Pac-12 Football Notes: Colorado, Dante Moore Crash Landings

Sound effects rule the Pac-12 notebook this week:

Splat

That’s the sound of Colorado coming back down to earth in a 42-6 loss to Oregon, what Deion Sanders called “a good old-fashioned butt-kicking,” which was even more lopsided than the score suggests.

It makes you wonder whether a team can survive with just outstanding skill-position players. Colorado’s offensive and defensive fronts have been ineffective in each game.

That makes you wonder whether quarterback Shedeur Sanders can last the season. He had been hit 55 times, more than any quarterback in the country, before Saturday’s ragdoll-treatment game when he was sacked seven times and generally roughed up.

Yikes

That’s the sound made by Colorado fans knowing the Buffs return home this week to face USC, which still leads the nation in scoring at 55 points a game but slipped three places in the rankings to No. 8 this week and will be a bit testy after its mediocre performance in a closer-than-expected 42-28 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night.

It’s a good thing “60 Minutes” ran its feature on Deion Sanders last week. It might not be as attractive now as it was then, when the TV ratings for the segment on Sanders were better than the ratings for the segment the same night on Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Colorado fell completely out of the top 25 in Sunday’s AP top-25 poll.

Hmmm

That’s the sound made by Pac-12 observers wondering where Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward ranks among the conference’s collection of Heisman-worthy quarterbacks after his outstanding performance in the 38-35 victory over Oregon State.

The Beavers presumably have a strong defense, but Ward went 19-for-20 for 293 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half, when the Cougars scored 28 points on their way to a 38-35 victory. Ward finished 28-for-34 for 404 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, and is now ninth in the nation in passer rating, putting him in the company of the Pac-12’s presumed Heisman Trophy contenders Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix and Shedeur Sanders.

Wow

That was the sound made by folks who saw the three amazing plays made by Washington State wide receiver Josh Kelly on Saturday, as the clips below demonstrate:

Kelly’s first one-handed catch

So sick we wanted to see it again 🙌🔥@WSUCougarFB | @kellz_0404 pic.twitter.com/IR01cGAwjp
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 23, 2023

His run for his first touchdown

Putting the moves on 'em ↗️⤴️@kellz_0404 is having a DAY for @WSUCougarFB 💪 pic.twitter.com/JTQT1HKS9R
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 24, 2023

His second one-handed catch, this one for a touchdown:

Why use two hands when you could just use one? 👋@kellz_0404 is keeping @WSUCougarFB on top ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/7cedqQ1uxW
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 24, 2023

Varoom

That the sound made by Oregon’s offense as it revs up under the direction of Bo Nix. He was 22-for-24 for 217 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and one rushing touchdown in the first half against Colorado. The Ducks scored 35 first-half points while outgaining the Buffs 378 yards to 21 and recording 22 first downs to Colorado’s four over the first two quarters, which was when the game was decided.

The Ducks are averaging 54 points, which ranks second in the nation, and to add a touch of liveliness to their offense on Saturday, they wore cleats that changed colors depending on the temperature.

Thud

That was the sound made by UCLA freshman quarterback Dante Moore’s first road start, which happened to be at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes have now won 17 games in a row.

Moore entered the game fifth in the nation in passer rating, but he went 15-for-35 (42.9%) for 234 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked seven times and barely avoided a shutout in the 14-7 Utah victory. Bruins coach Chip Kelly has never been shut out as a college head coach at Oregon and UCLA, but it took a UCLA touchdown with 3:39 left in the game to keep that streak alive.

Utah’s 14 points were the fewest in a Utes’ victory in 15 years, and only seven of those points were scored by the offense. Kyle Whittingham said the Utes’ defensive effort may have been the best since he’s been head coach, and that covers 20 years.

The Utes rank 96th in the country and 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring offense, but they are 4-0 and ranked No. 10 in the country this week even though they have played all four games without quarterback Cam Rising, the 2021 first-team All-Pac-12 quarterback.

Gulp

That’s the sound of Cal coaches, who have to decide which quarterback to start against Arizona State next week.

Ben Finley made his second start against Washington and threw a pick-six on the Bears’ first possession and two more interceptions in the first half, which ended with the Huskies holding a 45-12 lead.

The Bears did manage to keep Michael Penix Jr. off the field in the early going, but not in the fashion they would have liked. Cal’s first possession ended with the interception for a touchdown, and Rome Odunze returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown following the Bears’ second touchdown to give the Huskies a 14-0 lead before Penix took his first snap with less than six minutes left in the first quarter.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox does not know whether Finley or Sam Jackson V will start against the Sun Devils.

Silence

The lack of sound made when you're asked to declare which is the best Pac-12 team and the best Pac-12 quarterback. Four Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 10 this week, and they are ranked consecutively: No. 7 Washington, No. 8 USC, No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Utah, with Washington State moving up to No. 16.

USC’s Caleb Williams and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. rank first and second in the nation, respectively, in passer rating, and they are second and first, respectively, in touchdown passes (16 for Penix, 15 for Williams). But Cameron Ward is third in the nation in passing yards per game to go along with 13 TDs and 0 interceptions, while Bo Nix has merely completed 79.4% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and one interception, which happens to be Oregon’s only turnover of the season.

Pac-12 Player of the Year Standings

--1. Quarterback Cameron Ward, Washington State – 13 TDs, 0 interceptions, and he’s done it against quality competition.

--2. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Washington – Penix had just a so-so game Saturday by his standards – and the Huskies still scored 59 points.

--3. Quarterback Bo Nix, Oregon – There’s a reason the Ducks are 4-0 and have committed just one turnover.

--4. Quarterback Caleb Williams, USC – His numbers speak loudly, but the level of the competition he has faced does not.

--5. Wide receiver Rome Odunze, Washington – His 136 receiving yards per game rank second in the country, and he added an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown on Saturday.

Top Five Pac-12 Teams

(We rank based on which teams have had the best results, not which teams we believe are the best teams)

--1. Washington State (4-0) – The Cougars have defeated two teams that were ranked when they played them. No other Pac-12 team can match that.

--2. Utah (4-0) – That win over Florida looks pretty good now that the Gators are 3-1 and ranked No. 22, and stuffing UCLA’s offense puts the Utes ahead of Washington.

--3. Washington (4-0) – It’s hard to place the Huskies this low considering their wins over Boise State and Michigan State, but what can we do?

--4. Oregon (4-0) – Did the Ducks’ crushing victory over Colorado say more about Oregon or the Buffaloes?

--5. USC (4-0) – Still waiting for the Trojans to face a decent opponent to pass judgment on them.

Cover photo of Washington State's Cameron Ward jumping on Josh Kelly is by James Snook, USA TODAY Sports

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