Pac-10 sorts itself out with top matchups
The Pac-10 enters the third
week of conference play
Around the Pac-10
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
All 10 Pacific-10 Conference
teams will get a shot to prove they
are worthy of the conference
crown Saturday.
Oregon is the only team that has
n’t wavered in its quest for greatness,
as the Ducks are the only undefeated
Pac-10 team remaining this season.
Two other teams in the Pac-10 have
only lost one game and only one team
is below .500.
Four Pac-10 teams are nationally
ranked in the Associated Press top-25
poll, highlighting the rise to national
prominence of the conference.
Arizona (3-2,0-1 Pac-10)
at No. 22 Washington
(3-2,0 1)
Things look good for the Huskies in
this matchup, if history is a guide.
Washington leads the series with the
Wildcats 13-4-1, winning the last
three and eight of the last 10.
Washington could need anger-man
agement classes after last weekend’s
loss to California. The Golden Bears
handed the Huskies a 34-27 loss, the
first time Gal has beaten Washington
since 1976. The streak was 19 con
secutive wins for Washington.
Arizona has had trouble lately with
injuries, as star halfback Clarence
Farmer was out with a knee injury.
But last week wide receiver Bob
by Wade had a career-high 12
catches for 151 yards against Ore
gon. Quarterback Jason Johnson
has been picked off just three
times in 166 passing attempts and
is averaging 269.8 yards per game
for the Wildcats.
But in the quarterback competi
tion, the Huskies easily prevail over
the Wildcats. Washington quarter
back Cody Pickett is averaging 373.6
yards per game and destroying the
Pac-10 quarterback competition in
that category, while also carrying a
66.2 completion percentage.
Picket just missed his third-con
secutive 400-yard passing game with
399 yards against Gal last week.
Last year was a battle between
Arizona and Washington, with the
Huskies prevailing 31-28 in Seattle.
Pickett passed for a school-record
455 yards and Johnson passed for
early touchdowns, but had to leave
the game with a concussion. It’s
sure to be another fierce battle if the
Cats can find a way to isolate the
Dawgs’ passing game.
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Quarterback Chris Lewis (10) and the Stanford Cardinal look to upset No. 12 Washington State in Palo Alto on Saturday.
No. 12 Washington
State <5-1,2-0)
at Stanford (1 -3,0-1)
The Cougars enter this weekend’s
matchup riding the momentum
train. Washington State has won
five of its last six Pac-10 road games
and stole a win from the Trojans on
Saturday in overtime.
The Cardinal has a commanding
lead in the series at 30-21-1 since the
teams first met in 1936, and Stanford
has won eight of the last 10 overall.
But the Cougars prevailed last year in
a match to remember.
Both teams strolled into Palo
Alto still undefeated and only one
would remain that way as Wash
ington State prevailed 45-39. It
was all offense as the teams com
bined for 525 yards and 59 points
in the first half alone.
Stanford has started with a rough
schedule, with three of the Cardi
nal’s first four games on the road. A
loss to No. 9 Notre Dame last week
end snapped Stanford’s three-game
win streak against teams ranked in
the top 10. Stanford is currently the
only team in the Pac-10 to have a
losing record.
The offensive matchup will be
interesting for the two teams, as
the Cardinal dominates on the
ground and the Cougars lead in
passing. Stanford fullback Casey
Moore is averaging 6.5 yards per
carry, making him the top rusher
by average in the Pac-10.
Washington State quarterback
Jason Gesser ranks fourth in the
Pac-10 at 266.2 yards per game.
Gesser recently passed Drew Bled
soe and Ryan Leaf on the WSU ca
reer total offense list last week
with 7,278 total offensive yards.
Although Gesser has been hurting
from a rib injury, it hasn’t swayed
his performance.
Oregon State (4-2y 0-2)
at Arizona State
<4-2, 1-0)
Things are not looking too good
right now for Oregon State. Not only
have the Beavers started conference
play with two losses, but the last
time they won in Tempe, Ariz., was
in 1969, back before the Sun Devils
were a Pac-10 team.
Arizona State at a huge advantage
in the series at 20-7-1. The Sun Dev
ils have owned nine of the last 10
against the Beavers and have won 14
straight in Arizona. Last year the
Beavers led 24-20 into the fourth
quarter but eventually lost 41-24.
But this is 2002. Oregon State
sophomore quarterback Derek An
derson has 17 touchdown passes,
Turn to Pac-10, page 9B
USC, Cal renew historic rivalry
for conference bragging rights
There will be a Golden State war
in Los Angeles this weekend
Game of the week
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
This rivalry dates back to even
before your father was born. It’s
a matchup that neither team
takes lightly.
It began in 1915. And this Satur
day, USG and California will duke it
out for the 90th time.
Meeting No. 89 between the teams
wasn’t exactly beautiful. In 2001, the
Trojans reversed a three-game losing
streak to Cal and handed the Gold
en Bears their 12th-straight loss, a
55-14 blowout.
USC had a solid attack in that
game and produced 448 yards while
the Trojan defense limited Cal to 12
first downs and 223 yards of total of
fense on four forced turnovers. The
Trojans lead the series 55-29-5.
But that doesn’t mean the Golden
Bears need to worry. Cal won the last
three in the series before the loss last
year. Those three games were in Los
Angeles, where this weekend’s game
will be held.
Cal is riding high after they upset
Washington 34-27 and snapped the
Huskies’ 17-game home winning
streak Saturday. For the Golden
Bears, it was the second -time this
year they beat a nationally-ranked
Adam Amato Emerald
Quarterback Carson Palmer and the Trojans host Cal for the schools'89th meeting.
team on the road.
The Trojans have been dominant
at home recently and anybody that
walks into L.A. Coliseum should
worry about their streak. USC has
won its last five home games, shut
ting out Oregon State and UCLA in
that stretch.
The numbers game is split be
tween the teams. Bears quarter
back Kyle Boiler has passed for 637
yards and eight touchdowns over
the past two weeks as Cal has
outscored opponents 142-38 in the
first half over that stretch.
■ California leads the.Rac-10 and is
tied for fourth nationally in turnover
margin, forcing 13 more turnovers
than it’s giving up.
USG leads the Pac-10 and ranks
fourth nationally in total defense at
267.2 yards per game. The Trojans
also lead the league in pass defense.
The Trojans are all over the top of
the Pac-10 leaderboard in statistics
as they have allowed a Pac-10-low
three touchdown passes and oppo
nents only have a 43.2 completion
percentage against them. All of
USC’s opponents are 0-5 on fourth
down-conversion attempts.
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