The rusurrgence of the Pacific 10 lost some momentum last week when UCLA was beaten by Stanford. The loss, not only all but eliminated the Bruins' chances of playing for the national championship at the Rose Bowl, but it seems to have cast doubt on the other teams in the conference, especially in the eyes of the national pollsters. While the Cardinal moved up to No. 6 in the BCS rankings, it's poll average is 11.5 (No. 10 by Associated Press and No. 13 in the coaches poll). In fact, of the five Pac-10 schools in this week's BCS standings, only Washington has a higher poll average than its computer average.

The Bruins, who admittedly played a poor game last Saturday, fell to No. 9 in the BCS rankings, ahead of Oregon, Washington and Washington State. In contrast, Oklahoma, which lost to Nebraska, 20-10, only dropped to No. 2 in the BCS and to No. 3 on the AP. So, the Pac-10 is feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield. Because of its balance and competitiveness, the conference deserves more recognition than it's getting from Eastern observers. Heck, five teams are withing a half-game of each other.

November is here, so, let's give the "skeptics" something more to think about.

UCLA (6-1) at WASHINGTON STATE (7-1) | The Bruins came out of the loss to Stanford without a starting quarterback. Cory Paus re-injured his right hand and was replaced by Scott McEwan, who has been nursing a sore ankle. Behind McEwan is Ryan McCann, who played quite a bit last season, but missed training camp with various injuries. Coach Bob Toledo says he probably won't decide who will start until game time.

Washington State lost its first game to Oregon last week, 24-17. The Ducks' Onterrio Smith rushed for a school record 285 yards in the rain and cold at Pullman. Washington State Coach Mike Price said he was obviously disappointed in the Cougars' inability to stop the run and is worried that the same thing might happen when DeShaun Foster takes the field Saturday. This should be a close one, with the defenses being the key. UCLA wins, 35-27.

STANFORD (5-1) at WASHINGTON (6-1) | Two more teams with just one loss meet in Seattle where the Cardinal could have its hands full with the Huskies. Washington has made it a habit lately of winning games in the last few seconds, as was evident last week when John Andrson kicked a 30-yard field goal as time ran out against Arizona State. Stanford is worried about an emotional letdown after its convincing performance against UCLA. The team is still without starting quarterback Randy Fansani, so backup Chris Lewis gets the call again. The Huskies have not lost at home to Stanford since 1982 and should keep the streak going, 27-25.

ARIZONA STATE (4-3) at OREGON (7-1) | The Ducks appear to be the Pac-10's best team right now. Joey Harrington and Co. surprised the Coast Watcher with it's impressive win over Washington State. Running backs Onterrio Smith and Maurice Morris are closing in on 1,000-yard seasons. Harrington has put himself back in the Heisman Trophy derby, throwing for nearly 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns to date. In last season's game against the Sun Devils, Harrington tied a school record with six touchdowns, passing for 434 yards. It should be another onslaught for the Ducks at Autzen Stadium.

OREGON STATE (3-4) at USC (3-5) | From the best to the worst. Both these teams are struggling to get back to .500. The Beavers haven't beaten the Trojans in the Coliseum in 41 years and Saturday might be there best chance to do it. USC will again be without tailback Sultan McCullough (torn stomach muscle). It has been almost shocking to Trojan fans how thin SC's ranks are. The L.A. Daily News quoted a Pac-10 coach whose team defeated USC earlier this season as saying the Trojans are paying for years of poor coaching and recruiting. This was not a knock on current coach Pete Carroll, but he obviously has a long way to go to correct the situation. The Trojans beat Arizona last week on Kris Richard's TD on an interception with 1:54 to go, 41-34, but Oregon State wins it behind Ken Simonton and Jonathan Smith, 31-21.

GOING COASTAL | Arizona visits California at Berkeley where several dubious streaks come into play. The Wildcats, have lost 10-straight Pac-10 games. The 0-7 Bears are off to their worst start in 119 years of the football program and have lost 10 straight games, dating back to last year, a school record. The Wildcats, who opened the season with three consecutive wins, have lost five straight. The Wildcats are looking for a bowl bid and need to win their final three contests to have a chance.