State of the PAC 12: Week 1

Sep 5, 2022 - 1:23 AM

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Thursday, September 1st

3 Northern Arizona

40 Arizona State

In what could be a tumultuous year for the Sun Devils they made sure to take care of NAU. After only a 3-point lead after the first quarter, the Sun Devils scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 24-3 lead at the half. Valladay led the Sun Devils with 116 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.

Friday, September 2nd

38 TCU

13 Colorado Buffaloes

For at least the first half Colorado looked like they might be up for the challenge and capable of pulling off the upset. Unfortunately, in the second half TCU outscored the Buffaloes 31-7. Colorado will need to show an ability to move the ball on offense if they are going to improve in conference play.

Saturday, September 3rd

17 Bowling Green

45 UCLA

Bowling Green actually jumped out to a 17-7 lead in this game early in the second quarter. UCLA, led by Dorian Thompson-Robinson led the comeback and gave UCLA a 24-17 lead at halftime. The Bruins then went on to shutout Bowling Green in the second half and outscored them 21-0. Dorian Thompson Robinson led the way as he went 32-43 for 298 yards passing and 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

3 (#11) Oregon

49 (#3) Georgia

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning led the Bulldog's defense last season to a national championship. Unfortunately, in his first game in charge, he and his team failed to show any fight to the defending champs in Atlanta. The Bulldogs were able to move the ball at will and built a 28-3 lead at the half. Stetson Bennett led the Bulldogs as he went 25-31 for 368 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. The Ducks will have to do a lot of soul searching after this embarrassment in front of a national audience.

38 Arizona

20 San Diego State

Arizona easily had the most impressive opening week for a PAC 12 team as they defeated San Diego State in their first home game at Snapdragon Stadium. Transfer Jayden De Laura was 22-35 for 299 yards passing and 4 touchdown passes. Arizona was highly impressive after a dismal season last year and showed a lot of potential after this first game.

13 UC Davis

34 CAL

After a slow start and falling behind by 7 in the first quarter CAL came back to take a 17-7 lead at halftime. Jack Plummer threw for 3 touchdown passes to help the Bears pull away late.

14 Rice

66 (#14) USC

In the debut of Lincoln Riley the Trojan offense was hot and scored on every possession for the first 3 quarters. The Trojan defense then shut out the Owls in the second half to run away with the victory. Caleb Williams went 19-22 for 249 yards passing and 2 touchdown passes. The Trojans showed everyone that they will be a contender for the PAC 12 title this year.

26 #7 Utah

29 Florida

Unfortunately, we all know the Utes did not play their best football and came up just short in a hostile environment in Gainesville. The Utes trailed 14-13 at the half as Utah’s defense struggled to contain Anthony Richardson all night. Utah had the ball at Florida’s 6-yard line with a chance to win the game but Cam Rising tried to force a pass which was intercepted to end the game.

10 Colgate

41 Stanford

Stanford built a 28-7 lead at halftime and never looked back against Colgate. Tanner McKee led the Cardinal as he went 22-27 for 308 yards passing and 2 touchdown passes.

17 Idaho

24 Washington State

Give Idaho a lot of credit in this game. The Vandals built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter before the Cougars came back to tie the game going into halftime. Idaho scored with about 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter to make it a 7-point game but Washington State did just enough to preserve the victory.

17 Boise State

34 Oregon State

Oregon State’s defense was highly impressive in their victory against Boise State. The Beavers forced 5 turnovers on the night as the Beavers led 24-0 at halftime. The Broncos came back to make it a 10-point game in the fourth quarter but the Beavers quickly scored to put the game away.

20 Kent State

45 Washington

The Huskies started their season with a smooth victory over Kent State after building an 18-point lead at the half. Michael Penix Jr. went 26-39 for 345 yards passing and 4 touchdown passes. It was an impressive performance for Penix and one the Huskies will need consistently this season.