Around the Pac-12: Week 9

Two Pac-12 teams remained in the College Football Playoffs chase, while two suffered losses that essentially ended their hopes as the first CFP rankings were released on Tuesday.

However, the game of Week 9 was a battle between a future Big Ten school and a future ACC program.

No. 24 USC, coming off a disappointing loss to Utah that ended their hopes of getting a playoff spot, took on the Golden Bears of California.

31 combined points between the two teams in the first quarter immediately gave the game the feel of a classic Pac-12 shootout, and the rest of the game lived up to that.

Cal held USC scoreless in the second quarter to take a 28-17 lead at halftime in a wild first half where both teams put up over 300 yards of offense. Cal running back Jaydn Ott led the way with three first-half touchdowns on his way to a 153-yard game.

The much-maligned USC defense once again struggled, giving up 527 total yards to a Cal offense that no one would mistake for 2019 LSU. However, they forced four turnovers, including recovering a fumble off a muffed punt midway through the fourth quarter with the Trojans down seven.

Running back MarShawn Lloyd helped USC capitalize off the muffed punt by running in a nine-yard touchdown to tie the game with just over six minutes remaining.

Somehow, there was time for five more drives between Lloyd’s touchdown run and the end of the game. The next three drives ended in a Cal fumble after two plays, a USC fumble after one, and Cal being stopped on fourth down in USC territory.

After the fourth down stop, USC got the ball back on their own 37 and immediately capitalized. Lloyd took a handoff 56 yards and nearly scored on the next play from scrimmage, getting tackled at the seven-yard line.

Backup running back Austin Jones ran in for a seven-yard touchdown on the ensuing play, giving USC a touchdown lead.

However, Cal and true freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza did not flinch. With 3:28 left in the game, Mendoza led the Golden Bears on a 79-yard drive, concluding in a 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaivian Thomas.

Cal decided to go for two after that score and try to win the game in regulation. USC safety Jaylin Smith batted down the pass attempt, sealing the 50-49 win for the Trojans and ending their two-game losing streak.

USC will host No. 5 Washington next week in a match the Trojans need to win to stay in the Pac-12 hunt, while Cal will travel to Eugene to take on No. 6 Oregon.

Speaking about Oregon, they were supposed to have a difficult matchup against No. 13 Utah, who were looking to three-peat as Pac-12 champions in the last year of the Pac-12’s existence.

Instead, the Ducks spent Saturday afternoon making the Pac-12’s best defense look like USC’s as they routed Utah 35-6. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns while running for another as the Ducks look to overcome their earlier loss to Washington and get a CFP bid.

The committee has liked what they have seen from Oregon thus far, as they are the highest-ranked one-loss team.

Oregon State was deemed a Pac-12 sleeper by many. The Beavers have wins against ranked Utah and UCLA teams as they climbed up to No. 11 in the AP poll. However, their hopes of a championship were dashed after a 27-24 loss to Arizona.

Wildcats backup quarterback Noah Fifita was thrown into action in Week 4 after their starter injured his ankle and has turned into one of the better quarterbacks in the conference. Aside from one-score losses to ranked teams Washington and USC, Arizona has been perfect with Fifita under center.

The sophomore continued his strong play in the upset against Oregon State, throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns.

Undefeated Washington is the Pac-12’s highest-ranked team, seeded at No. 5 by the committee after a 42-33 win over Stanford.

Heisman favorite quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns, with two of those going to wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk.

Alex Perez is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email app5877@psu.edu.