ESPN College Football

When NCAA sanctions against USC included a two-year postseason ban, the bowl season took a major hit.

Or at least that's what the Wall Street Journal says. "When Southern California is in a bowl game, TV viewers tune in," the business newspaper reported this week.

How so? Well, the WSJ wanted to measure which teams moved the needle among viewers: "To figure out which teams are the most popular TV draws during the bowl season, we looked at the national viewership figures for every bowl since 1998. We then ranked each school based on whether it exceeded or fell short of its bowls' average audience size."

And the numbers showed that USC was the top draw, even over Notre Dame.

The best was USC, which exceeded its expected audience size by 29%. The most famous example of this was its epic national-title loss to Texas in 2006, which drew 35.6 million viewers—33% more than what the title game has averaged since its inception.

The ACC won't like the numbers. Four of the worst draws hail from the conference: Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State and Virginia.

USC Trojans

Record: 4-2, 1-2 Pac-10

It's now fair to say that the USC dynasty is over. Completely. In the preseason, it wasn't ridiculous to wonder if the four-loss team from 2009 was just a blip and that the Trojans would bounce back in 2010, reinvigorated under new coach Lane Kiffin. That clearly hasn't happened. USC looks like a middle-of-the-pack team in the Pac-10.

Kiffin was left a poor hand. The Trojans talent was already down -- see 2009 -- but a series of events have left them with just 70 scholarship players. There is a decided lack of depth. Kiffin has joked that the challenging present will be good practice for the future, because NCAA sanctions have docked USC 30 scholarships over the next three years.

Even through a 4-0 start, USC looked unimpressive. The defense was exposed immediately when Hawaii piled up big numbers in a 49-36 USC victory. The offense then looked bad in a 17-14 win over Virginia. Things seemed to come together slightly during wins over Minnesota and Washington State, but neither of those two teams provide much of a measure.

The last two games, though, were revealing. Playing two opponents that beat them last year -- Washington and Stanford -- the Trojans again went down due to late drives for winning field goals. The defense just couldn't get a stop during crunch time. The Trojans looked uninspired against Washington, but they fought hard at Stanford, a team that ran the score up on them in 2009.

They just couldn't impose their will like the USC teams of 2002-2008 always did. The question going forward: Will the postseason ban start to sink in over the coming weeks, making it harder for the team to get focused and motivated every week?

Offensive MVP: Sometimes people forget that Matt Barkley is a true sophomore. It certainly seems like he's been around a while -- perhaps that's because there's been so much USC news over the past year-plus -- but he's quickly matured into one of the nation's best quarterbacks. He ranks 14th in the nation and second in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency. He's completing 65 percent of his throws and averaging 253 yards passing per game. He's thrown 15 touchdown passes with just four interceptions. He seems well on track toward joining previous USC quarterbacks as first-round NFL draft picks.

Defensive MVP: The USC defense has been mostly bad this year, but tackle Jurrell Casey has been mostly good. He's got 32 total tackles, with 3.5 coming for a loss and two sacks. He's still widely considered an early-round NFL draft pick. Casey's numbers will pick up significantly if his line mates can stay healthy.

During his first run at USC, Ed Orgeron built his reputation as a great defensive line coach and a recruiting force.

He also was the coaching staff's designated fiery guy. Fair to say he was a master at whipping a locker room into a frenzy.

Now he's back, working under Lane Kiffin instead of Pete Carroll, and he's trying to rebuild the Trojans into the force they were from 2002-2008, not the indifferent team from last fall.

And, of course, he and Kiffin are trying to do that while yoked with severe NCAA sanctions.

The Trojans are 3-0, but most of the country is unimpressed. AP voters seem to be applying a special standard to USC, punishing the Trojans in the polls despite their playing three FBS teams -- two from AQ conferences -- as well as two road games.

Orgeron and USC are headed to Washington State on Saturday, where they likely will win but still drop a couple of spots in the polls. We caught up with him before he bolted for Pullman.

How long did it take for you to feel like you were back home at USC?

Ed Orgeron: (Laughs) Not long at all. This is a place I always wanted to come back to. And I was fortunate enough to come back here and fit right in and just start working again. So it didn't take long at all.

Before we get into football, what happened to your foot? How did you get hurt?

EO: I was at practice two Thursdays ago, setting up a drill, and I heard a crack. I got an x-ray on it and it was something that probably happened while I was jogging this summer, a little fracture. Just got a little worse.

I ask because I was wondering if you've mellowed. Or are you still as fiery as ever?

EO: (Laughs) I'm not mellow. In fact, there may be a little bit more fire that has come out.

Tell me about the defense: What's your overall feeling after three games?

EO: We started off really shaky. Hawaii was on fire. We made a lot of mistakes and didn't tackle well and got tired in the first game. We made some improvement playing against Virginia. We still have a ways to go. I'm really proud of the way we tackled and fit the run against Minnesota, which was averaging 252 yards per game. We still haven't played up to our potential yet. We're still getting better. We still have some deficits that we will have to get better, recruit better, coach better. But I think the tackling has improved, the conditioning is getting better and they're playing harder.

Who is playing well?

EO: We came in and we were really concerned with our linebackers. But I think they've been very solid. The whole crew: Michael Morgan, Devon Kennard, Malcolm Smith and Chris Galippo -- those guys a group of done a good job. DT Jurrell Casey is playing like an All-American. He's one of the better players I've had since I've been at USC. He's been really consistent.

What isn't going well?

EO: Everything starts up front. You got to have a consistent pass rush. We haven't had a ferocious pass rush since we've been back here. Not tackling, giving up the big plays. We've had busted assignments, letting guys get over the top. Guys have been in position to make plays and haven't. Everything that hasn't gone well has been correctable, though.

When you were at USC before, Washington State was pretty good. Are you a little surprised by their struggles?

EO: You just never can tell in college football. With recruiting, everything. Everything has equaled out. Look at Boise State. A team can lose a couple of good players and fall off, but they can regain their strength with a couple good players in recruiting. They have been off for a while, but I think those guys will fight back eventually.

What do you see from the Cougars offense on tape that you guys need to worry about?

EO: They are explosive. They aren't scoring a lot of points, but they've reeled off some big plays, some big runs. They've had more explosive plays that you'd expect from a team not having much success. We need to go up there and be ready to play. You know they're always going to play the Trojans well.

How far are you guys away from getting back to old USC defense?

EO: Oh, we're a ways away. That's going to be a process. It took us a couple years with coach Carroll to start playing USC defense, a couple of great recruits coming in. We're a ways away. Whether we can attain it this season remains to be seen.

You're known as one of the nation's top recruiters. What do you say about NCAA sanctions when you are out recruiting?

EO: It's galvanized our football team. We had choice to complain about it, give excuses, but we didn't. We're recruiting harder than ever. We're coaching harder than ever. There's a chance for these guys to come in and play. It really affected this year's class the most with two bowls. Next year's class is only one bowl. I really feel with 15 recruits we can play with anybody in the nation. USC is going to get the top players. I don't think it's going to be that detrimental to USC. We're not going to let that happen.

Knowing your numbers are going to be down over the next few years, how have you guys changed strategies to account for that?

EO: Lineman. Linemen. You have to get lineman. You have to have backups on the line to be able to practice the way we want to practice, physically, with physical practices. We have to make sure that the lines are really, really great.

Lane Kiffin thinks USC deserves a break. And not just from media and USC fans who have been beating up on the Trojans for their performances in the first two games.

Kiffin also thinks the Trojans deserves a break from Kiffin.

After all, he's the one who said this after USC improved to 2-0: "I hope you can tell the disappointment. We're not getting it done. It's the most miserable 2-0 locker room I've been in, which is good."

After a few days in which he could digest that being one of 43 2-0 teams isn't the worst thing ever, Kiffin took a longer view.

"Our standards are so high because we are at 'SC and because we have high standards in general, coaches and players," he said. "I think everyone, including ourselves, forgets that it is our first year. We expect our players to have picked up three new systems. There's only one coach here from last year out of all the 10 coaches. We do sometimes forget that because we expect our guys to play great and never make mistakes in our new schemes."

So is Kiffin talking about the "P" word? You know: Patience?

Yep.

"Were probably not doing a very good job of that because we have our expectations set so high," he said. "We do probably need to have a little more patience with them."

Though it seems like most of Kiffin's motivational coaching shtick involves directly challenging his players in person and through the media, he changed tack this week and gave them a little bit of positive reinforcement when he pinned a printout on every door of Heritage Hall, which compared the season to a 13-round heavyweight boxing match and featured a picture of Muhammad Ali glowering over a fallen Sonny Liston. It exhorted the Trojans to "Stay focused!" and "Toughness and Discipline!"

