Pac-10 Closer: Week 1

by Grady Clapp on Sep 1, 2008 10:59 PM PDT

Grady Clapp is the Pac-10 closer, guiding you through the week that was in Pacific-10 conference football. Sort of like a closer in baseball, only with less talent and more occasionally funny remarks. If he was a baseball closer, he'd enter the field to the "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" part of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done". And he'd probably pitch better than Carlos Silva.

Thursday

Stanford 36, Oregon State 28 Remember the Beavers' excellent rush defense? It's pretty much gone now, allowing 210 yards to the former conference doormat Cardinal. Also, kids at home: That's why you don't extend the ball six yards before the actual goal line.

Saturday

Oklahoma State 39, Washington State 13 Our new offense debuted to the tune of 82 passing yards. For the entire game. Don't freak out - Oklahoma State is better than advertised.

USC 52, Virginia 7 I'm really excited to see the Big Ten's overratedness be exposed early this season when the Trojans dismantle Ohio State.

Oregon 44, Washington 10 A year after the Ducks fell apart following the Dennis Dixon injury, they shred the Huskies with a third-string quarterback. Go figure.

Arizona 70, Idaho 0 Enough. That's it, Idaho. Please go back to the Big Sky, back to the FCS subdivision, and back to winning some actual games. I'm beginning to think the Vandal athletic department actually enjoys losing.

California 38, Michigan State 31 My national sleeper pick, the Golden Bears, get off to a good start. Love the uniforms.

Arizona State 30, Northern Arizona 13 That's not a typo. ASU outscored NAU 27-0 in the first half, then promptly took the second half off, preseason-NFL style.

Monday

UCLA 27, Tennessee 24 (OT) I should've known better. Always count on Neuheisal to cover the spread.

I differ from ESPN analysts in two ways. (1) I don't get paid, and (2) I actually hold myself accountable for my picks. Here's how I did this week.

Overall record: 6-2
Against the spread: 4-3 (ASU off the board)

Enjoy the short work week, Cougar nation.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Oregon has QB depth

The problem is that our 2nd and 3rd string QBs last year were not spread style QBs. This year they are so we aren’t at as much risk at we were with Dixon…

Proud member of Duck nation!

by skywaker9 on Sep 2, 2008 9:08 AM PDT reply actions

Not entierly...

Leaf ran the spread offense his entire Oregon career. It wasn’t the spread option per say, but it was a spread.

Anyway. Great recap. It was quick, and easy to read. Sorry about Oklahoma State, but it looks like your team has some promise, and probably is good for a few upsets this year. :-)

Go Duckies!

by JShufelt on Sep 2, 2008 9:47 AM PDT up reply actions

One of the things about a spread

is that it allows the offensive coordinator to tailor it to his weapons. There are so many variations (see the SI college football preview), and when the top guy goes down, it can cause some huge problems. That’s what happened with Oregon, and that’s why the Ducks were able to be so effective in the bowl game — there was enough time to rework what the offense was trying to do.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 2, 2008 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Good points all around

I wasn’t necessarily trying to say Oregon is deeper at QB than last year. Just pointing out the oddity that the wheels didn’t fall off Saturday for the Ducks despite another QB injury.

by Grady Clapp on Sep 2, 2008 9:32 PM PDT reply actions