PAC-12 Recap — Week 9 – The Walk-On Redshirts

PAC-12 Recap — Week 9

We have now hit the month of November and with week 9 in the rear view mirror, we have a clearer picture of what the PAC-12 looks like with every team having played 8 games and there being no more bye weeks moving forward.

Oregon State and Washington were the two teams that were on a bye week this past weekend.

An update to review where my own personal predictions stand, I’m currently sitting at 53-14 for a 79% of picks that have been correct so far.

#14 Utah — 21 Washington State — 17

The rare Thursday night game for the PAC-12 was a funky matchup from the start. A flood of questions were swirling before the game asking if Utah quarterback Cam Rising was going to play or not was finally answered with backup Bryson Barnes earning the start for the Utes in Pullman. Utah got out to a 21-7 lead by the end of the third quarter and their defense was able to hold onto the lead despite the Cougars comeback. Even though Wazzu quarterback Cameron Ward had himself a solid game going 27/31 for 222 yards and one touchdown, it was the Utes defense was able to limit the Cougars to only 42 rushing yards on 19 carries for 2.2 yards per rush. I predicted that Utah would beat Washington State.

#8 Oregon — 42 Cal — 24

Once again Oregon showed off their very versatile offense in a dominant win over Cal on the road. In past weeks it was more about their run game or more of a 50/50 split, but this week it was all about Bo Nix and the passing game. Nix went 27/35 for 412 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also added 59 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to cap off an incredible performance and once again, make a legitimate case as a “dark horse” contender for the heisman trophy. Cal’s backup quarterback redshirt freshman Kai Millner came in late in the game and provided a good spark for the Golden Bears offense going 8/11 for 114 yards and throwing two touchdowns. Head coach Justin Wilcox might consider starting Millner moving forward to try and give Cal a better chance at reaching bowl eligibility in 2022. I predicted that Oregon would beat Cal.

#10 USC — 45 Arizona — 37

PAC-12 refs strike again! A game that was full of controversial calls isn’t new to any fan of a PAC-12 school. However, the final score might have caught some people off guard for those who didn’t watch the game. A back and forth shootout from start to finish which featured each team putting up over 500 yards of total offense (USC – 621 & Arizona – 543). Each team averaged over 6 yards per rush and while USC’s defense had the only turnover of the game, it was Caleb Williams and this explosive Trojans offense that was able to build a 16-point lead late in the fourth quarter that Arizona wasn’t able to come back from despite their best efforts. Outside of Utah and Oregon State, Arizona gave USC it’s toughest test of the season so far and showed that their defense still has some vulnerabilities. On the other side, USC should be commended for how they performed despite the number of injuries on both sides of the ball. I predicted that USC would beat Arizona.

Arizona State — 42 Colorado — 34

Another game that ended up being closer than most people originally thought featured the two teams currently without permanent head coaches. Arizona State and Colorado’s offenses combined to put up over 900 yards of offense. ASU went with a new starting quarterback in this game as redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet made his first start of the season going 32/43 for 435 yards and three touchdowns. Colorado made it’s best effort to keep the game close, but fell behind 42-20 early in the fourth quarter and even after a valiant attempt to make a comeback, it fell short. I predicted that Arizona State would beat Colorado.

#12 UCLA — 38 Stanford — 13

The lone PAC-12 after dark game probably wasn’t one you wanted to stay awake for if you don’t live on the West Coast. After an early Stanford field goal, UCLA scored 24 straight points and maintained a big lead throughout the rest of the game. The Bruins bounced back in a big way after a tough defeat against Oregon last week. UCLA put up 523 yards of offense with 324 of the yards coming from their rushing attack which averaged 7.2 yards per rush, while their defense only allowed 270 total yards from Stanford. UCLA also went 5/5 on fourth downs and were able to dictate pretty much whatever they wanted to do throughout this game. Stanford is another team that is going through some injuries on both sides of the ball, but is struggling to find any sort of consistency from week to week. I predicted that UCLA would beat Stanford.