#2 goes down

[Ashur]

Oregon takes a dive to Arizona 34-24

[noel]

JFC.

[Xatrei]

I was hoping for an upset here to benefit the Big 12, but was sad to see Dixon reinjure his knee. Oregon looked completely inept with him out of the picture.

[Boogahz]

Nobody wants to be #2 this year!

[Winnow]

Man, I hope ASU beats USC. It would suck to have Oregon go into the Rose Bowl without Dixon. It would be lame for all involved. Need healthy teams in bowl games!

Crazy year for #2 ranked teams.

[Zamtuk]

worried your fabled pac ten conference won't be able to take osu or um?

[Ashur]

Crazy year.

FIXED!

[Winnow]

worried your fabled pac ten conference won't be able to take osu or um?

If Oregon goes without Dixon, yes. If USC beats ASU, there's a chance USC would go to the Rose Bowl. They'd crush THE OSU.

I wouldn't want a gimpy Big Ten team in the Roe Bowl either (well, they're all gimpy this year but at least healthy)

ASU lost their primary RB but were deep enough to compensate for it.

[noel]

worried your fabled pac ten conference won't be able to take osu or um?

Three top teams: USC, Cal, Oregon. Three injured quarterbacks. I'm not sure that this year is the year where you want to gauge the power of the Pac-10... We can look at recent years when you guys played against the Pac-10's full strength USC if you like.

Just make sure that if you guys do end up in a big game, Tressel tells your players not to celebrate so hard after ONE TOUCHDOWN at the BEGINNING OF THE GAME that they INJURE THEMSELVES AND CAN'T PLAY THE REST OF THE GAME.

[Boogahz]

Just make sure that if you guys do end up in a big game, Tressel tells your players not to celebrate so hard after ONE TOUCHDOWN at the BEGINNING OF THE GAME that they INJURE THEMSELVES AND CAN'T PLAY THE REST OF THE GAME.

but that was so damn funny!

[Zamtuk]

worried your fabled pac ten conference won't be able to take osu or um?

Three top teams: USC, Cal, Oregon. Three injured quarterbacks. I'm not sure that this year is the year where you want to gauge the power of the Pac-10... We can look at recent years when you guys played against the Pac-10's full strength USC if you like.

Just make sure that if you guys do end up in a big game, Tressel tells your players not to celebrate so hard after ONE TOUCHDOWN at the BEGINNING OF THE GAME that they INJURE THEMSELVES AND CAN'T PLAY THE REST OF THE GAME.

I would agree with your first statement, except for one thing. Every other person in the entire nation has been debating Pac Ten vs. SEC all year. Apparently, according to espn and winnow, the Pac Ten is as strong as its ever been and this is the year to gauge the power of the Pac Ten.

As for the injury statement, I wouldn't worry about it. Ginn was as soft as hospital cotton. Hell of a deep threat, but he did only weigh like 175 soaking wet.

[noel]

I would agree with your first statement, except for one thing. Every other person in the entire nation has been debating Pac Ten vs. SEC all year. Apparently, according to espn and winnow, the Pac Ten is as strong as its ever been and this is the year to gauge the power of the Pac Ten.

I think there was legitimacy in the discussion at the beginning of the year when everyone was healthy. Unfortunately, due to injury and general cannibalism (not unlike the SEC), this is not the year.

[Sueven]

Everyone gets injuries.

I understand that losing Dennis Dixon for the season is more serious than most injuries (especially combined with Oregon's early wide receiver injury problems) and that injury destroyed Oregon's chances at the title (although keep in mind that there's a good chance that they could have been jumped by a Kansas team that wins out).

California lost to Oregon State with their backup QB. Of course, their backup QB was 20/34 with 2 TD's and 1 pick, which is really pretty good. Yes, he made a bad play at the end of the game, but he played fairly well in general. And then Cal, starting Nate Longshore, proceeded to lose 3 of their next 4 games, with Longshore throwing 5 TD's and 7 picks.

USC played John David Booty in their loss to Stanford and Mark Sanchez in their loss to Oregon. The two QB's have substantially similar numbers (Booty is a little better).

Arizona State lost to Oregon with Rudy Carpenter starting and playing well, even if his thumb was banged up.

Of the 'three injured Quarterbacks' you mention, only Dixon's injury has had a substantial effect on the Pac Ten. Longshore only missed one game, and managed to lose three on his own. Booty missed a couple, but Sanchez only lost one in his place (and indeed lost to a better team) while Booty managed to lose to Stanford when he was healthy.

You really think that this is more serious than what's gone on in other leagues? Tim Tebow spent a good amount of time nursing an injury. Glenn Dorsey got hurt (and he is far better than Nate Longshore or John David Booty). I'm too lazy to look up more injuries now, but the mere fact that the Pac Ten lost one of its best players for the last 3 games of the season doesn't invalidate the entire season, in my view.

Edit: I mean, if Ohio State beats Oregon without Dixon in the rose bowl, and everyone says "Ha! The Big Ten IS better than the Pac Ten," well yeah, that's ridiculous.

[noel]

No, I'm not at all saying that what's gone on in the Pac-10 is any worse than what's gone on in other conferences. I do think that the timing and residual effects of the injuries has caused the conference to look watered down, mostly due to the timing of losses, and stupid losses.

