ESPN College Football

UCLA and USC are uncomfortably intertwined more than just about any other college football rivalry. They share a city, not just a state. Many of the players know each other, having played together or against each other during their high school careers in Southern California. Many of them cross paths on a regular basis around town.

More often than not, they exchange a fist bump and leave the posturing stares to overzealous fans. And they do chat. So, yes, it's likely that during the four days since USC fired Lane Kiffin, the topic has come up and there's been a degree of Bruins curiosity.

Or not.

While UCLA second-year coach Jim Mora has repeatedly expressed sympathy for Kiffin's plight, he also denies that his players give a flip about the goings-on across town.

"We don't worry about that stuff," Mora said. "We don't talk about it. We don't think about it. It's not in our orbit. That's another team. We worry about our team. Our players worry about our team. They couldn't care less what's going on over there. It doesn't matter to us. It's not going to affect us. We don't play them until late November. It doesn't matter to us. It's a non-factor."

Mora has a point, too. Any focus on USC distracts from the present purpose: His team pays a visit to Utah on Thursday as the No. 12 Bruins open their Pac-12 schedule with a South Division showdown.

It's an interesting matchup with more than a few notable connections.

Start with UCLA’s win in last year’s meeting, with the Bruins bouncing back from a blowout loss to woeful California the week before. At the time, Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley, a redshirt freshman, was beginning to establish himself as a budding star. In the opposite huddle, true freshman quarterback Travis Wilson was making his first career start. Wilson would throw for more yards than Hundley -- 220 vs. 183 -- but was far less efficient. And Hundley just killed the Utes defense with his running, accounting for 68 yards on 15 carries.

Hundley's offensive coordinator is Noel Mazzone, who was hired by Mora because of the work he did with Brock Osweiler running an up-tempo, pass-happy spread offense at Arizona State.

This offseason, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham decided he wanted to adopt an up-tempo, pass-happy spread offense. So he hired Mazzone's former boss at Arizona State, Dennis Erickson, who is one of the fathers of the up-tempo, pass-happy spread offense.

Erickson has done wonders with the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Wilson, whom Mora this week compared to the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Osweiler, who is now with the Denver Broncos.

UCLA's offense, very good last year, is putting up ridiculous numbers this season with Hundley in his second year as a starter. It ranks second in the nation in total offense (614 yards per game) and third in scoring (52.7 points per game). Balance? The Bruins are 13th in the nation in rushing (284.3 ypg) and 12th in passing (330 ypg). Efficiency? UCLA leads the nation with an eye-popping 68 percent conversion rate on third down.

Said Whittingham: "They are doing everything right on offense."

Yet perhaps no offense in the nation is as improved as Utah's. Last year, the Utes averaged 324 yards and 26.7 points per game. This year, they are averaging 505 yards and 42 points per game. Utah passed for a conference-worst 190.7 yards per game in 2012. This year it's 286 yards per game. The Utes had 16 touchdown passes all of last season. They have nine through four games this fall.

"Dennis has his handprints all over that," Mora said.

Obviously, the linchpin has been Wilson, whom Whittingham admits has thus far exceeded expectations. Wilson simply is a different player than he was as a true freshman trying to negotiate a Pac-12 schedule.

"I think there are quite a few differences," Whittingham said. "No. 1, his confidence level, his poise level, his command of the offense. He's playing very confidently right now. He's really progressed and matured a lot faster than any of us thought he would. His numbers and Hundley's numbers are almost the exact same."

That is, perhaps surprisingly, true. Wilson is third in the Pac-12 and 15th in the nation in passing efficiency, while Hundley is fourth and 16th. Hundley ranks 11th in ESPN's Total QBR while Wilson is 16th. Hundley is averaging 282.7 yards passing per game with eight TDs and three interceptions, while Wilson is averaging 279.5 yards per game with nine TDs and three picks.

Wilson has rushed for 257 yards. Hundley 157.

"That will be an intriguing matchup, to see how the quarterbacks match up against each other," said Whittingham, making an accurate statement that no one would have said in August.

When you add up all these sparkling numbers, you figure this game won't end up 21-14, with the teams combining for less than 700 yards of offense.

