At this point in the season, the conference contenders are clear. No. 8 Oregon, No. 12 Utah, No. 9 USC and No. 10 UCLA are the top dogs in the Pac-12 and it will almost certainly be one of these teams that wins the conference championship in Las Vegas this December. All four of these teams won this weekend and kept the race for Vegas tight in another high scoring week of college football.

No. 10 USC (7-1, 5-1 Pac-12) wins shootout in the desert 45-37 over Arizona (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12)

This game was an awful lot closer than it should have been. But for a Trojan team fighting to stay alive in the conference, a win is a win. Coming off a loss to Utah and a bye week, many expected a bigger bounce back from USC. Quarterback Caleb WIlliams certainly did his part, the transfer quarterback had 411 and five passing touchdowns. But the USC defense isn’t where many thought it would be. It has now surrendered 80 points over its last two games. USC hosts Cal (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12) next week. 

Arizona’s offense had quite a night against the highly ranked Trojans, falling just short of the upset. That high-powered attack kept the Wildcats just one step behind USC all evening. But that was just the issue, Arizona’s defense just couldn’t earn timely stops to complement the offense and the Wildcats had to play catch-up. Arizona will play yet another high caliber Pac-12 team in Salt Lake City next Saturday against No. 11 Utah (6-2, 4-1 Pa-12)

No. 12 UCLA (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) bounce back at home over Stanford (3-5, 1-5 Pac-12) in 38-13 blowout

Head coach Chip Kelly’s offense is still very much in stride with where it needs to be for a conference championship run. The difference between Saturday’s game and last week’s 45-30 loss at No. 10 Oregon, was the Bruins defense. Unlike the contest in Eugene, UCLA’s defense was not only competent, but dominant in limiting Stanford’s offense. UCLA built an early cushion with 24 points in the first half, and it was more than enough for the defense to protect as the Bruins earned a key win over the struggling Cardinal. UCLA travels to Tempe for a Saturday night game with the Sun Devils (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) in week 10. 

The Stanford defense was owned by UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet. He had 198 rushing yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinal. The UCLA ground game chewed up the clock and Stanford’s defense as the Cardinal dropped yet another conference game. 2022 is a year for Stanford to forget. It’ll host Washington State (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12) next Saturday.

No. 14 Utah (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) earns big road win over Washington State (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12)

No Cameron Rising? No problem. The Utes were without their starting quarterback on Thursday night, but it didn’t stop them from handing Washington State its fourth conference loss of the year. Utah relied heavily on its defense against the Cougars. The offense had just 344 total yards on the night, but Utah was able to limit Washington State to 264 total yards. The Utes have competed in and won plenty of high scoring games this year, so seeing them win a low scoring affair is reassuring to Utah fans. The Utes host Arizona (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12) next Saturday.

Washington State gave the highly ranked Utes all they could handle on Thursday night, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough. The defense held the Utah offense to a season low 21 points. The offense just failed to get anything going, have a lead or take advantage of a wounded Utes’ squad. Now sitting at 4-4, the Cougars are just fighting to end the season bowl eligible. They’ll play at Stanford (3-5, 1-5 Pac-12) next week – a team they’ve beaten in each of their last five meetings. 

Arizona State (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) spoils Colorado’s (1-7, 1-4 Pac-12) homecoming game with 42-34 victory

The Sun Devils started quarterback Trenton Bourguet over Emory Jones, and they may have struck gold. The junior popped off for Arizona State with 435 passing yards through the thin Boulder air. The Sun Devils scored at least one touchdown in each quarter and another offensive onslaught earned ASU its second conference win of the year. Bourguet may be the future of this team. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares against No. 12 UCLA (7-1, 4-1) next Saturday.

It’s official. Colorado will not finish bowl eligible. As if there was any doubt. Saturday seemed like the last chance for the Buffaloes to win a game in 2022. Their remaining schedule consists of No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 USC, Washington and No. 12 Utah. It’s a bad year to be a Buff. Colorado plays the red-hot Ducks (7-1, 5-0) in Boulder next Saturday.