By Ted Miller, Special to CNNSI.com
If Cinderella has to give up her glass slipper, she'd probably rather pass it on to a beleaguered friend than one of her evil Pac-10 stepsisters.
So we have Oregon State's visit to Washington State on Saturday: Two teams traveling in opposite trajectories, headed by coaches bound by friendship since they met at Everett (Wash.) High School when they were 14 years old.
Washington State is 4-0 on the year and 2-0 in the Pac-10 after finishing in the conference basement the past three seasons. Since playing in the 1997 Rose Bowl, the Cougars compiled a dismal 3-21 record in conference play.
Oregon State, picked preseason No. 1 by Sports Illustrated, is 1-2 and 0-1. The Beavers don't look anything like the brash squad that finished 11-1 last year and buried Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
Washington State's Mike Price and Oregon State's Dennis Erickson both played quarterback at Everett. When Erickson left Washington State for Miami after the 1988 season, Price succeeded him.
Their connection has been a media infatuation the previous two seasons, but never with Price riding high and Erickson looking for answers.
"It's always a hard week for Mike and me," Erickson said. "Once the game is over with, it's more fun. Nobody is happier with Mike and the success they've had than I am."
Last year, friendship took a backseat as the Beavers buried the Cougars 38-9, with OSU running back Ken Simonton rushing for 169 yards and averaging 8.4 yards per carry.
In 1999, Erickson's first season at OSU, the Beavers won for the first time in nine meetings in Pullman's Martin Stadium, 27-13.
But this is a different WSU team. The Cougars are fifth in the nation in total offense (515 yards per game) and sixth in scoring (44 points). Their defense is 19th in the nation and second in the conference (287.25 yards). Their average margin of victory is 26 points.
"They are much better on defense than people think," said Arizona coach John Mackovic, whose Wildcats lost at home to the Cougars 48-21. "Their defense is underrated."
The swagger that typified OSU last year, one that emerged from a perceived lack of national respect, has migrated from Corvallis to Pullman. Like the Beavers last year, the Cougars are playing like they believe they can not only win but dominate.
"They play with great confidence -- you can tell it [on film]," Erickson said.
Meanwhile, OSU is last in the conference in total offense and ninth in total defense after being drubbed 38-7 at home against UCLA.
Simonton has seen his Heisman Trophy campaign disappear. He rushed for a career-low 26 yards against the Bruins and now needs to average more than 90 yards in each of the Beavers final eight games to become the first player in Pac-10 history to rush for 1,000 or more yards in each of his four seasons.
The national media fell in love with Simonton and savvy quarterback Jonathan Smith in the preseason, ignoring the fact that the Beavers returned the fewest starters in the league and had huge holes at receiver, defensive end and along the offensive line.
The Beavers are 10th in the league with 94.7 yards in penalties per game. Their offensive line is surrendering three sacks per game, while their defense has managed just four sacks.
When asked where his team is going, Erickson said, "I'm kind of wondering myself."
If OSU is going to salvage its season -- and derail WSU's -- its going to have to solve Cougars quarterback Jason Gesser, who has become the league's most potent offensive player.
"Jason Gesser is so creative," California coach Tom Holmoe said. "He's a big-time playmaker."
Yet WSU still hasn't proven it belongs against first-rate competition. Their schedule has gradually upgraded each week, from Idaho, to Boise State to Cal to Arizona.
Despite its woes, OSU is still the best team the Cougars have seen, with Stanford, Oregon, UCLA and Washington still lying in wait.
Price has vacillated between confident glee and low-key optimism. In the preseason, this was expected to be a critical year for the dean of all Pac-10 coaches. While he's tried to keep his team on an even keel, it's clear that he expects a breakthrough.
"The best is yet to come," he said after his team trounced Arizona.
And when the battle of friends is over? "We'll put it behind us and go fishing," Price said.
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Punting isn't very exciting. Unless you boot one 74 yards. On the fly.
That's exactly what Washington freshman punter Derek McLaughlin did against Cal. From the back of his own end zone.
Toss in an illegal block by the Bears on the return, and the net for the play was 83 yards.
That punt might have saved the Huskies, who were down 14-0 at the time and struggling.
"It might have been the play of the game," Huskies coach Rick Neuheisel said.
Cal fumbled the ball on its 42 on the ensuing drive. A touchdown pass on the next play from scrimmage from Cody Pickett to Paul Arnold closed the gap to 14-7. The Huskies rallied for a 31-28 victory.
