This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The story is told in the volume of games. Pac-12 football teams are involved in a total of six games this weekend, which can only mean that the schedule is advancing into the meat of the season. Five conference games will be played, including two that match ranked teams and two involving the top four preseason picks in the Pac-12 South. Friday's game Stanford at Oregon State, 8 p.m. MDT, Fox Sports 1 Unlike last season, when the Cardinal outplayed USC but suffered a home loss, Stanford beat the Trojans 41-31 last week to establish itself as a Pac-12 North contender. Now comes another road game, with the biggest issue being a potential letdown after a big win in Los Angeles. Oregon State is an unimpressive 2-1 and will have to improve to win any conference game this season. Stanford 31, Oregon State 17. Saturday's games Nicholls State at Colorado, 11:30 a.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks Arizona's nonconference schedule has been ridiculed, but what about Colorado's? Other than the rivalry game with Colorado State, the Buffaloes will have played Hawaii, UMass and Nicholls, an FCS school from Louisiana. Because of the Hawaii trip, Colorado plays four nonconference games during its schedule that runs 13 consecutive weeks without a bye. This will be the Buffs' closest thing to a week off. Colorado 45, Nicholls State 21. California at Washington, 3 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Networks With wins over Grambling State, San Diego State and Texas, Cal is well on its way to bowl eligibility. That might be considered a modest goal at this point, as the Bears look like contenders in the North. A win in Seattle would go a long way in that respect. Washington is improving, though. The Huskies dominated Utah State statistically in a 31-17 victory, as freshman quarterback Jake Browning found his rhythm with some big plays. Winning close games at Texas and Washington in consecutive weeks is tough much to ask of Cal right now. Washington 38, California 35. UCLA at Arizona, 6 p.m. MDT, ABC Between now and Nov. 28, there will be a lot of big games in the Pac-12 South. This is one of them, already arriving in September. UCLA had to battle to the end of a 24-23 victory over BYU last week, while Arizona completed its undistinguished nonconference schedule by scoring 77 points against Northern Arizona. The loss of a third defensive starter to a season-ending injury has to hurt UCLA, considering that linebacker Myles Jack might be the Bruins' best athlete. Arizona has lost three straight games to UCLA and was held to seven points last year, but the Wildcats should come through this time. Arizona 28, UCLA 24. Utah at Oregon, 6:30 p.m. MDT, Fox No score in Pac-12 football last season could have been more deceiving than "Oregon 51, Utah 27." The Ducks pulled away only in the fourth quarter, and before then, they benefited a genuine 14-point swing that resulted from Utah receiver Kaelin Clay dropping the ball before he crossed the goal line and an Oregon linebacker returning the so-called fumble for a touchdown. Reversing that sequence, the score would have been 44-34 – and that's ignoring the psychological impact of the play on both sides. Even if Oregon had trailed 14-0, Marcus Mariota may well have done whatever was necessary to win that game, because he looked like a genuine Heisman Trophy winner that night. With some combination of Vernon Adams and Jeff Lockie having replaced Mariota, Oregon is not quite the same team. Yet the Ducks are good enough to have battled with Michigan State to the end, and they should win a close game at home. Oregon 28, Utah 27. USC at Arizona State, 8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN Arizona-UCLA and Oregon-Utah are the games matching Top 25 teams, but this contest deserves a lot of attention. It is very possible that the South winner will have two or more losses, but USC certainly doesn't want to lose two conference games in September. ASU's offense has been a little slow in coming around, although the Sun Devils have to be encouraged by what Stanford did to USC's defense. Even so, USC seemingly is too good to be 0-2 in conference play. USC 31, Arizona State 28. – Kurt Kragthorpe