Reubenking's Roundup: Recapping the Final Week of the Pac-12 Regular Season
The 2021 Pac-12 regular season has concluded with a rather eventful final weekend, but it took all 12 games to reveal the matchup for the Pac-12 Championship Game in Las Vegas. Oregon will take on Utah in a rematch of last weekend's blowout in Salt Lake City.
The two teams will meet in the conference title game for the second time in three years and Oregon will compete for its third straight title game win.
Let's hop right into the full slate this weekend.
No. 18 Utah Clinches Best Record Against Pac-12 With 28-13 Win vs. Colorado
Britain Covey and Dalton Kincaid celebrate after a Utah touchdown.
Utah Football (@Utah_Football on Twitter)
The Pac-12 South champion Utah Utes were riding high coming off of the beatdown against an Oregon team still up for a College Football Playoff bid the previous weekend. With Colorado coming to town, the Utes looked to earn their eighth win in the conference.
The 68th edition of the "Rumble in the Rockies" got off to a rocky start for Utah, as Cameron Rising threw an interception on just the fourth snap of the game, and Mark Perry returned his third interception of the year to the Utah 15. The Buffs couldn't move an inch after the turnover, however, and kicked a field goal to take the first lead.
Then, Colorado forced a stop on third down in the red zone and proceeded to block Jadon Redding's 37-yard field goal. The Buffs once again moved into Utah territory but had to settle for another field goal, which was missed wide right.
To start the second quarter, Utah's offense found a spark when TJ Pledger sprinted for 27 yards, and Rising found Brant Kuithe for a 19-yard score to put the Utes on the board.
Utah started to pull away when Rising threw a strike to Dalton Kincaid, who froze the defense for 28 yards and a touchdown. Colorado would close the first half out with a 56-yard field goal by Cole Becker and open the second half with a bang.
Nikko Reed returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, bouncing off multiple tacklers at the 15-yard line and another at midfield to make it 14-13 Utah.
Few thought the Buffaloes would be within one point of the Utes in the second half, but it didn't last long as Utah dominated the rest of the game on both sides. The Utes went back up by eight as Tavion Thomas found the end zone for the 18th time this season.
Utah quickly put the game away with Rising's third touchdown toss, this time to Britain Covey from 18 yards out to make it 28-13. The defense did the rest, as the Utes held Colorado to just 66 yards and five first downs in the second half to secure their ninth win over the Buffs in 11 meetings since both teams arrived to the Pac-12 in 2011.
Utah improves to 8-1 in conference play — the best record in the Pac-12 in 2021. For the second time this year, the Utes had two 100-yard rushers in the same game: Thomas ran for 142 yards and a touchdown while Pledger posted 103 yards on just 13 carries.
Washington State Dominates Washington 40-13 to Win Apple Cup
Washington State Cougars running back Deon McIntosh (3) celebrates after rushing for a touchdown against the Washington Huskies.
© Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
How about them apples?
Washington State hadn't beaten its arch rivals since 2012, and it hadn't been victorious in Seattle since 2007, but both of those streaks came to a screeching halt on Friday.
The Cougars swung first as Max Borghi somehow spun off a would-be tackler and dove into the end zone for a touchdown on the opening drive.
Sam Huard made his first career start for the Huskies, and it wasn't pretty early on. The Dawgs went three-and-out on their first two drives, and on the third, Huard was picked off by Armani Marsh. Leading 10-0, the Cougars scored a field goal off the turnover as the Huskies made a goal-line stop to make it 13-0.
Washington's run game, led by Kamari Pleasant and Sean McGrew, pushed the offense down the field, rushing eight times for 46 yards on the ensuing drive. The one pass play was a 29-yard completion from Huard to Ja'Lynn Polk, and Pleasant put the Huskies on the board with a 10-yard touchdown.
Dean Jankowski missed a field goal to close the first half, with the Huskies trailing 13-7 and getting the ball to start the second half. They missed the opportunity to cut into or take the lead, going three-and-out on their first drive of the half.
