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 Monday, October 22, 2001
Pac-10 spotlight: The Pac-10 is as crazy as ever
By Todd Harris
Special to ABC Sports Online
Having been born and raised in Pac-10 country, I can, with some experience, say I have not seen anything like the first half of this year's season in many moons. However, the warning signs have been evident for some time. You can no longer say a power shift in the conference is taking place -- it already has.
When I was a young lad opening the sports page, it was not uncommon to find a three-way tie for first in the Pac-10 halfway through the season. The oddity for old-timers like myself is reading the teams involved in that logjam at the top of the standings. What has happened to Pac-10 tradition of old?
Lately I find myself feeling as if I'm starring in one of those Back to the Future films. I can see it now: I go back to the early '70s and tell the folks in Portland that in 30 years the Ducks will have the longest home-winning streak in the nation and thinking about a national title. Or I venture back in time to Pullman to share the good tidings that the Cougars are undefeated six games into the season. I would then proceed to get pummeled by the town "Biff" for being a "wise-apple." Sure, UCLA being perfect so far is no stretch, but imagine going back in time just two years ago to Westwood and heralding the domination of the Bruin DEFENSE? Face it fellow followers of the Pac-10, in the words of Mr. Dylan, "The times they are a-changing."
Like it or not, the Duck could be the fiercest of all mascots for some time. The East Coast media may have to retrace part of Lewis & Clark's trek to find Pullman, Wash., and Bruin fans may finally get used to chanting DE-FENSE without the aid of cue cards.
So with half the season already in the proverbial history books, let's pause, rub our collective eyes and review the rest of the field in the Pac-10.
The Grand Canyon State. Arizona has the biggest collective hole in the conference with both the Sun Devils and the Wildcats hitting near rock bottom. Arizona got a false sense of security when it grabbed three wins at the hands of Idaho, UNLV and San Diego State. We now know that those teams are not that good and the Wildcats are just a shade better.
The Sun Devils of ASU are the Pac-10's version of Jekyll and Hyde. Welcome to Tempe, Coach Koetter. The pieces are there, but as it stands now, they are in a Rubik's Cube-like formation.
Poor Cal -- 0-5 for the first time in its 119-year football history. I still think Tom Holmoe is a good coach, but unless he wins at least the "big game," he could be moving on.
USC isn't much the USC of old. The Trojans seem to be in their fourth consecutive "rebuilding" mode with yet another new coaching administration running the show in Troy. They may have the best talent in the conference, and with Norm Chow running the offense, the time is now for the Trojans. Southern California is not known for its patience.
And then there are the Beavers -- once the Crown Prince of SI, the Beavers are now muddled in a season that has them hoping they can stay healthy and get Ken Simonton some running room. The Beavers can still make it to postseason play, but this year, state officials may want to change the state mascot from a beaver to a duck.
Now that leaves the dangerous schools, i.e. Washington and Stanford -- most likely out of the race for the league title, but still a huge threat to make life miserable for the rest. Oregon gets Stanford at home this week and the Cardinal also journey to Seattle in November, not the best places to count on a win.
The Huskies don't meet the Ducks this year and they get Washington State at home in the Apple Cup on Nov. 17. If the Huskies can keep one quarterback healthy each week, they are certainly going to have an impact when they travel to Miami to end the season.
As for the trio at the top, the game to make plans for now is Nov. 10 at the Rose Bowl when UCLA hosts Oregon. That's if the Ducks don't look past this week's game at home against Stanford and next week's visit to Pullman.
The Bruins will be in fine shape if they can avoid letdowns with back-to-back road games in Palo Alto and at Washington State.
And for the Cougars, the Ducks and Bruins come calling on consecutive weeks. Win those and the Apple Cup becomes more than just an excuse to tailgate by Lake Washington in the middle of November.
It is still a topsy-turvy life in the Pac-10 and unless someone invents a time machine before Saturday, you will just have to tune in and watch the drama unfold.
Todd Harris will be on the sidelines for Saturday's Stanford-Oregon game on ABC with Keith Jackson and Tim Brant. He spotlights the Pac-10 each week for ABC Sports Online.
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