Pac-10 play heats up once conference hits sixth week Oregon State and California highlight Pac-10 play By Hank Hager Sports Editor The Pacific-10 Conference heads into the sixth week of the season, and although not every game is a confer ence tilt, the Pac-10 is getting into the thick of league play. Stanford, which has played just two games this season, is the only confer ence team taking the week off. The Cardinal next play Oct. 11 atUSC. Oregon State (4-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-10) at California (3-3,1-0), 2 p.m. Even though the game isn't being tel evised, it is easily the matchup of the week. California is coming off an upset of the Trojans, and the Beavers squashed Arizona State, 45-17, last week. The Golden Bears lead the series 31 24, although Oregon State defeated Cal last season, 24-13. Steven Jackson leads Oregon State and the Pac-10 in scoring with seven rushing touchdowns, while Cal's Ge off McArthur is fifth in the conference with six touchdowns. "The USC game was just another game," Cal head coach JeffTedford said. "I know it was great for the alumni and for the university, but it’s over. It is going to be a challenge get ting the kids to focus in, because they are going to be around a bunch of people on campus telling them about how great the win was." No. 10 USC (3-1,0-1) at Arizona State (2-2,0-1), 12:30 p.m., ABC The Trojans are limping after their 34-31 overtime loss to California last week, but they could get well pretty quickly against a slumping Arizona State squad. The Sun Devils have scored just 19 combined points in consecutive loss es to Iowa and Oregon State. Quarter back Andrew Walter has slumped to fifth in the Pac-10 with 223 passing yards per game while the entire of fense ranks last in the conference with a little more than 26 minutes of pos session each contest. "Andrew got to a great start our first two weeks," Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter said. "He was sharp and did not play really well around him with some key guys out. I think what has happened to him the last two weeks is normally what happens with great players is as we struggle, Andrew takes way more blame than he needs to take." Arizona (1-4,0-1) at No. 14 Washington State (4-1,1-0), 2 p.m. This is a game featuring two teams going in two completely different di rections. Arizona fired head coach John Mackovic Sunday — replacing him with defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz — while the Cougars are coming off a 55-16 spanking of Ore gon on Saturday. The Wildcats rank at or near the bottom of the Pac-10 in each of the major offensive categories, including scoring offense (ninth), pass offense (ninth), rushing offense (ninth) and total offense (10th). On the other side of the ball, Washington State is third in the con ference in total offense, and second in scoring offense with an average of 35.2 points per game. "We certainly have a daunting task having to go up to Washington State," I lankwitz said. "Washington State is a team that is playing extremely well coming off a great season a year ago. * No. 18 Washington (3-1,1-0) at UCLA (2-2,0-0), 3:30 p.m., FSN The first game for the Bruins should be a doozy. Washington, de spite firing head coach Rick Neuheisel in the offseason, has become a power player in the Pac-10 this season. The Huskies can owe their quick start to a well-oiled running game, something the team has been missing the past few seasons. Washington ranks third in the conference in rush ing offense with 149.5 yards per game. Rich Alexis is the catalyst of the attack, ranking third in the Pac-10 with 85.5 yards per game. UCLA's offense has stalled, ranking just ahead of Arizona for ninth in to tal offense in the Pac-10. Manuel White averages just 54 yards on the ground a game. UCLA won last season's contest be tween the teams, 34-24. That may not be the case again this season. Contact the sports editor at hankhager@dailyemerald.com. UTAH continued from page 2B and he is really fast. I think he will have a good game." Establishing a solid presence at the quarterback spot is also crucial for the Utes. Junior quarterback Brett Elliot, a Lake Oswego native, broke his wrist in the final play of Utah's game against Texas A&M on Sept. 6. Elliot is questionable to play against the Ducks. If the Utes remain strong behind sophomore Alex Smith — who has led Utah in two straight wins over the past two weeks — they look to be all right. In games against Colorado State and California, Smith looked like he had started games last season. The 6-foot-4-inch quarterback has completed 73 percent of his passing attempts and is averaging a 126.7 passing yards per game since replac ing Elliot. Utah is aware of Oregon's talent despite the Ducks' many mistakes last week. The Utes look to defeat Oregon in Salt Lake City for the first time since a 24-17 win in 1991. "Oregon is fast, and their team speed is the advantage they have on us," Meyer said. "They also have guys at about 320 pounds on the defen sive line." Contact the sports reporter at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com. Virtual Office Systems, Inc. In Partnership with UO Bookstore! AMDB AMD: The smart choice for value and performance! The “Competitor AMD Duron 1300 $459.99 Gigabyte GA-7VKMP ATX 20 GB 7200 RPM Drive On-board Savage Video 256 MB DDR Memory Monitor NOT included System includes A TX case, 250 Watt power supply, Windows XP Home, 52XCD, 56K V. 90 modem, floppy, mouse, keyboard, sound, and stereo speakers digitaJDUCK We at VOS Computers are always looking for ways to improve your computing experience, and one of the ways we do this is by writing helpful tips and tricks for your use. So check out this month’s tips at: www.voscomputers.com Microsoft OEM System Builder Gold Member 2002 3131 West 11th. 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