ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Ten things of note heading into the Pac-10's Saturday slate.

1. With no marquee games, most folks still will be talking about USC: A week ago, it seemed like most teams and even the coaches had yielded the conference championship to USC. The loss at Oregon State, however, made the Trojans look far from immortal. Perhaps they are not exempt from the Pac-10's much-discussed downturn, and the rest of the conference will see an opportunity.

2. UCLA might be able to run against Fresno State: The Bruins need to take the pressure off quarterback Kevin Craft. They ran the ball better against Arizona -- 115 yards -- and the Bulldogs will be without their two starting DTs, while the Bruins are expected to get at least some carries from RB Kahlil Bell, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in the season-opener. UCLA's cause, however, isn't helped by the season-ending knee injury fullback Trevor Theriot suffered at practice Wednesday.

3. Washington coach Tyrone Willingham can't afford to lose against Stanford: If Washington manages to beat Stanford on Saturday, it's possible that the Huskies could rally as they face a more manageable Pac-10 slate after starting 0-3 vs. the nation's toughest schedule. But if they lose, Willingham likely will be out of chances and the Huskies could be headed for a humiliating season of double-digit defeats.

4. Oregon will keep its quarterback healthy by running right at Washington State: Oregon ranks fourth in the country in rushing with 299 yards per game. Washington State ranks 117th in the nation in run defense (250 ypg). Oregon has an outstanding offensive line. WSU has a thin, inexperienced, overmatched defensive line. Ducks tailbacks LeGarrette Blount and Jeremiah Johnson average 7.5 and 6.4 yards per carry, respectively. Anyone else see a way for Oregon to protect the health of its quarterback on Saturday?

5. WSU quarterback Marshall Lobbestael will find the going much tougher as a Pac-10 starter: It's one thing to come off the bench against a FCS team and play well. It's another to spend all week thinking about starting against a Pac-10 foe. Thinking time isn't always good, particularly for a redshirt freshman quarterback who wasn't expecting to play this season. Lobbestael completed nine of 12 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns against Portland State and earned Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week. Oregon will be a much tougher challenge, particularly with the Ducks feeling embarrassed about their effort against Boise State.

6. California running back Jahvid Best is a big-play back. Colorado State doesn't give up big plays. Who breaks first? Best looked like a potential dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidate when he broke off a pair of 80-yard touchdown runs against Washington State. Then he and the Bears got popped at Maryland. Still, the Cal offense has produced 20 plays of more than 20 yards. Colorado State's defense doesn't give up big plays. The Rams have kept just about everything in front of them this season, giving up just one play of more than 40 yards. The Bears, after a bye week, probably are inspired to change that total.

7. Washington's defense may allow Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard to break through: Pritchard isn't rated among the nation's 100 most efficient quarterbacks. The Cardinal ranks 109th in passing offense. Stanford can improve to 3-2 at Washington and be halfway to bowl eligibility, but for them to achieve the other half, Pritchard needs to step up. One of the worst defenses a BCS conference should help this weekend. And if it doesn't, coach Jim Harbaugh might need to look for someone else to lead his offense. While Harbaugh said the window of opportunity is closing for touted true freshman Andrew Luck to play, that doesn't mean he can't turn to another quarterback if Pritchard continues to languish.

8. UCLA might feel like a visiting team against Fresno: Trying to increase revenue, the UCLA sports marketing department tried to lure Fresno State fans to buy tickets for Saturday's game at the Rose Bowl by advertising in Fresno newspapers. It's rare that a program tries to attract fans who intend the boo the home team.

9. USC might fall out of the top-10: If it seems like the media fell out of love with USC and quickly into hate, that's because media folk don't like looking foolish -- BEST USC TEAM EVER! -- and they will feed from the schadenfreude of a college football nation that's been suffering USC Exhaustion for a few years now. There will be widespread speculation over whether the Trojans can play their way back into the national title hunt. So activist voters will try to make it hard for that to happen.

10. Next weekend is HUGE: Other than the stunner on Thursday night in Corvallis, this is a fairly light week for the conference. Not so on Oct. 4. First, Oregon visits USC, so the college football nation will get to see how the Trojans respond to their humiliating defeat. California plays host to Arizona State, a game that figures to provide a good suggestion of which of these teams is headed to the top third of the conference and which is not. Oregon State will try to follow up its win over USC by earning the conference some revenge against the Mountain West Conference at No. 17 Utah. Arizona, with a bye to prepare, should be on upset-alert as it looks to improve to 4-1 at Washington, potentially the Wildcats best start since 2000. Someone will win when Washington State visits UCLA, the loser probably finding itself at the bottom of the conference. And Stanford gets a shot at Notre Dame, which is always interesting.