A half-dozen more Pac-12 squads opened their gates for fans on Saturday, including Colorado, which saw a packed house at Folsom Field there to witness Deion Sanders’ debut, albeit in exhibition format.

Five other schools showcased their month-plus improvement, with verdicts ranging from scary (Washington) to scary (Stanford), and for very different reasons.

Here’s a look at some key takeaways from Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, Washington and Washington State’s spring games…

Oregon State: Defense rules the day

A former star quarterback for the Beavers himself, Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith has had to train himself to be impartial when it comes to his spring game assessments.

Coming off a rather uninspiring offensive performance on Saturday in front of roughly 5,000 at Reser Stadium, Smith can’t possibly have favored his passing game, even if he wanted to.

Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei and incumbent starter Ben Gulbranson played 3 series each, combining to pass for 66 yards, while oft-impressive 4-star freshman Aiden Chiles was the top performer — and he only went 13-for-23 for 153 yards.

Not exactly a banner day for the Beavers, though, to be fair, Oregon State’s defense is shaping up to be mighty good.

“I’ve grown in this head coaching thing to cheer on both sides,” Smith said after the game. “Look, we’ve built a defense now that is very competitive and very good and they’re going to be tough to move the ball consistently on.”

Stanford: Troy Taylor still introducing innovative offense

Sacramento State’s offense under Troy Taylor was a blur, and he’s hoping to integrate a drastically faster pace into the Stanford offense.

Predictably, with an offense learning a new system, it’s coming along slowly, but Saturday’s spring showcase highlighted the team’s commitment to up-tempo offense.

“It’s really about finding space, and manipulating space and recognizing man coverage and getting to the open area,” he said. “It takes a little bit. The repetitions have to come so that they become comfortable.”

In somewhat of a weird twist, Saturday’s scrimmage was not Stanford’s last practice of spring ball, so there are more reps to go around, especially for would-be starting QB Ari Patu. Taylor has made it clear what he’s looking for.

“Consistency — you draw up plays, you work them really hard and you want to be able to have a quarterback who can go through his progression and throw it accurately,” Taylor said. “It starts with accuracy, the most important criteria for a QB and it goes to decision-making.”

Utah: Will Utes stand pat with Brandon Rose as QB2?

It wasn’t a performance that would make Cam Rising feel a bit threatened, but it was good enough that maybe he decides to take an extra few days to give his ailing leg a rest.

For now, Utah presumptive No. 2 quarterback Brandon Rose seems to have locked up the backup spot, appearing poised while completing 19-of-24 passes for 233 yards and a score. Kyle Whittingham kept Rose in the driver’s seat for longer than most “starting” quarterbacks play in a spring scrimmage, but this was by design. Getting Rose more battle-tested is crucial if he opens the season as starter should Rising need some more seasoning.

It’s pretty clear that Rose ran away with the gig — at least for now, as Whittingham could go portal hunting — as fellow reserves Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson went a combined 6-for-10 for 73 yards.

“They’ve done a great job just picking up things and making sure we’re hitting the ground running as a team,” Rising said. “It was a little shaky at first, but they did a great job sticking with it. … They definitely progressed and got better this whole entire spring ball. I’m just excited for the whole room.”

Washington: Wide receiver room bursting at the seams

Forget Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan — Washington’s second-tier group of wideouts might just be better than some Pac-12 teams’ starting unit.

After a thrilling passing performance out of what is quickly becoming one of the top aerial assaults in the country, Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer lauded the play of young targets Germie Bernard, Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson, who raised eyebrows throughout camp.

“Receiver is a little bit easier than most positions because we can personnel group our guys and get the reps in,” DeBoer said. “Coach Grubb and the offensive staff always do a good job (with) their roles. I love seeing those guys make plays, because they continue to push our top guys. The growth, it’s a tip of a hat to them. Jeremy and Denzel both, and I thought Giles Jackson had a great spring, too. I’m excited for those guys who aren’t always at the top of the discussion.”

Washington State: Cougars strike blows against own defense

The fireworks in the Apple State weren’t relegated to Seattle.

They were seen in Pullman, as well.

Cougars quarterback Cam Ward is looking to build off a so-so debut season that included 3,231 passing yards and 23 touchdowns with 9 interceptions, but no pass completions of more than 40 yards in the final 7 games of the season. Stretching the field was a priority of coach Jake Dickert heading into spring ball. He liked what he saw on Saturday … mostly.

“It’s not just about this game,” he said. “It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work. The challenge was to hit the accelerator as we finished off spring. I think we did that. I think you saw the explosiveness we can have on offense. It’s amazing, though, when you’re playing each other, when you look at it from the defensive side, we have to stop some explosive plays.”