Pac-12 Football: Stanford leaps USC, Arizona State jumps in Week 2 power rankings
By Dana Becker
Freshman Chase Garbers shined for the Bears in a three-point victory over BYU this past week, throwing for 176 yards and rushing for another 45 with two touchdowns.
Garbers and Brandon McIlwain alternated at the quarterback position, as McIlwain ran for a team-high 74 yards. Combined, the two had 214 yards passing and 109 yards rushing with three touchdowns.
More importantly for California, though, was the defensive effort on Squally Canada. A week after scoring three times, Canada was kept out of the end zone and held to just 49 yards on 16 carries.
The Bears also picked off two Tanner Mangum passes and will have a strong chance to be 3-0 after this coming Saturday when they host Idaho State.
We know all about the Washington State offense under head coach Mike Leach, but it was the defense dominating against San Jose State.
The team honored Tyler Hilinski before the game with a tribute, and proceeded to go out and post a 31-0 victory. They held the Spartans to 109 yards of total offense, including just nine net rushing yards on 23 carries.
Gardner Minshew was in good form, completing 34 of 51 for 414 yards with three touchdowns. The offense also ran for 124 yards on 31 carries to provide balance.
The Cougars take on an in-state foe in FCS contender Eastern Washington at home this week.
In an old Big Eight Conference classic, it was the Buffaloes thwarting the home debut – part two – of Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, claiming a 33-28 victory.
Steven Montez and Laviska Shenault Jr. continued their early season success, as they connected for the game-winning touchdown. Montez was 33-for-50 passing for 351 yards with three scores, finding Shenault 10 times for 177 yards. He also hit Jay MacIntyre for two touchdowns and found five other receivers on the day.
The Buffaloes will need to get more from their ground game moving forward, as they were held to 44 yards and surrendered 329 to the Huskers.
Colorado is now 2-0 on the year and will get New Hampshire at home after opening with a victory over Colorado State.
Herm Edwards is adopting to the college game and “Pac-12 After Dark” quite well, as his Sun Devils stunned then-No. 15 Michigan State to set off a wild celebration this past week in over 100-degree heat.
Brandon Ruiz booted through a game-winning field goal as time expired, putting Arizona State at 2-0. Manny Wilkens completed 30 of 48 passes for 380 yards, including several key completions in the fourth quarter.
The Sun Devils did surrender over 300 yards passing, but held the Spartans to just 63 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Arizona State will hit the road this week for a date with San Diego State.