Of course, the defenses will have their say, too. The Bruins have a clear advantage there, yielding 18 points per game compared to 24.2 for the Utes, but it's difficult to truly measure things based on the nonconference schedule.

As always, turnovers will be a key, something that typically starts with quarterback play. But also pay attention to third down. As previously noted, the Bruins are great at converting them on offense, but they also are pretty salty thwarting them on defense (26.7 percent). The Utes convert just 35 percent of their third downs and are at 36.6 percent on third-down defense.

For UCLA, this is the first step toward winning the South Division. Utah, on the other hand, is trying to gain traction in year three in the conference. The previous two years, the Utes started Pac-12 play at a dismal 0-4. Beating the Bruins not only would prevent them from heading toward that early-opher direction again, it would make a strong statement.

As in: The Utes now have a Pac-12 QB, so now they are ready to advance in the conference pecking order.

Pac-12 reporter Kevin Gemmell takes a look at some of the storylines in the conference this week.

Pretty much every team plays true freshmen. But how much of an impact are those freshmen having on the game? Through four weeks, some have made immediate impacts. Others have seen some mop-up time. Across the ESPN blogosphere this morning, we’re looking at the five teams in each conference who have had freshmen make the greatest impacts on their team.

1. California: The quarterback is the most important position, and anytime you have a true freshman playing quarterback, it’s going to have a significant impact on the outcome of the game. So far, quarterback Jared Goff has risen to the occasion, even if it hasn’t translated into wins for the Bears. He leads the country in total offense. He’s completing 61 percent of his passes (103-of-168) and has seven touchdowns to four interceptions. Goff is one of seven true freshmen who have seen time for the Bears. Running back Khalfani Muhammad is tied for second on the team with 21 carries (97 yards, one touchdown).

2. UCLA: The Bruins have played 16 true freshmen so far, which, as of last week, was second in the country only to Texas A&M. Linebacker Myles Jack has had the biggest impact with 14 tackles, including two for a loss and a team-high four pass breakups. They are also getting good production from Eddie Vanderdoes, who had two tackles for a loss against New Mexico State, and offensive lineman Alex Redmond has started all three games at guard.

3. USC: The Trojans have gotten impact performances on both sides of the ball from their freshmen. Seven have seen the field for the Trojans. Safety Su’a Cravens has been as advertised so far with 18 tackles, half a tackle for a loss, and an interception. With Silas Redd out, running back Justin Davis has supplemented Tre Madden nicely. In four games, Davis has rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 47.2 yards per game and a team-high 5.9 yards per carry.

4. Washington State: The Cougars have gotten quality -- not necessary quantity -- out of their true freshmen. They have only played four. But two of them are getting quality playing time and making significant contributions. Cornerback Daquawn Brown made his first career start against USC and posted a team high 11 tackles while breaking up two passes. He also had an interception against Southern Utah. Wide receiver River Cracraft is fourth on the team with 10 catches for 111 yards.

5. Colorado: The Buffs aren’t going as young as they did last year, but they are still getting production from their rookies. And they have found something special in linebacker Addison Gillam. Through two games he’s the Buffs leading tackler with 20 stops -- including a sack, two tackles for a loss and five stops on third down. He also blocked a punt. Defensive end Jimmie Gilbert should also continue to see time. In 64 snaps he has three tackles and a sack.

Honorable mentions

These guys have been impactful, but chances are their teams would still have had success if they weren’t on the field based on quality of competition and/or depth at a position. But their contributions shouldn’t be overlooked.

• Oregon TE John Mundt: Five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
• Oregon RB Thomas Tyner: 12 carries for 80 yards and three touchdowns.
• Arizona LB Scooby Wright: 13 tackles, three for a loss.
• Oregon State KR Victor Bolden: 19 returns, 365 yards, 19.2 average.
• Utah LS Chase Dominguez: Haven’t heard his name before? Good. You shouldn’t. He’s a long snapper.
• Arizona State K Zane Gonzalez: Has converted 4 of 7 field goals with a long of 40 and is 3-4 inside 40 yards. 13 of 13 on PATs.
• Washington KR John Ross: Six kick returns for 112 yards (18.7 average). Three punt returns for 16 yards (5.3 average).

