Week Five Pac-12 Recap
Oregon Ducks vs. California Golden Bears
Thursday night’s prime time match-up was between the #9 Oregon Ducks and the California Golden Bears. For the first half it looked like it would be a battle between defenses. The only time Oregon was getting big yardage was on the outside. Cal’s defense was doing an outstanding job of shutting down Oregon’s running game between the tackles and the Golden Bears went into halftime with a one point lead. The second half was an entirely different story. Oregon made adjustments and Cal couldn’t keep up. The Ducks scored 22 unanswered points in the third quarter. James went off – rushing for more than 200 yards, and DeAnthony Thomas went off – scoring two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. The game was slipping away from Cal and ultimately they lost complete control.
Then, in the 4th Quarter during an Oregon TD drive, James went down on his right arm hard and awkward. He was taken off the field in a temporary cast. In a post-game press conference James told the media that he had dislocated his right elbow (an injury he had suffered before in high school). Oregon has Kenjon Barner and DeAnthony Thomas to step up for any time James is not on the field, but we’re hoping he heals well and gets back in action soon. The game ended with a 43 – 15 Oregon victory. Next weekend the Ducks will go up against #22 Arizona State.
Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Utah Utes
#22 ASU visited Utah for today’s match-up against the Utes. Utah was 0 – 2 in the Pac-12 going into today’s game and wanted the home, Pac-12 victory badly. It looked like it could be a battle in the first half with the Sun Devils only up by three going into halftime, but things took a bad turn for the Utes in the second half. The Sun Devils took full advantage of the turnovers catapulting their lead to 14 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Jon Hays (Utah’s backup quarterback for injured Jordan Wynn) threw three interceptions, and ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns (his third consecutive games over 300 yards) – a very different story between quarterbacks and the final score reflected that. ASU finished with the 35 – 14 victory. The Sun Devils travel to Autzen stadium next Saturday for a Top-25 matchup against the Ducks. Utah will be traveling to Pittsburgh for their next game.
Colorado Buffaloes vs. Stanford Cardinals
Stanford has destroyed every team they have encountered so far this season, and the Buffs were no exception. Luck just keeps looking better and had his best game of the season so far, throwing for 370 yards and three touchdowns. Their winning streak also remains unbroken and stands at 13 games after this 48 – 7 victory. The Buffs were coming off of a loss to Washington State last week where they lost the game in the final three minutes and still do not have a Pac-12 victory this season. The Buffs only TD of the game came off a Luck interception (tipped pass) that ended up in the hands of Terrel Smith. The toughest part of Stanford’s schedule is still to come, and up next for the Cardinals is Washington State. The Buffs will take on the Huskies this coming weekend.
Oregon State Beavers vs. Arizona Wildcats
This game would ensure that one team who has been beat up this season would come away with their first Pac-12 victory, and going into this game I would have guessed that Arizona would be the better team. I was proven wrong, but the Wildcats did mount a comeback late in the game after being down 6 – 27. Oregon State benefited from Arizona’s mistakes – a feature that seems to be a part of the Wildcats game. Foles was intercepted twice and the Beavers recovered two Wildcat fumbles. The game got as close as 27 – 30 late in the 4th quarter when the Beavers went for it on 4th and two. They got the TD and then made a huge defensive stand against the Wildcats to ultimately win this one 37 – 27. It marks the Beavers first win of the season and the Wildcats eighth straight conference loss. Arizona will get to recoup this weekend with a bye and then face the Bruins on the 20th. Oregon State takes on BYU this weekend.
Washington State Cougars vs. UCLA Bruins
This was one of the only close Pac-12 games over the weekend. It was a fight up until the very end between the Cougs and the Bruins. UCLA was down by eight in the 4th quarter and came back to beat the Cougs 28 – 25. UCLA starting QB Richard Brehaut went down in the second quarter and left the game with a broken leg. Kevin Prince took over for the Bruins and threw for 173 yards as he led the Bruins to a comeback victory. WSU did not score a touchdown until the second half, settling for three field goals in the first half of this game. It was too many field goals for the Cougs and they went away with a loss. Their prospects don’t look too promising this weekend as they take on Stanford at home. The Bruins will have a bye this weekend and then go up against Arizona on the 20th.