Stanford hosts UCLA 12:30 on ABC, one of the few times this season a marquee game in the conference has gotten a quality time slot. Too many of the games are late, which drags down the perception of the league nationally.
This one should be a terrific game, with The Cardinal trying to bounce back from a loss at Utah last week. The Bruins led by linebacker Anthony Barr, one of the best defensive players in the country and Brett Hundley, one of the best dual threat quarterbacks not named Marcus Mariota are 5-0 and ranked ninth.
Both feature a strong ground game and stout front sevens on defense. With Miles Jack, Barr, Trent Murphy, Ben Gardner and Shane Skov providing the hitting, there should be some paint-swapping going on on the corners. Stanford’s offense has struggled in the last two weeks, managing just 100 yards passing against Washington and failing to come up with a big drive against the Utes. Ty Montgomery has kept The Cardinal in games with big returns and pass plays, explosive in his junior year.
He went to Jared’s: Mike Riley and the Oregon State Beavers could be tested by Jared Goff and Sonny Dykes Air Raid offense in Berkeley, but the Bears are settling into the realization that this is going to be a long and unprofitable year after a 1-5 start. Cal ranks 125th in scoring defense in the FBS, allowing 43.7 points a game.
#20 Washington travels to Arizona State, 3 p.m. on the PAC-12 Network, a battle of 4-2 teams that need a win. Both of them need some momentum to make a bowl and stay relevant. Washington fans are starting to get a little disgruntled after three 7-6 seasons coupled with a failure to break through in big games. 39-year-old Steve Sarkisian has gone from promising and innovative to mediocre and underachieving in the minds of some fans. Offensively in this matchup, Washington has better balance, with the ability to run the football. Bishop Sankey has more than doubled Marion Grice so far this season, 899 yards to 395. The Huskies have an edge at quarterback also, senior Keith Price playing much more consistently this year than junior Taylor Kelly, who has 6 interceptions to go with his 16 td passes.
Big question in this game is whether the Husky defense can avoid a hangover from the loss to Oregon where they couldn’t get a stop when they still had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. Kelly is another mobile quarterback, so they’ll have to tighen up containment and keep him in the pocket, where he’s prone to the occasional big mistake.
USC faces Notre Dame under the shadow of Touchdown Jesus at 4:30 on NBC. It will be interesting to see if the Trojans can continue the momentum after a week 7 win under interim coach Ed Orgeron. Marqise Lee is scheduled to return to the lineup. SC beat Arizona 38-31 on Thursday night last week, so they’ve had extra time to prepare. Cody Kessler had his best day passing with 299 yards and a pair of tds. Notre Dame is 4-2, coming off a loss to Oklahoma and a win over Arizona State, both at home. Tommy Rees has 13 tds and 6 interceptions as the Irish quarterback. The defense has been mediocre, allowing 25.5 points a game.
If Orgeron wins to go to 2-0, there will be some momentum to give him the Trojan gig full time, but he probably has to finish 6-1 the rest of the way to win the job as Pat Haden and the movers and shakers of the program want to make a splash hire. The former Ole Miss coach is a strong recruiter but tends to wear out players and coaches with his intensity, it seems. The initial burst of energy has helped a flagging program.
Elsewhere, Colorado hosts Charleston Southern and Utah squares off with Arizona.
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