WEST COAST WATCHER: SEPTEMBER 28, 2007

Monday Morning Signal Calling

By John Scheibe / watcher@collegeblitz.com

The new AP Top 25 poll which came out Sunday shows four Pacific 10 teams listed—USC at No. 1, California No. 6, Oregon at No. 11 and surprise, Arizona State at No. 23. Cal and Oregon meet this Saturday in an early season showdown that could have a big effect on the Rose Bowl race….

UCLA bounced back from its embarrassing loss to Utah with an impressive 44-31 win over Washington at home. The Bruins were led by Pat Cowan, who took over at quarterback for an injured Ben Olson and even though Cowan sustained a sprained knee in the fourth quarter and is iffy for this Saturday’s game at Oregon State, Coach Karl Dorrell is pondering a decision to make the energetic junior the starter as soon as he’s healthy.

Across town, USC demolished Washington State, showing a more balanced attack than it had in its first two games against Idaho and Nebraska. The Trojans are showing some thinness at cornerback because Cary Harris, who was filling in for an injured Josh Pinkett, dislocated his shoulder and is out for several weeks, according the USC medical staff.

USC travels to Washington this Saturday and the depleted defensive backfield corp will certainly be tested by redshirt freshman QB Jake Locher, who according to Coach Pete Carroll, “is as good a prospect as we’ve seen in our conference in a long time.”

Against Washington, UCLA gained over 300 yards on the ground. It could be a long day for the Husky defense against the the USC stable of Chauncey Washington, Stefan Johnson and C.J. Gable, and adding Joe McKnight, who got his first taste of extended play against Washington State.

McKnight is the freshman tailback USC plucked out of LSU’s backyard last year, leaving Bayou Bengal fans infuriated and school officials red-faced. He’s been compared to Reggie Bush by his teammates, a compliment that is not offered lightly on Howard Jones field.

The surprise in the Mountain West conference, besides Utah’s demolishing of UCLA two weeks ago, has been the play of Nevada Las Vegas. Coached by former USC assistant Mike Sanford, the Rebels nearly upset Wisconsin, then shutout Utah last Saturday, 27-0.

Sanford, who also played at USC, was offensive coordinator at Utah when Urban Meyer coach the Utes in 2003 and 2004. “This is the best win of my short career,” Sanford said, after Las Vegas improved its record to 2-2.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are back on the national scene under Dennis Erickson, the much-traveled coach who has made camp in several college and NFL towns.

Erickson has the Devils undefeated at 4-0 after it rallied to beat Oregon State at Tempe. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. ASU should remain unbeaten after this weekend when it plays lowly Stanford at Palo Alto.

The Coast Watcher, John Scheibe, is the author of the new book "On the Road With Jim Murray: Baseball and the Summer of '79," which is available at Barnes and Noble stores and online at amazon.com and bn.com. Visit the book’s official website for more information.