USC faces another long trip Saturday to an opponent that should be overmatched. Minnesota, after all, lost at home to South Dakota last weekend.

When asked if his team might yawn at the prospect of facing the wounded Gophers, Kiffin was quick to point to the Kansas case study: Bad enough one week to lose to North Dakota, but good enough to beat No. 15 Georgia Tech the next.

And if USC plays as bad on defense as it did against Hawaii, and as bad on offense as it did against Virginia, it could lose this one.

But that's seeing the glass as half-empty. The offense played great at Hawaii, while the defense was solid vs. the Cavaliers.

"The positive on that is we know we can play well on both sides of the ball," Kiffin said.

Two things are particularly hurting USC. In both games, the Trojans seemed to get tired. Kiffin said that was due to playing starters too many snaps. The plan is to play backups more, even if that makes the coaches nervous.

The second issue: penalties. USC ranks 119th in the nation in penalties, averaging 12 flags for 120 yards per game.

Kiffin said penalties have been an area of emphasis -- avoiding them, not getting them -- since he started in the spring. He said the coaches talk about limiting penalties endlessly. So his new approach is this: silence.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said when asked about the penalty issues.

Perhaps that's an answer in itself. Kiffin and USC need to lighten up a bit and recognize that he's a first-year coach leading a depleted roster during a tumultuous time for the program. Things are much different than when Kiffin was the offensive coordinator back in 2005.

So, as the wise men of Guns N' Roses once noted: Maybe we all just need a little patience.

Of course, selling that to demanding USC fans might not be that easy.

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

1. Cal's defense will be tested at Nevada: California presently ranks No. 1 in the nation in total defense, giving up a scant 160 yards per game. So kudos to new coordinator Clancy Pendergast. But Nevada ranks No. 1 in total offense, rolling up a monstrous 592 yards per game. So who wins: The irresistible force or the immovable object?

2. Arizona's O-line vs. Iowa's D-line: The Wildcats have a good offensive line, probably among the top three or four units in the Pac-10. But Iowa probably has the best defensive line in the country, led by end Adrian Clayborn. All four starters are back from 2009's stingy unit that combined for 27 sacks and allowed just 3.5 yards per rush. The first question is can the Wildcats line do enough to create any sort of run threat or occasional creases for Nic Grigsby? The second is, failing that, will the line give QB Nick Foles enough time to throw the ball?

3. Locker on the big stage: There is a bizarre crew that haunts the Pac-10 blog and constantly calls Washington QB Jake Locker "overrated," meaning they disagree with Mike Bellotti, Pete Carroll, every Pac-10 coach, every NFL scout, LSU's players (who called Locker the best player they saw in 2009) and just about everyone who makes a living around football. Of course, they have the right to call the world flat. But guess what? If Locker doesn't turn in an impressive performance vs. Nebraska, his Heisman Trophy candidacy will end before it gets started. So this is his big moment to either lead an upset or take a step back in national stature.

4. Vontaze Burfict vs. John Clay: Arizona State's 245-pound linebacker Vontaze Burfict is one of the most talented and aggressive LBs in the country. Wisconsin's 248-pound running back John Clay is one of the best power runners in the country. When these two meet, the violence of the impact should be dynamic. But who knocks the other backwards? Burfict and the ASU defense is looking to make a national statement. To do so, it needs to contain Clay.

5. Can USC put it together? USC's offense looked great in the opener at Hawaii. The defense looked terrible. The offense looked terrible vs. Virginia. The defense looked pretty good. The cumulative affect is we really don't know who these Trojans are. Will they put it all together at Minnesota's expense? Or will it be another piddling effort?

6. Luck through the air: Stanford QB Andrew Luck looked great running, but, despite two TD passes, didn't throw terribly well at UCLA. He completed just 11 of 24 passes for 151 yards. Wake Forest's secondary didn't look great while giving up 358 passing yards and four touchdowns to Duke in a wild 54-48 victory. You'd think Luck would feast on that at home and revert back to his accurate, playmaking self.

7. How will UCLA's offense bounce back? Stanford shut out the Bruins and held them to 233 total yards last weekend. That had many screaming for QB Kevin Prince's head. But Prince's biggest problem is he's barely seen practice time due to a back injury and then a shoulder injury. He's practiced all this week. Moreover, Houston's defense isn't anything like its offense. The Cougars are surrendering 26 points and 393 yards per game. Expect the Bruins to be much better on offense Saturday.

