Pac-12 power rankings, Week 4: USC trounced by Texas, Arizona State upset
By Brad Weiss
There is finally some life with the Arizona Wildcats, though they had to take on an FCS school to show some. Preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Khalil Tate got the offense rolling early and often, throwing for 345 yards and five touchdowns and giving head coach Kevin Sumlin his first victory at the helm of the program.
When all was said and done, the Wildcats came away with a 62-31 victory, and in a season that did not start the way they planned, they will take the blowout win. Tate was kept out of harm’s way throughout the game, taking big shots downfield as the offense looked like the unit many expected it to look like heading into the season.
Arizona will look to continue its winning ways this weekend against Oregon State in a game that is very much winnable for Sumlin and company. If they can be as balanced on offense as they were against Southern Utah, they should be able to come away with a road win in Week 4. This game was pretty close going into the second half, and with Oregon State’s offensive firepower, Arizona cannot afford to let that happen.
In the only Pac-12 matchup of the weekend, the Utah Utes played host to the Washington Huskies in a very good early-season matchup. Utah hung with the No. 10 team in the country throughout and had some chances to upset the Huskies, but the Utes just could not get through the Washington defense when they had their shots inside the red zone.
The loss was Utah’s first of the season, and while the Utes should be happy with how their defense played, they cannot afford to cough up the ball the way they did against Washington. The Utes had two costly fumbles inside Washington territory, and against a team as good as the Huskies, that is usually going to lead to a loss.
Zack Moss continued his solid season, scoring a touchdown and racking up 67 yards on the ground, and the connection between Tyler Huntley and Britain Covey was effective once more. Covey, who is returning from two years of serving a church mission, has caught at least seven balls in each of the first three games of the season. Utah is off this weekend, before returning to action against Washington State on Sept. 29.