Welcome back to Gold Nuggets, Saturday Out West columnist Jon Gold’s weekly trip around the Pac-12.

Read below for news, notes, and quotes heading into Week 5 of the 2022 campaign.

Arizona: Wildcats tackling a new issue

After allowing true freshman Jaydn Ott to reel off multiple 70-yard touchdown runs in a 274-yard performance in Cal’s 49-31 win on Saturday, the Arizona defense is going back to the drawing board in more ways than one.

Scheme, discipline, pad level — all of it.

But nothing matters more to Arizona than tackling, or the lack thereof. The Wildcats have struggled with tackling for years, but much of that was credited to Kevin Sumlin’s inability to bring in defensive playmakers through the recruiting ranks. That issue was brought to the surface by Ott and the Bears, who constantly gained extra yards on plays.

Jedd Fisch has brought in some better players over the past 20 months, but Arizona has a long way to go, as was made clear against the Bears.

“It’s going to come down to tackling,” Fisch told reporters after the game. “It’s going to come down to shedding tackling. It’s going to come down to fundamentals. And I think that’s one of our biggest focus that we’ve had is, how good can we be in fundamentals? And can we improve our fundamentals by focusing on becoming a better run defense? We recognize the importance of that as we move forward against our future opponents.”

Arizona State: Sun Devils need to get Emory Jones back on track

With one of the season’s brutal early season schedules — not many Power 5 teams have faced 2 teams currently ranked in the top-12, as Arizona State has with current No. 9 Oklahoma State in Week 2 and current No. 12 Utah last week — quarterback Emory Jones has faced increasing struggles and decreasing passer ratings.

Jones got off to a terrific start against Northern Arizona in Week 1, when he completed 13-of-18 passes for 152 yards but added 11 rushes for 48 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He’s been much less of a ground threat the past 3 weeks, though, while he’s been chased all over the field.

In the Week 2 34-17 loss at Oklahoma State, Jones was sacked 3 times and finished with -17 rushing yards. Two weeks later against Utah — after allowing no sacks but generating little offensive momentum in a 30-21 loss to Eastern Michigan — the Sun Devils’ quarterback was sacked 5 times, rushing for -26 yards.

“We need attention to detail on a lot of things,” Arizona State interim head coach Shaun Aguano told reporters after the game, according to Arizona Sports’ Jake Anderson. “We had a couple moments that I thought, from a schematic standpoint, our guys didn’t understand from a protection standpoint where things were coming from that we need to make sure we change up. But there’s a lot of stuff from an in-game perspective that we are paying attention to detail. I’m giving our guys more meeting time for teaching and correction. … So I’m holding coaches accountable to make sure that they’re concise with their meetings and making sure that there’s corrections made so kids understand what’s going on and not letting those things go on and on.”

It doesn’t get much easier for the Sun Devils on Saturday, when they travel to Los Angeles to face the No. 6 USC Trojans.

Cal: Jaydn Ott garners national praise after huge game

It was not a huge surprise on Monday when Cal freshman running back Jaydn Ott was named Pac-12 freshman of the week and offensive player of the week after his 274-yard, 3-touchdown performance in a 49-31 win over Arizona.

Now he’s starting to get the national recognition he deserves.

Ott was named 247Sports True Freshman of the Week, Rose Bowl Game Pac-12 Player of the Week and an FWAA Freshman Focus Selection for his tremendous performance. His 274 rushing yards are a season-high for any FBS running back.

We’re expecting Ott to receive many more awards in his bright future.

Colorado: Defense bending and breaking

Much of the criticism and focus of Colorado’s brutal start has been centered on an offense that has cycled through 3 quarterbacks and generated little production.

And given the Buffaloes are averaging less than 12 points per game, that criticism is justified.

But Colorado’s porous defense has somehow escaped the magnifying glass, even though it has surrendered more than 43 points and 476 yards per game.

As a result of the combination of awful offense and awfuler defense — or vice versa — Colorado is off to one of the worst starts in the past 60-plus years.

“We have to understand alignment and assignment; the integrity of your responsibility in gaps and coverage, how that all relates,” head coach Karl Dorrell told reporters, according to BuffZone.com. “We have to tune those things to being a little bit better as a coaching staff in getting that information to our players and they’re retaining it and being able to perform it. But we feel there’s still a lot of growth and things that we can do at a much higher level on the defensive side and we’re working hard to do that.”

Oregon: DJ Johnson’s first-half suspension upheld

The Ducks don’t have the toughest matchup this week with visiting Stanford coming to Autzen Stadium, but they’ll be without one of their top defensive players, at least in the first half.

