Arizona State @ No. 8 USC, 12:30 p.m., ABC
Arguably the biggest surprise for USC has been Joe McKnight. He was expected to be the feature back and put up huge numbers, so what is the surprise? He has almost equally shared carries with C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson, who together have three rushing touchdowns to his zero. Yes, he is averaging almost six yards a carry, but only 50 yards rushing a game. He has been involved in the receiving game – he’s third on the team in receptions (12) and fourth in receiving yards (139) – but he has not been the game breaker as expected. On the other side of the ball, USC bounced back from its terrible defensive day against Oregon State, where Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns, by holding Oregon’s leading rusher LeGarrette Blount to a goose egg for the day (9 carries, 0 yards) and the Ducks’ offense to just 60 yards total on the ground. If USC plays like they did against Oregon, which is usually among the top offenses in the country, ASU will find some trouble. The Sun Devils rank 82nd among college teams in scoring offense, relying heavily on the arm of Rudy Carpenter to produce for the offense. The storyline for this game will be if USC quarterback Mark Sanchez or ASU’s Carpenter are able to play. It could be how this game is decided.
Key Stat: USC has allowed an average of just 11.8 points per game from its opponents.
Arizona @ Stanford, 2 p.m.
Arizona has yet to lose a Pacific-10 Conference game, beating both UCLA and Washington. This week’s match-up with Stanford should be no different. The defense has been playing well this season, allowing over 16 points just once, in the Wildcats’ loss to New Mexico. Stanford, on the other hand, rides solely on the play of running back Toby Gerhart. He is easily the Cardinal’s best option on offense, scoring six touchdowns to this point in the season, and gaining over 600 yards total offense. It was speculated at the beginning of the season that their aggressive defense would be what carries the Cardinal, but it has left them with easy scores from overplaying the run, and blitzing too many players, leaving mismatches in coverage, along with completely blown coverage. Arizona will take advantage of this, so expect to see a big day not only from running back Nic Grigsby, but also receiver Mike Thomas, who could easily have 100 yards and a score or two. With the Wildcat defense, along with the solid rushing of Grigsby, Arizona should have no problem remaining undefeated in the conference by weekend’s end.
Key Stat: Arizona QB Willie Tuitama has thrown 13 touchdowns this season and just two interceptions.
Washington State @ Oregon State, 3:30 p.m.
What a mess for the Cougars’ quarterback situation. They went from having a solid, consistent starter last year in Alex Brink, and now they have no clear-cut starter at all. No quarterback on the roster has more touchdowns than interceptions. As a team, they have thrown six touchdowns and have run for two, but have also thrown 13 interceptions. They have one offensive weapon in Brandon Gibson, but they cannot find ways to get him the ball enough. They have tried handing it off to him and throwing to him in double coverage, but neither has worked. Gibson leads the team with 36 receptions, with 460 yards and two touchdowns, yet it does not seem to be enough to get WSU a string of wins. Oregon State will not take it easy on them, either. The Beavers have been surprising the past couple of weeks, beating then-No. 1 USC two weeks ago in Corvallis and losing a close game at No. 14 Utah after a game-winning field goal from kicker Louie Sakoda. OSU Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers has continued to impress, posting 287 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games. Look for him to have a field day against a Cougar defense that allows almost 42 points a game.
Key Stat: Washington State has been blown out of every game except its win against Portland State.