In the Thursday night game, UCLA’s defense was able to hold off a late Utah charge to secure a 34-27 win in Salt Lake City. While Oregon travels to Colorado on Saturday, the Pac-12 has just three other matchups on tap. Here’s a preview of the action.
Washington State (3-2) @ California (1-3)
1:00 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1
Each team looks to rebound from beatings taken last week at the hands of the Pac-12’s elite. Washington State is coming off a 55-17 defeat at home against Stanford and California is still seeking to dry off after their 55-16 loss in the downpour at Autzen Stadium. This will be a teacher-versus-student affair on the sidelines, as California head coach Sonny Dykes was an assistant coach under Mike Leach from 2000 to 2006 at Texas Tech. On the field, it will be “Air Raid” pitted against “Bear Raid,” as Washington State and California are both among the Pac-12 leaders in passing yards and passing attempts. Dykes announced on Thursday that Jared Goff would get the start at quarterback for the Golden Bears despite speculation earlier this week that Zach Kline – who relieved Goff last week in Eugene – might get the nod.
No. 22 Arizona State (3-1) @ Notre Dame (3-2)
4:30 p.m. PT, NBC
Arizona State’s offense is clicking. Led by quarterback Taylor Kelly, the Sun Devils are coming off a 62-point effort against what was thought to be an improving USC defense. Kelly ranks third in the FBS with 342.5 passing yards per game and should look for wide receiver Jaelen Strong early and often, as the junior-college transfer leads the team with 31 catches for 433 yards. The Fighting Irish, coming off 220 rushing yards in last week’s loss to Oklahoma, will look to exploit a weak Arizona State run defense. Junior running back George Atkinson III eclipsed the century mark on the ground for just the second time in his career last week against the Sooners and is averaging 7.1 yards per attempt this season. This “home” game for Notre Dame will be contested at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as a part of the Fighting Irish’s Shamrock Series.
No. 15 Washington (4-0) @ No. 5 Stanford (4-0)
7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN/WatchESPN
In the prospective game of the week, Washington looks to earn its spot at the BCS contenders table in a tough road matchup. The Huskies feature a balanced offensive attack, headed by senior quarterback Keith Price. Price has completing 72.3 percent of his passes this season and thrown just two interceptions, but will face his biggest test of the season against Stanford’s stingy defense. During last season’s upset victory over the Cardinal, Washington loaded the box and forced quarterback Josh Nunes to beat them – something he failed to do. Kevin Hogan has proved that he can pick apart defenses when they attempt to negate the running game, such as last week against Washington State. The Cougars challenged Stanford to beat them through the air and Hogan did just that, throwing for 286 passing yards and three touchdowns. Expect Hogan to hook up with his wideouts on plenty of vertical routes should the Huskies load the box.