Pac-12 Football Week 10 Breakdown
Game of the Week:
Washington State @ California
Certainly not the best quality football in the Pac-12 this weekend (*see Upset Alert for that), but the most closely matched teams for sure. Washington State has been throwing the ball surprisingly well this year and rank 10th in the FBS in passing offense. Quarterback Marshall Lobbestael has thrown 16 touchdowns, six of which have gone to top receiver Marquess Wilson. Running back by committee has yielded 11 touchdowns on the season.
California needs two wins in their last four games to become bowl eligible. In those four games, they play #4 Stanford and #17 Arizona State. That would make this game a “must win” for the Golden Bears. Quarterback Zack Maynard has been struggling to make plays this season. He has 12 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, with a 53% completion percentage. The Golden Bears will likely rely on running back Isi Sofele who has 701 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The Cougars rush defense ranks #61 against the run, which should open some doors for Sofele to pick up yardage.
Washington State 28 California 27
Honorable Mention:
#17 Arizona State @ UCLA
Arizona State has been a solid team all year, with its losses coming to #6 Oregon and Illinois. They have quality victories over USC and Missouri. Quarterback Brock Osweiler has thrown 17 touchdowns, and far exceeded expectations in Tempe. UCLA is coming off a 41-17 win over California. The Bruins forced five turnovers and put up 294 rushing yards with four rushing touchdowns.
Arizona State’s defensive unit is not quite as strong as predicted, but they will do enough to bring UCLA back to Earth this week.
ASU 28 UCLA 13
Do Not Overlook:
Utah @ Arizona
This is a matchup which offensive stars abound. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles is ranked as the #3 passer in the FBS. He has totaled 2,934 yards and 20 touchdowns. Foles is also completing an amazing 70% of his passes. Top wide receiver Juron Criner is certainly an NFL prospect, and has shown his big play ability this season with 12.7 yards per catch and eight touchdowns.
On the other side, Utah’s running back John White IV has exceled despite his team’s poor performance in Pac-12 play. Even though the Utes are 1-4 in conference play, White IV is third in the conference behind Washington’s Polk and injured Oregon back, LaMichael James. White IV is averaging 115 yards per game and has eight touchdowns.
Arizona 31 Utah 17
Upset Alert:
#6 Oregon @ #25 Washington
Washington is coming off a close battle with Arizona in Seattle. Oregon had a Washington State team hang close for three quarters before the Ducks pulled away in the fourth.
In typical Oregon fashion, the Ducks found multiple ways to score. Scoring plays came from a blocked punt return, kickoff return, a pass, and a run. This makes it extremely difficult to game plan with any level of confidence. However, the Ducks were not overly impressive statistically, only managing 12 pass completions, had two turnovers, and finished with less total yards than the Cougars.
Washington struggled with an under-rated Arizona team under the lights in Husky Stadium. Arizona had the lead until 8:21 left in the fourth quarter. Husky quarterback Keith Price had his worst statistical day of the year totaling one touchdown pass with three interceptions. Chris Polk lifted the Huskies with 144 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. He is now ranked #5 among FBS running backs in regards to yardage.
Washington will be playing with some extra vigor in hopes of winning the last contest in the current Husky Stadium, as it is scheduled for major renovation through 2013. The Huskies have had a bowl-eligible season, but will not be able to run with the high-powered Ducks.
Washington 31 Oregon 30 (OT)
Players to Watch:
RB Marc Tyler, Southern California: A weak Colorado rush defense will open plenty of doors for Tyler to find the end zone.
QB Darron Thomas, Oregon: Washington wins games with its offense, not its defense. The Huskies are ranked #117 out of 120 in passing defense. The field is wide open for Thomas.
WR Paul Richardson, Colorado: The plays don’t often open up for the Buffaloes, but against a suspect pass defense, Richardson might be able to find some daylight.
K Andrew Furney, Washington State: Has only missed one field goal this season and the game could quite easily come down to his leg this week.
