National | ASU, Oregon enter weekend clash at Pac-10's new top duo
By John Sutton
Posted: 11/1/07, 1:18 AM EST Section: Sports
When the 2007 college football season began, the Pac-10 seemed to belong to a select few who looked to dominate not only in the conference, but on the national scene as well. Today, the conference championship contenders have been narrowed down, but few could have imagined exactly who that would be.
This Saturday, Arizona State will visit Eugene, Ore., to face Oregon in a game that will go a long way in deciding who ultimately comes out on top of the Pac-10.
Throughout the beginning of the season, Southern California and California dominated both the preseason and early-season talk of a conference championship. Nov. 10 was circled on everyone's calendar: the date when USC and Cal were supposed to play for the Pac-10 championship.
That date has now been moved up a week to this Saturday as Arizona State beat Cal, and Oregon handed USC a loss last weekend, separating them from the rest of the country. Not only do both teams have a great shot at the Pac-10 championship, but they both have national championship aspirations as well.
The Sun Devils have gone through the first eight games of their season unblemished and are currently ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press poll, but No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series standings. While the Ducks suffered an early-season loss to Cal, they have recovered and stand at No. 4 in The AP poll and No. 5 in the BCS standings.
Arizona State had not faced a ranked opponent until last week when it defeated Cal at home. To remain with the perfect record they have now, the Sun Devils will have to defeat three dangerous teams that currently sit underneath them in the Pac-10 standings: Oregon, UCLA and USC.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti can identify with the run that Arizona State has made, as his team was also not considered a contender in the preseason. However, he believes that disrespect can be used as a tool for motivation.
"I used that stuff to challenge our players, just as I'm sure (ASU head) coach (Dennis) Erickson did at Arizona State," Bellotti said. "They have been a bowl team for I think three consecutive years, so it wasn't like they weren't a good football team - they are a good football team. Right now they are playing at a level unsurpassed in the conference."
The national exposure is something new to many of the Sun Devil players, and something Erickson believes his team will have to get used to.
Arizona State has finished with a winning record in each of its last three seasons, but it has only been nationally ranked once in those three seasons. This trend is changing this year with Erickson at the helm, and he wants to prepare them for the repercussions of that change.
"These seniors, I've talked to them, they haven't had these opportunities," Erickson said in a press conference Monday. "I told them at the beginning of the year, one of my goals is to have them have the same opportunities that I've had in my coaching career, to have the opportunity to play in big games or coach in big games like I've had."
One of the primary reasons for the Sun Devils' success this year is the play of junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter, who has thrown for 17 touchdowns on the season. Arizona State will need Carpenter to recover from a thumb injury that kept him from throwing in practice Tuesday.
Though the injury kept him from performing fully in practice, Carpenter said it has improved his accuracy, as he dealt with the injury for some of the game last week against Cal. He knows the importance of this week's game and that more national attention is an obvious side effect to the success the Sun Devils have experienced this year.
"I think (the games) will only continue to get bigger as we keep going through the season," Carpenter said in a press conference Monday. "It's one of those things that when you keep on winning and getting more attention, every game becomes the biggest game of the year."
Erickson thinks that this new-found attention is something exciting for his team. Although they now play on national television and in front of sold-out crowds on a weekly basis, they cannot lose sight of where they came from, Erickson said.
"They've been big for us, all us," Erickson said. "But here you go against Cal, a big game on TV, sold-out stadium, and now, all of a sudden, you're on TV again, going up to Eugene to play one of the better teams in the country, getting a lot of national attention, so that's exciting for our players."
LSU suspends two
Louisiana State head coach Les Miles has suspended sophomore quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and reserve linebacker Derrick Odom because of their involvement in a nightclub brawl during the weekend.
With a trip to No. 17 Alabama coming up this week, LSU will go without Perrilloux, who frequently provides LSU with the ability to run the option offense when he is subbed in for starting quarterback Matt Flynn. Perrilloux has eight total touchdowns this season.
No. 3 Louisiana State at No. 17 Alabama
The suspension of Perrilloux will only slightly hinder the Tigers in this interesting matchup. In what will be Alabama head coach Nick Saban's first game against his former team, the Crimson Tide has a chance to jump LSU in the Southeastern Conference West standings.
