Call me a naive optimist. Accuse me of having a disturbing
amount of free time. Say what you will, but after minutes of
painstaking finagling, I have devised a path for the UCLA Bruins to
the Rose Bowl ““ for the Rose Bowl. With two losses? And a
freshman quarterback? And, and … Simma. Just for a second. I know
the “ands” can go on and on. Understand, I’m not
here to say they will do it, only that they can do it. And given
the structure of UCLA’s remaining Pac-10 schedule, along with
everything else going on in the conference, the Bruins are actually
(unbelievably) in about as good shape as a two-loss team can be.
Stop laughing. Please. This column is intended merely as a public
service.
Here are the standings: Washington State 5-0 USC 4-1 Arizona
State 4-1 Oregon 3-2 UCLA 3-2
Let’s assume (famous last words) that the Bruins win out,
leaving them at 6-2 in the conference. More importantly, UCLA
running the table would mean wins over both USC and Washington
State. Above all else, that’s what the Bruins have going for
them in the title chase. The Trojans would have two losses and lose
the tiebreaker against UCLA. So that drops one team out, with three
more to go. Washington State would have to come into the Dec. 7
game against UCLA with at least one loss, meaning the Cougars would
have to lose to either Oregon or Washington at home. Let’s
say Oregon beats them this week. Wazzu is out with two defeats and
a head-to-head loss to UCLA, but Oregon still has the tiebreaker
over the Bruins. The Ducks play at home against Washington and then
on the road at Oregon State in the season-culminating Civil War
game. It’s tough seeing Oregon losing either of those games.
Likewise, Arizona State would be forced to absolutely skid out with
two losses in its last three games. The Sun Devils play Cal at home
this week and then at USC, before finishing up on the road at
hapless Arizona. So maybe it’s not so clear-cut. And yes,
nine years have passed since a team won the conference with two
losses (UCLA, 1993). But the beauty of Pac-10 pigskin is that these
five teams could easily make like a Boggle game and completely
reshuffle every week. The Bruins probably won’t end up
champs, but you also can’t say with any reasonable degree of
certainty that it will definitely be Washington State. And
that’s fun. Can’t you just picture me piecing this
circuitous theory together while huddled over newspaper clippings,
shrouded by an ominous red light, photos of Oliver Stone littering
my wall?
Our Game of the Week No. 15 Oregon (7-2, 3-2) at No. 5
Washington State (8-1, 5-0), 12:30 p.m., ABC (regional). My
crackpot theory would be greatly helped if both teams could somehow
lose this game. Dammons!
Elsewhere in the Pac-10 No. 10 USC (6-2, 4-1) at Stanford (2-6,
1-4), 4:00 p.m., ABC (regional) UCLA (6-3, 3-2) at Arizona (3-6,
0-5), 6:00 p.m., FSN (regional) Cal (5-4, 2-3) at Arizona State
(7-3, 4-1), 3:30 p.m., FSN (regional) Oregon State (6-3, 2-3) at
Washington (4-5, 1-4), 12:30 p.m.
Before you go … Washington State’s No. 5 ranking is the
highest in school history … With 10,305 career passing yards,
Carson Palmer stands just 607 yards away from No. 1 on the Pac-10
career passing list … Keenan Howry’s first reception in a
41-14 win over Stanford Saturday gave him 44 straight games with a
reception, the most among active players and a Pac-10 record.