ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Getting deep into this week's games.

Will Arizona go small and get big?: USC's defense hasn't allowed a point in 10 quarters. It's ranked No. 1 in scoring defense and No. 2 in total defense. In other words, the Trojans have the nation's best defense. Only one team had success of any kind against them and that was Oregon State, which used a balanced attack to gain 343 total yards in a 27-21 victory. Balance is the key. Without at least a threat to run, an opposing quarterback is simply fresh meat for a fast USC defense, which can then tape its ears back in the pass rush. The Beavers, however, gashed the Trojans with diminutive true freshman Jacquizz Rodgers, who used his 5-foot-7 frame to his advantage instead of disadvantage. After the game, the Trojans defenders actually complained that they couldn't find Rodgers amid the crowd of large bodies. Just so happens that Arizona boasts two speedy, undersized backs. Freshman Keola Antolin (5-foot-7) burst onto the scene with 149 yards rushing on 21 carries with three touchdowns in the 42-27 win over California. He stepped in for Nic Grigsby (5-foot-10), who fumbled in the first quarter, but Grigsby is solid when he holds onto the football -- see 627 yards rushing and nine touchdowns this year with a 5.9 yards-per-carry average. Considering the Wildcats' offensive line is a more experienced group than the Beavers' was, the question is whether the Trojans have learned to find the little guys who are trying to slice them apart.

Ducks foresee sack time with Rudy: In Oregon's 35-23 win over Arizona State last year, the Ducks sacked Rudy Carpenter nine times, including 3.5 takedowns by end Nick Reed. To say the least, it was a long day for Carpenter. The problem for him this go-around is there are abundant reasons to believe he will be again running for his life ... or limping for his life, considering he's nursing an ankle sprain. The Sun Devils have no running game to slow down Oregon's pass rush; they rank 117th in the nation in rushing. While the inexperienced offensive line has mostly pass protected better than last year's unit that surrendered 55 sacks, it still has yielded 2.5 sacks per game. Meanwhile, Reed is back, leading the Pac-10 with eight sacks this season, and his opposite end, Will Tukuafu, is just behind with six. In fact, Oregon leads the Pac-10 with 3.57 sacks per game. So there's your game: Can Rudy get enough time to pick on the Ducks hobbled secondary? Or will he hobble off the field himself?

Washington's players can make a statement on their feelings for Tyrone Willingham by playing hard vs. Notre Dame: It's not hard to pick apart what's gone wrong with Washington during the Tyrone Willingham Era. That's been going on ad nauseum for nearly two years and it won't end until the school puts his administration out of its misery. What can be said is this: Willingham is a man of integrity who cares about his players and has never been accused of unethical behavior. So how do his players feel about him? We'll see this weekend. While Willingham played off the Notre Dame angle this week, this also is a man of considerable ego and his ego will never be more vulnerable than it will be Saturday. If the Fighting Irish blow Willingham out of Husky Stadium, it will be a humiliating repudiation of him as a coach, at least in terms of popular perception. Thing is, Notre Dame isn't that good and the Huskies aren't that bad. If Washington plays hard for four quarters and fights for its coach, this won't be a blowout.

UCLA's offensive line vs. California's defensive line is a battle of wounded animals: UCLA's offensive line was considered a significant weakness entering the season. Each time coaches shuffled the available bodies and produced a small step forward, adversity seemed to bite back. This week, after starting the same five for consecutive games, it was freshman left tackle Jeff Baca going down with a hamstring injury during practice Tuesday. If he can't go against California, Micah Kia (bad back) likely will replace him, while Mike Harris (bum ankle) would make his first start at right tackle. Meanwhile, Cal's defensive front was forced to burn the redshirt of touted freshman Trevor Guyton against Arizona. With end Rulon Davis and tackle Kendrick Payne out and end Tyson Alualu slowed by a leg infection, the Bears got pushed around up front by Arizona, which gained 404 yards on a defense that had previously given up just 291 yards per game. The advantage here might go to the Bears for a simple reason: UCLA can't win on the road. The Bruins have lost five straight away from the Rose Bowl and 12 of their past 15. The O-line is the area that suffers most in a hostile environment.

