Pac-12 Week 1 Recap

By Andrew Brown

The Pac-12 had the one of the strongest first week showings of any conference in the country, recording seven wins and only three losses with Arizona State and Stanford standing idle.

The Good

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Oregon

De’Anthony Thomas and Marcus Mariota came into this game with massive media-driven hype (I am personally guilty of this) and absolutely did not disappoint.

New coach Mark Helfrich’s offense picked up exactly where it left off with Chip Kelly at the helm. The Ducks scored early and often, putting up first quarter 24 points on the mighty Nicholls State Colonels.

Thomas ran for 128 yards and two (long) scores, while Mariota threw for 234 yards and a score while scampering in for two more himself.

Not much to say here otherwise. Anything less than this would have been a major upset for the Ducks.

The game aired on the new Fox Sports 1, so I guess there’s that?

USC

Hawaii hasn’t been the same since June Jones left the islands for the Texas heat to try his hand at performing miracles on the resurrection project that is SMU football. How much you wanna bet Jones is rethinking that one these days?

The USC defense held tough, as the Warriors were never able to penetrate the Trojan lines, rushing for a measly 31 total yards.

Marqise Lee was as good as advertised, picking up where he left off last season as the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner hauled in eight catches for 104 yards despite catching passes from multiple QB’s.

UCLA

The Bruins started slow but finished hot, scoring 41 second half points.

Brett Hundley was fantastic, amassing 335 total yards and scoring twice from both the ground and the air. Hundley took the ball in from 37 yards out on the Bruins’ opening drive for UCLA’s first score of the season.

Nevada hung tough for the first half, trailing by only four at intermission. UCLA’s second half surge was too much for the Wolf Pack, though, as Nevada managed only seven points after the break.

Washington

No other way to say it. Washington flat out stomped Boise State.

Keith Price bounced back from a rough junior campaign (just like I predicted, just saying…) to open his senior year with a bang. Price threw for 324 yards and two scores, making him the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns.

The 32-point mashing of the boys in blue was by far Boise State’s worst loss under head coach Chris Peterson. Peterson had only lost by double figures one other time, the other loss coming at the hands of the Huskies in 2007 when Washington won 24-10.

Washington played without stud tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who stood idly by after his suspension for an offseason DUI. ASJ will be back in two weeks against Illinois.

Colorado

The Buffs got the better of instate rival Colorado State, blazing past the Rams 41-27.

CU quarterback finished with 400 yards passing and three touchdowns, connecting with receiver Paul Richardson 10 times for 208 yards and two scores.

This game is a good start for new coach Mike MacIntyre, but don’t get your hopes up Buff fans. It’s a long season.

Arizona

Studly running back Ka’Deem Carey didn’t play for the Wildcats, but it didn’t matter. Arizona smashed their northern counterparts 35-0 as backup running back Daniel Jenkins ran 91 yards for a touchdown, amassing 139 yards on the game.

Utah

Travis “The Goo Man” Wilson (as he will hence be known on YHTS) outdueled his counterpart, Chuckie Keeton, to lead the Utes to a victory over instate rival Utah State.

Wilson threw for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Utes took down the Aggies for their first win of the season.

Anthony Denham hauled in six catches for 113 yards for the Utes.

The Bad

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Oregon State

The fighting Beavers made history over the weekend, becoming just the third ranked team to fall to an FCS school.

The Beavers defense was pretty loose in the first half, surrendering 29 first half points to the Eagles of Eastern Washington.

Despite getting it together in the second half, the 29-17 halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Beavers fell 49-46.

Sean Mannion played a terrific game, going 37-43 and throwing for 422 yards and three scores, however the Eagles QB, Vernon Adams, played just a hair better to throw for 411 yards and four scores.

Oregon State fell out of the rankings, and will likely stay out for several weeks after falling to an FCS squad. Needless to say, OSU fans are some pretty Angry Beavers right now.

Cal

Cal played well against a 22^nd ranked Northwestern squad, but Jared Goff’s three interceptions (two of which were returned for scores by Collin Ellis) proved to be the difference in the 44-30 loss.

Goff, the first true freshman to start for the Golden Bears, threw for 445 yards and two TDs in his debut, but the three INTs were too much to bear.

Washington State

A surprisingly valiant effort nearly spoiled Gus Malzahn’s debut as Auburn’s front man, but Mike Leach’s squad fell seven points short of one of the bigger upsets of the young season.

Connor Halliday threw for 344 yards and a score, but was picked off three times by the Tigers defense.