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Talking Points: Things we learned in Pac-12

The Columbian
Published: September 5, 2011, 12:00am

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:

1

Some things we learned this first weekend of the Pac-12, courtesy of Seattle Times reporter Bud Withers:

• After another edgy offseason, Oregon came unglued against LSU, partly because of turnovers. A year ago, the Ducks were second in the nation in takeaways with 37 and had a plus-13 margin. In this one, they turned it over four times and had a single takeaway.

• Oregon State, meanwhile, took a major hit to its bowl hopes in one unexpected blast. You get 12 chances to win six games, and hardly anybody among the Beaver faithful wasn’t counting this one on the plus side.

• UCLA’s defense was ineffective at Houston, and now the Bruins are again swimming upstream in a season in which the UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel’s job status is on the bubble.

• For the first time in six years, Washington State will take a 1-0 record into its second game.

(Click here to read the entire Bud Withers story.)

2

You only have to do the math to come to this realization: After 139 games, the Mariners are 58-81.

They can finish no better than .500 — and that would require a 23-game winning streak.

The last Mariners team to finish the season with a winning record was in 2009, and that team went 13-10 over the final 23 contests. But sandwiched in between that year were two 61-101 seasons.

And 100 losses is still possible for 2011 — just do the math.

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