You'll know in the first quarter if USC is going to roll: USC went to Oregon State planning to take the crowd out of the game. It didn't happen when the Trojans fell behind 21-0. A fast start at Arizona is a hot topic this week. "It's imperative that we're scoring on that first drive," USC quarterback Mark Sanchez told reporters Tuesday. "That means a lot. For the offense, it gives us confidence. It pumps up the defense. Things just go." While the Wildcats received a confidence boost by whipping Cal, they are not at the point where they won't lose faith against an early show of force from the Trojans. And it's not just a fast start; Oregon got that but then faltered for a moment and USC exploded. The Wildcats will have to be at their focused best -- think that dominant third quarter vs. Cal for an entire game -- to notch the upset. In Arizona's favor: It has won six in a row at home, tied for the longest home winning streak in the conference with USC and Oregon State, and a packed house is expected. A tight score at halftime will keep fans in the stands barking at the Trojans. A big USC lead at the break will send them to University Blvd. for a cold one. Or two.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

First, let me give credit to Will from Central Oregon for pointing out the Sagarin schedule ratings that launched my post about Pac-10 scheduling.

Second, this is an interesting piece on the same issue.

To the bag....

Ben from Berkeley, Calif, writes: Another fact you don't mention (but strengthens your argument) is the extra conference game that the Pac 10 plays. This guarantees half the conference an extra loss and hurts their relative strength of schedule when you compare what the Big 12 or SEC do with that extra "weak" (ie, beat up on the Texas Art Institute for Recovering Drug Addicts... ). While I do believe the round robin is the most fair way to determine a champion, it does hurt the conferences teams compared to the other leagues with championship games and/or unbalanced schedules.

Ted Miller: A great point Ben, one that many offered. When the NCAA added the 12th game, only the Pac-10 made it a conference game. All other conferences opted to use it to grab an easy nonconference win. So that automatically means five more losses in the Pac-10, which factors into strength of schedule within the BCS standings. Meanwhile, in other conferences, you get situations like Kansas last year, when the Jayhawks got to claim they played in the rugged Big 12 but they didn't play Texas or Oklahoma. Or what about LSU "winning" the SEC last year without playing Georgia. Or, for a Pac-10 example before the round-robin format was adopted, Oregon not playing USC while the Trojans rolled to consecutive national titles in 2003 and 2004.

Frank from Redding, Calif., writes: Do you think Jeff Tedford will be on the hot seat this year as once again we are failing to meet expectations? Cal has the talent, but seems to be outcoached and outplayed by inferior teams.

Brett from Washington DC, writes: Ted, Why do you think Cal never lives up to its potential? I mean, 2004 looked like the breakout season for the Tedford era, where we would finally compete regularly with U$C, but each subsequent season has been a disappointment in one way or another. Last year obviously being the biggest. Why can't we go from a team that belongs on other teams Upset Alert list to an elite team in the country?

Jay from Berkeley writes: How detrimental do you think Jeff Tedford is to Cal football? He receives so much praise, yet his teams never seem to achieve to the level of their talent... What do you think of his decision to start Nate Longshore over Kevin Riley with Riley coming off of a 42-7 win, and then staying with Longshore after he characteristically caused the offense to sputter in the 2nd half 2 weeks ago against Arizona State? Wasn't his meager performance against Arizona this week predictable?

Ted Miller: Gahhhhhh!

Who stole Berkeley and made it into Clemson?

I just don't get this stuff. "Hot seat" for Tedford? "Never lives up to its potential?" Tedford as "detrimental?"

If you guys keep writing this stuff, I'm going to climb a tree outside your window and refuse to leave. And I'll play sitar music. Endlessly.

Hey, Washington fans, are you listening? Looks like a program wants to commit hari kari -- any interest in this lousy coach Jeff Tedford?

Has Cal had some bad moments with Tedford over the past few years? Yes. Have there been moments when he's opened himself up to fair criticism? Sure. Is his handling of the QB situation debatable? Without a doubt.

He's not perfect. But he's perfect for Cal.

Go to the bathroom. Flush the toilet.

That's my sound effect for the Bears if you run Tedford off.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

California coach Jeff Tedford said during the Pac-10 teleconference that running back Jahvid Best didn't suffer any new damage to his elbow during the Arizona game and should be able to practice this week and play against UCLA on Saturday.

Best was pulled in the third quarter in Cal's 42-27 defeat when his elbow, which he dislocated on Sept. 27 against Colorado State, started bothering him again.

"It's been positive the last couple of days," Tedford said. "I think it was more muscle issues. His elbow felt pretty good on Sunday and [Monday] he came in and said it felt really good."

