Fight on.

For those of you who caught the USC-Washington game, I don’t need to tell you how big of a bullet the Trojans dodged on a day when five of the top ten teams in the country were upset.  Following two dominating performances on the road at Nebraska and at home against Washington State, the Trojans showed that perhaps they shouldn’t be the number one team in the country by barely beating the Huskies 27-24.

On the bright side, USC was able to win a game in which almost everything went wrong.  The Men of Troy committed 16 penalties for 161 yards, compared to Washington’s  190 total yards.  Add those penalties to two interceptions thrown by John David Booty, the loss of two offensive linemen and the loss of yet another cornerback, and you have the makings of a close game.  In pure productivity, the Trojans dominated the Huskies, putting up 460 total net yards, 224 of which were picked up on the ground mostly by tailbacks Chauncey Washington and Staffon Johnson.

This year’s USC squad, with a preaseason ranking of No. 1, is a team that was supposed to be defined by 10 starters returning on defense.  Following a litany of injuries, the Trojans are down to their third or fourth string cornerback on one side and are missing their best pass-rushing linebacker, Brian Cushing.  It’s nice, however, to see that if one aspect of the offense isn’t working for the Trojans, they can always fall back on the other.  It’s a luxury that they didn’t have last year when Washington was often hurt and with four true freshman in the rotation.

People may think I’m crazy, but I still see this team easily handling Oregon and Cal.  Stewart Mandel called their weekend matchup one of the best games of the season, but I still think that USC is a way more physical team on defense and offense.  Many people question USC’s defense against Oregon’s deadly spread offense, citing that the Ducks would have beaten the Bears, if not for three turnovers in the red zone on their last three drives.  Stewart Mandel makes an excellent point on how to beat the spread following SFU’s victory over former No. 5 West Virginia.  Pete Carroll has gone on record saying this is his speediest defense yet…

I think Arizona State looks to be the toughest game for the Trojans.  Football fans know that Dennis Erickson, no matter where he’s coaching, should not be underestimated.  The Sun Devils have shown that they’re a physical team and that they can play tough through four quarters.  They’ve played two games this year where, in the first quarter they were down by at least two touchdowns, only to fight back and win.  One of these wins came against a Colorado team that just downed former No. 3 Oklahoma.  ASU’s next two matchups will show a lot about what type of team Erickson has.  The Devils play on the road at Washington State, a team they should beat easily (the test is that it’s on the road), and at home against Washington and the future of the Husky program, quarterback Jake Locker.   For those unfamiliar with Jake Locker, he’s called the Tim Tebow of the west…

You’re crazy, Les.

It’s that time of year again, folks. That’s right, the college football season has officially begun, and we’ve already seen some fireworks. But before we get into all of that, lets take some time to clarify what this blog is all about.

Most college football fans have heard of the east coast bias; it’s the idea that the east coast AP poll voters and coaches, because of the time difference, rarely appreciate west coast football the way they should. I mean, who’s going to stay up until 1 a.m. to watch USC pummel Idaho? However, it is their job to watch as many games as possible to make an educated and informed vote every week. And while #1 USC has remained largely unaffected by the east coast bias the last four or five years (and not without reason), the rest of the Pac-10 hasn’t fared as well.

Public perception of the Pac-10 is that the conference is soft, a bunch of offensive finesse without the defense or muscle in the trenches to compete with the other BCS majors. It didn’t help the cause when a ranked Cal team went into Tennessee and was embarrassed 35-18 last year.

I, however, disagree with this assessment and, through this blog, will cover the Pac-10 with the respect and passion these teams deserve.

Sporting News ranked the Pac-10 as the fifth toughest conference this season following the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, respectively. Even LSU coach Les Miles jumped on the bandwagon in July, making the point that the Trojans will have an easy time getting to the National Championship because of the softies in the conference. LSU, he said, would love to have the path that USC has.

But forget all the hype because the season has officially started.

Tennessee made the trip to Berkley where the 12th-ranked Bears avenged last season’s loss while racking up more points on the No. 15 Volunteers than any other team in the past 12 years. Cal put up almost 500 yards of total offense to beat the Vols 45-31. Cal running back Justin Forsett, who weighs only 198 pounds at 5-foot-8-inches, rushed for 156 yards on 26 carries against a respected SEC defense. While Cal was ranked higher than Tennessee, only 46% of Yahoo! users picked the Bears to win, despite their home-field advantage.

This was a must-win game for Cal. Coach Jeff Tedford and his Golden Bears have often been the Pac-10 poster boys for the conference’s lack of toughness. After being passed up for a Rose Bowl berth in 2004, 10-1 Cal (with their only loss to the eventual national champs USC) played flat and lost to a 7-4 Texas Tech team in the Holiday Bowl. At one point during their loss to Tennessee last season, Cal was facing a 35-point deficit. It’s nice to see the Tedford can win a game that counts for something, though he’s yet to really do that outside of Berkley.

Across the board, Pac-10 teams performed well in the first week of the season with only Washington State and Arizona losing non-conference games to No. 7 Wisconsin and BYU. Key matchups for this weekend include Oregon at previously No.5-ranked Michigan and Washington hosting Fiesta-Bowl-darlings Boise State. Let me point out that Oregon has failed to score a single point in three previous trips to the Big House. Perhaps they can take a cue from Appalachian State.