NCAA Football Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Here's hoping SEC fans stayed up to watch Oregon beat Arizona Saturday night. They got to see a few things their league hasn't had enough of this season.

Drama, bedlam, theatrics, tension, hilarity and near-riotous fun. And that just begins to describe the Ducks' 44-41 double overtime win.

It finally ended as the clock struck midnight back East. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli slithered into the end zone to crash what would have been the biggest football party Tucson ever threw.

All of which settled one thing. The Pac-10 is the best conference in America.

Oregon delivered the knockout blow to Arizona, but the Wildcats gave themselves a black eye Saturday night when a bottle thrown by someone in the crowd sent Ducks cheerleader Katelynn Johnson to the hospital in the chaotic aftermath of Oregon's 44-41 double-overtime win.

According to OregonLive.com, Johnson, a junior, was struck in the head by a water bottle thrown from the stands and was taken to an area hospital after collapsing on the field shortly thereafter. She is expected to be fine, according to the Web site's report.

The incident came on the heels of a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Wildcats. Students from the "Zona Zoo" had gathered around the field in the final minutes of regulation, expecting to storm the field when Arizona won. But Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli hit Ed Dickson with six seconds left for the game-tying touchdown. Two overtimes later, Masoli ran in a one-yard score to stun the host Wildcats and the students dispersed.

It was arguably the game of the year in college football. It was certainly further evidence that the Pac-10 is back as a national conference.

After two overtimes and a touchdown with six seconds left in regulation, the Oregon Ducks outlasted Arizona 44-41 to take control of the Pac-10.

For a while, the stars seemed to align for Arizona. California upset Stanford during the the third quarter of the Wildcats' game, bumping one Pac-10 peer from Rose Bowl contention. Meanwhile, Arizona shrugged off a 14-0 deficit to take a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

However, Oregon then rallied with 17 points in the final frame, including a highlight-worthy touchdown pass from Jeremiah Masoli to Ed Dickson with six seconds left that deflated the home crowd and dispersed the students, who had emerged nearby to storm the field.

TUCSON, Ariz.(AP) -- Jeremiah Masoli tied it with a touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with six seconds left, then won it with a 1-yard run in the second overtime as No. 11 Oregon defeated Arizona 44-41 on Saturday night and took a big step toward the Pac-10 title.

Masoli threw for three scores and ran for three more as the Ducks rallied from a 24-14 deficit early in the fourth quarter.

The Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-10) will earn a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth with a victory over No. 20 Oregon State in a winner-take-all Civil War on Dec. 3 in Eugene.

One of the best conference races in college football has been the one going down in the Pac-10. Heading into today, five teams were still competing for a shot at the Rose Bowl: Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, Arizona and USC. Stanford's wood-shedding of USC eliminated one contender in a big way, and Cal likely did Arizona the honors in bumping the Wildcats 24-16.

Arizona, of course, is the only team in the league not to have gone to the Rose Bowl. The fact has been a nagging itch for the Wildcat football program, desperate for consistency and a trip to Pasadena to hang their hat on.

The Wildcats likely won't get it in 2009.

Cal kept quarterback Nick Foles and the Wildcat offense in check throughout, limiting Arizona to just 17 first downs and 276 yards. Its a disappointing elimination for Arizona, which had won three in a row including a wild victory over surging Stanford, 43-38.

On Sunday morning, after waking up and throwing back a glass of H2O, I did what I always do ... opened the laptop and checked the college football rankings. It's a habit of mine, for no particular reason at all. I'm not a huge fan of a big powerhouse, sans my affiliation to my home state Texas teams.

This Sunday was different. I was pulling the rankings up with a purpose. I was going to see something I'd never seen in all my years as a football fan. My school would be ranked. My college was going to matter.

The University of Arizona is ranked in all the major college football polls for the first time since I set foot in Tucson, as a clueless 18-year-old hoping that I made the right choice with my selection. (Turns out, beautiful weather, all the golf I could ask for and a female student body that rivaled John Mayer's groupies is the recipe you want in a four year school.)

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Washington linebacker Mason Foster was named Pac-10 defensive player of the week on Monday after he scored the game-winning touchdown off a deflected interception in Saturday's win over Arizona. But there's one big problem with Foster's big play: Many viewers don't think his interception should have counted at all.

It was a measure of revenge for the Big Ten this afternoon in Iowa City as the Iowa Hawkeyes knocked off the Arizona Wildcats, 27-17.

The Hawkeyes were led by their defense, which held Arizona's powerful rushing attack to 146 yards and kept the nation's No. 2 rusher, Arizona's Nic Grigsby, to just 74 yards on 11 carries. Arizona didn't score an offensive touchdown until 1:55 remained in the fourth quarter and only managed eight first downs all afternoon.

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi started slowly, throwing a first-quarter interception which Arizona's Trevin Wade returned for a touchdown. Stanzi finished 20 of 32 for 205 yards.

So is this the year someone besides USC wins the Pac-10 title and gains the automatic BCS bowl berth?

If there is ever a year for USC to get chased from behind and caught, this is this year. The Trojans are breaking in a new quarterback in Aaron Corp and replacing several departed starters to the NFL draft.

So who's it going to be? Cal? Can the Golden Bears overcome early-season trap games and win the games they are supposed to and make it interesting? Can Oregon beat USC at home and win difficult road games and take the title? And how about Oregon State? Do Mike Riley teams always have to start 1-3 before getting into high gear?

And what about the rest of the field? Is this Stanford's breakout year? Is UCLA ready to become a Pac-10 factor again? And is Arizona really the third worst team in the conference as it was picked by the media? These are all intriguing questions that will be worked out in the coming weeks.

Our standings preview and records predictions are after the jump.

LOS ANGELES -- USC was picked to win the Pac-10 football title for the seventh consecutive year by the media, and yet the coaches from all nine competitors -- including Arizona's Mike Stoops (right) and even USC coach Pete Carroll -- touched on the uncertainty of the Trojans this season.

USC received 28 of the 32 votes with California receiving three while third-place Oregon collected one vote. The Trojans will be breaking in a new quarterback and several new defenders since 11 players were taken in the NFL Draft. Perhaps this is the year another school emerges and takes the crown out of Los Angeles, but they approached Thursday precariously and with respect. There were no declarations that USC is going down or the reign is over -- not even from UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel.