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Kind of like last week's upset pick of Georgia Tech over Clemson, there's seemingly little reason to pick Iowa to beat No. 13 Michigan at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. But the Hawkeyes have beaten the Wolverines in their past two meetings, scoring 68 points and gaining 750 yards in those victories. The Wolverines had nine turnovers in their past two games against Iowa. The Hawkeyes are coming off an ugly 22-21 loss at Minnesota last week, but have won all five of their home games this season. Iowa will have to do a better job stopping the run, after giving up 178 yards in the loss to the Gophers. The Hawkeyes are averaging 39.2 points per game at home, and tailback Marcus Coker, who had a career-high 252 rushing yards in last week's game, will find plenty of room to run against Michigan's defense in a close victory.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On USC's second offensive play this season, Robert Woods ran a curl route, hauled in a 9-yard pass and was hit by Minnesota's Troy Stoudermire, who jarred the ball loose.

Woods, doing his best David Tyree impression, simply snatched the ball with his right hand and pinned it to the back of his helmet while falling out of bounds. He got up, pigskin secured in his palm, and handed the ball back to the official.

On Notre Dame's first play in Week 4, Michael Floyd ran a drag route, had a pass bounce off his right shoulder at the line of scrimmage, absorbed a hit, tipped the ball in front of him with his left hand before securing it and then left Pitt's Tristan Roberts behind for an 11-yard gain and a first down.

The potential for those kind of jaw-dropping plays will be high this Saturday, when Woods and Floyd take the field under the lights in what will be a showcase of two of the college game's best receivers.

"He's fast and he's really elusive and breaks tackles a lot and can see the whole field," Floyd said of Woods, "which makes him a good football player and also a great wide receiver."

Woods' 60 catches and 783 receiving yards are good for second and fifth in the nation, respectively. Floyd's 53 catches for 639 yards rank eighth and 13th.

"Not easier, but yeah, it helps a lot," Gary Gray said of facing Floyd every day in practice. "Floyd's one of the best receivers in the country, so whenever I get a chance to go against him I go against him every day, so it helps me out a lot."

Floyd has broken virtually every school receiving mark through six games of his senior season. Woods, only a sophomore, looks poised to do the same for USC.

In fact, through five games, Woods appeared headed for a few national receiving marks as well. His 14-catch, 255-yard performance in a win over Arizona had him atop the national statistics and on pace or within striking distance of several single-season records.

After an uncharacteristic five-catch, 36-yard game against Arizona, he may have to settle for USC's single-season catch record of 102, set by Keyshawn Johnson.

"I would say that he's got a unique ability to run fast and catch," defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said. "He's got not only long-speed but short-space quickness. So he can get open based on speed just in tight quarters. He can also gas it past you. And then he's got something very unique to the position. He has tackle-break ability.

"So not just make you miss, but he's got tackle-break ability. He's got a violent strong stiff arm. He's a leg-drive player. He's got contact balance. He can give with impact and continue to gas it."

Floyd had one blemish through six games as well, grabbing just four passes for 27 yards at Pitt, and the low numbers suggested the Panthers possibly developed a blueprint for stopping him.

A 12-catch, 137-yard performance a week later at Purdue proved otherwise, and Irish cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks won't count on one bad performance signaling the slowing down of Woods, either.

"Cal looked like to me like they just played their defense," Cooks said. "I didn't see a lot of brackets, I didn't see a lot of double-teams, and USC, they took their shots down the field and they made a lot of them and Cal came up with a few of them. But they didn't do anything special. As you review the tape I think again, they make it so hard to put in certain coverages because if you try to double Woods then they're gonna go backside to Marquise Lee.

"Their tight ends are guys that can stretch the field. They've got capable running backs back there. So again there's no magical coverage, we've just gotta be sound in what we do."

Cooks said seeing Floyd every day can help prepare his cornerbacks, but acknowledged he is a different receiver from Woods, who is 44 pounds lighter and two inches shorter than the 6-foot-3, 224-pound Floyd.