McLaughlin, a native of Mesa, Ariz., averaged 49.7 yards on seven punts against the Bears, playing a key role in the field position battle.
He is 15th in the nation with a 44.7-yard average this season.
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HOT:
Pac-10 quarterbacks
The Pac-10's three highest-rated quarterbacks are also ranked in the top eight nationally: Arizona State's Jeff Krohn (No. 4), Stanford's Randy Fasani (No. 6) and Washington State's Jason Gesser (No. 8). They have combined for 33 touchdown passes with just six interceptions.
NOT:
Arizona
A 3-0 start against lackluster competition was exposed in a 48-21 home defeat to Washington State.
HOT:
Stanford
With an off week before playing host to Washington State, the Cardinal are unbeaten and ranked 22nd in the country.
NOT:
USC QB Carson Palmer
The Pac-10's most talented quarterback isn't even ranked among its top 10 in pass efficiency. He's tossed six interceptions vs. two touchdowns this year. |
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Watching Cal simply is excruciating.
Down 31-28, Cal took over at its 30-yard line with 2:41 remaining. Plenty of time.
On first down, quarterback Kyle Boller missed a wide open Charon Arnold deep down the sideline for what would have been a go-ahead touchdown.
On second down, receiver Chase Lyman caught a first-down pass -- that is until he retreated about two yards, leaving the Bears with a third-and-1.
On the ensuing handoff to Marcus Fields, someone opted not to block Huskies noseguard Larry Tripplett. Tripplett, the only All-American on the field, thumped Fields for a 3-yard loss.
On the fourth-down play, Boller hit receiver Sean Currin right in his hands. Currin dropped the ball and curled up in a fetal position on the sideline in front of his gaping teammates.
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 Washington State WR Mike Bush
With Arizona double covering Nakoa McElrath and holding him to just two receptions for 26 yards, Bush broke out. A Cougars basketball player who joined the football team just this season, Bussh caught seven passes for 110 yards and currently is 10th in the nation in receiving yards per game (105 yards).
UCLA receiver Brian Poli-Dixon
Poli-Dixon broke out of early-season swoon with six receptions for 107 yards against Oregon State, including touchdowns of 38 and 39 yards.
Stanford DE Marcus Hoover
In the Cardinal's 21-16 win over USC, Hoover had eight tackles, including two tackles for a loss, one of which was a quarterback sack. He also deflected a pass.
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A rather ho-hum slate, with the Pac-10's two hottest teams (UCLA and Stanford) and its coldest (California) taking the weekend off.
USC and Washington renew a rivalry that's taken the past two seasons off. The Trojans buried the Huskies 33-10 in 1998, which was quarterback Carson Palmer's first career start. In the last 38 meetings since 1960, the winner advanced to the Rose Bowl 23 times, 15 by USC.
No. 7 Oregon, unimpressive but unblemished, visits Arizona. In last year's game at Autzen Stadium, both teams were 5-1 on the year and nationally ranked. After the Ducks triumphed 14-10, Arizona didn't win another game. The Wildcats, in fact, have lost six consecutive Pac-10 games.
If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Just something to consider before Arizona State plays host to the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette.
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Arizona State tailback Delvon Flowers has returned to No. 1 on the depth chart after rushing for 159 yards against San Jose State. Flowers was seen as a bright talent after he averaged 6.4 yards per carry in 1999, but he missed the entire 2000 season with a knee injury. ... USC's Sultan McCullough, the Pac-10's fastest player, has rushed for just 103 yards in his last 54 carriers. ... The combined record of Cal's first six opponents: 20-1. ... Stanford had no penalties against USC until the fourth quarter. ... UCLA has given up 47 points in four games, their best defensive start in 21 years. ... L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke dubbed the Bruins defense "The Blizzard of Westwood," in honor of coordinator Phil Snow. ... Oregon finally got its running game untracked, albeit against lowly Utah State. Maurice Morris rushed for a career-high for 175 yards on 22 carries, including a career-long 69-yard touchdown run. Onterrio Smith ran for 98 yards on 15 carries. ... Simonton has rushed for 237 yards in three games -- three fewer yards than he had against USC alone last season. It's not surprising then that OSU athletic officials didn't renew a contract with the PR firm handling Simonton's Heisman Trophy campaign. ... UCLA coach Bob Toledo said that he briefly considered pulling quarterback Cory Paus after Paus completed just two of his first 10 passes. Toledo reconsidered when Paus hit a 38-yard touchdown strike on the final play of the first half against Oregon State.
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