Utah's win over BYU headlined a strong nonconference showing for the Pac-12.

Losses hurt. Overtime losses hurt more. But there’s a special, sinister place in the psyche reserved for overtime losses at home when you score 48 points. Losses like that can suck the life out of a team.

That is, of course, unless you’re playing your biggest rival one week later.

“You certainly have no problem getting your players up for this game,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, whose Utes take on BYU Saturday. “It’s an in-state rivalry and the emotion and the passion and all of that take care of itself in this one. It’s good timing to get refocused and ready to play again.”

The Utes are coming off of a 51-48 overtime loss to Oregon State, a game in which they trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before clawing back to take the lead with 4:25 to play and then tying it up with :21 seconds left before falling in extra frames. BYU is coming off a bye.

The added intrigue to this season’s edition of the rivalry is that the game will go on a two-year break. That means two extra years for the winners to puff up their chests. Two extra years for the losers to marinate. Two extra years for fans to trump any debate with: “Who won the last one?”

Certainly, that has to make this game more significant than any of the previous ones, right?

“Not at all,” Whittingham said. “In my opinion, it doesn’t put any more emphasis on the game. There happens to be a two-year break in between, but I don’t think it’s any more important to them than last year or the year before or the year before.”

The last one ended in chaos. The one before that was a Utah blowout and the one before that came down to a blocked field goal. The Utes have won three straight in the series and four of the past five.

Given how two of the past three matchups have gone, Whittingham said be prepared for anything.

“It seems like last year might have been more bizarre than it's been in a few years, but it seems like almost every year it comes down to the last play or the last series of plays, and I guess that's one of the reasons that it's made it a good rivalry,” Whittingham said. “I don't have an explanation for it other than it's very competitive, and both teams seem to play well in the game and it comes right down to the bitter end.”

So while the Utes have little time to lick their wounds from the Oregon State loss, BYU took some time off to fully soak in their 40-21 win over then-No. 15 Texas. But just as Utah isn't lingering much on its overtime loss, BYU isn't resting on the laurels of its Texas victory.

“We’ve shifted, and it’s done,” said BYU quarterback Taysom Hill. “Texas was a great win, and we have a lot of good things to build off but we have a lot of things that we need to fix. Everyone on the team has shifted their focus to Utah; there’s nothing to hang our hat on. We had a good game and we’re going to build off that, but our focus is now Utah.”

With last week’s loss, the Utes are now 7-12 in Pac-12 play since joining the conference. Far below the standards Whittingham expects. But he believes the team is making progress. And given the nine-game conference schedule Utah plays, winning non-league games takes on greater importance for a team hoping to return to the postseason.

“We feel like we’re a much better football team right now than we have been the last couple of years,” he said. “The league itself is a lot better than it was a couple of years ago so I guess it’s a relevant statement.”

Part of Utah’s adjustment to the league has been trying to increase its depth. Winning against BYU not only carries universal pride, it also helps with the in-state recruiting -- though Whittingham admits there isn’t as much crossover recruiting as there used to be when both schools were in the Mountain West.

One of the biggest weapons to emerge for Utah are the legs of quarterback Travis Wilson. His 142 rushing yards last week were the second most by a quarterback in Utah history, and he accounted for 78 percent of Utah's total offensive output. A big game for him could mean a big game for the Utes.

"They certainly have to account for Travis running the ball," Whittingham said. "We actually missed a couple of reads -- if he reads a couple of other ones correctly, he's over 200 yards rushing. Even though we had a big night, it could have been even more prolific as far as his carrying the football. But that definitely poses problems for opposing defenses and coordinators. Travis, through three games, has proven that he's a very viable runner. So that's one more thing that they have to account for when they are scheming us. That is a big positive."

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan and the Utah defensive front seven are on the spot this week in the Pac-12.

If you don't like where you are in the Power Rankings, play better.

See last week's Power Rankings here.

