Washington at No. 18 USC
(5:00 p.m. Saturday)
While this battle between two teams led by former Pete Carroll assistants (Lane Kiffin of USC, Steve Sarkisian of Washington) looks like a mismatch on paper, the final score might be closer than you think. Until last week’s 50-16 drubbing of awful Washington State, the Trojans had yet to establish a rhythm, narrowly edging a trio of subpar non-conference opponents. While USC’s offense is strong both on the ground (21st nationally in rushing) and in the air (38th nationally in passing), the Trojan defense lacks depth and is susceptible to the big play, as exhibited by Hawaii’s 36 points in the season opener.
That defense is especially vulnerable to a true dual-threat quarterback like the Huskies’ Jake Locker. Although Locker has struggled in the early going, completing only 51.1% of his passes, he’s still projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick this spring and has plenty of talent. With playmaking receivers in Jermaine Kearse and Devin Aguilar, and star running back Chris Polk, the Husky offense certainly has the potential to have a big game.
But even if Locker plays up to his potential, it’s unlikely the Washington defense would slow down the Trojan offense. In its last game, Washington surrendered 56 points to a Nebraska team that only mustered 17 against South Dakota State. How will the Huskies fare against a high-octane attack like the Trojans possess?
Key Stat: Washington’s 16-13 defeat of the Trojans last year marked the first Husky win over USC since 2001.
Washington State at UCLA
(12:30 p.m. Saturday)
UCLA returns home to take on Washington State, riding a wave of momentum from last weekend’s shocking upset of then-No. 7 Texas. The Bruins (2-2, 0-1) overwhelmed the Longhorns with a powerful running game (UCLA had 264 yards on the ground) and stout offense and will look to do the same against the woeful Cougars (1-3, 0-1).
After a respectable showing against SMU two weeks ago, Washington State was horrid in a 50-16 blowout loss to USC. The defense allowed 613 yards of total offense and Cougar quarterback Jeff Tuel threw three interceptions. It will be a challenge for Washington State’s offense to take a step forward against a stacked UCLA defense that limited Texas to only 349 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers.
The Cougars’ best chance to pull the road upset is a low-scoring, sloppy affair. UCLA’s offense has been known to be dormant at times, including in a 35-0 loss at home to Stanford a few weeks ago, and Tuel may possibly find a few openings in the Bruin secondary.
Key Stat: Washington State hasn’t won a Pac-10 conference game since Nov. 22, 2008 when the Cougars edged rival Washington 16-13 in overtime.
Arizona State at Oregon State
(3:30 p.m. Saturday)
Finally done with one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the nation, Oregon State returns home from a loss at Boise State to take on a better-than-expected Arizona State squad. The biggest reason for the Sun Devils’ apparent improvement from last year’s disappointing 4-8 campaign is the addition of Michigan transfer Steven Threet into the starting lineup. Threet, who beat out Brock Osweiler and Samson Szakacsy in fall camp, has helped the Arizona State passing attack reach No. 5 in the nation. The Devils (2-2, 0-1) had strong showings against two top-25 teams, losing 42-31 to No. 4 Oregon and narrowly missing a road upset of No. 11 Wisconsin.
Oregon State enters Saturday’s tilt on weak footing. Although the Beavers had respectable performances in their three non-conference games (a close win against Louisville and narrow losses to national powers TCU and Boise State), new quarterback Ryan Katz is unproven, and the defense has yet to find its rhythm. Of more immediate concern is the status of star wide receiver James Rodgers, who was knocked out of last Saturday’s game against Boise with a concussion.
Then again, Oregon State historically is a much better team the second half of the season than the first, and maybe a Pac-10 game against a beatable opponent is just what the Beavers need to begin their traditional ascent up the conference standings.
Key Stat: Through three games, Oregon State quarterback Ryan Katz is only completing 46.8% of his passes, a big drop-off from former Beaver quarterback Sean Canfield’s 67.9% last season.
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