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.
Think ABC wishes it could have a do-over and move the Civil War to college football’s Dec. 5 Super Saturday? Probably not, seeing as ESPN might be looking at record-breaking television ratings for a Thursday night game given what is at stake between Oregon and Oregon State.
On to the weekly grades:
Washington: Off Saturday.
Washington State: Wishes it had been off Saturday. Not much to analyze here, as is customary with the Cougars in 2009. Outmanned and outplayed once again. The more interesting tidbit is that athletic director Jim Sterk refused to talk to the hometown newspaper after the game, presumably about the future of coach Paul Wulff. Maybe Sterk was afraid he’d have to answer another question: whose job is in more jeopardy: the coach, or athletic director? Grade: D
Oregon: Wow. Just wow. Maybe Oregon’s offense wasn’t as sharp as it has been during the early stages. And perhaps the defense had a letdown or two that was unexpected. But if the measure of a championship team is how it responds when it’s up against the wall, the Ducks passed this test with room to spare. A week ago, it looked like the all-Pac 10 first team quarterback was advantage Sean Canfield of Oregon State. No more. Jeremiah Masoli made that battle a dead heat, or perhaps even inched ahead of Canfield after a gutty, spectacular performance against Arizona. Grade: A
Oregon State: I’ve heard a few complaints that the Beavers ran it up against Washington State. Really? How can you tell? Fourth quarters are a lose-lose proposition these days against the Cougars, because you can get huge chunks of yards running or throwing the ball. Another game that’s hard to grade because of the opponent. OSU came out with a win, and its health, and it’s about all you can ask these days when WSU is the opponent. Grade: B
California: Stanford got up 14-0 and was ready to flex its 50-point-a-game muscle, but the Bears didn’t blink. Outstanding defensive effort by Cal during the final three quarters, and for once, it’s the other guy’s quarterback, not Kevin Riley, who is the goat. Speaking of Riley, is there a player in the Pac-10 who has picked himself up and dusted himself off in a more impressive manner this season? Well, except for that Tedford guy who couldn’t coach a lick a month ago? Grade: A-minus
Stanford: I say it often, I say it loud: it’s damn near impossible for a Pac-10 team, outside of USC, to win a championship without an experienced quarterback. Stanford pushed the issue in recent weeks, but when the Cardinal was on the brink of a title, their freshman quarterback Andrew Luck folded. Might have helped if the defense, which had a hand in beating Oregon and USC the past two weeks, shown up. Still, if I had asked Stanford fans in August, would you be happy to win two of three against Oregon, USC and Cal, the answer would have been a resounding yes. Grade: C
USC: Off Saturday.
UCLA: Who needs a stinkin’ offense when the defense collects six turnovers, two that turn into touchdowns? Not UCLA, which now leads the Pac-10 in takeaways with 27. The Bruins won’t be able to get away with a similarly putrid offensive performance against USC, but taking care of the ball was enough to beat Arizona State. Grade: B-minus
Arizona State: Hard to believe we’re seeing a coaching legend lose his fastball before our eyes, but that’s what is happening with ASU. Almost three years into the job, and all Dennis Erickson’s Sun Devils can muster is 210 yards and six turnovers? Things were never this dire under the past two coaches Arizona State fired, Dirk Koetter and Bruce Snyder. Grade: C-minus
Arizona: One team alone doesn’t make a great game. Arizona had plenty to do with the 2009 classic that was Oregon 44, Wildcats 41 in double overtime. The Wildcats’ defense played Oregon’s offense (with Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback) better than any Pac-10 team this season. But it’s the story of the Wildcats season: good for 55 minutes in a 60-minute game. Arizona has the look of next year’s Pac-10 favorite if it learns from its mistakes of 2009. Grade: B-plus
Yes, Tedford forgot how to coach those few weeks vs Oregon & USC. What was interesting was DC Gregory's comments after the Stanfurd game saying the Bears played in the base defenses most of the time. He noted that he saw on video too many teams trying to do too many things (schemes) vs the cardinal. That was THEE BEST game of the season for OC Ludwig- he was great at mixing it up and keeping the defense guessing. GO BEARS!
On the potential run-up by OSU, I think the issue some might have is that the Beavers starters were still in in the fourth quarter. Given how Jacquizz's season ended last year, you would think Riley would be actively minimize the number of meaningless minutes he gets at this point in the season. The way WSU is this year, having starters in in the fourth just never looks good. If you don't need them in there, then you are padding stats and running it up. If you do need them in there, then you have bigger problems. As far as running up the points, backups were fully capable of putting up the same score.
autzennoise-before you start throwing stones at Riley you should have your facts straight. Canfield, The Rodgers Bros., etc. DID NOT play in the 4th quarter vs. WSU. Katz, Stevenson, and other back ups racked up yards and points, therefore causing WSU concern that OSU may be running up the score. GO BEAVS!
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