Looking back at the weekend that was in the Conference of Champions and local college football
Another crazy weekend as always in the world of college football is in the books. Just when we think we have an idea of how the Pac-12 is starting to play, the conference gets turned up on its head once again.
Let’s recap the weekend that was in the Pac-12 and also around local college football.
Arizona State 38, Utah 20
The injury to Tyler Huntley has now left a lot of questions for the Utes moving forward after what transpired in the desert on Saturday afternoon. Backup quarterback, now the starter, Jason Shelley, was not able to generate much of anything through the air against the Sun Devils. I expect improved play against Oregon with a week of preparation as the number one guy, but Huntley was the one injury that even Bill Riley mentioned on his radio show this past Friday would be tough to overcome.
Credit to Arizona State who suddenly controls their destiny in the Pac-12 South. ASU has explosive playmakers in Eno Benjamin and N’Keal Harry that are some of the best not only in the Pac-12 but in college football at their respective positions. Herm Edwards…Pac-12 South champ? My goodness, it might actually happen.
Arizona 42, Colorado 34
This was a late night Friday tilt in Tucson with the Buffs dropping their fourth consecutive game. Remember when this team was 5-0? Yeah, I don’t either. Khalil Tate and crew are not out of the woods yet on the Pac-12 South title. They need help, specifically Utah and USC losing, but the Cats have Arizona State in the home finale and they’ve only got two games remaining.
Oregon 42, UCLA 21
The Chip Kelly return to Eugene was pretty much what we expected it to be, the Ducks putting up the big offensive numbers while Chip’s Bruins are left in the dust. UCLA is now out of bowl contention as they lost their seventh game of the season. For Oregon, Justin Herbert had a nice bounce-back performance after the terrible game in Tucson the week prior.
Washington 27, Stanford 23
Felt weird that this game didn’t have any national ramifications on the line. The Huskies stay alive in the Pac-12 North division race by taking down the Cardinal. Important win for Jake Browning who got the boot a week ago at Cal in a loss.
USC 38, Oregon State 21
The USC offense looked a lot better in the first game with Clay Helton calling the shots, but it was against Oregon State. Let’s see how the Trojans fare this week against a tough Cal defense. Also, remember the days when USC going up to Corvallis used to be time to panic for the men of Troy? Those days are long gone from the Beavs, Jacquizz Rodgers is not coming through that door.
Washington State 19, Cal 13
Wazzu scored a late touchdown in the 4th quarter to escape an upset bid by Cal. The Bears upset the Cougars last year in Berkeley while Wazzu was a Top-10 team and they nearly did it again. The cliche here is to say these are the games that championship teams need to have to show they can find a way to still get a victory when their strength (passing attack) isn’t working. Wazzu gets it done and the conference still has a glimmer of hope for the Playoff.
Boise State 21, BYU 16
The Cougars have found their quarterback in Zach Wilson. There’s no doubt about that. But the play calling from the offensive staff is leaving everyone scratching their heads as the Cougars leave Boise once again with an L.
Utah State 56, Hawaii 17
Aggies QB Jordan Love left the game early in the second quarter and did not return. Matt Wells said he should be fine and ready to come back next week. Even without Love, the Aggie offense did their usual thing, putting up big numbers on a terrible Hawaii defense.
