On the surface, this weekend’s matchup between the winless Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl might seem a ready-made blowout. But for some reason the Cardinal (0-4, 0-2 Pac-10) always play the Bruins (2-1, 0-1 Pac-10) tough. While UCLA holds a 4-3 advantage in the last seven meetings between the teams, eight of the last 12 meetings between the two in the Rose Bowl have been decided by five points or less.
The Bruins should have a little extra motivation this week after last Saturday’s loss to Washington, which saw the Bruins go up 16-0 in the first half, then score only three points in the second half to lose 29-19.
Last year the Bruins came back from a 24-3 fourth quarter deficit to tie the game with 46 seconds left and force overtime, where they defeated the Cardinal on a 23-yard touchdown pass by QB Drew Olson.
Washington vs. Arizona
The Huskies (3-1, 1-0 Pac-10) travel to the desert this Saturday with hopes of proving their win over UCLA was no fluke and they are a legitimate Pac-10 contender. They garnered 13 votes in the latest AP rankings, good for 33rd. Washington also received six votes in the coaches poll, good for 37th, and could build on that momentum with a convincing win at Arizona.
The Wildcats hope to get the same kind of performance from their defense that they got against the Trojans, when they were the first team in 54 games to hold the USC offense to 20 points.
No. 3 USC vs. Washington State
Washington State opens its conference schedule at home Saturday against Southern California. The Trojans (3-0, 1-0 Pac-10) bring several notable conference winning streaks to Pullman Wash., including a Pac-10 record 24 straight league game victories and school records for consecutive road wins (17) and Pac-10 road victories (12).
The Trojan offense has averaged more than 400 yards per game this year but has been plagued by injury. Three fullbacks have been sidelined with injuries and there is talk of converting redshirt freshman linebacker Luther Brown to fullback. All-American wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who caught two touchdowns last year in USC’s 42-12 victory in Pullman, is nursing a shoulder sprain.
The Cougars (3-1, 1-0 Pac-10) offense is ranked 18th in the nation and is led by quarterback Alex Brink and wide receiver Jason Hill. Washington State’s defense features the national sack leader Mkristo Bruce, who had a single-game school record five sacks against Stanford last week, which allowed him to earn Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.
Dawgs, ‘Cats war in Arizona
Daily Emerald
September 28, 2006
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