Meanwhile, Tedford said that Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley will continue to compete during the week for the starting job at quarterback. Riley started the first four games, while Longshore started the last two. Riley replaced Longshore in the fourth quarter against Arizona.

"Our quarterback situation will be the same as last week as far as they will get equal reps during the week and we'll see how the week goes to see who's going to start," Tedford said.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said during the Pac-10 teleconference that guard Chris Marinelli is out at least two or three weeks and might be done for the season with a left shoulder injury he suffered in the fourth quarter against UCLA on Saturday.

Marinelli had moved from tackle to guard to replace Chase Beeler, who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. Harbaugh said he's hopeful that Beeler could return after the Cardinal's bye when it plays host to Washington State on Nov. 1.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

I'm going back to Tucson, Tucson, Tucson
I'm going back to Tucson... hmm, I think so.

• It's been a while since Arizona was a party to a big game, but a standing-room only crowd will greet USC.
• It wasn't too long ago that Arizona State was the hot team in the state, but it looks like the Sun Devils are switching places with the Wildcats. At some point, Rudy Carpenter will no longer be Arizona State's quarterback. This guy might be next.
• Oregon returned to practice healthier and eyeballing Arizona State.
• Here's what Oregon State should do during its bye week: Focus on keeping its athletic director.
• UCLA is getting games into the fourth quarter, which is good, but is beaten up on the defensive line, which is not.
• Hey, Pete Carroll, what about the new vacancy with the San Francisco 49ers? Here's the recipe for USC's BCS championship feast.
• It almost seemed like embattled Washington coach Tyrone Willingham enjoyed being asked about Notre Dame. Perhaps that bitter memory is actually better than the present reality.
  
  
  

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Coach Mike Bellotti said it's "very possible" that Oregon will play more than one quarterback at Arizona State on Saturday, but he wasn't quite as clear on who will start.

Jeremiah Masoli, who has started the last four games, would seem to be the front-runner over former starter Justin Roper, who's returning from a knee injury.

But Masoli was only 5-of-19 pSSING for 42 yards in the Ducks' win over UCLA two weeks ago, and Roper is a more refined passer, if less capable runner -- see Masoli's 170 yards rushing against the Bruins.

Bellotti said that little evaluation went on during last week's off-week. Both will trade reps with the first-team offense this week.

"We'll probably name a starter prior to the game on Saturday night," said Bellotti, obviously leaving his options open during Tuesday's Pac-10 teleconference.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Stanford used to be about brains over brawn. Now it's the reverse. The program will make a decisive step forward when it's about both. 

Stanford ranks third in the Pac-10 with 192.4 yards rushing per game (5.0 yards per carry). That means the Cardinal can go nose-to-nose in the trenches with anyone.

It's got to feel good for Stanford fans to see their team knock the pooh out of opponents.

But they also rank eighth in the conference in penalty yards per game (68) and eighth in turnover margin (minus-9 for the season).

The 19 total turnovers are second-most in the conference -- ahead of only Washington State -- and six more than the next worst teams. Thirteen of those turnovers came in the Cardinal's four defeats.

Penalties (10) and turnovers (3) are the biggest reason UCLA beat Stanford, 23-20, over the weekend.

Stanford is competitive again because it's adopted Jim Harbaugh's blue collar mentality.

It will earn a bowl berth only if it remembers that being tough doesn't mean a team has to act like a dimwitted bar-room brawler.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Washington is the only winless BCS conference team and has become a national punchline. Coach Tyrone Willingham is about as fired as a coach can be while still coaching his team.

But I wonder where the Huskies would be if they started the season playing Eastern Washington -- a rivalry game, right! -- Nevada, SMU and Massachusetts.

Actually I don't wonder.

The Huskies would have started 4-0, just like the team that actually had that schedule, No. 8 Texas Tech.

Instead, the Huskies have played a schedule ranked as the nation's toughest by the Sagarin Ratings. Instead of I-AA foes, they played BYU and Oklahoma and have Notre Dame coming to town Saturday.

Scheduling matters.

And it's become clear that teams are not penalized for scheduling weak opponents in order to pad their record, nor do teams -- or conferences -- get credit for ambitious scheduling.

Texas Tech looks good on paper. The Red Raiders welcomed back 19 starters from a team that finished 9-4 in 2007, including one of the nation's premier pass-catch combinations in Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree.

But the fact is we really have no idea if they are one of the nation's top-10 teams because they have yet to play a team presently sniffing the national rankings. Fair to say their best opponent thus far is 4-3 Nebraska, which extended the homestanding Red Raiders to overtime.

