College Football | Much is on the line for Bears and Ducks

What's this, a major, marquee Pac-10 football game pregnant with postseason possibilities — and USC's not invited?

Believe it. While reports of USC's unease are no doubt greatly exaggerated — 49 wins in 51 games is still a fairly formidable number — there's a considerable sense that either California or Oregon might be up to the challenge of a Pac-10 title run.

Now, who gets by whom? The Bears (4-1, 2-0 Pac-10) host the Ducks (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday in what is probably the biggest game in the league not involving USC since a fifth-ranked, 8-1 Washington State team played No. 15, 7-2 Oregon in 2002.

Cal and Oregon are two of the hottest teams in the nation (or maybe it's just that they've recently played Arizona State).

The other day, I asked Oregon coach Mike Bellotti during a weekly news conference if this team was worthy of comparison to the 2001 outfit that went 11-1, won the Fiesta Bowl and by a scant few split hairs in the BCS formula, missed a shot at the national title.

"It's very, very early," he prefaced.

Then he hastened to add: "Yes, absolutely. We probably have a greater diversity of offense, and we have similar elements in two great tailbacks who can play, receivers who can contribute, and we're probably as good or better on the offensive line. Our concerns at this point are keeping the defense healthy."

For the third straight game, the Ducks have lost another defensive starter, tackle Cole Linehan, to a broken foot. But they managed nicely in a 48-13 rout of Arizona State.

And the offense. It seems to have grown perfectly into the spread-option installed a year ago, with Dennis Dixon controlling, 6-foot-5 Jaison Williams catching and Jonathan Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson running.

At ASU, the Ducks went early to a quick, slip-screen play to the left, Dixon to Williams. They ran it over and over, using Williams' size and the pulling mobility of linemen Max Unger and Josh Tschirgi. ASU reacted defensively as if it was looking at Bolshevik memoirs in Russian. Williams had 10 catches for 137 yards.

With Dixon throwing a lot of quick stuff and an all-returnee line, the Ducks have allowed only a single sack. On the other hand, Dixon didn't look good throwing deep at ASU, and Bellotti frets that defenses will crowd the line until he does.

"It's something we need to complement our screen game underneath," Bellotti said.

Then there are the Bears, who, ironically, may have further reinforced the Pac-10's dubious national image in reeling off four games of 40-plus points. Just as Oregon's victory over Oklahoma became suspect because of the late officiating blunders, Cal can be questioned because its success came after an opening-week thrashing at Tennessee.

Even the normally laconic Jeff Tedford, the Cal coach, lit up this week when asked a question framed by the Tennessee rout.

"I've never seen such a [media] hangover from one game," he said. "We're into the sixth game of the year, and people are still talking about the first game. It's like that thing has hung with us for six weeks now. At some point, hopefully we can put that one outing behind us."

Quarterback Nate Longshore has three games of four touchdown passes.

The winner of this one takes a significant step toward a BCS berth. Oh, and that perception of the Pac-10? Computer maven Jeff Sagarin doesn't buy it; he's got USC No. 1, Oregon sixth, Cal 10th, UCLA 26th, WSU 27th and Washington 29th.

Pete's pate

Adrian Peterson, the Oklahoma running back, showed up at a Monday press conference with his head shaved, which he said he did as a freshman before gaining 225 yards on 32 carries against Texas.

Gene Chizik, defensive coordinator for the Longhorns team that faces Oklahoma on Saturday, told the Dallas Morning News that Peterson is "the best I've ever seen." If he is, it's a marvelous matchup, because Texas is the nation's No. 2-ranked run defense at 36.6 yards per game.

Texas coach Mack Brown, by the way, shows up in the new NBC series "Friday Night Lights" as a booster chipping at the local high-school football coach.

"I didn't need a script," joked Brown, often the target of criticism before Texas won the national title last year. "I've had 33 years of experience."

One early take on the show: It's overwrought, unrealistic and cliché-based.

Reign delay

Minnesota coach Glen Mason and his staff showed up to work Sunday and spent several hours not knowing whether they should prepare for Penn State on Saturday, or whether that game wouldn't be until Nov. 25.

The Gophers had to wait out both the Twins' and Tigers' baseball games to see which won the American League Central Division. As it happened, Minnesota's title allowed for mid-week playoff games and freed up the Metrodome for the Gophers this weekend. Had Minnesota been the wild-card team, it would have occupied the dome this weekend and bumped the football game to November.

The unkindest Koett

Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter received a contract extension through 2009 last year, but if there's a movement to fire him this year, it will be based on at least two things:

• In his sixth year, Koetter has only a 17-25 record in Pac-10 games.

• In those 25 losses, ASU has surrendered a hard-to-believe 40.3 points per game. Eleven of the losses are by 20 or more points.

And what's more ...

• Yes, Duke, you're done with Virginia. The Blue Devils (0-4) have scored exactly 13 points, and been shut out by Richmond, Virginia Tech and Virginia. But they're finished with the state for 2006.

• Big game in the SEC is No. 9 LSU (4-1) at No. 5 Florida (5-0). LSU QB JaMarcus Russell, 18-3 as a starter, got his first one at Florida two years ago and vows to improve on a poor performance.

• Best teams in OT? Based on a minimum five games, Nebraska and Michigan are 5-0 since the rule was implemented in 1996, while Arkansas, Northwestern and UCLA are 6-1. But no coach is anywhere close to the astonishing 26 overtime periods overseen by Arkansas' Houston Nutt.

• Missouri risks its 5-0 start at Texas Tech. Its hot QB, Chase Daniel, grew up about 300 miles east of Lubbock, Texas.

• Rutgers could have saved itself the money it spent on full-color promotional postcards for Brian Leonard's Heisman candidacy by, uh, waiting for the season to start. The Knights, 5-0 and 24th-ranked, have gotten 146 rushing yards from Leonard. Teammate Ray Rice has 806.

• Not that you were expecting Bowling Green to upset Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are 21-1 against MAC members. The loss was to Akron in 1895.

• Hoping to put in perspective Virginia Tech's (4-1) drubbing by Georgia Tech, veteran center Danny McGrath said, "I've been here when we've been 2-2 and ended up in the Sugar Bowl. I've been here when we started off 8-0 and ended up in San Francisco playing in a baseball stadium for a bowl game." Hey, that's a Pac-10-affiliated bowl (the Emerald) he's making fun of.

Saturday's games to watch

No. 9 LSU (4-1) @ No. 5 Florida (5-0): 12:30 p.m. @ Florida Field, Ch. 7 | Florida favored by 2

No. 7 Texas (4-1) @ No. 14 Oklahoma (3-1): 12:30 p.m. @ The Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Ch. 4 | Texas favored by 4

No. 11 Oregon (4-0) @ No. 16 California (4-1): 5 p.m. @ Memorial Stadium, Ch. 4 | Cal favored by 5

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com