1. Oregon: The power rankings are about reacting to the latest games as well as the cumulative body of work and general perception of butt-kicking ability. The Ducks are now tops in all three. And after witnessing Mark Helfrich's tour-de-force presser following his team's bludgeoning of Tennessee, reporters realized we've still got some Chip Kelly wiseacre to enjoy.

2. Stanford: Stanford falls behind due to style points. Of course, Stanford knows that winning, if continued, will conquer style. The Cardinal just needs to keep doing the former, starting with an interesting visit from Arizona State on Saturday.

3. UCLA: The Bruins now own the highest quality win in the conference with Saturday's emotional 18-point come-from-behind victory at Nebraska. Furthermore, how the Bruins took care of business -- 38 consecutive points? Are you kidding me?! -- was freaking impressive on both sides of the ball. Jim Mora and his staff seem to be pretty good in a halftime locker room.

4. Washington: The Huskies took care of business on the road against a solid Illinois team. After Idaho State, the visit from Arizona on Sept. 28 will present a big test for both teams.

5. Arizona State: The Sun Devils looked like the superior team against Wisconsin, but that doesn't change the fact they nearly blew it and -- let's face it -- got lucky with how things went down at the end with Pac-12 officials Larry, Curly and Moe. Still, it was a good win since the scoreboard says it was. Now, what can the Sun Devils do on the road against Stanford?

6. Washington State: The Cougars should improve to 3-1 on Saturday against Idaho. Then they get Stanford in Seattle, the first of four consecutive games against North Division foes. It's a tough stretch, but it certainly looks closer to a potential 2-2 run than it did in August. And two wins puts the Cougs one win away from bowl eligibility with four games to play.

7. Arizona: The Wildcats have been the quietest team in the conference because they played three weak nonconference opponents. They have looked pretty good, with an improved defense being particularly noteworthy. But we still don't know these guys and won't until they go to Washington on Sept. 28.

8. Oregon State: That was a big, clutch win at Utah. A potential season-changer. The preseason perception was the Beavers had a good shot at a 7-0 start. It's not unreasonable to be leaning toward ending up 6-1 now, particularly if QB Sean Mannion keeps doing his NFL QB-looking thing. Next up is a visit to a San Diego State team that can't -- please, Beavs, no! -- can't be overlooked.

9. USC: Not unlike Oregon State getting off the carpet, the way USC handled Boston College was enough to suggest it's premature to throw in the white towel for the Trojans' 2013 season. Clancy Pendergast's defense has been dominant, for one. And just maybe the offense is starting to figure things out.

10. Utah: Ouch. So many "what ifs" from the home loss to Oregon State. A great comeback, only to fall in overtime. Again, ouch. It's probably good news that a visit to BYU is up next. That's a big emotional game, and the Utes need to move on from a big emotional game.

11. Colorado: The grudge match with Fresno State was canceled due to major flooding -- unquestionably the right call, by the way -- so the renewed Buffs were on the sidelines and again will be off this week. It will be interesting to see how two consecutive weekends without a game will affect the visit to Oregon State on Sept. 28. That's a sneaky interesting game.

12. California: The Bears are the only team in the conference with a losing record, though that is a function of tough scheduling against a pair of ranked Big Ten teams in two of the three weeks. If Cal had played Arizona's schedule, it would be 3-0 and we'd be celebrating new coach Sonny Dykes and true freshman QB Jared Goff. But, as it is, the 1-2 record stands as the only available body of work. And that defense? Pretty yucky so far, injuries or not.

Three turnarounds in progress:

1. The third coordinator in three seasons has been the charm for Illinois senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase. Illini head coach Tim Beckman snapped up Bill Cubit, fired after eight seasons (51-47) by Western Michigan, and the difference in Scheelhaase has been huge. He is completing 74 percent of his passes this season as opposed to 60 percent last year, and 10.6 yards per attempt, nearly double last year’s 5.6 yards per attempt. Illinois is 2-0 and making the Big Ten Leaders look a lot tougher.

2. Boston College head coach Steve Addazio, who always acts as if he takes his Red Bull intravenously, has injected life into the Eagles, who seemed like a team more talented than the 2-10 record that got Frank Spaziani fired a year ago. BC has matched its win total of last season thanks to a newly aggressive defense under coordinator Don Brown. The Eagles have eight sacks in two games. Last season, they had eight sacks.

