With only five games on the Pac-12 slate this past weekend, the conference is doing this weekly column no favors in forcing it to extract broad sweeping ideas from a small sample size. Oh well, on with the show.
1. Sam Darnold looks like the real deal
Darnold didn’t start until the fourth game of a very uneven season for the Trojans, but he appears to seem like the next big thing in the Pac-12. To be frank, USC walks in highly rated recruits at will, especially at the skill positions, but several have just not worked out lately. Darnold hasn’t played a murderer’s row of any sort in his four starts, but the once-woebegone Trojans have won three of them and even his head coach is singing his praises hoping the young fella doesn’t get his head too swelled. We’ve seen this story a million times … freshman comes on the scene and makes a splash, only to regress, so this story isn’t nearly complete. But he’s completing 67 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. There’s no way to slice that other than “really good.”
2. This is a throwaway year for Rich Rodriguez and Arizona
As much there are reasons for concern … Arizona has dramatically decreased in standing the last two seasons … it’s hard to ignore the chaos that’s befallen this 2016 Wildcats team. Against USC, they started a 17-year-old whom USC didn’t choose to recruit hard. SEVENTEEN. They ended up having to pull him for a tight end buried on the depth chart that hadn’t played quarterback since high school, and this was an issue for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan as well. His style and system is wholly dependent on the quarterback, and the quarterback gets banged up in this offense. That’s the scary part … we’ve seen this not work beforehand. At least the tight end has support, I suppose. Bear Down, Zona fans.
Appreciate all the love guys. ✊🏼
— Matt Morin (@matthewmorin10) October 16, 2016
3. Regardless of what anyone thinks, that was a big win over Notre Dame for Stanford
We’ve established that Notre Dame simply isn’t a good football team this year, but going into the fourth quarter, Stanford was looking down the barrel at three straight games not scoring even 15 points. They’d been routed by both Evergreen State teams. Blood was in the water. Then, on the heels of really what was a great defensive performance for a banged up group, they outscored the Irish 8-0 and won the game on a controversial finish. Which, who cares, wins are wins. After two of the worst weeks in recent Stanford memory, they simply needed a win, and they got it, on the road. This won’t spur them back into Pac-12 contention, but what it will do is get them back on the right track to a season that probably looks like it’ll end with 8-9 wins.
4. Colorado looks like a team that has learned how to handle the ebb and flow of success/disappointment
Buff, buff pass. Or run. A week ago, the Buffaloes were dealing with their worst offensive performance of the season in a loss to USC. If they wanted to maintain a shot at the division title, a win over Arizona State was a must have. So what happened? Colorado blew the doors off the Sun Devils, mostly on the ground, but with the return of Sefo Liufau under center. The stages of coming of age as a winning program take time, but one of those hurdles is to overcome a crushing loss where you’re finally expected to win and follow it up with a big win. The Buffs have done this.
5. Wazzu’s commitment to the run has changed everything
The first two weeks of the season, Washington State either couldn’t run the ball or had only a passing interest in doing so, no pun intended if that’s even a pun. The next two weeks, hot knife through butter. Mower through grass. White Castle through your bowels. The last two weeks? Sticking with it in spite of it not being a game breaking route to go. Against UCLA, the Cougars ran it 35 times for 95 yards, which indicates a team committed to doing what it takes to win and be balanced even when it’s not a smashing success. This is rapidly becoming one of Mike Leach’s best jobs, because the team found the running game and won’t let off of it. 2016 is just weird.
