Crystal Balls Rewind: Week 12 in the Pac-10

Well, for once the highlighted game in the Pac-10 lived up to the hype.

The Oregon-Arizona game had major Rose Bowl implications, and turned out to be probably the game of the year in college football. The game saw two overtimes, 900 yards of offense and 85 points.

All in all, it was a lackluster week for the Crystal Ball– 3-1 straight up and only 1-3 against the spread.

Let’s recap.

#11 Oregon at Arizona

Crystal Balls Prediction: Oregon 41…..Arizona 26
Actual Score: Oregon 44…..Arizona 41
The Arizona fans were confident that they had taken a step closer to their first-ever Rose Bowl appearance. With under a minute to go and Oregon trailing by only 7, fans began piling out of their seats and onto the sidelines at Arizona Stadium in anticipation of a celebration the likes of which Tucson hasn’t seen since the Eegee’s on Speedway extended their weekend drive thru hours. It wasn’t to be for the ‘Cats as Jeremiah Masoli scored on a touchdown run in double overtime to eliminate the Wildcats from Rose Bowl consideration.
Credit to Arizona though…I didn’t think they could hang with the Ducks, but they did more than that. Considering the injuries that Arizona has had to deal with this season, and the fact that they changed quarterbacks early in the season, Mike Stoops is a strong candidate for the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Yes, you read that right.

#19 Oregon State at Washington State

Crystal Balls Prediction: Oregon State 45…..Washington State 7
Actual Score: Oregon State 42….Washington State 10
Sean Canfield threw 2 touchdown passes and Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 165 yards and 2 scores as Oregon State cruised to a win over Washington State. The Cougars rank dead last in the country in total defense, allowing 516 yards per game. Oregon State got 567. Don’t worry Cougar fans–only one more to go until the pain ends.

#25 California at #17 Stanford

Crystal Balls Prediction: Stanford 48…..California 24
Actual Score: California 34…..Stanford 28
It looked early on like this would be another in a growing line of Stanford routs after the Cardinal scored on two of their first three possessions. But Cal fought back behind the running of Shane Vereen (193 yards and three tds on 42 carries), and led by 6 late in the game. But with just under 2 minutes to play, Andrew Luck threw an interception deep in Cal territory as Stanford was driving for a go-ahead score, giving Cal a win in “The Big Game” for the 7th time in eight years for head coach Jeff Tedford.
By the way, Toby Gerhart’s Heisman status may have taken a little bit of a plunge with the loss, but Gerhart’s performance won’t turn off voters. The Stanford tank had 136 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. He now has 1531 yards and 23 rushing touchdowns in 2009.

Arizona State at UCLA

Crystal Balls Prediction: UCLA 17…..Arizona State 13
Actual Score: UCLA 23…..Arizona State 13
We expected defense, and we got it. UCLA got defensive touchdowns from Alterraun Verner and Akeem Ayers and forced six Sun Devil turnovers in their 6th win of the year, making the Bruins the 7th bowl-eligible team from the Pac-10.

Week 12 Record: 3-1
Season Record: 55-14

Week 12 ATS Record: 1-3 (eesh!)
Season ATS Record: 4-5 (double eesh!!)

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