Around the Pac-12: Week 8

Even with half the conference on bye this past weekend there was no shortage of exciting games and late comebacks to make this a dynamic weekend for the dying PAC-12 conference.

In a Pac-12 championship rematch from last season, USC took on Utah at home for the only ranked match-up in the conference this week. hoping to prove themselves after a devastating loss to Notre Dame the previous weekend.

The game came down to the second half after both teams were tied following the first. After a third-quarter push by Utah for the lead the game looked to be going in the Utes' favor. But USC was not going to go down without a fight.

A quick interception return by Calen Bullock led to the Trojans only being down by five at the beginning of the fourth; it was truly anybody's game. The Utes could not find any way of getting into the endzone and USC took that fact and ran with it, literally, after a late 11yd- run touchdown by Caleb Williams with a minute left in the game it looked like this could be a win for the Trojans.

However, just like last season USC simply could not pull out the win. With the clock completely running down the Utes in a last-ditch effort kicked a 33-yard field goal to pull out the win. The Utes defeated the Trojans in a 34-32 victory.

Arizona State went to Washington hoping to prove that they could compete in the dying Pac-12 conference. And in a surprising turn of events, the first three-quarters of the game looked to be going in the Sun Devils' direction.

The Huskies were not going to have their undefeated season be destroyed by a 1-6 Arizona State team, and in a miraculous 4th quarter shut-out plus an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown the Huskies kept their hopes of an undefeated season alive, defeating Arizona State 15-7.

The Huskies held on to their No. 5 spot on the AP Poll even with the close win.

Looking to hold on to a spot on the AP Poll UCLA went to Stanford and got the job done. The Bruins destroyed Stanford in a 42-7 victory.

The star of the game for the Bruins was running back Carson Steele. The game happened to coincide with his birthday, he received a huge gift in the form of three touchdown runs, to push UCLA out to a huge lead in the first half that Stanford could not match.

Lastly, to round out the conference for the weekend Oregon took on Washington State at home. Following a devastating loss to Washington the weekend before Oregon was looking to get back on track.

And the Ducks did just that. Breaking the NCAA record for most career starts, quarterback Bo Nix led No. 9 Oregon to a 38-24 win over the Cougars. With the win, Oregon moved up to the No.8 spot on this week's AP Poll.

Ericka Apolskis is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email eja5676@psu.edu.