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Stanford-UCLA suddenly a pivotal Pac-10 game

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Updated Oct 1, 2009 10:49 PM ET
     
 
The game to watch in the Pac-10 this week is in the Bay Area, where the perpetually upbeat coach with a team built around defense travels up from Los Angeles. The task at hand is to try to slow the home team's star tailback — the one who is starting to generate some Heisman Trophy talk. The winner will put itself at the head of the Pac-10 race.
USC at Cal? We'll get to them in a moment. The big game in the Bay Area on Saturday is unbeaten (and largely untested) UCLA against Stanford, which has trailed for all of two seconds this season but has yet to beat a team with a winning record. USC and Cal own the marquee time slot — 8 p.m. ET on ABC — and ESPN was considering dispatching its Game Day crew to Berkeley. But instead of a meeting between a pair of top-five teams, the Trojans and Bears hardly look ready for prime time. They have taken embarrassing hits in the last two weeks, USC losing at Washington two weeks ago and Cal being routed at Oregon last Saturday. Now, instead of determining who will go to the Rose Bowl, this game may simply determine who won't go. Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday, two unranked teams will be playing for first place across the Bay, down on the Farm. Stanford, which pounded Washington on Saturday, is 2-0 in the Pac-10 and its only loss was at Wake Forest, which scored with two seconds left to win 24-17. UCLA stood toe-to-toe at Tennessee, digging in on a goal-line stand, and has played it safe in wins over San Diego State and Kansas State. Stanford and UCLA also represent — perhaps better than anyone else — the shift in the Pac-10 from a conference that gives defense a passing thought to one that is leaning on it. Schools that have produced Elway and Aikman have asked redshirt freshmen, Andrew Luck and Kevin Prince, to not mess it up. Prince, whose jaw was broken late against Tennessee, is being replaced by senior Kevin Craft for the second consecutive game, but the message is the same. Four Pac-10 schools (No. 3 Arizona State, No. 6 USC, No. 15 UCLA and No. 25 Arizona) are ranked in the top 25 in the country in total defense. No Pac-10 school is ranked that high in total offense. "Don't you love it,'' said Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback who has channeled his inner Schembechler and Ditka, two of his former coaches, in remaking Stanford into a physical team. The Cardinal have counted heavily on tailback Toby Gerhart, whose 129 yards per game rushing is third in the nation, ahead of Jahvid Best, Cal's more well-known back. Stanford has been able to control the clock and wear down defenses with the 230-pound Gerhart, and has also gotten a huge boost from its kick returners. Richard Sherman has returned a punt for a touchdown and Chris Owusu has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. "He's an incredible weapon,'' said UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said of Owusu, a 10.4 100-meter sprinter in high school, suggesting that he may give him the Barry Bonds treatment — pitch around him. Just as the Cardinal are shedding a reputation for having to beat people with their brains, the Bruins continue to distance themselves from a rap that they're as soft defensively as their baby blue uniforms. Defensive tackle Brian Price has a bright NFL future, Reggie Carter is one of the conference's top linebackers and safety Rahim Moore and cornerback Alterraun Verner have already combined for eight interceptions. In the not-so-distant past, this would have been a pillow fight. Now, it's a street fight. "You better put on your big-boy pads,'' Neuheisel said of Stanford's physical approach. "They make no bones about it. They're going to say they can win in the trenches. I know Tennessee tested us, but this is going to be the biggest test so far. We have to manage the point of attack. It's a huge challenge for our defense.'' The stakes will not be insignificant either. With a win, Stanford will be 3-0 in the Pac-10 and surely on the way to its first winning season — and bowl game — since 2001. UCLA, which had won just four of its last 18 road games entering this season, would generate plenty of momentum and confidence heading into the next two weeks, when Oregon and Cal visit the Rose Bowl. Still, the game in Strawberry Canyon may have been long sold out, and has some intriguing story lines of its own. Can Best run on the Trojans? How will USC handle the loss of Stafon Johnson? And is this the end of its Pac-10 reign? But which game is the best in the Bay Area? "The only one I'm concerned with,'' Neuheisel said, "is the one in Palo Alto.'' Surprisingly, he may not be alone.
Tagged: San Diego State, Stanford, Washington, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Kansas, California

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