PAC-12 FOOTBALL ELITE, CONSIDER YOURSELF SERVED
September 24th, 2016
This Saturday marked the full opening weekend of conference play in the PAC-12. Anyone who thought there was a designated first class traveling section and all others would be kept out of sight in steerage below deck had a rather rude wake-up call. It started off on Friday night with the Utes of Utah surging late to defeat the USC Trojans 31-27. It was QB Sam Darnold’s first collegiate start as a redshirt freshman for the Trojans but their defense allowed 14 points in the 4th quarter, squandering their lead. Utah still has not won a game against an FBS team that has a winning record but they are 4-0. Good enough to get you into the Top 25 apparently. The USC team everyone thought would finally start showing off their stable of elite talent has tripped over their own feet and face-planted into the dirt. Off to the glue factory.
Then Colorado showed up in Eugene and promptly smacked the Ducks in the bill several times before falling behind in the 4th and ultimately denying Oregon victory with an interception in the end zone. The game ended with a 41-38 score. The Buffs have now officially arrived in the PAC-12 and served notice to the rest of the conference that they will not be trifled with any longer. Take heed.
#7 ranked Stanford was behind against UCLA and did not score a touchdown until less than one minute remaining in the game. Their defense also scooped and scored a TD with no time remaining to add 6 points and made the final score of 22-13 look as if the Cardinal were more dominant than in reality. This was a very hard-fought game with Stanford having just enough extra petrol in a reserve tank to propel them ahead in the waning moments.
#9 ranked Washington then capped off the night with an overtime win in Tucson against the Arizona Wildcats. The Huskies fell behind early and did not score in the 1st quarter. They did battle back and collected the win in the first OT, but struggled with the Arizona defense. This was Washington’s first road game of the season and playing in the desert at night has led to some major upsets over the years. However, Rich Rod’s squad demonstrated that they are capable of taking any team in the conference to the wire.
All four contests mentioned above came down to the last minute. This year even teams considered to be the elite of the PAC-12 conference could drop any game, any weekend on the schedule. Those used to the luxuries afforded by first class may run into an iceberg or two this season. If you are a Colorado or Utah fan, please feel free to post your own personal boy band dance-off ala the 2004 film “You Got Served.” Wait, perhaps this is not the best forum for such activity. In any case, the PAC-12 elite should consider themselves served!