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	Vol.7, No 42, November 10, 1999
	Pac-10 football has mixed reviews By Brian Spiegel Special to the Daily Forty-Niner Pac-10 football is not as bad as it looks. The conference as a whole has been disappointing, having only Washington in the top 25 national polls, but at the same time the games in the conference have been very competitive. Oregon State's 55-7 upset win over UCLA was truly shocking. Perhaps even more shocking is that for the first time in years the Pac-10 does not have a team in the hunt for a national championship. USC and UCLA have been the conference's biggest disappointments this season. The Trojans have blown leads and missed last chance opportunities in plenty of games. The Trojans are a dismal 1-5 in conference play, and lost games to Oregon, Arizona and Stanford by a combined total of 11 points. In addition, USC blew 21 point leads on two consecutive weekends, losing in the final minutes to non-conference opponents Notre Dame and Stanford. Arizona State beat USC Saturday, which gives no reason to believe the Trojans will break UCLA's eight game winning streak against USC on Nov. 20.  Even if the Trojans win their next three games against Washington State, UCLA and Louisiana Tech, it will not be enough to qualify them for a bowl game. The true disappointment in the Pac-10 this season has been UCLA. Unlike USC, the Bruins (1-5) have been annihilated by their opponents this season. UCLA's offense can't seem to get off the ground. After thumping Boise State of the Big West Conference, 38-7, in the first week of the season, UCLA saw hopes of a national title crushed by Ohio State, 42-20. Losses followed to Stanford, Arizona State and California in a 17-0 shut out. Tack on the blowout loss to Oregon two weeks ago and the Bruin's season is abysmal. In addition, last week the Bruins lost two defensive starters to injuries in practice during their bye week. During the next two weeks UCLA will try to rebound against Washington and USC. Arizona stills remains a force in the Pac-10 this season.  The Wildcats started the season in the worst possible way by losing to Penn State 41-7, which all but eliminated them from the national championship race before it even began. The Wildcats 50-22 loss to Stanford all but eliminated them from the Rose Bowl race. However, Arizona looked good in wins against USC and Washington State. Arizona lost to Washington, which puts the Huskies (6-3 overall) in control of their Rose Bowl destiny with their win over Stanford and a 5-1 conference record. The Cardinals have been the enigma this season. They are 5-1 in conference, and have a 5-3 overall record that should make them a top 25 team. However, Stanford is a three-point underdog at Arizona State this weekend. Stanford's losses have put them out of the rankings from the start of the season. Texas blew them out in the first game of the season and that was followed by an embarrassing 44-39 defeat to San Jose State of the Western Athletic Conference. Besides a 54-17 walloping of Washington State, the Cardinals have played in tight games against UCLA, Oregon State and USC. Stanford needs help from Washington since the Huskies defeated them and hold the tiebreak advantage. Should both teams finish the season tied for first place, Washington will go to the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 representative. However, the way this year has gone, you never know ... and some Pac-10 team has to go to the Rose Bowl. Eric Boyum contributed to this article.		Teacher addresses school crowding   Journalism class alarms faculty   Fliers on buildings removed   Children learn from Carpenter Center artists   TV won't teach reading   Religious favoritism in Congress   Community service helps career goals   Singer creates average attempt   Club Hockey team Clubbed in Colorado   Pac-10 football has mixed reviews Fall 99 ISSUES  DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications,  Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach  ©1999 All rights reserved.