Pile of teams is heavy at the top

Roughly halfway through, there are two ways to view the Pacific 10 Conference football season.

Four teams log-jammed in first place -- and another statistically nipping at their heels -- implies a high degree of parity.

Or, as Oregon State Coach Mike Riley said, “it’s all jumbled up.”

The leaders currently are USC, Arizona, Oregon and Oregon State at 3-1. California is right behind with a 2-1 record.

The picture grows even cloudier when you consider that USC finished atop the standings in 2006 and 2007 with two conference losses, which means a lot can happen between now and December.

No wonder Riley resists the suggestion that his Beavers have an edge with an upset victory over fifth-ranked USC in hand, a potential tiebreaker. “It’s too early to be a front-runner,” he said.

If anything, an unofficial poll suggests the Trojans are still favorites to come out on top once the pile untangles.

“Oh, I think so,” UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said. “You’d have a hard time finding one of the other head coaches not to concede that they have the best talent.”

But, he quickly added, “crazy things happen. So I don’t think anybody’s conceding anything.”

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Little big man

A couple of little Pac-10 guys are making big noise.

Five-foot-six Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State has been a force all season, leading the Pac-10 with 116 rushing yards per game. Now he’s joined by Arizona freshman Keola Antolin, a 5-8 back who exploded for 237 all-purpose yards in his first extended action against Cal last week.

Their success raises the notion that small backs have an advantage, able to hide behind larger offensive linemen while they search for a hole.

“I think there is a certain significance in that,” Arizona Coach Mike Stoops said. “And then they shoot out of the seam.”

But Stoops cited former college stars Darren Sproles and Quentin Griffin in suggesting that small backs need power and vision. Riley agreed.

“It’s just a matter of good players,” the Oregon State coach said. “I really believe they come in all different packages.”

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Tough guy

No offensive line. No running game. No problem.

With 9,472 yards passing, Rudy Carpenter is 10th on the all-time Pac-10 list despite playing for an Arizona State team that has provided little in the way of support.

“He’s tough, he’s a competitor,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said. “He’ll stay in the pocket and hold onto the ball until someone comes open.”

That trait has cost Carpenter dearly. Nursing an ankle injury suffered against Cal and aggravated at USC, the senior has played banged-up for much of his career. Arizona State Coach Dennis Erickson said his quarterback practiced Sunday and could return this week.

Not that Carpenter has ever needed incentive, but the Sun Devils face an Oregon team that ranks ninth among Pac-10 teams in pass defense, surrendering an average of 268 yards.

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Streak buster

As bad as things have gone for 1-7 Washington State, the Cougars went into Saturday’s matchup against USC having scored in 280 consecutive games dating back to 1984. A 69-0 loss emphatically ended that streak, though Coach Paul Wulff did not seem overly concerned. “At this point,” he said, “we have bigger issues.”

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david.wharton@latimes.com