As we enter Week 11 of the college football season, the Pac-12 is still up for grabs, though some teams made a statement this past weekend.
The Week 10 slate of Pac-12 football was filled with excitement, as the Arizona Wildcats traveled to USC to take on the Trojans. Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate has been the story in the conference over the last five weeks, and with a win, the Wildcats would move into first in the Pac-12 South. The Trojans were able to beat Arizona, despite a furious comeback by the Wildcats, and are now in the driver’s seat in their division.
Over in the North, Washington State pulled off a solid victory against Stanford. Washington made quick work of Oregon, who were once again without starting quarterback Justin Herbert. Oregon State lost on the road to Cal, but they have played better as of late, and interim head coach Cory Hall has the program moving in the right direction.
Here are our latest Pac-12 Power Rankings.
Another week, another loss for the Oregon State Beavers, who were beaten by Cal on the road this past weekend. The Beavers are suffering through one of the worst seasons in school history, and in the process, they even lost their head coach. However, interim head coach Cory Hall has the team playing with some heart, and for the second week in a row, they came close to coming away with an upset victory.
Oregon State kept this one close up until late in the third, but Cal was able to pull away. Manase Hungalu led the Beavers with 20 tackles, as the senior linebacker was all over the field in this one. Star running back Ryan Nall was held in check in the run game, racking up only 37 yards on 12 carries, but he did end up leading the team in receiving yards with 54. Thomas Tyner found the end zone on the ground, but the offense just could not move the ball consistently on Saturday night.
This weekend, the Beavers will take on the Arizona Wildcats, who they have had success against in recent matchups. Oregon State has won five of their last six meetings with Arizona, though the Wildcats are currently one of the best teams in the conference. The Beavers still have yet to win a game in conference play, and time is running out for them to put one in the win column before the year is over.
The UCLA Bruins saw their record fall below .500 on Friday night, as they took on the Utah Utes on the road. Prior to the game, the Bruins ruled out star quarterback Josh Rosen, who suffered a concussion during their previous game against Washington. Without Rosen under center, the Bruins struggled to move the ball consistently, but it was really the defense that let them down once again in this one.
Devon Modster made his first collegiate start in place of the injured Rosen and played pretty well under center. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by freshman Matt Lynch, who completed two of three passes for 11 yards. Both Lynch and Modster found the end zone through the air, but this game was never close, and the Bruins’ head coach, Jim Mora may wind up losing his job because of their poor season.
Star wideout Darren Andrews saw his season end on Friday night, as he blew out his knee in the fourth quarter. Kenny Young led the defense once again with 12 tackles, though the Bruins defense is just plain lost at this point. The Utes were able to do whatever they wanted on Friday night, on the ground, and through the air, and in the end, it put the Bruins chances of making it to a bowl game on life support.