Tempe, AZ – Rose to the Rose Bowl: Week 13 developments

In the Pac-12, the Sun Devils took a monumental step forward in achieving their goals.

As they say, just take care of your own business and the rest will work itself out. But this week is a perfect example of how developments from around the rest of the conference can play to ASU’s advantage or disadvantage in their hunt for the Rose Bowl.

By defeating UCLA, ASU has won the Pac-12 South. However, the Devils got an unexpected gift from their nemesis down South. Because UA defeated Oregon in a huge upset, ASU suddenly controls its destiny again to host the Pac-12 Championship game against Stanford if they beat the Wildcats on Saturday.

Here’s how the weekend unfolded in the Pac-12 conference…

New Standings in the South

#17 ASU 38 – #14 UCLA 33

As expected, this game was a fight all the way to the finish. ASU jumped out to a big lead and held a 35-13 advantage at halftime only to let the Bruins come storming back. As the second half began, the Devils helped the Bruins with poor tackling and special teams errors, which was more than enough help for UCLA. 

In the end, ASU’s defense held tough with 9 sacks, and the Devils escaped the Rose Bowl with a narrow victory (38-33) and the Pac-12 South Championship with still one more game to play.  

Arizona 42 – #5 Oregon 16

Oregon was in the drivers seat in the Pac-12 North, and by winning their last two games would have been hosting the conference championship game in Autzen Stadium. Like most people that predicted this game, I was wrong.

Last week some of the Duck players were quoted as saying that they weren’t very excited about playing in another Rose Bowl as compared to the National Championship. Well, that feeling was quite evident as they rolled into Tucson. The Ducks looked flat and disinterested from the opening kickoff. 

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota threw his first two interceptions of the year, and the Duck offense looked awful. Arizona’s offense hummed behind RB Ka’Deem Carey and QB B.J. Denker.

Here’s the crazy part. This was the absolute best thing that could have happened for the Devils. If they beat the Wildcats in Tempe, the Pac-12 championship game will be hosted by ASU at Sun Devil Stadium. Incredible turn of events.

Washington State 49 – Utah 37

No Surprise here. Utah has been weak on the road all year, and their woes continued as the Cougars racked up 49 points on the Utes in Pullman. With the win, Washington State becomes bowl eligible, a good development for the Pac-12.

#9 Stanford 63 – Cal 13

New Standings in the North

This was a rivalry game that wasn’t really a game at all. Stanford needed to win to secure their spot in the conference championship game and that is exactly what they did. In fact, there wasn’t a single Pac-12 team that lost to the Golden Bears all year. 

The win by the Cardinal was good for the Devils because now they get to play a team in the Championship that they have already faced and Stanford continues to climb in the polls.

If the Sun Devils can beat the Wildcats and then Stanford who has moved to #8, ASU will be a top 10 team with an 11-2 record on the way to the Rose Bowl.

#23 USC 47 – Colorado 29

The Buffaloes scored enough points to remain competitive in this game, but the Trojans were clearly on a mission here. USC knew that if they won and ASU lost, they would still have a shot at the Pac-12 South title heading into the final weekend. 

This game kicked off before the ASU/UCLA game, so their hopes were still alive. SC took care of business in Boulder, but were surely disappointed with the Bruins’ defeat at the hands of the Devils.

Because USC is ranked, their win is good for ASU because the Trojans will hold up in the rankings. Remember, the Devils thrashed the Trojans in Tempe so as long as USC keeps winning, it’s good for ASU’s resume.

Washington 69 – Oregon State 27

I haven’t been impressed by Oregon State all year. Beaver quarterback Sean Mannion is extremely overrated and has put up big numbers against weaker teams. Washington, however, has looked quite good at times, and this was definitely one of those games.

In Corvallis, the Huskies were playing with a backup quarterback after Keith Price went down the week before. This didn’t seem to slow down the UW offense in the slightest as they racked up 69 points. This game didn’t matter much to the Devils, but it was fun to watch.

*  *  *

As week 13 in the Pac-12 conference came to a close, it was quite unusual to see both champions declared in the North and South with still one week to go. There is still a lot of positioning going on with respect to decisions by bowl committees. Expect to be surprised this weekend as almost every team in the league is playing their rival. One thing is certain, nothing is more crucial than the Territorial Cup battle on Saturday. 

Carl Bradford and the Sun Devil defense brought heavy pressure in ASU’s victory over UCLA