PAC-12 Round Up – Week 8

Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Week eight in the PAC-12 had some exciting games that made up for the blowouts. The matchup between Stanford and UCLA was a physical one with the Cardinal running the ball all over the Bruins. Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday broke the record for pass attempts in a game but in a very strange way. Week eight showed us a lot of what our conference offers so lets take a look at each game.

Charleston Southern-10 Colorado-43

Colorado got an easy win against a lower division opponent. It was a much needed win for their morale as they dropped the last three before this one. Freshmen quarterback Sefo Liufau won his first career start as Connor Wood remained on the sideline. Liufau was 14 for 20 with 198 yards and a touchdown. Colorado played smart football as they only had two penalties and zero turnovers.

#9 UCLA-10 #13 Stanford-24

The game of the week turned out to be a good one as Stanford and UCLA fought until the very end. Tyler Gaffney led the Cardinal in rushing with 171 yards and two touchdowns. The Stanford defense absolutely shutdown Brett Hundley and his offense. Coming into the game UCLA was averaging 45.8 points a game but could only muster ten against the physical Stanford defense. Hundley struggled as he threw for 198 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. With 2:57 left in the game and Stanford up by seven UCLA had one more chance. Hundley threw  consecutive  incomplete passes and on third down Hundley threw his second interception. Gaffney would then muscle his way for another touchdown to bring the game to its final score.

#20 Washington- 24 Arizona State- 53

Washington, who started the season 4-0, has now dropped their last three games. The Sun Devils did a tremendous job of limiting Washington running back Bishop Sankey. Coming into the game as the nation’s leading rusher Sankey was held to a measly 22 yards. In fact the Washington run game was so bad they actually had a total of negative five yards on the night. The Sun Devils put constant pressure on Keith Price as he was sacked seven times. The Arizona State offense had 585 yards total with 314 coming on the ground. Marion Grice carried much of the load for ASU as he had 158 yards and two touchdowns. Washington needs to do something to salvage their season, and ASU needs to find a way to keep their momentum alive.

USC-10 Notre Dame- 14

This one is a tale of missed opportunities for USC. First off they played some extremely sloppy football and it hurt me to be watching it. USC had eleven penalties for 95 yards, many of them coming in the final minutes. It seemed like every play it was either a holding or a false start. After a goal-line stand on Notre Dame’s first drive USC drove the ball 94 yards to take the lead 7-0. On the next drive Marqise Lee dropped a ball in the end zone which forced USC to kick a field goal that Andre Heidari missed. At the end of the half Notre Dame had the lead 14-10 and it would stay that way for the rest of the game. Both Tommy Rees and Marqise Lee left the game with injuries giving forcing both teams to play inexperienced guys. This one falls on the USC o-line for making stupid mistakes and kicker Andre Heidari for keeping six points off the board with kicks that are normally easy for him.

Utah- 24 Arizona-35

Utah was coming off a huge game against Stanford but the pressure was to much as they lost to Arizona. Ka’Deem Carey led the Wildcats in rushing with 236 yards and two touchdowns. Utah was left handicapped after quarterback Travis Wilson left the game in the first half with a right hand injury. At the half Utah was losing 20-7 but 91 seconds into the third quarter they took the lead thanks to the offense moving the ball efficiently. In the fourth Ka’Deem Carey fumbled the ball and Utah recovered on the Arizona 39. Arizona then forced the filed goal which was wide left., and Carey would then run the clock out until he scored the final touchdown of the night

Washington State- 38 #2 Oregon- 62

Marcus Mariota proved he was not perfect as he fumbled twice in the first half but he regrouped and played a great game. Mariota was 23 for 32 with 327 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks improve to 7-0 on the season. The game was a blowout but Oregon was not the headline of the game, it was WSU quarterback Connor Halliday as he broke the record for pass attempts in a game. Halliday was 58 for 89 with 557 yards and fourth touchdowns, although he also had four interceptions. The Cougars only had two yards rushing the ball and head coach Mike Leach was intent on throwing the ball. The Cougars were throwing the ball late into the fourth when the game was already decided, they even threw the ball when there was 20 seconds left in the game.

Oregon State- 49 Cal-17

It has been a really tough year for Cal, and Oregon State didn’t make it any better as they destroyed them in front of their home crowd. Ever since they dropped their first game of the season Oregon State has won six straight. Sean Mannion deserves most of the credit for his teams winning streak and the win last night. Mannion threw for 481 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Cal now drops to 1-6 and unless the world flips over they will not make a bowl game.

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It is hard to believe it is already week eight but time flies when good football is on, and the PAC-12 has had a lot of good football. Oregon is playing, in my opinion, the best football in the nation and will face UCLA next week. College GameDay will be in Eugene, Oregon for the game as it will be a battle of Top-25 teams. As for USC they look to get back on track as they face Utah at home. Week nine better be ready because we expect a lot.