The Jeff Tedford award for “We would never ask anyone on our team to fake something! Oh that, well, I didn’t know. Talk to my assistant.”

And the winner is: Whoever is responsible at Oregon for releasing documents provided by Willie Lyles that were, uh, thoroughly researched and totally worth the money. They paid me to say that. Stacks and stacks of money. On a company check no less.

The Dennis Erickson award for “Remember the early 90s? Remember that? Those were good times”

And the winner is: The Washington Huskies, because it’s never too early in a season to throw your first jab.

The David Shaw award for “All I need to be a good coach is a little Luck. Yeah, see what I did there?”

And the winner is: Headline writers and copy editors everywhere. We get it. The last name of the Heisman-contending quarterback at Stanford is Luck and it’s a most versatile word indeed.

The Mike Stoops award for “This is the year. I just know it!”

And the winner is: Cal Bears fans who are sure they’ve performed the proper rituals to rid themselves of the curse of Rilayooshore and are hyped on Buffalo transfer Zach Maynard to finally deliver the team a consistent season at quarterback.

The Rick Neuheisel award for “It’ll all be better if we just hire an alum to run our program”

And the winner is: Jon Embree, new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. Good luck to you, sir. These types of hires always work out. Note to Mr. Embree: That was really a shot at Neuheisel because, well, he’ll always deserve it.

The Jon Embree award for “This blog doesn’t know the first thing about this guy so let’s just give the award to a random dude”

And the winner is: Michael Kirby, Utah defensive back. Have you heard of him? I didn’t think so.

The Chip Kelly award for “We’re damn good. We’ll smoke ‘em all”

And the winner is: Well, duh. Cliff Harris, the Oregon cornerback who relied upon the ol’ “we smoked all the weed” defense when pulled over by Oregon state police in June.

The Steve Sarkisian award for “While you might think it’s still questionable, we’re back!”

And the winner is: James Rodgers, Oregon State wide receiver. It looks like the Beaver standout receiver is going to make it back from the gruesome knee injury suffered early on in the 2010 season. But still, we’re going to need to see some proof.

The Kyle Wittingham award for “We’re good enough, we’re smart enough and gosh darnit, people are gonna like us”

And the winner is: Aaron Pflugrad, Arizona State wide receiver, mostly because I still can’t believe that guy is a starting wide receiver in the Pac-12, and a good one at that.

The Mike Riley award for “I’ve been here a long time and I’ll probably never leave”

And the winner is: Senior Chris Owusu, Stanford wide receiver. Maybe it’s just me but I’m fairly certain he enrolled in 2002.

The Paul Wulff award for “Yeah, this looks better, but is it really going to be any different?”

And the winner is: UCLA freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, the highly-touted savior of Rick Neuheisel’s uninspired group of quarterbacks, who ended up having knee surgery and postponing his inevitable ascension to starter status.

The Lane Kiffin award for “See, no major violation, I’m totally clean”

And the winner is: Nobody. They’re all guilty, rotten-to-the-core human beings who’s only real talent is the ability to stick a hand out and expect giant stacks of gold bricks to magically appear. Either that or hookers, but regardless, everyone’s a dirty cheater.

This award is sponsored by Sports by Brooks. When you want only the best in rumor-mongering and half-baked truths, choose SbB!

Possibly more exciting than Pac-10 football this weekend.

It’s a dull week in the Pac-10 with just three games, none of which can be considered marquee matchups. Feel free to read a book, go to a play or visit a museum on Saturday.*

*Well, not really.

On the Season
Straight Up: 36-7
Against the Spread: 20-16

Posted spreads are from sportsbook.com at time of publishing.

California @ USC
The Trojans are favored by two and a half points? Vegas must expect Cal kicker Giorgio Tavecchio to misfire on a last second field goal. Either that, or they understand Cal is riding a high off last week’s win and therefore cannot win.

Straight Up: USC
ATS: USC -2.5

Note: How bad is your program when a 20 point loss points to improvement and is a sign that your coach’s job security might be in good shape.

Straight Up: Arizona
ATS: Washington State +23.5

Straight Up: Oregon State
ATS: Oregon State +1.5

OTP also raided ESPN’s sponsors to make sure each midseason award has a nice corporate shine to it.

Wow.

The game wasn’t always always clean, but it was one for the ages.

Ducks and Beavers traded blows for 60 minutes and as has been the case all season, Oregon wore its opponent down in the second half and asserted itself when the game entered the decisive stages.

Until then, it looked like the Beavers might take control and use a script laid out by the Ducks in 2008 to ruin the home team’s Rose Bowl dreams. But would you believe that when things were at their worst, Chip Kelly would turn to LeGarrette Blount for the first time since the season opener?

Putting Blount in the game while facing a nine point deficit seemed crazy. Turns out, it was brilliant as the big back came up with a huge touchdown to draw Oregon within two at 30-28.