Regardless, the capabilities of Woods and Floyd are enough to give defensive coaches headaches in the days before facing either one.

"He'll line up as a running back, he'll line up as a fullback, he'll line up as a tight end," Cooks said of Woods. "They move him around, so you can't really get a beat on him to where you'd like to be able to run some combination coverages and maybe potentially bracket the guy. You can't do that. He's at the No. 1 spot, he's at the No. 2, he's at the No. 3. He's at the fullback spot. So they do an excellent job of moving him around, and obviously his play-making ability when he has the ball in his hands is exceptional."

Lane Kiffin called this game Notre Dame's Super Bowl because it is coming off the Irish's bye week. He is also upset that the Irish announced it was a night game in March, somehow messing with USC's travel plans.

No, this isn't the '70s, when this annual intersectional matchup often had national title implications. Neither team is ranked, and USC won't even be able to play in a conference title game, let alone a bowl game, due to NCAA sanctions. But Kiffin has done what he can to inject some juice into this showdown, which will certainly make for an enhanced atmosphere under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium.

On the field, USC is the better team in the standings, at 5-1. But Notre Dame has the better personnel. This is a Trojans team that managed just a two-point season-opening home win against Minnesota, after all.

Did USC's defense turn a corner last week against Cal? A unit that gave up 40-plus points in consecutive weeks shut down the Golden Bears in a 30-9 victory. It remains to be seen, but one thing I'm certain of is USC's offense has the firepower to hang with the Irish.

I see this one similarly to the way I saw Notre Dame-Air Force -- to an extent. Both offenses are capable of exploding, but only the Irish's defense appears capable of making a stop when push comes to shove. And, for the second game in a row, I think the Irish jump to an early lead and never look back, leaving USC to play catch-up in another high-scoring affair.

No alleged flukes here. And no injury excuses, either, regardless of how much Marc Tyler can actually play, if at all. The Irish start a winning streak of their own against USC with their second win in as many years, and just maybe help restore this rivalry in the process.

Prediction: Notre Dame 35, USC 24

1. We’ve had the first course. Waiter, bring a dish of perspective. What does it mean that UCLA gained 554 yards of total offense when they haven’t averaged more than 337 yards in Rick Neuheisel’s three seasons? Is Houston’s defense that bad? The Bruins may have found a quarterback in the 38-34 loss. Richard Brehaut, in relief of the injured Kevin Prince, went 17-for-26 for 264 yards and two scores. That’s only the fifth time in Neuheisel’s tenure that the Bruins scored 34 points. They are but 3-2 in those games.

2. My favorite winner from the weekend: Northwestern, without starting quarterback Dan Persa, won at Boston College, 24-17. Sophomore Kain Colter showed he can do more than run the Wildcat, which is about all he could handle last season when coach Pat Fitzgerald took away his redshirt after Persa’s Achilles injury. Colter ran and passed for 268 yards and took the pressure off of Persa. He can come back when he’s physically ready.

3. Can anyone recall a true freshman quarterback who debuted in a big-boy stadium and showed the cool of Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton? How about Minnesota’s Max Shortell, who came into the fourth quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Stadium and completed 7-of-13 for 98 yards and a touchdown. The Gophers, who spotted USC a 19-3 lead, had a chance to win the game in the last two minutes before falling, 19-17. Here’s hoping Keeton and Shortell build on their starts and wow us for four seasons.

Other than two-point plays, USC is cruising versus Minnesota. And receiver Robert Woods is soaring.

Woods has caught 11 passes for 115 yards with three touchdowns as the Trojans are dominating the Golden Gophers 19-3 at the break.

While the running game is struggling, quarterback Matt Barkley is 18-of-20 for 163 yards.

The offense did fail on two two-point conversion attempts. When the Trojans converted a successful PAT, it apparently drew cheers from frustrated Trojans fans.

