Maybe Washington should have done more to get some cable station to move the USC game to last night or something.

Since they didn’t, the game will be played on Nov. 1 … and that’s trouble. Among all the amazing records the USC has run up since Pete Carroll arrived in 2001, one of the most amazing is its 23-0 record in the month of November. That’s the topic of my story for today’s paper.

And, by the way, Pete Carroll (here discussing the UW game, doesn’t consider that record a statistical fluke.

Meanwhile,

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Coaches who don’t want their names in the speculation for the UW job just need to issue a very straightforward statement saying so.

And unfortunately for some Huskies fans, that’s exactly what Jim Mora did today.

Washington State at Stanford. Cougs outscored 135-13 over last two games. Stanford, 42-13.

No. 23 Oregon at California. Holiday Bowl bid could be on the line. Ducks, 41-32.

Arizona State at Oregon State. Beavers have six-game home winning streak. OSU, 34-20.

Washington at No. 7 Southern California. One of the widest point spreads in Pac-10 history seems low. SC, 53-3.

(By the way, when I was at USC football practice Wednesday, I spoke to SC defensive coordinator Nick Holt, and he made it clear that he isn’t thinking about a 50-point spread:

“Quite

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The most memorable thing about today’s Pac-10 basketball media day was our Q&A session with new Oregon State coach Craig Robinson, who also happens to be Barack Obama’s brother-in-law.

Robinson talked a lot about how his life might change Tuesday, depending on the results of the election. And I’ll have a story about that in the Friday paper.

However, one answer didn’t make the paper, and it was Robinson’s scouting report on Obama’s basketball game.

So here it is, now:

“I can give you a scouting report on his game. I’ll also make a

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The media day format has each coach open with an overview of his team before taking questions from the reporters.

Lorenzo Romar used the opportunity to strike two main themes that those of us who cover the team have heard quite a bit already: that this team has more upperclassment with experience and that it has more playmakers.

Romar’s time at the mike actually began with a little interplay with Mike Montgomery, the former Stanford legend who is now back in the league coaching at Cal.

The coaches speak in reverse order of their team’s finish the

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Pac-10 men’s basketball capsules with teams listed in their order of finish as predicated by the annual media poll:

1. UCLA

Received 37 of the 38 first-place votes. The NBA has taken three starters from last season’s Final Four and Pac-10 championship squad. However, returning seniors Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya will be complemented by another dazzling freshman class. If there’s a problem, it could be depth.

2. Arizona State

Received the only first-place vote that didn’t go to the Bruins. Expectations are high because all starters return from last season’s 21-win NIT squad.

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Each team brings one player to Pac-10 media day. The only exception today is Washington State, which had to leave start guard Taylor Rochestie behind.

Rochestie was injured during a collision while practicing in Pullman. And apparently coach Tony Bennett and staff feared the worst.

Fortunately, it seems the worst didn’t happen. X-rays to is injured shin came back negative, so while he missed a press conference, he may not miss any games.

Here’s what Bennett told the Media Day audience:

“(He) was supposed to be here at Media Day and was in a collision

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Here are the results of the annual media poll of writers who cover Pac-10 men’s basketball.

1. UCLA (37 first place votes)

2. Arizona State (1)

3. USC

4. Arizona

5. Washington

6. Washington State

7. Oregon

8. California

9. Stanford

10. Oregon State

UW coach Lorenzo Romar hadn’t seen the poll and didn’t really want to react to it. However, Oregon coach Ernie Kent talked about “three top teams” and then listed them as UCLA, Arizona State and … not USC, but Washington.

A few

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