WEEK 13
YTD 9-3 – Pac 10 Game of the Week
YTD 33-29-1 – All Pac 10 Lined Games
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Ahhhhh….rivalry weekend. It’s the time of year when I will tune into a Army/Navy, Auburn/Alabama, Florida/Florida State, no matter how good or bad the teams are, because there is so much passion in the game.
The Pac 10 has offered up some classic rivalry games in the past….Some of those USC/UCLA battles were epic, the Big Game with Stanford and Cal, and of course, my favorite, the Civil War. Being an <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1
laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> fan there has always been a shadow cast over the Beavers due in part to 30 years of losing seasons, but more from the fact <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> was able to emerge and bring national recognition to the State of <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace>…Thank You Phil Knight. Nike U and their fans have always looked down on OSU as the ugly sister, for good reason, too. But something happened in the late 1990’s that started a change felt not only in the State of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State>, but throughout all of College Football. Anybody have a guess?
<o></o>
Yep…scholarship reduction. It leveled the entire playing field, not necessarily overnight, but within several years. So all the Oregon State’s and Kansas’ and Northwestern’s and Miami (OH) and South Carolina’s and Utah’s can say thank you to the NCAA, because no longer do the USC’s and Nebraska’s and Texas and Oklahoma’s have five deep of potential starters. They only have two deeps, while the ugly little sister, as <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Trent</st1:City></st1lace> from Swingers would say, is all growed up!
I only have three to choose from this week, and I’m keeping it real in the State of Orange!
<st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> -3 (-120) vs. <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace>
<o></o>
So for the first time in like, I don’t know, 35 to 40 years Oregon State has the chance to not only finish with a winning record, but insure the hated rich ***** to the south finish with a losing record in the same year.
There is so much going on off the field in this game its mind blowing. <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> Fan, as Dr. Pepper has stated above, is freaking out about the potential of their first losing season in 12 years. The Ducks have now lost more games at home in the past two years than they did the previous five. They are questioning the coaching staff, the players, the entire program. When a team has a benefactor like Phil Knight (who literally stepped down from Nike as am I write this), a 100 million dollar playhouse called Autzen Stadium, complete with Plasma’s and “happy ending” massage girls, and top 20 recruiting years every year for 10 years, you don’t anticipate losing seasons.
<o></o>
And to the north we have the Oregon State Beavers, the ones with the crappy stadium, the fading turf, the interception-throwing QB, the gangbanging thug who cheap-shotted a serviceman on his way to Iraq.
Needless to say, there is a lot of drama in this football game.
<o></o>
Both teams are 5-5, with very similar statistics. <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> has the better running game, <st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> the better passing game, and both defenses pretty stout, with <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace> having a slight edge. Both teams have beat four of the same teams…however, <st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> beat a pretty good <st1:State w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:State> team for their fifth win, while <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> beat a hapless Idoho for theirs.
As for the losses, all five of <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace>’s are top 16 teams in the BCS. Three of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State>’s are, with home losses to UCLA and Indiana (huh) mixed in. Without a doubt <st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> played a more difficult schedule, and had they kept <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Temple</st1lace></st1:City> on it instead of going into LSU, we might be talking about a team that is 7-3 or 6-4, because I think OSU is better than their record indicates.
<st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> looked pathetic last week against UCLA. You would think a team would step up in the final game in their own crib, with a bowl berth on the line, but <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> absolutely folded on both sides of the ball. Granted, they were without their two best receivers. But <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> was running at will on UCLA…when they ran, so that shouldn’t have mattered. They have the most boneheaded offensive coordinator I have ever seen. This guy’s play calling leaves many to scratch their head in wonderment. Besides, UCLA was without Maurice Drew and the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> defense made some guy I’ve never heard of look like the best running back in the Pac 10.
<st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace> on the other hand went up on Stanford 21-3 and withstood an onslaught of Derek Anderson interceptions to squeak out a victory. Hand it too the Beavers, whenever they’ve had a chance to put a team away (as in most of their wins so far), they always like to add drama to the mix.
<st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on"></st1laceName></st1lace>
<st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace> has bounced back after a dreadful start, has been playing pretty consistent winning football since they were 1-4, and played USC extremely well. <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> has been hit or miss all year, they seem to play better on the road for some strange reason, and they will have to this week to have any chance of going bowling.
