The Ducks always seem to put on their best for Washington, as they did last week. The follow-up to Oregon’s 11th consecutive win over UW was hardly as impressive. Although the final score indicates a game that wasn’t particularly close, Cal held its own with the top team in the conference. There just doesn’t seem to be a team on Oregon’s level this season, despite UA’s win in Eugene.
As impressive as ASU was at Washington, Utah’s win at USC keeps it in the No. 2 slot in the power rankings. Nov. 1’s game could be among the best all season in the Pac-12, as Utah visits Sun Devil Stadium for an 8 o’clock showdown in the desert. It’ll be a matchup of one-loss teams, both of which have nail-biting wins at USC. It could be the game that determines who goes to the Pac-12 championship.
It looks like the Sun Devils have found their identity. More importantly, it looks like the defense has. Everyone knew ASU could score points, but the defensive question marks entering the season persisted until last week against Stanford. Those question marks were erased, and the defense made a statement, holding the Cardinal to just 10 points. The Sun Devils proved it wasn’t just a fluke with another dominating performance in the wind and rain at Washington, holding the Huskies to just three offensive points.
The Wildcats have yet to really trip up this season. They lost a game most at the start of the season would have expected them to lose, to USC. But that came on the heels of the biggest upset in the Pac-12 this season. Other than that, the Wildcats have been flawless, beating whom they need to beat. In a nonconference schedule that wouldn’t even scare the teams that were on it, the Wildcats were unimpressive, but four games into the Pac-12 schedule, there are few people questioning the Wildcats’ legitimacy.
This spot essentially goes to Stanford by default. With USC’s loss and UCLA's uninspiring win at Colorado, an upper tier in the Pac-12 is finally establishing itself. The Cardinal won by 24 at home against Oregon State, and it was never close. Still, the team hasn't done anything to make anyone believe it is a top-four team in the Pac-12. It's just done enough (at the right time) to slot ahead of USC and UCLA this week.
Unfortunately, USC dropped out of the top 25 after losing a close one at Utah. That was probably undeserved, especially as UCLA continues to hold onto the No. 25 spot. A three-point loss in Salt Lake City should look better than a three-point overtime win at Colorado. But alas, a win is a win and a loss is a loss. The Trojans were looking like a legitimate threat in the South, but, with two conference losses, their fate now lies in other teams’ hands.
One of these weeks, the Bruins are going to lose. Of course, it’s happened twice already, but it could easily have been four times. Two of the bottom dwellers in the conference, Cal and Colorado, have both played the Bruins within one score, and in Colorado’s case, to overtime. For much of the first three quarters, it looked as though the Bruins had figured it out, but then they allowed the Buffaloes to make a 17-point fourth-quarter comeback and force overtime. The Bruins will be fighting for their last chance at the Pac-12 South when they face UA on Saturday. A loss would be a fatal blow to the Bruins’ Pac-12 title hopes, and it feels like there’s one coming after the last two weeks.
It’s a shame the Huskies don’t have an offense to match their defense. UW held ASU to 10 points in the first half and 17 offensive points for the game. Even those were an effect of poor punting and special teams play, rather than the defense. Unfortunately, their offense doesn't match their defense, and that’s why they sit eighth for a second consecutive week. The offense is so bad, Shaq Thompson probably would have had a better chance of scoring a touchdown if he had played his normal linebacker position, rather than carrying the ball more than 20 times.
The Golden Bears look closer and closer to contending every week, but it’s not going to happen this season. Cal fans can take solace in keeping it close with Oregon for about a half. The best teams usually do so for about three quarters before the Ducks pull away in the fourth. Cal’s getting there. Jared Goff is one of the most promising quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and arguably the nation. Give him a defense, and the Bears could be dangerous.
Even Stanford put up 38 points on the Beavers’ defense. Just think what ASU could do when it visits Corvallis on Nov. 15. Unlike last season, Oregon State’s defense isn’t its only problem. Sean Mannion isn’t performing up to the standards he’s set the last two seasons. Storm Woods isn’t even the primary running back anymore, and Terron Ward isn’t doing much better. Fourteen points against Stanford isn’t bad — in fact, it’s just about average — but the Beavers’ offense needs to be far better than average to make up for their defense.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, their loss to UA was much worse than the score indicates. At one point, the Wildcats were leading 52-16, much more indicative of both teams’ performances than the 59-37 final. Not going to lie, I thought the Cougs might be able to trip up UA. A game on the Palouse, with an OK Cougar team? Seemed like decent odds. Well, if anything, UA proved itself further with the win. WSU won’t catch Oregon, but it can redeem itself and give a silver lining to the season if it can pull off the upset of USC for the second consecutive season.
Here lie the Colorado Buffaloes, forever in eternity. Well, at least for 2014. There’s no escaping the cellar for the Buffaloes this season. Even though they took UCLA to overtime, that says more about the Bruins than it does the Buffaloes. A conference win might fall in their laps, but at this point, it won’t be a product of Colorado besting its opponent; it will more likely be of luck or effort.
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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