Pac-10 Week 8 Wrap-Up

Oregon @ Washington: Once again, the Ducks defense made a play that turned the momentum of the game. Oregon looked flat throughout the first quarter, but when the Ducks blocked a punt and recovered in the end zone the entire team was inspired and began playing with intensity. The Ducks scored on their first 4 possessions of the second half and cruised to a 43-19 victory. Jeremiah Masoli was back in action after sitting out the last game due to a knee injury. The Ducks remain unbeaten in conference play and will host USC next Saturday in a game that will more then likely determine the Pac-10 Champion.

Washington State @ Cal: Kevin Riley threw 3 passes in the first quarter and all of them went for touchdowns. The Bears were up 28-3 at the end of the first quarter and cruised to an easy win against the overmatched Cougars. The Cougars should have been motivated by last years 66-3 loss to the Bears, but instead they came out and lost 49-17. Best had 159 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. The lone bright spot for the Cougars came in the form of freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel who threw for 354 yards and 2 touchdowns.

UCLA @ Arizona: When will the UCLA offense show up? UCLA has had trouble at quarterback all year, forcing them to rely on the run game. When the U of A defense held the Bruins to 65 rushing yards, it all but assured a Wildcat victory. Despite turning the ball over 5 times, the Wildcats were able to defeat the Bruins 27-13. Arizona is now 3-1 in Conference play and still a legitimate threat to win the conference. UCLA is currently on a 4 game losing streak and will face the Oregon State Beavers next week.

Oregon State @ USC: After last season’s upset loss at the hands of the Beavers, it was expected that USC would come out trying to avenge that loss. The Trojans did get the win, but in less convincing fashion than expected. The Trojans won 42-36 behind Allan Bradford who ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Barkley threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns. The most surprising aspect of this game was that USC’s defense gave up 482 yards to the Beavers. USC fans better hope that the Trojans fix these defensive problems before facing Oregon on Saturday.

ASU @ Stanford: Despite facing the nation’s number 2 ranked rush defense, Toby Gerhart was still able to rush for 125 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Luck threw for 236 yards and Stanford used a balanced attack to beat the Sun Devils 33-14. Stanford needed this win to end a three game losing streak. The Cardinal also greatly improved their chances of reaching their first bowl since the 2001 season.