Stanford makes a move

For the second time in Jim Harbaugh's brief tenure at Stanford, the Cardinals have knocked off mighty USC, only this time the Cardinals suddenly have found themselves at the top of the Pac-10 race. Riding on the back of running back Toby Gerhart (who rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns) the Cardinals managed to keep Matt Barkley and the explosive USC offense contained, thanks to three interceptions by the freshman quarterback.

On the other side of the field redshirt-freshman Andrew Luck threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, as Stanford absolutely dominated the game onto a 55-21 victory. This is the first time since Pete Carrol's first season in 2001 that USC will finish with more than 2 losses. Sitting at fifth in the Pac-10 means the Trojans will miss out on a BCS game and likely finish with a very minor bowl berth.

Is a changing of the guard in order? Oregon remains atop the Pac-10 standings at 6-1, though If Oregon was to lose their next two games, and Arizona was to win out, the Wildcats would likely become Pac-10 champions. Stanford will face a tougher finish with games against California and Notre Dame. Though both teams have struggled as of late, both are still equally dangerous to the Cardinals Rose Bowl hopes. Oregon State theoretically has a shot at the title as well, but it would require almost every team above them losing the rest of their games, which probably won't happen.

The pac-10 is the only conference that plays a 9th conference game, something that has been stressed as a strength in recent years. And with 4 teams in top 25 (Oregon, Stanford, Oregon State, USC) they've proven to be one of the stronger conferences this season. Now we'll just have to wait and see how they perform in the Bowl Games.