Pac 12 Update

The Pac-12 is fairly new to the post-season conference championship game, with last year being the first one held, but it has very neatly presented us with a semifinal round of sorts this weekend. Oregon can wrap up the North title with a win over Stanford, while the Cardinal will be in the driver's seat should they pull off the upset.  Meanwhile traditional rivals USC and UCLA square off for the south crown.  Oregon has much more than a division crown riding on its game but does seem to have Stanford's number of late with wins by 23 last year (despite trailing by 7 at half) and 21 in 2010. Then again, the Ducks have had everyone's number out West having won 25 of 26 conference games since beginning of 2010 season (their one loss was by 3).  I expect Oregon to win a close one with Stanford having the advanatge of a better schedule to date and a healthier set of lines.
As for the battle for LA, it is good to see that game have meaning again.  USC has to turn their season around so the game should be a blast.  Bruins by a FG.

Pac 12 Update

Will tonight be another misleading glance at the Oregon Ducks? What I mean by that is that tonight's game is being played in Eugene and when Oregon hosts someone they really lay it on. Last year they scored 52 against Stanford, 60 versus UCLA, 53 in a contest against Washington and 48 versus Arizona. Can Cal hold them to less than 48?
At first glance you can make a case for it. The Bears played Oregon as well as anyone last season, holding the Ducks to 15 points on "only" 317 yards in a 15-13 Oregon victory. And in 2007, Cal won in Eugene. So maybe they can hang with the mighty Ducks, 24-point favorites.
Then again, maybe not. Cal was awful on the road last year, losing four of five games. This year they beat woeful Colorado on the road, but in OT, and then lost to a solid Washington team in Seattle. There is not much to believe that the Bears could repeat last year's close call.
There is not much else going on in conference play this weekend, unless Utah plays its A game versus ASU. If QB Jordan Wynn does not play however, due to an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, then I cannot see how the Utes could pull the upset there, unless the Sun Devils are looking ahead to next week's match-up against Oregon.

Pac 12 Update

Since Oregon's opening day loss, the Pac 12 has made more of its headlines off the field. Stanford is the highest-ranked team in the conference and is the only undefeated team in the bunch. Unfortunately, they will be in a dogfight with Oregon all season for the Pac-12 North title as the two marquis programs in the conference are together, rightfully, in the same division. They square off November 12 in Palo Alto so the intrigue until then will center on who can play spoiler up North (Washington?) and who will take charge down South (Arizona State?).

This week's games should not help determine a North front runner as Stanford hosts UCLA and Oregon is off, but there are other key games as Washington travels to Utah, ASU hosts Oregon State (its no longer September so the Beavers might actually show up), USC hosts Arizona and WSU travels to Boulder. Arizona already has two conference losses--to the two best teams in the Pac-12--so they will have to play like a team possessed against the Men of Troy. But USC cannot afford to stumble there as it would give them a second loss and make catching an ASU team that beat them last week that much more difficult. Utah too has a conference loss and must win a huge game versus Washington. That is probably the one game to see this week (4pm kickoff Pacific time, FSN).