8. Jacquizz should break out vs. Louisville: Dating back to last season, Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers hasn't eclipsed 100 yards rushing in three games. That's a mini-slump for him. Louisville gave up 230 yards rushing to a mediocre Kentucky team in week one. So expect for Rodgers to get his 100 yards. And also expect him to get some touches in the passing game, which he didn't vs. TCU.

9. Cougs stepping forward? Does the comeback win vs. Montana State turn a page for Washington State? Sure, it was just an FCS opponent, but showing some backbone feels meaningful. SMU has a high-powered, balanced offense and is one of the favorites in Conference USA. Moreover, the Mustangs will be plenty motivated after losing at Washington State last year. But if the Cougars pull the upset, the entire tenor of their season could change.

10. How did the Pac-10 measure up? It wasn't the most creative name or anything, but "Measuring Stick Saturday" is real. The Pac-10's place in the pecking order among BCS conferences largely will be based -- at least during the regular season -- on what happens Saturday. A winning weekend will earn it consideration with the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12. A losing one? It falls to the bottom half of the six. Considering the Pac-10 is an underdog in five of the nine games, the conference needs for all its favorites to prevail and at least one underdog to come through with an upset.

Pac-10 officials blew a critical call in the USC-Virginia game on Saturday. That might not surprise you. A swift reprimand might.

Kudos to the Pac-10 for quickly and publicly accepting responsibility. That's a change under commissioner Larry Scott.

Here's the release:

The Pac-10 has disciplined the officials involved in last Saturday’s Virginia-USC football game for failure to apply the playing rules correctly, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today. Those officials involved in making the call have been reprimanded and will be removed from a future game assignment.

The officials misapplied rules for blocking below the waist on a Virginia fake punt in the second quarter. According to the playing rules, blocking below the waist anywhere on the field by either team is illegal if the offense is lined up in a scrimmage kick formation, unless a kick is not made.

“The officials recognized the mistake after the fact and apologized to the Virginia coaching staff. We know mistakes are made in games, but we will not tolerate our officials misinterpreting the rules,” Scott said.

“We believe the reprimand and removal from a future assignment are appropriate,” Scott concluded.

An undefeated weekend. Unless you're UCLA.

Team of the week: Oregon actually in some ways looks better because it came back from a 13-3 deficit at Tennessee with a 45-zip run. If the Ducks had rolled from the get-go, it would have been a case of "that's what we expected." But by bouncing back from adversity -- nothing went right in the first quarter on either side of the ball -- Oregon showed notable resilience and grace under pressure. And, let's face it, it was kind of fun that the early going spawned some SEC trash talk -- "We play defense in the SEC!" -- that was notably muted by game's end.

Best game: So Washington State nearly went down to Montana State? Think Virginia Tech, Kansas and Minnesota would prefer a "nearly" for themselves? The Cougars showed some heart by rallying from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to win 23-22.

Biggest play: LaMichael James' all-on-his-own 72-yard TD run was a thing of beauty. Just spectacular. And when he made the Tennessee defense look silly -- there was a palpable wince in Neyland Stadium -- you could sort of sense that the Ducks were about to deliver a beatdown. And they did.

Offensive standout: Washington receiver Jermaine Kearse bounced back from an inconsistent performance at BYU to dominate Syracuse's secondary. He hauled in nine receptions for 179 yards with three TDs. Kearse ranks third in the nation with 143.5 receiving yards per game.

Defensive standout (s): Two strong performances from Bay Area teams. California linebacker Mohamed led the Bears defensive effort against Colorado with 14 tackles and an interception for a TD, while Stanford safety Michael Thomas had five tackles -- one for a loss -- and forced two fumbles in the shutout win against UCLA. The second forced fumble he returned 21 yards for a TD.

Special teams standout: Kenjon Barner returned a punt 80 yards for a TD, giving the Ducks three punt returns for scores in two games after Cliff Harris had two against New Mexico in the opener.

Smiley face: The Stanford defense, which recorded its first road shutout since 1974, a 35-zip blanking of UCLA. Also, the Pac-10, a week after going 6-4 in nonconference games, went 7-0 against nonconference foes, including wins against the Big 12 (Colorado), the SEC (Tennessee), the Big East (Syracuse) and the ACC (Virginia).

Frowny face: UCLA. The Bruins rank 115th in the nation in scoring, 115th in passing and 111th in total offense. The defense? It ranks 116th vs. the run and 102nd in scoring. And Arizona State's rushing offense, which only produced 56 yards on 29 carries against Northern Arizona. That's 1.9 yards per rush vs. an FCS team.

