The 2022 regular season has come to an end and the final week of PAC-12 football certainly gave us everything we could handle and more.
Arizona — 38 Arizona State — 35
The Territorial Cup took place on Black Friday in Tucson and as we expected, was filled with fireworks throughout the entirety of the game. Some absolutely staggering stats tell the tale of this game. Arizona State had 39 first downs compared to Arizona’s 18. Arizona State had 537 yards of offense led by quarterback Trenton Bourguet going 37/49 for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Arizona had 480 yards of offense, but the big surprise was the fact that it was their rushing game that led the way for them with 28 rush attempts for 280 yards and five rushing touchdowns. The Sun Devils had five turnovers to the Wildcats one. An absolutely crazy game as Arizona ends their 5-game losing streak to Arizona State. I had predicted Arizona to beat Arizona State.
#18 UCLA — 35 Cal — 28
One of the bigger surprises of the day was this matchup between UCLA and Cal. UCLA came into this game after dropping their last two games to Arizona and USC after starting the year 8-1 and were ranked in the top 10 at one point. Cal showed that they were ready to give everything they had and actually had a 21-10 lead late in the 2nd quarter. However, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson led the Bruins to scoring three times in the 2nd half as UCLA rushed the ball a whopping 64 times for 352 yards. The UCLA defense also held Cal to just 67 rushing yards and forced two turnovers. I had predicted UCLA to beat Cal.
#21 Oregon State — 38 #9 Oregon — 34
Without a doubt, the most entertaining and exciting game of the day was the 126th edition of the “Civil War” between Oregon and Oregon State. The first half was relatively normal with the Ducks leading 14-10 at halftime. The second half is where things got weird. Oregon caught fire and got out to a 31-10 lead with 4:46 left in the third quarter while Oregon State was crumbling on both sides of the ball. However, a late third quarter touchdown gave the Beavers some life heading into the fourth quarter. Oregon’s miscues on special teams and going 0-5 on fourth down attempts allowed Oregon State to get back in this game where they scored 21 straight points in the fourth quarter. An unbelievable turn of events in one of the most entertaining games of the 2022 season. I had predicted Oregon State to beat Oregon.
#14 Utah — 63 Colorado — 21
An unfair fight from the beginning in what was a blowout on the field was the second biggest takeaway from this game. It was reported early on Saturday morning that Deion Sanders was offered the head coaching position at Colorado and there is some legitimate interest there. On the field, Utah took care of business as we knew they would. The Utes got out to a 42-0 lead at halftime and their offense totaled 662 yards. With a little help from a few other PAC-12 teams Utah also secured their spot in the PAC-12 championship game that will be play on December 2nd. On the other side of this, it would be an absolute home run hire if the Buffs can make “PrimeTime” their new head coach. I had predicted Utah to beat Colorado.
#6 USC — 38 #15 Notre Dame — 27
Saturday night in the coliseum we saw what most people believe is the Heisman front-runner put on another spectacular performance. USC quarterback Caleb Williams went 18/22 for 232 yards and one touchdown to go along with 35 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Notre Dame put up a respectable fight in this game, but one of the biggest surprises in this game was that they were only able to accumulate 90 rushing yards against USC’s defense. The Trojans also secured a spot in the PAC-12 championship game where they will take on Utah, the only team to beat USC this season. I had predicted USC to beat Notre Dame.
#13 Washington — 51 Washington State — 33
An absolute shootout took place in Pullman on Saturday night as the Apple Cup took place. Over 1,100 yards of offense was put up between the Huskies and the Cougars in what was a 35-33 game at the end of the third quarter in favor of Washington. However, it was the Huskies that were able to seal the win in the fourth quarter scoring 16 points and playing excellent defense when they needed it the most. The nation’s leader in passing yards once again had a remarkable performance. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went 25/43 for 485 yards and three touchdowns to go with two rushing touchdowns as well. This is someone who deserves more Heisman consideration after what he has done this season in his first season with Washington. I had predicted Washington to beat Washington State.
BYU — 35 Stanford — 26
The definition of a late night game was between BYU and Stanford, but the game itself wasn’t even the biggest takeaway from this matchup. Long time Stanford head coach David Shaw announced his immediate resignation during his postgame press conference. From the game, it was BYU who controlled the game with their rushing attack using 50 attempts to go for 358 yards while the Cougars also committed zero penalties as a team. It will be interesting to see what direction Stanford goes from here and if quarterback Tanner McKee decides to return for another season. I had predicted Stanford to beat BYU.
After 13 weeks of predictions, my own personal record sits at a total of 73-19 for 79% after going 7-0 this past weekend.
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