Pac-12 Football Round Up: Week 5

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This week in the Pac-12 every game was a lopsided victory for one team while the other had a mediocre showing. The winning teams combined to score 247 points while only giving up a total of 104. To find a week where so many teams got an easy win in the Pac-12 is rare, so lets take a closer look on what went down.

Oregon State- 44 Colorado- 17

Colorado was coming into this game 2-0 and ready to get back on to the field after three weeks off due to severe flooding in the nearby. Three weeks off can do a lot to your team and it showed as the Buffalo had no answer for Oregon State. Beavers quarterback Sean Mannion had 414 yards through the air and also broke the school record for touchdown passes in a game with six. This is the fourth win in a row for the Beavers and the first setback for Colorado.

#16 Washington- 31 Arizona 13

For the first time since 2001 Washington has started a season 4-0 and it was behind the legs of Bishop Sankey. Sankey who rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown on a school-record 40 carries out performed Arizona star Ka’Deem Carey who also had noteworthy performance. The conditions were windy and wet and the weather had a big effect on Arizona quarterback B.J. Denker who never found rhythm after his first pass was intercepted by Sean Parker. After the rain intensified both offenses really struggled and Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez was visibly angry with Denker throughout the game. After a Husky score the Wildcats found themselves trailing 25-13 and in need of big plays. Arizona was driving the ball down field when Denker threw his second interception this time to Marcus Peters causing Rich Rodriguez to throw his headset to the ground in anger. Arizona now falls to 3-1 and Washington looks to keep the momentum going as they face number five Stanford next week.

#5 Stanford- 55 Washington State- 17

Stanford put up 55 points and had a total of 560 yards as they rolled to a win over Washington State. At the end of the first quarter Stanford was only leading 10-7 but 21 third quarter points sealed the deal. Barry Sanders Jr., son of the great Barry Sanders, had his first ever touchdown on a 22 yard run bringing back memories of his legendary father. The Cardinal defense had points of their own by bringing two interceptions back for touchdowns.

Arizona State- 62 USC- 41

As a USC fan this one was not fun to watch… at all. The Arizona State offense had 612 total yards and absolutely torched the USC defense and silenced all the praise they have had. Do not be fooled by the 41 points USC scored because ASU had a 28-0 run and the offense did nothing to help the defense. Cody Kessler was 20-29 for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two picks. The first interception was thrown to a wide open Marqise Lee who dropped the worlds easiest catch and it was picked off the tip, the other was thrown behind Lee and brought all the way back for a touchdown. Taylor Kelly had a great game throwing for 351 yards and three touchdowns never letting the Sun Devil offense slow down. On top of the mediocre play the Trojans lost star receiver Marqise Lee to a knee injury that appears to be serious. The one bit of good news Trojan fans got was that head coach Lane Kiffin was fired immediately after getting off the plane.

#2 Oregon- 55 California-16

This game was over in the first quarter when Oregon was leading 27-0. Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as he was not affected at all by the storm that was pouring down. Mariota would sit out the second half as he watched the California offense struggle to find any signs of life. Cal’s freshman quarterback Jared Goff was replaced in the first quarter because he simply could not grip the ball in the heavy rain. The win was bitter-sweet for the Ducks because they lost standout running back De’Anthony Thomas to an ankle injury during the opening kickoff. Thomas reappeared on the sidelines with crutches but Oregon will not release any information on the seriousness of the injury.

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The biggest news coming out of the PAC-12 this weekend was the firing of USC head coach Lane Kiffin, you can read all about it on our website. For the most part this weekend was full of games that were over at the half, but it was still great to see how teams have developed from prior weeks. Next week will have some big headlines as Stanford faces Washington, and USC has their first game in the post Lane Kiffin era.