For all the attention USC has received in recent years, no teams have had more of an effect on the Pac-10 race the past couple of seasons than the two schools from Oregon.

For the second consecutive year, the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State will decide the conference champion and the Pac-10 representative in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks enter Thursday’s game 7-1 in conference while the Beavers are 6-2. If OSU wins, it will tie Oregon in the standings but earn the Pac-10 crown because of the head-to-head victory.

Last season, Oregon State entered the Civil War knowing it would win the Pac-10 with a victory over the Ducks. That would have given the Beavers a tie with the Trojans atop the conference standings, but OSU had knocked off USC earlier in the season so again had the head-to-head advantage.

The Ducks ended up pounding the Beavers last year, 65-38.

But not only does the game have conference title implications, the domino effect for the rest of the standings — and the bowl implications that go with it — is substantial. The Beavers’ Civil War loss last year put them in the Sun Bowl instead of the Rose Bowl. Oregon’s win meant a berth in the Holiday Bowl — the Pac-10’s second-highest profile bowl game behind the Rose Bowl. Had the Ducks lost, they probably would have ended up in the Emerald Bowl, which takes the fourth or fifth place team in the conference. Instead, Cal ended up in the Emerald Bowl instead of the Holiday Bowl.

This year’s Civil War has even more widespread implications. On one hand, it’s simple: If the Beavers win, they go to the Rose Bowl. The Ducks go to the Holiday Bowl because they would be all alone in second place. But if Oregon wins, there could be as many as four teams tied for second place at the end of the season. Heading into the weekend, Oregon State could still play in six different bowl games, while four other teams could play in as many as five.

Scoreboard

Arizona 20, Arizona State 17
USC 28, UCLA 7
Washington 30, Washington State 0
Stanford 45, Notre Dame 38

A little extra

Another game, another controversy surrounding USC coach Pete Carroll.

In the Trojans’ first game since watching Stanford go for a two-point conversion while leading by 27 points, USC and UCLA almost engaged in an on-field brawl after Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams with USC leading 21-7 and 54 seconds remaining.

Barkley took a knee on the previous play, prompting UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel to call a timeout. The Bruins had all three timeouts remaining, meaning they could have got the ball back with about 40 seconds left if they forced USC into a punt.

In a response to Neuheisel prolonging the game, Carroll called for the deep pass to make it 28-7. After Trojan players celebrated the touchdown, players from both teams started moving toward each other on the field as tensions flared.

Carroll defended the decision, explaining that by calling timeout, the Bruins were sending a message that they still wanted the game to be competitive. Neuheisel also stood by his actions, saying with three timeouts left, “you owe it to your guys to keep trying.”

USC closes out the regular season Saturday against Arizona. We’ll see if they’ll actually be talking about the football game afterward.

Player of the year debate

It should take the Pac-10 coaches about a millisecond to decide on the Offensive Player of the Year this season. Stanford Toby Gerhart appears to have that wrapped up. But the Defensive Player of the Year award may take much more debate.

Before the season, it appeared it was USC safety Taylor Mays’ award to lose. And while Mays is still a leading candidate, he hasn’t had the dominant season that makes him the clear frontrunner.

Mays enters the weekend ranked second in the Pac-10 in tackles (8.2 tpg). He also leads a unit that paces the conference in scoring defense. But he also has just one interception and two pass break-ups.

Cal cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson was also considered a top candidate for the award heading into the season, but he hasn’t matched his production from last year, when he tied for fifth nationally in passes defended with 18 and had 70 tackles. He enters the weekend with just one interception, eight passes defended and 45 tackles.

So who could some of the other candidates be? Cal linebacker Mike Mohamed leads the Pac-10 in tackles (9.1 tpg) and is tied for fifth in the conference with three interceptions. He also is the only player to be named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week more than once. UCLA nose tackle Brian Price tops the conference with 22½ tackles for loss and is generally a menace in the trenches. And Washington linebacker tandem of Donald Butler and Mason Foster also are among the leaders in multiple statistical categories.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds