Bilo's College Football PASS/FAIL Reports Week 7: PAC-12

PAC-12

PASS: Utah, USC, Stanford, Colorado, Washington State

Make no mistake, as the Utah win over Oregon State was an ugly thing to watch, but the Utes are now 6-1, and are 3-1 in PAC-12 play, meaning that they are tied for first in the South by virtue of their win yesterday. No game in this league is a throw away, and the Utes win proved that.

USC is looking like a completely different team from the unit that got clubbed by Alabama. The Trojans, however, lost Steve Smith for the year, and that wasn’t their only injury yesterday in their 48-14 win over Arizona. Sam Darnold, however, is proving to be the cure at QB. He certainly isn’t playing like a freshman most of the time, and he is driving this resurgence.

Stanford was lifeless in the 1^st half at Notre Dame, but then came a burst of energy, and the Cardinal scored 17 unanswered points to beat Notre Dame without Christian McCaffrey. That win was huge, as Stanford had lost 2 straight heading in.

Colorado crushed Arizona State 40-16 in Boulder, and now the Buffs are tied with Utah at the top of the South. Few teams in the nation have improved like the Buffs have, and Mike McIntyre is looking like a coach of the year candidate in the conference.

Washington State was at one point 0-2 with a loss to FCS Eastern Washington. The Cougars are now the lone team in the North looking to compete with Washington for that division title after winning their 4^th straight game, 27-21 over UCLA in abysmal weather in Pullman. The Cougars and Huskies are both unbeaten in PAC-12 play.

FAIL: Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA

Oregon State has been outscored 110-62 in conference play, but they really pushed Utah yesterday in a 19-14 loss. Gary Anderson is getting improved play out of the Beavers, but they have to start winning close games like these. The offense failed the defense this week.

Arizona is lifeless, and gave Rich Rodriguez a massive extension that he never deserved. They have to be regretting that extension right now, with Arizona sitting in the South basement at 0-4. Arizona had a passer rating of just -9.5 at the half of their 48-14 loss to USC yesterday, and had completed just 2 passes with 2 QBs in that half.

Arizona State is now just 2-2 in PAC-12 play, but the Sun Devils are a maddening team right now. They were dominant against UCLA last week, but played like hell in losses to USC the week before, and Colorado this week.

UCLA is a mess. The vitriol that I started against Jim Mora last week has reached fever peak, especially after a hapless loss to Washington State last night. The Bruins are lost on every level offensively, and the defense is unfairly carrying the load. Everything starts and ends with the O line, and yet Adrian Klemm, who is now on a show cause, is still employed. Mora needs to fire Klemm, or Mora needs to go with him, which would be just fine with me.