Pac-12 Week 1 Roundup

Up and down week for the Pac-12. I actually predicted the conference to go 11-0 last week, only to go 8-3 with Bears falling in the last minute to Nevada (single tear), and watching Colorado fall to Colorado State. Colorado State. Eesh.

Here's a breakdown of the weekend's games and a look forward.

Utah 41 Northern Colorado 0
Lowdown: I could swear I heard the Utah coaching staff assuring Utah fans that they wouldn't force John White IV to carry the ball 300+ times this season. So much for that. John White carried the ball 25 times for 122 yards and a TD against a Big Sky opponent. Still, the biggest question for the Utes was how well Jordan Wynn's shoulder would fare after his multiple surgeries. Wynn looked...ok. Showed some nice zip on some balls, didn't seem to hesitate too much, but didn't do enough to make anyone think Utah is close to being anything other than the John White show.

As for Utah's defense, we all knew they would be stout, but Northern Carolina shot themselves in the foot time and time again with some poor blocking off the edges, tough field position, and some conservative playcalling. With that said, it's still impressive when you keep a team from even crossing midfield.

Up Next: Utah has a bit of a stiffer challenge in a road game against a decent Utah State squad. The Utes aren't in any real danger, but they better clean up some issues if they want to avoid dropping that key non-conference game against BYU.

UCLA 49 Rice 24
Lowdown: What a wacky, wacky game. UCLA gets off to a hollywood start with freshman QB Brett Hundley taking a QB keeper 72 yards for a score on his first collegiate play. Jonathan Franklin also records 2 rushing TDs of over 70 yards. The Bruins would also have 3 PATs blocked, en route to giving up 24 points and 357 yards in the first half.

The Bruins have to be encouraged with the play of Brett Hundley overall. The freshman was 22 of 29 passes for 204 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. Even more impressive? 8 rushes for 146 yards and 2 TDs. The Bruins offense overall rolled up 616 yards. The only downer? The yards were against Rice. (sad trombone noise). We knew this going into the game, but Rice looked preeeeetttty terrible.

Up Next: Nebraska? Ok and then the--wait, what? Nebraska? Ohhh crap. A win seems unlikely, but I'm far more interested to see what UCLA can do against a tough Nebraska defense. And Nebraska is far from being an offensive juggernaut, but they're a far cry from Rice. I'm almost just as curious to see how the Bruins' defense fares against the Cornhuskers. Gut instinct? This might get ugly quickly. But Hundley's development will be fun to watch.

Arizona State 63 Northern Arizona 6
Lowdown: In a night of low expectations and an even lower turnout in Sun Devil Stadium, ASU absolutely dismantled Northern Arizona. Just abused them. I know what you're thinking, "Yeah, yeah, it's just Northern Arizona." Now I know NAU aren't exactly world beaters, but the new no huddle Sun Devil offense looked focused, sharp, and dare I say, entertaining to watch? Despite being the most boring QB announcement, I was very impressed with starting QB Taylor Kelly. He looked poised and in command of the offense, and I thought he showed a decent set of wheels.

Fun note of worth, former Cal RB Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson was the NAU offense Thursday night rolling up 81 yards.

Up Next: It'll be tougher sledding for the Sun Devils when they have to face an actual FBS team next week in Illinois. I had this as a loss going into the season, but I must say, that Sun Devil offense will torment some teams this season. Illinois just might be one of them.

Washington State 6 BYU 30
Lowdown: A nightmare of a start to the Mike Leach era at Wazzu. You have to feel for the the Cougar fans who made the trip to Provo, filled with optimism, only to see much of the same. The Cougars had a chance at making this a real good game...until Jeff Tuel was picked off at the end of the first drive. For as much as fans hyped the advent of the Mike Leach air raid, the Cougars managed just 3 points. WSU seemed shaken out of their gameplan early, and forced to go for more vertical routes instead of spreading it around the field. Up Next: For as tough as it was for the Leach's squad on Thursday, it's going to get better for the Cougars. They're going to be better. Their defense is playing better upfront. They have a great place to recollect themselves and get better as they face off against Eastern Washington next week. This will give them virtually two weeks to work the kinks out and bounce back from a game that few had them actually winning anyway.

Stanford 20 San Jose State 17
Lowdown: First off, give credit where credit is due to this San Jose State squad. They were far better than most anticipated, and this team's in a much better position than it has been in years. If their receivers could have cut down on just half their drops this might have been a different ball game.

