday night, December 3rd in front of a national ESPN audience. The winner will face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on January 1st. USC hosts Arizona and #19 California goes to Washington on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.

The Oregon Ducks lead the conference in the rankings as they moved up two slots to #8 following their OT victory at Arizona.  Oregon State moved up to #16 after thrashing Washington State 42-10.  The Civil War always means something no matter the records when bitter rivals Oregon and Oregon State do battle.  This season it means even more has they do battle in Eugene on December 3rd in front of a national audience.  The winner will get a trip to the Rose Bowl to face Ohio State.  USC dropped two spots to #20 on his bye week.  The Trojans will battle city rival UCLA on the 28th.  California moved up to #22 in the college football rankings after a big victory at Stanford.  Cal will end the season on December 5th when they travel to Washington. Meanwhile, fans can find great Pac 10 merchandise including Oregon Ducks apparel online at Sports-Shop.com.

The Oregon Ducks moved up 2 slots to #11 with their domination of Arizona State.  Oregon travels to Arizona to face the Wildcats in prime time on November 21st.  The Stanford Cardinal entered the rankings at #17 following their annihilation of USC, 55-21.  The Cardinal hosts #25 California this week.  USC fell from #9 to #18 with their loss to Stanford.  The Trojans have a week off before hosting rival UCLA.  Oregon State moved 4 slots to #19 following an impressive 48-21 victory over Washington.  The Beavers travel to Washington State this week.  The Golden Bears of California moved into the rankings at #25 after their 24-16 victory over Arizona.  California will have a difficult time staying in the rankings as they travel to Stanford.

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The Pac 10 Conference proves the inefficiencies of the BCS rankings as USC is ranked higher than Oregon.  Both teams are 7-2 but Oregon destroyed USC only a few weeks ago.  USC is now ranked #9 following a 14-9 defensive struggle against Arizona State.  The Trojans will have their hands full when they host Stanford on the 14th after the Cardinal defeated Oregon last week causing them to find in the college football rankings.  Oregon fell 5 slots to #13 with their loss at Stanford.  The Ducks host Arizona State this week.  Arizona thumped Washington State 48-7 moving them up to #17.  The Wildcats will have a difficult task as they travel to California.  The Beavers of Oregon State entered the rankings at #23 following a 31-14 victory at California.  The Beavers host Washington this week and are currently projected to play in the Holiday Bowl this winter.

College football’s bowl season kicks off on Dec. 20 with a four-game slate that includes the Arizona Wildcats’ matchup in the Las Vegas Bowl against the BYU Cougars.

A total of 34 bowl games will be contested over a 20-day period, beginning with the EagleBank Bowl on the morning of Dec. 20 and culminating with the BCS National Championship Game on the night of Jan. 8.
Along the way, five Pac-10 teams will participate in the post-season. In addition to the Arizona-BYU clash, California will play Miami in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27, Oregon will line up against Oklahoma State in what figures to be a Holiday Bowl shootout on Dec. 30, Oregon State will take on Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, and the USC Trojans will go toe-to-toe with the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in what could turn out to be an epic defensive struggle.

Here is a rundown of the entire bowl schedule, complete with a fearless forecast for each game. All times listed are Eastern standard.

Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Navy (8-4); EagleBank Bowl at Washington, D.C.; 11 a.m. Dec. 20 on ESPN. Prediction: Wake Forest 21, Navy 17

Fresno State (7-5) vs. Colorado State (6-6); New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque, N.M.; 2:30 p.m. Dec. 20 on ESPN. Prediction: Colorado State 20, Fresno State 19

South Florida (7-5) vs. Memphis (6-6); St. Petersburg Bowl at St. Petersburg, Fla.; 4:30 p.m. Dec. 20 on ESPN2. Prediction: South Florida 35, Memphis 24

Arizona (7-5) vs. BYU (10-2); Las Vegas Bowl at Las Vegas, Nev.; 8 p.m. Dec. 20 on ESPN. Prediction: BYU 24, Arizona 17 - Las Vegas Bowl preview

Troy (8-4) vs. Southern Miss (6-6); New Orleans Bowl at New Orleans, La.; 8:15 p.m. Dec. 21 on ESPN. Prediction: Troy 28, Southern Miss 20

TCU (10-2) vs. Boise State (12-0); Poinsettia Bowl at San Diego, Calif.; 8 p.m. Dec. 23 on ESPN. Prediction: Boise State 24, TCU 21

Hawaii (7-6) vs. Notre Dame (6-6); Hawaii Bowl at Honolulu, Hawaii; 8 p.m. Dec. 24 on ESPN. Prediction: Notre Dame 26, Hawaii 21

Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida Atlantic (6-6); Motor City Bowl at Detroit, Mich.; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26 on ESPN. Prediction: Central Michigan 34, Florida Atlantic 20

