By
Chris Martin
Arizona Daily Wildcat
USC feeling the pressure
Washington Huskies
Saturday, head coach Rick Neuheisel makes his first trip to Colorado since leaving the school for Washington two years ago.
The No. 9 Huskies defeated Colorado 31-24 last season, but the game was at Husky Stadium.
"Obviously it is a game that has been talked about for a long time," Neuheisel said. "I've certainly got a strong affinity for their players."
Washington prefers to put the focus on the game rather than Neuheisel's return to Folsom Field where he led CU for four years.
The Buffaloes will give the Huskies their first challenge on the road after opening the season with two victories at home in Seattle's Husky Stadium.
"We've got our hands full in tackling a very, very good opponent," Neuheisel said. "We are going to play another very talented team that has a lot of weapons."
Washington is also leading the resurrection of the Pacific 10 Conference after the conference's disappointing 1999 season.
Last weekend's 34-29 upset victory against No. 4 Miami (Fla.) served as an eye-opener for the rest of the country.
According to Neuheisel, the Pac-10 never dropped off the national radar, contrary to popular belief.
"To say that the Pac-10 is back is to say that it was gone," he said. "I think Pac-10 football has always been one of the top conferences in football."
Arizona Wildcats
Despite falling to No. 17 Ohio State last weekend at Arizona Stadium, head coach Dick Tomey cautioned that the season is still in its early stages.
"I think our team understands this is a long journey," he said. "We're just going to try and be persistent and just keep on keeping on."
Though 1-1, the Wildcats are happy that they opened their season playing two tough opponents - Utah and Ohio State.
The difficult games have better prepared UA for the long Pac-10 season that is less than two weeks away.
"I think we were better off than if we had played teams that weren't as capable," Tomey said. "I think we've played some good defenses."
The Wildcats will enter their contest against San Diego State undermanned - several key players are doubtful for the game.
The hardest hit area is the offensive line where left guard Steven Grace will sit out due to a shoulder injury and right tackle Marques McFadden is doubtful with ankle injury.
Senior wide receiver Brad Brennan will also miss the game due to an assortment of injuries.
"We've got to mix and match certain personnel," Tomey said.
USC Trojans
After starting the season with lofty expectations from alumni and the university, the pressure hasn't let up for No. 10 USC despite a 2-0 start.
Wins against quality opponents - Penn State and Colorado - have only increased the tension on the football team.
"This is the University of Southern California, there is always pressure," head coach Paul Hackett said. "You are always expected to win by two touchdowns."
Along with the pressure, the team's expectations are focused on a trip to Pasadena. USC hasn't played in the Rose Bowl since the Keyshawn Johnson-led team of 1996.
"We don't set any game-by-game goals other than to win every game," Hackett said. "Our goal is to be in the Rose Bowl. We have a standard to get to Pasadena on New Year's Day."
Before making any Rose Bowl reservations, the Trojans have a bye week before they start their Pac-10 season next week against Oregon.
To prepare for the upcoming schedule, USC will increase team hitting during practice this weekend.
"We've really worked on having a training camp atmosphere," Hackett said. "We now have an eight-game stretch that we have to be at our very best."
Only time will tell if the Trojans reach their New Year's resolution.
Oregon State Beavers
After evaluating the Beavers' first two performances against Eastern Washington and New Mexico, head coach Dennis Erickson is not pleased.
"We're not playing very well. We haven't played well in two games," he said. "We know what we have to do to compete in the Pac-10, but we're not there yet."
With New Mexico and Eastern Washington being lesser tier opponents, Oregon State was expected to cruise to victories behind the arm of quarterback Jonathan Smith.
However Smith - and the Beavers - have struggled.
The junior quarterback has completed just 43.9 percent of his passes and has more interceptions (two) than touchdowns (one).
"He has played for a year and a half and didn't play well at all against Eastern," Erickson said.
Luckily for Oregon State, they have the top running back in the conference - Ken Simonton.
The junior workhorse has already carried the ball 70 times for 384 yards and five touchdowns.
To get the passing game going, the Beavers will treat their bye week like training camp and will not begin to concentrate on next week's opponent - San Diego State - until Tuesday.
"We are going to treat (the bye week) as spring football," Erickson said. "Hopefully we will be a little better team come Tuesday when we start preparing for San Diego State."
Stanford Cardinal
Maybe San Jose State has Stanford's number - for whatever reason, the Cardinal cannot seem to find a winning formula against the Spartans.
As San Jose State defeated Stanford for the second straight season last weekend, head coach Tyrone Willingham was still upset over the 40-27 loss.
"After the ball game we were disappointed, I think our whole program was disappointed," he said. "Texas is next. We don't have an alternative about worrying about San Jose State."
Offensive production should be the least of Stanford's worries against Texas -the Cardinal racked up 614 yards in total offense against the Spartans last weekend.
Stanford's defense must prove to be up to the test, though - Texas defeated the Cardinal 69-17 in Austin, Texas last season.
"We have to understand that we didn't perform last year," Willingham said.
Texas may pose more problems this year. Stanford must prepare for both Longhorn quarterbacks - Major Applewhite and Chris Simms.
"In Applewhite you truly have an experienced winner, a leader," Willingham said. "I think with Simms you have a guy who is a little less experienced. Not to be missed is the fact that he is a left-hander."
To defeat the No. 6 Longhorns, the Cardinal will need an all-around team effort and continued stellar play from wide receiver DeRonnie Pitts.
"Not only have our coaches, but our young men have taken it upon themselves to raise the bar," Willingham said. "No excuses."
Chris Martin can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.
