It is just the third week of football, and the Pacific-10 Conference is off to a strong start. USC had its most impressive shutout in 30 years and — with the exceptions of Washington’s loss to last year’s national champion, Ohio State, and California’s loss to Kansas State — every other team has won.
Now with three teams ranked in The Associated Press top 25 — No. 4 USC, No. 20 Arizona State, and No. 22 Washington, with Oregon State barely out at No. 26 — the Conference of Champions is establishing itself.
Conference play begins Sept. 13 when Oregon faces Arizona. This week’s non-conference games could give some indication of what the Pac-10 competition has to offer.

Washington State (1-0)

at No. 19 Notre Dame (0-0)
After shutting out Idaho 25-0 in their first game of the year, the Cougars head to Indiana this weekend in their first-ever meeting with the Fighting Irish.
The coaching matchup proves interesting and appears backwards. New Washington State head coach Bill Doba is a native of South Bend, Ind., and former Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham begins his second season at Notre Dame after seven years in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Fighting Irish kick off their season Saturday after a 10-3 finish last season; All-American cornerback/kick returner Vontez Duff will be one to watch.

UCLA (0-0)

at No. 24 Colorado (1-0)
The Bruins have the overall advantage, having won four of the teams’ five meetings, but the Buffaloes had their merry way last year at the Rose Bowl in a dominating 31-17 win.
Colorado rushed for 325 yards against UCLA in 2002 while the Bruins could manage just 62 yards rushing and 284 yards of total offense.
The Bruins have not played in Boulder, Colo., since 1984, when they won 33-16. At that time, first-year head coach Karl Dorrell was a player for the Bruins, but ended up redshirting that season.

Indiana (0-1)

at No. 22 Washington (0-1)
The Hoosiers just can’t seem to get enough of the Huskies.
Indiana travels to Seattle to face Washington after dropping its first game 34-10 to Connecticut (which, as basketball fans will remember, also has a Husky mascot).
Washington is looking to rebound from the 28-9 loss at Ohio State’s hands. The Hoosiers and Huskies will play for the first time in 25 years and only the second time ever with Indiana winning the previous game.
The Hoosiers have a total record of 6-14 against Pac-10 teams.

No. 13 LSU (1-0)

at Arizona (1-0)
The No. 13 Tigers make their first trip to Tucson looking for their second win after destroying Louisiana Monroe 49-7 last weekend.
Arizona showed offensive firepower of its own in its opening 42-7 victory over the University of Texas at El Paso. Sophomore quarterback and Aloha native Nic Costa earned the starting position and proved he deserved it by going 6 of 10 for 119 yards and two touchdowns, one of which he ran in.
The Wildcats have faced the Tigers only once, in 1984 in Baton Rouge, La., where LSU scraped by in a 27-26 decision.

Northern Arizona (1-0)

at No. 20 Arizona State

(0-0)
The in-state rivalry dates back to 1915, and the Sun Devils hold the 16-14-4 series lead. It has been more than a half-century since they last met.
It was 1950 when they last faced off, with Arizona State shutting out the Lumberjacks, 63-0. And the Sun Devils will be looking to win the season opener to try and match the hype of being ranked second in the Pac-10’s preseason media poll and being nationally ranked for the first time since 1999.
Arizona State returns 37 letterwinners, 17 of whom started last year, including quarterback Andrew Walter who passed for a Sun Devil single-season record 3,877 yards in 2002.

San Jose State (1-1)

at Stanford (0-0)
You have to wonder whether San Jose State has recovered from last year’s matchup with the Cardinal. In what began as a close matchup, Stanford ended up romping the Spartans, 63-26.
In 2002, Stanford scored the most points against San Jose State that it had scored against any opponent in 21 years. The Cardinal leads the series overall, 44-13-1.

Colorado State (0-1)

at California (1-1)
The Golden Bears have been thrust into the 2003 season faster than a Boeing 747 jet engine. Not only have they played two games thus far and are slated to face Colorado State this weekend, but both opponents were bowl game contenders in 2002.
Cal lost its opener to previously ranked No. 5 Kansas State, 42-28, but was able to rebound against Southern Mississippi in a solid 34-2 victory. The Rams are looking for their first win after a season-opening loss to in-state rival Colorado.
The Bears and Rams are meeting for the first time Saturday.

Oregon State (1-0)

at Fresno State (0-1), Friday
The Beavers haven’t won a game in Fresno, Calif., in their last five attempts, most recently losing 44-24 in 2001. But Oregon State had its way with the Bulldogs last season in Corvallis, winning 59-19.
Fresno State leads the overall series 7-5. Oregon State is off to a quick start after defeating Sacramento State 40-7 last week.