Texas Tech's schedule is ranked 103rd toughest in the nation by the Sagarin Ratings. That terrible slate distracts from No. 6 Oklahoma State, which has played a schedule ranked 87th in the nation.

Six Big 12 teams play schedules ranked 50 or worse. Nebraska's 19th-ranked schedule is the toughest in the conference.

The Pac-10 features schedules ranked 1, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 13. Only two are ranked 50 or worse.

Two SEC teams have played schedules ranked in the top-20, while six are ranked 50 or worse.

But this isn't to pick on teams that schedule pansies or to question the orthodoxy of Big 12 and SEC dominance.

In fact, I'm waving a white flag over my obsession with nonconference scheduling.

Sure, big nonconference games are the most exciting thing in college football -- think Texas-Ohio State or USC-Ohio State or USC-Auburn -- but making the game fun for fans isn't what this business is about.

It's about one thing: Reducing the risk of losing as much as possible and then hoping a couple of good conference victories will be enough to fool, er, win over poll voters.

Therefore, the Pac-10 needs to stop: 1. scheduling tough nonconference opponents; and, 2. it absolutely shouldn't play nonconference games on the road.

The Pac-10 should adopt the philosophy of many teams presently ranked in the top-25: If you're good, we won't play you because you might beat us. And if you pass the badness test, you've got to come to our house.

(USC should continue to schedule all-comers with the guts to play because no team outside of the Pac-10 can beat USC. Or at least one hasn't in the regular season since September of 2002).

For the other nine teams, it's not worth it.

Arizona figured this out. With a schedule ranked 96th in the nation, the Wildcats are 5-2 and feeling pretty good about themselves. Would Wildcats fans be talking about bowl possibilities, however, if their team had played BYU and Oklahoma instead of Idaho and Toledo?

How many times have you heard or read that USC lost to a "mediocre" Oregon State squad?

If Oregon State, winners of four consecutive bowl games and 19 games the previous two seasons, had played Texas Tech's schedule, the Beavers would be unbeaten, too.

Without changing any players or coaches they'd transform from "mediocre" to a ranked team.

Instead, they played at No. 3 Penn State and at No. 11 Utah and went 0-2 and became mediocre, even though no other team in the nation has played two top-11 foes on the road.

It's not worth it.

So call this an admission of defeat.

The Pac-10 philosophy has been wrong.

No more Georgias or Penn States or TCUs or Oklahomas or Boise States.

Bring on the MAC or Conference USA or the directional schools.

That's how a team -- and a conference -- gains national esteem.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

A few sentences looking at this week's matchups.

No. 5 USC (5-1, 3-1) at Arizona (5-2, 3-1): USC needs to win and win decisively in order to impress pollsters. But Pac-10 teams are 6-14 on the road in conference play, so that won't be easy. The Wildcats play well at home -- see their impressive 42-27 dismantling of California last weekend. An Arizona upset would be a landmark moment for Mike Stoops and could, conceivably, knock the Trojans out of the conference race as well as the national title hunt.

UCLA (3-4, 2-2) at California (4-2, 2-1): Lots of questions on the Cal side of things. How will the Bears react to their poor performance at Arizona? Who will be the quarterback between Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley? Is running back Jahvid Best's elbow going to be an ongoing issue? UCLA has lost five consecutive road games -- and 12 of its past 15 -- and last won in Berkeley in 1998. Even beaten up with injuries, Cal has a lot better talent. But, based on their recent efforts, bet on Rick Neuheisel's players showing up hungry. What about the Bears?

Notre Dame (4-2) at Washington (0-6): This is a perfect storm of embarrassment for Washington and coach Tyrone Willingham. His team is winless and he's going to be fired by season's end and here comes Notre Dame, the team that unceremoniously and controversially dumped him four years ago. Yet now the Fighting Irish are trending up while the Huskies are at the lowest point in program history -- and there have been some mighty low points over the past six years. Notre Dame fans, who didn't appreciate all the negative publicity that Willingham's ouster generated, have been waiting for vindication. They expect to get it in spades this weekend in Seattle.

Oregon (5-2, 3-1) at Arizona State (2-4, 1-2): This looked like a heavyweight bout in the preseason, a potential battle of ranked teams trying to crawl out of USC's shadow and challenge the Trojans for the top perch in the conference. Instead, they lost by a combined count of 72-10 to USC, and both suffered inglorious nonconference losses at home that made national pollsters turn away. Oregon has more to lose -- and therefore win -- but no Pac-10 team has been able to play well on the road, so don't count out quarterback Rudy Carpenter and the Sun Devils.

