Week number two in the Pac-10 features two conference clashes, Stanford at Arizona State and the California Golden Bears at Washington State. In other games, BYU travels to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies, Utah State meets the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, the Toledo Rockets of the Mid America Conference travel to Arizona to clash with the Wildcats and Oregon State visits Happy Valley to face the Nittany Lions of Penn State. The schools of Los Angeles, USC and UCLA have a bye. The Trojans are preparing for what could be the match-up of year, Ohio State at USC in the Coliseum on September 13th. While the Bruins, celebrating a win over Tennessee, get ready to meet BYU in Provo.
In Tempe, look for Arizona State to have a balanced offensive attack that will keep a much improved Jim Harbough Stanford team out of sync. Rudy Carpenter and company are extremely well balanced in the air and on the ground, not a good thing for a defense that gave up over 500 yards through the air last week against Oregon State. The Sun Devils will win this game by 10 points.
The California Bears travel to Pullman to battle the Washington State Cougars. The Cougars under new head coach Paul Wulff are still trying to adjust to the coaching changes. Cal is coming off an opening week win over Michigan State 38-31. The Bears have too much depth and team speed for the Cougars. This game will be closer than many think, California by a touchdown.
BYU, ranked 16th, takes on the Washington Huskies in Seattle. There is tremendous pressure on the Husky coaches to win. The Dawgs are a very young team, not a good thing when it comes to handling pressure beyond the field of play. Bronco Mendenhall and his Cougars maintain their winning streak, BYU by 10.
Utah State at Oregon, this game is a mis-match. The Ducks will experiment with their rotation at quarterback in a blowout. Oregon by four touchdowns.
The Toledo Rockets have a Saturday date with the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona head coach Mike Stoops remains under heavy pressure to win after his team`s 70-0 win over the University of Idaho in the season opener. So, look for the Wildcats to run up the score with their “Air Zona” offense, Arizona by 18points.
The Oregon State Beavers travel to Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley to battle the Nittany Lions of Penn State. If the Beavers can find a running game and solidify their rush defense, this game will be much closer than many think. This is a first time meeting between these two schools and Penn State squeezes out a three point victory.
There you have it... the Pac-10 week number two preview.