Pac-12 rewind: Failed rallies, Friday stumbles, questionable calls and a showdown approaching

Recapping the best and worst of Pac-12 action in Week 5 …

Theme of the week I: Too little, too late

The modest level of drama across 14 hours Saturday came via fourth quarter comeback bids by Colorado, Arizona State and Arizona. All three trailed by double digits and rallied to within one score. But in no instance did the teams in the lead face a red alert situation.

Theme of the week II: Showdown setup

Seventh-ranked Washington survived Arizona’s upset bid, No. 8 Oregon mauled Stanford and for the first time in history of the bitter Pacific Northwest rivalry, both teams will carry top-10 rankings into their collision. ESPN owns the first pick in the Pac-12’s selection process for the Oct. 14 games and will set the broadcast from Seattle at either 12:30 p.m. or 4:30/5 p.m. (The kickoff time will be announced Monday morning.) And yes, a visit from College GameDay seems like a distinct possibility.

Theme of forever: Friday night strikes again

Utah had all sorts of issues offensively in the 21-7 loss at Oregon State on Friday night, but the short week of preparation surely didn’t help. Road teams have lost five of six Friday games dating to the start of last season (in conference play). Next up in the glare: Stanford, which visits Colorado on Oct. 13. Then the Buffaloes take on the challenge with a mid-November trip to Washington State. The paucity of Friday night conference games this season means the Pac-12 should avoid the fate that struck in 2017, when a series of highly-ranked teams were eliminated from the playoff race by losses in Friday night road games.

Game of the week: USC 48, Colorado 41

Admittedly, there weren’t many good options. The Week 5 games decided by single digits weren’t back and forth affairs; instead, they featured failed comebacks. Of the group, breakfast in Boulder stands out for both the pomp and points. USC led 41-14 midway through the third quarter before its defense collapsed and Colorado found a rhythm. The Buffaloes pulled within a touchdown with 1:43 remaining but failed to recover the onside kick.

Team of the week: Oregon State

The Beavers (4-1/1-1) rebounded from the loss at Washington State and dominated Utah in what amounted to a must-win game. They now enter a manageable stretch of the schedule, with no games against teams currently ranked until Washington visits on Nov. 18. In other words, OSU is well positioned to contend for the conference title as the Pac-2 drama plays out in lockstep with the riveting on-field action.

Coach of the week: Arizona’s Jedd Fisch

Facing one of the most impressive teams in the country and playing without his starting quarterback, Fisch and his staff delivered a first-rate game plan on both sides of scrimmage. They kept UW’s high-powered offense in check and put freshman quarterback Noah Fifita in position to succeed. Now Fisch must repeat the feat in Week 6, when the Wildcats visit USC as a massive underdog.

Offensive player of the week: USC QB Caleb Williams

Granted, he wasn’t facing the stoutest of defenses. But Williams was superb in a rowdy environment, completing 30-of-40 passes for six touchdowns. He leads the nation in passer rating, yards-per-attempt and touchdown passes. Also noteworthy: Williams has thrown six interceptions in 641 attempts in his 19-game USC career.

Defensive player of the week: Arizona S Dalton Johnson

The sophomore played an integral role in Arizona’s impressive defensive showing against Air Penix. He led the Wildcats with 10 tackles Saturday night and forced two fumbles, including the takeaway that kept the Huskies out of the end zone in the fourth quarter, as they threatened to put the game out of reach.

Bad strategy of the week: Colorado’s Deion Sanders
The Buffaloes wasted critical time on their final drive, snapping the ball too late and running it too often. Had they been more efficient, there might have been enough time to stop USC on downs and regain possession (trailing by a touchdown). Even the raucous home crowd was frustrated by the lollygagging. Sanders doesn’t manage the offense — that’s the purview of coordinator Sean Lewis — but he’s ultimately responsible for CU’s tactics. The poor clock management falls on him.

Bad call of the week: ASU’s Kenny Dillingham

Sure, Dillingham was dealt an impossible hand this season and has little to lose when he pushes the strategic envelope. But his decision to go for it on fourth-and-two from ASU’s 31 early in the third quarter was a major gaffe considering the low-scoring nature of the game. Cal stuffed the run, took possession and scored a touchdown four plays later to take a 17-7 lead. ASU would lose the game by three points.

Bad breaks of the month: Utah

The list of walking wounded in Salt Lake City continues to mount. The Utes were without quarterback Cam Rising, tight end Brant Kuithe, tailback Ja’Quinden Jackson, receiver Mycah Pittman, kicker Cole Becker and a slew of other impact players Friday night in Corvallis. Next up: a desperately needed bye week.

QB controversy of the month(?): Arizona

We don’t know when starter Jayden de Laura will return from the ankle injury sustained last week at Stanford, but Noah Fifita’s poised performance against Washington will undoubtedly generate calls for a change from Arizona fans frustrated by de Laura’s erratic play. Fifita threw three touchdowns and had just one interception, when he attempted to make something out of nothing — a rookie mistake, for sure. But it’s not as if de Laura is immune to bad decisions.

Stat of the week: Cal

The Bears held Arizona State to 20 percent on third-down conversion attempts (3 of 15), a vital piece of the victory that kept their bowl hopes alive. Prior to Saturday, Cal allowed opponents to convert 35.4 percent of their third downs.

Stat of the decade: Stanford

The Cardinal dropped its ninth consecutive game against a ranked opponent Saturday in the 42-6 loss to Oregon. All nine have been by double digits — this, for a program that not long ago was beating ranked opponents with regularity.

Color of the week: Orange

Oregon State wore orange pants, orange jerseys and orange helmets for the first time since 2018. Given the positive result, we expect to see the Beavers revive their all-orange mode when Washington visits in late November.

Game of next week: Washington State at UCLA

The 13th-ranked Cougars make their first trip to the Rose Bowl since 2015 in a matchup set for 12 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks. Both teams were idle in Week 5 and should be fresh. We view this as a B-level matchup given that UCLA has one loss and isn’t ranked. But the A-level games begin Oct. 14 and run weekly through the end of the regular season.