The defense also is playing well, though the Minnesota offense is suspect.

So maybe it's Woods -- instead of Barkley -- who should become a Heisman Trophy candidate?

USC secondary coach Willie Mack Garza has resigned, citing personal reasons, the school announced in a statement.

Obviously, the horrible timing -- two days before the season-opener versus Minnesota -- and vagueness here inspires a raised eyebrow and a, "Hmm."

The statement said the personal reasons are "unrelated to USC." That would suggest that this is more a Garza issue than a USC football issue.

Garza, 42, was with head coach Lane Kiffin at Tennessee and followed him to USC in 2010.

Here's the LA Times on the matter. It reports, "Former USC and NFL safety Sammy Knight is a graduate assistant on the staff and could oversee the secondary."

This shouldn't be a significant problem for the Minnesota game -- the game plan likely has been fully installed -- though it could complicate getting marching orders from defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to his defensive backs.

It's also probably a good thing that USC has a veteran secondary, with three of four 2010 starters back, including preseason All-American safety T.J. McDonald.

Still, not the best way for a team to start off the season.

Ten issues to consider heading into the third week of games.

1. Oregon's biggest issue might not be LSU's D-front: In Phil Steele's unit rankings, he rated LSU's D-line 10th in the nation and its LBs 15th. There's no individual player as disruptive as Auburn's Nick Fairley, but LSU's Tigers are better across the entire front-7 than those Tigers. The Ducks could again struggle to run the ball. But the big problem is the LSU secondary, which Steele rates the nation's No. 4 unit. Auburn's secondary was weak all through 2010, and Ducks QB Darron Thomas picked it apart for 363 yards. But even though LSU lost first-round draft pick CB Patrick Peterson, their defensive backfield is deep and talented. Thomas won't find throwing into it as easy in any event, but particularly without his top-two receivers from a year ago.

2. Will UCLA catch a Case of Keenum? UCLA was dominating Houston last year when it knocked QB Case Keenum out of the game in the second quarter, but Keenum remains a guy who is good enough to win a game on his own. Still, the Bruins should be able to win the battle on both lines of scrimmage, and that should make things easier for QBs Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut, who both will play. Prince will be on the field to start the game. But will he be on the field to finish?

3. A Gray day for the USC defense: USC shouldn't have too many problems with Minnesota, but the biggest question is will the Trojans again show flashes of playing good defense. Golden Gophers QB MarQueis Gray is a bit of a mystery. He's being billed as a dual threat -- the sort who has given USC trouble in the past -- but he seems more like a 6-foot-4, 240-pound athlete who can run some option and scramble. His passing is decidedly questionable. The Trojans figure to crowd the line and dare Gray to throw. That means a secondary in man-coverage. Recall that the secondary got beaten a bunch in 2010.

4. Maynard debut: You look at California's depth chart and you think, "If these guys are any good at QB, they might be pretty tough." That's the pressure on Zach Maynard in his debut against a solid Fresno State team. If Maynard puts up good numbers, the Bears no longer will be so easy to write off in the Pac-12 North.

5. Buffs, hit Moniz: Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz put up huge numbers in 2010: 5,040 yards passing with 39 touchdowns. The Buffs secondary is suspect. Not a great combination. But a good way to protect a suspect secondary is with a good pass rush. While Moniz is a good athlete who can run, the best way for Colorado to end its 18-game road losing streak is to pound on Moniz and not give him time to throw. The good news on that: The Warriors have just three starters back on offense, one of whom is an offensive lineman.

6. The Price of confidence: Washington QB Keith Price makes his debut as Jake Locker's replacement against Eastern Washington, which is hardly a patsy. Sure, the Eagles are an FCS team. But they also are the defending FCS national champions and they are the preseason No. 1 team in FCS football. Warning! Warning! The key thing here is for the Huskies to show up focused and take care of business. For Price, he wants to play within himself, get comfortable and build his confidence because the competition will ramp up quickly.