From there, LaMichael James became dominant, turning in a 52 yard lead-taking touchdown run on the next offensive series. The defense began to shine after giving up scores on five consecutive drives between the second and third quarters.

When the game was on the line in the final six minutes, it was fitting to see Jeramiah Masoli, James and Blount all turning in huge plays to ultimately ensure the Beavers would never get another chance.

Oregon State played a great game. Sean Canfield looks like a bonafide pro. The Rodgers brothers are ridiculously talented. And they all deserve a much better bowl than what might be available after Saturday’s games. The Holiday had better think long and hard about the Beavers who would travel well and be an ideal representative for the Pac-10 in the league’s second best bowl.

But I’m sure opponent respect isn’t what the Beavers were after. Clearly, they wanted the spoils of the victor, but Thursday, those were reserved for Oregon.

As the final seconds ticked down and melted into a post game celebration where fans could not and would not leave, the scene at Autzen Stadium seemed surreal even through ESPN’s cameras a state away.

I sat and watched. And smiled. And kept smiling. And then I saw that first red rose, and Oh My God! The Ducks are in the Rose Bowl! That really just happened. How sweet it is.

1. Oregon. Listen, you can laugh at it, you can mock it, but I’m sticking with it. I don’t care. I know it’s ridiculous, but I’ve fallen in line every year with everyone else and put “USC at No. 1″ on auto-pilot. I’m not going to do it this year. I have my reasons and they sound a lot better when you consider I’m rooting for it. USC doesn’t have that championship feel this year. I think 2 losses and even 3 is possible. With all of the Ducks toughest conference games at home, it’s not improbable (sure, a little unlikely). In 2007…no, forget that. I’m not discussing it. You know what happened. So do I. There’s no reason to relive it. Let’s just say I feel confident about this Duck team, even with the question marks.
2. USC. It would be fun to drop them lower, but that would have put my IQ in a class that scientists would liken to brain damage. I don’t know if it’s the quarterback situation or the wholesale changes on defense, but the whole thing doesn’t feel right for the Trojans this year. I even think they’re going to get a battle from Ohio State. No, not really. I mean, come on, it’s Ohio State. Ultimately, USC has to travel to Oregon and to Cal. Throw in the typical sleeper game that bites them and the Trojans could finish a very mediocre 10-2 or 9-3.
3. Cal. It’s pretty much a consensus this year that Cal and Oregon are USC’s main challengers (which means one of these two teams will probably tank). The Golden Bears haven’t seemed like a top-tier team in a long time but it was just 1 1/2 seasons ago that they rose to #2 in the national polls. If Kevin Riley gives them any semblance of consistency at quarterback (well, good consistency), I like their chances of making a run at the number one spot. Remember, they have beat Oregon three straight times including at Autzen in the year that shall not be named.
4. Oregon State. Other than my risky homerism, I pretty much agree with the Pac-10 media that voted these four teams at the top. With the Beavers, I’m doing it more on reputation. Everyone has been burned so many times by predicting a letdown season that no one will dare doubt them now. My problem with them is I wonder about playmaking. Jacquizz Rodgers is legit, but he’s more of a workhorse and at his size, injuries are a concern. His brother James is capable of some big plays, but across the board, I don’t see star power on offense. I won’t doubt the defense. They’ve replaced players before with ease.
5. Stanford. This is the team I see making the leap this year. I’ve grown tired of waiting for Mike Stoops to rage his way into the top half of the conference. It’s not happening. the Cardinal had a great season last year, but couldn’t finish with the home stretch against Oregon, USC and Cal. I envision a 6-2 start for this team before they run into the same year-ending triumverate from a year ago. The season ender at home against Notre Dame could give them their first winning season since 2001.
6. Arizona State. This team is better than what they did a year ago. A six game losing streak just demoralized them. I’m not saying they bounce back and topple the best teams, but a bowl game should be in the cards for the Sun Devils.
7. Arizona. Like I said, I’m done with the Wildcats impending rise that has been predicted for about four years now. Making a bowl game for the first time this decade was a positive step, but come on, it was still 6-6. Are we supposed to be impressed by that? Do I still just not like Mike Stoops (or Bob Stoops or Mark Stoops or whatever other brother they can find)? Yeah, that probably has something to do with it.
8. UCLA. It’s a strange world when schools in Arizona and UCLA can’t get to the top half of the conference. They have weather, location, and everything else that attracts an 18 year old college kid. The Bruins figure to be in for another rough season. They have a tough schedule and there seems to be a huge lack of legit playmakers on the team.
9. Washington. Moving from 10th to 9th is upward mobility. That’s what the Steve Sarkisian era brings. The record is likely to improve by about three, maybe four games. A team on the rise. Here comes the Huskies. Bow down.
10. Washington State. I can go the route of being nice to the consensus last place team. Might as well considering the opposition is going to provide enough humiliation. I just can’t, though. This program is in an awful state. Cutting the 60 point opponent outbursts to two would be considered improvement. I can’t believe this has happened to a school that finished in the top ten three straight times earlier this decade.