UCLA beating Cal is a great example. It was obvious (to me) that Longshore wasn't right in that game. I'm a UCLA fan first, Pac-10 fan second (I don't have Winnow's level of enthusiasm), and I'll say that UCLA sucks this year. Along the same lines, UCLA should never have lost to Notre Dame. McCloud Bethel-Thompson? Is that even a real name? I believe that if Cowan hadn't gone down, we never would have lost that game. All the in-conference-cannibalism combined with some timely injuries and USC's obvious decline have really hurt any reasonable argument that the Pac-10 is as big as the Big-10 or SEC this year.

The real humor for me was that prior to USC's loss to UCLA last year, there were rumblings amongst the local people and sports talk hosts that John David Booty was better than Leinhart. What a fucking joke argument that is.

Edit: What really sucks is that I have tickets to see the UCLA v. Oregon game at the Rose Bowl next weekend. Looks like that's not going to be the game I'd hoped it to be.

[Winnow]

Three top teams: USC, Cal, Oregon. Three injured quarterbacks. I'm not sure that this year is the year where you want to gauge the power of the Pac-10... We can look at recent years when you guys played against the Pac-10's full strength USC if you like.

Of those top three teams you mention, ASU has a better conference and out of conference record than all of them. They also have an injured QB in Rudy Carpenter.

We'll see if those top three teams are accurate when ASU pfaces USC on Thanksgiving.

The top two teams could end up being:

1. Arizona State
2. University of Arizona

As you're not considering records in your top three above. Flip those two if UofA beats ASU in the final game.

ASU or USC in the Rose Bowl will make mince meat of the Big Ten team that shows up. If Oregon limps into the Rose Bowl with no QB, they still might win because the Big Ten is so bad, but I wouldn't place a bet on it.

Goooo Devillls!

[noel]

Three top teams: USC, Cal, Oregon. Three injured quarterbacks. I'm not sure that this year is the year where you want to gauge the power of the Pac-10... We can look at recent years when you guys played against the Pac-10's full strength USC if you like.

Of those top three teams you mention, ASU has a better conference and out of conference record than all of them. They also have an injured QB in Rudy Carpenter.

We'll see if those top three teams are accurate when ASU pfaces USC on Thanksgiving.

The top two teams could end up being:

1. Arizona State
2. University of Arizona

As you're not considering records in your top three above. Flip those two if UofA beats ASU in the final game.

ASU or USC in the Rose Bowl will make mince meat of the Big Ten team that shows up. If Oregon limps into the Rose Bowl with no QB, they still might win because the Big Ten is so bad, but I wouldn't place a bet on it.

Goooo Devillls!

I watched how ASU played against UCLA, and I have a really hard time buying them as a legitimate challenge for anyone. In case you didn't know, UCLA sucks.

[Sueven]

I agree with everything Noel said in his response to me.

Winnow: Rudy Carpenter's injury is no worse than any those of the numerous players from other teams who are playing through pain. It's not an excuse. Man up.

[Momopi]

I can't imagine it being much of a game if Oregon is in the rose bowl. IF ASU is a spread offense and is fairly athletic then they would give OSU or michigan fits which would be more of a close game. Who knows.

[Winnow]

I agree with everything Noel said in his response to me.

Winnow: Rudy Carpenter's injury is no worse than any those of the numerous players from other teams who are playing through pain. It's not an excuse. Man up.

I haven't used Rudy's injury as an excuse. I said Oregon was the better team.

ASU or USC (but USC can't go unless Oregon loses to OregonSU in the final game) should represent the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl.

If USC beats ASU, it's going to be Oregon because they beat USC.

Arizona State has the kind of offense that will score a lot vs Ohiogan.

[Sylvus]

If you can use injured QBs as an excuse, I'd like to point out that Chad Henne got hurt in the first half of the Michigan-Oregon game. The same Chad Henne who holds the Michigan career records for passing yards, completions, td's and td's' in a season. And he didn't play in the loss to Wisconsin last week.

Just trying to level the playing field. I'll let you guys make excuses as long as I'm allowed to make the same excuses.

[Canelek]

Today has been dubbed Black Friday, lot's of leaky ducks today. It got so bad that the local sports talk had to point out that UO's basketball team is ranked 11.

[Xyun]

All the in-conference-cannibalism combined with some timely injuries and USC's obvious decline have really hurt any reasonable argument that the Pac-10 is as big as the Big-10 or SEC this year.

???

I hope you meant to say big 12. Big 10 (11) sucks donkey ballz this year. Big 12 currently owns 3 of the top 4 teams in the nation (as of 11:15 a.m. saturday, nov. 17) My guess is that the winner of the big 12 championship game (oklahoma) will be playing in the sugar bowl.

yay.

[noel]

All the in-conference-cannibalism combined with some timely injuries and USC's obvious decline have really hurt any reasonable argument that the Pac-10 is as big as the Big-10 or SEC this year.

???

I hope you meant to say big 12. Big 10 (11) sucks donkey ballz this year. Big 12 currently owns 3 of the top 4 teams in the nation (as of 11:15 a.m. saturday, nov. 17) My guess is that the winner of the big 12 championship game (oklahoma) will be playing in the sugar bowl.

yay.

Yeah I did. Thanks for correcting me!

[Boogahz]

[Aevian Dreaklear]

I'm just shocked another ref can blow another call against the Sooners. That was a catch in the endzone on 4th and goal. It's really a shame that OU's title hopes had to end in a similar fashion once again.