Week Fourteen
Thursday, December 3
Oregon 37 - Oregon State 33 (pick: Oregon 38-27)
A classic contest, a game that will hold prominence in the state's history books for many, many years. Fans of either team saw a well played, intense battle between the two squads that were clearly the two best the Pac-10 had to offer in 2009. Lasting images include; Sean Canfield's fourth down pass just off the finger tips of receiver James Rodgers giving Oregon the ball with six minutes remaining; Jeremiah Masoli running over Oregon State safety Lance Mitchell for the final two yards to give Oregon another set of downs' then moments later, his option pitch to Kenjon Barner for another fourth down conversion that allowed the Ducks to run out the remaining clock; and of course the mosh pit of red roses that followed. Just a remarkable football game in every respect.
Saturday, December 5
Arizona 21 - USC 17 (pick: Arizona 27-24)
Wildcat quarterback Nick Foles connected with WR Juron Criner for the winning touchdown with 3:14 left in the game dropping the once mighty Trojans to a tie with California for fifth place in the Pac-10 and a coveted spot in the Emerald Bowl. And in the days since the chinks in the Trojan armor seem to be expanding. It will be an interesting off-season for Pete Carroll to say the least.
Washington 42 - California 10 (pick: California 25-13)
The temptation had been to pick the Huskies, this game had set up as a perfect trap game for the Bears after their emotional win over Stanford the previous Saturday. Shoulda, woulda, coulda as they say. As it was, the game was a showcase for Husky quarterback Jake Locker - 19/23 passing for 248 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 77 yards rushing on 14 carries and two more scores. It was the perfect audition for the NFL draft so it was somewhat surprising that Locker announced later he would be returning for his senior campaign.
BOWL GAMES
Dec 22 - Las Vegas Bowl
Oregon State vs. BYU
The obvious question is will Oregon State be able to set aside their disappointment of playing in the league's fifth place bowl game? Although it will be BYU's fifth consecutive appearance on the Strip, the Cougars have effectively played the "no respect" card well in these match-ups with the Pac-10. The thought here is that Sean Canfield isn't going to miss the opportunity to put a star atop a stellar season with a win over the 14th ranked Cougars. Benny's 37-24
Dec 23 - Poinsettia Bowl
Utah vs. California
Which California team is going to show up? The one that beat a red hot Stanford team in Palo Alto or the team that allowed Jake Locker to run wild all over them in the season finale? The Bears are talented enough to beat a good Utah team but their inconsistent performance over the course of the season makes this pick pretty much a coin flip. So for reasons of Pac-10 pride more than anything concrete, we will go ahead and give the nod to California 27-24.
Dec 26 - Emerald Bowl
Boston College vs. USC
It's quite the circus at Heritage Hall these days. Joe McKnight didn't travel with the team while his reported use of an SUV is being investigated. Three other players, including TE Anthony McCoy have been ruled academically ineligible to participate. After a steady diet of BCS appearances it is hard to imagine the Trojans can be excited about this match-up. While on paper, even with a shortened roster, USC should be able to win this game. They won't. Boston College 28-21.
Dec 29 - EagleBank Bowl
UCLA vs. Temple
If you could chose one game to go to this bowl season the guess is this one isn't it. Temple is an interesting story, the program not that long ago was winless and a laughing stock. Have the Owls progressed to the point they could knock off a BCS rival? Perhaps, given the Bruins offensive struggles this season. The UCLA defense should be the difference, 17-10.
Dec 30 - Holiday Bowl
Arizona vs. Nebraska
The Cornhuskers were within one second of knocking off Texas in the Big 12 title game and imploding the BCS in a fun new way. But instead they will be facing an Arizona team that - to their credit - rebounded well from a heartbreaking loss to Oregon that eliminated the Wildcats from the Rose Bowl race by winning their final two games. With a little momentum on their side and their first high profile bowl game since the Dick Tomey era, Arizona will come away with 28-17 victory.
Dec 31 - Sun Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Stanford
This is one of the more interesting bowl game match-ups, the big, bruising running style of Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart of the Cardinal facing a stingy Sooner defense. One has to think many, many more Oklahoma fans will make the trip to El Paso despite the fact this is the first bowl appearance for the Cardinal since 2001. An injury to Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck will make this a tougher task for Stanford. So the nod goes to the other Stoops, Oklahoma 28-13.
Jan 01 - Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Oregon
For the past several seasons the Big 11 has been abused by the other BCS conferences, both in non-conference games and in the post season. An easy observation is the tradition bound league has been left behind as the rest of college football has embraced the high octane spread offense and there is some truth to that. Although Rich Rodriguez has installed the spread at Michigan and Terelle Pryor runs elements of the scheme for the Buckeyes, neither team has been able to light up the scoreboard the way others who run the offense have been able to do. Ohio State's chances hinge on their athletic defense being able to contain the Duck's 1-2 running attack of Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James. It won't happen. Oregon's passing game will keep the Buckeye defense from crowding the line of scrimmage giving Masoli ample opportunity to connect with WR Jeff Maehl and TE Ed Dickson. We will call it Oregon 32-17 but it could easily be much more lopsided.