With that said, I think it's safe to say that the Stanford fanbase is going to quickly realize just how different life is post-Andrew Luck. I believe that for as much as fans lauded Luck's ability, they strangely underestimated just how much he did for their offense. He nearly singlehandedly kept the Cardinal out of third and long situations, and with him their offense completed a ridiculous 52.6% of their third downs. Without him? The Cardinal converted just 2 of their 13 3rd down conversion attempts. But beyond that, I was stunned at how little push Stanford's vaunted offensive line got on an outmatched Spartan squad.And than on top of that, Stanford's secondary proved itself to be vulnerable to sideline catches and posts over the middle.

Up Next: The Cardinal are unlikely to be challenged much more than they were last week as they face off against a hapless Duke squad. It should be another week to continue to work out the kinks and build Josh Nunes' confidence. But then again, I though the Cardinal would roll San Jose State, so what do I know?

Colorado 17 Colorado State 22
Lowdown: Colorado suffered another one of the "eesh" losses of the weekend, giving up a 14-9 half time lead. The Buffaloes were held to just a field goal in the second half, and Jon Embree's Buffs suffered a deflating loss in what was supposed to their "We're getting better, seriously guys" party. One of the biggest reasons the Buffalos lost? A combined 58 rushing yards on the ground. Oof.

Up Next: The Bears have a bounce back game against Sacramento State. At this point you've got to think Colorado is simply hoping for confidence and some type of rhythm. I had actually given the Buffalos a decent chance at going 3-0 through it's non-conference slate, but suddenly the road trip to Fresno State the week after doesn't seem like such a gimme anymore.

USC 49 Hawaii 10
Lowdown: The closest this game was before the opening kickoff. The Trojans steamrolled Hawaii in their attempt to boldly declare that they're ready to live up to their preseason hype. And they did it in the flashiest of styles, with QB Matt Barkley hitting Marquise Lee for a 75 yard TD pass on the first play of the game. In even better news, the Trojans left the game healthy, critical for a team with top tier talent but questionable depth.

Up Next: The Trojans face off against a Syracuse squad that showed it was capable of putting up plays in a 42-41 barnburner of a loss against Northwestern. No matter. Assuming this team stay healthy, there isn't a team with the talent to push the Trojans until they face Oregon in November. And yes, I'm perfectly aware of what time I'm omitting.

Arizona 24 Toledo 17
Lowdown: Ok, so for the record I didn't watch this game. But in my defense, the matchup was Arizona and Toledo. C'mon. But from what I gathered from the highlights and reading up on the game, it seems the only thing stopping Arizona from having rolled up massive points were there three turnovers. The Wildcats rolled up a 624 freaking yards, but could manage just 17 points through 3rd quarters. Given the defensive questions surrounding this squad, I've gotta think you have to be encouraged if you're a Wildcat fan. Your team got the win, your defense buckled up as the game wore on, your QB Matt Scott showed he's perfectly capable in this offense, and the turnover issue is something that should shore up as the season wears on.

Up Next: Ok, Wildcat fans, don't let the next opponent discourage you. Oklahoma State. Sure they dismantled Savannah State to the tune of 84-0, but it's not going to be that bad. I mean you guys are in all likelihood going to lose, but trust that your team will learn from it and get better as this year goes on. It's getting better for you guys.

Washington 21 San Diego State 12
Lowdown: If you're a Huskies fan, you've got to be happy with your defense's performance, giving up just 12 points and scoring a TD on a fumble return. Just ignore the 199 yards your defense surrendered on the ground. Offensively, your star quarterback Keith Price shined, as did your star receiver Kasen Williams and tight-end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. Just ignore the fact that you couldn't score after the first quarter and that you lost your running back Jesse Callier for the year. Relax. It'll be ok because...

Up Next: ...Heeeeere comes the toughest non-conference game of the year. I wanted to think that the Huskies would feature one of the better offenses in the conference and could score on any team. I honestly think Keith Price can do that much for this offense. But LSU will be be just too much to handle for the Huskies all around. At this point you have to think that Huskies fans are just hoping that Price remains healthy.

Oregon 57 Arkansas State 34
Lowdown: I'm actually disappointed the Ducks didn't make me look any more brilliant than I already am by fulfilling my prediction of running up 70 on Arkansas State. But Chip Kelly called off the dogs after the Ducks went into halftime with a shiny 50-10 lead. In the process they affirmed our deepest fears: Marcus Mariota is scary good, DeAnthony Thomas is going to absolutely scorch defenses this year, and the Ducks defense is going to continue to "fly" to the ball. See what I did there?

Up Next: The Ducks have gone all SEC with their schedule. Check out their impressive opening slate of games: Arkansas State, Fresno State, and Tennessee Tech. Yeah, until November 3rd's contest against USC, there's really nothing to see here.