Pac-12 Conference News and Notes

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) –

ARIZONA: Powered by a season-high 670 yards, the Wildcats easily dispatched Colorado, 44-20, on the road. It marked their second straight win, which improves UA’s record to 5-2 overall, and back to .500 in league play (2-2). B.J. Denker had a strong outing, finishing with 457 yards of total offense (265 passing, 192 rushing). Denker completed 21-of-32 passes and had a touchdown to match an interception, while rushing for more than 100 yards for the first time in his career. Ka’Deem Carey also had an huge game with 119 yards and four scores on 23 carries. Carey has now rushed for two or more touchdowns in a contest 10 times during his career He has also rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 straight games, which is the longest current streak in the nation. Nate Phillips was the leading receiver with 69 yards and a score on four receptions. Will Parks had seven tackles and also collected his first career interception. Arizona will also be on the road next weekend when it squares off with California in Berkeley.

ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils enjoyed a bye week during week nine after topping Washington, 53-24, last weekend. Next up will be a Halloween matchup with Washington State on Thursday night.

CALIFORNIA: Another rough Saturday unfolded for the Golden Bears this past weekend as they were handed a 41-17 defeat from Washington. The loss was the sixth straight setback for California and the third straight game in which it has failed to score 20 points. Sonny Dykes’ squad is now a miserable 1-7, including five losses in as many tries against teams from the Pac-12. Jared Goff made 50 pass attempts for the fifth time this season in the contest, completing 32-of-54 for 336 yards and a touchdown. Goff has also eclipsed the 300-yard mark five times this year. Bryce Treggs led the team with eight receptions for 95 yards, while Chris Harper had a team-high 98 yards and a score on six catches. Richard Rodgers had 71 yards on seven grabs as well. Khalif Muhammad rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on just four carries as he ripped off a career-long 73-yard run in the fourth quarter. Cameron Walker finished with 10 tackles, leading the Golden Bears and setting a career-high for the third straight week. It’s back to the drawing board again this week as California gets set to host Arizona.

COLORADO: The Buffaloes were run over by Arizona on Saturday as they let up 405 rushing yards to the Wildcats in a 44-20 trampling. Colorado allowed a total of 670 yards of offense to the Wildcats while managing just 349 itself. After opening the year 2-0, Colorado has lost four of its last five games, including all four in league play. The only win during that stretch came against FCS foe Charleston Southern. Paul Richardson continued to produce in the loss. He caught seven passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, giving him 50 receptions and 914 yards on the season. Richardson has also had at least 100 yards in five games this year. Sefo Liufau was the starter under center again. Liufau completed 17-of-32 passes for 212 yards and a score but was intercepted once. He and Richardson did hook up on a 75-yard scoring strike midway through the first quarter. That play was the sixth of at least 50 yards for Richardson this season, which ties a program record. Michael Adkins was the leading rusher in the loss with 54 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Parker Orms had a team-high 14 tackles and Jared Bell (10 tackles) forced a fumble and collected an interception. Colorado faces UCLA on the road next.

OREGON: The No. 2 Ducks outscored UCLA 28-0 in the second half to post a 42-14 victory in Eugene. The win was the 10th straight for the Ducks, who are a perfect 8-0 this season, including a 5-0 mark in the conference. Thanks to an Oregon State loss on Saturday the Ducks now have sole possession of first place in the North Division and the league overall. It was a slower game offensively by Oregon’s standards as it managed 555 total yards and 30 first downs. Marcus Mariota threw for 230 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-28 passing. Mariota has thrown a touchdown in all 21 games of his career but his streak of games with a passing and rushing touchdown was stopped at nine. Mariota also had a season-low 18 rushing yards. Byron Marshall scored three times in the win and finished with 133 yards on 19 carries. It was Marshall’s fifth straight 100-yard effort. Thomas Tyner added 77 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries on his own, while De’Anthony Thomas had 31 yards and a touchdown in his return from injury, though he did not play in the second half. Avery Patterson had a team-high three tackles for loss and recorded an interception for the Ducks, who will be off next weekend before seeking revenge against Stanford on Nov. 7.

OREGON STATE: For the first time this season the Beavers’ potent passing attack was grounded as they were handed a 20-12 loss by Stanford. Though Oregon State out-gained Stanford (288-273) it managed just 271 yards through the air, marking the first time this season the Beavers failed to eclipse 300 yards passing. Sean Mannion had 57 pass attempts in the contest and completed 41 for just 271 yards and a touchdown. The one passing strike did set a single-season record for passing touchdowns at Oregon State for Mannion at 30. Mannion was also sacked eight times in the contest. Brandin Cook s had nine catches for 80 yards and the only touchdown that Mannion threw. Oregon State converted on just 6-of-17 third down attempts. The Beavers also averaged only 3.6 yards per play despite having 30 more offensive snaps than Stanford (81-51). Scott Crichton recorded a sack and a fumble recovery, which he returned for 36 yards. That was the longest fumble return for Oregon State since 1999. Oregon State gets a chance to bounce back next Friday against USC.

