Pac-10 Week 2 Roundup

The second week of the season was huge for the Pac-10. The conference that is said to lack depth went into an SEC stadium as well as a Big Ten stadium and came home with two victories.  The conference looked good and performed better than I expected them to.

I’ll start this week two review with the most intriguing game that happened on Saturday.

USC @ Ohio State: The 106,000 fans were loud and doing everything that they could to will their Buckeyes to victory. The Ohio State defensive line dominated the USC offensive line for 57 minutes. Unfortunately, a football game is 60 minutes. With an injured shoulder, freshman quarterback Matt Barkley led the Trojans on a game winning drive. Barkley admitted that his shoulder was “killing him,” but he showed courage and poise and did whatever was necessary to lead his team to victory. USC struggled throughout this game and did not perform the way Trojan teams usually do. They committed penalties, and had a rare special teams mistake that resulted in a safety. However, as all great teams do, the Trojans stepped up to the challenge and dug themselves out of a hole. Great times battle adversity and find ways to win. It wasn’t always pretty, but USC found a way to win one of the most important games on its schedule.

The other big nonconference game was the game between UCLA and Tennessee. Both teams were sloppy in this game but the Bruins prevailed. UCLA was horrible on third downs, but were helped out by Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton who threw for a measly 93 yards and 3 interceptions. Tennessee had 4 turnovers in this game and UCLA was able to take advantage. Kai Forbath had 4 field goals, leading the Bruins in scoring and helping them to a 19-15 victory.

Stanford surprised me by starting off fast. I didn’t expect them to win this game, but I was pleased by their 17-3 lead at the half. However, the Cardinal was unable to hold onto the lead on the road. Riley Skinner did not have as big of a game as I expected, but he threw for a touchdown and ran for another giving the Demon Deacons the 24-17.

Just as expected, Cal beat Eastern Washington. The Golden Bears scored 50+ points in their first two games for the first time in school history. Jahvid Best continued filling his personal highlight video as he rushed for 144 yards on Saturday. Riley only threw for 150 yards, but he is improving as a quarterback and showing that this could be a special season for the Bears.

After being down 35-6 at halftime it is no surprise that Washington State lost to Hawaii. The Cougars were able to make it somewhat respectable by closing the gap to 38-20.

Congratulations to the Washington Huskies as they finally won a game. This was a complete team effort as the Huskies defeated the Idaho Vandals. The Steve Sarkesian era is looking bright in Washington. I can’t help but feel good for Jake Locker who is one of the best quarterbacks in the conference, but stuck on one of the worst teams.

Arizona won as expected. Nic Grigsby’s 207 rushing yards helped Arizona beat NAU 34-17. Arizona has won its first two games, but they have not been as dominating as I would have expected. This however, could be because they are running the ball a lot, so there is less time to put up points.

Oregon State defeated UNLV 23-21. This game was closer than expected, but UNLV was at home and played tough. The Beavers dodged a bullet here, but at least they were able to come out with a win. The Beavers hit a field goal with seven seconds remaining to steal the game from the Running Rebels.

Everyone was curious to see how Oregon would comeback after last week’s disaster. Well, the defense desperately missed T.J Ward last night as Purdue moved the ball fairly easily. The Ducks offense was inconsistent throughout the night, but it showed glimpses of potential. The Ducks showed that they are close to unleashing the high powered offense that everyone expects, but they are not quite there yet. Most importantly, the Ducks were able to hold off Purdue and get another non-conference win for the Pac-10. Final Score: Oregon 38 Purdue 36.

My Overall picks this season: 16-2