COUGARS

We'll hear from the Pac-10 coaches today, which is usually fun. And we also begin to find out how healthy the Cougars might be this week. But everything starts right here, with our morning post. Read on.
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• Washington State: There still seems to be a little bye-week hangover, but we do have our first look at Cal from this morning's S-R.

• Around the Pac-10: ESPN.com's Ted Miller takes a midseason look at the conference's young quarterbacks. After six games or so, it seems like a good time. ... Want to know the biggest change in college football in the past five years? It isn't the Wildcat offense or a new type of zone blitz. It's the salaries for assistant coaches. ...Washington: There's something about a stunning defeat that reveals character. Steve Sarkisian passed this test. ... The Huskies seem to be playing a lot of close games. ... Oregon State: How long has it been since the Beavers defeated USC in LA? A long time. ... Oregon: How big was the loss to Boise State? So big, it takes the Ducks out of the national championship discussion. ... Cal: The Bears may have to actually get over the UCLA win before WSU comes to town. ... Stanford: Hard to find anything here. ... USC: The Trojans' defensive line is good, except when its flagged down by stupid decisions. ...UCLA: The Bruins' seniors on defense decide enough is enough. ... Arizona State: The Sun Devils believe they are a group on the rise. ... Arizona: From hardly playing early in the season, quarterback Nick Foles is now the Pac-10 player of the week. ... We'll finish with a couple basketball notes. Stanford has lost highly touted freshman Andy Brown for the season while Oregon State freshman Rhys Murphy will miss at least four weeks with a broken bone in his foot.

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• That's all for this morning. We'll try to keep you updated with all the crud going on today. Until then …

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