The team’s sack leader, edge rusher DJ Johnson, was called for a targeting penalty with 9:28 left in the 4th quarter of Oregon’s 44-41 win over Washington State on Saturday, penalized for leading with the crown of his helmet, according to The Oregonian’s James Crepea.

Johnson appealed the penalty with the NCAA national coordinator of officials, Steve Shaw, but Oregon coach Dan Lanning told reporters that the appeal was denied.

Crepea reports that Bradyn Swinson will likely start in Johnson’s place, and Swinson is no stranger to the field. He has played in 18 of 21 career games, including a major performance last year in a Week 3 win at Ohio State, when he had 5 tackles and sack in the fourth quarter, an effort for which he was named the Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week.

Oregon State: Beavers still looking for their featured back

Anyone who watched the Beavers’ 17-14 loss to USC saw what we thought was the emergence of a bellwether back in former Georgia Tech also-ran Jam Griffin.

Griffin, who never got much run in the Peach State, had played sporadically in Oregon State’s first 3 games, improving from no carries in Week 1 to 3 carries for 13 yards in a 35-32 win at Fresno State to 9 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown in a Week 3 68-28 throttling of Montana State.

Against the Trojans, Griffin had 12 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown, clearly looking like the Beavers’ best offensive threat in the game. Nearly every carry Griffin got, he turned into extra yardage.

But Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith insisted that he will continue their rotation, which includes presumed starter Deshaun Fenwick and Damien Martinez. Fenwick had just 29 yards on 11 carries against the Trojans, though he scored OSU’s other touchdown, while Martinez added 14 yards on 5 carries.

“Early in the game we do like to get a little rotation going so they cannot get worn out in the second half, if we get a guy with a hot hand,” Smith told reporters, according to The Oregonian’s Nick Daschel. “I don’t think it’s a hindrance. If a guy continues to separate the next 3, 4 games, then we have the one back. But we feel good with all three guys.”

Stanford: Losing running back EJ Smith a blow to Cardinal

Cardinal running back EJ Smith was off to a terrific start this season with 118 rushing yards and 2 scores in a Week 1 win over Colgate and 87 yards in a 41-28 defeat to USC. That was a huge sigh of relief for the Cardinal, whose run game has struggled in recent years.

But Smith missed last Saturday’s loss to Washington with an undisclosed injury, which Stanford head coach David Shaw warned about prior to the game.

“EJ Smith will be down this week,” Shaw told reporters at the time. “Casey Filkins will start. We’ll play multiple backs as we have in the past. I’m excited about what Casey put on film last week. I think there’s also some plays he would like to have back. I’m looking forward to him having a heck of a game.”

On Tuesday, though, Shaw’s tenor changed. Smith, he announced, will miss the entire season. Filkins will take over as lead ball-carrier going forward.

“I don’t think there’s an option for him to continue (this season). He’s gotta get his body taken care of. Trust me, he wishes it was not this way,” Shaw said. “He told me last week, ‘Coach, I can’t wait to play against Oregon. I’m gonna be there for you. I need to get back in there.’ But the doctors are right and it’s wise for him — both now and for his future — to get this taken care of and come back in ’23 bigger, faster, stronger.”

UCLA: No. 15 Huskies provide Bruins’ first real opponent — and first chance for ticket sales

UCLA fans have stayed away from the Rose Bowl this year en masse, with excuses ranging from early kickoffs to brutal heat to Los Angeles offering, oh, a million other things to do.

But the Bruins did themselves little favors in scheduling arguably the worst nonconference schedule in football, with 3 straight home games against Bowling Green, Alabama State and South Alabama. Not exactly the SEC West.

Friday night’s home game against No. 15 Washington offers the Bruins their first chance at a good opponent, and fans the first time to see an actually decent football team. Will that be enough to get people to pack the stands?

Not quite.

Well, that’s something.

And it’s something that UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is concerned about.

“But attendance, I think when you look at it, especially here on the West Coast, is probably relative to your opponent and really knowledge of the opponent,” Kelly told reporters earlier this year, according to Bruin Report Online. “We opened up a year ago against Hawaii and played in front of 30 (thousand), I think, and then the next week we played with 68,000 when we played LSU. People know the name of LSU. I think what’s kind of lost on me is that you don’t understand South Alabama, just ’cause it’s a regional school from the Sun Belt, but that’s as good of a football team as we’ve played in the past 2 years. But they don’t have great name recognition and I get that. Stanford opened up against Colgate, they had 26,000 against Colgate. Cal played Cal Davis and had 30,000.

