Pacific-10 Conference football has reached the month of November and the bowl picture continues to become more and more clear as teams claw and scratch for position in the conference standings.
Arizona travels to soggy Seattle to take on Washington in a game pitting conference doormats against one another. Washington State heads south to play UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and Stanford takes on Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona
(0-5 Pac-10, 1-7 overall)
at Washington (0-5, 1-7)
The beleaguered Wildcats of Arizona are still in search of their first conference victory for new head coach Mike Stoops as they battle Washington. Last season, Arizona beat the Huskies in Tuscon, Ariz., to snap a four-game winning streak that Washington held over the Wildcats.
Washington head coach Keith Gilbertson understands that his offense will have to play considerably well to score on Arizona’s defense. For Gilbertson, this will be the last time he faces Arizona from the sideline — he will step down as head coach of Washington at the end of the season. Gilbertson will aid Washington athletic director Todd Turner in planning the future of Husky football.
Last week, the Wildcats lost to Oregon State 28-14 and will need a win this week to avoid matching the school’s all-time longest losing streak of eight games.
During last weekend’s game, junior tailback Mike Bell climbed into the top four in the conference in rushing yards and is just 84 yards shy of cracking the 2,000-yard career mark. Freshman quarterback Richard Kovalcheck has started the last two games for the Wildcats and will most likely start this Saturday.
Washington is coming off of a 31-6 beating dealt by the hand of loathed rival Oregon. Although the Huskies did not put much on the scoreboard, they moved the ball well and were defensively sound toward the end of the game.
Senior defensive tackle Manase Hopoi leads the Pac-10 in sacks with nine and makes up nearly half of the Husky defense’s total of 19. Washington’s defense continues to heat up and will need to stay hot to contain the meddlesome Arizona offense. Washington linebackers Joe Lobendahn, Evan Benjamin and Scott White all rank second, fourth and fifth in the conference in tackles, respectively.
Washington State (1-4, 3-5) at UCLA (3-2, 5-3)
UCLA is riding momentum into this game after dealing Stanford a shutout in a 21-0 victory last weekend at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins will face a similar opponent this weekend in Washington State who, like Stanford, is still reeling in the wake of losing its starting quarterback Josh Swogger.
Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell attributed the spectacular play by his defense to many different factors.
“We were able to get some pressure on the quarterback,” Dorrell said. “We didn’t have to blitz as much and we could stay in our coverages more.” The outing was a pleasant surprise for the Bruins, who rank last in the conference in total defense.
The Bruin offense is continuing to heat up. It has amassed 958 total yards in the last two weeks thanks to its impressive passing game led by wide receiver Craig Bragg and tight end Marcedes Lewis. Junior quarterback Drew Olson has had little trouble finding receivers to throw to.
The Bruins defense will need to contain Washington State wide receiver Jason Hill, who leads the Pac-10 in touchdown receptions (9) and yards per catch (25).
Stanford (2-3, 4-4)
at Arizona State (3-2, 6-2)
Both programs head into this game sore after being shut out last weekend.
Arizona State got the game they wanted last Saturday against Cal, but could not get a strong outing from senior quarterback Andrew Walter. This week, the Sun Devils should have little trouble scoring as they host Stanford who is No. 6 in the Pac-10 in total defense.
Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter feels that putting pressure on Stanford’s quarterbacks should make the difference in the game.
“Pressure is a two-way street,” Koetter said. “The good news is you can get to him and get him rattled, but when you bring pressure it leaves you susceptible to the big play.”
Koetter most likely has watched film of Stanford’s loss to Oregon. In that game, pressuring was one of the key reasons why the Ducks held on for the win. Whomever Stanford head coach Buddy Teevens starts at quarterback could be in for a long day in the desert.
Despite being blanked by UCLA last weekend, Teevens feels his team is focused on this Saturday’s game and has high spirits about it.
“The confidence level on the team is high,” Teevens said. “The guys know what the deal is and are confident that if we take care of business, we’ll be fine.”
The big question of the day is who will start at quarterback between Trent Edwards and T.C. Ostrander. Both have shown resiliency and can run Stanford’s offense effectively. Teevens has stated he will make a game-day decision to determine who will start.

Scott J. Adams is a freelance sports
reporter for the Daily Emerald