North:
1. Oregon 45 at Colorado 2 – Except for a boneheaded play by Cliff Harris on a punt return, the Oregon Ducks defense pitched a shut out against Colorado on the road. CU was held its lowest yards/play output of the season on their Homecoming weekend. Oregon on the other rode on the backs of their second string QB Bryan Bennett and RB Kenjon Barner to put up 371 yards on the ground and 156 in the air. But it was the defense that was the star of the night, as Michael Clay had a pick 6, and Josh Kaddu had 2 sacks to keep CU from ever getting closer than the 36 yard line.
2. Stanford 65 vs washington 21 – And really, it wasn't even that close. It took until the 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter before the huskies were able to force Stanford into their first non-scoring drive. Stanford literally owned Uw on the ground rushing for 446 yards on the night. Andrew Luck had his lowest number of attempts all season going 16 for 21 and 2 Tds. But, really he didn't even need to throw that much as Stanford was constantly in 2nd and 3rd and short yardage situations. This was an old fashion butt kicking, as Stanford showed how far the gap is between the top 2 teams and everybody else in the Pac this year.
3. washington – No time for the dawgs to hang their heads. A rejuvenated Arizona and one of the top passing attacks in the Pac is headed to Montlake next week. Uw better do something about their defense quick, or they could be playing chase the Wildcats and with Oregon and then USC next on their schedule, a 4 game losing streak and 5-5 schedule isn't something these fans were thinking was possible just 2 days ago.
4. Cal 34 vs Utah 10 – Probably the best game of Zach Maynard's short career so far as Cal was able to capitalize on the turnover prone Utes. Iso Sofele rushed for 84 yards on 26 carries and Keenan Allen caught a TD and had 78 yards on 8 receptions. The Cal defense stepped up and shut down the Utah offense for 3+ quarters while Cal was able to get out to a 34-0 lead.
5. Oregon St 44 vs WSU 21 – Wow, didn't see this coming. OSU has won 2 of their last 3 games after starting the season so putrid. Question for Beaver fans; are you as tired as the rest of the Pac is with your team sucking for the first 2 months of the season and then winning games they shouldn't later? It was all cute and explainable when OSU was losing to TCU, Cinci, or Penn St but when you lose to Sac St and then all of a sudden start beating up on teams in the Pac, it's not good for anybody.
6. Washington St – This is a brutal loss for the Cougs. After starting out 3-1 and being up on Ucla 25-20 with 5 minutes to go in the game, it looked like WSU had turned the corner under Wulff and was headed for a bowl game. Now, I'll be really surprised if they see the off season, and I'll be even more surprised if they keep Wulff another year. I know it's not his fault, but with the new Pac 12 money coming, it's time for WSU to move on.
South:
1. ASU – Much needed bye week for the Sun Devils. Right now it looks like they are a lock to represent the South in the Pac 12 title game. Too bad they'll have to do it on the road. With a 1 game lead on USC and a 2+ game lead on everyone else, it'll be a shock if ASU isn't the South winner this year.
2. USC 31 at Notre Dame 17 – The Domers continued their "we like turning the ball over in the red zone" on a critical play late in the 3rd as they were headed in for a game tying score. Robert Woods continues to be the most dominant WR in the conference with another 100+ yard game and 2 more TDs. USC will most likely head back into the AP rankings this week with this nationally televised win. Unfortunately, they are excluded from the coaches poll and will give no one a boost in the BCS later this season should they loose.
3. Arizona 48 vs Ucla 12 – This game was already out of hand on the scoreboard, but things went from bad to worse right before the half as a troll made his way onto the field in a ref's uniform and stopped the play, and all hell broke lose. 2 players were kicked out of the game and 10 players will be suspended for the next game including Ucla's Taylor Embree and Arizona's Shaquille Richardson.
4. Ucla – I know Ucla is higher in the standings and that UA has a 1-4 conference record, but the Wildcats look like a different team now. That game was embarrassing. The Weasel has to be feeling the heat right now. Ucla has 3 wins with Cal, ASU, @Utah, CU and @USC left on their schedule. Do they make a bowl? I really only see 2 wins left. Without a bowl game, the Weasel has no shot of being at Ucla next year.
5. Utah – The Ute's lack of depth is really showing. This is one of the things that has always bothered me about the conversations about non-AQ teams like Utah and Boise making the jump to the big boy conferences and what I think is missing. When you have 8 patsies on your schedule you get a benefit that AQ schools don't. And that is that your depth is rarely tested. Your starters aren't playing huge minutes late in games, late in the season. Injuries are of little concern. Your younger guys and back ups get playing time that other schools don't. Now that Utah is experiencing a no rest for the weary schedule, they're finding out what it's like when they don't have Colorado St, New Mexico or Air Force on the slate late in the season.
6. Colorado – How long until the Buffs are competitive again? Could be a while.