Wow, there are truly no words to describe how big this past weekend was for the Sun Devils and the rest of the Pac-12. All over the country, fans were able to see the Pac-12 teams assert themselves as a dominant conference and prove that they are as tough as anyone in the land. Overall, the Pac was 3-1 against the Big-10 and 1-0 against SEC competition. Solid. 

Arizona Schools

The big game here in Tempe provided more drama than most fans expected. With some questionable officiating at the tail end of a 32-30 win, the Sun Devils knocked Wisconsin from the ranks of the unbeaten and moved to 2-0 while achieving the #23 ranking in the country.

Down in Tucson, the Wildcats again played it safe in the first part of the season schedule, taking on the University of Texas San Antonio, and cruised to a 38-13 win.

Oregon Schools

The State of Oregon provided some intrigue to the weekend as the Beavers of Oregon State knocked off the Utah Utes 51-48 in an overtime contest in Salt Lake City for the weekends’ only conference match-up. 

In Eugene, the Ducks throttled the University of Tennessee 59-14 giving the Volunteers their worst loss since 1910 while showing that the bottom teams of the SEC are nothing to fear.

Washington Schools

The Washington schools also looked good as Washington State continued their new winning ways by taking down Southern Utah 48-10 in Pullman. 

The Huskies, on the other hand, had to travel to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini. While the final score was 34-24 in favor of Washington, the game never seemed to be in doubt as the Pac-12 took down another Big-10 opponent.

California Schools

With the exception of the Cal Golden Bears who lost at home to Ohio State by a score of 52-34, the California teams continued the conference dominance.

UCLA traveled to Nebraska only to fall down 21-3 before scoring 38 unanswered points. The Bruins stunned the Husker fans when they pulled away with a 41-21 victory.

Stanford remained unbeaten by handling the Black Knights of Army 34-20, and USC bounced back from their loss to Washington State by beating Boston College 35-7.

            Overall it was a fantastic weekend for the Pac-12. As the Sun Devils begin their conference schedule this week, there are currently five Pac-12 teams among the nations top 25. Oregon holds it’s #2 spot behind only Alabama, and Stanford remains at #5. The Pac-12 is the only conference with two teams ranked in the top 5. 

            UCLA moved up three spots after their convincing win at Nebraska and hold down the #13 ranking, while Washington is not far behind at #17. Finally, the Sun Devils broke into the rankings at #23 this week. Expect the current trend to continue since most Pac teams play weaker non-conference opponents this weekend.

            Of all the schools, ASU has the most significant opportunity to rise in the rankings with an upset of Stanford. Saturday’s 4:00pm (MT) game in Palo Alto between the Devils and the Cardinal is the weekend’s marquee contest both in the Pac-12 and nationally.

ASU at Stanford. 4:00pm PT kick-off on Saturday on Fox.