"Measuring Stick Saturday"

Week 3
I usually don't buy into all the different names ESPN gives to its college football weekends. We both know the network is just hyping the match-ups that will be shown on their stations. Anything to boost the ratings.

Yet this weekend is an exception for me. Yes, we are only two weeks into the season BUT this is a huge opportunity to show the rest of the country that Pac-10 football is indeed a power conference - one that should be in the discussion when the media, as it always does, ranks the Top-3 conferences in the land.

But let's try not to overreact here folks. Does it mean the conference is "weak" or "soft" if, say Washington, UCLA and Arizona lose Saturday? Absolutely not. Does it mean the conference is on par with the SEC should all three win or two of the three win, on top of Oregon and SC being victorious? Absolutely not.

I believe it will be a successful weekend for the Pac-10.

I am confident Oregon will take care of Portland State, USC will overpower Minnesota and Stanford will destroy Wake Forest.

Arizona will win in the desert vs. Iowa. All the signs are there. Night game. At home. QB Nick Foles is on his game. The Wildcat defense is solid. Most importantly, I am not convinced Iowa's offense can get the job done on Saturday night.

I am (somewhat) confident Cal can beat Nevada, although not having its best player on the field (LB Mike Mohamed) could cause them some trouble. And you never know what can happen in one of these Friday night games away from home.

I see losses on the horizon for UCLA vs. Houston, Washington vs. Nebraska and Arizona State vs. Wisconsin. The last one is the most difficult to call. I really like the Sun Devil defense. They have the players to stop the Badger running game. That's the key. I just don't think the offensive side of the ball is going to get the job done for ASU.

I don't like any part of the Bruins right now. They are in for a long night. As are the Huskies.
Yes, Jake Locker is a real talent but the rest of the team? Washington just does not have the number of playmakers on offense to compete with a defense like Nebraska. On the other side of the ball, the U-Dub defense has a long, long way to go. Perhaps D Coordinator Holt will have the personnel next season but he doesn't have the guys to stop many teams right now, let alone Nebraska.