Pac-12 Roundup Week 2

Oregon 69 Nevada 20
Lowdown: Eesh. The Ducks were pretty peeved about dropping their first game to LSU and took it out against the Nevada Wolfpack in a "Hey guys, look what we can still do" type of performance. The Ducks absolutely dismantled Nevada, a team not nearly good as the ones the Bears faced last year, and were even leading 34-0 with 5 minutes left to go in the second quarter. The knock on the Ducks? They surrendered 283 yards to Nevada's rushing attack.

Up Next: If you thought the above score was bad, wait until you see what the Ducks do to lowly Missouri State. The Ducks could hit the hyper drive button and roll up 100 before starting conference play. Eesh.

Oregon State 0 Wisconsin 35
Lowdown:Oregon State followed up last week's shocking loss to Sacramento State with a 35-0 shutout to the Wisconsin Badgers. A upset was highly unlikely, but the lack of offensive cohesion from the Beavs has to be maddening for the coaching staff. What was just as perplexing was the QB rotation, with incumbent starter Ryan Katz starting off the game, and redshirt sophomore Sean Mannion playing most of it really, with Katz subbing for a few runs. This must speak volumes about the staff's lack of faith in Katz right now. I thought the defense played relatively well for most of the game, but couldn't do much with the offense unable to string together long drives.

Up Next
We all know the Beavers start off slow, but if the Beavers lose next week to UCLA, this season could be flat out disastrous, with a bowl eligibility unlikely just three games into the season. The Beavers need to get into mid-October with at least two wins for a fighting chance to salvage their season.


Stanford 44 Duke 14
Lowdown: I didn't catch the game, but I caught highlights and have read reports that have described Stanford's performance as both "workman like" and "not great." I don't know what to make of that. Like a crappy job from a plumber? In any sense, the 'Furd did what they were supposed to do against a crappy team (Duke is really bad), but at least they did it on the road. Oh, and Andrew Luck threw a pick six on a tipped pass. That's not going to happen often.

Up Next: Stanford gets a much stiffer test going to Tucson to face Arizona. Still not that stiff though (that's what she said). I just don't see Arizona shaking out to be a super competitive team, though the Cardinal will have their hands full with Arizona's wide receiver corps and Nick Foles. But my thought is that Stanford's front seven will get enough pressure on Foles to disrupt Arizona's rhythm and and the offense pulls out another crappy carpenter job to dispatch the Wildcats with too much trouble.

Washington 40 Hawaii 32
Lowdown: Hawaii's another one of those road head case teams. As a team, you'd never want to face the Warriors in Hawaii, despite the pretty surroundings, and you'd feel a bit better about facing them on your own turf. Washington got off to a fast start, and quarterback Keith Price put up much better numbers this week, passing for 315 yards and 4 TDs, with one pick. Chris Polk (wasn't he supposed to be injured!?) again topped the century mark on 22 carries with 107 yards and a score. The one gripe for Huskies fans are the 333 yards surrendered through the air, but it was against the run and gun offense of Hawaii.

Up Next: The Huskies face Nebraska in the very interesting rubber match in the best of three series. I'm not sold on Nebraska this year and think they'll barely be a Top 25 team by the end of the season, but they're good enough to give the Huskies a decent push, especially at Nebraska. While I've had my questions about Washington, a road win over Nebraska will get me even more worried about the Bears upcoming game with them on 9/24.

Washington State 59 UNLV 7
Lowdown: Don't look now but the Cougars are decent. I jumped on their bandwagon last year, only to realize they were still a year away from winning the close ones. Well, a year later, and they're routing bad teams (something decent teams do), and they're doing it without their starting quarterback. Marshall Lobbestael threw for 361 yards and 5 TDs. The Cougars are officially not the worst team in the conference right now (see Oregon State).

Up Next: If WSU beats a pretty solid San Diego State team, then shoot, look out for riots in Pullman. It's been nearly a decade since they started off 3-0 and bowl eligibility could look absolutely feasible if they go 2-1 during this road game stretch of SDSU, Colorado, and UCLA.

Arizona 14 Oklahoma State 37
Lowdown I didn't think Arizona had the stuff this year to make this one too competitive, and I was right as the Wildcats were dominated on both sides of the ball. While Foles did put up plenty of yards, the Wildcats struggled to finish in the redzone. They also continued to reveal the youth and inexperience at both lines. I will say that Oklahoma State looked like a pretty good team, and could be in the Top 10 by the time the season is done.

Up Next
That 1-4 start I predicted for Arizona is looking more and more likely with games against Stanford, Oregon, and a road game at USC right up next. I'm hoping everyone knows this was a rebuilding year for the Wildcats with virtually no returning starters at the offensive line, and a youthful defensive line, or things could get start getting hot for Mike Stoops down in Tucson.

Arizona State 37 Missouri 30
Lowdown Arizona's rivals fared much better on Friday night. The Sun Devils beat #21 ranked Missouri in overtime after allowing two fourth quarter touchdowns to push the game into overtime. Actually, the Sun Devils could have lost the game had Missouri's kicker not missed a 48 yard field goal in the final minute. ASU were counting on this game as being a "coming out" party of sorts, hoping to affirm many of the preseason expectations as a Pac-12 South favorite.

I thought ASU's passing game was really sharp, and was impressed with Osweiler's ability to make all the throws on the field. I also thought the Sun Devil's offensive line was pretty solid in pass protection, though Mizzou sent little pressure all night long. More than anything, the Sun Devils showed they could win the type of game they lost plenty of times last season.

Up Next: The Sun Devils face off against Illinois, in another game I think they'll win. That should set things up nicely for a huge Pac-12 South showdown against USC. We'll get a much better sense of Arizona State's quality then.

USC 23 (17?) Utah 14
Lowdown: I was too busy celebrating the Bears' win and going on with other aspects of life to catch this game, but it was a real whacky one as I hear. The Trojans blocked what would have been the tying 40 yard field goal, and returned the ball for a touchdown. Then the points were taken off. And put back on again. In any sense, I still don't know how strong both teams are just yet. The Trojans will out-talent any team in the conference, but lack depth and have had difficulty closing games out. The Utes are well coached and sound, but have been sloppy and inconsistent in their first two weeks. Either team though is an absolute contender in the South Division.

Up Next: The Trojans face off against a much improved Syracuse team before a critical South division showdown against ASU. USC has struggled blowing anyone out, but I have a feeling that things begin clicking for them this week.

The Utes have a classic rivalry game at BYU. The BYU Cougars are looking quite decent, but who knows which teams will show up on both sides after heartbreaking losses.

I think Utah is a better squad, but they could easily fall to the Cougars.

UCLA 27 San Jose State 17
Lowdown: I expected the Bruins to put the Spartans away handily at home, but there they were, tied 17-17 to start the fourth quarter. The Bruins have a decent amount of talent, but you really have to start wondering whether Neuheisel has lost this team already. There's no other reason this team should have made it this close against SJSU, especially at the Rose Bowl.

Up Next: The Bruins better get their sh*t together, because they face an angry Texas team that isn't going to take UCLA lightly again after last year's debacle. The Bruins can show some fight and instill some faith back in each other, as well as a fanbase that is already beginning to flock away from the Rose Bowl.