State of the PAC 12: Week 3

It was another solid week for the PAC 12 conference with a few big wins over ranked opponents. Next week conference play gets underway.

7 San Diego State Aztecs

35 (#14) Utah Utes

Utah got off to a slow start in the first quarter. Thankfully, the Utes defense was incredibly strong and held Burmeister to only 5 yards passing for the entire first half. The running game did not produce either for the Aztecs and once the Utah offensive line gave Cam Rising protection he took full advantage in the second quarter. Rising threw for 3 touchdown passes in the second quarter and 4 total touchdowns in the game. The Utah defense shut out the Aztecs until there were about 3 minutes left in the game. Utah will open conference play on the road against Arizona State next week.

31 South Alabama

32 UCLA Bruins

UCLA might be 3-0 to start the season but they have looked shaky, to say the least. UCLA was trailing by 8 going into the fourth quarter and had to come from behind to win the game. UCLA kicked a game-winning 24-yard field goal with no time remaining to hold off the upset bid from South Alabama. UCLA has looked pretty good offensively but must play better on defense if they are going to make some noise in conference play.

17 California Golden Bears

24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

This was a heartbreaker for Cal. Cal led most of the game but Notre Dame scored the go-ahead touchdown with about 7 minutes left in the game and Cal just couldn’t find a response. After starting his career 0-3 for Notre Dame it was a much-needed victory for head coach Marcus Freeman. Not much is expected of Cal this season but they showed a lot of fight in what was supposed to be an easy victory for the Irish.

7 Colorado Buffaloes

49 Minnesota Golden Gophers

You can’t help but feel bad for Colorado, this game was basically over before it started. Minnesota led 35-0 at the half and put the game in cruise control to get an easy victory. Last season Colorado was shut out 30-0 at home and they had no fight in this game either. Colorado’s offense has not scored two touchdowns in a game this season. Yikes.

7 Colorado State Rams

38 Washington State Cougars

Who guessed that Washington State would be 3-0 to start the season? The Cougars were impressive after their big upset in Madison against the Badgers last week. They led 28-0 at the half and their quarterback Ward threw for 299 yards passing and 4 touchdown passes.

28 Montana State

68 Oregon State Beavers

Nolan was 19-25 for 276 yards passing and 4 touchdown passes and Oregon State had no problem with Montana State. The game was tied at 7 in the first quarter but Oregon State outscored them 27-7 in the second quarter to pull away.

20 (#12) BYU Cougars

41 (#25) Oregon Ducks

The BYU hype train came to a crashing halt in Eugene as Bo Nix was incredibly impressive in the rout of BYU. Bo Nix was 13-18 for 222 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Oregon built a 38-7 lead before BYU scored a few times to close the gap but this game was never close.

28 (#11) Michigan State Spartans

39 Washington Huskies

Washington’s offense was incredible as transfer Michael Penix Jr. lit up the Spartan's defense all night long. Penix went 24-40 for 397 yards and 4 touchdown passes. Michigan State scored late in the first half to only trail 22-8. Unfortunately for them, they left Penix Jr. with too much time on the clock and he scored with only 4 seconds remaining to give the Huskies a 29-8 lead at the half. Michigan State scored a few touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the score more respectable. If this performance was any indication, Washington will be a very dangerous team this season in conference play.

17 Fresno State Bulldogs

45 (#7) USC Trojans

Caleb Williams was once again impressive and is quickly becoming a hot name as a contender for the Heisman trophy. Williams went 25-37 for 284 yards passing and 2 touchdown passes. After leading only 21-10 at the half USC quickly put the game away in the second half and went on to an easy win.

28 North Dakota State Bison

31 Arizona Wildcats

Jayden de Laura played well for the Wildcats and they capitalized thanks to a late turnover from the Bison to score with just under 5 minutes left in the game. The Wildcat’s defense stepped up to preserve the victory. Jayden de Laura went 20-28 for 229 yards passing and 1 touchdown in an impressive victory against an elite FCS school. The Bison were largely in control but the late turnover absolutely killed them.

30 Eastern Michigan

21 Arizona State Sun Devils

This was always going to be a difficult season for Arizona State but they were at least expected to win at home against Eastern Michigan. Eastern Michigan had other plans and built a 27-14 lead entering the fourth quarter. Despite a Sun Devils touchdown to close the gap Eastern Michigan’s defense was just too tough and they were able to kick a field goal to take an insurmountable lead and preserve the upset victory.