Oregon’s narrow victory over Fresno State may not have inspired a lot of confidence in the team going forward, but a brief look around the rest of the Pac-12 shows that things certainly could have gone a lot worse.
In fact, the Pac-12 conference’s first full week of action did not go well, to put it lightly.
No. 24 Utah and No. 25 Arizona State took care of business before Saturday’s slate of games, but the rest of the conference only managed four wins, compared to six losses, to give the Pac-12 a 6-6 record in a week where many schools were playing non Power-5 schools.
Washington and Washington State dropped embarrassing losses to Montana and Utah State, respectively, while Cal fell to Nevada in a trio of losses to smaller schools that don’t reflect well on the conference.
UCLA’s big win over LSU is one of the few positives, but a shortened slate last season likely has some teams shaking the rust off.
Still, they will need to turn things around in a hurry to avoid a rough season in the college football landscape this year.
Here is a look at how each team did in Week 1:
Kansas State 24, Stanford 7
Stanford wasn’t expected to be particularly good this year, but they weren’t even able to muster points across the board until late in the fourth quarter against Kansas State, when they were already down by 24 points. Record: 0-1
No. 15 USC 30, San Jose State 7
USC took care of business against the Spartans of San Jose State on Saturday, winning 30-7 behind a stellar performance from quarterback Kedon Slovis and wide receiver Drake London, who had 13 receptions for 139 yards. Record: 1-0
Purdue 30, Oregon State 21
A late touchdown by the Boilermakers put the game out of reach, but the crosstown Beavers kept things pretty close throughout the game – despite both quarterbacks combining to throw zero touchdown passes on the night. Record: 0-1
Montana 13, No. 20 Washington 7
It was an absolute stunner out on Montlake, as Jimmy Lake’s Washington Huskies only mustered seven points against the Montana Grizzlies, falling 13-7 in a disastrous first game for offensive coordinator John Donovan. Record: 0-1
UCLA 38, No. 16 LSU 27
UCLA’s rush heavy attack was super effective against the Tigers, with Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown combining for 222 rushing yards. Dorian Thompson-Robinson only completed nine passes, but three of them went for touchdowns as Chip Kelly’s squad moved to 2-0 on the year with a big win over a ranked opponent. Record: 2-0
BYU 24, Arizona 16
The Cougars helped their case to move into a power-five conference, besting the Arizona Wildcats by a score of 24-16. Arizona moved the ball well through the air but struggled to get the ball into the end zone, only scoring one touchdown all game long, which came late in the third quarter. Record: 0-1
Nevada 22, Cal 17
The Golden Bears scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, but only mustered three points the rest of the contest, allowing Nevada to come back and hand the Pac-12 yet another loss to a non-P5 school in Week 1. Record: 0-1
Utah State 26, Washington State 23
WSU may have celebrated UW’s embarrassing loss to Montana a tad too early, as they allowed Utah State to score 15 points in the fourth quarter to hand them a stunning 26-23 loss. It was a bad day for football in the state of Washington, as these two losses put a big damper on the first week of the season for the conference at-large – and put coach Nick Rolovich’s job squarely in jeopardy considering his off-season transgressions. Record: 0-1
Colorado 35, Northern Colorado 7
The Buffaloes took care of business on Saturday, handing in-state opponent Northern Colorado a 35-7 loss on the strength of their diverse running game – with four different backs scoring rushing touchdowns in the rout. Record: 0-1
No. 24 Utah 40, Weber State 17
Utah took care of business on Thursday of last week, scoring every single quarter and quickly putting the game out of reach against Weber State. Quarterback Charlie Brewer threw for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while running back Tavion Thomas had 107 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns as well. Record: 1-0
No. 25 Arizona State 41, Southern Utah 14
Arizona State’s rushing attack was on fire against Southern Utah late last week, as the Sun Devils rushed for six touchdowns en route to a 41-14 win in Week 1. Record: 1-0
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