/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51741453/usa_today_9655419.0.jpg)
- Washington- After Texas A&M was ranked ahead of the undefeated Huskies, Washington watched the Aggies lose to Mississippi State and then put a beat down on Cal. They put up 66 points and had over 700 yards of offense. This team continues to roll and there is no sign of them letting up.
- Washington State- The Cougars offense is slowly becoming as impressive as the Huskies at they beat Arizona 69-7. The Luke Falk vs. Jake Browning battle is becoming bigger and bigger as we draw nearer to their face off game in week 13. A game that has the makings of being a playoff defining matchup.
- Colorado- With a messy win over UCLA, the Buffaloes have the third best conference record in the PAC-12. Yet again it was not pretty, as they had eight personal fouls and four turnovers. There was also a scary moment after a big hit that had quarterback Sefo Liufau headed to the bench briefly. However, the defense held up and special teams came up with a touchdown off a punt return. It was enough for another win.
- Utah- Off their bye week they take on an Arizona State team that has a dismal defense and has been on a downward skid for weeks. This will be a good bounce back game for Utah after the heart breaking loss to the Huskies.
- USC- The Trojans put the hurt on the Ducks as Ronald Jones II had four rushing touchdowns and trampled the Ducks for 171 yards on the ground. Sam Darnold added 309 yards and two touchdowns in the air. The running game has done well since the rise of Darnold and this is as balanced an offensive attack as the one the Huskies boast. They head to Washington to play the top team in the conference in what could be a much closer game than any would have anticipated just a few weeks ago.
- Stanford- While they have improved, it has not been because of fixed problems. The secondary, the strength of the defense, and Christian McCaffrey, the strength of the offense, have both gotten healthy. This has given them the edge over weak conference opponents. They end with Oregon, Cal and Rice. As of this week, those three teams combine for eight wins. Stanford should win out the final weeks of the season to disguise a bad year with nine wins.
- California- The game against Washington showed how little is really around Davis Webb. When they faced an elite Washington team, they were blown out of the water in every phase of the game. Now they have to face Washington State and pull the same back to back stunt that the Cardinal had to suffer earlier this season. While the Cougars defense is not as stout, this game will not be any easier for Cal as the Luke Falk run offense just put up 60 plus at home, which is where they will be this weekend.
- Arizona State- After their bye, they have to play a highly motivated Utah team that will be looking to beat on someone after losing to a punt return against the Huskies. The Sun Devils have a front seven that let up 245 rushing yards to the Ducks in their last game and now have a Utah team that will be looking to run first. As the Sun Devils get trampled, their slide will continue.
- UCLA- Their defense looked really good, forcing four turnovers and playing a Colorado team that put plenty of flags on the field. If Josh Rosen was on the filed they probably would have won by double digits. Unfortunately Mike Fafaul is not the same quarterback and despite a solid defense, UCLA will continue to have trouble.
- Oregon- The Ducks have struggled mightily on defense but have managed to rank 20th in total offense with 38.2 points per game and 493 total yards per game. This makes the game this weekend vs. Stanford very interesting as the defense, particularly the secondary, is a strength for the Cardinal going up against an explosive offense. Meanwhile the struggling offense of Stanford will face the bad Ducks defense. Both teams will be play strength on strength and weakness on weakness.
- Oregon State- The Beavers have played really well in three of their last four games against top level talent in their conference. This team has a solid scheme with how they pair the running game with explosive deep passes on the outside. However, they just do not have quite enough talent on this young roster to push past a Utah or Washington State.
- Arizona- Really bad sign when they fail to put up more than seven in a blowout game when the backups came out early for the Cougars. Tyler Hilinski, backup quarterback for the Cougars, had 163 passing yards and two touchdowns with no picks. Three players threw passes for the Wildcats and they collectively ended with 128 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Maybe I should not be surprised by the low point total for the Wildcats after all.