Sloppy: Look at the bottom of this list. Arizona State and USC rank 118th and 119th in penalty yards per game (112 and 120, respectively). Both have committed 24 penalties in their first two games. Yeech.

Quote of the week: "That's the most miserable 2-0 locker room I've ever been in," USC coach Lane Kiffin said after his Trojans beat Virginia.

Quote of the week II: "Tonight was an offensive disaster," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said after his Bruins were blanked.

Thought of the week: Here's are the top games (Oregon vs. Portland State is not included).

Iowa at Arizona
Arizona State at Wisconsin
Nebraska at Washington
Cal at Nevada (Friday)
Wake Forest at Stanford
Houston at UCLA
USC at Minnesota
Washington State at SMU
Louisville at Oregon State

The win-loss record on Saturday night will play a huge role in how the Pac-10 is perceived this season. And, Oregon fans, if you are starting to entertain national-title dreams, you should root hard for the conference to do well. And, yes, that includes the Huskies and Beavers. Saturday's results will resonate in both the national and computer polls -- and later the BCS standings.

If you don't like where you are in the power rankings, play better (we're thinking of adopting that as the power rankings' official slogan).

1. Oregon: The Ducks started slowly -- REAL slowly -- at Tennessee, but then opened up a bottle of kick ax and used a 45-0 run to emerge with a 48-13 win. The Ducks are a decisive No. 1 and they mostly will be on the sidelines this week getting ready for Portland State while the rest of the conference tries to prove its mettle.

2. Arizona: Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles has completed 83 percent of his passes in two games. Sure, he hasn't faced dynamic competition, but it's hard to hit a stationary target from 15 yards away 83 percent of the time. Speaking of dynamic competition: Iowa comes to town on Saturday with one of the nation's best defense. This could become one of those before-and-after games for the program.

3. Stanford: Almost as often as we thought, "Wow, Stanford looks good," during the Cardinal's 35-zip win against UCLA, we also repeatedly considered this: UCLA might be a big reason Stanford looks so good. Stanford shouldn't forget that it went to sleep in the second half at Wake Forest last year and lost a game it seemed to have in hand.

4. California: So Cal fans, should we all get on the bandwagon? Is it safe to make that leap of faith? (Don't think I am not fully aware of your hand-wringing). Because I watched the beatdown of Colorado and couldn't find many things not to like. And get this: Look who's the Pac-10's No. 1 QB. Beware: A visit to Nevada could be tricky.

5. Oregon State: We don't think the Beavers are the No. 5 team in the conference, though the teams that we thought were behind the Beavers in the preseason have closed the gap. But Oregon State drops because it was off last weekend and, to point out the obvious, is 0-1. An impressive win against Louisville should provide a boost with a marquee visit to Boise State ahead.

6. USC: The bottom line is USC is 2-0 without having played a certifiable patsy. But the power rankings aren't about bottom lines. They are about measuring power on a weekly basis, and the Trojans have struggled to consistently show it in two games. In game one at Hawaii, the defense looked terrible. In Game 2 against Virginia, it was the offense.

7. Washington: After a slow start, the Huskies overwhelmed Syracuse and reignited the reasonableness of the position that if things fall into place, an upset of Nebraska on Saturday is possible. Not that we're ready to take that position.

8. Arizona State: The Sun Devils acquitted themselves reasonably well during the preseason (two games vs. FCS teams). This does not look like a team that will be an easy-out in the conference this fall. A visit to Wisconsin, however, will be a huge upgrade in competition.

9. UCLA: The Bruins rank 115th in the nation in scoring. It's hard to win when you rank 115th in the nation in scoring, particularly when the next two games are against Houston on Saturday and at Texas on Sept. 25. Suddenly, Game 5 -- at home vs. Washington State -- takes on an unanticipated and slightly desperate importance in terms of how things might ultimately stack up in the conference race.

10. Washington State: What to say about the Cougars after they rallied to beat Montana State, an FCS team? John Blanchette nails the sane and reasonable position. Instead of another round of forehead slaps, why not enjoy a gutty comeback win?

At Hawaii, the USC offense looked great, the defense terrible. It's not a mirror image versus Virginia, but it's close.

The Trojans scored a late touchdown to go up 14-7, but the offense has been sputtering.

The defense hasn't been gangbusters, but just seven points is what matters.

