Sun Devils get a jump on Pac-12 South

By Matt Swartz With three Pac-12 teams having a bye week, the two most interesting and probably most important conference games of the weekend kicked off at about the same time Saturday night in Arizona. As it turned out, one simply solidified our assumptions about the two teams involved, but the other did just the opposite and, in the process, established an intriguing pecking order in the Pac-12 South. In Tucson, where Arizona was playing a top-10 team for the third week in a row in the midst of a horrific stretch of the schedule, Oregon did what Oregon does or at least what 2010 Oregon did. The Ducks offense had a little bit of off and on to it in the first three games, but against the Wildcats, LaMichael James and Darron Thomas were on all night. It was 14-0 midway through the first quarter and was never really a competitive game, which wasnt shocking given UAs defensive struggles so far this year. After watching Oklahoma State shred the Arizona defense two weeks ago and the Andrew LuckStepfan Taylor combo do similar damage last week, its safe to say that UA just cant stop good offenses. And clearly (not that there was much doubt), Oregon has an elite offense. There were some concerns about the loss to LSU in the season opener and James generally mediocre play in the first couple of games, but those were forgotten quickly Saturday night. He finished with a school-record 288 rushing yards and scored twice, while Thomas accounted for four touchdowns. "We're searching to play a complete game right now," Arizona linebacker Paul Vassallo told FOXSportsArizona.coms Steve Rivera after the game. "I think we showed spurts of that. We have to play a complete game every week. We need to do (it), and fast." The reason it wasnt a complete onslaught was UA quarterback Nick Foles, who racked up 397 passing yards and three TDs and didnt throw a pick. A 14-point run in the third quarter actually got Arizona back with 11 at one point, but Oregon simply put its foot on the gas and pulled away in the fourth. Foles and a fairly deep and dangerous receiving corps are the only things the Cats have going for them right now. The defense is struggling, the kicking game (Alex Zendejas missed ANOTHER extra-point attempt Saturday night) is abysmal and the running game is barely a factor. Its clear that Arizona does not belong among the Pac-12's elite but whether the Cats are better than the Pac-12s other middle-of-the-pack teams wont be determined until they play one. There are a lot of lessons that we learned to take into next week's game with USC, Mike Stoops told reporters after the loss. We need to play better and find that proper leadership. And someone just needs to make those big plays." About 100 miles north, Arizona State was having no problem finding someone to make big plays. Cameron Marshall (who was supposedly questionable to play) ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage and the ASU defense forced four turnovers - three of the huge variety with USC driving to tie or take the lead en route to a pulling-away 43-22 win. The game was much more competitive than the final score indicated. USC held a 22-21 lead in the third quarter before ASU responded with a touchdown, forced two big fumbles inside its own 30-yard line and then put the game away with an interception return for a score by outside linebacker Shelly Lyons (on his first career interception, no less). But a USC team that seemingly had more talent especially with the Devils missing three key defensive starters because of injuries and more big-game experience didnt show it. The big plays all belonged to ASU, which was a refreshing change after 11 consecutive games in the series that had seen USC come away with the win, some in painful fashion for ASU. "Eleven years is a long time to not beat somebody," coach Dennis Erickson said. "Like I mentioned all week, the only people that can change that is us." Coupled with Utahs loss to USC two weeks ago and Arizonas slow start, the Devils win put them in the drivers seat in the Pac-12 South. ASU's Oct. 8 trip to Utah shapes up as a massively important divisional game. Assuming no disasters this week at home against winless Oregon State, ASU can take a two-game lead AND the tiebreaker with a win in Salt Lake City, a margin that would be close to insurmountable in the race for the inaugural Pac-12 title game. With a potent passing game (when Brock Osweiler gets protection, which isnt always a certainty), the running game effective enough when Marshall is healthy and the defense playing reasonably well despite the aforementioned injuries, the only thing standing between