The first weekend of PAC-12 Football is in the books. For the most part, it wasn’t pretty for a conference trying to rebuild its image after a disastrous bowl season last year. Here’s a breakdown of the notable games, including each game in the South.
Most importantly, Washington lost it’s match up with Auburn, severely gashing the conferences best hopes of having a non-conference win capable of sending them to the college football playoff. Washington has impressive moments, but simply wasn’t sharp enough to defeat Auburn, don’t be surprised if Washington drops a few more games along the way.
Stanford defeated San Diego State, getting revenge for their loss early last season. Bryce Love was stymied, but JJ Arcega Whiteside was dominant, recording 226 yards on 6 catches, three for touchdowns.
Utah crushed Weber State, with Zach Moss, Britain Covey, and the defense dominating, the Utes might be the favorites in the South.
Arizona was beaten handily by BYU. This might be the most surprising outcome of the weekend, as not only did the Cougars look excellent, Arizona seemed to have no idea how to change the outcome of the game. Khalil Tate finished 17/34 passing with 197 yards, and stunningly was held to 8 carries for just 14 yards. Arizona repeatedly tried to beat the Cougars over the top, but rarely connected on the deep ball, and simply couldn’t stop BYU’s running game. The Wildcats are going to have a long season if they are consistently dominated on the line of scrimmage like they were tonight.
Arizona State destroyed UTSA, which shouldn’t be a surprise. ASU moved the ball easily, finishing with six TD drives and a pick six to beat UTSA 49-7. Manny Wilkins had 4 touchdown passes, and N’Keal Harry had 6 catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns. They play Michigan State next week.
UCLA got off to a hot start against Cincinnati, taking a 10-0 lead, but found themselves in trouble when starting QB Wilton Speight went down with a back injury. Highly touted freshman Dorian Thompson Robinson took over, and couldn’t move the offense. Thought DTR finished 15/25 passing for 117 yards and no turnovers, he regularly missed his receivers on big plays. UCLA has an uphill climb to make a bowl game.
Colorado handled rival Colorado State with little pushback. Through two games, CSU might be the worst team in college football this season. They got beat at home by Hawaii in week zero. Steven Montez may have been the most impressive QB in the conference this week, completing 22/25 passes for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns.
USC took care of business against UNLV, but doesn’t look like they’re on the verge of running away from the rest of the South. Freshman JT Daniels was good but not great, finishing 22/35 passing with 282 yards and a touchdown.
