South
1. USC (No. 21):
The Trojans turned it on in the second half to bust open a 14-14 tie against the Arizona State Sun Devils and cruise to a 38-17 victory. USC isn’t the No. 1 team in the country like some thought it would be, but it’s still a very good team. Recently, coach Lane Kiffin has come under fire because one of his student managers intentionally deflated balls in the Trojans’ loss to Oregon but, despite the “˜deflate-gate’ issues, USC still looks to be the top dog in the Pac-12 South. We’ll find out for sure on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
2. UCLA (No. 17):
I had UCLA ahead of USC last week, and if the Bruins’ win over Washington State had ended at halftime, I would have kept the Bruins at No. 1. UCLA escaped Pullman, Wash. with a sloppy win in freezing temperatures, not exactly the best way to inspire confidence heading into the biggest game of the season against USC on Saturday. UCLA struggled to run the ball ““ just 1.9 yards per carry ““ and was outscored 29-7 during the second half by a Washington State team that, before the game, was nearly ready to implode.
3. Arizona State:
Arizona State may have a new coach, but it’s the same old story in Tempe: the Sun Devils start strong but sputter down the stretch. Arizona State started the season 5-1 but has since lost four straight games and is mathematically eliminated from Pac-12 South title contention. Saturday at the Coliseum, the Sun Devils forced five turnovers but could only muster 250 yards of total offense against a less-than-stellar USC defense. Arizona State should get a win over Washington State at home on Saturday but bowl eligibility certainly isn’t a lock.
4. Arizona:
How many concussions did Arizona quarterback Matt Scott actually sustain in the win over USC and the loss to UCLA? 0? 1? 2? 10? It definitely looks like Arizona’s coaching staff attempted to cover up an apparent concussion against USC and, after UCLA’s defense knocked him out again in the second half of last week’s game, Arizona turned to junior B.J. Denker on Saturday. If Arizona had been playing anyone other than Colorado, the team might have been in trouble. Sophomore running back Ka’Deem Carey ran wild on the Buffs for 366 yards (a new Pac-12 record) and five touchdowns (tied a Pac-12 record).
5. Utah:
Utah followed through on its two-steps-forward-one-step-back season by suffering a 34-15 loss to Washington in Seattle on Saturday after blowing out Cal and Washington State at home. The Utes struggled to defend Husky mobile junior quarterback Keith Price, who threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Utah’s only home loss came at the hands of USC, but the team is winless on the road. They’ll have to win out ““ which means beating Arizona at home and Colorado on the road ““ to be bowl eligible at 6-6.
6. Colorado:
I’ve ran out of witty ways to disparage Colorado’s football program, undoubtedly the doormat of the conference and the punch line of many jokes, so this week I decided to use numbers. Not only are the Buffs 1-9 and likely to finish the season 1-11 after going 3-10 last season, but they’ve been outscored 472-176 this season. Their latest embarrassment came by way of a 56-31 loss to the Arizona Wildcats. Figuring it had nothing to lose at this point, Colorado tried sophomore Nick Hirschman at quarterback, whose only missed pass was an interception.
North
1. Oregon (No. 1):
Somewhere in the middle of New Mexico, a thank-you note from Oregon coach Chip Kelly to Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel is making its way through snail mail. “Johnny Football” (a nickname the university and Manziel family are working to trademark) toppled the then-No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, paving the way for Oregon to jump to the top of the AP rankings after the Ducks dismantled the Cal Golden Bears in Berkeley, 59-17. The BCS rankings now have Kansas State at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2.
2. Stanford (No. 14):
Stanford coach David Shaw gambled by ditching senior quarterback Josh Nunes in favor of sophomore Kevin Hogan in a pivotal Pac-12 North battle against Oregon State on Saturday. Hogan showed his inexperience by throwing two interceptions but willed the Cardinal to a 27-23 victory in Palo Alto, Calif., also throwing for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Stanford has quietly stayed in the North division title hunt and can take a commanding lead on Saturday by beating Oregon in Eugene. Good luck with that.
3. Oregon State (No. 15):
Oregon State’s hopes of setting up an end-of-season clash for the North’s crown in the annual Civil War rivalry game with Oregon went out the window on Saturday when it lost to Stanford. The Beavers forced four Cardinal turnovers but coughed the ball up when it mattered most, leading to a 13-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Kevin Hogan to senior tight end Zach Ertz with more than five minutes left in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Now, Oregon State is out of the BCS and Pac-12 title picture.
4. Washington:
After losing three consecutive games in October, Washington has won three straight ones and should finish the season on a five-game win streak as its final two games of the season come against the last-place teams in either division, Colorado and Washington State. Both games are on the road, likely in cold-weather conditions, but the Huskies are good enough to run the table. Speaking of running, Washington has found a suitable replacement for Chis Polk (now with the Philadelphia Eagles). Sophomore Bishop Sankey is averaging 148 rushing yards in the Huskies’ last three games.
5. California:
According to coacheshotseat.com, only Boston College’s Frank Spaziani’s seat is hotter than California’s Jeff Tedford. Tedford’s latest blunder was a 59-17 home loss to Oregon. Not that everyone didn’t see it coming, but Tedford still remains 3-8 with his only wins over Football Bowl Subdivision opponents coming against Washington State and UCLA. If Mora’s Bruins had won that early-October game in Berkeley, their postseason prospects would look a lot brighter. Many, including myself, are still scratching their heads over how UCLA screwed that one up.
6. Washington State:
Hours before Washington State’s 44-38 loss to UCLA, the Cougars’ all-time leader in receiving yards, Marquess Wilson, took to the internet to release a statement announcing his resignation from the program. Wilson claimed first-year coach Mike Leach and his staff had “preferred to belittle, intimidate and humiliate” members of the team. The university is now investigating Leach’s program and has asked the Pac-12 Conference to do the same. Leach’s tactics have never been conventional but having your own university call your program into question in your first year does not bode well for the future.