This isn’t … well … your tween’s Pac-12, assuming you have a tween child. For the first time in eight years, it looks like someone other than Stanford or Oregon will be winning the conference. They lost by a combined 112-37 to Washington State and Washington respectively.
There’s more to know, but that’s the main part. The changing of the guard is real, and official.
1. The two best teams from the conference currently are from the Evergreen State
With all due respect to Utah, right now, Washington and Washington State are playing better than anyone in the nation. Both have been buoyed by their play along the lines. WSU for their part stuck with the run against Stanford even though it wasn’t getting them spectacular results. The reclamation project there since losing to Eastern Washington and getting down big to Boise State is some of Mike Leach’s best stuff. Meanwhile, if there were lingering questions about the Huskies coming out flat amidst their newfound national recognition after pelting Stanford … none of that. They hung a devastating 70 on Oregon which could send ripples around the conference in the off season.
2. Mark Helfrich just can’t find quarterbacks as a head coach
One of the things that has made the Oregon offense hum so well over the years is their quick decision making quarterbacks, which have electrified a potent running game, which has always been the centerpiece of those high flying offenses, no stinking pun intended since Ducks fly. Helfrich was never going to immediately replace Marcus Mariota, but relying on FCS grad transfers the last two years rather than home grown talent has made the position one of too much turnover. And when that hyper fast offense can’t stay on the field, the defense is on too long, and you give up a whole mess of points. Dark times in Duck Green.
3. Quietly, USC is turning things around
After getting smoked by Alabama to open the season, rumors of infighting at USC made it look like that program was headed for some high profile bloodletting. But they held a top 25 Colorado offense who’d scored 40+ in all but one game (Michigan) to 17, picked up a nice win over a ranked team in the process, and look like they’re back on track. Couple that with the fact that the Pac-12 South looks like it could be anyone’s game since all have taken on water in-conference, and this could be a cool in-season reclamation project that looked like it was a far cry from being an option only a few weeks ago. See, sometimes, just trust that things CAN indeed get better in-season.
4. Beavers finally show signs of positive life
Oregon State slipping by Cal in an old school Pac-12 shootout from the days of your Gen-X’er youth when the entire conference was just high scoring mediocrity won’t register on many minds, but it was a nice step for a team that hasn’t won a Pac-12 game since 2014. They did so rushing for a staggering 474 yards, including the winning score in overtime. Yeah, they blew a 17-point final quarter lead, but wins are wins when you haven’t been getting them, and Cal has shown decent improvement as well. Their defense leaves much to be desired, but again, it’s a much-needed step up.
5. UCLA and Arizona have officially clinched disappointing season level
The 2-4 Wildcats lost to Utah and haven’t looked good all season long. There’s a lot going on there, but it’s a bit of a startling regression after only two years ago, this seemed like one of the major ascending programs in the country and Rich Rodriguez had officially found the career-shine he’d misplaced in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, UCLA figured to reap the benefits of constant USC instability with a bevy of young talent and a firey former NFL coach who basically just needed oxygen to appear at peak intensity level (sound like someone else, though they do it differently?). UCLA took one on the chin to Arizona State to drop to 3-3, and it appears neither are on the arc we expected them to be on. Surprising, to say the least.
