Week 5 has the potential to be full of excitement. It has 5 very intriguing games; 4 of which can go either way.
UCLA @ Stanford: This game is very intriguing because Stanford is coming off of an upset win over Washington and UCLA has been quietly taking care of business. UCLA seems to be a sleeper team this year. They had the impressive win at Tennessee and are quietly 3-0. I look for the Bruins to improve to 4-0 and emerge as a legitimate threat within the Pac-10 conference this year.
Washington @ Notre Dame: Other than last week's slip up at Stanford, Washington has been very impressive this year. Playing Notre Dame on the road is a great chance for the Huskies to bounce back and show the country that they are not pretenders this season. Unfortunately, Notre Dame is 3-1 and Jimmy Clausen is playing great football. The Fighting Irish need to focus on the Huskies and make sure that they don't get trapped looking ahead to next week's match-up at USC. If Notre Dame focuses on Washington and doesn't worry about the Trojans until Sunday they will get the win this Saturday.
Oregon State @ Arizona State: If I was asked to pick this game before the season I would have chose the Beavers without hesitation. However, the Beavers have been sputtering this season and that does not bode well going into a game against an ASU team that will be looking to get back in the victory column after a last second loss at Georgia. I expect Sun Devil stadium to be rocking for the Pac-10 opener. The Sun Devils defense has looked good all year and the offense is slowly improving. Look for ASU to get the win this week.
7 USC @ 24 Cal: After watching the Bears last week it seems impossible to pick them. Cal notoriously has mid-season collapses and it seems like this year's version came early. The Trojans already had their slip-up this year and should be focused heading into Berkeley this Saturday. Cal couldn't move the ball against Oregon and Kevin Riley took a step backwards. If Riley is ineffective, the Trojans will be able to load up the box and shut down Jahvid Best. Look for USC to get a big road win and for Cal to drop its second straight.
Washington State @ 16 Oregon: This game will go to the Ducks. Washington State has a lot of room for improvement and I don't expect much at all from them this year. The Ducks will be without CB and punt returner Walter Thurmond who is out for the year with a knee injury. While he will be missed later on, the Ducks will have no problems with the Cougars. The offense looked spectacular last week and Duck fans can only hope that the offense stays at such a high level.
Veteran
UCLA Wins
goblue92Arizona State WINS
SC WINS
Notre Dame WINS
Oregon...well they should get arrested after this game. It will be a massacre.
02:22 PM EST