The bowl lineups are set,
and what better time to take a look back at
the Pac-10 season? It was a season that started
out with USC and Cal atop the heap in the
Pac, and ended with USC and Oregon the top
two, with UCLA a nice little surprise.
Cal started the season on a
roll, and it looked as if the Trojans were
going to have a tough time with the Bears
in early November in Berkeley. That wasn’t
the case. While Cal could run the ball well,
there was one small problem: Nate Longshore,
the guy who was slated to run the offense,
broke his leg and was done for the season.
That left the season on the shoulders of junior
college transfer Joe Ayoob, and it turned
out his shoulders were a little narrow. Ayoob
couldn’t get it done against USC and
wasted a great season from Marshawn Lynch
and Justin Forsett.
Arizona State is another team
that faltered down the stretch. The Sun Devils
were on the verge of an upset against USC
but fell apart in the second half of that
one, with RB LenDale White jamming the ball
down their throats. USC also benefited from
some timely picks of QB Sam Keller, and when
Keller went down with an injury, he left the
ball for frosh QB Rudy Carpenter. While Carpenter
showed some promise, the Devils were a disappointment
this season. Not the best job security for
Coach Dirk Koetter.
Oregon lost one game this season.
The Ducks, like the Sun Devils, had the misfortune
of having to play two halves against USC.
Those pesky rules just keep getting in the
way! Oregon isn’t the same team as it
was when it took on USC, having lost QB Kellen
Clemens. While Brady Leaf and Dennis Dixon
have provided a couple of different looks
for the Ducks, it wasn’t enough for
the pollsters to consider moving them high
enough to get them into a BCS bowl. And the
computers couldn’t stand the Ducks,
whose emotional win over Fresno State was
devalued by a Bulldog meltdown after their
loss to the Trojans.
UCLA was a mirage all season
long; their demolition at the hands of Arizona
wasn’t much of a surprise, and showed
what Mike Stoops can do as a coach. The Bruins
were propped up by a win over a weak Oklahoma
team, and somehow rolled their way into an
undefeated season until Arizona punished them.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to see
what happened to the Bruins when USC welcomed
them into the Coliseum, but I don’t
think anyone would have imagined how Reggie
Bush would completely destroy the Bruins and
leave them tackling air.
And USC? Well, it’s no
surprise. The Trojans are undefeated and heading
to take on Texas. I don’t think that
anyone would have expected the number of close
games in which USC was involved this season.
Where I think that bodes well for them is
they know that if they fall behind, they can
come back. Sixty minutes is an awful long
time to keep momentum against this bunch.
The dangerous thing for USC in the Rose Bowl
is this: if you fall behind against Texas,
it’s not like coming back against Fresno
State or Arizona State. USC needs to avoid
early-game complacency in this one. Pete Carroll’s
done it before, and the question looms: can
he do it again?
Lenny
Del Genio is a documented member of The Professional
Handicappers League.
Get all of his plays here. |
