No. 15 Brigham Young @ Washington (9/6, 12:10 PM, FSN)
The Washington Huskies will look to rebound from their loss to No. 18 Oregon as they take on a BYU program that put on a passing clinic on Northern Iowa last week. BYU QB Max Hall threw for 486 yards – 213 to TE Dennis Pitta – and added two touchdowns. Washington will need to step up what looked like a lackluster defense and do a better job of protecting QB Jake Locker from defensive linemen if the team wants to have a chance at beating BYU.
Key Stat: BYU holds the longest winning streak in the nation with 11.
Oregon State @ No. 19 Penn State (9/6, 12:30 PM, ABC)
Penn State literally ran all over Coastal Carolina, posting 334 yards on the ground. It seems that the Nittany Lions have a running back by committee situation, with three RB’s receiving about equal carries. On the other side of the ball, Penn State allowed only 250 yards of offense from the Chanticleers. Although the Oregon State Beavers lost to Stanford, they did a good job passing the ball, as Lyle Moevao threw for 404 yards and three TDs. He was able to gain so many yards because he attempted 54 passes, and we can expect to see the same against Penn State, as they will likely be playing from behind for a majority of the game.
Key Stat: With a victory, Penn State coach Joe Paterno would pass Florida State’s Bobby Bowden for most career wins among major college coaches.
California @ Washington State (9/6, 3:30 PM, CSN West)
Cal QB Kevin Riley made it clear last week why he was chosen to start, throwing for 202 yards and two TDs with no interceptions. Last year’s starter, Nate Longshore, came in and threw for zero scores and two interceptions, putting to rest any thought of a quarterback controversy. Cal also had two players with at least 100 yards rushing, led by Jahvid Best with 111. Expect the same production from Cal this week as the team heads to Wazzu. New coach Paul Wulff and his slow-starting offense, led by QB Gary Rodgers, put up only 13 points against Oklahoma State last week. As Wazzu tries to learn a new playbook on both sides of the ball, expect improvement but plenty of kinks throughout the season.
Key Stat: Last week, Cal did a good job stopping the run, but allowed 321 yards passing and had zero sacks.
Toledo @ Arizona (9/6, 6:00 PM)
Toledo is a relative unknown, having not played a game yet. The Rockets head to Arizona, where Willie Tuitama and the Wildcats obliterated Idaho 70-0 last week. The running game shined for Arizona, led by Nicholas Grigsby and his 169 yards and two TDs. Willie Tuitama threw a near perfect game, completing 17-21 passes for 179 yards and three scores. He managed the game well, having zero turnovers.
Key Stat: Last week, Arizona’s defense held Idaho to only 112 yards.
Stanford @ No. 15 Arizona State (9/6, 7:00 PM, FSN AZ)
Both teams head into this game with great confidence after each posting victories last week. Stanford showed a solid running game as Toby Gerhart led the offense with 147 yards and two scores. Do not expect to see the same success against a Sun Devil team led by QB Rudy Carpenter. Last week, Carpenter threw for 388 yards and a TD against a sub-par Northern Arizona. Receiver Mike Jones looked stellar, finding enough gaps in the defense to accumulate 162 yards.
Key Stat: In the last two meetings, both Carpenter starts, ASU has outscored Stanford 79-6.