Searching for Roses: Pac-10 Woes

The weekend was bad. The kind of bad where six of the loudest, most obnoxious guys are watching in silence. The kind of weekend that makes you remember the reason why being a fan is so hard, where your perfect season is taken away from you and replaced by the backhand of reality. It can’t really be that bad though can it? The Pac-10 went 0-4 against the Mountain West this weekend, while USC put on a clinic against two time defending runner up Ohio State.

To Recap:
UCLA’s ego takes a huge hit when they fall 59-0 to BYU in their worst loss since 1929.

Arizona State proves talent isn’t everything when they lose in OT to UNLV at home 23-20.


CAL, one team I have been talking up as a rising stock in the Pac got manhandled by
Maryland in a score that was way closer than the actual game looked live: 35-27

Washington State 45 Baylor 17: There is really nothing to say here, WASU who may be one of the most underrated teams in the last 10 years doesn’t look like it now.

Washington not to be outdone by their State School counterparts takes a 55-14 beating from Oklahoma.

Stanford traveled to TCU to come home with a 31-14 loss.

Finally, our own University of Arizona went into Albuquerque and left with a 36-28 loss, their second consecutive loss to the Lobos.

How do you pick contenders for the Rose Bowl? Oregon looks like a legit contender for the honors, but a close game against Purdue doesn’t exactly bode well for their longevity. The main cause for concern for the Ducks is the fact the Roper left the game with an injury, again. Masoli has looked solid, and I’m not sure that he isn’t the better option regardless of Roper’s health.

If Oregon is at the top, then the entire state of Washington is at the bottom. The Huskies and the Cougars have no chance at contention at this point.

Then we have the middle of the pack: Cal, Arizona, Arizona State.

How the Schedules look:
Cal only has three road games remaining, having to travel to USC and Arizona.
Arizona State has to go on the road to face Cal, Arizona, and USC.
Arizona has four road Pac-10 games this season: UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, and WASU.

At this point it is almost impossible to differentiate, but it looks like Arizona State has the toughest road ahead of them especially after how they looked this weekend. Cal has a lot of home matches this year, but their two road games will be no easy task. Arizona has a difficult road ahead of them as well, but I think those games are more manageable than the other two programs.

Pac-10 play really kicks in this weekend and it will be interesting to see what kind of damage the programs can do to each other’s records. This season is looking rough.

4Real Out....