Recapping the best and worst from Week 11 in Pac-12 football …
Theme of the week: Close, but no clinchUtah and Oregon moved within one game of securing their divisions. The Ducks need one victory or one Oregon State loss to win the North. The Utes need one victory or one Arizona State loss to win the South. Not only do Utah and Oregon tangle on Saturday, but so do the Beavers and Sun Devils (in Corvallis).
Theme of the season I: Coaching chaosTwo head coaches had already been fired (USC’s Clay Helton and Washington State’s Nick Rolovich) this season, and then Sunday Washington coach Jimmy Lake joined that group on the day his suspension ended.
Theme of the season II: QB mayhemWeek 11 epitomized the conference-wide trouble at the most important position. To date, eight teams have started at least two quarterbacks, and two, Stanford and Arizona, have played five different quarterbacks. (That helps explain their positions at the bottom of the divisions.) It might be easier to list the teams that have been fortunate to start their No. 1s all season: Washington, Oregon, Arizona State and Colorado.
Game of the week: Utah 38, Arizona 29
ASU’s come-from-behind win at Washington was tense down the stretch, but we found the afternoon affair in Tucson more interesting and entertaining. The quality of offense was better, and the prospect of a 24-point underdog taking down the South frontrunner added to the drama. Arizona’s touchdown off a blocked punt with 10 minutes remaining created a two-point game and forced the Utes to execute under pressure.
Team of the week: Oregon State
The Beavers took advantage of an optimal situation — Stanford started a true freshman quarterback — to register a 35-14 victory and secure their first bowl bid since 2013. Jonathan Smith’s rebuild is ahead of schedule considering this was just his third full (non-pandemic) season in charge.
QB of the week: Oregon’s Anthony Brown
Brown was efficient through the air, completing 17 of 22 attempts. But his greater contribution came on the ground, where he established season highs with 17 carries for 123 yards, Yet again, he did everything required for victory and played his best when the Ducks needed him most.
Player of the week (non-QB): Arizona State’s Rachaad White
Even against UW’s porous run defense, White’s performance in the rain was impressive: He rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 53 yards. All in all, he accounted for 237 out of ASU’s 376 yards from scrimmage. He has 386 yards on the ground in the past two weeks and is a contender for Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Arizona State's Rachaad White ran for 184 yards in the Sun Devils' 35-30 win in Seattle.
Half of the week: UCLA
Trailing 20-10 at halftime, at home, coming off a bye and against a double-digit underdog, the Bruins outscored Colorado 34-0 in the second half. The rally was fueled by arguably the best punt return in the conference this season, courtesy of Kyle Phillips. With the win, the Bruins became bowl eligible for the first time since 2017.
Stat of the week I: Bowl berths
The victories by Oregon State and UCLA give the Pac-12 five bowl-eligible teams, with Arizona State, Utah and Oregon having previously qualified. The conference has seven partnerships: Rose, Alamo, Las Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA and an ESPN game. Washington State needs one win to qualify. USC and Washington need two.
Stat of the week II: AP recognition
Utah moved into the AP Top-25 poll released Sunday morning, breaking the Pac-12’s ignominious string of four consecutive weeks with only one team (Oregon) in the poll.
Stat of the decade: Stanford
The victory over Oregon now feels like six months ago. Since toppling the Ducks on Oct. 2, the Cardinal has dropped five in a row — its longest losing streak under coach David Shaw. The increasingly ugly result for the Ducks could have consequences for their playoff drive.
Game of next week: Oregon at Utah
The best teams in the conference collide in primetime (ABC, 5:30 p.m.) with playoff and division race implications. Their last meeting — in the 2019 conference championship game — turned into an Oregon blowout. This should be tight deep into the fourth quarter: The Utes are superb at home, and the Ducks are terrific on the big stage. Utah opened as a 2.5-point favorite.
