There was a big change this week at the top of the conference pecking order, as well as a couple of blowouts on the bottom of the conference. Here is how the conference fared.
No. 3 Oregon (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) vs. No. 5 Stanford (8-1, 6-1 Pac-12): Stanford W 26-20
Believe it or not, this game was a fairly big upset. Virtually everybody outside of Palo Alto, Calif., was picking the Ducks, but the Cardinal pulled it out. Stanford senior running back Tyler Gaffney put the Cardinal offense on his back, carrying the ball a school-record 45 times for 157 yards and one touchdown. Stanford absolutely dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 42:34 and keeping the potent Oregon offense off the field. When Oregon’s offense did take the field, they couldn’t muster anything against the Stanford defense. The Ducks’ offense was limited to a season-low 312 yards and a measly 62 yards rushing.
No. 19 UCLA (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) vs. Arizona (6-3, 3-3 Pac-12): UCLA W 31-26
UCLA senior linebacker Anthony Barr used to play running back, but on Saturday, Barr’s teammate, freshman Myles Jack, moved from linebacker to running back and had himself an impressive showing. Jack led the Bruins in rushing, and carried the ball only six times for 120 yards and one touchdown. On defense Jack also made a mark, by making eight tackles and recovering a fumble. Bruins redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley had a good game throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another. UA junior running back Ka’Deem Carey rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough as the Bruins prevailed and keep their Pac-12 South hopes alive.
USC (7-3, 4-2 Pac-12) vs. Cal (1-9, 0-7 Pac-12): USC W 62-28
The struggles for the Golden Bears stretch on for yet another week. USC Sophomore wide receiver Nelson Agholor ran back two punt returns for touchdowns and he wasn’t the only Trojan doing ridiculous things with the ball. Redshirt sophomore Javorius Allen carried the ball only six times but he made the most of his carries, racking up 135 yards and two touchdowns. The only positive takeaway from the game for the Golden Bears was the performance of Jared Goff, Cal's freshman quarterback. Goff was 34 of 48 passing for 255 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Colorado (3-6, 0-6 Pac-12) vs. Washington (6-3, 3-3 Pac-12): Washington W 59-7
After a difficult three-game skid, the Huskies have bounced back by beating the Buffaloes and winning their second straight. Washington redshirt senior quarterback Keith Price torched the Buffaloes for 312 passing yards, two touchdowns in the air and a rushing touchdown. Junior running back Bishop Sankey also got back on track, carrying the ball 23 times for 143 yards and a touchdown. The sole highlight for the Buffaloes was a 53-yard touchdown catch by junior wideout Paul Richardson to give Colorado their only score of the game.
