The madness of mid-season conference play has finally set in for the Pac-12, which saw another fury of chaotic match-ups in Week Six. Mirroring the trend circling the rest of the college football world, the conference saw some high-scoring affairs, some hard-fought slugfests and some stunning upsets. There’s nothing quite like college football. Around the Top 25 nationally, top-ranked Alabama stayed undefeated by holding off #16 Arkansas, Navy likely ended #6 Houston’s play-off chances in a stunning upset, #8 Texas A&M squeaked by #9 Tennessee in double-overtime, #23 Florida State blocked a PAT to knock off #10 Miami and #20 Oklahoma defeated Texas in one of college football’s best natural rivalries. Now, let’s take a look back at the week that was in the Pac-12.
#5 Washington Fully Dismantles Oregon, 70-21
The Huskies are auditioning themselves every week for the College Football Playoff at this point and after crushing Stanford a week ago, head coach Chris Petersen needed another big effort from his team in Week Six. His guys sure did deliver. Washington accounted for 682 yards of total offense, led by quarterback Jake Browning’s 304 yards and 8 touchdown performance, in a colossal victory over a Ducks program that they haven’t beaten in their last 12 tries. Highlights:
Washington State Topples #15 Stanford, 42-16
In Washington State’s win over Oregon a week ago, it was the ground game for head coach Mike Leach’s team that got the job done. This time around, Leach returned to his air-raid ways to surge past a fading Stanford team, in what could be a signature win on the season for this Cougars team. Washington State quarterback Luke Falk threw for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 26 point victory, while connecting with eleven different receivers throughout the contest. The Cougars defense also showed up to play, holding Stanford playmaker Christian McCaffrey to just 40 total yards on eight carries and one reception. Highlights:
USC Holds Off #21 Colorado At Home, 21-17
Determined not to let their season go by the wayside, USC has now won two straight games at home in conference, pushing them just a half-game behind the three-team logjam atop the South Division. Somehow, there’s still a chance for the Trojans. Knocking off Colorado in Los Angeles was a huge step in the right direction for head coach Clay Helton’s squad, who has rebounded well from their 1-3 start to the campaign. For the Buffs, who still could be considered the surprise of the Pac-12 this season, it was simply the inability to establish a ground attack that shorted out their usually prolific offense in this one. Highlights:
#24 Utah Rallies To Fend Off Arizona, 36-23
Trailing 14-12 at the half, Utah used a huge third quarter to fend off a feisty Arizona team to improve to 5-1 on the season and tie Arizona State for the second best record in the Pac-12. However, nobody would say it was easy. The Utes had to overcome a wealth of self-inflicted penalties and mental lapses to keep the Wildcats at bay, which head coach Kyle Whittingham commented on after the game. "We're a pretty decent football team if we would stop some of the self-inflicted stuff. We did some things to create tough situations for us that we've got to get fixed. We had far too many penalties tonight." Highlights:
Oregon State Stuns California In OT Thriller, 47-44
The stunner of the week in the conference, the thought was that a California team who had already beaten the likes of Texas and Utah this season would have no problem with a struggling team like Oregon State, even despite their road woes. Then again, that’s why this is college football. The Beavers simply looked confident and poised from the onset of this one as they scratched and clawed their way to their first conference win since back in 2014, led by a big day from their rushing game. Highlights:
Arizona State Survives Scare From UCLA, 23-20
Bruins’ fans will be pondering the “what if” scenarios following this one, after quarterback Josh Rosen left the game due to injury two different times, resulting in some stalled out series that could’ve been crucial factors in the game’s outcome. Through Arizona State’s eyes, it will be viewed as a “win is a win” type of scenario. The Sun Devils struggled for the second straight week (without regular starting quarterback Manny Wilkins) and at the end of this one, even their back-up Brady White was injured and his prognosis is unknown. Not good news for either of these teams at very different points in their Pac-12 season. Highlights: