Pac-12 Recap: College Football Week 1

The first weekend of college football has come to a close for the Pac-12. They managed 7 wins (and 5 losses) during week one. Let’s take a closer look at how they did.

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Cal defeated Hawaii, 51-31

Many will remember the original college football kickoff, when Cal and Hawaii kicked off in Australia. Davis Webb, the graduate transfer from Texas Tech dominated in his debut for the Golden Bears; throwing for 441 yards and 4 touchdowns. Cal ran away from Hawaii and their offense looked explosive. Michigan just destroyed Hawaii 63-3, so don’t read too much into Cal’s impressive opener.

Here’s the game highlights:

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Utah downed Southern Utah, 24-0

Utah started the season off at home versus Southern Utah on Thursday. The game was never in doubt and Utah’s defense shut down the opponent, only allowing 158 total yards; it certainly wasn’t a dominate offensive showing by any means. The Utes will look to get the offense humming in the coming weeks.

Tim Patrick was able to haul in this 57 yard TD pass though:

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Oregon State fell to Minnesota, 30-23

Beaver fans remember the game they let slip away at TCF Bank Stadium on Thursday evening. Get a full recap of the action here. But, I’ll choose to remember the good times; like this 30 yard touchdown Victor Bolden hauled in that tied that game.

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Stanford topped Kansas State, 26-13

Stanford got revenge for their shocking loss to Kansas State last season. Heisman candidate Christian McCaffrey was in midseason form rushing for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns; while also accounting for 214 all-purpose yards.

Check out the full-game highlights:

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Colorado pounded Colorado State, 44-7

Colorado brought the hammer down on in-state rival Colorado State. Colorado’s quarterback, Sefo Liufau threw for 316 yards and a score. He also ran for 66 yards. Many outsider view Colorado as Oregon State’s best chance to get a Pac-12 victory, but if the first weekend proved anything it’s that even the lower tier Pac-12 teams will put up a fight.

Watch Colorado dominate:

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USC was burned by Alabama, 52-6

In one of the weekends marquee match-ups, Alabama looked impressive despite starting freshman quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and not having proven running back Derrick Henry to rely on. The Alabama defense managed to hold USC to less than 200 yards of total offense and USC’s new starting quarterback, Max Browne left a lot to be desired. And while USC will be in a hurry to wipe this game from recent memory, lets not forget that they did hold a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.

Here’s all you need to know about the next three quarters though:

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Washington overwhelmed Rutgers, 48-13

Washington was one of the few Pac-12 teams that impressed during the opening Saturday of college football. Returning quarterback, Jack Browning, threw for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Huskies have been the recipient of much off-season praise this season despite last years 7-5 record, but they might just live up to the hype.

Here’s a few of the Huskies big plays from Saturday:

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UCLA was beaten by Texas A&M, 31-24 (in OT)

UCLA stormed back in the final minutes to force overtime before eventually falling. It was an exciting game and one the Bruins will be kicking themselves over for losing. UCLA quarterback, Josh Rosen, threw for 343 yards but also made a number of mistakes throwing 3 interceptions on the day.

Here’s the play that forced OT:

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Oregon defeated UC Davis, 53-28

Dakota Prukop, the Montana State graduate transfer, made his debut at quarterback for the Ducks. And Oregon overcame a rough start and a determined UC Davis team to pick up their first win on the season. Oregon won’t be happy about surrendering 28 points though as they seek to improve their defense from last season.

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Washington State lost to Eastern Washington, 45-42

The Cougars couldn’t stop Eastern Washington’s offense and laid an egg in their season opener. Despite Luke Falk’s best effort, (418 yards and 4 TD’s) Washington State still finds themselves starting the season off with a home loss against an FCS program, for the second straight year. Give Eastern Washington credit though, they played a fantastic game and wide receiver Cooper Kupp had 206 yards and 3 TD’s. This game was eerily similar to the loss Oregon State suffered against Eastern Washington back in 2013. And while fans might be ready to write the Cougars off, don’t forget that last seasons loss to Portland State didn’t stop them from finishing 9-4.

Check out this sweet touchdown grab by WSU’s Gabe Marks:

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Arizona lost a heartbreaker to BYU, 18-16

Arizona couldn’t muster much offensively against BYU, scoring just 3 point through the first three quarters, but looked to be turning things around in the final quarter. Running back, Nick Wilson broke a 49 yard touchdown to give Arizona the lead with less than 2 minutes remaining, but Arizona’s defense couldn’t stop BYU’s final drive and they drilled a 33 yard field goal with just seconds left on the game clock to win.

Watch Nick Wilson’s long TD run:

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Arizona State handled Northern Arizona, 44-13

The Sun Devils new starting quarterback, Manny Wilkins, passed for 180 yards and ran for 89 and a touchdown in his first collegiate start. Arizona started off slow but the offense picked it up as the game wore on. The competition level picks up next week as they take on Texas Tech though.

Watch the game highlights here:

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The Pac-12 was not overly impressive during the opening weekend of college football. USC and UCLA lost key games against the SEC. And Washington State left the conference with a black eye after taking a loss against Eastern Washington. Hopefully, the Pac-12 can finish their non-conference schedule off strong and send a representative to the college football playoffs by season’s end.