Running with PAC: Week 3

Let's take our minds off the Utah disaster for a while and talk about the rest of the PAC-10. It was Cal State week for the conference as San Deigo, Fresno, and San Jose were on the schedule. This week also saw USC return to action in a feature match up with the Nebraska Corn Huskers.

Stanford matched their win total from last season by smacking around bay-area wipping-boy San Jose State. They blanked the Spartans in a game between two west coast light-weights. Oregon got the honor of spanking Fresno State in their post-Michigan victory lap. The Ducks hung 42 points on the Bull Dogs in the first half alone with 4 touchdowns coming from Stewart and Dixon. The final Cal State beat down came at the hands of the Sun Devils. San Diego State rolled over as expected and ASU improved their record to 3-0.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the rematch between Pete Carroll's Trojans and the once-mighty Nebraska program. The game wasn't even remotely as close as the final score might imply. The Trojans dominated from the start and their offensive line absolutely punished the Corn Husker front four. Sam Keller's 2 interceptions setup easy scoring drives for the Trojans that put the game out of reach. USC looked very much like the best team in the nation after a lackluster performance in week one. Stafon Johnson had a huge game gaining 121 yards on the ground, making his case for the starting running back spot.

Washington State and Oregon State took on Idaho and 1-AA Idaho State respectively. After their own decimation against Cincinnati, the Beavers took out some frustration on the Bengals (Yes, I had to go look that one up) scoring 61 points. WSU also cruised over the hapless Vandals for their second straight win. The Bears got their own Mountain West patsy last Saturday, but they creamed Louisiana Tech. Justin Forsett and an impressive 153 yards and 3 touchdowns in the affair.

Which leaves us with the only other loser of the week, Arizona. The Wild Cats lost to lowly New Mexico for their second defeat of the season. The Lobos picked apart Arizona's secondary for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was a close finish with Arizona's eventual capitulation in front of their own fans in Tuscon.

(photo credit: AP)