PAC-12 Week 1 Recap

With College Football starting this past weekend it was full of positives and negatives for PAC-12 fans.

Here is how the PAC-12 performed:

Utah vs Michigan  -  24-17

Utah Came out strong against Michigan and stunned Jim Harbaugh and his return to college football on Thursday night when the whole nation was watching. Michigan QB, Jake Rudock, threw 3 interceptions and failed to lead Michigan to the end zone until the very end of the 3rd quarter.

Final thought: Utah could actually be the real deal this year

Arizona vs Texas San Antonio University  -  42-32

There was a big worry for Arizona fans when All-American linebacker Scooby Wright came out early with a knee injury. UTSA tried to keep the game close with a 20-point 2nd quarter that got them to within 1 at half. Arizona managed to pull out win but it was a costly win for the wildcats

Final thought: Maybe Arizona isn't all they are worked up to be. It was announced Monday that Scooby will miss about 4 weeks. The Wildcats are going to struggle when it comes to conference games unless they can figure out something on defense.

Colorado @ Hawaii  - 20-28

If you watched this game you have absolutely no idea what was going through everyone's minds the last 20 seconds. Colorado was driving the field to tie the game when they threw it short with :16 seconds left in the game. The ball was thrown back to the ref and he was unable to keep handle on the ball and the clock wound down and the game ended as they were lining up.

Final thought: It was almost 4 am in Colorado when this game ended. Colorado also learned to make sure the ball is handed to the ref when it is close.

Oregon State vs Weber State  -   26-7

Oregon State held a 6-point lead heading into the 4th quarter before putting up 13 unanswered points. True freshman QB, Seth Collins, had flashes of good and bad in his first start as he went 10-18 for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Beavers are not expected to do much this year with a new coach and a new quarterback but will gladly take this as a start to their season.

Final thought: Oregon State struggled against a team that went 2-10 last season and if they are unable to find a solution it is going to be a long year.

Washington @ #23 Boise State -  13-16

True Freshman Jake Browning showed that he was just that, a true freshman, when it came to his first game. Chris Petersen's return to the 'Smurf Turf' didn't turn out as well as he had hoped. Boise State left the door open for Washington with just under 2 minutes left and Browning led the Huskies into field goal range. Cameron Van Winkle went wide right on a 46-yard field goal with :21 seconds left in the game. A feeling Petersen is all too used to.

Final thought: Browning showed potential but also showed how young he is.

#21 Stanford @ Northwestern -  6-16

Offense was supposed to be Stanford's strongest part of their game but they were unable to find the endzone in their first game against Northwestern. After scoring first with a field goal it was the Wildcats game from then on as they put up 13 unanswered points before both teams kicking another field goal with less than 8 minutes left in the game. Stanford was out-gained 330-240 total yards as their defense struggled to keep off the field.

Final thought: Stanford might not be as real as they were thought to be.

Washington State vs Portland State  - 17-24

....Yeah

Final thought: Is it next season yet?

#13 UCLA vs Virginia  -  34-16

Freshman Josh Rosen turned in a stellar performance going 28-35 for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns as UCLA gained over 500 yards for the game. Rosen, who is only 18 years old, had help from Myles Jack and 310-pound defensive tackle Kenny Clark who each scored a touchdown.

Final thought: UCLA has a lot to look forward to in Josh Rosen.

California vs Grambling State  -  73-14

California had 52 points while Jared Goff had 309 yards and 3 touchdowns as California in just the first half. The Bears rolled to their first win of the season and was able to hold Grambling State out of the endzone until the 4th quarter. The Cal defense had 4 interceptions to keep the Bears offense on the field.

Final thought: With 656 yards of total offense Cal could has a lot of confidence moving forward.

#15 Arizona State @ Texas A&M -  17-38

Texas A&M had a 3 point lead heading into the 4th quarter before putting up 21 points to upset 15th ranked Arizona State. A&M went through two different quarterbacks with starter Kyle Allen and  Kyler Murray who came in in the second quarter.

Final thought: ASU showed a lot of potential but was unable to convert a lot and it showed in the score.

Oregon vs Eastern Washington  -  61-42

This couldn't be much of a better scenario for new Oregon QB Vernon Adams. Adams has been tearing up the FCS and some FBS teams at Eastern Washington before his highly covered transfer to Oregon. In his debut in green and yellow he went 19-25 for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns. Royce Freeman rushed for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries to help the Ducks cruise to a win over the Eagles.

Final thought: Adams looked just as good in green and yellow that he did in red and black.

#8 USC vs Arkansas State  -  55-6

USC was predicted to roll through the season and fight for a spot in the playoffs. Cody Kessler went 19-26 for 236 yards and 4 touchdowns and started the Trojans campaign off on the right foot.

Final thought: Kessler and USC are going to be a scary opponent for PAC-12 teams this year.