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| It never rains at Autzen Stadium, unless it pours |
No news in LA, unlike the rest of the universe, is bad news.
Which is one of the reasons why USC icon and athletic director Pat Haden canned football coach Lane Kiffin less than halfway through the season and just two months removed from his statement of "100 percent" support for the unpopular coach.
SC, and it's spoiled fan base, can't stand to yield the spotlight to anyone for any reason.
The rest of the Pac-12 conference is disappointed that Kiffin was fired, in the parking lot of LAX no less, because he made all the other teams believe they could beat SC. Many did, with amazing ease.
In real news, though, Stanford and Oregon continued their dominant ways. Washington says it's for real, while Arizona State stays relevant for the week, at least.
The jury is out on UCLA, but they should win easily in Salt Lake City on Thursday against a Utah team, that, like Colorado, is not truly ready for the rigors of Pac-12 play.
Of course, Washington State or Cal aren't either, but the Cougars do have a victory in the Coliseum over the Trojans, who have since diminished that Wassu milestone with the blowout loss in Tempe that prompted Kiffin's dismissal.
Which leaves us with Arizona and Oregon State, who will likely struggle to reach .500 in the win-loss column.
Both of these middling teams have one-dimensional offenses, passing for OSU and running for UA, that will be exposed big-time against the heavyweights in the conference.
The Beavers could beat SC at home, but their two remaining "easy" games are against Cal and WSU, both on the road. The injuries are piling up and neither of those "gimme" games are a sure thing.
If Washington doesn't stay healthy after bruising games against Stanford, Oregon and UCLA, the Beavs have a shot at beating UW at home. Otherwise, that could be another loss.
The Wildcats get the conference's bottom dwellers in much of their remaining schedule, but they probably won't be favored in any game, except Colorado.
The big game of this week, though, is Washington traveling to Stanford to take its first beatdown of the season. The Huskies should be able to pull their starters by halftime because they won't want to risk any players getting hurt before the only game on their schedule that really matters to its fan base the following weekend in Seattle against arch-nemesis Oregon.
Stanford is the only Pac-12 team that looks like a team from the SEC with punishing players who could play in the pros.
Oregon is still a finesse team that is prone to injury, like what happened to De'Anthony Thomas against Cal. But, since the offense hogs most of the highlights, most people don't realize that the Duck defense is pretty stout.
That said, Stanford's offense is the real revelation of this young season. It will put up points on the Ducks even after losing so many of last season's offensive standouts to the pros.
If the Cardinal continues its overpowering ways, it could find itself playing for the national championship.
But, and there is always a but, Oregon can still win in Palo Alto if its key players stay healthy and those players get their mojo rolling.
First, though, the Ducks have another date with destiny against the dreaded Dawgs on Oct. 12. Let's just say it could get loud at the rebuilt stadium on Montlake. Washington has a legitimate shot at beating the Ducks for the first time in a decade.
Let's hope that the Ducks make it 10 in a row over UW.
Right now, Oregon and Stanford lead the Pac, with UCLA, Washington and Arizona State vying for third place.
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