Although the media attention placed on the USC football team is
legitimate, it means that every other Pac-10 school has precious
few chances to play a game on the national stage that will grab the
attention of Associated Press voters.
Why does the spotlight fixed on the Trojans result in
practically no recognition for the rest of the Pac-10? Is it that
there’s only enough room in the national consciousness for
one meaningful Pac-10 game a week?
This week, nobody seems to be thinking about the Trojans, who
are playing in a could-be-close-but-obvious-win-for-USC game
against Washington. Instead, it is all about the Oregon v.
California game in Berkeley on Saturday. This game doesn’t
just carry big implications for both teams, but for the image of
the Pac-10 as well.
No. 16 Cal (4-1) comes into this game playing as well as any
team in the conference, if not the country, but you wouldn’t
get that impression from anyone outside the Bay Area. After a 35-18
drubbing at the hands of Tennessee to open the season, the SEC
superiority complex kicked into overdrive and there was the
perception from the national media that the Bears were just a
product of a soft Pac-10.
Since that loss, sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore has
rebounded to post 1,221 yards with 14 touchdowns for the
seventh-best passing efficiency in the nation en route to a
four-game winning streak. But that has been done out of the public
eye. Now Longshore and the Bears have to prove they can perform
under pressure.
No. 11 Oregon (4-0) could be the team to challenge USC for the
Pac-10 title. Despite an unbeaten first month of the season, the
Ducks have to answer questions about shoddy officiating that cost
Oklahoma a chance to beat them. The Ducks won, and Sooners coach
Bob Stoops went on a one-man mission to change the Pac-10
officiating rules. (The Pac-10 exclusively uses its officials for
any game in which a Pac-10 team is the host.)
Stoops’ petty implication that Oregon won only because the
hometown team got favored officiating takes away from the fact that
Oregon still was likely to win the game before it began. All in
all, the Ducks can use this Saturday as a referendum on their
talent instead of their luck.
It would be simpler if Cal and Oregon had a body of work to
prove to AP voters that they belong in the top 10, but they
don’t. They only get this game and their respective matchups
with USC.
It would behoove the Pac-10 for Oregon to win the game and set
up a potential Nov. 11 meeting between two unbeaten teams. At that
point, both Oregon and USC might be in the top five. That would be
a Pac-10 game nobody could ignore. That game’s loser would
still have an outside chance at an at-large BCS bid (remember,
there’s an extra BCS game, potentially featuring two more
at-large teams).
A loss to Oregon this weekend would mean that Cal would be
heading toward a three-loss season. But it would also ensure that
the conference isn’t riddled with a bunch of teams beating up
on each other.
In the SEC, parity is a sign of strength. In the Pac-10,
it’s a sign of weakness. At least in the eyes of the AP
voters.