Last week, all the talk was about the resurgence of the Pac-10, with some observers maintaining that, from top to bottom, it's the strongest conference overall. Now, though, some of the bloom is off the rose, at least as far as Cal, USC and UCLA are concerned.

The Golden Bears were beaten by an extremely well-coached Air Force squad, featuring the running exploits of hard-nosed QB Chance Harridge. Expertly handling the Falcons' triple-option attack, Harridge proved too much for the Golden Bears' defense to handle, rushing for 124 yards and three TDs. Cal came up just a two-point conversion shy of tying the game with less than a minute to go, falling 23-21.

After a heartbreaking loss, the Golden Bears need to bounce back quickly this week against Washington State.

Cal senior QB Kyle Boller had been red-hot this season, but against the Falcons he struggled, completing just 13 of 37 aerials for 216 yards and an interception. In his defense, Boller's stats could have been more impressive and likely would have translated into a victory had Cal's wideouts done a better job catching the ball. After playing A-games the first three weeks, concentration lapses at crucial points led to their downfall against Air Force.

Cal faces a brutal schedule the rest of the way, with this week's clash at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley against Washington State particularly critical. After a heartbreaking loss, coach Jeff Tedford's Golden Bears need to bounce back quickly and re-establish themselves as one of the most improved teams in the country.

After playing host to the Cougars on Saturday, Cal is on the road four of the next five weeks, traveling to Washington, USC, Oregon State and Arizona State.

BEAVERS RELY ON PRO-STYLE ATTACK
This week, the game to focus on in the Pac-10 will be Oregon State at USC. The Trojans are looking to bounce back from a nonconference loss at Kansas State, while the talented Beavers moved to 4-0 after a dominant performance against Fresno State.

Keep in mind, though, the combined record of Oregon State's three I-A opponents (excluding Division I-AA Eastern Kentucky) is 3-9.

Coach Dennis Erickson's Beavers have excellent skill-position talent, particularly at QB and RB. Keyed by sophomores Derek Anderson and Steven Jackson, the Beavers present a multidimensional attack that feature Anderson's pro-style passing skills and the physically gifted Jackson as the featured back.

Against Fresno State, Anderson threw for 214 yards and three TDs, and Jackson carried the ball 25 times for 227 yards and two TDs.

SOFT SCHEDULE FOR K-STATE? NO, SMART SCHEDULING
Each year, it seems that Kansas State and coach Bill Snyder have to deal with criticism of an easy nonconference schedule. I consider all the negativity to be incredibly ridiculous and completely unfair. Just consider where the K-State program was prior to Snyder's arrival in 1989.

In the two full seasons before he came on board, the Wildcats were 0-21-1. Going back 34 years before Snyder took control, six different head coaches produced just two winning seasons. In 1982, Jim Dickey's team went 6-5-1. In 1970, Vince Gibson's Wildcats went 6-5. To sum it up, in 29 of the 34 seasons before Snyder's arrival, the Wildcats managed to win just four games or fewer.

Check out the dramatic difference in fortunes since Snyder took over. KSU has rung off nine straight non-losing seasons, winning nine or more games eight of the last nine years.

And while KSU opened against overmatched foes such as Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Monroe and Eastern Illinois, keep in mind that defending national champion Miami faced Florida A&M and Temple in two of its first three games (and this week plays host to Connecticut).

In 1996, Florida opened at home against SW Louisiana and Georgia Southern. In 1998 the Gators began the season against The Citadel and NE Louisiana.

Sure, K-State's early-season schedule is soft; I won't argue with that. But I tend to refer to what Snyder has done as smart scheduling. With so many juco transfers coming on board each year, the Wildcats coaching staff needs the extra time to work players into the system.

This past week, K-State gave USC its first loss of the season, and the rest of the campaign must deal with the likes of Colorado, Texas, Iowa State and Nebraska (not to mention a possible Big 12 championship game). I doubt that come December anyone will really care about questions concerning the soft early-season schedule.

Face facts: Bill Snyder deserves to be recognized as one of the elite college head coaches of all-time for what the Wildcats have accomplished during his remarkable tenure in Manhattan.

HOKIES PROVING DOUBTERS WRONG
After Virginia Tech's victory over Texas A&M at College Station, there is no doubt the Hokies have proven doubters (including me) dead wrong for predicting they would struggle in the early going.

However, while Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones combine to form an awesome one-two punch in the backfield, the key in coming weeks will be the ability of QB Bryan Randall to build on a 10-for-11 passing day against the Aggies.

Keep in mind that Randall sprained his ankle late in Saturday's game and has been held out of practice early this week. Even so, he's expected to be under center when the Hokies play at Western Michigan on Saturday, with Grant Noel ready to go if Randall's injury status changes.

If the Hokies get any semblance of a passing attack, they figure to be unbeaten heading into their regular-season finale against Miami (Fla.) at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 7. The only major tests away from Blacksburg between now and then are Oct. 10 at Boston College and Nov. 9 at Syracuse.

RIVERS' LEADERSHIP, ROOKIE RB PACE WOLFPACK
N.C. State moved to 5-0 with a thrilling overtime victory against Texas Tech at Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

Junior QB Philip Rivers was aware going in that Lubbock was a tough venue, and I firmly believe that his maturity level and leadership skills made it possible for coach Chuck Amato's Wolfpack to survive a difficult road test. Rivers, who ideally manages the Wolfpack offense, completed 20 of 32 aerials on Saturday for just over 300 yards.

Even with Rivers at the helm, the Wolfpack would have come up short had it not been for the incredible performance of freshman RB T.A. McLendon. A scoring machine at the prep level, where he produced 178 career TDs, McLendon is off to the races thus far in college, making his mark as one of the top newcomers this season.

On Saturday, McLendon carried 32 times for 150 yards and five TDs. On several of his impressive scampers, McLendon brought back memories of former Miami Hurricane and Minnesota Viking star Chuck Foreman with the way he spins away from defenders.

This week, the Wolfpack play host to Division I-AA Massachusetts. Then they have a week off before playing North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

IMPROVED KENTUCKY CLAWING AGAIN
When you talk about the most improved team in 2002, make sure the Kentucky Wildcats are at or near the top of the list.

Even though their bowl ban won't be lifted until next season, the Wildcats have been a bowl-caliber football team thus far. Off to a 4-0 start, head coach Guy Morriss just received a five-year contract extension through 2007.

The attack force -- featuring strong-armed lefty Jared Lorenzen, all-purpose RB Artose Pinner and wideouts Derek Abney, Aaron Boone and Tommy Cook -- is getting most of the attention. But the key to Kentucky's early-season success is the much-improved defense.

After allowing 33.4 points per game and finishing 109th in the nation in total defense last year, the Wildcats have made significant strides. Through four games, they're allowing just 18.2 points per game, keyed by the solid performances of the entire defensive front, along with linebackers Morris Lane (leads team in tackles) and Ronnie Riley plus DBs David Johnson and Quentus Cumby.

This week, the Wildcats face their sternest test to date when they travel to The Swamp to face Florida.