Oregon State (4-3, 3-1) - open date - next game Nov. 1 vs. Arizona State
Stanford (4-4, 3-2) - open date - next game Nov. 1 vs. Washington State
Washington State (1-7, 0-5) - open date - next game Nov. 1 at Stanford

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

The Pac-10 is popularly known as the "Conference of Quarterbacks." This year, that's been changed to "The Conference of Injured Quarterbacks."

But one position has shone in this offensive-minded league that isn't terribly offensive-minded this year.

Center.

It's possible the All-Pac-10 First-Team will feature three and maybe four centers.

Seven conference centers are on the 44-man watch list for the Rimington Trophy.

Most folks know about California's Alex Mack and Oregon's Max Unger. Both are All-American candidates -- Phil Steele made both Second-Team Midseason All-Americans -- and are likely first-day picks in the NFL draft this spring. Mack may even go in the first round.

But I'm not sure that either of them is playing any better than Stanford's Alex Fletcher, who's the unquestioned leader of the Cardinal line, which is the conference's best run-blocking unit.

And USC sophomore Kristofer O'Dowd is a future All-American who will be hard to keep off the All-Conference team.

Toss in Washington's Juan Garcia, who was second-team All-Pac-10 last year, and Arizona's Blake Kerley, who was knocked out for the year in game four because of a knee injury, and Washington State's Kenny Alfred, who's having a good season on a terrible team, and you've got extraordinary depth at one position.

Too bad "Conference of Centers" isn't very catchy.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Arizona running back Keola Antolin, Oregon State safety Greg Laybourn and UCLA kicker Kai Forbath have been named Pac-10 players of the week.

Antolin, a freshman from Las Vegas, rushed 21 times for 149 yards (7.1 yards per carry) with three touchdowns and added a reception for nine yards and had four kickoff returns for 79 yards, giving him 237 all-purpose yards.

Laybourn, a senior from Portland, led the Beavers' defensive effort in a 34-13 win at Washington. He posted a game-high 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops. The OSU defense forced four turnovers.

Forbath, a sophomore from Pacific Palisades, Calif., scored 11 of UCLA's 23 points in the Bruins' 23-20 win against Stanford. He was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, connecting from 37, 19 and 28 yards, and made both of his PAT attempts.

This marks the second player of the week honors this year for both Laybourn and Forbath.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were Oregon State flanker James Rodgers and quarterbacks Mark Sanchez of USC and Kevin Craft of UCLA. Also nominated on defense were cornerbacks Devin Ross of Arizona, Alterraun Verner of UCLA and Josh Pinkard of USC. Kickers David Buehler of USC and Jason Bondzio of Arizona were nominated for special teams play.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

These links are for the Rays.

• Looking back at Arizona's win over California, it was all about attitude and a more aggressive defensive plan. Was it coach Mike Stoops' biggest win yet?
• Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter returned to practice.
• Jeremiah Masoli remains the leader to quarterback Oregon at Arizona State.
• Georgia Schroeder wonders if it's time to use "Oregon State" and "Rose Bowl" in the same sentence. And is there an award for best brothers tandem in college football, because we've got your winner right here.
• Stanford's outstanding offensive line may take a hit with Chris Marinelli in a sling after the Cardinal's loss at UCLA, but the good news is the team has the week off. And, by the way, for such a smart group of guys, the Cardinal are playing stupid football.
• Say this about UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft: He keeps his coaches on edge and guessing.
• Guess what? USC coach Pete Carroll doesn't care about the BCS standings. Yet. And linebacker Rey Maualuga is starting to look like his old, dominating self again.
• Steve Kelley revisits Washington coach Tyrone Willingham's decision to burn a freshman receiver's redshirt year and finds it even more indefensible than before. Notre Dame caught a lot of heat for firing Willingham four years ago, but the school probably feels vindicated now.
• This notebook has plenty of depressing things for Washington State fans to read.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Sorting out the Pac-10 pecking order after eight weeks.

1. USC: Washington State is a complete mess, but it's unlikely any team will look as utterly dominant beating another BCS team this season as the Trojans did burying the Cougars, 69-0. Oh, by the way, total points against the Trojans over the past 10 quarters? Zero. Now, can a Pac-10 team win on the road? Up next: At Arizona.

