California (&Pac 10) Troubles

The California Golden Bears suffered a huge loss Saturday, and it was not on the scoreboard. Redshirt Freshman starting quarterback Nate Longshore is out for the season, with a broken leg. To make matters worse, back up heralded JC transfer Joseph Ayoob missed all of his ten pass attempts in Saturday's 41-3 win over Sacramento State. Third string Steve Levy was not much better, completing 2 of 7 for 52 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Bears looked uninspired compared to the Hornets. Cal was only able to amass 395 yards of total offense against a 1AA defense. Next week's game at Washington is going to be huge test for the Bears. The Huskies let a late 17-3 lead over Air Force go, and lost 20-17. UW's defense is good and they should be up for the Pac 10 opener against Cal. Cal needs to find its offense(and quarterback), but if they pull off the win in Seattle, they should still be able to go 5-0 before the show down at UCLA.

USC started where they left off last year, as the best team in the country. The Trojans had no problem with Hawaii, whipping the Warriors 63-17. With Oregon's defensive struggles against Houston, and Cal's inept offense, Arizona State and UCLA look to have jump into the driver's seat to unseat USC. Both the Sun Devils and Bruins had dominating wins over lesser competition, but both also looked in mid-season form. ASU blew out Temple 63-16, and UCLA ran all over San Diego State 44-21.

Oregon State beat up on Portland State 41-14. If they do the same to Boise State next week, does it mean as much, since the Broncos got pasted "Between the Hedges"? Oregon State is a real sleeper in the Pac 10 this year. The Beavers do not play USC, and a huge win at Louisville on September 17 will put them in the national spotlight.