3. Utah is 2-0 for the first time in three seasons thanks to an offensive explosion (100 points in two games) that reflects the touch of new co-offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson, the longtime passing guru who won two national championships at Miami. Sophomore quarterback Travis Wilson has more than doubled his 2012 QBR (92.0/41/7) with five touchdowns and no picks this season, as opposed to seven and six, respectively, a year ago.

The Pac-12 blog might be going off the rails here, but the weekend results suggested that the pool of potential bowl teams perhaps should widen. So we have projected 10 bowl-eligible Pac-12 teams, which means we've included two teams getting selected for at-large berths in bowls that are not contracted to the conference.

Of course, many teams with early optimism should keep in mind the schedule ahead. I know Utah fans are happy with a 2-0 start, but they should look at the schedule and see if they are confident four more wins lie ahead. It certainly won't be easy, as the toughest part is yet to come.

Further, as bad as USC looked against Washington State, the Trojans can't possibly be headed for a losing season ... can they? And what about Oregon State: Was the Eastern Washington game merely just one of those college football oddities? And can Washington State keep winning?

Lots of questions.

Does the math here pencil out? Probably not. But it makes as much as sense as doing bowl projections in week two.

We still like Stanford atop the conference. But the Ducks sure did look good at Virginia.

VIZIO BCS National Championship: Stanford vs. BCS
Rose Bowl Game Presented by VIZIO: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Valero Alamo: Washington vs. Big 12
Holiday: Arizona State vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun: UCLA vs. ACC
Las Vegas: Arizona vs. MWC
Fight Hunger: Oregon State vs. BYU
Gildan New Mexico: Washington State vs. MWC
Pinstripe: USC vs. American
Heart of Dallas: Utah vs. Conference USA

 

Five things we learned about the Pac-12 in Week 2.

1. The Pac-12 can rally: After going 7-3 in Week 1, the most disappointing of those losses being Oregon State’s loss to Eastern Washington, the Pac-12 bounced back in Week 2, going 8-0 in its nonconference games. Most were blowouts. Some were dicier (cough, Cal, cough, Colorado, cough, Oregon State, sort of), but they were wins nevertheless. It was the kind of week the Pac-12 needed heading into a Week 3 that will see a significant uptick in the competition. The Pac-12 faces four Big Ten teams, three of which are ranked. And through the first two weeks of the season, the combined record of the nonconference foes in Week 3 is 18-2. The bar is raised. Despite the close calls, some very strong performances from ASU, Arizona, Utah and Stanford should not go unmarked. And does anyone else get the feeling that when Central Arkansas took a 24-17 lead in the fourth, the old Buffs would have wilted? Kudos to Mike MacIntyre for rallying his team (getting turnovers helps).
2. [+] Enlarge

