Oregon was the heavy favorite to win the Pac-12 title going into the week, scoring at least 45 points in each of their first 7 games. They found themselves tied at 14 at halftime, the first time since the loss to Stanford late last season that they were not leading at that point. They must have turned something around during the break as the team came alive in the second half, looking like the Duck offense that we all know and love. They were able to outscore UCLA 28-0 in the second half to pull away for a 42-14 win. Oregon was most impressive on defense, where they forced (now former) Heisman contender Brett Hundley to throw 2 interceptions while also only gaining 64 yards. UCLA has now lost back to back games, but you can't really blame them as the two games came against Oregon and Stanford. Washington did the same thing earlier in the year, but after the loses to Oregon and Stanford, the Huskies fell again, 53-24 to Arizona State. UCLA hopes to avoid that same fate as they host Colorado next Saturday.
Oregon State had the nation's leading passer and receiver coming into its game with Stanford last week. Stanford did a great job of shutting down the Beavers high powered attack, slowing Sean Mannion to just 271 yards, considerably less than his season average. The problem for the Cardinal was on offense, where they managed just 88 passing yards. they are going to need more production from the passing game if they want any shot at beating Oregon in two weeks. Luckily, the Cardinal have a much needed bye week to prepare for it. Oregon State is going to have a tough time if they want to win the Pac-12 North, although they still have a good chance. They would need to win out, that means a huge season ending win against the Ducks, and have Oregon beat Stanford next week.
Washington finally ended its three game losing streak against CAL, who might be the Pac-12's worst team. Superstar running back Bishop Sankey was able to run for 241 yards and 2 TD's to help the team stay in contention for the Pac-12 title. Washington still has big games against Oregon State and UCLA left.
Utah once again showed just how bad it is on the road, losing 19-3 in LA against USC. Since the week 7 upset of Stanford, Utah has now lost back to back road games to USC and Arizona. Two of Utah's final four games will be on the road, those games being against Washington State and Oregon. USC continues to try and bounce back in the Pac-12, improving to 5-3 (2-2) and staying alive the the south race. They have a big game on the road against Oregon State Friday night, but if they can win that, they might just find a way to get to the conference title.
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