College Football Predictions: Five Biggest Match-Ups Left on The Pac-10 Schedule
After weeks of non-conference match-ups and stat-padding against no-name cupcakes, the Pac-10 schedule is finally well underway, with contests of consequence every week from here on out.
The first full Saturday of Pac-10 games ran the gamut of potential outcomes, from the Cardiac 'Cats' 10-9 victory over the Cal Bears to USC's 50-16 walloping of Washington State.
Now that eight out of the ten teams have at least one conference game under their belts, which contests should fans watch out for as the leaves change color and the temperature begins to drop?
Here, in chronological order, are five of the most intriguing match-ups left on the Pac-10 slate.
Oregon Vs. Stanford, October 2nd
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Fittingly, the juiciest part of the Pac-10 schedule begins with a game that could very well determine who will be playing in the Rose Bowl in January.
Ninth-ranked Stanford, led by the NFL-caliber arm of Andrew Luck at quarterback, will make its way to Autzen Stadium in Eugene this coming Saturday to face LaMichael James and fourth-ranked Oregon.
On any other weekend, this match-up of conference front-runners would be the Game of the Week.
But unfortunately for West Coast football fans, the game between Florida and Alabama has captured a lion's share of the attention in the college football world.
Nonetheless, this meeting between the Cardinal and the Ducks should be one for the ages.
The pocket prowess of Luck against the dynamic escapability of Oregon's Darron Thomas.
Chip Kelly's unstoppable spread offense on one end, Jim Harbaugh's pro-style attack on the other.
The defending champs staking their claim to another conference title against the Pac-10's fastest-rising program.
The Game of the Year in the Pac-10, and USC is nowhere to be found.
Need any more reasons to watch?
Arizona Vs. Oregon State, October 9th
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While the marquee contest of the following weekend will likely be Stanford-USC, the most important Pac-10 tilt on October ninth will pit Oregon State against Arizona.
After nearly winning the conference last year, the Beavers began this season in the top 25 but have since fallen out of favor due to a 1-2 start to the season, with losses to BCS busters TCU and Boise State.
Coach Mike Riley's squad is favored in its conference opener at home against Arizona State and should come away with a hard-fought victory.
The real test will come next weekend, when Jacquizz Rodgers and the Beavs head down to Tucson to take on Nick Foles and the 14th-ranked Arizona Wildcats.
The Beavers' performance in that game will be an excellent indicator of whether they'll contend once again for the conference crown or fall flat after surpassing expectations last fall.
Arizona, on the other hand, has already passed two tough tests, against Iowa and Cal, but will have to hold serve at home if Mike Stoops' Cardiac 'Cats want to have any shot at rose petals in January.
Washington Vs. Stanford, October 30th
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Steve Sarkisian's Huskies will head to Palo Alto for Halloween for what should be a frightfully good game, at least for NFL scouts.
Supposing Jim Harbaugh's boys keep the good times rolling through the month of October, they should be pretty well favored at home against U-Dub.
The trick here is that college football fans and NFL aficionados alike will be treated to one of the best quarterback duels in the country this year.
The showdown between Washington's Jake Locker and Stanford's Andrew Luck has "NFL Draft" written all over it.
Locker was hailed by some as the prohibitive favorite to be taken with the top pick this past spring had he opted out of his last year of eligbility. Since then, he has struggled as a senior to lead Washington to the next level, as some had expected him to do.
Luck, on the other hand, is just a sophomore, but already has front-office insiders raving about his pedigree (his father, Oliver, was a quarterback for the Houston Oilers), his arm, and his football IQ.
Whether or not this game is actually any good is irrelevant, as everyone will be focused on how Luck and Locker perform.
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Arizona Vs. Oregon, November 26th
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The games in the Pac-10 should become more and more meaningful as the weeks go by, and Oregon-Arizona isn't likely to be any different.
Assuming the Ducks and the Wildcats still have legitimate hopes of earning bids to the 2011 Rose Bowl, this tiff in Tucson should be the clear headliner of the next-to-last weekend of Pac-10 play.
This match-up could very well feature two Heisman contenders as well, with Oregon's LaMichael James and Arizona's Nick Foles playing so well in 2010 thus far.
With individual and team hardware on the line, expect this party in the Pacific Northwest to be a rather hectic one.
UCLA Vs. USC, December 4th
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The final weekend of Pac-10 play is always highlighted by regional rivalries, but none means more for the future of the conference than this year's edition of The Gauntlet.
On the one hand is USC, a team that could be in the hunt for the conference crown come December but won't be eligible for the Rose Bowl due to sanctions stemming from the Reggie Bush scandal.
Should the Trojans be in position to win the Pac-10 when this game rolls around, Lane Kiffin, 'SC's controversial new coach, will be receiving plenty of praise as the potential coach of the year in the league.
On the other hand is UCLA, which has struggled against its crosstown rival over the past decade.
With USC down due to NCAA infractions and the Bruins now coming off back-to-back wins against ranked opponents, fans of the Blue and Gold are already expecting coach Rick Neuheisel to lead the Sons of Westwood to victory, especially with the game taking place at the Rose Bowl this year.
Depending on how the Bruins fare in the Pac-10, this game could make or break Neuheisel's tenure as head coach at his alma mater, even though he's only in his third year at the helm.
And let's not forget about last year's game, when Neuheisel and current Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll got the bad blood boiling with a late-game exchange of timeouts and touchdowns.
Essentially, a win for USC maintains the status quo in the rivalry, while a win for UCLA could catapult the Bruins into conference title contention in 2011.
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