Oregon Ducks (6-1)
The Ducks smacked the Huskies right in the mouth, 43 to 19. It's rather impressive considering the success Washington has had at home. Masoli and LaMichael James both beat the Husky defense with their legs.

James, the freshman running back, totaled 154 yards with 10 yards per carry and two touchdowns; not bad at all. Once again, the special teams and defense ignited the fire. Oregon starts slow, but boy do they start rolling!

This weekend will likely be the most important game remaining on their calendar when they host the #5 Trojans (BCS). If you're into high octane screaming and occasional uneasy displays of fan-emotion, then make your way to Autzen Stadium. Oh, and be sure to bring earplugs!

USC Trojans (6-1)
It was scary for USC fans to think that Oregon State would beat them again; through the second half, it almost seemed likely. However, Pete Carroll puts together quite a team and they followed through by defeating the Beavers.

The team was only penalized five times, which sparks some anger and frustration in Beaver Nation. Who knows what the score might have been had blatantly obvious situations been called against the guilty Trojans, but I will take that no further. Matt Barkley continues to grow as a freshman quarterback. A couple touchdowns passing and another on the ground overshadowed two ugly interceptions. His ability to keep cool in the pocket and come out with something positive during moments of likely negatives is a glimpse of what is to come.

Allen Bradford (RB) had a great day, tacking on additional 147 yards and two touchdowns to his record. Now, does this team deserve a #5 ranking nationally? Possibly, but they are looking a little weak on defense. Carroll is a defensive master so I don't suspect the "slump" last very long. Full power is required, however, to beat a talented Oregon team at Autzen this weekend.

Next game: @ Oregon, 10/31

Oregon State Beavers (4-3)
Oregon State may not have been able to beat USC for a second straight year, but it was still a fantastic display of perseverance. Mike Riley has to be pleased with how well his men played despite the loss.

Sean Canfield, who completed 30 of 40 passes for 329 yards and 3 TDs, broke out in a huge way, Quizz continued to show his power, the many receivers made awesome plays and even the young defensive backs came out with guns ablaze. Though the offensive line still needs to develop, both lines look good.

Ultimately the loss came down to penalties, many of which were called without decent reason, but that's college football folks! This weekend, the Beavers must be ready for a rather dull UCLA team at Reser Stadium. Even if Neuheisel manages to bring a prepared set of men, it will probably still lack what's needed to beat this OSU team.

Homecoming, with all of its odd glory, is upon Corvallis and the place will be stacked to the rafters (hope!). Go out all you crazy Beaver fans and show those SoCal soldiers what this school is made of!

Next game: vs. UCLA, 10/31

Arizona Wildcats (5-2)
Arizona dominated UCLA at home last Saturday top to bottom. Total yards were twice that of UCLA's, first-down total was nearly three times greater, time of possession was 11 minutes longer and the list just continues on.

If someone were to glance at the stats they would probably assume the Wildcats scored far more than the 27 they ended with. Turnovers were Arizona's major issue for some reason; the total came to 5. Nick Foles, who usually has very good games, threw 3 interceptions. One of the two fumbles resulted in a UCLA touchdown. Teams all have bad days and luckily Arizona's issues came against a team unable to do jack offensively, but this must not continue.

The remaining schedule looks harsh for the Wildcats. Since they get a bye this week, the Cats will not play until November 7th, but even then they host Washington State. What then lay after two weeks of break? After WSU they travel to Berkley; after Cal they host Oregon; after Oregon they have a minor break at ASU; after Tempe they visit USC, which happens to be their final regular season game. If that isn't a difficult round of action, I'm not entirely sure what is. The wildcats, like Stanford, will have to show some good final push to end the season on a high note.

Next game: vs. Washington State, 11/7 (bye this week)

Stanford Cardinal (5-3)
This is Jim Harbaugh's time to show the nation what kind of team him and his assistants have put together, because the coming road is mighty scary. Thankfully their bye week has arrived, but the schedule immediately delves into difficulty after.

