Just because the UCLA football team doesn't have a game this week, doesn't mean Bruins Nation doesn't have a game this week.
Before getting to the guesses though, let's pause a moment to reflect on what has transpired so far.
Our Bruins football team is 3-0. That's a good thing.
A very good thing.
But it's a 3-0 with a really big asterisk. It looks like this:
Our Bruins football team is 3-0. That's a good thing. A very good thing.But it's a 3-0 with a really big asterisk.
It looks like this:
via www.brandflakesforbreakfast.com
The asterisk implies that there is something about the 3-0 that's worth noting. Some point not worth mentioning in the original sentence, but important to keep in mind. It's like a metaphoric aftertaste.
Or maybe it's not an asterisk I'm after, maybe it's a caveat. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure.
And it doesn't matter.
But here goes:
*We're 3-0, but we've beaten three pretty crappy teams.
I hate to say it, but if we weren't 3-0, there'd be something really wrong with the program. (I'm not going to debate the Tennessee win with everyone. It was a really good win. But Crompton is a really bad quarterback. If Tennessee is not definitionally a crappy team, Crompton's overall suckiness still provides them their green card to Crappyville.)
I'm left wondering if we played down to our opponents or if we've been taking things slowly first due to Kevin Prince's inexperience and then Kevin Craft's -- I dunno, ummm -- unique brand of Craftiness? I do know the defense has performed mostly very well and the offense has shown merely glimpses.
Still, three wins is three wins and they represent 75% of our total during 2008's Season of the Interception. I'm not complaining. I am acknowledging that except for the Washington State game, the going gets rougher from here on out.
So, this off week couldn't have come at a better time. It gives the team a chance to regroup (and settle into their routines, as classes began yesterday in Westwood). It gives the injured a chance to heal. And it gave us fans an extra week to enjoy this undefeated-but-asterisked feeling.
We have no game this week, so the guesses come from around the Pac 10.
Here goes:
- USC plays Washington State this week. Last year they beat the Cougars 147-0. So, it's unlikely the Trojans will fall to 0-2 in conference play. The question is: How many quarterbacks will attempt a pass for the Trojans this week?
- Cal plays at Oregon and the spread is Cal -5. Who will cover the point spread in this battle between Nike's favorite Pac 10 team and Nike's fourth favorite Pac 10 team?
- The over-under in the Stanford-Washington game is 54. I'll add half a point so there is no push, so we'll make the line 54.5. Do you like the over or the under in the Stanford Washington game?
As always, put your guesses in the subject line of your comments.