The Pac-10 got off to a strong start as a whole last week, collecting six victories (two of which came against Pac-10 foes). The biggest victory of the week was UCLA's triumph over #18 Tennessee, in a game that was nearly impossible to watch in the first half.

This week, BYU rolls into Washington, Oregon State crosses the country to play Penn State, and Stanford takes on the Sun Devils in a battle of unbeaten squads. USC and UCLA have much-deserved off weeks after their victories in week 1.

On to the prognoses...

#15 BYU Cougars @ Washington Huskies. Saturday, September 6, 12:10 PM Pacific.

I was wrong last week when it came to my prediction about UCLA having "no chance" against Tennessee. Dead wrong. Tennessee was not nearly as good as I gave them credit for; it was probably all the SEC bias that gets tossed around on ESPN.

This week, I am willing to make another bold statement. Washington has no chance against BYU. QB Max Hall has looked phenomenal and will throw all over the Husky secondary.

UW QB Jake Locker gives Washington a change to keep this close, but if he falters at all, down they go, like a dogsled team falling into a frozen lake during the Iditarod.

Prediction: BYU 45, Washington 28

Oregon State Beavers @ #19 Penn State Nittany Lions. Saturday, September 6, 12:30 PM Pacific, ABC.

The Beavers take on the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium... in Pennsylvania. What a coincidence, huh? Penn State is implementing a new quarterback for 2008, junior Daryll Clark. He looked good against Coastal Carolina, going 11/14 for 146 yards and a touchdown before getting pulled in the blowout victory.

On the other side of the coin is the OSU attack. Led by QB Lyle Moevao and WR Sammie Stroughter, the air game picked up 404 yards against Stanford in week 1's losing effort. The interceptions Moevao threw were backbreakers, and ended up being the difference between victory and defeat.

I can't help but wish for a huge upset, seeing as I think Penn State is perpetually overvalued, but in reality it just won't happen. Oregon State is known for being awful at the start of the year, and they won't go into one of the most hostile stadiums in the country and walk away with a win.

Prediction: Penn State 42, Oregon State 17

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Previewing the first weekend seems to be a chic blog move these days, so naturally I wanted to do one as well. In this rousing rendition of a week one preview, I will discuss all Pac-10 teams and their matchups.

Interestingly enough, the Pac-10 starts conference play very early this season to make room for non-conferences games later on in the fall.

Oregon State @ Stanford. Thursday, August 28, 6:00 PM Pacific, ESPN2.

Oregon State finished strong last year after getting off to a middling 5-4 start that included a shocking 44-32 loss to Arizona State. OSU was up 19-0 after the first quarter, but could not hold back Rudy Carpenter and the Sun Devils' offense. The Beavers lost their star running back Yvenson Bernard (due to that whole graduation/eligibility thing), but junior quarterback Sean Canfield is still around and ready to connect with Sammie Stroughter.

On the other side of the gridiron, Stanford returns Tavita Pritchard, the QB who led the Cardinal to the astounding upset of USC in Los Angeles. This was the same team that managed to beat Arizona, but couldn't take care of a crippled Notre Dame. The Jekyll and Hyde performances last season couldn't hide their lack of talent, and they finished 4-8 on the year.

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