Oregon is now in sole possession of first place in the Pacific 10 Conference and it is well deserved. The Pac-10 is now sending seven teams to bowl games and students at the UA heard the ESPN fellas firsthand when they said that the Pac-10 is the best conference in all of college football.
1. Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 2
Of all the questions that were answered over the weekend, nothing is more prevalent than just how special Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is after beating Arizona by himself. He should lead the Ducks past Oregon State to get to the Rose Bowl and then easily beat Ohio State in Pasadena, Calif. I’m not so sure there’s a team in the country that can stop the Ducks on offense.
2. OSU (8-3, 6-2 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 3
The Beavers might be the quietest team in the nation, winning four straight games while the media talks about every other team in the Pac-10. Yet here is Oregon State, one game left and one win away from making the Rose Bowl. An extra week of rest should give the Rodgers brothers some fresh legs — something OSU will need if it hopes to beat Oregon.
3. Stanford (7-4, 6-3 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 1
Perhaps the hubris got to the head of the Cardinal, but I’m not so sure Stanford should have dropped out of the polls. Considering how easily Stanford beat Oregon and USC, there’s no reason for the Cardinal to be upset by dropping its final conference game. They’ll have a great chance to right the ship against a reeling Notre Dame at home.
4. California (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 5
Good for the Bears, ripping off consecutive upset wins against ranked opponents Arizona and Stanford in the face of losing their best player. Cal has a week to rest and then should beat Washington in December. Remember when we all thought the Bears were dead in the water two months ago? We were wrong.
5. Arizona (6-4, 4-3 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 4
The Wildcats have no reason to be upset after a truly inspired and admirable effort against Oregon. Unfortunately one team had to lose, and Arizona lost not only the game but also its Rose Bowl hopes. But the players made UA football relevant again, and I don’t think it’s premature to say that they will be a top-15 team in the nation next year. They should get back on track this weekend at ASU.
6. USC (7-3, 4-3 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 6
A week off was probably a great thing for the suddenly-vulnerable Trojans. They should beat UCLA this week and then face Arizona for a game that could decide second place in the Pac-10.
7. UCLA (6-5, 3-5 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 7
Congrats to the Bruins for getting it together and becoming bowl eligible. They will probably drop their final game against USC, but reaching the postseason after such a putrid start in the Pac-10 is impressive.
8. ASU (4-7, 2-6 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 8
Any chance of a late season run to make a bowl is now gone thanks to the Sun Devils’ minimal offensive firepower. Conventional wisdom tells us that ASU better watch its back in a rivalry game with an extremely angry Arizona team, but you can toss records out the window when these two schools match up, especially when ASU is at home.
9. Washington (3-7, 2-5 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 9
The Huskies will beat Washington State and could possibly upset Cal the next week, but even if they somehow lose both games this season, they should be considered a success for rookie head coach Steve Sarkisian.
10. Washington State (1-10, 0-8 Pac-10) Last Week: No. 10
Can the Cougars get their first conference win of the season in the Apple Cup?
