1. Who's madder about Week 5? With USC being upset by Washington and Stanford dropping in a painful shootout to Oregon, these would-be Pac-10 powerhouses are heading into Week 6 high on rage and hellbent on vengeance. Both squads now have a legitimate case for playing with chips on their shoulders, but which team will channel their emotions to greater effect?
2. Can the Bruins pull out more than a moral victory? They haven't won in Berkeley since '98, but they're way, way ahead in the expectations game:
[This] is a monster game for the Bears. Apparently Tedford is under some tinge of pressure in the Bay Area despite having done a great job of establishing that program. Given how their seasons have fizzled in recent years - failing to finish in the top 25 since 2006 - the Bear program has been stuck in bit of rut since their earlier success in Tedford era. If somehow they lose to the Bruins tomorrow afternoon, not only it could impact their position in this year's Pac-10 race, it could have ramifications in terms of overall trajectory of the Cal program.
3. Will Dillon Baxter step up? The freshman phenom gave the bizarro quote of the season this week, when he confessed he's been "going through the motions" and hasn't given the team his full effort:
It was an odd admission from one of the most anticipated freshmen on the team following his breakout performances in spring practice.
But Baxter said his effort waned, especially in the past two weeks.
"I just think I need to work harder," Baxter said. "I was being (stubborn). It seemed like the last couple weeks, especially, my effort lacked."
Allen Bradford already has the starting nod for Saturday, but Baxter's best efforts will be needed if the Trojans are to keep pace with the Stanford scoring machine.
4. How will the Trojan D be affected by Orgeron's absence? Coach O, hospitalized earlier this week for a staph infection, will travel with the team to Stanford, but this is a unit that cannot afford to miss any prep time as it is.
5. Have we seen the real 2010 Bruins yet? Was the win in Austin a fluke? Nobody's picking UCLA in Week 6, but Cal is shaky (well, shaky for Cal) and the Bruins can win if they're the same team we saw against Texas.