Building the Dam is recapping the best of the conference games from 2004-2008. To recap so far:
#10 Washington @ USC, 2006: USC wins 26-20 on too-late snap
#9 Washington @ Cal, 2006: Washington ties game with heave, loses in OT 31-24
So, here we are, at the eighth best Pac-10 game from 2004-2008
#8 October 8th, 2005: Cal (5-0) @ UCLA (4-0)
What was at stake: #10 Cal's 12 game regular season win streak, and #20 UCLA getting it on in what was a top 20 football game, but more importantly, a top 5 public institution THROW DOWN!
What happened: An exciting game that featured nearly 1,000 yards of offense and only 1 turnover for each team. Maurice Jones-Drew had 5 touchdowns on the day (3 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 punt return) and accounted for 279 total yards. The game was back and forth until Cal hit a field goal with 13 minutes left in the game, putting the Bears up by 12, 40-28. A touchdown for the Bruins with 7 minutes left brought them to within a score, but they were going to need to stop the high scoring Bears. Which is what happened. And with 1:35 left, MJD stepped up one more time for UCLA
UCLA winning touchdown vs. Cal 2005 (via CFBFanaticfan)
They missed the 2-pt conversion to make the game 41-40 with only a minute and a half remaining. They need one more stop to be sure, and they got it. An interception set up a final MJD touchdown with no time let to give the Bruins a 47-40 win, and ended Cal's 12 game regular season win streak.
#7 October 9th, 2004: Oregon (1-3) @ Washington State (3-1)
What was at stake: Not much. Had this game been between two better teams, it probably would have been near the top, but a great game none-the-less.
What happened: The game was back and forth all day long. Washington State looked to have possibly wrapped things up when they hit a field goal to put the Cougs up by 10 with 7 minutes left. Oregon was not to be denied. Led behind Kellen Clemens, Oregon put up 13 points in the final 5 minutes, including a 13 yard TD run by Clemens with a minute and a half to go, to win 41-38. The real stat of the game was Oregon (and Clemens) domination on offense. 646 yards of total offense, with Clemens going 36-55 for 437 yards and 3 touchdown passes, and adding an additional 3 touchdown runs to go with it. I've never been a Duck fan, but Clemens' six touchdown performance that day will be forever etched in my mind as a great college football performance. Right behind Joey "5-pick" Harrington in the 2000 Civil War.
--The VD Special