What We Know: Week One

***A look at one thing we learned about each team after the first Saturday of the season.  These are things that pertain right now and, of course, can change in Week Two.***

Arizona: They can and will score a lot of points.  Idaho isn’t the best team to measure yourself against, but the Wildcat’s Tuitama set the school record for touchdown passes.  Arizona’s defense was unable to get a sack, but when your winning 49-0 at half, pressuring the QB isn’t the top priority.  

Arizona State: Rudy Carpenter had a hell of a day, second in the conference to only Mark Sanchez.  He had to have a good game because the running game was non-existent.  Overall, just like Arizona, you can’t really measure ASU against anybody because of the competition.

California: The Golden Bears don’t have nearly the same caliber WR corp as they did last season.  This could be a factor when they have to put more points on the board than 38, which they probably will.  Jahvid Best is going to be a multi-purpose stud.  He has incredible quickness, more than we even thought.  Seeing him last night really cemented the fact that you can’t let that guy get to the outside. 

Oregon:  Apparently it doesn’t matter who is playing QB for the Ducks, they are going to score points.  Both Jeremiah Masoli and Chris Harper were able to have their way with the Husky defense, not sure if that is a positive for them or a negative for how bad Washington’s defense is.  The Oregon defense was awesome, with the pass interference penalties being Washington’s best offense of the day.  They contained Jake Locker well and delivered a few nasty hits to the big QB.

Oregon State: Lyle Moevao has the ability to lead Oregon State.  He made some good throws and, yes, some bad throws.  The Stanford picks were more a product of Moevao’s inexperience than his ability to play the QB position.  The Beavers have to do something about their running game.  They didn’t have one against Stanford.

Stanford:  Jim Harbaugh is coach and he’s 40!!!! Well, he’s 44 but he really can coach.  Stanford is about to have a Top 25 recruiting class coming in 2009 and opening the season with a Pac-10 victory is huge for the confidence of the current team.  The Cardinal need to not start the game as flat this week when they play Arizona State or they may be in big trouble.

UCLA: Nothing yet.  We’ll know more Monday night.

USC: Mark Sanchez’s knee seems to alright.  He was 26-for-35 for 338 yards and 3 TD.  If they gave out the Heisman after Week One it would go to Sanchez.  You can’t really complain out anything USC did.  Now they have two weeks to prepare for Ohio State.

Washington: They aren’t very good.  Jake Locker seemed to have made little progress from last season.  His running ability still tremendously out-preforms his passing ability.  Their coaching was horrible Saturday night and nothing from the past suggests that it will change.  Even though they played a lot of freshman, it was their experienced offensive line that let them down most of the game.

Washington State:  They might possibly have the worst Special Teams in the country.  A missed PAT, two huge punt returns, and a 90-yd. kickoff return for a TD helped bury them against OK State.  The defense played good, they limited the damage the ST caused.  The no-huddle offense was neither efficient nor quick.  The most important thing the Cougars can take away from this game is the fact that they now know where they stand.