The Pac-10 needed to take this year as a statement to conferences around the country that we are indeed, one of the top conferences, if not the top. And if not only that, that this conference is not just USC and everyone else. For anyone who has been on the message blogs on ESPN or CBS or any of those other national blogs, the Pac-10 gets very little or no respect from the other conferences (Big 10 included). This non-conference schedule is going to give the Pac-10 the chance to do just that. With USC beating Virginia 52-7, and a rebuilding UCLA team beating #18 Tennessee, it has started out well for us. I don't think Oregon State needs to beat Penn State this weekend, but they definitely need to keep it close and avoid the early season blow out that they have suffered in previous years on the road (Louisville, Boise State, and Cinci). A win however, would go a long way (not only for the Pac10 and OSU's respect, but also to relieve this current state of depression I've been in since Stanford). USC gets Ohio State in 2 weeks, but it's more important that USC doesn't LOSE to Ohio State rather then them winning, because everyone knows that USC is good, and Ohio State might be a tad overrated, but a loss makes the rest of the conference suffer. Likewise, ASU gets Georgia. Here again, I don't think ASU needs to win, but a close loss to the #1 team in the nation would go a long way. Oregon plays Purdue on the road and Boise State at home and 2 wins against those teams are vital. I don't think the Washington schools are going to do much in their non-conference games, but the rest of the schools have a chance to prove our worth as a conference. If UCLA can beat potential BCS-buster BYU then we could have the top conference in the country this year. Don't read too much into Alabama's win this weekend, Clemson continues to be vastly overrated, and we all saw how weak the ACC was.

Pac10 football rules!

and Go Beavs