2. Oregon State: No. 2 in the conference is up for grabs after California flopped at Arizona. Five teams have one loss and three others have two. The Beavers pick up the perch after winning big at Washington, their third win in four games. Up next: Bye.

3. Oregon: Ducks were off over the weekend but they needed a break with consecutive road games ahead: at Arizona State on Saturday and California on Nov. 1. If they expect to finish in the elusive No. 2 spot, they are going to have to break out of the pattern of Pac-10 teams faltering on the road.

4. Arizona: The Wildcats took the biggest step forward -- after taking the biggest step back a week ago -- by beating California. At 5-2 with five games left, they appear a lock for a bowl berth. But they can take a program-defining step forward under coach Mike Stoops on Saturday if they manage to upset USC.

5. California: The Bears looked in control of Arizona at halftime, leading by 10. But then they went belly-up in the third and couldn't muster any sort of rally. Now the national ranking is gone. The question is what sort of mental toughness will the Bears show going forward? Will they bounce back or will they fold? Up next: UCLA.

6. Stanford: Just when it looked like Stanford was about to take a step forward in the Pac-10 pecking order, it took a step back at UCLA. The loss puts a major crimp in the 4-4 Cardinal's bowl hopes. They're off this weekend and will pick up a fifth win on Nov. 1 when Washington State comes to town, but the next three are rugged -- at Oregon, USC, at California.

7. UCLA: UCLA looks to be improving in fits and starts and the comeback win over Stanford suggests the Bruins are still fighting for a respectable season. If they find a way to win at California on Saturday, they'd suddenly look like a threat for a bowl game. But winning on the road is surely too much to ask, right?

8. Arizona State: The Sun Devils had a bye week for quarterback Rudy Carpenter to get healthy, but what Carpenter could really use is a running game to take the heat off him. It's unlikely the Sun Devils found one, but they could quickly reverse the season's negative momentum by holding serve at home with Oregon coming to town.

9. Washington: The Huskies are suffering through one of their lowest periods in program history and here comes Notre Dame to pour salt in the gaping wounds. This, of course, is the same Notre Dame team that four years ago controversially fired Tyrone Willingham, who the Huskies then hired. The programs appear to be headed in different directions, particularly with Willingham headed out the door.

11. Washington State: This week, the Power Rankings go up to 11, which is the best way to represent the sorry state of Coug-dom. The Cougars became the first team from a BCS conference to surrender 60 points four times in a single season, and their 69-0 shutout defeat to USC ended a streak of scoring in 280 consecutive games, the nation's second-longest scoring streak behind Michigan. Two pieces of good news: The Cougars didn't appear to suffer any major injuries in the loss to the Trojans and they are off this week.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

The only reasonable way to look at the first BCS standings published today is to say, "Hey, we've got lots of football left to play" and leave it at that.

But, of course, this is college football, so there's going to be endless analysis and spin.

From the Pac-10 perspective it's USC at No. 5 and... did we mention USC was No. 5?

The other nine conference teams have long become irrelevant in the BCS chase in all but one respect -- how their successes or failures affect USC.

The Trojans are ranked 10th by the computers. Not good, but all they can control is to keep winning, which may be enough considering how often teams get upset.

But it wouldn't hurt to have the strength of schedule perk up. That means if you are a Trojans fan you need to also be a fan of:

• The rest of the Pac-10: It would help the Trojans greatly if one or more conference teams find a way to slide into the national rankings. California's loss at Arizona was a significant body blow. If the Bears had been 7-1 when visiting USC on Nov. 8, they likely would have been ranked close to the top-10.
• Virginia, Ohio State and Notre Dame: Virginia's recent surge helps. Ohio State plays host to Penn State this weekend, which could serve the dual purpose of helping the Trojans strength of schedule and knocking out a team ahead of them. It also would help to beat a nationally ranked Notre Dame team on Nov. 29.
• For chaos in the SEC and Big 12: The leaders in the Big 12 and SEC -- not you Alabama, Georgia and Florida -- can't avoid tough games all season. After scheduling patsies to bolster their records and rankings during the nonconference season, they now have the required games in conference, which means the likelihood of more one- and two-loss teams.
• USC style points: Just as we've already seen with some voters in the AP poll -- hello Texas -- the coaches poll and Harris Poll -- both of which count in the BCS standings -- will feature plenty of disingenuous voters trying to manipulate the poll. That means voters with eyes that can see USC is without question an elite team will continue to vote against what they know to be true and rank the Trojans, say, 12th. That would be harder to sell in this age of transparency if USC delivers a series of decisive butt-whuppings.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Revelations from the past weekend's action.

