Oregon State at No. 7 Stanford
4:30 p.m. Saturday (Versus)
After losing to UCLA and Washington State in consecutive weeks, the Beavers pulled a shocker last weekend, blowing out USC 36-7 in Corvallis. At 5-5 overall (4-3 Pacific-10 conference), Oregon State needs to win one of its final two games (they play Oregon in the Civil War next weekend) to become bowl eligible.
If the Beavers can repeat their performance from last weekend, they’ll have a shot.
They limited USC’s explosive offense to only 255 total yards, quarterback Ryan Katz was an efficient 17 for 24 for 154 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Jacquizz Rodgers regained his swagger with a 128-yard outing.
But staying with Stanford’s powerful offense and improved defense will be no easy task. The Cardinal are coming off a shellacking of Cal in Berkeley, and Heisman candidate Andrew Luck seems to improve every week.
Stanford (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) is eighth nationally in points scored (40.5 per game) and 21st in points allowed (19.5 per game).
And though the Beavers have bowl eligibility on the line, the Cardinal have their eyes on an even bigger prize.
With a win and an Auburn loss (so that a non-automatic qualifying team, i.e. Boise State or TCU, play in the national title), Stanford would have a good shot at making the Rose Bowl.
Notre Dame at USC
5 p.m. Saturday (ABC)
The traditional Irish/Trojans rivalry match up has lost some of its luster this year after USC’s sanctions and Notre Dame’s record, but still has plenty of meaning.
The Irish became bowl eligible last week with a 27-3 win over Army and have played better since an embarrassing loss to Tulsa in late October.
True freshman Tommy Rees has filled in admirably for injured quarterback Dayne Crist, completing 63.1 percent of his passes and tossing eight touchdowns in limited duty.
Rees leads a passing attack that ranks 27th nationally in yards per game and could pose a grave threat to USC’s secondary, which ranks dead last in the Pac-10 in pass defense, surrendering 272.3 yards in the air per game.
Though normally potent, USC’s offense was anemic in last week’s blowout loss at Oregon State. Part of the reason why the Trojans struggled was that starting quarterback Matt Barkley was forced to leave the game in the second quarterback with an ankle injury that will likely keep him out of action for the Notre Dame game. Backup signal-caller Mitch Mustain transferred to USC from Arkansas with plenty of hype and accolades, but has done little in his Trojan career but sit on the bench. USC’s rushing attack has been solid this year, averaging 192.4 yards per game, but the Trojans could be in trouble if Mustain struggles — despite its less-than-stellar reputation, Notre Dame’s defense is 33rd in the country in points allowed with 20.9.
UCLA at Arizona State
12:30 p.m. Friday
UCLA, the school that produced NFL quarterbacks such as Troy Aikman, Steve Bono and Tommy Maddox, has suffered through atrocious quarterbacking in the 2010 season.
The Bruins average a woeful 114.2 yards passing per game, a total good (or bad) enough to rank 117th in the country.
Starter Kevin Prince is still out of action with a knee injury, and backup Richard Brehaut was knocked out of last week’s 24-7 loss at Washington with a concussion.
Though Brehaut is expected to return to play against Arizona State, UCLA’s formidable rushing attack will need to live up to its standing as the 30th-best rushing offense in the country to have a shot at defeating an Arizona State team that’s been playing better than its record would indicate.
At 4-6 overall (2-5 in the Pac-10) with only two games remaining, the Bruins will need a win over the Sun Devils to become bowl eligible.
But defeating Arizona State in Tempe will be no easy task.
The Sun Devils are most likely the best four-win team in the country. They lost 20-19 to Wisconsin in Madison early this season, lost 34-33 to USC at the Coliseum in early-November, and dropped a heartbreaking 17-13 decision to Stanford a few weeks back.
Michigan transfer Steven Threet heads a Sun Devil passing attack that ranks 18th nationally in yards per game with 278.6, while Vontaze Burfict is the catalyst behind an explosive defense that limited Wisconsin and Stanford (the nation’s seventh and eighth scoring offenses, respectively) to a combined 37 points. That combination could pose problems for UCLA, which has lost four of its past five games.
Washington at California
12:30 p.m. Saturday
One of Cal athletics’ favorite slogans is, “The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die.” That saying will be tested this Saturday when the Bears host the Huskies.
Last weekend, Cal suffered a humiliating 48-14 home loss to rival Stanford, getting outplayed in every facet of the game. At 5-6 overall, Cal needs to defeat Washington in its season finale to become bowl eligible.
Despite an injury to starting quarterback Kevin Riley that will force him to miss the remainder of his senior year, the Bears are certainly talented enough to down the Huskies. But questions persist about their emotional and mental standing.
An average performance from quarterback Brock Mansion, who has struggled (48.2 percent completion percentage and two touchdowns to four interceptions) since replacing Riley and a good outing from star running back Shane Vereen, who has 1,061 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, are keys to Cal defeating Washington.
The Huskies find themselves in a similar position to the Bears. At 4-6 overall, Washington needs to win its last two games to become bowl eligible.
Jake Locker returned to action from a rib injury in last week’s 24-7 defeat of UCLA, and running back Chris Polk had 138 yards on the ground and a touchdown.
Given Cal’s standing as the best pass defense in the Pac-10 (the Bears allow only 182.5 yards per game through the air), Washington 59th-ranked rushing attack would be well served to have a good game and capitalize on a Cal defense that allowed 232 yards rushing in the Stanford game.
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