Pac-10 - The Week That Was - Week Four

By ANDREW GARDA - PAC-10 INSIDER

Arizona 31, UCLA 10
While the win eluded the now 1-2 Bruins, Coach Rick Neuheisel can at least be pleased with his team’s effort. UCLA fought hard, but in the end, nemesis Willie Tuitama led Arizona to victory over the Bruins for the third time in his collegiate career. Tuitama threw for 222 yards and his second touchdown of the day sealed the victory for the Wildcats. Quarterback Kevin Craft continued to get comfortable in a job he fell into due to injuries to the starters. While UCLA played better than they did in their drubbing by BYU, they were not quite as inspired as they were in their season opening win over Tennessee. Arizona on the other hand, starts conference play on a high note and will try to rebuild the momentum they lost in their defeat at the hands of New Mexico. The 'Cats have hopes of making their first bowl appearance under Coach Mike Stoops.

Washington State 48, Portland State 9
Washington State won the game 48-9, but may have paid too steep a price as quarterbacks Kevin Lopina and Gary Rogers (who left in an ambulance with neck pain) were injured in the game. Third-stringer Marshall Lobbestael not only stepped in but stepped up, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and 149 yards in just over a quarter. Cougar wide receivers Brandon Gibson (three receptions, 84 yards, one touchdown) and Devin Frischknecht (five receptions, 110 yards, one touchdown) both made the most of their opportunities. On the ground, running backs Dwight Tardy (80 yards, one touchdown) and Chris Ivory (78 yards, one touchdowns) split the carries (11 each) down the middle to good effect. Meanwhile, Portland State couldn’t get any run game going, totaling a paltry eight yards against the Cougars’ rush defense.

#3 Georgia 27, Arizona State 10
Georgia left no doubt in the desert, that they were national title contenders with a sound win over Arizona State. A complete turnaround from last week’s squeaker against South Carolina, the Bulldogs ran out to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter and never looked back. Georgia kept tremendous pressure on ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter, sacking him four times. They also locked down the Sun Devil run game. Sun Devil running backs compiled a mere four yards. With no threat of the run, the Georgia secondary was free to roam the field and shut down Carpenter’s receivers, while the linebackers blitzed at will. Carpenter found himself scrambling on most plays, trying to keep the play alive long enough to find an open target, often to no avail. Defensively, the Sun Devils stifled Bulldog running back Knowshon Moreno for part of the game, but in the end could not fully contain him, as he scored twice and totaled 149 yards. Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford also had a very effective day, compiling 285 yards and one touchdown through the air.

Stanford 23, San Jose State 10
Stanford had to battle back from a halftime deficit and running back Toby Gerhart was their leader as the Cardinal beat the San Jose State Spartans 23-10. Gerhart carried the ball 22 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, while struggling quarterback Tavita Pritchard scrambled for 40 yards and a touchdown, adding a 25-yard “catch” of his own deflected pass. Stanford gets back to even after dropping two in a row.

Boise State 37, #17 Oregon 32
Going in, the Ducks needed to limit mistakes and not fall behind, they did neither. Oregon quarterbacks threw three interceptions and Boise State ran out to a 24-6 first half lead. A late surge by the Ducks was not enough this time, as Broncos’ signal caller Kellen Moore threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns in the freshman’s first career start on the road. Jeremiah Masoli was the latest Ducks quarterback to fall to injury, as he exited the game in the first quarter with a mild concussion. This forced headman Mike Bellotti to utilize three quarterbacks with very little success until freshman Darron Thomas, the fourth quarterback used this season, came onto the field for the final stanza. Thomas gave the passing attack some bite, as he threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns in just one quarter of work. This was Boise State’s first road win against a BCS-conference team in the program’s history.

Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media