Pac-10 Week 11 Wrap-Up

An era has ended. With Stanford’s upset over the Trojans, it is now imminent that there will be a new Pac-10 champion. The Trojans have won the conference seven straight years and will need an absolute miracle to make it 8. This year the conference has shown how deep and truly talented it is. Just when you think everything is figured out, someone upsets someone else and shakes up the standings. It is good for the conference to have a new champion because it increases interest and makes it so that fans feel like their team can go to the Rose Bowl rather than just cheering for a Holliday Bowl berth.

Stanford @ 9 USC: The Stanford Cardinal upset the USC Trojans for the second time in three years, both time occurred on the Trojans home field. Stanford is a program that is continually on the rise and after back to back upsets, they have proven that they have finally arrived. Toby Gerhart ran for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns, all but assuring himself the award of Pac-10 player of the year. Andrew Luck had another solid performance throwing for 2 touchdowns. The other freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley, struggled as he threw 3 interceptions. The last interception was returned for a score and put the game on ice for the Cardinal.

Washington @ 23 Oregon State: After three quarters it was 41-7 Oregon State. The Beavers jumped off to a fast start and never looked back. Sean Canfield threw for 4 touchdown passes, two to James Rodgers. James’ younger brother, Jacquizz rushed for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. After dropping their fourth straight game, the Huskies are officially ineligible for a bowl game. Although slim, the Beavers still do have Rose Bowl hopes.

UCLA @ Washington State: The Bruins had a 26-0 lead and kept adding on en rout to a 43-7 thrashing of the Cougars. The showdown of the Pac-10’s two worst teams was never even close. The Bruins jumped all over Washington State early and often. The win helps the Bruins improve to 5-5, meaning that they still have hopes of becoming bowl eligible, but even if they do finish 6-6 it appears unlikely that would be invited to a bowl game.

17 Arizona @ Cal: Even without Jahvid Best at running back, the Bears offense was able to survive. Shane Vereen rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown. Riley threw for a touchdown and Cal added 4 field goals to hold on for the 24-16 win. The Wildcats suffered only their second conference loss of the season and are hosting the Ducks next week in a showdown that will potentially decide the Pac-10 Champion.

Arizona State @ 13 Oregon: After suffering their first conference loss of the season last week, the Ducks were anxious to get back onto the field. With ASU starting a true freshman quarterback, the Ducks wanted to get off to a fast start and that’s exactly what they did. LaMichael James rushed for 3 touchdowns and 109 yards in the first half to give the Ducks a 31-7 halftime lead. After Osweiler’s injury, ASU put in third string quarterback Samson Szakacsy provided the Sun Devils with an offensive spark to start the second half. The Devils scored two quick touchdowns and brought the game to 31-21. The Ducks answered with a touchdown and tacked on two more field goals to win 44-21.