The Pac 12 didn’t see near as much chaos as there was a week ago. Wazzou dominates, USC sputters on offense down the stretch, and ASU survives a scare all this week.
Arizona State 31, UCLA 28
Wilton Speight’s best game in the baby blue and gold (or white) unfortunately ended in a loss for the Bruins as they weren’t able to come back from down 10 late to win. Wilton passed for 335 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 82.5 QBR. Caleb Wilson continues to be a bright spot for a pretty inexperienced and inconsistent receiving core, catching 11 passes for 164 yards and both touchdowns from Speight. It’s hard to pick the best running back in the conference, but Eno Benjamin continues to show why he could leave early next year and be a high draft pick in the 2020 Draft. He rushed for 182 yards and a score and N’Keal Harry overpassed the century mark. Arizona State hits the 6 win mark and is looking for number 7 against Oregon in Eugene for what should be a shootout. UCLA stays “at home” to face USC in LA.
Washington State 31, Colorado 7
Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN picked Colorado to win this game on College Gameday. That prediction did not bare it’s fruits. Although, the Coogs did start out slow, they were able to pick it up by scoring 21 points in the 2nd half and shutting out Colorado after the first quarter. Gardner Minshew put up 335 yards and 2 touchdowns, continuing to pat his stats in what is gearing up to be a potential trip to NYC if he keeps Washington State flawless the rest of the way. Laviska Shenault returned in this game and put up 102 receiving yards on 10 catches. But due to the lack of depth and consistency with no K.D. Nixon, 2-11 on 3rd downs, and only 18 minutes of time of possession, Washington State controlled the game and what Colorado could do throughout. Washington State comes back home to face an on the rise Arizona team. 5 in a row for the Buffaloes as they look to get the monkey off their break with another home contest as they host Utah.
Utah 32, Oregon 25
Normally if a team only scores 2 touchdowns and the other team scores 25, the team with 25 normally wins. Not in this game as Matt Gay was a perfect 6 for 6, including a 55 yarder and a 24 yarder with 15 seconds to extend their lead to 7 before the game would evidently be over. Justin Herbert played a really good game with 288 through the air and 3 touchdowns. This year has been the emergence of receivers in the conference and Dillon Mitchell is becoming a household name to many and will be on some early watch list for the 2019 season. He had 8 receptions for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns. Zack Moss was out of this game due to an injury getting into bed (yes you read that right) and Armand Shyne showed up in a big way. Doubling this rushing total for the entire year in just one game, he rushed for 174 yards on 6.7 YPC. Also starting at Quarterback would be freshman, Jason Shelly. Shelly would throw for 262 yards with no touchdowns or turnovers. The Utes would be led on defense by senior LB Chase Hansen. He tallied up 13 total tackles, 3.5 for loss, and a sack. Utah is on the road continuing to stay atop the Pac 12 South. Oregon is facing Arizona State in Autzen.
Stanford 48, Oregon State 17
Colby Parkinson was the touchdown machine for Stanford as he caught all 4 of KJ Costello’s touchdown passes as Stanford put up 34 points in the first half and coasted by Oregon State. It certainly has not been the year Bryce Love wanted, but he did led the rushing for Stanford with 90 yards on just 11 carries and a touchdown. Oregon State’s inability to convert on 3rd and 4th down gave Stanford more chances to score on what is simply a bad defense. Stanford’s last 2 games are on the road, beginning with Cal. Oregon State heads up to Seattle to face Washington.
Cal 15, USC 14
USC looked to be in steady control through one half in what was all in all, a defensive game. And then the tables turned with just one play. Cal was able to get JT Daniels in the end zone for a safety. On the next drive, Garbers would connect with Vic Wharton from 29 yards out and would proceed to take the lead with 5 yard run from Garbers with 6 minutes to go. Eric Weaver has came on as of late as a strong candidate of being the #2 Linebacker in the conference. Weaver had 13 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and 2 sacks. Cal had USC off of their game and JT Daniels struggled throughout as Cal secures win number 6. They will be playing Stanford at home. USC will be looking for bowl eligibility with UCLA.
Offensive POTW: Colby Parkinson TE Stanford
Co-Defensive/ST POTW: Eric Weaver LB Cal. Matt Gay K Utah
Season Predictions: 53-25
Image Credit: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865690066/Utah-kicker-Matt-Gay-is-pursuing-perfection.html