Mike Stoops will be Arizona's coach next year: Stoops has plenty of critics -- just ask him -- but through many fits and starts the general trajectory of the Wildcats at present is the best it's been since the Dick Tomey Era. It's fair to say that coaching was a significant part of Arizona's 42-27 win over No. 25 California. The Bears led by 10 at the half, but Stoops and his staff made the necessary adjustments on both sides of the ball to turn in an overwhelming 28-3 domination of the third quarter. The victory left the Wildcats at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Pac-10. A date at Washington State on Nov. 8 virtually assures them a sixth win necessary for bowl eligibility. The program hasn't played in a bowl game since 1998 -- Tomey Era -- and that was generally viewed as the minimum requirement for Stoops to return in 2009. But here's a guess that the Wildcats are going to end up with more than six wins.

The Pac-10 is down because it goes limp on the road: Stanford and California both expected to move up in the conference pecking order this weekend but they were doomed from the start: They were playing on the road and Pac-10 teams don't win on the road in 2008 -- unless, for obvious reasons, the opponent is Washington or Washington State. Conference teams are now 8-22 on the road this year -- 6-14 in conference play -- and five of those conference road wins came at the Huskies and Cougars. Arizona's win at UCLA still ranks as the best road win of the season in conference play. Cal, the conference's only other ranked team besides USC entering the weekend, looked like a team that could push its way into the top half of the national rankings, but it flopped in the second half at Arizona. Its two losses this year were on the road (the other at Maryland). Bay Area neighbor Stanford is unbeaten (3-0) at home but is 1-4 on the road, the one win coming, yes, at Washington.

This is the year of the little guy: First it was Cal's 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore speedster Jahvid Best tearing up defenses with his world class speed. Then Oregon State's 5-foot-6 freshman Jacquizz Rodgers became a household name by gashing USC's vaunted defense for 186 yards on 37 carries. This weekend, Rodgers' "big" brother James -- a sophomore listed at 5-foot-7 -- tore apart Washington with three rushes for 110 yards and two touchdowns and three receptions for 53 yards and a score. And, finally, at Arizona, a previously unknown freshman -- 5-foot-8 (right!) Keola Antolin -- with just 66 yard rushing in the previous six games, ran around and, yes, over Cal for 149 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns. Fear the Mighty Mouse.

Rick Neuheisel's relentless optimism works: Rick Neuheisel inherited a UCLA team lacking talent and depth that was further burdened with one of the nation's toughest schedules. Then his team got hit with an epidemic of injuries. Then, after an inspiring victory over Tennessee to open the season, the Bruins got humiliated 59-0 at BYU, the first of three consecutive defeats. Neuheisel's critics like to twist facts and use pithy terms -- "Slick Rick!" and "Neu-weasel!" -- but they inevitably lose arguments when they disparage his coaching, particularly his ability to get his teams to fight. The Bruins fought and lost to Fresno State and they fought and lost at Oregon. Both opponents had superior talent, but the Bruins gave them a scare. Some teams quit fighting when they don't get results -- see all the Washington teams after Neuheisel was fired. But Neuheisel added a 19th fourth-quarter comeback to his resume with the Bruins 23-20 win over Stanford, and that suggests what once looked like a lost season in Westwood might just get found.

The state of Washington is a college football black hole: Of course, we didn't just learn this but we have to restate it because it's become bad in historically measurable ways. With its 69-zip loss to USC, Washington State was shut out for the first time since 1984, which ended a streak of 280 games without being shut out, the nation's second longest streak behind Michigan at 294. Also, the Cougars became the first team from a BCS conference to ever -- EVER! -- surrender 60-plus points in four games in one seasons. And there are five games remaining. But at least the Cougs have a win, even if it came against a bad FCS opponent in Portland State. Washington is 0-6 and the Huskies give up more yards than any other BCS conference team (483 per game). And it's just a matter of time before the fire coach Tyrone Willingham. The two rivals meet in what figures to be a nationally ridiculed rivalry game on Nov. 22 in Pullman, but both have another game afterwards -- the Huskies at Cal and the Cougars vs. Hawaii -- that could kill any good feeling from beating the other.