7. Cougars grinning: Washington State is going to beat Idaho State. Not a big deal. What's a big deal is being 1-0 for the first time since 2005. What is a big deal is a team getting some early momentum, which it hasn't had in in coach Paul Wulff's first three seasons. The Cougs need to go out and pound on Idaho State. They need to walk away feeling good about themselves.

8. Luck and Shaw: Stanford is going to pound San Jose State. But the key thing for Cardinal interests is getting Luck some numbers and then sitting him, and letting Shaw get comfortable with his new job fronting the program.

9. Utah, Arizona State and Oregon State -- just win: The Utes, Sun Devils and Beavers each face weak, FCS foes. Each is going to win. And each faces a far more formidable foe the next week. The key is taking care of business, staying healthy and getting refocused. Starters eating orange slices in the third quarter is good, too.

10. Defense wins championships: OK, so what if LSU's defense thwarts Oregon's offense? The Tigers offense, particularly with Jarrett Lee at QB, is hardly scary. One of the often forgotten elements of the 2010 national title game against Auburn is the Ducks did about as good a job as anyone of slowing down QB Cam Newton. Lee is no Cam Newton. There is no law saying Oregon can't win a game 17-13. The LSU defense might stop the Ducks offense, but what if the Ducks defense is even more in control against perhaps the worst offense they will face all season?

» Predictions: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC | Upset pick

Went 59-21 last year. Neh.

But I'm going to put on my thinking cap this year.

Thursday

Utah 40, Montana State 13: Utes want to take control quickly, let the backups see some action, then focus on the visit to USC on Sept. 10.

Arizona State 44, UC Davis 10: The Sun Devils want to take control quickly, let the backups see some action, then focus on the visit from Missouri on Sept. 9.

Saturday

LSU 24, Oregon 21: Sure, the Tigers took the prize for off-field distractions, losing QB Jordan Jefferson to suspension. But here's the problem: LSU not only eclipses Auburn's front-seven from 2010, it's exponentially better in the secondary, so Ducks QB Darron Thomas won't pass for 363 yards when the running game gets stumped.

USC 38, Minnesota 17: Guess here is Trojans QB Matt Barkley gets off to a good start and the Trojans defense looks much improved.

UCLA 30, Houston 24: No idea how the two quarterbacks are going to work for the Bruins, but they should have enough to win against a tough Houston team.

Oregon State 30, Sacramento State 17: Beavers are banged up but still likely will try to play vanilla schemes, which means this one might be more competitive than Beavers fans would like.

Stanford 48, San Jose State 13: Andrew Luck will put up good numbers, and David Shaw will get off to a good start as the Cardinal coach.

Washington State 45, Idaho State 20: The Cougs will be 1-0 for the first time since 2005.

California 28, Fresno State 24: QB Zach Maynard will be solid in his Cal debut and the defense will keep the Bulldogs in check.

Washington 38, Eastern Washington 21: A winning debut for new Huskies QB Keith Price, but Eagles, the top-ranked FCS team, are no easy out.

Arizona 45, Northern Arizona 20: The Wildcats and QB Nick Foles put up big passing numbers, then rest in the fourth quarter and focus on their visit to Oklahoma State on Sept. 8.

Colorado 38, Hawaii 35: The Buffaloes end an 18-game road losing streak and the Jon Embree Era starts with a solid victory.

In 2008, USC produced one of the all-time great college defenses. It took just two years for the unit to become mediocre-to-bad.

Last fall, the Trojans surrendered 44 plays of 20 or more yards, which ranked 102nd in the nation. By comparison, the 2008 unit yielded just 14, the lowest total over the past three years by six.

So what happened?