In my eyes, this game hinges on the play of Derek Anderson. This guy has unbelieveable god-given talent to throw the football, both to his receivers and defenders. He has thrown six pics in the last two games, and if he continues that trend, <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> wins. This is his last home game, in his home state, playing against the university that snubbed him, against a quarterback he has rivaled since high-school (<st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Anderson</st1lace></st1:City>’s Scappoose beat Clemen’s Burns in the 3-A championship five years ago).
The home team has won this contest seven straight years, and I betting the Beavers make it eight. Derek Anderson will get away with throwing one interception, and the home-field mojo will cook the Ducks on Saturday. I bought it down in case DA throws two pics but you can find -3 out there.
<o></o>
Final Score: <st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> 27 – <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> 20
Rest of the Pac 10
<o></o>
The Big Game ain’t so big when one team is heads and tails better than the other. We all know about the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Cal</st1lace></st1:State> machine, which has shown some chinks in the armor the past two weeks due to injuries. But Stanford is playing miserable football right now, they have a horrible secondary, and a lame-duck coach who I hear might be packing his bags after the game. In what could be Jeff Tedford’s last home game at <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Cal</st1lace></st1:State>, I gotta go with the far superior team.
The Apple Cup is more like an apple pie in the face cup, because these teams are crusty. <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State> has owned <st1laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType>, but <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> hasn’t had this bad a football team since the 1950’s. This is <st1laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType>’s best chance to get the monkey off their back, because <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> is getting a new coach next year and will be back in the national picture in three with the resources at that school, maybe one if the coach is Tedford. <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> simply cannot score, averaging only 10 points per game their last eight out. I think <st1laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> will cover evin if <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> manages to double that.
<o></o>
Final Predictions:
<st1:State w:st="on">Cal</st1:State> – 24 vs. Stanford: <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Cal</st1lace></st1:State> 45 – Stanford 17
<st1laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> – 11 vs. <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State>: WSU 34 – <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1lace> 13
Good luck to all.
YTD 9-3 – Pac 10 Game of the Week
YTD 33-29-1 – All Pac 10 Lined Games
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o>Ahhhhh….rivalry weekend. It’s the time of year when I will tune into a Army/Navy, Auburn/Alabama, Florida/Florida State, no matter how good or bad the teams are, because there is so much passion in the game.
The Pac 10 has offered up some classic rivalry games in the past….Some of those USC/UCLA battles were epic, the Big Game with Stanford and Cal, and of course, my favorite, the Civil War. Being an <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> fan there has always been a shadow cast over the Beavers due in part to 30 years of losing seasons, but more from the fact <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> was able to emerge and bring national recognition to the State of <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace>…Thank You Phil Knight. Nike U and their fans have always looked down on OSU as the ugly sister, for good reason, too. But something happened in the late 1990’s that started a change felt not only in the State of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State>, but throughout all of College Football. Anybody have a guess?<o
></o>Yep…scholarship reduction. It leveled the entire playing field, not necessarily overnight, but within several years. So all the Oregon State’s and Kansas’ and Northwestern’s and Miami (OH) and South Carolina’s and Utah’s can say thank you to the NCAA, because no longer do the USC’s and Nebraska’s and Texas and Oklahoma’s have five deep of potential starters. They only have two deeps, while the ugly little sister, as <st1
lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Trent</st1:City></st1lace> from Swingers would say, is all growed up!I only have three to choose from this week, and I’m keeping it real in the State of Orange!
<st1
laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> -3 (-120) vs. <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace><o
></o>So for the first time in like, I don’t know, 35 to 40 years Oregon State has the chance to not only finish with a winning record, but insure the hated rich ***** to the south finish with a losing record in the same year.
There is so much going on off the field in this game its mind blowing. <st1:State w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> Fan, as Dr. Pepper has stated above, is freaking out about the potential of their first losing season in 12 years. The Ducks have now lost more games at home in the past two years than they did the previous five. They are questioning the coaching staff, the players, the entire program. When a team has a benefactor like Phil Knight (who literally stepped down from Nike as am I write this), a 100 million dollar playhouse called Autzen Stadium, complete with Plasma’s and “happy ending” massage girls, and top 20 recruiting years every year for 10 years, you don’t anticipate losing seasons.<o
></o>And to the north we have the Oregon State Beavers, the ones with the crappy stadium, the fading turf, the interception-throwing QB, the gangbanging thug who cheap-shotted a serviceman on his way to Iraq.
