Not a lot of Pac 12 games this week. With the new scheduling a lot teams got their bye week. Let's take a look at the action that did happen. The games that were played showed that the Pac definitely has some talent at wide receiver. Cal, washington, Arizona, USC, WSU, are all loaded at the WR.
North
1. Stanford - Still keeps the top spot in the Power Poll, even though they got news this week that they lost a key part of their team in Shane Skov for the season. Not going to really need him for the next 3 weeks anyway as the Tree has Ucla, Colorado and @WSU on their schedule.
2. Oregon 56 at Arizona 31 - This game was over early. Oregon's defense did what it needed to do in the first half and Oregon's offense steam rolled on its way to a 35-3 lead. Arizona looked beaten even after they got a TD right before half. Apparently that wasn't the case as the Wildcats came out in the second half and scored 2 unanswered TD to draw within 9. Then LaMicahel James decided to show why he's becoming the greatest running back in Oregon and Pac 12 history. With 288 yards on 23 carries and 2 TD, LaMicahel set the single game rushing record and broke the career scoring record for Oregon on the same night. Next up for the Ducks: BYE
3. washington 31 vs Cal 23 - Kieth Price is turning into a really good story for the huskies this year. When forced to scramble he does a good job keeping his eyes down field, he's been fairly accurate at 67% completion (compared to Locker who was 55% in 2010 and 58% in 2009) and with Polk in his backfield, he does a good job of balancing the attack offensively. Cal was ultimately done in this game with their red zone offense, 1 TD in 5 attempts and only 4 scores. When you get inside the home team's 20 yard line 5 times on the day and only get 16 points, you're not going to win many of those games.
4. Cal
5. Washington State
6. Oregon State - This was Oregon State's really only shot of not going 0-12 this year. They finally had James Rodgers back, no rotating door at QB, were playing an offensively inept Ucla at home. Their remaining schedule is @ASU, Arizona, BYU, @WSU, @Utah, Stanford, @Cal, Uw, @Oregon. So here's my question: With all the off season distractions and troubles they've had the last couple of years, with their weak recruiting, all the questionable coaching decisions and finally a winless season, how could OSU possibly keep Riley around? Please feel free to explain in the comments, and I'd love to hear from Beaver fans on this too.
South
1. Arizona St 43 vs USC 22 - Here's how I reviewed this game. Looks at the box score, WOW, 1 for 9 on third down and 4 turnovers. Yep, USC lost. USC battled hard and actually took the lead late in the third on a Mark Tyler TD, but a pick six and another INT that was returned by Burfict deep into USC territory did the Trojans in. The overall stats for both teams were very close with 227 to 223 passing yards and 175 to 169 rushing yards for each team, but the third down conversions and being able to keep a hold of the ball were the deciding factor in this game.
2. USC
3. Utah
4. Arizona
5. Colorado 17 at Ohio State 37 - Turnovers and penalties, turnovers and penalties, turnovers and penalties. This is what is killing Colordao this year. Colorado is last in the Pac averaging 90 yards of penalties per game, and when you have 2 turnovers at Ohio St, you're not coming out of there with a win
6. Ucla 27 at Oregon St 19 - Nueheisel tried to give OSU this game, I mean he really tried. At the start of the 4th quarter with Ucla only leading by 2 at 21-19, Nueheisel went for it on 4th and 3 at OSU's 48 yard line with a dive play that wasn't even close. Luckily for the Bruins, OSU was just as inept as they gave the ball back to on their own failed 4th down conversion the next drive. With Stanford, WSU, Arizona and Cal coming up the schedule, Ucla better win 1 of those, or it's going to get ugly in Pasadena.
Next Week's Games:
Arizona at USC
WSU at Colorado
Washington at Utah
Oregon St at ASU
Ucla at Stanford