Football Notebook

  NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Freshman safety Ben
Emanuel plays against Oregon in the Bruins’ loss to the
Ducks last Saturday.

Injury update

Several Bruins are banged up this week. Flanker Tab Perry is out
with cracked ribs suffered against Washington State. Wide receiver
Ryan Smith is still nursing a sprained ankle, but should be able to
play on Saturday.

Safety Jason Stephens will most likely be held out of the
starting lineup. While the coaches were doubtful he would play at
the beginning of the week, they are changing their stance and will
probably give him some play time. Ben Emanuel will start his third
straight game in Stephens’ spot. Stephens, a senior, said no
injury would keep him out of his last ‘SC game.

In-N-Out to the rescue

On Monday after practice, the In-N-Out van stopped by Spaulding
Field to provide the Bruins with a pair of double doubles. This
marks the first time in four weeks that the Bruins were served
In-N-Out.

Prior to that the team had been provided burgers before every
game. They are undefeated in games in which they eat In-N-Out, and
winless when the burgers are withheld.

Something’s in the air

The practice field has had unusual energy this week. On Monday
during a rain storm, the team began chanting and dancing around,
imitating a rain dance. As the rain came down hard, the chanting
grew in volume.

On Tuesday the intensity reached such a high that a pair of
players had to be separated after getting into a scuffle. Coaches
attribute the increased attitude to the fact that it is ‘SC
week.

“If this wasn’t ‘SC week we might have trouble
getting them focused,” head coach Bob Toledo said.

Displaying hate

Some Bruins are more expressive of their hate for USC than
others. Defensive tackle Rodney Leslie has a tattoo on his right
arm demonstrating his feelings toward the Trojans. The art work
depicts a crazy clown holding a USC helmet with a decapitated head
in one hand and a football with the air squeezed out in the other.
The hand squeezing the air out of a football represents defense,
and the decapitated ‘SC head speaks for itself.

Pac-ked to the top

This year, there may be too much parity in the Pac-10
conference. A league that earlier in the season featured five
national title contenders is now without a single undefeated
team.

Oregon (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10) seems to be the lone conference
contender with a legitimate shot at the national title game. The
Ducks are currently ranked fourth in the BCS standings, trailing
only Nebraska, Miami and Oklahoma.

With five bowl-eligible teams in the conference already, there
could ultimately be eight bowl-eligible teams in the Pac-10 by
season’s end. Oregon State could gain bowl eligibility with a
win in the Civil War rivalry game against Oregon, and USC and
Arizona State have shots at bowl eligibility in their matchups with
UCLA.

Because the Pac-10 conference only carries five bowl
partnerships this season, only the teams that finish in the
top-five of the conference standings will be guaranteed bowl bids
this season. That makes for a disturbing and possibly chaotic
picture for Pac-10 officials.

Notes compiled by Adam Karon and Joshua Mason, Daily Bruin
Staff.