Following Arizona’s monumental upset of Oregon on Saturday, Stanford was all but a shoo-in to represent the Pac-12 North in the conference championship game. Take care of conference-cellar California and the Cardinal would have the opportunity to reach its second straight Rose Bowl. Down south, Arizona State would clinch the Pac-12 South division with a win on the road against UCLA. A Bruins victory coupled with a USC win against Colorado would force a three-way tie atop the south with a critical matchup between USC and UCLA to ensue the following weekend. Let’s take a look at how Saturday’s conference matchups shook out.
No. 17 Arizona State 38
No. 14 UCLA 33
Behind the strong play of quarterback Taylor Kelly, the Sun Devils attacked early and built a 35-13 lead going into the half. Arizona State took the opening drive 76 yards, capped by Kelly punching it in on a three-yard run to give the visitors a quick 7-0 lead. The Bruins quickly knotted it back up at seven after a 65-yard kick return was followed by a Brett Hundley 42-yard hookup with Devin Lucien. That would be UCLA’s only touchdown of the first half, but the Sun Devils tacked on two more rushing touchdowns, a pick-six by defensive end Carl Bradford and a 19-yard strike from Kelly to wideout Jaelen Strong. Arizona State went into the half with 357 total yards compared to UCLA’s 125.
The Bruins mounted a valiant comeback effort in the second half, but came up just short. Down 38-33 with approximately six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, UCLA had a first-and-10 from Arizona State’s 11-yard line, but was unable to come away with any points after kicker Ka’imi Fairbirn missed from 38 yards out – his second missed field goal of the game. UCLA’s freshman linebacker Myles Jack lined up almost exclusively at running back and totaled 86 rushing yards and a score on 16 carries.
With the win, the Sun Devils clinched their first Pac-12 South title and will get the chance to play for its first Rose Bowl since 1997.
California 13
No. 9 Stanford 63
This game turned out to be the Ty Montgomery show, as the junior wide receiver scored five times during Stanford’s rout of California. The Cardinal set the tone early, when Montgomery took an end-around 31 yards to the house on the second play from scrimmage. On the first play of the next Stanford possession, Kevin Hogan went deep to Montgomery for a 50-yard score with the duo hooking up once more in the first quarter on a 12-yard slant route for a touchdown. Montgomery ended the day with five catches for 160 yards and four receiving touchdowns to go along with his 31-yard rushing score.
Stanford fans were understandably thrilled to hear about Oregon’s loss to Arizona, as it meant that the Cardinal clinched its second straight Pac-12 North title. The location of the Pac-12 Championship game will be determined by next week’s game between Arizona and Arizona State. A Sun Devils win means that they will host the Dec. 7 matchup, with a Wildcats win moving the championship game to Palo Alto, Calif.
No. 23 USC 47
Colorado 29
This one wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, as USC made easy work of Colorado to win its fifth straight game. A pair of Javorius Allen rushing touchdowns and a 20-yard strike from Cody Kessler to Nelson Agholor gave the Trojans a 23-0 lead going into halftime, while Colorado’s senior wide receiver Paul Richardson was held without a catch during the first half of his final home game. USC furthered its lead to 37-7 by the end of the third quarter and benched several of its starters in the fourth quarter. Kessler finished the game 19-for-28 with 184 passing yards and two scores, while Allen ran for a career-high 145 yards and three touchdowns.
Washington 69
Oregon State 27
With 179 rushing yards and three scores, Bishop Sankey led a Washington ground game than ran wild over Oregon State on Saturday night. The Huskies ran for 530 yards, with three different running backs rushing for over 140 yards. Deontae Cooper and Dwayne Washington each had career-best games on the ground and broke off runs of over 70 yards. The 530 yards on the ground by Washington was the second-most in a single game in school history. Redshirt freshman Cyler Miles was 15-for-24 with 162 passing yards and a score in his first career start under center while Oregon State’s Sean Mannion was 20-for-41 for 229 yards and was picked off three times.
Utah 37
Washington State 49
Washington State fans rushed the field after Saturday’s win against Utah, as that elusive sixth win means that the Cougars are bowl eligible for the first time since 2006. The Washington State defense set the tone early by returning two interceptions for touchdowns and Connor Halliday threw for 488 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Dom Williams caught five balls for 154 yards and two scores, including a 71-yard score late in the fourth quarter that put the game on ice. Bowl eligibility does not necessarily guarantee a bowl game, but a win against Washington in next week’s Apple Cup would send the Cougars to its first bowl game since 2003.
Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch