It was hard to determine what was more significant — what Stanford did to Oregon on Saturday, or the implications that had on Arizona’s quest for its first-ever Pac-10 championship.

The Cardinal’s stunning 51-42 win over the Ducks not only sent a message that Stanford can play with the top teams in the conference, but it opened up a clear path for the Wildcats to visit Pasadena for the Rose Bowl for the first time. Oregon and Arizona now each have one loss, and the teams play each other in a couple of weeks. If the Wildcats win out, they will win the Pac-10 title.

The Ducks actually have a half-game lead over the Wildcats as of now because they have played one more game. If Arizona is to win the conference championship, it will have earned it with its play down the stretch. The Wildcats’ final four games? At Cal, against Oregon, at Arizona State and at USC.

Certainly, that looks like a daunting string of games, especially with three of them coming on the road. The good news for Arizona is its game at Cal on Saturday is looking less and less like a tough task. The Bears simply haven’t proven they can beat good teams this season, and were thoroughly dismantled by Oregon State last week. Granted, Cal experienced a scary situation when star tailback Jahvid Best had to be wheeled off on a stretcher after suffering a severe concussion in the second quarter, but the Bears were getting definitively outplayed before the injury and nothing changed after.

Scoreboard

Stanford 51, Oregon 42
USC 14, Arizona State 9
Oregon State 31, Cal 14
Arizona 48, Washington State 7
UCLA 24, Washington 23

Blount Back

Oregon has reinstated suspended running back LeGarrette Blount, and the decision wasn’t met with much fanfare. That’s probably because the Ducks are enjoying such an outstanding season, despite last week’s 51-42 loss at Stanford.

Blount originally was suspended for the season after throwing a punch at Boise State defensive end Byron Hout following the Ducks’ season-opening loss to the Broncos. But the school and the Pac-10 felt Blount had done enough to earn a shot at playing in Oregon’s final few games.

With the emergence of LaMichael James, who ranks second in the Pac-10 in rushing (115.9 ypg), Blount probably won’t play much of a significant role down the stretch. But the bruising back could be a valuable weapon in short-yardage situations.

The timing of Blount’s return is notable. Before last week’s loss, Oregon was rolling so well that it didn’t seem to make much sense to tinker with the formula. Now that the Ducks have hit a bump, Oregon can insert Blount back into the equation without much second thought.

Toby Time

The guy who is running away with the Pac-10 rushing title isn’t the one who was a consensus preseason All-American or the one who is the defending conference Offensive Player of the Year.

It is the one who was considering not even playing this season and entering the Major League Baseball draft.

Stanford’s Toby Gerhart enters Saturday’s game at USC averaging 135.2 rushing yards per game, almost 20 yards more than his closest pursuer, James. He is also tied for the Pac-10 lead with 16 touchdowns.

Gerhart now is starting to get some attention for the Heisman Trophy, something that was directed toward Best and Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers before the season. His rushing average places him second in the country, although he’ll be hard-pressed to catch Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews, who rushes for 162.1 yards per game. Gerhart is averaging about eight yards more per game than Alabama’s Mark Ingram, who has emerged as one of the frontrunners for the Heisman.

Gerhart is becoming more of a familiar name across the country, but he probably would be even more of a household name had a couple of plays gone another way for Stanford this season. The Cardinal are 6-3, but had chances to win two of their three losses. Stanford blew a 17-3 lead at Wake Forest in September, with the Demon Deacons scoring the winning touchdown with two seconds left. Then in October, Stanford led 38-29 in the third quarter and still had a two-point lead in the final minutes before Arizona got into the end zone.

So Stanford has arguably played well enough to be 8-1, which likely would have it in the top-15 right now and in the mix for the Pac-10 championship.

Extra Points

• Best won’t play Saturday and his status for the rest of the season is unclear. If he doesn’t play again, he may have played his final game at Cal. Best, a junior, may enter the NFL draft.

• The Pac-10’s top two quarterbacks in pass efficiency are both is in their first year as a starter — Stanford’s Andrew Luck (153.1) and Arizona’s Nick Foles (146.9)

• Arizona has allowed just four sacks this season, which is tied for first nationally.

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