Storyline: Washington trounced Stanford in Week 5’s GOW. Can the Huskies keep rolling against desperate Oregon? And how about those Buffalos?! Will they spring a win at USC?
All games are scheduled for Saturday, October 8th:
(PAC-12 Network) Colorado vs. USC- 4:00 – USC – 4
(FOX) Washington vs. Oregon- 7:30 – Oregon + 9.5
(PAC-12 Network) California vs. Oregon St. -9:00 – Oregon St. + 11
(FS1) Arizona Vs. Utah – 10:00 – Utah – 9
(ESPN) Washington St. vs. Stanford – 10:30 – Stanford – 11
(ESPN2) UCLA vs. Arizona St. – 10:30 – Arizona St. + 4.5
Byes: NONE
Week 5 in the PAC-12 was interesting to say the least. While the PAC-12 prides itself on having competitive games, that outcome didn’t pan out last week. Only one game (Utah vs. Cal) had a single digit differential.
Courtesy: Sporting News
The marquee game of the week–Stanford at Washington–ended up being a dud. Washington dismantled Stanford in all phases of the game. Stanford looked like a team that was playing its third straight prime-time game.
Another major surprise was Colorado pounding the OSU Beavers, 47-6. The Buffalo not only look like a bowl team at 4-1, but (dare I say) a contender in the PAC-12 South.
In other action, Oregon lost its third game overall–and second in a row in the league–falling 51-33 to Washington St. Oregon’s offense looks good at times, but the Ducks look lost defensively. Washington St. has a solid offense, but the Ducks shouldn’t have given up 51 points.
USC and UCLA bounced back with impressive wins against Arizona St. and Arizona, respectively. But the two L.A teams still have a long way to go to regain national attention.
Courtesy: Dailycal.org
Cal-Utah ended up being the Game of the Week. The Bears picked up a huge win against previously unbeaten Utah, 28-23. Cal scoring 28 points against the Utes’ defense is equal to scoring in the 50s against most other teams. And a big question now is whether the Ute loss will be a blip or a sign of things to come.
This week in the PAC-12 has all 12 teams playing league games. It’s also the first week with all inter-division match-ups. This should be a great week to gauge pretenders and contenders in the PAC-12 North and South.
Are the Buffalo That Good? The Buffs are 4-1, 2-0 in the league, with the lone loss coming in The Big House to undefeated Michigan. That’s the resume Colorado will bring to the Coliseum this weekend when it tangles with up-and-down USC. While Colorado is starting to turn heads across the country, USC is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Last week the Trojans looked great beating up on previously unbeaten Arizona St., but in other games they’ve looked like bottom feeders. Which USC team will show up on Saturday?
Is Oregon in a Free Fall? A proud program with a national profile has fallen on hard times. The Ducks’ fan base isn’t used to losing and another loss is likely with the Huskie’s coming to town. The Ducks can start salvaging their season with a win, but a 4th loss will likely spell the end to what was supposed to be another promising season for Oregon.
Courtesy: Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times
Time To Breathe? Stanford had to play USC, UCLA, and Washington on consecutive weeks and that schedule took its toll. The Cardinal couldn’t muster the effort or energy to compete last Friday night and it showed on the scoreboard. This week SU will host Washington St. WSU may not be a brand name, but the Cougs have offensive firepower. Senior QB Luke Falk is a stud. If the Stanford secondary doesn’t recover from last week’s embarrassment, then WSU will put up points. This is a classic letdown spot for some teams, but I think Coach Shaw will have the Cardinal ready to play. I say Stanford, 40-28.
Game Of The Week, Washington vs. Oregon: Last week Washington looked like a team that’s going to win the PAC-12 North, the PAC-12 title game, and maybe even punch a ticket to the CFP. The mark of a truly great team is staying even-keeled and playing your schedule one week at a time. This week’s opponent, Oregon, is a wounded duck (pardon the pun) with three losses in a row. And UO hasn’t looked good doing it. While all signs point to Washington continuing to roll, you never want to play a desperate team with its season on the line. This win could make the Ducks season and I think the game will be closer than some may think. I say Washington, 37-31.
Underrated Game Of The Week, Colorado vs. USC: This game has a chance to be sneaky good. Colorado continues to impress. Then there are the Trojans. The only thing certain about USC is that it’s a mystery. The Trojans get to host Colorado, but the Buffs already have a Pac-12 road win against Oregon. While CU would love nothing more than start the conference season 3-0, I’m not ready to jump on the bandwagon … yet …. I say USC, 38-35.
Courtesy: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Upset Of The Week, UCLA vs. Arizona St.: UCLA broke out offensively last week against Arizona, scoring 45 points–including 21 points in the fourth quarter. Josh Rosen looked sharp and RB Nate Starks rushed well and scored a TD. All signs point to the Bruins beating an ASU team that got humbled last week by USC. Not only did the Sun Devils see its undefeated start come to an end, they found out they have a way to go before being able to compete for a conference crown. With all that being said, Arizona St. plays UCLA at home and UCLA needs to be careful it doesn’t come into the game overconfident. If I have to put a team on upset alert this week that team is the Bruins.
Lock Of The Week, Arizona vs. Utah: Even though Utah started the year 4-0, I warned Utes fans of last week’s tricky game against Cal. Unfortunately for Utah faithful I was right: Double U slipped up in Berkeley. Even so, the Utes battled until the end, showing that they’re physical each and every snap. While I like Utah, I don’t like what I’m seeing in Tucson. The Wildcats are flat and it doesn’t seem as though Rich Rod wants to be there. Arizona will be going into a hornet’s nest to take on an an angry and physical Utah team. That’s not a good combo for a team that doesn’t like to mix it up. Hey, Utah fans: You’re going to bounce back in a big way this week.
