No. 13 Stanford at Washington
4 p.m. (Versus)
Fresh off a blowout loss at Arizona, Washington returns home to take on a high-powered Stanford (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) team that has won two games in a row since its sole loss of the season at Oregon. Though beating the Cardinal would be a tough task for a healthy Washington team, any shot the Huskies have at topping Stanford would likely go out the window if quarterback Jake Locker can’t play. Locker, who’s dealing with sore ribs and a bruised thigh, said he would be ready to go against the Cardinal. But his efficacy remains to be seen.
Still, if Washington’s defense continues to struggle, Locker’s health might not matter. The Huskies’ defense is ranked No. 102 nationally in points allowed and has surrendered a combined 78 points in its last two games.
With quarterback Andrew Luck at the helm, Stanford is poised to take advantage of the Huskies’ weakness. Stanford is ranked fifth nationally in points per game and possesses a balanced offense (16th nationally in rushing, 39th nationally in passing).
The Cardinal gave up 298 passing yards to Jeff Tuel and Washington State last weekend, and are ranked 60th nationally in points allowed.
No. 15 Arizona at UCLA
12:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Net)
Talk about two teams headed in opposite directions. After a pair of blowout losses to Pac-10 teams (35-7 at Cal, 60-13 at Oregon), UCLA’s (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10) season is on the verge of disaster. Starting quarterback Kevin Prince will miss this game with a knee injury, leaving backup Richard Brehaut. Though Brehaut didn’t have a bad game against the Ducks, he doesn’t exactly have a lot of offensive weapons at his disposal.
The suspension of offensive tackle Sean Sheller and receiver Ricky Marvray won’t help, either. Any way you size it up, the Bruins’ offense will have trouble putting points on the board against Arizona’s (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) seventh-ranked scoring defense.
Arizona’s offense, on the other hand, is rolling. The Wildcats trounced the Huskies last week, even though star quarterback Nick Foles missed the game with a knee injury. Though Foles’ status for this contest is still undetermined, backup Matt Scott won Pac-10 player of the week with an 18-for-22, 233-yard, two-touchdown performance.
Washington State at Arizona State
4 p.m.
This may be the time for Washington State to finally end its 14-game Pac-10 losing streak The Cougars have certainly shown signs of life in recent weeks, dropping (relatively) close games to Stanford, Arizona and Oregon.
Quarterback Jeff Tuel, who leads the nation’s No. 33 pass offense has emerged as one of the conference’s best signal callers, despite a lack of talent around him. The Cougar defense also did well in holding Oregon, Arizona and Stanford to an average of 35 points per game.
Arizona State, on the other hand, is coming off an ugly 50-17 loss at Cal. Sun Devil starting quarterback Steven Threet, who started out the year well, was benched after completing 8 of 16 passes for 125 yards and two interceptions. But backup quarterback Samson Szakacsy performed no better.
Arizona State’s defense has struggled, as well. With standouts such as linebacker Vontaze Burfict and defensive lineman Lawrence Guy, the defense was the perceived strength of the team heading into the year. It now ranks only 68th in the nation in points allowed.
Playing at home will help Arizona State’s cause, but questions persist about the motivation of Dennis Erickson’s squad. If the Sun Devils aren’t careful, Tuel and Co. could pull the upset.
California at Oregon State
12:30 p.m. (Fox College Sports)
Though talented, Cal (4-3, 2-2 Pac-10) has been enigmatic all year. At home, the Bears are 4-0 after easily defeating UC Davis, Colorado, UCLA, and Arizona State by a combined 189-34 margin.
But on the road, Cal is 0-3, with blowout losses to Nevada and USC and a close loss to Arizona. The success of quarterback Kevin Riley will likely determine which Golden Bears team shows up in Corvallis.
Riley has completed 60 percent of his passes and tossed 13 touchdowns in 2010, but struggled mightily in the Nevada, Arizona and USC games (combined three touchdowns, six interceptions).
Oregon State (3-3, 2-1 Pac-10) is coming off a 35-34 double-overtime loss to Washington two weekends ago. The Beavers have been inconsistent in 2010, albeit against above average competition. But the team had its bye week last week and tends to thrive in the second half of the season.
If Cal isn’t careful, first-year Beaver starting quarterback Ryan Katz could have a big day. Katz performed well in the road upset of Arizona, going 30 of 42 for 392 yards and two touchdowns. Katz might need to replicate that type of performance against the Bears to keep his team in the game. The Oregon State defense is ranked only No. 93 nationally in points allowed.
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