Around the Pac-12: Week 11
As we enter the final weeks of the Pac-12’s regular season, Arizona finally snapped a 20 game losing streak, Colorado pulled off a massive upset, Utah walked away with another impressive win and Oregon narrowly avoided a wild Washington.
After so much chaos, it’s time to take another look at the happenings in the Pac-12.
Utah Takes Down Stanford, Ranked No. 24
After taking down UCLA a week prior, No. 24 Utah continued its run with a dominant win over Stanford. Utah put up 52 points, with 38 coming in the first half.
The Utes had an offensive explosion with over 400 yards on the ground and three rushers with over 100 yards a piece. Tavion Thomas had a phenomenal game with 184 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns, while Micah Bernard and T.J. Pledger combined for 258 yards, with each also reaching the end zone.
The Utes defense showed up and was led by Devin Lloyd who had nine tackles, five tackles-for-loss, a sack and an interception that Lloyd returned for a score.
The rest of the defense combined for 10 tackles-for-loss, four sacks and a forced fumble in a dominant showing.
Stanford, who seemed to have all the momentum in the world has fallen off astronomically, currently sitting at last in the North Division. As for the Utes, if they take care of business against Arizona, they will have a huge game with No. 3 Oregon the following week in a battle of the Pac-12’s current division leaders.
Arizona Snaps 20-Game Losing Streak
Speaking of Arizona, for the first time in 20 games, the Wildcats were victorious. The Wildcats took down Cal this past Saturday, scoring a late touchdown to narrowly pull out a win.
It wasn’t pretty for the Wildcats or the Golden Bears as Cal only had 122 yards, and the Wildcats turned the ball over three times. Both teams were undisciplined and sloppy with 14 penalties combined for 148 yards.
Ultimately, the Wildcats defense led by Kyon Barrs who had five tackles, three tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks, kept Cal in check all game, allowing Arizona to capitalize at the end.
Both teams are out of the postseason picture, but Arizona will look to keep the momentum going as it tries to take down Utah. As for Cal, the team heads back to the drawing board after another disappointing loss. The Golden Bears will look to grab a win against either Stanford or UCLA to close out an abysmal season.
Colorado Upsets Oregon State
Oregon State has been in the thick of things all season, as the Beavers looked to be a contender. Now, the team is firmly out of the running for the division title.
Oregon State played sloppily with nine penalties for 88 yards. Despite Chance Nolan going 24-of-37 for 302 yards and a score, the Beavers couldn’t move the ball on the ground which proved to be the difference maker.
Colorado held Oregon State to eight yards rushing and forced the Beavers offense to be one dimensional. Quarterback Brendon Lewis had 170 yards, threw for three touchdowns and rushed for one, and running back Jarek Broussard had 151 yards on the ground.
It was a back and forth game, but in the end, the Rams pulled off the upset, advancing to 3-6. As for the Beavers, they now sit at 5-4, just above .500, losing three of their last four and firmly out of the Pac-12 title picture.
Pac-12 Game of the Week: No. 3 Oregon vs. Washington State
This week, the No. 3 ranked Ducks host the hungry Cougars.
Washington State is not to be overlooked, as they’ve played teams close, such as BYU and took down Arizona State and Stanford in two of their last three games.
The Ducks will look to stay firmly in the playoff picture and try to avoid falling victim to a potential playoff derailing upset.
Dylan Price is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email dvp5625@psu.edu.
