They are not passing with flying colors

Anyone looking to explain this troublesome September in the Pacific 10 Conference might begin by searching the skies.

Keep a watch for footballs wobbling through the air like wounded ducks.

In a conference that lives and dies by the pass, too many young quarterbacks have been forced into action too early, which might account for the upset losses and the fact that, for the first time since 2000, only one Pac-10 team ranks among the Associated Press top 25.

“No question about it,” Oregon State Coach Mike Riley said. “If you look historically at the deal, the teams that have not only experienced quarterbacks but good quarterbacks coming back I think have a much better opportunity to play well and to compete in some of these games that turn into upsets.”

Injuries have forced UCLA, Oregon and Washington State to plumb the depths of their depth charts. Stanford and Washington have struggled through the air while California Coach Jeff Tedford calls his starter, Kevin Riley, “a work in progress.”

“With the parity in college football, the quarterback position becomes even more relevant to success,” Arizona Coach Mike Stoops said.

At Washington State, reserve Marshall Lobbestael completed his first two throws for touchdowns against Portland State, but Coach Paul Wulff worries about relying on an underclassman against Oregon on Saturday.

A raw starter is prone to “feel like you’ve got a lot more on your shoulders,” Wulff said. “Obviously, your brain moves a lot faster.”

Rough going

A month ago, Darron Thomas was a freshman listed as Oregon’s fifth quarterback. On Saturday, he was running the team in an upset loss to Boise State.

Despite a rash of injuries to his more-seasoned passers, Coach Mike Bellotti isn’t calling for new safety rules. Neither is UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel, who lost two starters in spring practice.

“It’s just kind of the breaks of the game,” Neuheisel said. “I don’t think you can make excuses about it, you just keep going.”

Run down

Arizona State has no worries about passing, not with Rudy Carpenter already throwing for 1,183 yards and seven touchdowns. Running is another matter.

The Sun Devils have lost two games in a row and are averaging only 89 yards on the ground. Coach Dennis Erickson said he will treat this bye week like spring practice, holding an open competition for the offensive line.

“We’ve got to get better,” he said.

Tough run

No surprise that Cal’s talented Jahvid Best is leading the conference with 112 yards rushing per game. The new name among the Pac-10’s top runners is Toby Gerhart.

The Stanford junior, who played sparingly as a freshman and was injured last year, started the season with 147 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State. He has rushed for 407 yards in four games.

“He’s got very good feet and in the open field he can run,” Riley said of the 6-foot-1, 228-pound rusher. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him, saw it up close and personal.”

One for the Gipper

Coming off an upset loss to Maryland, Cal plays Colorado State on Saturday. It’s a chance for the Pac-10 to gain revenge after losing to five Mountain West opponents earlier this month.

Tedford couldn’t care less about revenge.

“It’s not so much for the conference as it is for ourselves,” he said. “We’ve got enough concerns of our own.”

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david.wharton@latimes.com