If you're one of those fans who cheers for an entire conference during the non-conference schedule, this was a pretty rough weekend to be a Pac-12 fan. The conference went 5-4 in out of conference play, while Stanford beat up on Arizona in the only Pac-12 game of the week.
The Good
- Oregon and California dominated their inferior opponents, outscoring Presbyterian and Missouri State 119-19.
- Colorado looked competitive and finally won a game, defeating Colorado State 28-14 in Denver.
- Matt Barkley threw for five touchdowns as the USC Trojans romped the ACC-bound Syracuse Orange, 38-17.
- Utah finally came to life, scoring 40 points in the second half to decimate BYU, 54-10.
- Andrew Luck continued his Heisman campaign, throwing for 325 yards against a tough Arizona Wildcats pass rush.
- Don't look now, but Washington is a legit football team. Keith Price has taken the reins from Jake Locker will little difficulty, nearly willing his team to a huge upset victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
- LaMichael James picked up 204 rushing yards against Missouri State. He's quite good, no?
The Bad
- Arizona State blew their best chance of the year to earn respect, falling 17-14 in a lackluster effort against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Seriously, what happened out there? The offense looked like it was in quicksand all afternoon.
- Washington State got roughed up by a very competitive San Diego State team, 42-24. Can't really blame them, as Ronnie Hillman is an incredible running back who happened to score 4 touchdowns on 191 rushing yards.
- UCLA couldn't get out of its own way, turning the ball over far too often against Case McCoy's Texas squad. A 49-20 loss in the Rose Bowl has to be an embarrassment for Rick Neuheisel, who is on a short leash at best.
The Ugly
- Boy, does Arizona suck. Their kicking game is reminiscent of a JV football team.
- In general, field goals were a huge problem for the Pac-12. Both ASU and UA missed key kicks and in the end fell on their own swords.
- BYU turned the ball over seven times against the Utes. The Illini sacked Brock Osweiler six times. What is happening?