The season is finally here, with all 10 teams in action on opening weekend. Thanks to the wonderful array of Pac-10 television deals, you can even see more than half of them, as six games are available nationally.
Fourteenth ranked USC kicks off the Pac-10 season Thursday evening at 8 PM in Hawaii, on ESPN, in the second game of the Bristol network's Thursday night doubleheader. The game is the bowl-ineligible Trojans' "special trip" for the year, and the game at the Rainbows of the WAC allows USC to invoke the Hawaii road trip rule, and play a 13th. game as well.
The Arizona Wildcats visit the Toledo Rockets at 5 PM Friday, and ESPN will televise the game from the Glass Bowl, a rave visit by a BCS Conference teams to the Mid American Conference.
Saturday's schedule starts at 12:30, with two games.
The UCLA Bruins visit Kansas State of the Big (still) XII, for an ABC regional game, also available in the rest of the country on ESPN Game Plan where other games are the over the air game.
The eleventh ranked Oregon Ducks host the New Mexico Lobos from the Mt. West Conference, and only northwest area cable systems that carry Comcast will be carrying the opener for the Pac-10 favorites.
At 1 PM, the Cal Bears host FCS for UC-Davis, and this one is only available in California, and on systems that carry Comcast's CSN California. (The Aggies' Great West Conference tv package doesn't save the day for Pac-10 fans.)
At 3:30, another FCS team, the Sacramento St. Hornets of the Big Sky, buzz onto the farm in Palo Alto to take on the Stanford Cardinal, and only those in the Bay area, and on systems that carry Comcast's CSN Bay Area, will be able to see the beginning of the post-Toby Gerhart era.
Both Washington teams kickoff on the road at 4 PM.
The Washington Huskies visit the BYU Cougars, still a member of the Mt. West, and CBS College Sports will carry the game nationally from Provo.
The Washington St. Cougars are in Stillwater, taking on the Oklahoma St. Cowboys of the Big XII, and the FSN network of regional networks will carry the game.
The big one, one of only two games between top 25 teams Saturday, starts at 4:45, as the twenty-fourth ranked Oregon St. Beavers take on the sixth ranked TCU Horned Frogs in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. This is the ESPN prime time national game.
Opening weekend for the Pac-10 wraps up when the Portland St. Vikings, another FCS team from the Big Sky, visits Tempe, for a 7 PM kickoff against the Arizona St. Sun Devils. Fox Sports Arizona will have the game, including those in the Northwest that get the full FSN regional network.
Also of note for Beaver fans, Monday night at 5 PM the third ranked Boise St. Broncos, OSU's end of month opponent, take on the tenth ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, in the biggest game of opening weekend, and ESPN will have the game.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com
