Pac-10 Potpourri

Cue Dre and Tupac for a new weekly feature: Pac-10 Potpourri, wherein I offer random meditations on "how we do it on this West Side / Cuz you and I know it's tha best side ..."

Watch out for UCLA. The Bruins had no business beating Tennessee on Labor Day after QB Kevin Craft threw four INTs in the first half, including a soul-crushing pick six to end the half. But the UCLA defense stifled the Vols all night long, and the Jedi Master tag-team duo of Slick Rick and Norm Chow somehow brainwashed Craft at halftime and convinced him that he was Johnny Unitas.

Don't be fooled by Oregon. Sure, they came out and whipped the hapless Huskies in front of the Autzen faithful. But QB Justin Roper (especially when woozy, like he was Saturday) is no Dennis Dixon, and don't forget that the Ducks folded like an organic, multigrain tortilla last season when their inspirational leader got hurt.

Jury's out on ASU. The Devils had a workmanlike 30-13 victory over Northern Arizona in what amounted to a preseason game. Rudy and the offense tore it up for two and a half quarters before Erickson pulled his starters and gave a boatload of freshmen what may be their only playing time of the season. Instead of the usual early September lineup of directional schools, ASU takes on Stanford next week for its earliest Pac-10 opener I can recall. Harbaugh and Co. aren't exactly Georgia, but the Cardinal will be ASU's toughest test before the epic matchup vs. the Bulldogs on Sept. 20.