Well, for one, Pete Carroll, who'd built one of the nation's premier defensive powers, bolted for the Seattle Seahawks. Next: The talent he left behind for new coach Lane Kiffin wasn't nearly as good as it had been from 2002-2008. Then Kiffin, worried about injuries, significantly limited tackling during preseason camp. Finally, it seemed that the Trojans never fully figured out new coordinator Monte Kiffin's Tampa-2 scheme, which had been so successful in the NFL.

The result? A unit that surrendered a Pac-10-high 30 TD passes (five more than ninth-place Washington State) and wasn't much better against the run, ranking sixth in the conference (140.5).

But if you're wondering why many still rate the Trojans as the favorites in the Pac-12 South Division and believe they will improve upon their 8-5 finish of a year ago, the defense is a good place to start.

"I feel like we know what we're doing a little bit better as far as it being the second year in the system," Lane Kiffin said. "And in scrimmage formats, we're tackling better."

That will be put to its first test Saturday when Minnesota comes calling to the Coliseum.

The Trojans welcome back seven starters from last year's unit. They look strong at end with Nick Perry, Devon Kennard and Wes Horton. And few teams boast a better safety-cornerback combination than All-American T.J. McDonald and Nickell Robey. But there are questions at linebacker, where they will be young around injury-prone Chris Galippo.

The Golden Gophers shouldn't provide too difficult a test. Coming off a 3-9 season in which Tim Brewster got fired and was replaced by Jerry Kill, who rebuilt Northern Illinois, they are replacing three starters on their offensive line and they don't look like a team that will be throwing the ball well. They are, however, intriguing at quarterback. That's where MarQueis Gray steps in. He's a 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior who has been primarily a receiver, though he got behind center in "Wildcat" formations. Passing the ball over the past two years, he's just 8-of-23 for 86 yards with a TD and an interception.

Of course, Kiffin went the "oh, no" route and compared him to former Texas quarterback Vince Young.

"It's very scary for us," he said. "We've got our hands full. This is a big-time challenge for our defense."

USC won at Minnesota 32-21 last year, a victory that was part of a 4-0 start. But the Trojans proved inconsistent on both sides of the ball once conference play began, inspiring some questions of motivation because NCAA sanctions made them ineligible for the postseason. That's an issue again this fall, though it's probably not one in the season-opener, when everyone is fired up to play.

"I don't think the motivation shows up as much early in the year," Kiffin said. "It becomes more of an issue towards the end of the year or if you hit one or two losses in a row there."

Still, with Matt Barkley at quarterback and a strong crew of receivers, the Trojans should at least be a factor in determining other team's postseasons. As for the South Division, that probably hangs on how much the Trojans' defense reverts back to its old ways. Preseason optimism about knowing the scheme better and improved tackling only goes so far.

Said Kiffin: "That all sounds good but it won't mean anything if come Saturday we don't do it when it really counts."

I think we can all agree that our culture is greatly enriched by folks wandering around with cameras trying to provoke celebrities big and small into doing stupid things and then posting the video on the Internet.

Put down the novel, stop playing with your kids, grab some fast food and start gazing at got-you! videos. It's just awesome. Be all you can be.

Sigh.

And so we have USC running back Marc Tyler, his mouth and a subsequent suspension.

The Trojans' leading rusher from 2010 has been suspended for the Sept. 3 season opener against Minnesota, and he could be out longer as he is awaiting a ruling from the school's disciplinary committee on a pair of alcohol-related incidents from last year.

He earned his suspension after a website posted a video of an apparently intoxicated Tyler making inappropriate comments about Kim Kardashian and joking about being paid to play for the Trojans, something the program is just a bit sensitive about.

So, our question for you: Should there be a Constitutional amendment that allows citizens to tar and feather a person who films them in public places without their permission?

No, that's not the question.

The question is whether you believe Tyler's suspension was fair. Or did he deserve an even harsher reaction?

USC running back Marc Tyler hasn't been acting like a senior leader for the Trojans of late, and now he's earned a suspension from coach Lane Kiffin for the season opener against Minnesota on Sept. 3.

