Twice in two weeks the Golden Bears seemed all but assured to become the nation's No. 1 team. First USC loses to Stanford and LSU trails Florida going into the game's final moments. Then the Tigers get beat by Kentucky, leaving Jeff Tedford's club needing only to finish off the Beavers to become reach heights unseen since 1951.
Unfortunately, nobody told quarterback Kevin Riley that all he had to do was "throw the fucking ball out of the endzone," to quote a text message I received shortly thereafter.
Now with ASU and USC ahead, Cal seems likely to continue its Rose Bowl drought, let alone play for the national championship.
USC 20, Arizona 13
If grades were handed out for Football 101, redshirt sophomore Mark Sanchez would have received a solid C. He did a couple things well, but also threw two horrendous interceptions.
He'll need to grade out much higher against Notre Dame to have any chance of starting in two weeks at Oregon, where the Trojans' dreams of winning the Pac-10 will live or die.
Oregon 53, Washington State 7
Lost in USC's injury woes, the Ducks have lost WR Cameron Colvin and RB Jeremiah Johnson for the season. That helps the Trojans immensely given their weakness at corner, since Oregon's three receiver sets are now also diminished.
Arizona State 44, Washington 20
Another impressive second half win for the Sun Devils. However, facing the heart of the Pac-10 over the next month, they could end up anywhere from New Orleans to El Paso for the postseason. We'll know a lot more about Dennis Erickson's team shortly
TCU 38, Stanford 36
No surprise, as the Cardinal experience a let-down. The Trojans better hope that Stanford can beat up on the lower half of the conference and eek out a bowl bid. That would go a long way in keeping slim BCS title hopes alive in Los Angeles.
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