There must be pigs flying over the Northwest section of the Pacific-10 Conference.
Oregon State and Washington State, the wayward step-siblings of the highly publicized and funded Ducks and Huskies, are leading the Pac-10.
I’m talking football here folks, not calf-roping or lawnmower relays.
The Cougars, in their defense of the 2002 Pac-10 Championship, are well on the road through the conference with a 5-1 record.
Washington State is in the top 25 nationally of eight categories, including the allowance of an average 81.3 rushing yards per game.
The thing that bodes best for the Cougars is a conference trend — in the past decade, nine of the 10 conference champions had seniors at quarterback. With the graduation of All-American Jason Gesser, senior Matt Kegel has stepped out of a shadow and into the limelight of success.
The Cougars hit a bump in the road Sept. 6 in a 29-26 overtime loss to then-feared, now-mocked Notre Dame.
Since that game, Washington State has gotten back on track. Blowing past teams one at a time, the Cougars are currently No. 6 in both national polls.
Hopefully some of those Eastern Washington Cougar faithful have made the drive to Seattle if for no other reason than to gloat.
Not that they needed an excuse to leave Pullman, anyway.
As for Oregon’s neighbors to the north, the Beavers match the Cougars with a 5-1 record.
One thing Oregon State has unmatched in the conference is pass efficiency defense — its 88.22 rating is fourth in the nation.
Behind the arm of Derek Anderson and the legs of Steven Jackson, the Beavers are in the midst of their best conference start since 1968.
But don’t tell them, or their returning and new head coach Mike Riley.
It seems that mum’s the word on everything to do with publicity in Corvallis, especially Jackson’s potential Heisman Trophy campaign.
Before previous seasons, Duck alumni have paid for posters in New York City and Los Angeles. Recently, Beaver believers mocked their rivals by essentially saying there would be no Heisman publicity in Who-ville.
Minus the State, the sibling schools are in the midst of tough and tougher seasons.
After falling victim to the Sports Illustrated jinx — or was it the Cougars running some Ducks into the mountains? — Oregon is 4-3, including a 1-2 conference record.
Between head coach Mike Bellotti and a quarterback-by-committee system, the Ducks say they stand strong and seek to stay above .500.
Head north about 300 miles on Interstate-5 and the Huskies have fallen from grace under new head coach Keith Gilbertson. With slick Rick Neuheisel coaching gangsters — sorry, quarterbacks — at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School, Gilby was left to fend off the Cougars and a pack of wolves from Nevada.
The Apple Cup, Washington’s toughest game after traveling to Corvallis on Saturday and hosting USC on Oct. 25, is still five weeks away. By then, the Huskies should hope their heads are above water.
What has the Pac-10 come to?
Just a few years ago, Oregon won back-to-back conference championships in 2000 and 2001, sharing the first with Washington and Oregon State.
Now the Beavers and Cougars are scratching and clawing their way through the pack while the Huskies are tied for fifth and the Ducks tied for seventh in league standings.
On second glance, those look awful big to be pigs flying — it must be Beavers and Cougars.