The Pac-10 had a great 2009 season as a conference and proved to the rest of the nation that it was the deepest and most talented conference in the nation. Not only did the Pac-10 end up with 7 bowl eligible teams, meaning the team had at least 6 wins, all of the bowl eligible teams will be playing in bowl games. Last year the Pac-10 had 5 teams in bowl games and went undefeated as a conference. As I look at the Pac-10 bowl matchups for this year I don’t think there is any reason that the Pac-10 can repeat that feat and go 7-0 in bowl games. Here are all of the Pac-10 bowl matchups for this holiday season.

Las Vegas Bowl: #18 Oregon State vs. #14 BYU – Tuesday, December 22 @ 5 PM on ESPN

Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA): #23 Utah vs. California- Wednesday, December 23 @ 5 PM on ESPN

Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA): Boston College vs. #24 USC- Saturday, December 26 @ 5 PM on ESPN

Eagle Bank Bowl (Washington D.C.): UCLA vs. Temple- Tuesday, December 29 @ 1:30 PM on ESPN

Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA): #20 Arizona vs. #22 Nebraska- Wednesday, December 30 @ 5 PM on ESPN

Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX): Oklahoma vs. #21 Stanford- Thursday, December 31 @ 11 AM on CBS

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA): #8 Ohio State vs. #7 Oregon- Friday, January 1 @ 1:30 PM on ABC

*Side Note- Future Washington Husky, RB Keanon Lowe who plays for Jesuit High School in Portland, rushed for 310 yards and 6 TD’s in the Oregon 6A State Championship game last weekend at Reser Stadium in Corvallis. Unfortunately for Lowe it came in a 50-43 losing effort to Sheldon High School.

While the Pac-10 rivalry season kicked off last weekend with the “Big Game” between Stanford and Cal, there are two northwest rivalries that will be taking place in the next couple of weeks. This weekend the 102^nd meeting ever between Washington and Washington State will take place in Seattle. Even though the Huskies and Cougars have struggled for the past few seasons the Apple Cup is always guaranteed to provide a good game and also a lot of heart. The Huskies and Cougars always have a lot to play for in this game and it will show. Washington (3-7, 2-5 Pac-10) is looking to win the Apple Cup and then beat Cal the following week to finish with 5 wins. This would be a nice step in the right direction for the Huskies who went winless last year. The Cougars (0-8, 1-10 Pac-10) have avoided a complete winless season by beating SMU earlier this year however they will look for their only Pac-10 win in the last game of the year. Last year’s matchup in Pullman had both the Huskies and Cougars fighting for one Pac-10 win and the Cougars ended up coming out on top in that game.

In the other northwest rivalry, the “Civil War”, the Ducks and Beavers are preparing for the biggest matchup in the school’s history. The 113^th meeting between the Ducks and Beavers will take place next Thursday December 3 in Eugene and what is at stake is very clear to everyone. Win the game and you are going to the Rose Bowl. Lose the game and you have a year to think about the Rose Bowl that could’ve been. The Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) have not been to a Rose Bowl since the 1994-95 season. What an accomplishment it would be for Chip Kelly to lead the Ducks to a Rose Bowl in his very first season. The Beavers, like always it seems, have come on very strong late in the season. They have put themselves in the position that they were in last year as well. Win the Civil War, and go to the Rose Bowl. The Beavs couldn’t get it done last year at home and because of this still have not played in the Rose Bowl since 1965. Is this the year Mike Riley finally takes them to the top of the Pac-10? This game is definitely going to be an exciting one that every football fan should enjoy.

The Pac-10 football season has been a crazy one to say the least. From USC losing three conference games so far to Stanford being in the Rose Bowl discussion in late November nothing has seemed right. Don’t feel bad if you are confused about your team’s chances of making the Rose Bowl right now because there are 4 teams that still have legitimate chances to make the Rose Bowl. I will go into a little more depth on those chances so you know who to root for and against so that your team has the best shot at being in Pasadena on New Years Day.

Oregon: The Ducks control their own destiny. If they win their last two games @Arizona and then at home against rival Oregon State then the Ducks will be playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time since January 1, 1995.

Arizona: Just like Oregon, Arizona controls its own destiny despite being a game back in the loss column right now. Due to Arizona’s victories over Stanford and Oregon State if the Wildcats beat the Ducks this weekend, and then win their final two games against rival Arizona State and @USC, then the Wildcats will be playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time ever.

Oregon State: Just when it looked like the Beavers might have a mediocre season, they once again turned it on late and are now looking straight at the Rose Bowl. Oregon State holds a tie breaker over Stanford but they lost to Arizona, so for the Beavers to make the Rose Bowl they must have Oregon beat Arizona this weekend and then win the Civil War in Eugene next weekend. If the Beavers can pull off a Civil War win, and a win at WSU, accompanied by an Arizona loss then the Beavers will be in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1965.

Stanford: Stanford has beaten Oregon and USC in the last two weeks and has now put them solidly in the Rose Bowl talk. However, Stanford needs a lot to happen for their shot at the Rose Bowl to become a reality. They have lost to both OSU and Arizona, so the Cardinal need Arizona to beat Oregon, then Oregon to beat OSU, and then have Arizona lose to either ASU or USC in their final two games. It may seem like a long shot for the Cardinal to make the Rose Bowl but as we have seen in college football anything is possible.

Oregon State looks primed to make another classic late season charge towards the top of the Pac-10 after a 31-14 victory at California. Oregon State dominated this game from start to finish and even more so after Cal RB Jahvid Best suffered a concussion. Best leaped into the end zone and was upended which caused him to slam down on his back. He ended up receiving a severe concussion which was his second one in as many weeks. After Best left the game it seemed obvious the Beavers were going to win because the Bears became one-dimensional with the passing game. OSU QB Sean Canfield continued his string of 300 yard plus passing games by going 29 for 39 for 342 yards and 2 TD’s with 1 INT. The leading receiver was TE Joe Halahuni who had 6 catches for 128 yards. Jacquizz Rodgers ran the ball 25 times for 67 yards and a TD but for the most part the Bears defense did a good job of stopping the run. James Rodgers once again had another solid game with 6 catches for 80 yards and a TD. The Beavers host the Washington Huskies next weekend in Corvallis.

Pac-10 Schedule for (11/14/2009)

#25 Stanford at #12 USC   12:30 PM

Washington at Oregon State   12:30 PM

UCLA at Washington State    2:00 PM

Arizona State at #14 Oregon   TBA

#18 Arizona at California   TBA

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/4583/moevaos-tough-senior-season-gets-tougher

Oregon State: http://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/article_6c527292-bb78-11de-bb86-001cc4c03286.html