USC and Washington are in search of a running game.

The Trojans may have found their's last week against California, but the Huskies' are stalled at the gate.

Rick Neuheisel, college football's tarnished golden boy, returns to Los Angeles Saturday where his team will play USC at the Coliseum in one of this week's key Pac-10 contests. It will be the Huskies' first road game in five weeks since losing at Michigan on a last-second field goal. Neuheisel can probably use the trip out of Seattle after his team's shaky performance against Arizona and the flak he's getting over the penalties imposed on his program by the NCAA for recruiting violations when he coached at Colorado. But it won't be a sunny day for Neuheisel if the Huskies don't find somebody to run the ball and gain some yardage.

The Huskies, a preseason favorite to win the Pac-10, have relied on quarterback Cody Pickett and his receivers to score points, but as Neuheisel said on Monday afternoon, "If we can find a running game, we can be competitive. But we've got to do it immediately."

It would be a good time to start because the Trojans are injured on defense and it will be interesting to see if USC's Sultan McCullough can have back-to-back games of over 100 yards rushing. Both these teams are still in the hunt for the Rose Bowl with one conference loss. A second defeat will all but put one out of the race. Here's a look at the big games out West this weekend:

ARIZONA STATE (5-2) at OREGON (6-0) | Dirk Koetter's young Sun Devils are the surprise of the Pac-10 and the second-year coach sees this game against the Ducks as a coming-of-age experience for his program. "We're not playing perfect by any means," says Koetter. But he says his team believes in itself and "that's the start of a good thing." The Ducks and the Sun Devils are two of three Pac-10 teams without a conference loss (the other is Washington State) and both are two of the highest scoring teams in the conference. The No. 6-ranked Ducks will have a definite home-field advantage in noisy Autzen Stadium with its increased seating capacity of 56,000. "Their fans do a great job of knowing when to be loud and when not to be loud," said Koetter, who was an assistant at Oregon for two years under Mike Bellotti. Koetter said the Sun Devils will rely on hand signals for communication. With a share of first place at stake, Arizona State will play a hands-on game and upset the Ducks, 34-25.

WASHINGTON (4-2) at USC (4-2) | Sultan McCullough shored up the Trojans' running game last week against Cal when he ran for 176 yards, tying his career high, in 39 carries. That was the most carries the Watcher can remember since USC's golden era of Tailback U runners Actually, the record of 51 carries in 1976 is held by the late Ricky Bell. The problem for USC is injuries, especially on defense where strong safety Troy Polamula has a high ankle sprain and defensive tackle Shaun Cody is sidelined with a knee injury. "Some of the younger guys have to step up and be more involved in the game," said Coach Pete Carroll. The Trojans will need quarterback Carson Palmer and MuCullough to control the offensive tempo which will help the inexperienced USC defensive players hold off Cody Pickett and his Huskie receivers. USC wins, 31-21.

UCLA (4-2) at CALIFORNIA (4-3) | Both schools barely lost last week, the Bruins to Oregon by one point, 31-30, and the Bears to USC, 31-28. UCLA had a chance to win but kicker Chris Griffith missed a potential go-ahead field goal with two minutes to go. The Pac-10 announced this week that a referee's call on a USC touchdown was wrong and it shouldn't have counted. So, both teams need a win. Quarterback Cory Paus says he doesn't expect a letdown after UCLA's second one-point loss to Oregon in two years. "I'm just mad and ready to play," said Paus. So are the Bruins, who should win 40-25.

NOTRE DAME (6-0) at AIR FORCE (6-0) | The Watcher will have to adjust his binoculars for distance to the Rocky Mountains to call this one. Obviously, a big game for both teams with a BCS ranking and a major bowl at stake. The much-improved Air Force Falcons, pasted Brigham Young last week and the Irish got past a stubborn Pittsburgh team at South Bend. Notre Dame has remained unbeaten on the play of its outstanding defense, which has the speed to defend the Air Force's option offense. But how long can Notre Dame rely on the defense to score at least one touchdown per game? With Air Force this week and Florida State at Tallahassee next week, Notre Dame must get some production going on offense. If not, Tyrone Willingham's dream debut will be less than perfect. The Watcher likes Air Force at home.

ARIZONA (3-3) at STANFORD (1-4) | The Wildcats came close to upsetting Washington at Seattle and figure to have little trouble against the lowly Cardinal at Palo Alto.

COASTAL NOTES: Shaun Cody, USC's outstanding defensive tackle, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury that will require surgery. Cody tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Trojans' 30-28 win over California....Washington State, 6-1 and 3-0 in the Pac-10, has the first of three byes this weekend....BYU quarterback Bret Engermann has been benched by Coach Gary Crowton after the Cougars' 52-9 loss to Air Force. Freshman Matt Berry will start against Nevada Las Vegas Saturday...New Mexico quarterback Justin Millea was named player of the week in the Mountain West Conference after he led the Lobos to a 25-16 win against UNLV. Millea, a former walk-on, was named the starting quarterback three days before the game.