Damn Beavers

Oregon State is the first Pac-10 team to make a serious blunder this season by losing badly to the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Beavers were completely dominated, throwing six interceptions, losing one fumble and getting only 30 yards on 16 attempts (less than two yards per carry) from running back Yvenson Bernard. This is following a 165-yard two-touchdown performance against Utah a week earlier.

Leave it to one of those Oregon schools to screw the conference. By comparison, the Big East and the Pac-10 are very similar in their status among the other BCS conferences. Both are currently sporting three ranked teams, one of which is considered a serious championship contender (USC and West Virginia), and both sport some electrifying offensive talent (Steve Slaton, DeSean Jackson, Pat White, Brian Brohm, John David Booty). And by the way, all five are generally considered to be on the this year’s Heisman-watch list.

Losing to a mediocre Big East team is unacceptable. The Big East gets little respect, and this will lead to the Pac-10 getting even less. It’s not like OSU was playing a powerhouse team like Louisville or West Virginia — it was Cincinnati. They’ve been a part of the Big East for only two years; previously they were a Conference USA team.

The most important part of building a strong conference is consistency from the better teams in non-conference play. Thirteen-ranked UCLA is regarded as the third-best team in the Pac-10, and it’s their consistency in non-conference that will play a huge part in defining just how tough the Pac is this year. This week they match up against BYU, a team fresh off of pounding those pussycats to the south. The following week they’ll travel to Utah, where OSU had their promising start. A loss to either team would be a devastating blow to the Pac-10, the logic being that one of our better teams can’t even handle these softies in weaker conferences. As much as I hate those dirty Bruins, I have to cheer for them.

What many fans don’t understand is that college football is a regional sport. You always support your conference, even if the team is your bitter rival. Ohio State fans were shown cheering last week during the final moments of the Michigan loss to Appalachian State. What those boneheads don’t realize is that loss makes their conference look like crap. Sports Illustrated college football analyst Stewart Mandel moved the Buckeyes down a few spots in his power rankings, despite the team’s victory over Youngstown State, commenting that Michigan’s loss has revealed the Big Ten to be highly overrated.