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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2002)
Pac-10 prognosticating still possible No, you’re not delusional. Your eyesight is OK. California is atop the Pacific-10 Conference standings. Washington is last. Crazy, but true. Granted, it’s only three weeks into the sea anything like this to happen. AdaiTI teams (Oregon, Out in left field USC, Washing ton, Washington State, UCLA and Amazingly, six Pac-10 Gal) are ranked in the top-25 this week, the most since Sept. 18,1989. Not to be forgotten, Oregon State is close behind at No. 28 in the Associ ated Press poll. What does that mean? Nothing, really, since conference play hasn’t even begun. It does, however, promise another exciting Pac-10 race where no team can be taken for granted — especially Gal. After a 1-10 finish last year, the Bears were picked to finish last in the conference this year. Under first year head coach Jeff Tedford, the Bears have been golden. They pounded then-No. 15 Michigan State 46-22 last week to start their season 3-0 for the first time since 1996. They’re ranked — no joke — No. 23 in the Associated Press poll. Tedford, the former Oregon offen sive coordinator, is simply a miracle man. I^et’s hope he didn’t sell his soul. “What we're doing is a shock to me,” comerback James Bethea told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is how you always dream of your col lege football career being — not to say that we'll win every game we play, but that we feel proud of play ing for Cal, and we have a chance to win every time we go out there.” Quarterback Kyle Boiler, who’s ad mitted to constantly watching the film of Oregon’s Fiesta Bowl victory, was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week after accounting for four touch downs (two throwing, one rushing, one catching) against the Spartans. After an ugly career, Boiler may end on a positive note. “My best stuff is yet to come, I think,” Boiler told the San Francisco Turn to Jude, page 12 EUGENE Jhu&l/aSue. HARDWARE • Hardware • Electrical • Plumbing • Paint • Lawn & Garden • Housewares 342-5191 2825 Willamette - Eugene., Oregon Pac-10 continued from page 4 The Golden Bears have not start ed a season off this successfully since 1996, and are just three wins away from magical win No. 6 — the figure that automatically qualifies a team for postseason bowls. Of course, California is banned from bowling this season due to NCAA rules violations, but that doesn’t mean the Bears can’t have some fun along the way. “The funny thing is, no one on the team was shocked that we won,” California safety Nnamdi Asomugha said. “We were very confident going into the Michigan State game that we could play with this team, and after half time it was evident.” Montana State (2-1) at No. 16 Washington State (2-1)2 p.m. There’s no better way for Washing ton State to get better than to take on I-AA opponent Montana State. This game will probably be a cakewalk for the Cougars, especially considering they have defeated Montana State in each of the six pre vious games the two teams have squared off in, including a 53-28 blowout last season. But after last week’s loss to Ohio State, the Cougars know they have to get back on track. “We know we have some work to do,” defensive end Isaac Brown told the Daily Evergreen. “Ohio State showed us we had work to do. I think that was kind of a good thing for us, because we're not going to be too full of ourselves. We're not going to be on that high horse in the weeks to come.” Fresno State (1-2) at Oregon State (3-0) 3:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net Hoping to avenge last season’s 44-24 loss to the Cinderella squad from central California, the Beavers welcome Fresno State to Reser Stadium for a game that could be very entertaining. Derek Anderson has sprouted talent for Oregon State, throwing for 12 touchdowns, no intercep tions and a 66 percent completion rate in three games. Against UNLV last week, he threw for five TDs and 356 yards. Fresno State has nearly been the Cinderella team it was a season ago, but its luck may have run out. The Bulldogs have lost two games by a combined six points — by two to Wisconsin and four to Oregon. How ever, signal-caller Jeff Grady has not played in two straight, and for the Bulldogs to be successful, they need him behind center. But with Oregon State’s relative in experience, this game should be close. Wyoming (0-3) at No. 13 Washington (1-1) 7 p.m., Fox Sports Net Washington should be able to handle the Cowboys without any problems. But the Huskies have had problems of their own this sea son and Wyoming, which is look ing for its first win, could be a dan gerous squad. At least that’s what Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel seems to think. “Whenever you're playing a team that's on the ropes, you al ways worry about their devil-may care strategy in a game that can just be wide open and cause you all sorts of fits if they're doing things that might not be the norm in a contest,” he said. “The outcome of a game is a risk-reward deal, there looks to be very little risk for them right now in terms of what they can do and what they can try. So you get nervous about that.” The Huskies have not played since Sept. 7, when they notched a convincing win over San Jose State. However, their 31-29 loss to Michi gan to open the season still seems to have its residue on the Washington program. For the Huskies to succeed this year, Neuheisel will have to get his players to forgive and forget. Contact the sports reporter at hankhager@dailyemerald.com. Welcome Back! 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