Now, For The Really Big Show

Now that the “Game Day” crew has left, taking its national spotlight with it, Oregon can finally get down to business.

Because everybody around Eugene and the northern Pacific-10 Conference knows that while Oregon’s win against No. 6 UCLA was nice and all, this is the week Ducks fans have been working themselves into a lather about since October of last year. It’s Washington week - the fiercest, most visceral week in the Pac-10. Forget about those November games - the Civil War, the Apple Cup, the Big Game - this is the best rivalry in the conference.

Since 1994, these two teams have the best records in the Pac-10. Oregon is 31-18 in the conference. Washington is 32-15-1. They have played six times during that period. Each team has won three.

Add the fact that UW and Oregon are in the Top 25, both are angling for the lead in the Rose Bowl race and both are trying to gain the upper hand as the conference’s top program, and you have more than just a Saturday walk in the park.

“Much has been made about the rivalry between Washington and Oregon, and now that I am at Washington, it takes on a more significant meaning because these are two top programs that happen to neighbor each other,” said UW coach Rick Neuheisel. “It is a big game just as you look around the country and see a bunch of other border-war type matchups.”

To the Oregon fans, it’s more than a big game or border war. It is a chance for revenge. They don’t like the way Neuheisel, when he was the coach at Colorado, ran up the score against their beloved Ducks by calling a fake punt in a 31-6 blowout in the 1996 Cotton Bowl. (Neuheisel has since said he tried to call off the fake.)

They and Ducks coach Mike Bellotti were the most vocal critics when Neuheisel committed recruiting violations after being hired at Washington.

And, of course, the Ducks fans don’t like the fact that their team is 0-3 against Neuheisel’s teams.

So in this, Neuheisel’s first visit to Autzen, you can bet the standing-room-only crowd - a crowd that was so loud last week it forced six illegal procedure calls against UCLA - will be ready to release some frustration in the coach’s general direction.

“It will take the entire week of practice to get ready for it,” Neuheisel said of the Autzen crowd noise. “And even then I am not sure we’ll be ready for the power saw or jet engine that they say is created there.”

War of words

UCLA wide receiver Freddie Mitchell and Oregon cornerback Rashad Bauman went at it all week in the papers and before taking the field Saturday.

Mitchell won the battle on the field. He had eight catches for 158 yards. And he almost won the war of words as well.

“He’s the easiest cornerback I’ve played against all year,” Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times. “And I felt that he was so easy to beat, but he talks too much. It’s so disrespectful for him to talk so much.”

But Bauman quickly responded with a knockout punch.

“They said they were No. 1,” Bauman said, alluding to Ryan McCann’s statement after UCLA defeated No. 3 Michigan. “Well, I don’t think they’re No. 1 anymore. I don’t think they think they’re No. 1 anymore.”

Paus passes McCann

Bob Toledo has switched quarterbacks. Again.

Following UCLA’s first loss of the season Toledo has decided to shelve Ryan McCann, the QB who led the Bruins to two wins over top-5 opponents, in favor of Cory Paus.

Paus, the starter coming out of camp, separated his right shoulder on the first play of the season-opener against Alabama.

“We can’t afford to lose too many Pac-10 games,” Toledo said in justifying the move.

“They want to win,” McCann told the L.A. Times. “They didn’t think I could be the guy to step in there and win.”

Especially not after reviewing his McCann’s performance at Oregon. McCann completed only 13 of 33 passes for 152 yards against the Ducks. Toledo said Paus passed for 332 yards against the Ducks in 1999 “with them running the same defense.”

Prescott back

Oregon State wide receiver Robert Prescott is scheduled to return this Saturday from a three-game suspension for his alleged involvement in the beating of OSU student Victor Becerra on July 22.

Prescott, a senior, is the Beavers’ top returning receiver with 45 catches last year for 553 yards. It’s clear that OSU quarterback Jonathan Smith and the offense have missed him. Smith has the worst pass efficiency rating among Pac-10 starters (87.7) and the Beavers are ninth in passing offense (131 yards per game).

James Newson and Alton Adams, both backups, will also return to the team. None of the trio has entered a plea on the felony assault charges.

Trying to keep Pace

With the return of Ryan Kealy from a two-game suspension after being arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, Arizona State has two quarterbacks to choose from against UCLA.

Now if the Sun Devils could just find one running back. Delvon Flowers is gone for the year with an ACL injury. His replacement, Davaren Hightower, is still recovering from pneumonia. And freshman Mike Williams has a bad ankle.

So ASU might have to play Tom Pace at tailback. Pace joined the team 10 days ago when he heard it needed a kick returner. Back in 1996 as a University of Idaho freshman, Pace had a 26-yard kick return average and rushed for 212 yards. But after a Mormon mission and a stint at Ricks Junior College, the Phoenix native enrolled at ASU.

“I don’t think we’re going to keep defensive coordinators up at night thinking about us,” said ASU coach Bruce Snyder.

News and notes

Arizona has allowed only one rushing touchdown this season… . Oregon State (3-0) has not started 4-0 since 1957… . Oregon State’s Ken Simonton is tied for first in the nation in scoring with 14 points per game and is fifth nationally in rushing yardage, 157 yards per game… . Washington State is the only team to have two rushers in the conference’s top 10, Deon Burnett (60 yards per game) and David Minnich (57.7)… . USC has a combined 27-1 record in football, water polo, women’s volleyball and women’s soccer.