Pac-12 men’s basketball media day sure was fun, but let’s get back to some football action. It starts tonight with the first Friday night clash since Washington State beat UNLV back in September. This time, Cal entertains Washington, and the Cal athletic department encourages fans to “Gold Out” Memorial Stadium. California Golden Blogs scouts Washington by looking at some of the Huskies’ plays against Oregon State last weekend.
On the other side of the ball, the Washington Huskies will be looking for their first road win of the season. What should Huskies fans be confident about and worried about concerning the Cal game? Also, here are some predictions of the Cal-Washington game.
The fun picks back up late Saturday morning for an 11:00 a.m. Pacific start as Stanford heads to Boulder to take on Colorado. In a Ralphie Report staple, here are some of Colorado’s key matchups against Stanford, while quarterback Kevin Hogan’s expanded role is a welcome sight for Stanford fans; he has looked pretty good in the spots he has played.
An hour later, Washington State and Utah kickoff in Salt Lake City. In what will be Kyle Whittingham’s 100th game as head coach of the Utes, what does Utah need to do to beat Washington State (those are two separate links, btw)?
For Washington State, the bowl season is out of the question…or is it? The Cougars can still go bowling if they win their last four games, and Cougars fans think their team has at least a puncher’s chance in all of them.
The 4:00 p.m. slot on Saturday is saved for the biggest game of the day: Oregon at USC. Once upon a time, Oregon was a floundering football program, but thanks to improved facilities, sweet uniforms and a masterful marketing campaign, little Oregon has transformed into the Mighty Ducks.
For the Trojans, it will all be about balancing their emotions and discipline. Penalties have been a bit of a bugaboo for USC this year.
Two 7:30 p.m. nightcaps, and both of them have Pac-12 Championship implications. One takes place in Los Angeles, where UCLA hosts Arizona in a battle of AP Top 25 teams. The Bruins must slow down the “frantic” Arizona offense, while a little dose of “Matt [Scott] up the middle” has been working just fine for the Wildcats.
The other one takes place in Corvallis, where Oregon State will entertain Arizona State. The Sun Devils have been relying on defensive end Davon Coleman, who has been filling gaps up front lately. Also, Oregon State head coach Mike Riley gives his final thoughts on the Arizona State game.
A couple of loose links to feel good about before you go on your merry way: Oregon State defensive end Scott Crichton has been selected to the Ted Hendricks Mid-Season Award Watch List, which goes out to the nation’s top defensive end. Also on the list from the Pac-12- Stanford’s Ben Gardner, UCLA’s Cassius Marsh and Datone Jones, USC’s Wes Horton and Morgan Breslin and Oregon’s Dion Jordan.
Lastly, a nice feature on Johnathan Franklin and his desire to be mayor of Los Angeles one day.