The Living Room Times

One week to go in the regular season for the Pac-10. Although the league will most likely end up with either 3 or 4 Pac-10 teams in Bowl games, two of those games look to be BCS games. Not too shabby. Speaking of BCS Bowl games, here’s my predictions for how those will shake out:

NC – Oregon vs. Auburn
Rose – TCU vs. Wisconsin
Sugar – Arkansas vs. Ohio State
Orange – Va Tech vs. Stanford
Fiesta – Nebraska vs. UConn

Now, on to the rankings! UPDATE! I threw in Utah and Colorado.

1. Oregon
11-0 (8-0 Pac 10)
LW: 1
The Ducks started slow for the third week in a row and actually trailed the Wildcats by 5 at the half, but they came out firing on all cylinders in the second half coming away with another solid win. All that stands between Oregon and the National Championship game is in-state rival Oregon State in next week’s Civil War.

2. Stanford
11-1 (8-1)
LW: 2
Stanford rounded out their regular season with a dominant shutout of Oregon State, hopefully securing a top four BCS ranking and a guaranteed spot in a BCS game — as I’ve posted above, likely the Orange Bowl. All they can do now is wait. A win by Stanford in that game, and a win by the Ducks in the NC game, and the Pac-10 could finish the season ranked #1 and #2.

2.5. Utah
10-2 (7-1 Mountain West)
The Utes would probably lose to both Stanford and Oregon, but would probably beat the rest of the Pac-10 this season. Have a great shot to take the inaugural Pac-12 South Title unless USC’s bowl ban is reduced.

3. Arizona
7-4 (4-4)
LW: 3
After a spectacular 7-1 start, the Wildcats faced a gauntlet of Stanford, USC, and Oregon, which has dropped them to 7-4. For a half, it looked like they might be able to take out the Ducks, but hope faded in the third quarter. Arizona can finish on a positive note with a win over rival Arizona State, but the good news for the Wildcats is being the third Pac-10 bowl eligible (and possibly the third out of only three) they will drop no further than the Sun Bowl, and likely end up in the Alamo Bowl.

4. Washington
5-6 (4-4)
LW: 7
The Huskies kept their bowl hopes alive with another strong defensive performance and a clutch final drive by Jake Locker and the offense. Sarkisian bet it all on the final play of the game, opting to run for it on 4th and 1 as time expired for the win, rather than kicking the field goal and going in to overtime. With a reeling Oregon State facing the dominant Ducks next week, Washington is likely the only shot the Pac-10 has for a fourth bowl-eligible team. They’ll take on the WSU Cougars in the Apple Cup next weekend.

5. ASU
5-6 (3-5)
LW: 6
ASU dominated in the second half to put away the Bruins, but their slim hopes for a bowl game (despite two of their wins being over 1-AA teams) were dashed with 70 teams reaching the necessary 6-6 mark, eliminating any chance of the NCAA relaxing the eligibility rules. The Sun Devils have a chance to finish out strong with a victory against Arizona next week, but those 4 games decided by 4 points or less have to really hurt right about now.

6. USC
7-5 (4-4)
LW: 5
As I suspected last week, the Trojans’ streak against the Irish came to an end, as USC fell to ND in a nail-biter of a game. Like Oregon State’s fate swinging with the loss of James Rodgers earlier in the year, it seems that without Matt Barkley at QB, USC just can’t put together the offensive performance it needs. Hopefully Barkley will be ready to play next week, although UCLA’s own struggles may make USC a winner even with Mitch Mustain under center.

7. Cal
5-7 (3-6)
LW: 8
The Bears were one play away from beating the Huskies and earning a bowl berth. Tough loss for the Bears, but what was more depressing was how empty Memorial Stadium was in its final game before undergoing major renovations.

8. Oregon State
5-6 (4-4)
LW: 4
Two weeks ago, OSU lost to perennial Pac-10 doormat Washington State. Last week, they dominated the Trojans in an unexpected upset. This week, the bi-polar Beavers were trounced by Stanford in a shutout. I’m guessing they don’t bounce back next week against the Ducks like they did against the Trojans a week ago.

8.5. Colorado
5-7 (2-6 Big 12)
Colorado isn’t leaving the Big 12 with much impact. The Buffs may be the only Pac-12 team with a new Coach next season, although Paul Wulff, Rick Neuheisal, Jeff Tedford, and even Dennis Erickson are all coaches who might end up on the unemployment line at the end of the season, although I think all four will be back next year. Also, pre-mature congrats to Stanford, Utah and ASU who get to play Colorado, WSU AND UCLA next season.

9. Washington State
2-9 (1-7)
LW: 9
The second of two consecutive bye weeks for the Cougars. Will that extra rest help them overcome the Huskies next weekend, or is the time off going to dull them too much with the Huskies able to take their two-win momentum and chance at a bowl game for the victory? The Cougs would like nothing more than to spoil the Huskies’ postseason hopes, and a win would all but assure Paul Wulff gets one more year in the Palouse.

10. UCLA
4-6 (2-5)
LW: 10
With the win over Texas revealed to be overrated, the Bruins are pretty much a WSU upset over UW and a loss to USC away from being the worst team in the Pac-10 this season. As a Husky and a Trojan, I could not be happier to see Rick Neuheisel doing so, er, well.