ASU and a nine- or 10-win season is consistency. BATTLE AT THE BOTTOM Oregon State officially established itself as the worst team in the conference Saturday with a 27-19 home loss to UCLA, which was off to a bad 1-2 start and was coming off a whipping at the hands of previously struggling Texas. The Beavers are now 0-3 for the first time since 1996, the last year before Mike Rileys FIRST stint as coach. Apparently tired of talking about the dismal performances, Riley was looking for positives Sunday in his press conference. "I'm frankly very encouraged by this group and seeing them grow,'' Riley said. The return of big-time playmaker James Rodgers, who played Saturday after missing the first two games while recovering from a leg injury, will make a difference going forward. Tight end Joe Halahuni also played for the first time this year, and freshman quarterback Sean Mannion making his first career start in place of the benched Ryan Katz wasnt bad, going 24 for 40 for 287 yards with a touchdown, a pick and a fumble. But Oregon State was down 21-3 at one point and except for a strong third quarter, it was all Bruins. If the Beavers cant find a way to beat BYU at home on Oct. 15 or Washington State in Pullman on Oct. 22, an 0-12 season becomes a legitimate possibility. On the flipside, Rick Neuheisel is probably breathing easier for now. UCLA is back to 2-2, got its ground game going against Oregon State (211 yards) and got decent QB play for the first time all year, as Richard Brehaut needed to throw just 11 passes and completed seven of them for one touchdown and no interceptions. The good vibes might not last long, though: A trip to Stanford is next. EXCITING GAME, EXCITING FINISH The under-the-radar best game of the week went down Saturday afternoon in Seattle, with Washington moving to 3-1 and handing California its first defeat, 31-23. Washington sophomore quarterback Keith Price whos done a way-more-than-adequate job of replacing Jake Locker had another big day, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns in a game that neither team led by more than eight points at any time. The Huskies extended a one-point lead to the final margin with a 70-yard TD pass from Price to running back Chris Polk midway through the fourth quarter. But Cal wasnt done: On their final drive, the Bears converted three third downs and got a 19-yard completion from Zach Maynard to half-brother Keenyn Allen down to the 2-yard line with less than a minute left. That was as close as they got. An incompletion, two stuffed running plays and a fade to Allen that went out of the end zone ended Cals comeback bid. We stopped them when we needed to, Huskies D-coordinator Nick Holt said after the game. Head coach Steve Sarkisian is optimistic about the future with Price running the offense. He is so accurate, unbelievably accurate hes playing at as high a level as he can play as a quarterback, Sarkisian told reporters. I know theres Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley, but the level that Keith Price is playing at is as high as anyone in our conference. For proof, just check the numbers: 67 percent passing, 245 yards per game, 14 touchdowns and just three picks against a schedule thats included just one proverbial cupcake (Eastern Washington in the season opener, a game Washington barely won 30-27). STAT CHECK LaMichael James can erase a slow start in a hurry. He had a total of 136 yards through Oregons first two games and seemed to be losing carries to freshman blazer DeAnthony Thomas and then he ripped off 204 yards and three TDs against Missouri State (competition caveats apply) before shredding Arizonas defense Saturday night to the tune of 363 all-purpose yards. The breakdown: 288 rushing (a school record), 15 receiving and 60 on punt returns, with one of those being a 44-yarder that set up one of his two rushing touchdowns. Just like that, James is back to second in the country in rushing average at 153.25 yards per game (Michigans Denard Robinson is first at 168.57). And Nick Foles, despite his teams 1-3 start, is up to fourth in the country in passing at 361.75 yards per game. Oklahoma States Brandon Weeden who Foles has seen first-hand is first at 398 yards. There is one Pac-12 player who leads the country in a not-obscure statistical category, but he isnt widely noticed because of the school he plays for: Washington State wideout Marquess Wilson is averaging 143 receiving yards per game. He also has four receiving touchdowns as part of the Cougars somewhat-surprising 2-1 start. And things could get better for both Wilson and Wazzu: Three of the next four games are against Colorado, UCLA and Oregon State.