Around the Pac 12: Week 6
After signs from early in the season that the Pac 12 may not be represented in the College Football Playoff, things are beginning to turn in the conferences’ favor.
Several teams have remained on hot streaks to garner enough national attention and regain recognition from the rest of the nation.
The USC Trojans remain at the top of that list being the only team in the conference to remain ranked inside the top ten.
Currently at No. 6 in the country, the Trojans are coming off a home win against Washington State where they won by multiple possessions.
Quarterback Caleb Williams didn’t have to do much as he threw for less than 200 yards with both of his touchdown passes going to Mario Williams.
The Trojans remain undefeated on the season and have a big matchup coming up this weekend traveling to face No. 20 Utah.
After a tough start to their own season with a loss to Florida, the Utes went on a four game losing streak before a 10-point loss against UCLA.
That game featured an offensive display from the Bruins in the 42-32 win as Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw four touchdowns while Zach Charbonnet ran for 198 yards and a touchdown.
UCLA has risen into one of the more surprising teams in the nation as they remain undefeated with wins over ranked Utah and Washington to rise to a No. 11 ranking.
While they are on a bye this week, the Bruins will face the team right below them in the polls in the Oregon Ducks.
Few teams had a worse start than Oregon did to this season after failing to find any sort of gear on opening night against Georgia.
Since then, the Ducks have rallied off five straight victories headed into their bye week including last week against Arizona on the road.
It was the rushing attack which led the way as five different players found the endzone with quarterback Bo Nix leading the team with three rushing scores.
As of now, that’s the top of the conference as Washington was one in that conversation but have since fallen off after consecutive road losses have caused them to drop out of the rankings.
In terms of top matchups for this week, aside from the previously mentioned USC-Utah game there is a battle between two 4-2 teams as Washington State travels to face Oregon State.
While Washington State fell to USC last week, the Beavers rallied in last week's final quarter to pull off a win against Stanford.
Logan Bourandas is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