   AP Photo/Andrew ShurtleffDe'Anthony Thomas had little trouble against Virginia, but the Oregon offense wasn't perfect.
   Good can be better: We know Oregon is good. We also know the Ducks can be better. For the second straight week, De'Anthony Thomas and Marcus Mariota rushed for at least 100 yards (124 for DAT, 122 for Mariota) and the scoreboard shows a dominating performance over Virginia. But there were uncharacteristic drops. Four drives stalled and turned into punts. And while we concede that Oregon will in fact have to punt from time to time, we certainly don’t expect drives of three plays, 2 yards; three plays, minus-1 yard; three plays, minus-9 yards. Take it as a compliment that you can beat a BCS conference opponent, on the road, 59-10 and still have things to work on.
3. Lane Kiffin is on fire (not in a good way): The hottest seat in America just got a healthy dusting of thermite. The quarterback soap opera, which is now turning into horrific reality TV, is overshadowing what should be a couple of great performances from USC’s defense. And it’s actually gotten to the point where the quarterback play is hurting the defense. In USC's loss to Washington State, Cody Kessler was 8-of-13 for 41 yards with a pick-six. Max Wittek was 3-of-8 for 13 yards with an interception. Through two games, the quarterbacks are a combined 26-of-50 for 226 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Want some perspective? Arizona safety Tra'Mayne Bondurant has more interceptions returned for touchdowns (two) than both USC quarterbacks have touchdown passes. This make-or-break season for Kiffin is breaking, rapidly. Hats off to the Cougs, who have beaten two Top 25 teams in their last three games.
4. Goff and Wilson, young guns: The Utes have been star-crossed at quarterback the last couple of seasons, but they appear to have something special in Travis Wilson. Per ESPN Stats and Information, Wilson’s showing against Weber State was one of the finest quarterback performances in the last decade. His raw QBR rating was 99.7. Raw meaning it will be adjusted to reflect quality of competition -- so it will drop. Still, he averaged 16.2 yards per play, accounted for five touchdowns and his rating of 99.7 is the eighth-ranked single-game score by any quarterback with at least 25 action plays since 2004 (fifth in the last five seasons). It’s the highest total QBR with that many action plays since Andrew Luck posted a 99.9 versus Cal back in November 2010. If you still aren’t up on the QBR, click here. You’ll be seeing it a lot on the blog this season -- especially with quarterbacks like Mariota, Brett Hundley, Taylor Kelly, Kevin Hogan, Keith Price and apparently, Wilson. Speaking of bright young quarterbacks, also per our friends at Stats and Info, Cal's Jared Goff has 930 passing yards in two games. That’s the second most by a quarterback in his team's first two games since 2000 (Colt Brennan had the most in 2007).
5. Stanford owns Cali: Stanford coach David Shaw improved to a perfect 10-0 against schools from California. The Cardinal’s 34-13 win over San Jose State moved him to 3-0 against the Spartans since taking over in 2011. He’s also 2-0 against USC, 3-0 against UCLA and 2-0 against California. If anyone is curious, the margin of victory in those 10 games is 16.1 points. But that’s a bit skewed by a pair of 2011 victories over San Jose State (57-3) and UCLA (45-19). There have been some tight ones, like the three-overtime USC game in 2011, 31-28 over Cal in 2011, 20-17 over San Jose State in 2012, 27-24 over UCLA in 2012 and 21-14 over USC in 2012. Still, perfect is perfect.

So who deserves a helmet sticker for a job well done?

Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State: Sure, it was against Sacramento State, but Kelly was darn near perfect in a 55-0 win. He completed 23 of 31 passes for 300 yards with five TDs and no interceptions. That earned a 96.3 Total QBR rating (out of 100) from ESPN.com Stats & Info.

Travis Wilson, QB, Utah: Again, we don't get too excited about games against FCS teams, but Wilson has been sharp in two consecutive starts. In the 70-7 win over Weber State, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 264 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He also rushed three times for 93 yards and two scores, one a 51-yarder.

De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon: Thomas, looking like a much more polished, complete running back than in the past, rushed for 124 yards on just 11 carries -- 11.3 yards per pop -- and scored three TDs in the Ducks' blowout win. He also caught one pass for 28 yards, but his catching just one ball shows that he's really a RB and not as much a "slash."

Jared Goff, QB, California: Goff completed 30 of 47 passes for 457 yards with two touchdowns in the Bears' comeback 37-30 win over Portland State, an FCS team. ... While he wasn't always on target -- he missed a number of potential big plays -- he didn't throw any interceptions. He had three while also putting up big numbers last week in the loss to Northwestern, including a pair of pick-6s. The true freshman has already thrown for 900 yards this year.

Paul Richardson, WR, Colorado: Two games, two 200-yard receiving games. Richardson caught 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the Buffaloes' 38-24 win over Central Arkansas. The Buffs went 1-11 last year without Richardson. They are 2-0, in large part because he's back.

Oregon State's defense: A week after becoming a national laughingstock for their horrid performance against Eastern Washington, the Beavers' D bounced back against Hawaii, holding the Rainbow Warriors to 239 total yards and no second-half points in a 33-14 victory.

Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona: His suspension ended in the second quarter with a bang when he took his first carry 58 yards for a TD. He finished with 171 yards on 16 carries -- 10.7 yards per carry average -- with two touchdowns in the Wildcats' blowout victory.

