Pac-Ten Football Season Openers

This past weekend, my plan to earnestly "go west" and follow the Pacific-Ten NCAA football conference successfully kicked off, with me being able to watch four different games on my cable TV. But while watching the first game (and soon after its conclusion), I was wondering whether or not this league was really worth following.

When I got home from work last Thursday night, the Pac-10's Oregon Ducks were playing their season opener on the road against the Boise State Broncos (on their very weird dark-blue field). The fourth quarter was just beginning, and the Ducks, although behind, were still in the game, trailing 19-8 (which ended up as the final score). Oregon got the ball, the quarterback threw a long pass which was dropped, but wait... there was a penalty anyway against Oregon... then there was an interception...then Boise State fumbled away the ball and Oregon had it back...and then fumbled it back. In between these various screwups were assorted penalties. In other words, it was an extremely sloppy game, especially on the part of Oregon. But worst of all, after the game, one of their players, running back LeGarrette Blount, while walking off the field toward the locker rooms, responded to what was apparently a verbal taunt by one of the Boise State players by suddenly wheeling around and slugging him in the chin, sending him to the ground. The incident was aired repeatedly on television and was a news video highlight on the Net. Oregon responded to the incident by suspending the offender for the rest of the season from playing. But I was scratching my head, wondering to myself whether I had picked the wrong conference to follow!

That one player's unsportsmanlike conduct aside, Oregon did show some talent in spite of its sloppy play. And I'm sure that they will go into their future games with a mission to prove that they are really a better team. Despite this slow start of the Ducks, on Saturday I saw some other good Pacific-Ten teams in action. That gave me a needed sense of self-assurance.

USC drubbed San Jose State, California routed Maryland, and Washington played a close (but losing) game against LSU. Their quarterbacks (Matt Barkley, Kevin Riley, and Jake Locker respectively) gave impressive performances and should inspire confidence with their teams' fans in future games.

So, on two counts, I think I made the right decision to follow Pac-Ten football. One, many games are available on cable television for me to watch. And two, I can tell that (except for Oregon's sloppy play) their caliber of play matches up well with other major conferences.

I'm interested in seeing how UCLA does on the road next week against Tennessee, although I probably won't be able to see it on TV. And of course, there is that big matchup between USC and Ohio State. Right now, as things stand, my favorite Pacific-Ten team is California, particularly because of their impressive defensive performance against Maryland.