Instead, it was Washington State stealing the momentum with a long touchdown drive led by Jayden de Laura, who completed all five of his passes for 47 yards on the drive, and Borghi capped it off with his second touchdown of the game. The touchdown was the 41st of Borghi's career — tying Steve Broussard's record for the most total touchdowns in WSU history.
Now trailing 20-7, Huard and the Huskies once again failed to cut into the lead as the freshman quarterback was intercepted by Derrick Langford. After a Cougars field goal, Huard threw his third interception, this time in the red zone one play after a 55-yard bomb to Rome Odunze. Justus Rogers jumped in front of the pass and ran threw multiple Huskies down to the UW 29.
The Cougars blew it open with Deon McIntosh punching it in from two yards out to make it 30-7. McIntosh had a party in the back of the end zone with Butch T. Cougar to celebrate the score.
Huard put together a touchdown drive, completing six of his eight passes for 50 yards and a 16-yard touchdown to Odunze, but the two-point conversion failed.
After another Jankowski field goal put the Cougs up 33-13, the nail was slammed in the coffin when Huard's throw to Devin Culp bounced off the receivers hands right into the arms of Marsh, who returned his second interception of the game into the end zone for a pick-six.
The win kept the Cougars alive for the Pac-12 North title, as an Oregon State win in Eugene would put WSU in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Championship Game. The victory also earned Jake Dickert the head coaching job.
No. 11 Oregon Clinches Pac-12 North With 38-29 Victory Over Oregon State
Travis Dye celebrates against Oregon State.
Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest
Check out Ally Osborne's recap story of Oregon's win over Oregon State to see how this game went down.
READ MORE: No. 11 Oregon Wins Pac-12 North with 38-29 Win vs. Oregon State
Arizona State Wins Fifth Straight Duel in the Desert, Wallops Arizona 38-15
Arizona State Sun Devils offensive lineman Jarrett Bell (50) celebrates with his teammates after defeating the Arizona Wildcats during the 95th Territorial Cup game.
© Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
Arizona got off to a fast start thanks to a lateral pass from Jamarye Joiner to quarterback Will Plummer, who heaved it downfield to Dorian Singer for 44 yards. But the Wildcats couldn't find the end zone on the opening drive and settled for a field goal.
Arizona State responded with a touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Ricky Pearsall. This was the story of the first half in the Territorial Cup — Arizona would drive down the field but couldn't find the end zone while Arizona State put touchdowns on the scoreboard.
Trailing 7-6, Plummer was pressured and sacked by Jack Jones, who stripped the football, and Tyler Johnson recovered it at the 1-yard line. Rachaad White punched it in one play later to put the Devils up 14-6.
The Wildcats tacked on another field goal to make it 14-9 at halftime, but ASU's offense would start sizzling to begin the second half. Daniels improvised and evaded multiple sacks and sprinted 48 yards for a touchdown.
Arizona finally found paydirt on its first drive of the second half. A fourth-and-2 conversion on a reverse to Joiner set up a goal-to-go situation, and Plummer found Michael Wiley for the touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 21-15.
After that, the Sun Devils ran away with it. Daniels connected with Pearsall for the second time for a touchdown, and Daniels pitched it to Curtis Hodges for the two-point conversion.
On a bizarre play, the Wildcats punted on fourth-and-23 deep in their own territory after a sack and delay of game penalty, and Bryce Wolma was called for holding, which occurred in the end zone, resulting in a safety for the Sun Devils.
ASU would get the ball back but gave it right back on a three-and-out, and Arizona marched down the field close to the red zone. Needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game, Plummer instead threw right to Jack Jones who ran it back 87 yards for the dagger, sealing Arizona State's fifth straight win against its in-state rivals.
No. 6 Notre Dame Blows Out Stanford 45-14
Stanford Cardinal running back Austin Jones (20) runs through Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebackers JD Bertrand (27) and Drew White (40) to score a touchdown.
© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Stanford was looking to avoid its first season with fewer than four wins in 15 years, but David Shaw's team never kept it close against No. 6 Notre Dame.
The Cardinal put up just 42 yards of offense in the first half while Notre Dame racked up 243 yards and took a 24-0 lead at halftime.
