Pac-12 Football Notes: Washington State, Oregon State to the Rescue
The two schools routinely left out of the Pac-12 realignment rumors have done the most for enhancing the conference's football image.
With USC and UCLA scheduled to depart for the Big Ten in 2024, reports suggest that Oregon, Washington, Stanford and Cal might also join the Big Ten someday soon, and that Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State could be headed to the Big 12 before long.
Washington State and Oregon State? Well, maybe they can take step down and join the Mountain West Conference or even take several steps down and become FCS schools and join the Big Sky.
Last week the Pac-12 took a beating when Utah and Oregon lost the two high-profile games.
But Saturday, Oregon State and Washington State were the saviors of the Pac-12, .
The Cougars Roar
Washington State struck the biggest blow for the Pac-12, as the Cougars, picked to finish seventh in the conference, knocked off a ranked opponent on the road for the first time in 19 years when it upended No. 19 Wisconsin 17-14. It also ended a run of eight straight Pac-12 losses to Power Five conference teams.
It wasn't exactly a dominating win. Wisconsin had 22 first downs to the Cougars' 10, the Badgers outgained the Cougars 401-253, WSU managed just 53 rushing yards and WSU quarterback Cameron Ward threw a pair of interceptions for two of the Cougars' three turnovers.
But Wisconsin committed three turnovers as well and were penalized 106 yards. The star was Wisconsin transfer Nakia Watson, who scored both of the Cougars' touchdowns against his former team. His second TD was a beauty and put WSU ahead to stay.
Beavers' Gamble Pays Off
Oregon State was all set to kick a game-tying field goal after reaching the Fresno State 2-yard line with three seconds left. But Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford interrupted the process by calling a timeout, later explaining he wanted to make sure he had the right personnel on the field.
During the timeout, Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith changed his mind, and opted to try to win the game. He put do-everything athlete Jack Colletto in the shotgun, and Colletto took a direct snap and ran off right tackle for the touchdown that gave the Beavers a 35-32 victory.
Oregon State defeated the two Mountain West favorites in consecutive weeks, knocking off Boise State in Corvallis, Ore., last week, and beating Fresno State on the Bulldogs' home field at night, which is no easy chore.
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Questions of the Day
---Who's been the Pac-12's best quarterback so far?
Two transfers are battling for that honor after two games.
USC's Caleb Williams (formerly Oklahoma) is second in the nation in passer rating after going 20-for-27 with four touchdowns with no interceptions in a 41-28 road victory over Stanford. He has six TD passes with no picks as well as 72 rushing yards in two games.
Washington's Michael Penix Jr. (formerly Indiana) leads the conference in passing yardage and is 12th nationally in passer rating after going 20-for-27 with two touchdowns and one interception in a 52-6 victory over Portland State. He has six TD passes with one pick and 27 rushing yards in two games.
It's Williams by a hair at this point.
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---Whose 70-point performance was more impressive, Utah or Oregon?
Oregon beat Eastern Washington 70-14, the Ducks highest scoring output since 2019, when it handed Nevada a 77-6 loss. Just like this season, the Ducks' 2019 blowout came in their home opener and second game of the season, one game after losing their opener to a ranked SEC team (Auburn in 2019, Georgia this year). Oregon had 40 first downs and 604 yards of offense against Eastern Washington.
Utah knocked off Southern Utah 73-7 for the Utes' biggest point total in 49 years, since its 82-6 win over UTEP in 1973. The Utes had 31 first downs to four for Southern Utah, and Utah outgained the Thunderbirds 599-85.
Both games were against FCS opponents and provided relief after disappointing losses in Week 1. We'll call it a tie.
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---Who has been the Pac-12's best running back so far?
Quarterbacks have ruled the first two weeks, with running backs taking a backseat.
Arizona State's Xavaian Valladay, who transferred from Wyoming in the offseason, is out front at the moment. He rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the Sun Devils' first two games, and leads the Pac-12 in rushing, averaging 117 yards per game and 6.5 yards per attempt.
We expect Utah's Tavion Thomas or USC's Travis Dye to be the conference's top running back eventually. However, Thomas is averaging 81.5 yards per game and has lost two fumbles, and Dye had a strong game against Stanford with 104 rushing yards but had just 20 in the opener against Rice.
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---Does Cal have a chance to beat Notre Dame on Saturday?
Before the season began, this seemed destined to be one-sided loss for Cal. But now?
Oddsmakers don't seem to know what do with this matchup. One site lists Notre Dame as a 17.5-point favorite while another has the spread at 10 points in favor of the Irish as of Sunday. You have to wonder how the odds might change as the week progresses.
Cal has been far from overwhelming in wins over UC Davis and UNLV, but the Bears are 2-0, and freshman running back Jaydn Ott and quarterback Jack Plummer have been impressive at times.
Notre Dame started the season ranked No. 5, but lost to Ohio State in its opener, then this week lost at home 26-21 to a Marshall team picked to finish fourth in its six-team division of the Sun Belt Conference. Notre Dame is 0-3 under new coach Marcus Freeman, including last year's bowl loss, and they dropped out of the top 25 completely this week after being No. 8 this past week,
The Irish had won 30 of their previous 31 home games before the stunning loss to Marshall, but the unbeatable veneer of Notre Dame Stadium may be gone.
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Numbers of Note
7 -- USC's AP ranking this week, which is the Trojans' highest ranking since they were No. 5 after four games of the 2017 season.
3 -- Number of Pac-12 teams in this week's AP top 25, with USC seventh, Utah 14th and Oregon sneaking back in at No. 25.
16-6 -- Pac-12's record against nonconference opponents through two weeks, although only one of those wins is against a Power Five conference foe.
217 -- Yards of total offense in the final 4:19 of the Oregon State-Fresno State game, with three touchdowns being scored in that span.
8 -- Turnovers forced by USC this season
0 -- Turnovers committed by USC
1st -- USC's national ranking in turnover margin, at plus-4.0 per game.
$600,000 -- Southern Utah's paytment for getting hammered by Utah.
1 -- Number of pass completions Air Force had in its 41-10 victory over Colorado
5-for-21, 51 yards, 0 TDs, 1 interception -- Passing numbers for Colorado quarterback J.T. Shrout, who replaced Brendon Lewis as Colorado's starting quarterback against Air Force.
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Top five Pac-12 teams
(Assume you know nothing about preseason expectations)
1. Washington State (2-0) – A road win against a ranked team trumps anything anyone else in the Pac-12 can claim.
2. USC (2-0) – Convincing road win against Stanford puts Trojans near the top.
3. Oregon State (2-0) – Beavers have taken care of the two best Mountain West teams.
4. Washington (2-0) -- 97 points in two games, albeit against overmatched foes
5. UCLA (2-0) – The Bruins should be 4-0 before they face a decent team.
*We still think Utah is the best team in the conference but the Utes have yet to beat an FBS opponent and lost to a team (Florida) that subsequently lost at home this week.
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Conference player of the year standings
(Yes, it’s way too early, but …)
1. USC quarterback Caleb Williams -- Second nationally in passer rating for the nation's No. 7 team.
2. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. – Pac-12 leader in passing yards per game for 2-0 Huskies.
3. USC receiver Jordan Addison -- His 113.0 receiving yards per game lead Pac-12 and his 4 TD catches rank tied for second nationally.
4. UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson -- 75.9% completion rate for 2-0 Bruins.
5. Utah quarterback Cameron Rising -- Even in the loss to Florida, he played pretty well.
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Cover photo of Washington State by Jeff Hanisch, USA TODAY Sports
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