By Art Thompson III
November 4, 2009

This week in the Pacific-10

EYES WIDE OPEN
It happened to USC in September. But the Oregon Ducks are determined not to let it happen to them on Saturday. A week after visiting USC staged a thrilling comeback victory over Ohio State, in a much-ballyhooed intersectional battle between two highly-ranked teams, USC inexplicably lost to a huge underdog Washington team.

So, coming off its 47-20 shellacking last week of USC, Oregon (7-1, 5-0) has its focus on a dangerous Stanford team (5-3, 4-2) that is 4-0 at home, remains alive in the conference championship race, and including last season, has won eight of its past nine games at home.

It is the feature game in the Pac-10 this week, as for the second time all 10 conference teams will be engaged against Pac-10 foes.

There is no hotter team presently in the conference, maybe even in the country, than Oregon. Its dismantling of USC on both sides if the ball (and on special teams, too) was jaw dropping. Quarterback Jason Masoli and tailback LaMichael James virtually were unstoppable. But to put it plainly, the Ducks did just about anything they wanted to do on offense against the Trojans.

Statistically, Oregon ranks at the top of the Pac-10 both in scoring offense and scoring defense. But the Ducks’ defense sternly will be tested by Stanford’s powerful run game, featuring tailback Toby Gerhart, the leading rusher in the conference. Gerhart only needs six yards to top 1,000 yards for the second consecutive year.
The Cardinal also has a potent, though underrated passing attack, led by freshman quarterback Andrew Luck.

Oregon first-year coach Chip Kelly’s philosophy is to not look past the current day, which is why the Ducks figure to be properly prepared for Stanford.

STILL ON THE PROWL
Lurking in the shadow of Oregon is Arizona (5-2, 3-1), which had a bye last week. The Wildcats should not figure to get much resistance at home from Washington State (1-7, 0-5) but that’s probably what USC thought when it ventured up to Seattle in September. Should Arizona, as expected, get past Washington State, the Wildcats will have a tough game next week at Cal. Arizona’s incentive to keep winning? It is the only school in the Pac-10 that never has played in the New Year’s Day Rose Bowl.

LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK
Contrary to what some USC fans might believe, the Trojans’ season is not over. As difficult as it might be for those fans to fathom, USC still remains alive in the conference title chase. A 7-2 conference record was good enough for USC to share the Pac-10 title in 2006 (with Cal) and in 2007 (with Arizona State). So, USC (6-2, 3-2) hopes to get on the comeback trail starting Saturday, when it visits Arizona State.

BREAKS TO DECIDE THIS ONE
Cal essentially was written off, as far at the conference title chase was concerned, after it lost its first two Pac-10 games. But the Bears rebounded to win their next three conference games providing a flicker of hope. The question is, which Cal team is going to show up Saturday at home against Oregon State? The Bears that have averaged nearly 44 points in their six wins? Or the team that absolutely was inept in losing 42-3 to Oregon and 30-3 to USC in successive weeks? In addition, does Cal have a sound game plan that will control (you can’t stop them) the exploits of Oregon State’s James and Jacquizz Rodgers?

THIS WEEK’S OUTLOOK
Oregon 28, Stanford 19 – The Ducks are on a waddle (we mean roll) and will make the Cardinal their eighth consecutive victim.

Arizona 45, Washington State 10 – The Cougars’ woes continue in the desert at Arizona stays on Oregon’s heels.

USC 35, Arizona 24 – The Trojans’ offense springs back to life from last week’s second-half meltdown at Oregon. USC’s defense remains suspect.

Cal 31, Oregon State 27 – The Rodgers Brothers run wild but Cal outscores the Beavers in an offensive shootout.

UCLA 23, Washington 20 – The Bruins break their five-game losing streak and win their first conference game.

Art Thompson III is an award-winning sports writer who has covered the NBA, the NFL and Major League Baseball, in addition to college sports. He was The Orange County Register's lead college writer and its UCLA beat writer for seven years.