At least.

Speaking to TMZ, Tyler -- who led the Trojans with 913 yards rushing last year -- appeared intoxicated when he made inappropriate comments about Kim Kardashian and joked about being paid to play for the Trojans, who you might recall are still in the midst of serving NCAA sanctions.

Moreover, Tyler is awaiting a ruling from the school's disciplinary committee on a pair of alcohol-related incidents from last year, which could make his penalty even more severe. Kiffin added that Tyler is also suspended from all team activities.

“Although Marc may find this punishment severe, it is imperative we continue to have a high standard for player behavior," Kiffin said in a statement. "Marc needs to work hard to show us that he can meet the standards of being a USC football player.”

Athletic director Pat Haden said Tyler "stepped way out of line."

"Marc has a lot to do to prove he belongs on our team," Haden said. "We hope Marc learns from this and comes back a changed and better person.”

The school also released a statement from Tyler:

“I want to apologize for embarrassing USC, my teammates and coaches. I am disappointed that I let down all the people who have supported me as I have been working through some personal issues. After meeting today with Mr. Haden and Coach Kiffin, I realize how my behavior and my statements, even though I was joking, can reflect poorly on so many people. As a veteran player, I should know that my job is to be an example for the younger guys. I accept my punishment and I regret that I will miss the opening game of my senior year. I am committed to doing everything the right way so that I can be reinstated to the team.”

What this means for USC is the backfield suddenly becomes very inexperienced, though the injury-prone Tyler was far from a certainty to top the rotation at the position. Without Tyler, the mercurial Dillon Baxter is the only returning running back who recorded a carry last year, and he had just 59 totes. Further, Baxter was listed behind junior Curtis McNeal and redshirt freshman D.J. Morgan on the post-spring depth chart.

Read more here.

Scott Brown, who's coached the past four seasons at Colorado State, is Arizona State's new defensive line coach. He replaces Grady Stretz, who left to take the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brown, 59, was at Duke 12 years before arriving at Colorado State. He's also coached at Minnesota and TCU.

"Scott Brown brings a wealth of knowledge to Arizona State on coaching defensive line play," head coach Dennis Erickson said in a statement. "Everyone I spoke with talked about his work with the players and how much they learned from him. Scott will be a tremendous help to Craig Bray in our game planning during game week. I was extremely impressed with his ideas and concepts of a defense. He brings us so much more than just a position coach in that regard. He gave us a very impressive interview. Our defensive linemen, who met with Scott while he was on his interview, were very impressed with his style and his passion for the game. They were ready to play immediately."

Erickson also cited Brown's recruiting experience in Texas.

"He has recruited the state of Texas for 30 years," Erickson said. "He has extensive contacts there and not just in a certain area, but in the entire state of Texas. Trying to get into the state of Texas with no connections is difficult. With Scott's connections we will have instant credibility in that state."

The Arizona Republic reported that "Brown likely won't replace Stretz as recruiting coordinator. Those duties could fall to receivers coach Steve Broussard or running backs coach Bryce Erickson."

1. Half the teams in the Southeastern Conference are averaging more than 30 points per game, which just may be against league bylaws. Alabama coach Nick Saban said that offensive schemes are so varied now that nobody gets to play base defense anymore. “Lots of people do lots of different things,” Saban said. “Every week we think we’re going to get to play regular defense and every week we seem to play six or eight snaps of what amounts to regular defense and the rest of it is some sort of spread."

2. Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer told me Monday he is concerned about competitive balance in the Big 12 Conference once Nebraska leaves. “Bo (Pelini) and his brother (Carl) are doing a good job,” Switzer said. “They don’t have the players Tom (Osborne) had. They’re not back to that level.” Beyond the Huskers, Switzer added, “Texas and Oklahoma are three touchdowns better” than the rest of the league.

