It’s become evident now three weeks into the season that the Pac-12 South is a lot more open than it may’ve been portrayed to be at the beginning of the season. Pre-season favorite UCLA is still mustering everything it can together to pull out W’s and although the Bruins head into league play undefeated, they must deal with injury issues concerning Brett Hundley. It’s the same boat Arizona State finds themselves sinking on as well after quarterback Taylor Kelly was seen in a boot in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game.
In addition, USC now has more questions than answers on both sides of the ball after its loss at Boston College. Up north however, Oregon breezed through its contest with Wyoming and Stanford got back on track with a win over Army. Here’s a roundup from Saturday’s games that included Pac-12 teams:
UCLA 20, Texas 17
It’s never going to go smoothly, at least that’s the way things continue to go for UCLA. After Brett Hundley left the game in the first quarter with a hyper-extended elbow on his non-throwing arm, Jerry Neuheisel guided the Bruins offense to a come from behind win over a middling Texas team. Neuheisel, the son of ex-UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, completed 23 of 30 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns, giving reason for teammates to raise him above their shoulder at the end of regulation. With the win UCLA’s undefeated record remains intact, but the question mark next to Hundley only heightens the doubts for this group’s already lofty expectations.
Boston College 37, USC 31
Here’s a stat comparison that sums up the game’s result. Boston College’s 452 yards of rushing against the Trojans’ 20. Just a week after holding Stanford to 10 points despite the Cardinal’s constant scoring threats, USC’s defense against the run was completely exposed. It didn’t matter that Cody Kessler passed for 317 yards and four touchdowns to keep them in the game, USC’s lack to make stops especially at the end of the game proved to be the reason why it lost Saturday night.
Arizona State 38, Colorado 24
Taylor Kelly threw for three touchdowns and ran for one more, but his sudden exit in the third quarter carries much more weight than its first win of Pac-12 play over Colorado. Mike Bercovici finished the game for the Sun Devils behind center and despite Colorado out gaining Arizona State 545 to 426, the Sun Devils came away with a 14-point victory. Sefo Liufau completed 31 of 46 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns for Colorado, but his two interceptions proved costly.
Washington 44, Illinois 19
After struggling mightily in its first two contests, first year coach Chris Peterson finally saw his team in a dominating fashion when they face Illinois Saturday. Linebacker Shaq Thompson returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns while the Huskies reeled off 38 first half points. In Cyler Myles’s second start of the season, the QB compiled 241 yards of total offense.
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