Stanford cut into the lead after Jonathan McGill intercepted Jack Coan on the opening drive of the second half, and Austin Jones ran it in for a touchdown two plays later. But the Irish wouldn't let the Cardinal get any closer, racing to a 38-7 lead after two quick touchdown drives.
Stanford finished the year 3-9, its worst record under Shaw and worst overall since 2006. The Cardinal have lost three straight against Notre Dame by a combined score of 128-55.
No. 13 BYU Survives USC 35-31 to Sweep Pac-12
BYU Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall (3) is tackled by Southern California Trojans safety Xavion Alford (29).
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
BYU came into the Coliseum on the hunt for its fifth win against a Pac-12 team this season. The Cougars took care of Arizona, Utah, Arizona State, and Washington State earlier this year and could clinch their second straight 10-win season with a victory on Saturday.
BYU took an early 14-3 lead with a pair of long touchdown drives, including a 15-play drive that melted over six and a half minutes off the clock. Jaxson Dart led USC down the field and scored on a four-yard scamper to cut it to 14-10. The Cougars, who had over 300 yards of offense in the first half, found the end zone once more before halftime as Tyler Allgeier ran it in for the second time in the half.
Jaren Hall, who recorded 197 total yards of offense in the first half, found Keanu Hill for a 41-yard score to begin the second half, but USC would make a furious comeback after trailing 28-13.
Vavae Malepeai scored on a fourth-and-goal, cutting it to a one-score deficit to cap off a 14-play drive. Then, the USC defense helped the Trojans get right back into the game.
The Trojans forced a three-and-out and sliced the lead to 28-23 with a field goal. After another BYU punt, USC strolled 91 yards and took its first lead since the first quarter as Dart found Gary Bryant Jr. for a 10-yard touchdown. Dart, who was five-for-five on the series, completed the two-point conversion to Lake McRee to give USC a 31-28 lead.
The defense came up big again for USC, as Hall heaved the ball into the end zone in double coverage and had his pass picked off by Calen Bullock. But the offense couldn't move the chains.
BYU got a big break on its following drive as Allgeier fumbled but the ball was recovered by tight end Dallin Holker, who ran 22 yards into USC territory. Jackson McChesney scored the go-ahead touchdown on a seven-yard run with 3:57 left in the fourth quarter.
It was time for Dart, one of the top quarterback recruits in the 2021 class, to prove that he's the signal caller of the future for USC. But it was the run game that had the Trojans positioned to win the game, as they ran 10 times on the 13-play drive, the last of which a throw from Dart to Bryant that came up a yard short on fourth-and-6 to seal BYU's win.
USC still has one regular season game left on the schedule as it will visit Cal next weekend after that game was postponed two weeks ago.
UCLA Uses Strong Second Half to Top Cal 42-14
UCLA Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) runs for 17 yards and a first down against the California Golden Bears.
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
After a slow first quarter that saw UCLA take first blood on a field goal and Chase Garbers throw an interception to Jay Shaw, both offenses took flight in the second quarter.
UCLA took a 10-0 lead after the turnover as Dorian Thompson-Robinson found Kyle Phillips for a four-yard touchdown. Garbers and the Golden Bears answered, keeping their next drive alive by converting a third-and-13 and scoring on a Christopher Brooks 14-yard touchdown — his second rushing touchdown of the year.
The Bruins suffered a massive blunder on special teams as Kazmeir Allen muffed the kickoff and Cameron Goode recovered deep in UCLA territory. Garbers ran in for his fourth rushing touchdown and the Bears' first lead at 14-10.
Allen redeemed himself on a handoff that he dashed into the end zone for a touchdown.
Leading 17-14 at the half, the Bruins dominated in the second half. They had a three-and-out on their first drive but proceeded to score on each of their next four drives, including two touchdown passes from DTR and a rushing score from Zach Charbonnet.
UCLA's defense suffocated Cal's offense, holding them to just 14 yards on their first four series of the second half and stopping them on fourth down on the final drive.
Chip Kelly needed a winning season to keep his job after going just 10-21 in his first three years at the helm. The Bruins earn their first eight-win season since 2015, while the Golden Bears still have a chance to win their fifth game as they host USC next Saturday.
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