“We had 29,000 the other day. And I think sometimes, I think it’s the name recognition of your opponent — not the level of play of your opponent, because South Alabama’s a really, really good football team, it’s just unfortunate. And I’ve been on the other side of that. When I was at New Hampshire, we played FBS programs, we went to Northwestern and played Northwestern at Northwestern and we’re all excited about playing a Big Ten team and there were 20,000 people in the stands. But it’s all perspective.”

USC: Trojans’ top-rated recruit finally sees the field

When a player does not make his season debut until Week 4, it’s like signing a player off the waiver wire. This late in the year, it’s found money.

And USC hit the jackpot with the return of freshman defensive back Domani Jackson, the program’s top recruit from the 2022 high school recruiting cycle.

In a year in which the Trojans hit the transfer portal hard, Jackson — 247Sports’ No. 2-ranked cornerback a year ago — is arguably the team’s top developmental prospect. For him to get on the field and contribute was a huge key for USC, which could use some defensive reinforcements.

Utah: Tavion Thomas working way out of doghouse

After a fantastic season last year, running back Tavion Thomas has not gotten off the ground this year for the Utes.

Just how far has he fallen out of favor?

He was benched in the first half of Utah’s eventual 34-13 win over Arizona State, returning in the second half to rush for 60 yards on 11 carries.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham did not detail the nature of Thomas’ brief suspension, but did say it was something “internal.” Thomas has been going through off-field strife, including the recent death of his aunt, as well as a pair of fumbles so far this year, one each in the first 2 games.

The Utah coaching staff is hoping that by tightening the reins, Thomas will emerge refocused.

“I would like to see Tavion be Tavion,” running backs coach Quinton Ganther told reporters, according to The Salt Lake Tribune’s Alex Vejar. “That’s what I would like to see.”

Washington: Huskies lock in another DeBoer

This isn’t exactly football related — but in some ways, it may be the most significant tidbit to emerge this week out of Huskyland.

After all, what better way to secure the long-time commitment of a top-flight football coach than by bringing in his daughter as a recruit?

Top softball recruit Alexis DeBoer, daughter of first-year Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, committed to the Washington softball program on Sunday, according to the Seattle Times’ Mike Vorel.

With the Huskies off to a terrific start on the football field — after starting the season unranked, Washington is up to No. 15 after a 4-0 start — all eyes have been on Seattle and their new head coach. Unfortunately for the Huskies, that includes prying eyes, the ones that come from drooling athletic directors across the country. After all, DeBoer only spent 2 seasons at his previous stop, Fresno State, where he served as head coach after one year as offensive coordinator at Indiana.

That frequent moving might have scared Washington. Securing a commitment from his daughter does exactly that — help secure DeBoer to his new home.

“This is a proud moment to be a dad,” the elder DeBoer told reporters on Monday. “I’m super excited that Alexis is getting this opportunity. [It’s a] really cool deal. A year ago today, she was at a softball camp here with coach [Heather] Tarr. This was one of those schools, going back even when we lived on the other side of the country, that she identified — because of the success, because of what coach Tarr does and her staff. It’s an awesome group of young women here in this program.

“I love watching the game of softball. It’s a huge part [of my life], other than probably coaching and my family. Whether it be just throwing BP or playing catch, whatever it might be, that’s the other thing we do. Softball is a huge part of our life. It’s crazy how full-circle we’ve gone, and here we are. So I’m super proud.”

Washington State: Reinforcements set to return for defense

For much of Washington State’s eventual 44-41 loss to Oregon on Saturday, the Cougars kept the Ducks in check.

But after allowing 2 offensive touchdowns in the game’s final 4 minutes — as well as a quick pick-6 that helped seal the game for Oregon — it was clear that Wazzu was just a few plays away from closing out the Ducks.

Would that have happened if the Cougars were at full strength? Who knows.

But they expect to be back to normal on Saturday with the expected return of safety Jordan Lee and defensive tackle Christian Mejia. Lee was absent with an undisclosed injury for the second straight game, while Mejia missed the Ducks game because of the birth of his new child.

“Jordan was a game-time decision, he was out there in warmups,” Dickert said. “And we tried to press it to see where we could get to. And we just couldn’t get there yet. He’s on his progression and we’re hopeful he can return this week.”

Their returns would be a boon for a Cougars team that needs the depth.

“We did a lot better job in our quick game on Saturday and I think our RPO game has been solid, really throughout the first four games. We’ve been good in vertical passing off of tempo, but I think when we’re not in that tempo, we have to be able to buy time and take the ball down the field.”