3. Glen Mason won 64 games in 10 years at Minnesota, took the Gophers to seven bowl games in his last eight seasons and got fired after the 2006 season. Athletic director Joel Maturi bowed to pressure from boosters who didn’t think Mason could take Minnesota to the next level. On Sunday, Maturi fired Tim Brewster, who had a 15-30 record, 6-21 in the Big Ten. Unlike Maturi, who bailed on Mason, the university administration believes in its people. Minnesota is letting Maturi hire another head coach.

Who's running with a bull market? Who's battling the bears (not the Golden ones)?

Stock up

Arizona: The Wildcats, the national team of the week, are 3-0 and ranked 14th after beating No. 9 Iowa, their first victory over a ranked nonconference foe at home since 1989. They are playing well on both sides of the ball and look like a legitimate threat in the Pac-10.

Arizona State: The Sun Devils lost 20-19 at Wisconsin, but they sure didn't look like the team projected to finish ninth in the Pac-10 this fall. Particularly intriguing is a transformation on offense, as QB Steven Threet seems adept at running Noel Mazzone's spread attack.

UCLA's running game: Last year, UCLA ranked 97th in the nation and ninth in the Pac-10 with 114.6 yards rushing per game. This year, despite playing three quality opponents, the Bruins rank 31st in the nation and fourth in the Pac-10 with 203.7 yards per game.

The return game: Three conference teams already have returned kickoffs for TDs. Oregon has returned three punts for TDs. USC one. Six conference punt returners rank among the top 21 in the nation. Four kick returners rank among the top 17.

Shane Vereen: Vereen ran for a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns in California's 52-31 loss at Nevada. He is now second in the Pac-10 and 21st in the nation with 108 yards per game.

Andrew Luck: As Stanford's fortunes rise, so does Luck's Heisman Trophy candidacy. The nation's third-rated passer has 10 TD passes and has not thrown an interception. He also has a 52-yard TD run.

Allen Bradford: A non-factor in USC's first two games, he rolled up 131 yards on just 12 carries with a TD in a 32-21 win at Minnesota.

Justin Washington: Guess who leads the Pac-10 in sacks with four? An Arizona redshirt freshman defensive tackle named Justin Washington, that's who.

Brandon Bair: Is Bair the most underrated player in the Pac-10? Maybe. The Oregon DT leads the conference with 6.5 tackles for a loss after a monster game vs. Portland State.

Stock down

California: The national ranking went poof amid a flurry of Nevada points last Friday.

Washington: Little went right as Nebraska pounded the Huskies in front of a supremely disappointed home stadium. Rumors of the program's return to national relevancy appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

USC's defense: The Trojans rank sixth in the conference in scoring defense (23.7 ppg), seventh in total defense (411.7 yards per game) and last in passing defense(291.0 ypg). And those numbers came against mediocre-to-bad teams.

Washington State's offensive line: The Cougars have surrendered 10 sacks -- three more than any other conference team -- and rank last in the conference in rushing (96.7 ypg).

UCLA's ball security: UCLA ranks last in the conference and 112th in the nation in turnover margin. The Bruins are minus-five on the year, with their 10 giveaways being twice as many as any other conference team.

Oregon State's pass rush: The Beavers only have two sacks in two games, which might be a big reason opponents are completing 60 percent of their passes, which is the second-worst completion rate in the conference. Up next: Boise State's Kellen Moore.

Jake Locker: You might have heard that Locker turned in the worst performance of his career vs. Nebraska. It's hard to become a Heisman Trophy candidate -- and justify a high NFL draft grade -- when your QB rating ranks ninth in the Pac-10 and 65th in the nation.

The aftermath of "Measuring Stick Saturday."

Team of the week: Arizona looked like it might blow out Iowa when it led 27-7 in the third quarter, but it actually might be more meaningful that the Wildcats held on to win 34-27 after major adversity struck. The Wildcats showed heart. And poise. Moreover, by giving up their own pick-six and a horrible special-teams miscue, the Wildcats' victory can't be written off with the, "Well, Iowa played a sloppy game" excuse.