LSU will look to continue its national championship pursuit though its one loss to Kentucky. It will face a hot Alabama team which has won three consecutive games since dropping back-to-back games in late September.
This Saturday, Arizona State will visit Eugene, Ore., to face Oregon in a game that will go a long way in deciding who ultimately comes out on top of the Pac-10.
Throughout the beginning of the season, Southern California and California dominated both the preseason and early-season talk of a conference championship. Nov. 10 was circled on everyone's calendar: the date when USC and Cal were supposed to play for the Pac-10 championship.
That date has now been moved up a week to this Saturday as Arizona State beat Cal, and Oregon handed USC a loss last weekend, separating them from the rest of the country. Not only do both teams have a great shot at the Pac-10 championship, but they both have national championship aspirations as well.
The Sun Devils have gone through the first eight games of their season unblemished and are currently ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press poll, but No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series standings. While the Ducks suffered an early-season loss to Cal, they have recovered and stand at No. 4 in The AP poll and No. 5 in the BCS standings.
Arizona State had not faced a ranked opponent until last week when it defeated Cal at home. To remain with the perfect record they have now, the Sun Devils will have to defeat three dangerous teams that currently sit underneath them in the Pac-10 standings: Oregon, UCLA and USC.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti can identify with the run that Arizona State has made, as his team was also not considered a contender in the preseason. However, he believes that disrespect can be used as a tool for motivation.
"I used that stuff to challenge our players, just as I'm sure (ASU head) coach (Dennis) Erickson did at Arizona State," Bellotti said. "They have been a bowl team for I think three consecutive years, so it wasn't like they weren't a good football team - they are a good football team. Right now they are playing at a level unsurpassed in the conference."
The national exposure is something new to many of the Sun Devil players, and something Erickson believes his team will have to get used to.
Arizona State has finished with a winning record in each of its last three seasons, but it has only been nationally ranked once in those three seasons. This trend is changing this year with Erickson at the helm, and he wants to prepare them for the repercussions of that change.
"These seniors, I've talked to them, they haven't had these opportunities," Erickson said in a press conference Monday. "I told them at the beginning of the year, one of my goals is to have them have the same opportunities that I've had in my coaching career, to have the opportunity to play in big games or coach in big games like I've had."
One of the primary reasons for the Sun Devils' success this year is the play of junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter, who has thrown for 17 touchdowns on the season. Arizona State will need Carpenter to recover from a thumb injury that kept him from throwing in practice Tuesday.
Though the injury kept him from performing fully in practice, Carpenter said it has improved his accuracy, as he dealt with the injury for some of the game last week against Cal. He knows the importance of this week's game and that more national attention is an obvious side effect to the success the Sun Devils have experienced this year.
"I think (the games) will only continue to get bigger as we keep going through the season," Carpenter said in a press conference Monday. "It's one of those things that when you keep on winning and getting more attention, every game becomes the biggest game of the year."
Erickson thinks that this new-found attention is something exciting for his team. Although they now play on national television and in front of sold-out crowds on a weekly basis, they cannot lose sight of where they came from, Erickson said.
"They've been big for us, all us," Erickson said. "But here you go against Cal, a big game on TV, sold-out stadium, and now, all of a sudden, you're on TV again, going up to Eugene to play one of the better teams in the country, getting a lot of national attention, so that's exciting for our players."
LSU suspends two
Louisiana State head coach Les Miles has suspended sophomore quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and reserve linebacker Derrick Odom because of their involvement in a nightclub brawl during the weekend.
With a trip to No. 17 Alabama coming up this week, LSU will go without Perrilloux, who frequently provides LSU with the ability to run the option offense when he is subbed in for starting quarterback Matt Flynn. Perrilloux has eight total touchdowns this season.
Game to Watch
No. 3 Louisiana State at No. 17 Alabama
The suspension of Perrilloux will only slightly hinder the Tigers in this interesting matchup. In what will be Alabama head coach Nick Saban's first game against his former team, the Crimson Tide has a chance to jump LSU in the Southeastern Conference West standings.
LSU will look to continue its national championship pursuit though its one loss to Kentucky. It will face a hot Alabama team which has won three consecutive games since dropping back-to-back games in late September.
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