Pac-12 Football: Washington takes over top spot out West
By Dana Becker
Things are likely to go from bad to worse for Chip Kelly and UCLA, as the Bruins welcome league-leader Washington to the Rose Bowl.
Last week, UCLA was unable to get on track, falling to Colorado, 38-16. The Bruins, though, did lead the contest twice, scoring the first touchdown on a Dorian Thompson-Robinson 11-yard pass to Michael Ezeike.
They later added a field goal in the first, but were outscored 31-6 the rest of the way.
Thompson-Robinson, a freshman, completed 17 of 35 for 138 and didn’t throw a pick, but the athletic dual-threat quarterback failed to generate anything with his legs.
Joshua Kelley had a breakout game, rushing for 124 yards, but the rest of the Bruins accounted for just 27 yards on the ground.
Overall, the UCLA defense ranks second-to-last with 421 yards surrendered per game and 37.8 points. They have forced just four turnovers and have only seven sacks, as well.
If you take a quick look at the Pac-12 stats, it is really no surprise to see that Oregon State sits at the bottom in points allowed per game (45.2) and yards (543.6). They have forced just four turnovers and have only five sacks on the season.
The opposition is averaging 303.4 yards rushing per game vs. the Beavers, who were completely dominated by Arizona State and Eno Benjamin last week, 52-24.
But all hope is not lost for first-year head coach and former Oregon State quarterback Jonathan Smith. Freshman running back Jermar Jefferson is coming off his second 200-yard rushing performance of the year, going for 253 on 31 carries with two scores.
Jefferson, who ran for 238 yards and four touchdowns earlier this year vs. Southern Utah, has 727 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging just under seven yards per carry. He ranks first in the conference at 145.4 yards per game, giving Smith someone to build around for the future.
Oregon State returns home this weekend to host Washington State.
The Utah secondary was completely torn to shreds this past Saturday, falling to Washington State, 28-24. Despite surrendering 445 yards passing, the Utes were in the game until the end.
After opening with wins over Weber State and Northern Illinois, Utah has suffered back-to-back losses to Washington and now the Cougars. And the schedule only picks up this week with Stanford welcoming them to “The Farm.”
Zack Moss ranks fifth in the conference at 97.3 rushing yards per game, as he carried the ball 30 times last week for 106 yards and a score. While quarterback Tyler Huntley had just 118 yards passing, he did add 88 and two scores with his legs.
Another bright spot Utah can focus on this week was the defense allowed zero yards rushing. Of course, when the opponent throws for 445, it is difficult to be happy about much.
The Utes rank first in the league in yards allowed per game at 264.8 and are second with 16.3 points allowed.
Following wins over Southern Utah and Oregon State, there were plenty of talk around Kevin Sumlin getting the ship steered in the right direction at Arizona.
The Wildcats showed plenty of heart at home vs. USC this past weekend, unfortunately a fourth quarter rally wasn’t enough, as they fell 24-20.
Khalil Tate threw for 232 yards, but after rushing for 284 vs. Oregon State, J.J. Taylor was held in-check to the tune of just 50 yards on the ground.
If Arizona is going to get past the likes of California, Utah and UCLA in upcoming weeks, they need Taylor to be more in the form of his Oregon State production because it is quite obvious Tate is far from healthy.
Tate ranks fifth in the league at 254.2 yards passing per game, but after running for 1,411 yards last year, he has just 69 this season. Taylor is averaging over 105 yards rushing a game, placing him third behind Jermar Jefferson of Oregon State and Eno Benjamin from Arizona State.
The Wildcats rank third in the conference in yards per game (481.4) and are fourth at 31.6 points. The defense is allowing 28 points and 419 yards per contest.