Why hasn’t The Oregonian figured out the Rose Bowl race yet?
In this story, Mike Riley seems to have watched our “Talkin’ Ball” show Saturday night, where we first explained it all. What Riley obviously meant by “win out” was win this Saturday. But then he runs up against an editorial ”not exactly”:
“I saw something briefly on TV that said if the Ducks and Beavers win out, then the Civil War is for the Rose Bowl. Is that right?’’ said Riley.
Not exactly.
- Oregon (8-2, 6-1) controls its own destiny and will win the Pac-10 and go to the Rose Bowl to play Ohio State if it wins out, beating Arizona this week and Oregon State on Dec. 3 at Autzen in the Civil War game.
- Oregon State must win out, taking care of WSU and the Ducks, and needs Arizona (6-3, 4-2) to lose at least one of its remaining games. The Wildcats – who also have a shot at this thing – play Oregon on Saturday, then play at Arizona State on Nov. 28 and at USC on Dec. 5.
- Stanford (7-3, 6-2) is also in the mix, but needs help. The Cardinal – ranked No. 14 in the AP poll this week after hammering seven-time Pac-10 champion USC 55-21 – finish Pac-10 play with Saturday’s Big Game against Cal. The Cardinal go to Pasadena if they beat Cal, and Arizona beats Oregon, the Ducks beat OSU, and USC beats Arizona.
But Mike Riley has it right. Exactly right.
Yes, there are OTHER ways for OSU to make it and some of our commenters pointed them out under a prevous post — Arizona could lose to ASU or USC — but those games are AFTER the Civil War. But if Oregon beats the Wildcats this week, that’s the simplist way. See, the Ducks were badly hurt by USC’s loss last week. If Oregon were to end tied with any team, it would wish it to be USC, which it has beaten, and not Stanford.
Oregon State would love to beat Oregon and then finish tied with the Ducks and Stanford, whom it has beaten. Get it?
College football, Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers | Dwight Jaynes | November 16, 2009
Arizona Wildcats, Dwight Jaynes, Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers, Pac-10 football, Rose Bowl, Stanford Cardinal
I doubt Riley wastes his time watching you.
Yeah — me, too. He probably didn’t need to in order to understand the Rose Bowl race. But other people sure do.
I knew this a week or so ago. This last weekend was perfect for Beaver fans. The worst part though was watching the Duck game and hearing the commentators keep saying not to count Stanford out and mentioning nothing about OSU when Stanford is a bit of a long shot compared to OSU. Oh well you can’t expect people that are paid 6 figures to talk about sports to actually know what they are talking about… oh wait, what a joke.
The whole “control their own destiny” line also applies to Arizona.
I am sure Talkin Ball that is on a channel equal to cable access in terms of production value, is on Coach Riley’s must see TV schedule…..
Coach Riley does have more pressing matters to deal with. What more does this guy have to do for this program before Beaver fan can actually sell out a 45,000 seat stadium. Auzten holds almost 60,000 and has 66 straight sell outs.
I can’t help with all the OSU scenarios, but here’s a link that shows exactly what you are talking about in terms of Oregon not having much in the way of tie-breakers. There’s really only one scenario that’s semi-realistic where Oregon can still lose this weekend.
http://www.offthepond.net/2009/11/who-to-root-for-week3.html
I am so confused about all of it. I am glad Oregon’s status is clear. Win, and you’re in!
Jim Klee: Wow, if attendance wins games, then you’d never beat USC or many other teams. Point of fact: Autzen’s capacity is 54,000. That’s indisputable. If you really believe there’s room for an additional 6,000 standing-room-only, I’ve got some tropical beach front property in Montana I’d like to sell you.