Pac-12 Recap: Stanford Finds its Mojo as Division Races Tighten Up

It took five weeks, some schedule shuffling and a lot of luck, but the Pac-12 finally did it: all 12 teams were in action this weekend for the first time in 2020. All other issues facing the conference aside, that is undoubtedly a massive win.

As for what transpired in these six games, the Pac-12 once again turned in an entertaining slate. Four of the six games came down to the final possession, and two of the league’s three undefeated teams remained unscathed (pour one out for Washington). Let’s unpack all the transpired in Week 5.

Team of the week: Don’t look now, but David Shaw has Stanford looking like Stanford again. The Cardinal dominated the line of scrimmage in their 31-26 win over No. 22 Washington and were a scorching 10-for-13 on third downs, their offense resembling the efficient buzzsaw reminiscent of the Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan days. That Stanford was able to knock off the unbeaten Huskies after undergoing a hectic week of relocation is a testament to the team’s focus. Every college football team is operating under adverse circumstances this season. Stanford’s ability to turn in its best performance while jumping through a few more logistical hoops is among the most impressive feats of any Pac-12 team so far.

Game of the week: It’s been tough sledding for Cal in what was supposed to be a breakthrough season in Justin Wilcox’s fourth year. The Bears’ first two games of the season were canceled, followed by a blowout loss to UCLA in their season opener and last-minute defeats to Oregon State and rival Stanford. The breakthrough finally came on Saturday, with Cal’s 21-17 victory over No. 21 Oregon. The Bears won by playing keep away, maintaining possession for over 36 minutes. After going three-and-out on their first drive, they ripped off back-to-back touchdown drives of 13 and 19 plays, the latter of which spanned nearly 10 minutes of game time. That proved to be enough for the Cal defense, which shut Oregon out in the second half and force two turnovers. The larger takeaway here may be Oregon’s disappointing season, but Cal deserves some shine for stopping its skid and cracking the win column, leaving the Arizona schools as the only winless squads.

Highlight of the week: Washington nearly pulled off a monster second-half comeback for the second straight week. The Huskies trailed Utah, 21-0, at the break on Nov. 28 before scoring 24 unanswered points to win. They were behind 24-3 on Saturday against Stanford when the offense finally woke up, thanks in large part to this incredible snag by wideout Ty Jones.

Ty Jones looking like @obj 😱

What a catch by the @UW_Football WR 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8IunIgNVya
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 5, 2020

Washington eventually cut the Stanford lead to 31-26 with 7:54 remaining, but Stanford iced the game with a 14-play, soul-snatching drive that featured three third-down conversions (and one on fourth down) to run out the clock.

#Pac12AfterDark moment of the week: It’s not often you see defenders trying to pull an offensive player into the end zone, but that’s exactly what the Arizona State defense did on Saturday night. Trailing, 18-17, with just over a minute to play, UCLA faced first and goal from the Arizona State 2-yard line. Running back Demetric Felton had a free lane to the goal line as ASU attempted to let him score, but started to tip-toe just short in order to run more clock off. The Sun Devils wouldn’t let him go down, though and pulled him across for the eventual game-winning touchdown.

🙌🐻 @UCLAFootball takes a 7-point lead with just over a minute left to play! pic.twitter.com/L7FjYdhTtf
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 6, 2020

ASU turned the ball over on downs on its ensuing drive, sealing UCLA’s second straight victory and giving the Bruins a winning record for the first time under Chip Kelly.

Offensive player of the week: It wasn’t the prettiest performance from the Colorado offense, but the Buffaloes stayed perfect in their 24-13 win over Arizona. The standout was sophomore running back Jarek Broussard, who rushed 25 times for 301 yards—fourth-most in school history. Broussard criminally was kept out of the end zone, making this the second-highest rushing total without a touchdown since 2000. Colorado is 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2002, when it was a member of the Big 12.

Defensive player of the week: Cal senior linebacker Kuony Deng was the backbone for a Bears defense that stood tall down the stretch in an upset win over the Ducks. Deng led the team with eight tackles and forced two fumbles, including one on Oregon’s potential game-winning drive in the final minute. Other standouts include Colorado linebacker Nate Landman—who had 16 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss—and Oregon State’s Avery Roberts, who made an absurd 21 tackles in the Beavers’ 30-24 loss to Utah.

Special teams player of the week: Utah has built a reputation for making standout plays on special teams, but it wasn’t until this week that the Utes finally broke through for an impact play. Wide receiver Britain Covey’s 64-yard punt return ended up being the difference in a 30-24 win over Oregon State, as the Utah defense held off a late Beavers comeback attempt.

It's beautiful 😭#VideoGameCovey #goutes pic.twitter.com/CaUYvZrhgk
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) December 6, 2020

Big picture: With just one week left in the regular-season slate, the Pac-12 has two unbeaten teams left. Many thought USC—who knocked off Washington State, 38-13, on Sunday night—would be unscathed at this point in the season, but few could have predicted Colorado to be right alongside the Trojans. Issues with COVID-19 positive tests and contact tracing sadly robbed us of seeing these teams face off, which puts the conference in a bit of a predicament with regards to the Pac-12 title game.

If both teams win next week, USC would win the South by virtue of playing more games against divisional opponents (Colorado also had its game against Arizona State canceled). There’s a scenario in which the Pac-12 can ignore divisional alignments and simply pair the teams with the best records in the championship game. That would happen if the average number of conference games throughout the Pac-12 falls to four (rounded up or down at 4.5). There’s been some social media push for the league to simply do away with the divisional format—led by FOX Sports lead college football analyst (and Colorado alum) Joel Klatt—though it’s unclear if that's something the conference is actually considering.

Lookahead: We’re in for rivalry week part two as the Pac-12 tries to get all of its games in for the second straight week, with the division races hanging in the balance. The winner of the Washington-Oregon matchup will win the North, and if the game is canceled for any reason, the Huskies would be division champs. USC would clinch the South by beating UCLA, or if Colorado loses to Utah. If the conference gets three games canceled, however, and neither involve USC or Colorado (and each team stays undefeated), then those teams would meet in the conference championship game, thanks to the conference’s policy on postseason formats (hat tip to Jon Wilner of The Mercury News for digging out that nugget). Like it has been every other week, Pac-12 fans should buckle up for a roller coaster ride leading all the way up to kickoff time.