No. 6 USC at Washington State (12:30 p.m.)
Mark Sanchez played well enough in the first half of last week’s game against Arizona State to make his dismal performance in the second half somewhat irrelevant. It did not go unnoticed, however, and some are beginning to question whether or not he is the man to lead the Trojans to victory in the games remaining on the schedule. In the second half against ASU, Sanchez completed 40 percent of his passes for 36 yards while throwing three interceptions. USC played amazing defense in this game, holding off the Sun Devils with a shutout and a mere 229 yards of total offense. Kevin Thomas, starting in place of injured Trojan starting cornerback Shareece Wright, stepped up in the game, capping it off with an interception returned for a touchdown. He will help the defense as they head to Pullman, Wash., to face the Cougars, who just had a campus-wide tryout for the quarterback position, as if coach Paul Wulff was not having a forgettable season already. Washington State comes off a 66-13 romping from Oregon State, and will now face the Trojans, who look to continue their title aspirations with a win this weekend.
Key Stat: USC dominates the all-time series with Washington State, with a record of 55-8-4.
Stanford at UCLA (1 p.m.)
There are plenty of people jumping on the Stanford Cardinal bandwagon after another win against Arizona last week, 24-23. The win puts them in position for a possible bowl game, but the Cardinal must win two more games this season. Stanford running backs Toby Gerhart and Anthony Kimble each ran wild against Arizona, posting more than 110 yards apiece, the first running backs to do so for Stanford since the 2001 season. The Bruins are coming off yet another loss, this time at the hands of Oregon. The biggest question for the Bruins has to be if and when they will send quarterback Kevin Craft to the bench in favor of one of two freshman backups. They have not had much success since their opening win to then-No. 18 Tennessee, with Washington State as an exception two weeks ago. They have a tough schedule remaining, with a game at No. 25 Cal and home games against Oregon State, Arizona State and No. 6 USC. A bowl game is starting to look out of reach for the Bruins.
Key Stat: Stanford leads the Pac-10 in red zone efficiency, scoring on 19 of 21 attempts.
Oregon State at Washington (4 p.m.)
Oregon State is starting to turn things around. They are competing against the good teams and running through the bad teams. In their last four games, the Beavers have blown out Hawaii and Washington State by a combined score of 111-20, beat then-No. 1 USC Trojans and lost a nail-biter at No. 15 Utah, losing by a field goal late in the game. The defense is playing ferocious and the offense has been clicking. The best explanation for the turnaround is true freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who has accumulated over 700 yards and eight touchdowns, and rushed for over 100 yards in each of the last four games and has gone over 160 yards in two of those games, one of which was in the win over USC with 186. The problem is that they have yet to win a road game. The solution may be the team they are facing, the Washington Huskies, who have not won a single game. The defense has been lackluster, the offense has lost its only real weapon in Jake Locker, and the team’s schedule does not get much easier. Granted, the stats for backup quarterback Ronnie Fouch look great, with his 500 yards and three touchdowns since taking over in the middle of the Oklahoma game Sept. 13. Stats, however, do not always result in wins, specifically when a team is playing from behind the entire game and has no choice but to throw. Nothing will change this week. Oregon State will get ahead early and keep the Huskies throwing the ball, playing catch-up, and Washington will eventually lose yet another game.
Key Stat: Last week’s 66-point performance against Washington State was the most points scored in a game for the Beavers since they scored 67 in 1996 against Northern Illinois.
No. 25 California at Arizona (7 p.m.)
Nate Longshore may have solidified his starting role at quarterback after an impressive performance against the Sun Devils two weekends ago that resulted in three touchdowns. He did so without his starting running back, and helped his team to remain undefeated in Pac-10 play, the only team to do so. Cal starting running back Jahvid Best, who leads the nation in all-purpose yards (215.5 per game), is expected to play against Arizona after missing the melee of Arizona State two weeks ago. Arizona will be a tough match for Cal, in most part because of its defense. Arizona has allowed the fewest passing yards in the league with 124.3 per game, and has had a knack for keeping opponents out of the end zone, only allowing four touchdowns through the air. The offense has been pretty good as well, meeting the expectations that were held at the beginning of the season. Willie Tuitama has been a catalyst, throwing 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions for a Wildcats team that is tied for fewest turnovers in the Pac-10. It will be interesting to see how Arizona’s offense matches up with Cal’s defense, but the real story will be whether or not the Wildcats can stop the Golden Bears’ rushing attack.
Key Stat: Cal has picked off 10 passes so far this season; equaling its total from the entire previous season.
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