The Oregon State Beavers’ remarkable comeback in Corvallis was certainly the leading story from the Pac-12, but rivalry week produced several intriguing games and outcomes. As Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal and Stanford played out its final games, the final conference standings emerged. The No. 15 Ducks (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) finished fourth in the conference and No. 16 Oregon State (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) took sixth place. But where did the rest of the teams end up?
No. 6 USC (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) keeps playoff dreams afloat with win 38-27 over No. 15 Notre Dame (8-4)
Quarterback Caleb Williams painted an explicit message about the Fighting Irish on his fingernails before Saturday night’s game, and he backed up his words with four total touchdowns. He only had four incompletions on the night, and the Trojans’ offense looks ready to roll into Vegas for the Pac-12 Championship Game. USC finished as the one seed in the Pac-12 and will be the home team against No. 12 Utah (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) for the conference championship game next Friday night.
No. 13 Washington (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) reclaims Apple Cup with 51-33 victory against Washington State (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12)
The Huskies explosive offense was on full display yet again on Saturday night as Washington boosted its bowl game exposure with a dominant win over the Cougars. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had 519 total yards of offense and the Huskies collected 703 total yards on the night. Penix leads all of college football with 4,354 passing yards on the season. It’s more than fair to say his transfer from Indiana paid dividends for the junior quarterback. Washington finished third in the conference and will play in a high-profile bowl game later this year.
Washington State’s offense played well, but it’s hard to go blow for blow with Penix Jr. and company. The Cougars looked to defend their 2021 win over the Huskies, and had 433 yards and no turnovers on the night. The defense simply wasn’t up for the task however, and the Cougars dropped their eighth game to Washington over their last nine meetings. Wazzu finished seventh in the conference and will compete in a bowl game to end its season.
No. 14 (Utah 9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) steamrolls Colorado (1-11, 1-8 Pac-12) in 63-21 blowout.
The Utes are headed to Vegas to defend last year’s Pac-12 championship. Their win over Colorado – in which they scored 42 first half points – combined with Oregon’s loss and Washington’s win secured Utah’s second place finish and a ticket for a rematch with No. 4 USC (11-1 Pac-12, 8-1 Pac-12).
Colorado punted seven times… in the first half. Utah quarterbacks had as many incompletions as the Buffaloes had scoring drives. A horrific season ended at the hands of the Utes. The largest margin of defeat in series history extended Colorado’s losing streak against Utah to six games. The Buffs finished 11th in the conference and will – shockingly – not participate in a bowl game.
No. 18 UCLA (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) defeats Cal (4-8, 2-7 Pac-12) 35-28 to extend win streak over Bears
The Bruins topped off their regular season by beating California for the third straight time. UCLA’s running game proved to be the difference as four different Bruins recorded over 50 yards on the ground and combined for 352 total rushing yards. On the other side of the ball, UCLA’s defense limited Cal to 67 yards on the ground and forced two Bear turnovers en route to a win in the final game of the regular season. UCLA finished fifth in the conference and will play in an undecided bowl game later this year.
Cal’s final game of the season reflected its entire season: almost good enough. The Bears led the Bruins multiple times throughout the game, but failed to get the job done when it mattered. A fumble on its final drive sealed Cal’s fate as the Bears lost by one score for the fifth time this season. The Bears finished ninth in the conference and will spend the off season wondering what could have been if some of these close games had gone their way.
Arizona (5-7, 3-6 Pac-12) outlasts Arizona State (3-9, 2-7 Pac-12) for 38-35 win
The Wildcats had a better season than many expected they would. While a bowl game was out of the question entering their game, a win over rival ASU wasn’t. The Wildcats exposed Arizona State by forcing five turnovers and averaging 10 yards per carry on offense. It was enough to push Arizona past the Sun Devils for the first time since 2016. The Wildcats lead the all time series 50-45-1. Arizona finished eighth in the conference – a low but still astonishing number.
If having a quarterback carousel, coaching change, scandal and poor record wasn’t enough to embarrass ASU in 2022, maybe losing its winning streak over Arizona was. The Sun Devils weren’t able to overcome their many – many – mistakes on Friday. The five turnovers and 94 penalty yards did just as much damage to ASU as the Wildcats did. It seemed a fitting end to a meltdown of a season. The Sun Devils ended the year on a four game losing streak, finished No. 10 in the Pac-12 and missed bowl eligibility in a full season for the first time since 2016. Maybe Kenny Dillingham can help? Ouch.
Stanford (3-9, 1-8 Pac-12) falls 35-26 to BYU (7-5)
BYU ran right through and past the Cardinal in Stanford’s final game of 2022. The Cougars collected 358 rushing yards and attempted just 12 passes. The Cardinal had 53 rushing yards and 50 penalty yards. Stanford quarterback Tanner Mckee’s 313 passing yards were his second highest total in any game this year. That essentially sums up the Cardinal’s season. Stanford had an abysmal conference season and finished last in the Pac-12.
