Sharon M. Steinman Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Sophomore quarterback Drew Olson and UCLA host San Diego State. The Bruins have not lost to the Aztecs in 38 games.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Olson and UCLA host San Diego State. The Bruins have not lost to the Aztecs in 38 games.
Records are wiped clean and hopes are raised as conference play begins for many Pacific-10 Conference teams this weekend. Eight Pac-10 teams square off against conference rivals, with seven teams marking this weekend as their conference opener.
USC looks to live up to the hype many East Coast and Los Angeles media members have heaped upon it. Many other teams, meanwhile, battle to emerge as the Pac-10 dark horse.
No. 3 USC (3-0 overall, 0-0 Pac-10) at California
(2-3, 0-0)
Former Oregon Offensive Coordinator Jeff Tedford takes on the USC Trojans this weekend as California enters its sixth game of the season. USC, the media’s trendy pick to run away with the Pac-10 crown, opens its Pac-10 season along with Cal at Memorial Stadium.
USC boasts one of the nations most intimidating defensive lines and arguably the nation”s fastest linebackers and secondary. It could get ugly for the Golden Bears unless Tedford can sprinkle some offensive magic on a team that poses problems for every team it has faced this season.
The Huskies look to erase an average nonconference start on Saturday in a meltdown against defending national champ Ohio State, while staking their claim for the Pac-10 crown.
Stanford has yet to be tested, however. A tough defensive front leads the nation in rushing defense, even if this will be its third game of the season. Rushing shouldn”t be an issue as the Husky offense has the Pac-10’s most dangerous tandem in senior quarterback Cody Pickett and junior wide receiver All-American Reggie Williams, who has caught a pass in 28 consecutive games.
at Arizona (1-3, 0-1)
Perennial Pac-10 cellar dweller Arizona Wildcats hosts TCU in its final nonconference game of the season. Both teams faced off in 1999, with the visiting Wildcats making a dramatic come-from-behind victory, 35-31. Arizona is facing its third ranked opponent this season. The Wildcats have one of the conference’s youngest teams and coach John Mackovic, who has recently been under the ire of Wildcat players and fans alike, refuses to make excuses.
“When you are young, you should never get discouraged,” Mackovic told the Arizona Daily Wildcat. “You just have to bounce out of bed every day, and youth allows you to do that.”
Although UCLA has yet to taste the bitterness of defeat at the hands of the Aztecs in 38 contests, this year”s San Diego State team may have a few surprises. Despite narrowly losing to Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, the Aztecs have talent up and down the roster.
Oregon fans may remember Aztec running back Lynell Hamilton, the highly-touted running back that spurned the Ducks. He is the seventh leading rusher in the nation after he torched Samford University for 220 yards in last Saturday”s Aztec win.
Scott Archer is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
