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Pac-12 Notes – Arizona
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October 29th
… Foe Pause …
CBS: Pac-12 continues to be its own worst enemy (latest example: Washington State at Stanford on Pac-12 Networks)
From CBS Sports … The Pac-12 doesn’t have a perception problem. The Pac-12 has a Pac-12 problem. It’s a conference that continues to shoot itself in the foot year after year.
The latest example came on Saturday in Palo Alto, California. That’s where then No. 24 Stanford was hosting a 6-1 Washington State team that entered the game ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25. Washington State also happened to be the lone Pac-12 team with a realistic shot at earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. Doing so would make the Cougars the third Pac-12 team to do so in five years, and the first since Washington following the 2016 season.
The reason the Cougars were the only Pac-12 team with a shot at the CFP was that they were the only Pac-12 team remaining with fewer than two losses. Clearly, the game between Washington State and Stanford was the most important game in the Pac-12 this weekend as it was not only a pivotal game in the Pac-12 North’s division race, but it provided the conference’s lone playoff hope another chance to add a solid win to its resume just days before the first College Football Playoff Rankings were released for the first time this season. In fact, given Washington lost to Cal on Saturday to drop to 6-3 and is no longer ranked in either major poll, Saturday’s game against Stanford may have been Washington State’s last chance to impress anybody.
But I bet you didn’t watch it.
… Continue reading story here …
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Jon Wilner: A weekend of upsets as Pac-12 underdogs go five-for-five
From the San Jose Mercury News … The arc of the Pac-12’s football ethos bends toward parity, and it was in glorious form this weekend.
All five underdogs covered the spread.
All five underdogs won outright.
Disregard injuries and circumstances and focus only on the results:
* Arizona State beat USC to end the Trojans’ 19-game home winning streak.
* Washington State rallied from a 28-14 deficit to outlast Stanford and collect its third consecutive win in the series.
* Cal didn’t score an offensive touchdown but toppled No. 15 Washington.
* Winless (in conference) Oregon State rallied from 28 points down to beat Colorado in overtime for its first road win in four years.
* Arizona dominated No. 19 Oregon by a score (44-15) eerily similar to that of the Wildcats’ 2013 upset of the No. 5 Ducks (42-16)
It’s delicious anarchy, riveting theatre and exactly what commissioner Larry Scott says the conference wants.
The downside:
It’s not even November, and the Pac-12’s prospects for sending a team to the College Football Playoff are only slightly better than those of Conference USA.
… Continue reading story here …
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Stuart
Continue reading...
Pac-12 Notes – Arizona
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October 29th
… Foe Pause …
CBS: Pac-12 continues to be its own worst enemy (latest example: Washington State at Stanford on Pac-12 Networks)
From CBS Sports … The Pac-12 doesn’t have a perception problem. The Pac-12 has a Pac-12 problem. It’s a conference that continues to shoot itself in the foot year after year.
The latest example came on Saturday in Palo Alto, California. That’s where then No. 24 Stanford was hosting a 6-1 Washington State team that entered the game ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25. Washington State also happened to be the lone Pac-12 team with a realistic shot at earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. Doing so would make the Cougars the third Pac-12 team to do so in five years, and the first since Washington following the 2016 season.
The reason the Cougars were the only Pac-12 team with a shot at the CFP was that they were the only Pac-12 team remaining with fewer than two losses. Clearly, the game between Washington State and Stanford was the most important game in the Pac-12 this weekend as it was not only a pivotal game in the Pac-12 North’s division race, but it provided the conference’s lone playoff hope another chance to add a solid win to its resume just days before the first College Football Playoff Rankings were released for the first time this season. In fact, given Washington lost to Cal on Saturday to drop to 6-3 and is no longer ranked in either major poll, Saturday’s game against Stanford may have been Washington State’s last chance to impress anybody.
But I bet you didn’t watch it.
… Continue reading story here …
–
—
Jon Wilner: A weekend of upsets as Pac-12 underdogs go five-for-five
From the San Jose Mercury News … The arc of the Pac-12’s football ethos bends toward parity, and it was in glorious form this weekend.
All five underdogs covered the spread.
All five underdogs won outright.
Disregard injuries and circumstances and focus only on the results:
* Arizona State beat USC to end the Trojans’ 19-game home winning streak.
* Washington State rallied from a 28-14 deficit to outlast Stanford and collect its third consecutive win in the series.
* Cal didn’t score an offensive touchdown but toppled No. 15 Washington.
* Winless (in conference) Oregon State rallied from 28 points down to beat Colorado in overtime for its first road win in four years.
* Arizona dominated No. 19 Oregon by a score (44-15) eerily similar to that of the Wildcats’ 2013 upset of the No. 5 Ducks (42-16)
It’s delicious anarchy, riveting theatre and exactly what commissioner Larry Scott says the conference wants.
The downside:
It’s not even November, and the Pac-12’s prospects for sending a team to the College Football Playoff are only slightly better than those of Conference USA.
… Continue reading story here …
–
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...