Pac-12 bowl review: Breaking down the highs (UW, Arizona), lows (Cal, OSU) and everything in between

Powered by its first College Football Playoff victory in nine years, the Pac-12 finished the bowl season in much the same fashion it opened the regular season: as arguably the best conference in the country.

Washington’s harrowing 37-31 win over Texas on Monday night in the Sugar Bowl provided the signature victory. But the conference won its other marquee matchups as Oregon smashed Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl and Arizona rallied to slay Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.

All in all, the Pac-12 finished Bowl Season — yes, that’s the official name — with the best record among the Power Five conferences:

Pac-12: 5-3

Big 12: 5-4

Big Ten: 5-4

SEC: 5-4

ACC: 5-6

The Hotline is wary of parsing each result across the postseason because so many players opt out of games in order to prepare for the NFL Draft or transfer.

But every Power Five conference must navigate the attrition, so we’re comfortable drawing broad conclusions. And from here, it’s abundantly clear that the Pac-12 was as good as any league in the land — and quite possibly the best.

Best game: Sugar Bowl

The most important game in the Pac-12 postseason lineup was also the most riveting as Washington survived a bizarre finish to defeat Texas 37-31 and advance to the national championship game against Michigan. UW had a six-point lead and possession in UT territory with less than one minute remaining — a certain victory, right? Not with these high-wire Huskies. An injury to tailback Dillon Johnson caused a clock stoppage that would give the Longhorns an additional half-minute of time. They eventually secured a first down at UW’s 12-yard line, but the defense stood tall on the final plays.

Worst game: Sun Bowl

Oregon State headed to El Paso to face Notre Dame with an interim head coach and a third-string quarterback thrust into the starting role, plus a depth chart battered by opt-outs. The result was a disastrous performance: OSU trailed by 33 points before scoring its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 40-8 wipeout. (Total yards: Notre Dame 468, OSU 197.) The Beavers were 8-2 and ranked 11th in the middle of November but ended with a three-game losing streak.

Best performance: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

The Heisman Trophy runner-up dissected the Longhorns for 430 yards and two touchdowns while completing 76.3% of his passes. (At one point, he hit 12 in a row.) But Penix’s stellar showing on the CFP stage was about more than numbers. It was about making every big throw when it mattered most — just as he has done all season.

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Strongest finish: Arizona

The Wildcats trailed Oklahoma by 11 points when the penultimate play of the third quarter changed everything in the Alamo Bowl: Safety Gunner Maldonaldo grabbed an OU fumble and raced 87 yards for a touchdown that both energized the Wildcats and deflated the Sooners. Arizona’s momentum continued with 17 more points in the fourth quarter. All in all, what had been a 24-13 deficit became a 38-24 victory, securing the school’s first 10-win season since 2014.

Weakest finish: Cal

The Bears scored on their first play from scrimmage in the Independence Bowl and led Texas Tech 14-7 as the first quarter came to a close. Then the offense went into hibernation: Cal did not score another point and gained just 234 yards over the final three quarters of what became a 34-14 loss.

Best quarter: Oregon

The Ducks bludgeoned Liberty 45-6 in the Fiesta Bowl in a manner that mirrored so many of their wins during the regular season: with an overwhelming stretch of play that put the game out of reach before halftime. On Monday morning, they outscored the Flames 28-0 in the second quarter as quarterback Bo Nix threw four touchdown passes to cap drives of 82, 75, 95 and 68 yards. The scoring barrage sent Oregon on its way to a victory a few miles from the site of a 49-13 wipeout of Arizona State six weeks earlier.

Worst half: Utah

The Hotline did not expect much from Utah given the cast of players available for the Las Vegas Bowl, but we sure thought the Utes would provide a better accounting of themselves than the 14-7 loss to Northwestern. Oregon State’s first half in the Sun Bowl was one to forget, but the Utes were arguably more inept in Allegiant Stadium. Their seven possessions in the opening 30 minutes ended in the following manner: punt, punt, interception, interception, punt, punt, punt.

Best sneaky-good showing: UCLA

The Bruins faced plenty of headwinds with the season-ending loss to Cal, the departure of quarterback Dante Moore and the loss of defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn (to USC). But thanks to a terrific third quarter, UCLA mustered an impressive showing down the street in the LA Bowl and defeated Boise State 35-22. In many ways, the performance was another twist of the knife for fans frustrated with coach Chip Kelly, who has won at least eight games in three consecutive seasons.

Best backup QB: USC’s Miller Moss

The Trojans’ quarterback situation became vastly more complicated — in a good way — following Moss’ first-rate showing in the Holiday Bowl. The multi-year backup threw six touchdowns in the 42-28 win over Louisville, taking maximum advantage of an opportunity that surfaced when Caleb Williams opted out and five-star backup Malachi Nelson entered the transfer portal. We fully expect USC coach Lincoln Riley to land a quarterback from the portal, but Moss established himself as a viable option.

Best circle-comes-full development: CFP finalistsThe era of the four-team College Football Playoff ends as it began, with a Pac-12 team appearing in the national championship against a Big Ten team: Oregon participated in the first title matchup, losing to Ohio State in January 2015, while Washington will appear in the final game before the CFP expands to 12 teams next season. Of note: Those are the conference’s only appearances in the championship. So, in addition to receiving high marks for its showing this season, the Pac-12 also deserves an ‘A’ grade for CFP symmetry.