No. 15 Arizona at No. 13 Stanford
5 p.m. Saturday (ABC)
Though No. 1 Oregon seems to have a stranglehold on the Pac-10 title race, Arizona and Stanford will meet Saturday to establish a clear second-place team. The Cardinal is coming off an incredibly dominant 41-0 shutout at Washington, while the Wildcats narrowly topped UCLA at the Rose Bowl. With quarterback Nick Foles back to 100 percent following a knee injury, Arizona will have to decide whether Matt Scott, who led the team to wins over Washington State, Washington and UCLA, will continue to start or take a back seat to Foles. The best guess is that both Scott and Foles will see playing time, and both will have ample opportunities to do damage against a Stanford secondary that has been susceptible to giving up yards.
Arizona has the best defense Stanford has faced to date. The Wildcats rank seventh nationally in points allowed. A veteran defensive line might force Stanford to deviate from its signature power running game, and a secondary ranked 40th nationally in pass defense will at least challenge Stanford’s all-world quarterback Andrew Luck. Then again, no team has been able to slow down the Cardinal’s offense, which ranks fifth nationally in points scored. Stanford has put up at least 31 points in each game this year.
 
Cal at Washington State
1 p.m. Saturday
After losing senior starting quarterback Kevin Riley for the season with a knee injury, Cal’s hopes of becoming bowl eligible for the ninth-straight season lie on the right arm of unheralded and untested Brock Mansion. A fourth-year junior from Dallas, Mansion has only attempted 32 passes in his collegiate career, but will have a good chance to get comfortable with his new position against a Washington State defense that ranks 116th nationally in points allowed this weekend.
The Cougars are coming off a 42-0 road shutout at Arizona State that ended a string of relatively close losses, and their defense has allowed 35 or more points in all but one of their Pac-10 games. Still, quarterback Jeff Tuel has been consistent for most of the season, and the Cougars are 34th in passing yards (though only 107th in points scored).
Still, aside from Mansion’s inexperience, the biggest concern for Cal has to be its struggles on the road. The Bears are 4-0 at home this season, but are 0-4 on the road. That’s good news for a Washington State program trying to end a 15-game Pac-10 losing streak.
 
Arizona State at USC
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Just when people were getting ready to mark Arizona State down for another losing season, the Sun Devils smashed Washington State 42-0 last weekend. There’s no doubt Arizona State has talent — as evidenced by its narrow road loss to Wisconsin and a road win over Washington (before Jake Locker’s broken rib), but consistency has been an issue. Still, quarterback (and Michigan transfer) Steven Threet has helped the Devils’ offense rank 16th in passing and 34th in points scored, while linebacker Vontaze Burfict and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy lead a defense that has big-play potential, if nothing else.
Of course, top-notch talent and inconsistency are two traits that USC also possesses. The Trojans played somewhat flat to begin the season (road loss to Washington) but have actually fared well lately, in a blowout win against Cal and a respectable loss to Oregon last week. Quarterback Matt Barkley cemented his status as one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-10, and an impressive group of skill position players (Robert Woods, Ronald Johnson, Marc Tyler and Allan Bradford) are tough for any defense to contain. USC’s 15th ranked scoring offense will be expected to have a big night, and if the Trojans don’t suffer a letdown after the emotional Oregon loss, they should have the upper hand.
 
Oregon State at UCLA
4 p.m. Saturday (Versus)
UCLA’s offense has more life with new quarterback Richard Brehaut than it did with former starter Kevin Prince, but the Bruins are still in a world of hurt. Since a 42-28 win over Washington State on Oct. 2, UCLA has lost three straight by a combined score of 124-41. Thought to be the strength of the team heading into the year, UCLA’s defense has been just as bad as its 96th ranked scoring offense, surrendering an average of 30.4 points per game. Of course, giving up 61 to Oregon last month didn’t help matters.
On paper, Oregon State certainly doesn’t appear to be a likely candidate to help UCLA end its losing streak. The Beavers seem to be starting their yearly second-half hot streak, as evidenced by a 35-7 shellacking of Cal last weekend and an impressive 29-27 road win over Arizona a few weeks back. First-year quarterback Ryan Katz has done an admirable job filling in for the now-graduated Sean Canfield, and running back Jacquizz Rodgers has been steady as always, helping lead an offense that’s 48th nationally in points scored. And though the Beavers’ defense has been less than stout at times (75th nationally in points allowed), they should hold up against UCLA’s subpar offense.
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