Damante Horton, CB, Washington State: His 70-yard interception return provided the Cougars their only TD in a 10-7 win over USC. It was the most memorable of his two picks -- one for each Trojans QB. He also had two tackles for a loss among his four total tackles.

Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford: Gaffney returned to college football after a year off playing pro baseball by rushing for 104 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns in the Cardinal's 34-13 win over San Jose State.

All day Saturday, the question seemed to hang in the air. Who was it going to be this week? Who would be the Week 2 goat?

The Pac-12 was a double-digit favorite in all of its nonconference games. Yet it always seems there is one team that fails to meet expectation, underwhelms and ultimately coughs up one that it shouldn’t. California? Oregon State, again? How about Colorado, which hasn’t been 2-0 since 2008?

Turns out we should have been looking in-conference. Because while Cal, Oregon State and Colorado all got scares, they eventually held serve, and the Pac-12 went 8-0 against nonconference competition. The rest of the league looked dominant against overmatched opponents.

However for the second consecutive week, the league also saw one of its ranked teams fall after Washington State shocked the No. 25 Trojans at home 10-7. It was USC’s first home-opening loss since 2000 -- which coincidentally also came at the hands of Washington State.

Call it a choke job by the Trojans. Call it a gritty effort from Washington State. Call it a testament to the depth of the league and its nine-game conference schedule. Call it kooky that the Cougs won without an offensive touchdown.

Outside of the lone conference game, the Pac-12 was hardly perfect. But it still managed perfection, which is exactly what it needed to do. No slipups. No embarrassing upsets. No stubbed toes. Because Week 3 presents a fresh set of challenges that will greatly influence the national perception of the league next week and in weeks to come. By winning the games it's supposed to win, the league has upped the ante for Week 3, making some already-intriguing games that much better.

The lineup looks a lot tougher than the soft serve it scooped in Week 2, including three ranked teams, four Big Ten teams, a 2-0 SEC team and a couple of more undefeateds.

The Pac-12’s Week 3 opponents went 8-2 this week, and the combined record of next week’s competition is 18-2 through the first two weeks. The ranked teams -- Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin -- were all easy winners this week. Illinois is a surprising 2-0. Fresno State embarrassed Colorado last year -- now they meet as undefeated foes.

And that’s the early conference storyline for Week 3: Pac-12 versus Big Ten, quality competition versus quality competition. Had Cal or Colorado fallen to FCS opponents, they would have likely slipped into obscurity. But now Fresno State at Colorado looks pretty fascinating. Jared Goff's performance for Cal makes the Ohio State game, which may or may not include Braxton Miller, look a lot more interesting.

The fact that Taylor Kelly and the Sun Devils looked freakishly efficient in their opener makes their game against Wisconsin a must-see. UCLA and Washington were on byes this week, but both had credible wins in Week 1 that make their road showdowns against Nebraska and Illinois, respectively, potentially thrilling.

The East Coast got a good look at Oregon -- all 557 total yards of them -- and that was with jetlag! Now the Ducks host a Tennessee team that has yet to be tested. (But it’s 2-0 and in the SEC, so it should be in the top 10 when the new rankings come out).

We still don’t have a clue who will start at quarterback for USC against a 2-0 Boston College squad. Maybe it's time to give Morgan Breslin a look under center? It’s worth tuning in to see how/if the Trojans can pick up the pieces.

Even Washington State’s follow-up against FCS Southern Utah is a lot more intriguing after the Cougs ... wait for it ... won with DEFENSE!

Stanford did what it does -- grabbed a lead and then pounded away on a weaker opponent until it broke. And while it shouldn’t have that much of an issue with Army, it should be fun watching that Cardinal front seven go against Army’s run-heavy offense.

And the one conference game next week -- Oregon State at Utah -- is a lot more interesting after the Utes offense pasted 70 on Weber State, and the Beavers eventually pulled away from Hawaii.

Week 2 wasn’t as bromidic as it should have been, but ultimately the league took care of its out-of-conference-business. And that sets the stage for a fascinating Week 3.