Pac-12 Roundup: Week 2

A look at what the rest of the conference was up to on Saturday

We already know the Arizona Wildcats are having huge issues this season, as they were destroyed by Houston 45-18. However, all other 11 members of the conference were also in action Saturday, including multiple marquee non-conference matchups and a huge conference rivalry in California.

Here’s a recap of the other ten games on the Pac-12 slate in Week 2.

Oklahoma 49, UCLA 21

UCLA came into the day after a disappointing loss to a Group of Five school, still looking to play spoiler against the favored Sooners. Unfortunately, Kyler Murray proved as explosive as ever, as OU torched the Bruins.

UCLA started the game off well, stopping Oklahoma and then scoring a touchdown to take the lead. After that, the Kyler Murray show was in full effect as he went 19-33 for 306 yards and three scores, plus 69 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. The biggest highlight of the game was a 58 yard TD catch to Marquise Brown to give Oklahoma a lead they’d never relinquish.

UCLA now sits at 0-2. They face Fresno State at the Rose Bowl next Saturday.

No. 23 Oregon 62, Portland State 14

The Ducks dominated Bowling Green last week, and Week 2 showed much of the same as Justin Herbert and a multitude of running backs torched the Vikings.

Herbert only played in the first half, but he looked like the NFL prospect, even if it was against an FCS opponent. Herbert completed 20 of 26 for 250 yards and 4 touchdowns. Oregon also had a dominant running game, with four running backs combining for five scores, and both Tony Brooks-James and CJ Verdell ran for 100 yards. All in all, while Oregon hasn’t faced anybody tough yet, but they look like they could be back to their winning ways.

Oregon hosts San Jose State next Saturday.

Colorado 33, Nebraska 28

In a rematch of a very old Big 8 rivalry that had been dormant for nearly a decade, the Buffaloes came out on top in the best game of the afternoon.

The undoubted MVP for CU in this matchup was receiver Laviska Shenault, who racked in ten receptions, including the game-winning touchdown in double coverage. Quarterback Steven Montez also looked impressive, keeping control of his team and leading them to a huge non-conference victory against a rival.

This game really had it all, with two teams who hate each other trading blows and providing lots of excitement in Scott Frost’s debut at NU. This edition of Colorado continues to look more like the 2016 Pac-12 South champions than the 2017 5-7 team.

No. 9 Washington 45, North Dakota 3

After a brutal non-conference loss to Auburn last weekend, UW bounced back by crushing a lesser opponent in North Dakota.

Jake Browning played decently well, throwing for 313 yards and two scores despite two picks. Myles Gaskin was disappointing this afternoon, only managing 53 yards on 15 carries. Despite some struggles by their offensive leaders, UW had no problem shutting down the Fighting Hawks, only allowing 262 total yards on defense. Washington still has a long way to go to return to the Playoff hunt, but this is a step in the right direction.

Utah 17, Northern Illinois 6

It was anything but pretty, but the Utes improved to 2-0 thanks mostly to an impressive display by their defense.

Quarterback Tyler Huntley actually played pretty well for Utah, despite a lack of results. He went 20-31 for 286 yards, but the offense could only manage a Zach Moss touchdown run and a Matt Gay field goal. It was 7-6 in the fourth quarter, but Gay’s field goal followed by a pick-six clinched this very low scoring game. Without the defense shutting down the Huskies, Utah could’ve faced a scare.

Utah hosts Washington next week at 7 MST on ESPN. It should be one of the most intriguing cross-divisional games of the Pac-12 season.

Oregon State 48, Southern Utah 25

Oregon State got its first win since last September, and overall Jonathan Smith and his team show there’s some potential in Corvallis.

Conor Blount started at quarterback in place of injured Jake Luton, and he played reasonably well, completing 15 of 22 attempts and throwing a 33-yard touchdown. The Beavers’ run game was dominant, especially in the first half. Freshman running back Jermar Johnson had an incredible day, nocking 238 yards on 22 carries and four scores, including a nasty juke on a 62-yard touchdown scamper.

For the first time in a while, Oregon State had a great performance. The Beavers head to Reno to face Nevada next week.

No. 10 Stanford 17, No. 17 USC 3

Stanford and USC was one of the most anticipated matchups of the Saturday, but it was ultimately a rather slow game that Stanford controlled most of the way.

The biggest question coming into the game was whether Bryce Love could bounce back after an abysmal beginning to the season. He did just that, rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown against a pretty stout USC defense. Quarterback KJ Costello continued to look like the real deal as well, minimizing mistakes and throwing some great passes.

Overall, both USC and Stanford will still be key fixtures in the Pac-12 race, but Stanford comes away with a huge Pac-12 victory.

California 21, BYU 18

To make Arizona football’s day even worse, their week one opponent lost a nailbiter to Cal at home.

Squally Canada, who just last week dominated Arizona’s defense, had a meek 49 yards on 16 carries. Tanner Mangum played mediocre as well, throwing for just 196 yards on 41 attempts and oen touchdown to two picks. Cal, meanwhile, had a much better day from its quarterbacks than last week. Chase Garbers went 18-28 for 176 yards and two scores to one INT.

The Golden Bears had control for most of the game, and now are 2-0 going into a matchup with FCS Idaho State.

Arizona State 16, No. 15 Michigan State 13

The bad news for Arizona fans just kept getting worse, as the team up north got a huge upset victory over a marquee opponent in Michigan State.

ASU and MSU have vastly different play styles, and the Spartans were able to enforce their will in terms of tempo and play style all night. Despite that, their offense couldn’t get it done in the fourth quarter, and a huge play by Arizona State star N’Keal Harry tied the game late. After that, it was just a methodical drive down the field for a game-winning field goal and ASU had secured the upset.

Despite skepticism surrounding the hire, Herm Edwards and his team seem like a legitimately good team in this young season.

Washington State 31, San Jose State 0

Washington State came into the season replacing a lot of key pieces and facing lots of issues off the field. Despite that, they’re now 2-0 after crushing San Jose State.

Luke Falk’s replacement Gardner Minshew continued to have Mike Leach quarterback numbers, racking up 414 yards and completing 34 of 51 passes. Despite this, he threw two picks and wasn’t always on the mark. San Jose State lost last week to UC Davis of FCS, so they’re likely one of the weakest teams in FBS. Ultimately, nobody can complain about a 31-0 victory, but WSU will be looking to clean up its mistakes.

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