The biggest issue? Penalties, which was a big problem at Hawaii, too. The Trojans have been flagged seven times for 65 yards, and it's only halftime. One penalty, a holding call, killed a long touchdown pass to Ronald Johnson.

It's not Matt Barkley's fault, though. He's completed 14-of-21 for 147 yards with two touchdowns.

Final Pac-10 injury report. For more injury information, see the collegeinjuryreport.

Arizona
OG Vaughn Dotsy, back, questionable

Arizona State
DT Lawrence Guy, ankle, probable
WR Gerell Robinson, hamstring, questionable
TE Trevor Kohl, hamstring, doubtful
DT Corey Adams, knee, out
DT Toa Tuitea, elbow, out

California
OT Matt Summers-Gavin, knee, probable
TE Jarrett Sparks, ankle, questionable

Oregon
OL C.E. Kaiser, concussion, probable

Stanford
WR Chris Owusu, super-secret injury, questionable
LB Shayne Skov, super-secret injury, questionable
RB Jeremy Stewart, ankle, questionable
TE Levine Toilolo, knee, out

UCLA
QB Kevin Prince, shoulder, probable
P Jeff Locke, knee, questionable

USC
DE Nick Perry, ankle, probable
CB Nickell Robey, undisclosed, questionable
CB Brian Baucham, undisclosed, questionable

Washington
P Will Mahan, knee, out
DE Kalani Aldrich, knee, questionable
RB Johri Fogerson, hip, out
WR James Johnson, ankle, probable

Washington State
RB Rickey Galvin, arm, out
FB Jared Byers, knee, out
DE Adam Cooper, ankle, out
LB Mike Ledgerwood, shoulder, doubtful,
WR Gino Simone, hamstring, questionable
WR Jared Karstetter, concussion, questionable

Happy Friday.

• Arizona quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo has a good backstory and he's clearly helping Nick Foles. Receiver Juron Criner is another example of Mike Stoops' keen eye for talent.
• A Moos is loose for Arizona State.
• California's game with Colorado is a Pac-12 preview.
• Oregon's offense will expect the unexpected from Tennessee. A practice update.
• Oregon State safety Lance Mitchell knows Pasadena isn't all about roses.
• Stanford notes heading into UCLA. Tales from true freshmen.
• UCLA is seeing red, but that's a good thing. The Bruins might play more freshmen. Quarterback Kevin Prince will start.
• The quiet doesn't bother USC quarterback Matt Barkley. There are some defensive-line changes.
• The Huskies focused on special teams on Thursday. Nick Holt talks defense.
• Some Washington State notes as the Cougars get ready for their home opener vs. Montana State.

Some quick notes to get you through the hours until Saturday.

• Five Pac-10 players accounted for at least three TDs last weekend: California's Shane Vereen, Oregon's Kenjon Barner (5 TDs), USC Ronald Johnson (4 TDs), Arizona State's Deantre Lewis and Arizona State's Cameron Marshall.
• Three Pac-10 QBs rank among the nation's top seven in passing efficiency: Stanford's Andrew Luck at No. 3, USC's Matt Barkley at No. 4 and California's Kevin Riley at No. 7.
• Seven different Arizona receivers caught at least three passes last week at Toledo.
• Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber is 3 for 3 from beyond 50 yards in his career after booting a 52-yard field goal vs. Portland State. He was one of three conference kickers to connect from beyond 50 yards (Washington's Erik Folk, 54 yards, and Washington State's Nico Grasu, 56 yards).
• Cal is 2-2 all-time with Colorado, but this is its first meeting since 1982.
• Oregon is one of eight teams nationally that produced shutouts last weekend.
• Ducks CB Cliff Harris returned two punts for TDs -- for 61 and 64 yards -- in the win over New Mexico. Two punt returns for TDs has only been accomplished twice before by Pac-10 players: USC's Mike Garrett in 1965 vs. Cal; UCLA's Sam Brown in 1954 vs.Stanford.
• Oregon State safety Lance Mitchell leads the conference in tackles after recording 18 vs. TCU. Fellow safety Suaesi Tuimaunei is tied for third with 14.
• UCLA leads its series with Stanford 45-32-3.
• UCLA kicker Kai Forbath tied two NCAA records after going 3 for 3 vs. Kansas State. His 27 games with at least two field goals ties Georgia's Kevin Butler and his 13 with at least three ties Arizona State's Luis Zendejas. Forbath has made 40 consecutive field goals inside of 50 yards. His 75 career field goals are just 12 short of the NCAA record of 87.
• USC has won 31 consecutive night games (USC-Oregon kicked off at 5 p.m. last year).
• Washington QB Jake Locker made his college debut as a redshirt freshman at Syracuse in 2007. The Huskies won 42-12.
• Dating back to the last part of the 1975 season, the Huskies have gone 35-14 when playing at home the game after a loss on the road.
• Washington State is trying to snap a 10-game losing streak Saturday vs. Montana State. The Cougars are 6-0 all-time vs. the Bobcats.

Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.

• Derek Earls is a small-town guy who came up big for Arizona in the opener.
• Eddie Elder has emerged at safety for Arizona State.
• Some Colorado ties for some California players.
• A former Duck is trying to stop Oregon. Ducks get ready for "Rocky Top."
• New video policy at Oregon State. Some notes and a look at the 2011 recruiting class.
• UCLA will be a big test for Stanford's Owen Marecic going both ways.
• Despite a bum shoulder, QB Kevin Prince is expected to start vs. Stanford. Some practice notes.
• USC thinks its defense will do better vs. Virginia's pro-style offense. The return of Nick Perry should help.
• Practice notes from Washington. Expect to see more of RB Jesse Callier.
• Washington State needs to improve its tackling.

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

1. UCLA's run defense needs to bounce back: UCLA surrendered 313 yards rushing at Kansas State, including 234 yards on 28 carries to Daniel Thomas. Thomas is a quality back, but that's pretty freaking porous. While Stanford visits the Rose Bowl on Saturday without Toby Gerhart, the Cardinal offensive line is more talented than the Kansas State crew. If the Bruins front seven doesn't buck up, Stanford will use a its new backfield-by-committee to run over them. While Andrew Luck is the star, Jim Harbaugh would be perfectly content to run it 40 times. And, of course, if the Bruins can't stop the run, their obsession with it will provide plenty of big downfield opportunities for Luck.

2. Jake Locker and the Washington offense need to play better at home: Washington scored just 17 points and got shut out in the second half at BYU. Twice in the second half, drives deep in Cougars territory ended after failed fourth-down conversion attempts. Locker's numbers weren't bad, but no player shoulders more responsibility for his team's success as he does. The fifth-year senior who spent much of the summer being touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate when pundits weren't talking about his NFL prospects. Syracuse won't be a push-over on defense -- 10 starters are back from 2009. But Washington plays better in Husky Stadium, and the guess here is Locker and his supporting cast on offense will be far sharper.

3. Does Oregon QB Darron Thomas start fast or get rattled? Thomas' first career road start will be in Tennessee's Neyland Stadium, which means there will be 105,000 or so orange-clad fans riding his case. There's no way to know how a young man will react to that. He might come out smooth and poised and lead a dominant offensive effort by distributing the ball to all of his weapons. Or he might make an early mistake or two and get rattled and down on himself. Just as Autzen Stadium gives the Ducks a big advantage, so does Neyland do the same for the Volunteers.

4. Did USC's defense just have a bad day at Hawaii? It's possible that USC just had a bad night at Hawaii, that the poor tackling and flat effort weren't indicative of the capabilities of a seemingly talented crew. It's possible that Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron will correct mental and physical mistakes, make a few personnel decisions, and USC will show Virginia that it's back to its stingy ways. But there's also enough available evidence now -- see terrible performances vs. Oregon and Stanford in 2009 -- to support the notion that the Trojans' defense has lost its swagger and isn't actually as talented as its recruiting rankings suggest. Virginia shouldn't be able to keep up with USC on Saturday. But if the same defense from Hawaii shows up, the Cavaliers will do just that.

5. Cal's Kevin Riley completes 60 percent of his passes: Riley owns a career 54 percent completion rate. Accuracy has long been his bugaboo. Of course, he also hasn't benefited from great receivers during his tenure. Last weekend, he completed 70 percent -- 14 of 20 -- of his throws, though it's worth noting that UC Davis is an FCS team. What was most notable, however, were the impressive performances by his receivers, particularly true freshman Keenan Allen. There was a reasonable theory in the preseason that Riley would breakthrough as a senior, because that's when the light goes on for many QBs. It will be a lot easier with a dangerous group of playmakers at receiver, guys who can go and get the ball -- even when it's not perfectly thrown -- and boost a completion percentage. Colorado is strong at cornerback, so it will offer a good test as to whether Riley and his receivers are truly in sync and ready for Pac-10 play.

