Wednesday, October 8, 1997
Pac-10 Notes
Bruin announced player of the week
Chris Sailer, UCLA’s punter/placekicker, was named the Pac-10
special teams player of the week.
In Saturday’s 66-10 victory over Houston, Sailer connected on a
41-yard field goal – the ninth in a row he has made. He was perfect
on seven extra-point attempts, averaged 49.3 yards per punt and
forced touchbacks on all seven of his kickoffs.
Stanford running back Anthony Bookman was named the offensive
player of the week. Bookman scored two touchdowns and ran for 142
yards on 14 carries to lead the Cardinal to a 33-15 win over Notre
Dame.
On the defensive side, Washington senior Jerry Jensen won the
player-of-the-week award as a result of his 13 tackles (six for
losses), two sacks and one forced fumble in the Huskies’ 26-14 win
over Arizona State.
Trio of linemen up for award
Three Pac-10 players are among the 12 semi-finalists for the
1997 Lombardi Award, presented annually to the nation’s top
offensive or defensive lineman.
Linebacker Jason Chorak and offensive guard Benji Olson of
Washington, and defensive end Kailee Wong of Stanford are the
players being considered.
The only other conference to have three players nominated is the
Big 10.
Pac-10 takes No. 2 in combined poll
There has always been an "East Coast bias" in college football,
but it seems as if the Pac-10 is finally getting some respect.
Four teams were ranked among the top 20 in the Bowl alliance
poll (a combination of The Associated Press and USA Today polls).
They include Washington (10th), Washington State (12th), Stanford
(17th) and UCLA (18th).
Arizona State and USC received a few votes each, while Oregon
State received one vote in the coaches’ poll … seriously.
These rankings are not undeserved. The Pac-10’s non-conference
record of 19-7 ranks second only to the Southeastern Conference’s
23-1 non-conference mark.
Five of the seven losses for the Pac-10 have come at the hands
of Top 10 teams.
Conference notes on ranks, records
Arizona — Running back Trung Candidate’s 96-yard touchdown run
against San Diego State last week was the third-longest in Pac-10
history.
Arizona State — The Sun Devils have surrendered a Pac-10 low of
seven touchdowns in five games.
Cal — Sophomore Deltha O’Neal got the starting nod at tailback
last week over Tarik Smith and took advantage of it: O’Neal rushed
for 108 yards on 12 carries in the Bears’ 41-34 loss to Louisiana
Tech.
Oregon — Saladin McCullough leads the Pac-10 with a 28.5 yard
kickoff return average.
Oregon State — The Beavers’ 2-2 start is their best since
1989.
Stanford — Stanford rushed for 322 yards last week against
Notre Dame, its highest total in a game since 1984.
UCLA — The Bruins’ 172 points in the past three games is the
highest consecutive 3-game point total in school history.
USC — The Trojan defense has allowed only 56 yards rushing over
their past two games.
Washington — The Huskies have the longest current conference
winning streak in the Pac-10 at five games.
They also possess the conference’s longest winning streak on the
road at four games.
Washington State — The Cougars have not started out 4-0 in
conference play since 1934.
Robinson busted after 100th win
John Robinson won his 100th game as head coach of USC when his
Trojans beat UNLV 35-21 Saturday.
After earning the victory, he was presented with a Tiffany
crystal bust of Traveler, the Trojans’ mascot.
What a bust it would have been if the Trojans lost.
Top quarterback commits to USC
One of the top quarterbacks in the nation, Jason Thomas of
Dominguez High School, has made an oral commitment to attend
USC.
Thomas was rated the third best quarterback in the nation by
SuperPrep magazine.
Last season he passed for 1,431 yards with 10 touchdowns, while
rushing for 894 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Thomas, who is also a highly regarded basketball player, said he
has not decided if he will play basketball for the Trojans.
Notes compiled by Brent Boyd, Daily Bruin staff and from Bruin
wire services.