Nick Daschel is a veteran sports writer and columnist who has worked on the West coast for nearly three decades. Nick has covered the Pac-10 for about 15 years, primarily focusing on the Northwest schools.
Here we are, big game week in the Pac-10, USC at Oregon. Hard to dispute it’s the league’s Game of the Year; two top 10 teams playing for first place and ESPN College GameDay crowd in Eugene tend to make for a big game atmosphere.
Chances are if you’re reading this, you can’t wait for Saturday’s game. You may watch at Autzen Stadium, from a bar, in your home theatre. Regardless, you’re expecting a game that lives up to expectations; that is, two great college football teams slugging it out for four quarters and producing high theatre.
It often doesn’t work out that way. One team may not be ready for the big stage or has a hot quarterback. Big Game doesn’t always mean Great Game.
In honor of Big Game week, let’s look back at the Pac-10’s Game of the Year this past decade, and grade how it lived up to expectations. To qualify as Game of the Year, it has to be a game everyone anticipates as the probable showdown between the Pac-10’s top two teams, not a game that became great due to revisionist history. For example, Washington’s 33-30 win over Oregon State in 2000 was a classic, and those two teams eventually shared the Pac-10 title. But at game time, there was little build up. Just two good teams going at it. Hype is part of the Big Game package.
It will come as no surprise that USC dominates the conversation.
2008: Oregon 65, Oregon State 38: In hindsight, the game everyone talks about is Oregon State’s 27-21 win over USC. Again, no pre-game hype. But that win, coupled with the momentum OSU gained, led the Beavers into a Rose Bowl-or-bust Civil War against Oregon in Reser Stadium. As a game, it was highly entertaining. Watching Oregon’s offense operate as if it were playing 11-on-none was a spectacle. The Beavers put up 38 points, too; 103-point games never suck. But it wasn’t competitive. The Ducks owned Oregon State. The Beavers were without Jacquizz Rodgers, and maybe he would have made a difference. But probably not. Grade: C
2007: Oregon 24, USC 17: A No. 5 vs. No. 9, two future NFL quarterbacks (Mark Sanchez, Dennis Dixon) playing for first place in the Pac-10. It was about as good as it gets. It was a statistical draw, and darn near a scoreboard draw until the Ducks’ Matthew Harper intercepted a Sanchez pass with 11 seconds left to seal the win. Grade: A-minus
2006: USC 23, California 9: Lots of buzz heading into this late-season game, with Cal eyeing its first Rose Bowl appearance in 48 years and USC eyeing, well, what the Trojans have in sight: a national championship shot. It played out as a fairly close game, with USC getting a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to separate itself from a 9-9 tie. But ultimately, the game was a little disappointing in that Cal’s high-flying offense failed to show up, not to mention three turnovers that could have swung the game in the Bears’ favor. Grade: B
2005: USC 45, Oregon 13: It was difficult to point to a Game of the Year in 2005, because the Trojans were so good, and this game was the Pac-10 opener. Both teams were nationally ranked and unbeaten, and Oregon ultimately proved their class by winning seven straight Pac-10 games to finish out the season. For a half, it might have been eight. The Ducks had USC cornered, scoring the game’s first 13 points and leading 13-10 early in the third quarter. Then Oregon turned into the Cougars. USC scored 45 unanswered points as Matt Leinart got hot, and the Game of the Year turned into Game to Forget. Grade: C
2004: USC 23, California 17: For several reasons, this is probably the decade’s gold standard for Game of the Year. Cal beat USC 34-31 the previous year, the Trojans were a top-ranked, unbeaten and defending national champion, and the Bears were ranked No. 7 in the country with a Heisman Trophy-type quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. The Bears did everything but win the game. They outgained USC nearly 2-to-1, and Rodgers astonishingly completed 29 of his first 31 passes. When it mattered, the decade’s gold standard for Pac-10 champions rose up. Cal had first-and-goal inside the game’s final two minutes, but couldn’t get in the end zone. A classic. Grade: A
2003: USC 43, Washington State 16: This was a pretty good WSU team, but the Trojans had a national championship quality that made the Cougars appear ordinary. The score was lopsided, and the game wasn’t compelling, but it was fascinating to watch a great team take apart what eventually was a 10-win squad and a Holiday Bowl winner. Grade: C-plus
2002: Washington State 30, USC 27 OT: If USC-Cal in 2004 was the No. 1 Game of the Year this decade, this was 1A. Washington State was ranked No. 5, and USC No. 7, and each lived up to their ranking. Two great quarterbacks in eventual Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer and WSU’s Jason Gesser went at for four quarters and OT, each throwing for more than 300 yards. The game had multiple twists and turns until the end, when Drew Dunning’s 35-yard field goal in overtime won for the Cougars, who went on to claim the Pac-10 title. Grade: A
2001: Oregon 24, Washington State 17: Another Game of the Year that failed to disappoint. The teams were a collective 13-1 and both ranked in the top 15. The Ducks ran all over Washington State, as future NFL backs Onterrio Smith and Maurice Morris combined for 423 yards. Yet it came down to the game’s final seconds, as WSU’s Jason Gesser, looking for a touchdown that would have forced overtime, threw three consecutive incomplete passes in the end zone. Say this for the Cougars: when they play a Game of the Year in Pullman, they do it right. Grade: A-minus.
2000: Oregon 23, Washington 16: This was a tough call, remembering what was said earlier about the OSU-UW thriller in Seattle. In the end, the game with the most hype and pre-game meaning was Oregon-Washington in Eugene. It was an early season game between two teams returning a lot of players from co-second place teams in 1999. The game, though close in score, was a dud. The Ducks controlled the lead from the outset, though Washington made it a little interesting with a two-touchdown rally in the fourth quarter. Grade: B-minus
It seem sooo long ago that WSU was good enough to be in the game of the year three straight years. Probably seems even longer to Cougars. And Mike Price.
Also not sure what more would have been required for the 2007 Oregon-USC game to get an A instead of an A-minus.
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Also not sure what more would have been required for the 2007 Oregon-USC game to get an A instead of an A-minus.