6. Washington State buries Montana State from the get-go: It's fairly simple. Washington State needs to go out and whip Montana State. It needs to start quickly, establish dominance and allow its fans to feel good about the program. The Bobcats are a quality FCS team, but the Cougars should have restocked their talent enough in year three with coach Paul Wulff to take them to the woodshed. Jumping to a big lead will boost the confidence in the locker room. Struggling and playing a tight game into the fourth quarter won't. Losing? Let's not even go there.

7. Arizona's rebuilt defense posts another dominant performance: The Wildcats defense was surprisingly stout at Toledo, a team that piled up big numbers on offense in 2009. Things should be even easier on Saturday against The Citadel in front of the home crowd. Still, another game of experience is another game of experience, no matter the quality of the opponent, and smoothing out any wrinkles will be valuable leading into the Sept. 18 visit from Iowa. Arizona needs to jump on The Citadel hard and then get its starters to the bench early in the third quarter.

8. Arizona State QB Steven Threet is cool, efficient vs. Northern Arizona: Threet played well in the opener vs. Portland State, and the Sun Devils offense as a whole looks substantially more skilled than the anemic unit from 2009. Threet and his mates need to duplicate that performance in another "preseason" game vs. an FCS program. The idea is to be as confident as possible before heading to Wisconsin on Sept. 18. It also would be nice to get all the starters on the bench as soon as possible so they will be rested and healthy.

9. Andrew Luck vs. Rahim Moore: If UCLA's run defense proves stout, that means Stanford will have to throw. And that means a showdown between these two All-American talents. Luck has uncanny downfield accuracy. That's one of the big reasons NFL scouts love him. Moore led the nation with 10 interceptions a year ago, so his ball skills qualify as uncanny, too. Will Luck be able to beat Moore and the Bruins over the top? Or will Moore bait Luck into an ill-advised throw that could be a game-changer?

10. Will Tennessee be able to run against Oregon? If the Vols can't run vs. Oregon, the Ducks are going to deliver a butt-kicking. No way Matt Sims, a junior JC transfer, will be able to pass them to victory. But Tennessee rolled up 332 yards rushing in its opener -- albeit vs. Tennessee-Martin -- and its got a strong stable of running backs, topped by Tauren Poole, and a big, talented, if inexperienced, offensive line. The Ducks defense is as fast as they come, but it also is undersized. If the Vols power-running game is consistently effective, then Oregon will be in for a highly competitive test.

Went an extremely unsatisfying 7-3 last week. The seven games I picked correctly were basically sure-things, and my read on how the Washington State-Oklahoma State game would go was completely wrong, even if the pick was correct.

As a great man once said: "D'oh."

Must have forgotten to take my vitamins. Or maybe my screwy gloating about my 2009 record infused my karma with stupid.

Well, here goes nothing.

Arizona 45, The Citadel 10: The key for the Wildcats: Assert yourself, get the starters to the bench. Start thinking about Iowa.

Arizona State 38, Northern Arizona 9: The key for the Sun Devils: Assert yourself, get the starters to the bench. Start thinking about Wisconsin.

California 30, Colorado 21: Colorado looks like a much improved team from 2009, but the Bears should be able to prevail at home. Wonder how Act II of Cal wide receiver Keenan Allen's freshman year will go?

Oregon 35, Tennessee 20: The Volunteers won't make things easy. The crowd at Neyland Stadium will be juiced. But the Ducks myriad offensive weapons will break through with difference-making big plays. Interested to see how quarterback Darron Thomas looks in the early going.

Stanford 33, UCLA 24: Andrew Luck will make a couple of plays downfield, and then the Cardinal offensive line will take over. The big questions are Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince and Stanford's new 3-4 defense. Which looks good?

USC 45, Virginia 17: Here's a guess that Matt Barkley and the offense again rolls, but the defense also will join the fun in front of a home Coliseum crowd hungry to talk about football and, if for just three hours, forget about a horrible offseason.

Washington 31, Syracuse 22: Jake Locker and the Huskies offense will be much better at home after a poor-to-middling outing at BYU. The Orange won't be a pushover, though.

Washington State 35, Montana State 21: An absolute must-win for coach Paul Wulff and the Cougars. If they lose to an FCS foe and start 0-2, it's not hard to imagine a winless season. On the other hand, if they play well, a bit of confidence might seep into the locker room.