STANFORD: The Cardinal put on a defensive performance as they stifled Oregon State to pick up a 20-12 victory. With the win the Cardinal have now been victorious in back-to-back games and at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in league action, they trail only Oregon in the league standings. Stanford held the Beavers, who lead the nation in passing, to just 288 total yards and 3.6 yards per play. Oregon State also managed just a single completion of more than 20 yards, despite leading the country in the category coming into the week. Trent Murphy racked up eight tackles and 2.5 sacks, part of an eight-sack performance from the Stanford defense. On offense Stanford struggled, with just 273 yards on 51 total plays. Tyler Gaffney accounted for the bulk of the production with 145 yards and a career-high three scores on 22 carries. Kevin Hogan completed just 8-of-18 pass attempts for 88 yards. Stanford was able to win despite having a more than 17-minute deficit in time of possession and a 2-of-9 success rate on third down. Stanford is off next week before a huge matchup with Oregon on Nov. 7.

UCLA: The Bruins went toe-to-toe with No. 2 Oregon for two quarters but stumbled in the second half in a 42-14 setback. The loss was the second straight for the Bruins, who are now 5-2 overall and just 2-2 in league action. UCLA and Oregon were tied at 14-14 going into halftime but UCLA failed to score in the second half. UCLA finished the game with just 283 yards of total offense and an average of four yards per play. The Bruins also had half as many first downs as the Ducks (30-15). Brett Hundley did complete 13-of-19 pass attempts with a touchdown, but had only 64 yards and a pair of interceptions as well. Hundley did manage to rush for 72 yards and a score on 15 carries. Paul Perkins was the leading rushing in the contest with 93 yards on 22 carries. Shaquelle Evans (three receptions, 21 yards) was the only player on the team with more than 20 yards receiving. The Bruins allowed 555 yards of total offense to the Ducks. Anthony Barr recorded a pair of sacks and a forced fumble, which he recovered. Jordan Zumwalt had a game-high 14 tackles, including two for loss. Next up for UCLA is a contest with Colorado.

USC: Interim head coach Ed Orgeron earned his second win in three tries at the helm for the Trojans, who bested Utah, 19-3 at the Coliseum. USC limited the Utes to a season-low of 201 total yards and forced four turnovers. USC didn’t fare much better with just 260 yards of total offense and an average of 4.2 yards per play. USC also converted on just 3-of-15 third down attempts while failing to get into the end zone on four red zone trips. Three of those chances ended in field goals from Andre Heidari, who connected on 4-of-5 attempts in the contest, with a long of 40 yards. Cody Kessler completed 21- of-32 pass attempts for 230 yards and a touchdown in the victory but was also sacked five times. The negative yardage from the sacks brought the Trojans to just 30 yards rushing, which was a season-low, despite 60 yards from Tre Madden. Nelson Agholor had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown and Darreus Rogers brought in five passes for 62 yards. Marqise Lee was sidelined with a knee injury. He will hope to be back next week against Oregon State.

UTAH: It was another step back for Utah this past weekend as the Utes bowed to USC, 19-3. Utah has now lost back-to-back games after a 27-21 upset of Stanford. The losses have moved Utah to .500 overall (4-4) and just 1-3 in league play. The loss to USC marked a season-low in total yards for the Utes (201) as well as the first time since 2010 they have failed to score a touchdown. Travis Wilson started at quarterback but had two interceptions, while completing just 5-of-14 pass attempts for 51 yards. Adam Schulz took over and threw for 79 yards and an interception on 7-of-17 passing. Each signal caller was sacked three times. Wilson was also the leading rusher with 42 yards on 12 carries. Anthony Denham was the leader in receptions (three) and yards (42). Utah’s defense did hold USC to a season-low 30 yards rushing, marking the third time this year Utah has kept a team below 100 yards rushing. Trevor Reilly led the defense with 11 tackles and a pair of sacks. Jacoby Hale also had two quarterback takedowns. Utah is off next weekend but will be back in action on Nov. 9 against Arizona State.

WASHINGTON: The Huskies put an end to a three-game losing streak on Saturday with a convincing, 41-17, victory over California. The win pushed the Huskies to 5-2 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-12. The Huskies posted 642 yards of total offense, marking the fourth time they have been over 500 yards this season and the third time over 600, which is a program record. Bishop Sankey ripped off a career-high 241 yards and two scores on 27 carries and also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the victory. Sankey has rushed for 100 yards in 10 of his last 13 games dating back to last season. Keith Price had been listed as questionable for Saturday’s game but he was able to start the contest. Price threw for 376 yards and two scores on 20-of-32 passing, showing no ill effects of the thumb issue that has nagged him of late. Jaydon Mickens brought in six passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns as the leading receiver. Tre Watson led the Huskies with 11 tackles, including 2.5 for loss while Hau’oli Kikaha had a pair of sacks. Washington will host Colorado in its next game in two weeks.

WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars were given an extra week to recover from a 62-38 defeat against Oregon in which Connor Halliday broke the NCAA record for passing attempts (89). Halliday’s arm should be fully rested for this Thursday’s test with Arizona State.

Categorized in: NCAA Football