Oregon visits the Farm following Stanford's break, then the Cardinal host USC one week later. The only hint at a breather comes when they travel to play Cal. Finally, the season will end hosting Notre Dame.

Surely this is one of the most difficult remaining schedules in the country. Stanford dominated ASU last weekend, 33 to 14. They had almost 200 more yards than the Sun Devils and the list really goes on almost like Arizona's. Toby Gerhart was able to get over 120 yards rushing with one TD. Andrew Luck had a good game, but had no touchdowns. All scoring came by way of rushing and field goals, which makes me wonder how the team will fare against more impressive run-defenses like USC (though ASU still has a top run-defense nationally).

Next game: vs. Oregon, 11/7 (bye this week)

Cal Bears (5-2)
6. California (previously #5): The Golden Bears hosted Washington State and claimed another victory. However, by no means was it impressive, because they still allowed the Cougars to accumulate 440 yards and 17 points.

The offense did just fine, but no stats from this game are worth my valuable time to mention. As we already know, their offense strikes hard…against weak opponents. Cal is definitely an interesting group. Kevin Riley underperforms, Jahvid Best lacks his 2008 explosiveness and the receivers are doing nothing spectacular. 6th place in these ranks seems to fit their skills just fine. Two more teams who show some strength are remaining on their schedule (OSU and Stanford), but this weekend it's only a trip to ASU.

Next game: @ Arizona State, 10/31

Washington Huskies (3-5)
The Huskies suffered a massive attack from Oregon last Saturday in their own doghouse. It was not surprising though since it is, after all, Washington.

Jake Locker didn't have his normal running ability and threw two interceptions. Chris Polk did manage to get 106 yards rushing, but nothing ever suggested after the second half that anyone could get things moving against Oregon.

With a bye this weekend and UCLA the following Saturday, the Huskies have two major challenges ahead. The first being Oregon State in Corvallis, and the second hosting California, which happens to be the final game. With all of the action taking place this weekend it may be easier to determine how the Huskies will do next week.

Next game: @ UCLA, 11/7 (bye this week)

Arizona State Sun Devils (4-3)
Sun Devils get the 8th spot and for good reasons. First, the good--their performance was not as bad against Stanford as UCLA's was against Arizona. Now the bad--they represent the cutoff within the Pac 10 where skillful teams meet bad teams.

This can change from season to season, but currently ASU just does not look impressive. Erickson may not have the best quarterback to fit the job in Danny Sullivan, which is why Osweiler was put in towards the end. The situation isn't stable yet and it's not likely to improve prior to some tough meetings against Cal, USC, Oregon and Arizona. Their only possible hope of a win comes against UCLA and maybe Cal at home this coming weekend; I'm not betting against the Bears in this one.

Next game: vs. Cal, 10/31

UCLA Bruins (4-3)
Rick Neuheisel seriously needs to get his team whipped into shape. The team is still 0-4 in conference play and their weekly development shows no signs of improvement.

Had no fumble been recovered for a touchdown last week against Arizona, the Bruins would have only put up two field goals. At this stage into the season I would almost bet that the battle between them and the Cougars comes down to a 7-point margin of victory. The quarterback situation still plagues them the most; last week three different players went in, none of whom had any success.

Oregon State this weekend is going to be rough; another loss is highly likely.

Next game: @ Oregon State, 10/31

Washington State Cougars (1-6)
The Cougars lost once again; nothing surprising this season. There were some respectable stats though.

First, they put 440 yards against Cal and 385 of them arrived via the sky. Second, they survived with zero turnovers. Third, they scored 17 points.It seems pointless to acknowledge such things, but this group is in dire need of positive results; I help when I can.

Penalties, however, kept the loss inevitable. 13 times the Cougars were flagged and 114 yards of penalization was handed to them. Paul Wulff may need to be replaced sometime soon, because it looks like continuous pain as long as he stays. That's not my decision, thankfully. WSU and Wulff have the opportunity to shock the world this weekend though when they face Notre Dame. Will they get a win? No?

Next game: vs. Notre Dame, 10/31