Storyline: What more can you ask? Division titles are on the line. There are rivalry games galore. The PAC-12 regular season goes out in style!
Friday, November 25th
(FS1) Washington vs. Washington St. – 3:30 – Washington St. +4.5
(ESPN) Arizona vs. Arizona St. – 9:30- Arizona +4
Saturday, November 26th
(ABC) Notre Dame vs. USC – 3:30- USC -17
(PAC-12 Network) Oregon vs. Oregon St. – 4:00 – Oregon St. +3
(ESPN2) UCLA vs. California – 7:00 – California +4
(FOX) Utah vs. Colorado- 7:30 – Colorado -10
(NO TV) Rice vs. Stanford- 8:00 – Stanford -33
The dominoes fell almost as expected during Week #12 of the PAC-12 season — except for one team, Utah. The Utes lost, 30-28, at home to Oregon. The Utes’ defense gave up the lead on THREE separate occasions in the second half, the last of which came with two seconds left in the game. The loss means Utah can’t win the PAC-12 South, even if the Utes win the rivalry game against Colorado this week.
The rest of the league results were as predicted. USC, Stanford, Washington, and Oregon St. all won by double digits against UCLA, Cal, Arizona St. and Arizona, respectively.
A winning streak has turned around the season in Palo Alto (photo, Stanford Daily)
USC and Stanford continued red hot play. Stanford has won five of the last six games and, with that, the Cardinal has exacted a season turnaround. The same can be said about USC, but on a grander scale. The Trojans have won seven in a row and finished the PAC-12 season at 7-2 and with a chance to win the PAC-12 South if CU stumbles this weekend.
The GOW last week was in Boulder. Colorado took another step toward winning the PAC-12 South when the Buffalo held serve against Washington St. CU entered the 4th quarter with a four-point lead and, as great teams do, they held the Cougars in check and scored another ten points to secure the win.
The final week of the season begins Friday with two rivalry games: Washington travels to Washington St. for the annual Apple Cup and Arizona welcomes in-state rival Arizona St. to Tucson. On Saturday, California hosts UCLA, Oregon renews The Civil War at Oregon St., and Utah will try to pick up the pieces and play spoiler when they head to Boulder to take on Colorado.
In non-conference games, Stanford will play Rice in Palo Alto, while USC finishes up at home against underachieving Notre Dame.
Courtesy: Ladies of the Empire
Division Title Clarity. Games this week will determine which teams will represent the divisions in the PAC-12 title game, which will be held on December 2nd at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The PAC-12 North will be determined in the Apple Cup. Rivalry games are fantastic and they’re even more exciting when a championship is on the line. Washington was expected to play for the crown, but not WSU. UW was able to bounce back last week from its loss against USC the week before. This week will show if WSU can do the same after losing at CU last week. For CU, the road is clear: beat Utah and win the PAC-12 South. Lose and the crown goes to Southern Cal (both teams would have identical 7-2 conference records, but USC owns the tiebreaker by defeating Colorado). Momentum would seem to be on CU’s side, but Utah is a prideful program and won’t go quietly.
Rivalry Week, Part II. Rivalry week started last week and will continue this week with four games: Arizona vs. Arizona St., Washington vs. Washington St., Oregon vs. Oregon St., and Utah vs. Colorado. Two of these games have a lot at stake with division championships on the line. But whether games are for all the marbles or just played for the joy of competing, they’re all worth watching. I’m looking forward to all of them.
USC will be eying the action at Folsom (photo, CU Buffs)
Scoreboard-Watching Trojans. USC won’t be focusing on ND alone this weekend in Los Angeles. The Trojans will also be watching what happens in Boulder, Colorado. That’s because USC will be rooting for Utah to upset CU. A Ute win would enable the Trojans to cap off a remarkable turnaround. But the frustrating thing for USC is that the Trojans don’t control their fate. Next steps will be dictated by what happens a 1000 miles away. But no matter the outcome of the Utah-Colorado game, USC has done great things after a very shaky start to the season. Time will tell how this story ends.
Game Of The Week, Part I, Washington vs. Washington St.: Not only is the PAC-12 North title on the line for the Huskies, but also a potential trip to the CFP. It has been a fantastic season for the Huskies, but a loss against WSU will turn the season into bitter disappointment–no PAC-12 title game, no Rose Bowl, and no CFP spot. The situation is much more straightforward for the Cougars: win and nab the PAC-12 North championship. In so doing WSU would show a national audience that they’ve arrived as a program. That’s a lot to play for, but I think the Huskies are too talented on the offensive side of the ball for WSU. Washington will win the PAC-12 North. I say, Washington, 41-27.
Game of the Week, Part II, Utah vs. Colorado: Well, Colorado, your time has come. Take care of business and you’re the PAC-12 South champions. But let’s be honest: no expert thought CU would be here, especially after the struggle that was 2015. But a turnaround like this is what makes college football great. It also galvanizes a school, a city, a state, and a fan base. If a game could be decided by story interest alone, then Colorado would blow out Utah this week and cap off a remarkable season. Games are decided on the field, though. While I’ve had my doubts with CU at times this year, this team has also shown me that they’re for real. Congratulations, Buffalo Nation! Your time is now. I say, Colorado, 24-20.
Can the Beavers pull a home upset v. Oregon? (photo, Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports)
Upset Of The Week, Oregon vs. Oregon St.: Both teams come into the game with identical 2-6 conference marks. But there is a big difference, too. OSU was 0-9 in the league last year. Two wins shows improvement and gives the fan base a reason to hope that better things will come. Oregon is going in a exactly the opposite direction: from 7-2 last year to possibly 2-7 in 2016. Oregon St. is a slight underdog in this game. But also know that the Beavers’ two league wins have come in Corvallis. The Civil War will be played there. To boot, winning this game means more to the Beavers than to the Ducks. For those reasons–playing at home game and game-meaning–I think OSU will pull off a minor upset and get the win. I say, Oregon St, 31-27.
Lock Of The Week, Arizona. vs Arizona St.: My last LOW of the year takes me out to Tempe. The reasoning for my pick this week is quite simple: MOTIVATION. Arizona St. needs to win to become bowl eligible. The Sun Devils started the season with a surprising 5-1 record. Unfortunately, they’ve now lost five games in a row, all in the league. But they can still salvage their season by defeating a poor Arizona squad. Finishing 3-6 in the league at 6-6 overall might not mean much to some teams, but qualifying for a bowl provides extra practice time. That practice time is valuable for young players who’re going to be part of the program moving forward. But what can I say about Arizona? Rich Rod is likely to be coaching his last game for the Wildcats. Why? Arizona is awful. At the midway point of the season I challenged Arizona to man-up and show pride. They’ve done just the opposite, playing even worse than they did before. You’re going bowling, Sun Devils. I say, Arizona St., 48-20.