Needless to say, there is a lot of drama in this football game.
<o
></o>Both teams are 5-5, with very similar statistics. <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> has the better running game, <st1
laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> the better passing game, and both defenses pretty stout, with <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace> having a slight edge. Both teams have beat four of the same teams…however, <st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> beat a pretty good <st1:State w:st="on">New Mexico</st1:State> team for their fifth win, while <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> beat a hapless Idoho for theirs.As for the losses, all five of <st1
lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace>’s are top 16 teams in the BCS. Three of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State>’s are, with home losses to UCLA and Indiana (huh) mixed in. Without a doubt <st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> played a more difficult schedule, and had they kept <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Temple</st1lace></st1:City> on it instead of going into LSU, we might be talking about a team that is 7-3 or 6-4, because I think OSU is better than their record indicates.<st1:State w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> looked pathetic last week against UCLA. You would think a team would step up in the final game in their own crib, with a bowl berth on the line, but <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> absolutely folded on both sides of the ball. Granted, they were without their two best receivers. But <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> was running at will on UCLA…when they ran, so that shouldn’t have mattered. They have the most boneheaded offensive coordinator I have ever seen. This guy’s play calling leaves many to scratch their head in wonderment. Besides, UCLA was without Maurice Drew and the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> defense made some guy I’ve never heard of look like the best running back in the Pac 10.<st1
lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace> on the other hand went up on Stanford 21-3 and withstood an onslaught of Derek Anderson interceptions to squeak out a victory. Hand it too the Beavers, whenever they’ve had a chance to put a team away (as in most of their wins so far), they always like to add drama to the mix.<st1
lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on"></st1laceName></st1lace> <st1
lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType></st1lace> has bounced back after a dreadful start, has been playing pretty consistent winning football since they were 1-4, and played USC extremely well. <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> has been hit or miss all year, they seem to play better on the road for some strange reason, and they will have to this week to have any chance of going bowling.In my eyes, this game hinges on the play of Derek Anderson. This guy has unbelieveable god-given talent to throw the football, both to his receivers and defenders. He has thrown six pics in the last two games, and if he continues that trend, <st1:State w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Oregon</st1lace></st1:State> wins. This is his last home game, in his home state, playing against the university that snubbed him, against a quarterback he has rivaled since high-school (<st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Anderson</st1lace></st1:City>’s Scappoose beat Clemen’s Burns in the 3-A championship five years ago).The home team has won this contest seven straight years, and I betting the Beavers make it eight. Derek Anderson will get away with throwing one interception, and the home-field mojo will cook the Ducks on Saturday. I bought it down in case DA throws two pics but you can find -3 out there.
<o
></o>Final Score: <st1
laceName w:st="on">Oregon</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> 27 – <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1lace> 20Rest of the Pac 10
<o
></o>The Big Game ain’t so big when one team is heads and tails better than the other. We all know about the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Cal</st1lace></st1:State> machine, which has shown some chinks in the armor the past two weeks due to injuries. But Stanford is playing miserable football right now, they have a horrible secondary, and a lame-duck coach who I hear might be packing his bags after the game. In what could be Jeff Tedford’s last home game at <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Cal</st1lace></st1:State>, I gotta go with the far superior team.The Apple Cup is more like an apple pie in the face cup, because these teams are crusty. <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State> has owned <st1
laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType>, but <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> hasn’t had this bad a football team since the 1950’s. This is <st1laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType>’s best chance to get the monkey off their back, because <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> is getting a new coach next year and will be back in the national picture in three with the resources at that school, maybe one if the coach is Tedford. <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> simply cannot score, averaging only 10 points per game their last eight out. I think <st1laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> will cover evin if <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Washington</st1lace></st1:State> manages to double that.<o
></o>Final Predictions:
<st1:State w:st="on">Cal</st1:State> – 24 vs. Stanford: <st1:State w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Cal</st1lace></st1:State> 45 – Stanford 17<st1
laceName w:st="on">Washington</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> – 11 vs. <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State>: WSU 34 – <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1lace> 13Good luck to all.
:drink: 
:monkey: 