Best game: Arizona State-'s 20-19 loss at Wisconsin was a back-and-forth affair that was far more entertaining than most thought it would be going in. And, even though it was a dispiriting defeat, the Sun Devils seemed to announce that they will be a factor instead of an afterthought in the Pac-10 this season.

Biggest play: Just after Iowa tied Arizona 27-27, and all the momentum going the Hawkeyes' way, quarterback Nick Foles hit David Roberts for 38 yards on first down to the Iowa 34. Eight plays later, the Wildcats scored the winning points. After the game, offensive tackle Adam Grant said he knew Arizona would win after that completion.

Offensive standout(s): Foles and Stanford's Andrew Luck share the honor. Foles completed 28 of 39 passes for 303 yards with two TDs and an interception. For the season, the nation's 14th-rated QB has completed 79 percent of his passes. Luck completed 17-of-23 for 207 yards with four TDs. He also rushed three times for 69 yards, with a 52-yard TD run. For the season, the nation's third-rated passer has 10 TD passes and no interceptions.

Defensive standout(s): Lots of possibilities from Arizona, but in the interest of diversity: Arizona State LB Vontaze Burfict and UCLA linebacker Patrick Larimore. Burfict looked like the best defensive player on the field at Wisconsin, rolling up 10 tackles, two for a loss, with two pass breakups. Larimore had 11 tackles, three for a loss, a forced fumble and two pass breakups against Houston.

Special teams star (s): This is a hard one because the conference produced a bunch of big plays on special teams. Arizona's Travis Cobb went 100 yards for a TD on a kickoff return against Iowa. Arizona State's Omar Bolden went 97 yards for a TD on a kickoff return versus Wisconsin. USC's Robert Woods went 97 yards for a TD on a kickoff return at Minnesota. We may have left someone out.

Smiley face: After two bad losses that had UCLA fans turning away in disgust, the Bruins got off the canvas and whipped No. 23 Houston 31-13. It was a good effort on both sides of the ball, and it indicated that the Bruins can't be counted out in the conference.

Frowny face: Jake Locker and Washington wilted on a big stage against Nebraska. They were overmatched on both sides of the ball, and the Nebraska coaches clearly had a better plan and had their team better prepared.

Thought of the week: Notre Dame, at 1-2, isn't an elite team, but both of the Fighting Irish's losses came against now-ranked Big Ten teams in tight games. If Stanford goes into Notre Dame and delivers a whipping, the Cardinal will be taken seriously by the rest of the nation.

Thought of the week II: The eyes of the college football nation will be on Boise State-Oregon State on Saturday, and many AQ conference fans without a horse in the race will be rooting for the Beavers to knock the Broncos out of BCS bowl -- and national championship game -- contention. Conversely, all of the non-AQ fans (other than TCU and Utah), will be rooting on the Broncos. Oh, and all the BCS haters will be rooting against the Beavers, too, because they favor chaos in the system.

Quote of the week: "You know what's funny? Nobody gave us a chance. They said the defense couldn't make plays. They were giving us all kinds of letter grades that were bad, and we took it personal." -- UCLA safety Rahim Moore

Quote of the week II: "I know they lost their running back, Toby Gerhart, but that's a more veteran team than we saw last year. That's a veteran offensive line and they are impressive." -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe after losing at Stanford 68-24

Quote of the week III: "I didn't really hook up with anybody." -- Locker after he completed 4 of 20 passes with two interceptions against Nebraska

Big games this weekend: While Stanford is at Notre Dame and Oregon State is at No. 3 Boise State, the rest of the Pac-10 gets started with the conference schedule (though Washington has a bye). The two red-letter games: California at Arizona and Oregon at Arizona State. Will the Bears bounce back against a Wildcats team still drunk on its win over Iowa? And can a clearly improved Sun Devils squad keep up with the high-powered Ducks.