College Football PASS/FAIL Report: PAC-12 Week 3

PAC-12

PASS: Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Colorado, California, Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford

I really thought about failing Oregon this week after a runaway win over Georgia State. The defense, once again, was an absolute mess, and Oregon could be in trouble when their schedule picks up next week in conference play.

Washington is a program in flux, one that is in building mode. The Huskies beat Utah State 31-17 in a game that builds confidence for their young players. The Huskies only loss has been to Boise State, and that only by 3.

UCLA is getting by with a bullish defense and a run game that could rival an option club at this point. UCLA got a let TD from Nathan Starks, and Myles Jack intercepted miracle man Tanner Mangum late to preserve a come from behind win over BYU that was largely sluggish. Josh Rosen was mostly awful in this game before tossing a TD pass to Jordan Payton to get within three.

Arizona gets the cupcake pass this week, as they blasted Northern Arizona 77-13. The Cats now have a home game war looming with UCLA to open PAC-12 play next week.

Don’t look now, but Colorado is now 2-1, and have won two straight after blocking a FG in OT and hitting one of their own in a 27-24 rivalry win over Colorado State. I don’t see the Buffs winning the PAC-12 South, but a bowl may not be out of the question just yet.

After a very slow start with San Jose State, Oregon State lit a spark, and found an identity in a 35-21 win. The Beavers trailed 21-14, and outscored the Spartans 21-0 the rest of the way to get a much needed win. There’s still work to do for Gary Anderson, but this was encouraging.

For the first time, California was seriously challenged on the road, and they passed the test by holding off a late Texas rally 45-44. A missed extra point by Texas sealed the deal in one of their biggest wins in years.

Washington State didn’t win pretty, but as the 80’s rock band Tesla once said, “Call it what you want”. The Cougars needed another confidence boost, and they got it in a close win against the worst team in our PRS rankings, Wyoming, by a score of 31-24.

Stanford is starting to show that their opening dud loss to Northwestern may have been an enigma, as they blasted USC apart last night in LA, as the Cardinal held the football for 39 minutes in winning their PAC-12 opener 41-31 over the Trojans.

FAIL: USC

The Trojans are the only team in the conference to earn a failing grade, as they lose at home to Stanford 41-31 to open PAC-12 play. USC was our top ranked team in our PRS Rankings, and had blasted away at a cupcake schedule heading in, so we still knew nothing about them. After allowing Stanford to hold the ball for 39 minutes, we now know that the Trojan defense has issues.