North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4); Meineke Bowl at Charlotte, N.C.; 1 p.m. Dec. 27 on ESPN. Prediction: West Virginia 23, North Carolina 20

Florida State (8-4) vs. Wisconsin (7-5); Champs Sports Bowl at Orlando, Fla.; 4:30 p.m. Dec. 27 on ESPN. Prediction: Florida State 24, Wisconsin 16

California (8-4) vs. Miami (7-5); Emerald Bowl at San Francisco, Calif.; 8 p.m. Dec. 27 on ESPN. Prediction: California 23, Miami 16 - Emerald Bowl preview

Northern Illinois (6-6) vs. Louisiana Tech (7-5); Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La.; 8:15 p.m. Dec. 28 on ESPN. Prediction: Northern Illinois 17, Louisiana Tech 14

Rutgers (7-5) vs. North Carolina State (6-6); PapaJohns.com Bowl at Birmingham, Ala.; 3 p.m. Dec. 29 on ESPN. Prediction: North Carolina State 31, Rutgers 27

Missouri (9-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3); Alamo Bowl at San Antonio, Texas; 8 p.m. Dec. 29 on ESPN. Prediction: Missouri 35, Northwestern 13

Nevada (7-5) vs. Maryland (7-5); Humanitarian Bowl at Boise, Idaho; 4:30 p.m. Dec. 30 on ESPN. Prediction: Maryland 35, Nevada 28

Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3); Holiday Bowl at San Diego, Calif.; 8 p.m. Dec. 30 on ESPN. Prediction: Oregon 45, Oklahoma State 41 - Holiday Bowl preview

Rice (9-3) vs. Western Michigan (9-3); Texas Bowl at Houston, Texas; 8 p.m. Dec. 30 on NFL Network. Prediction: Rice 30, Western Michigan 27

Houston (7-5) vs. Air Force (8-4); Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Texas; noon Dec. 31 on ESPN. Prediction: Air Force 34, Houston 28

Oregon State (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (9-3); Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas; 2 p.m. Dec. 31 on CBS. Prediction: Oregon State 23, Pittsburgh 7 - Sun Bowl preview

Boston College (9-4) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6); Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn.; 3:30 p.m. Dec. 31 on ESPN. Prediction: Boston College 27, Vanderbilt 24

Kansas (7-5) vs. Minnesota (7-5); Insight Bowl at Tempe, Ariz.; 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31 on NFL Network. Prediction: Kansas 34, Minnesota 21

Georgia Tech (9-3) vs. LSU (7-5); Chick-fil-A Bowl at Atlanta, Ga.; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31 on ESPN. Prediction: Georgia Tech 28, LSU 24

Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5); Outback Bowl at Tampa, Fla.; 11 a.m. Jan. 1 on ESPN. Prediction: Iowa 21, South Carolina 17

Georgia (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3); Capital One Bowl at Orlando, Fla.; 1 p.m. Jan. 1 on ABC. Prediction: Georgia 31, Michigan State 10

Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4); Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla.; 1 p.m. Jan. 1 on CBS. Prediction: Clemson 27, Nebraska 21

USC (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1); Rose Bowl at Pasadena, Calif.; 4:30 p.m. Jan. 1 on ABC. Prediction: USC 17, Penn State 10 - Rose Bowl preview

Cincinnati (11-2) vs. Virginia Tech (9-4); Orange Bowl at Miami, Fla.; 8:30 p.m. Jan. 1 on Fox. Prediction: Virginia Tech 20, Cincinnati 17

Texas Tech (11-1) vs. Mississippi (8-4); Cotton Bowl at Dallas, Texas; 2 p.m. Jan. 2 on Fox. Prediction: Texas Tech 38, Mississippi 30

East Carolina (9-4) vs. Kentucky (6-6); Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn.; 5 p.m. Jan. 2 on ESPN. Prediction: East Carolina 30, Kentucky 24

Alabama (12-1) vs. Utah (12-0); Sugar Bowl at New Orleans, La.; 8 p.m. Jan. 2 on Fox. Prediction: Alabama 27, Utah 20

Connecticut (7-5) vs. Buffalo (8-5); International Bowl at Toronto, Ontario; noon Jan. 3 on ESPN2. Prediction: Connecticut 26, Buffalo 20

Texas (11-1) vs. Ohio State (10-2); Fiesta Bowl at Glendale, Ariz.; 8 p.m. Jan. 5 on Fox. Prediction: Ohio State 24, Texas 23

Ball State (12-1) vs. Tulsa (10-3); GMAC Bowl at Mobile, Ala.; 8 p.m. Jan. 6 on ESPN. Prediction: Ball State 28, Tulsa 21

Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1); BCS Championship Game at Miami, Fla.; 8 p.m. Jan. 8 on Fox. Prediction: Florida 41, Oklahoma 38

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer