Around The Conference Table: Week 12

Last few weeks

This season we go around our writers for their takes on the other conference games that went on in prior gameweek.

Colorado @ Washington State (Washington State wins 56-14)

TD_24 - Dear God, throw in the damn towel!

Piotr T Le - Louis Vuitton bags have a reputation for being Cringe-worthy with its design and quality, and Overbearing with it's insistence of having the logo splattered all over the brand. Easy to remember these features with the shorthand: CO. True luxury, high quality, and elegance is Well-crafted, Self-assured, and Understated. Once can use the shorthand WSU for that.

WSU beats CO quite handedly.

“We got a few positions already taken care of because I’m bringing my own luggage with me,” Sanders told the Buffaloes in a meeting with players released on social media Sunday. “And it’s Louis, OK"

Mpete91 - The best part of this game was how little Coach Prime wanted to be there. Enjoy the Big12 Friend!

Bk97 - All that insufferable hype in September and Colorado flops to a (likely) 4-8 finish after losing a very winnable game against a Wazzu team on a six-game losing streak.

Christopher_h - It was very nice of Deion to give Wazzu their get-right game to end their 6 game losing streak (as Colorado hits 5 in a row themselves). Where are all the Deion stories now? Colorado was just dominated on both the offensive and defensive lines, with Wazzu putting up 100+ yard on the ground despite being one of the worst teams in the country at doing so. Luckily, talented linemen are lining up to go to Colorado, because they love the way that the coach doesn't throw them under the bus and is also doing his best to get them big NIL deals, so surely things will get better next year.

5 Washington @ 11 Oregon State (Washington wins 22-20)

TD_24 - Didn't get to see as much of this game as I would have liked but the Huskies keep winning and look like they will get Oregon in the P12 title game.

Piotr T Le - Who knew Huskies handle rain better that Beavers. But gotta handed it to UW, they are trying so hard not to go undefeated only to win out.

Mpete91 - Damn what a game. I'm worried about how close these games are for Washington and them making a habit out of these close, stressful games. Something to watch for in the Apple Cup/Pac12 Championship/Playoff.

Bk97 - I was rooting for the Beavs to beat UW and then take down Oregon next week to kill the Pac-12's playoff hopes as a middle finger to the conference that has left them to flounder in 2024. What a heartbreaking loss for OSU.

Christopher_h - The heavy rain should have favored the run-heavy OSU offense, but UW yet again did just enough to pull out the victory in a game where simply securing the ball was key, and secured their spot in the Pac-12 Championship game. OSU can play spoiler to Oregon's hopes next week.

6 Oregon @ Arizona State (Oregon wins 49-13)

TD_24 - Oregon is absolutely chopping everyone to pieces right now. Civil War next.

Piotr T Le - Bo Nix throwing for 6 TDs in 1 half against a P5 team with a weak pulse is so mundane that I didn't bat an eye at the stat. I can see his numbers being much higher if he was allowed to finishing most games.

Mpete91 - On the other hand, Oregon looks like the most dominant team in the conference right now blowing the doors off everyone they play. I think Oregon plays spoiler and jumps to the Playoff over Washington.

Bk97 - Any time Oregon has Pac-12 title dreams, they often die in a brutal blowout loss in the state of Arizona. So this one must be an immense relief for Ducks fans.

Christopher_h - Oregon was spoiled by ASU in the desert before and wasn't about to let it happen again.

22 Utah @ 17 Arizona (Arizona wins 42-18)

TD_24 - Jedd Fisch has a wagon in Tucson. Had they started Noah Fifita at the start of the year who knows where they would be.

Piotr T Le - I am very happy for the Fisch experiment in Zona, which is surprising considering arid climates tend to be inhospitable to aquatic life. The turn around was rapid... no I am not jealous at all...

Mpete91 - Oh Utah what are you doing baby. Also damn, Arizona exceeding expectations.

Bk97 - I still cannot comprehend that Arizona is now favored to end the year with NINE WINS. This is a remarkable turnaround for Jedd Fisch, who should be the leading candidate for Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Christopher_h - Utah is not built to play from behind, and when Arizona broke open the Utah defense, they were in trouble. With some help from OSU next week, Arizona is still technically alive for the Pac-12 Championship game, which is something I doubt anyone saw coming. Also, big congrats to Jayden de Laura for taking full advantage of garbage time and throwing a touchdown instead of taking a knee to ice the game, very cool.

UCLA @ USC (UCLA wins 38-20)

TD_24 - Seeing USC suffer just puts a smile on my face. Also Chip Kelly just saved his job?

Piotr T Le - lmao SC. You lost to a team coached by a guy whose stuff is already packed in Brinks boxes and made the Lesser Garbers look like his big brother. Also, how on earth do you fumble a generational QB into a 7-5 season?! Cal did it with Goff but on our end we didn't give Sonny Dykes a house or, in Goff's own admission, cash for him either.

Mpete91 - congrats UCLA enjoy hell

Bk97 - One of the most amusing aspects of this win is that UCLA is likely going to be stuck with Chip Kelly for another year (especially if they beat Cal). They can't fire him for finishing with his third consecutive 8-4 season, right?

Christopher_h - I watched this and the Cal game at the local alumni bar and this game was on before Cal. I did not care at all about the game (I always root for both of them to lose), but the UCLA fan dramatically reacting to every single play had me rooting for USC, because I enjoyed watching him suffer. For the game itself, USC was unable to overcome their costly turnovers, and gave the UCLA offense way too many short fields to work with. Ultimately, the bad guys won. And also lost.

Any other thoughts?

Piotr T Le - Next week: Gotterdammerung of the Pac-12 Gods.

Bk97 - Saturday night is the series finale of Pac-12 After Dark. I hope this one gets weird.

Christopher_h - I'm glad Cal was so much better in the Big Game that they were able to overcome their opponents, the refs. I'm very interested to see where this ref crew goes after this season. Hopefully, back to high school.