Gold: 1 thing I learned from every Pac-12 team in Week 8
With a good third of the league on a bye this week, the remaining two-thirds sure put on a show on Saturday.
Oregon made sure the show didn’t start with any surprises, but it sure almost ended with one, as Washington escaped against noted foe Arizona State in miraculous fashion.
Along the way, Utah asserted itself as a conference title contender with a last-second win at USC.
Here’s a look at one thing I learned from every Pac-12 team in Week 8 …
(Arizona, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State had a bye week.)
Arizona State: Sun Devils bottle up Heisman favorite
No, Arizona State did not end up having the last laugh in a 15-7 loss at Washington, but the Sun Devils will look back fondly on the game, especially if Michael Penix Jr. eventually wins the Heisman Trophy.
It’s not often you force 3 turnovers from the eventual Heisman winner.
And the Sun Devils held Penix well below his season average for passing yards.
“They were disrupting our flow,” Huskies coach Kalen DoBoer said after the loss. “We’d make a big play and then have a net negative loss, which is something that we do actually a really good job of most of the time throughout the year. We’ll watch the film. I’m sure there’s some learning moments out there that we’ll watch, but there’s going to be growth because of it.”
Oregon: Ducks survive aerial attack from Wazzu
Cameron Ward had been in a funk entering a Saturday’s contest at Autzen Stadium. After lighting the world on fire with more than 1,300 passing yards the first 3 games, Ward crashed back down to earth in a big way in the Cougars’ past 2 games.
But he found his touch a bit against the Ducks, who allowed 438 passing yards to Ward.
Stanford: So much for forward progress
One week after the Cardinal offense turned the corner in a massive 2nd-half comeback at Colorado, the Stanford offense slumped back once more.
The Cardinal managed just 24 team rushing yards on 27 attempts.
UCLA went up early, putting Stanford into pass mode, but that doesn’t mesh well with quarterback Ashton Daniels’ youth: He was sacked 4 times by a hungry Bruins defense.
UCLA: RB Carson Steele steals the show on his birthday
Talk about a flair for the dramatic. The Thor-looking dude who has a pet alligator once again showed he’s got the big game to match his big personality on Saturday night at Stanford.
Steele had 3 touchdowns to go along with his 76 rushing yards, providing the perfect complement to Ethan Garbers, who took back over the starting quarterback role from the interception-prone freshman Dante Moore.
USC: Trojans’ lack of a true No. 2 target is killing them
Forget the fact that USC’s leading receiver, Tahj Washington, ranked just 10th in the Pac-12 in receiving before Saturday’s game. He’s at least holding his own against the conference’s elite.
But the Trojans don’t have a sturdy second target, and that has been an issue.
Brenden Rice appeared primed to seize the role after tallying over 300 yards in a 3-game stretch earlier this year. But he had just 2 catches for 28 yards (albeit one touchdown) last week against Notre Dame and just 34 yards on 5 receptions against Utah.
Utah: Cole Becker becomes Utah legend with one kick
Becker was one of the few bright spots for Colorado last season, converting 11-of-13 field goal attempts (84.6 percent).
Now he’s etched his name in their rivals’ lore. Becker’s 38-yard field goal as time expired gave the Utes a 34-32 win, their 4th straight over USC.
Utah’s game-winning drive started at its own 25 with just 1:46 left.
Washington: Huskies turn to defense as offense lays an egg
Of all the shocking outcomes in a weird Week 8 across the country, Washington’s offensive blackout was certainly the most confounding.
This is a team that averaged 44.3 points per game in its 6-0 start, one led by the (until Saturday, anyway) Heisman favorite, one that put up 415 yards against Oregon just a week ago.
It’s clear the Huskies had a hangover from that emotional win. Michael Penix Jr. had a season-low 275 passing yards and his first 3-turnover game since Sept. 28, 2021.
If not for an incredible 89-yard interception return for touchdown by Mishael Powell with 8:11 left, the Huskies might be singing a very different tune right now.
Washington State: Victor shows his worth to offense
The Pac-12 MVP might swell up the road in Seattle, but Cougars wideout Lincoln Victor should be a dark horse for the award. Washington State looks like an entirely different team with him back healthy for the first time in a month.
Victor had 16 catches for 161 yards, his 2nd time over 160 yards this year. With Victor sidelined, Cameron Ward was a totally different quarterback. Ward threw for 468 yards on Saturday.
“He’s just a tough player,” Ward said after the game. “He was someone that we missed for a couple games, but he brings a different type of energy to this offense. It’s good to have him back healthy.”