Around The Conference Table: Week 13

Twas the last week

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

16 Oregon State @ 6 Oregon (Oregon wins 31-7)

Mpete91 - Really feel sad for the OSU players in all this man. They deserve better than a conference dying because of UCLA and a coach abandoning them on their rivalry week. Also congrats to Oregon for winning the Pac12 Championship.

TD_24 - I feel so bad for the Oregon State players, having Jonathan Smith checked out like and basically up and out of there. No messaging, no transparency no nothing.

Bk97 - This one makes a lot more sense now that we know that Smith let his team know before the game that he was leaving. I'm not opposed to the outcome because it was inevitable that he would sign with a bigger program after OSU was relegated, but I hate the process. After everything that program has been through over the last several months, they deserved better.

Christopher_h - Oregon's defense looked dominant in this one, and Oregon is firing on all cylinders now. Will Dan Lanning have his team looking more respectable in the rematch against Georgia?

Rob Hwang - Oregon looks good... like could beat anyone good.

Washington State @ 4 Washington (Washington wins 24-21)

Mpete91 - Wazzu put up a fight and had Washington on the ropes, but ultimately has to let Oregon finish the job.

TD_24 - WSU winning this and UW beating UO would've made for the most Pac 12 outcome this season. Huskies escape again.

Bk97 - So how much time is Penix going to spend with his head inside that storage cabinet during Friday night's game?

Christopher_h - Rome Odunze is legit, but WSU's receivers had themselves a game too. WSU gave it their best shot but Washington squeaks by again, needing a gutsy trick play on a 4th and 1 deep in their own territory to set up a game-winning FG by a walk-on kicker. You have to imagine that they're luck is going to run out really soon.

15 Arizona @ Arizona State (Arizona wins 59-23)

Mpete91 - I do not want to play Arizona and I pity whomever they play in a bowl game.

TD_24 - Man imagine had Noah Fifita started this season.......

Bk97 - Jedd Fisch: Pac-12 Coach of the Year (the preseason over/under for UA was five wins!)

Rob Hwang - Atleast we wont have to play in Arizona ever again.

Christopher_h - This game ultimately came down to the fact that Arizona's receivers, especially Tetairoa McMillan, were practically uncoverable by ASU. Noah Fifita had all day to keep hitting a wide open McMillan over and over again, usually on a busted coverage of some sort. And Jaden Rashada made his return for ASU, but he looked completely lost and unprepared at times.

Colorado @ Utah (Utah wins 23-17)

Mpete91 - Utah cant wait for 2024 man. Go run the table.

TD_24 - Cal and Serra Padres legend Luke Bottari in his own Louis bag.

Bk97 - What does Utah do when they have to play their fifth-string QB? Run the ball 51 times for 272 yards. I'll miss Coach Whittingham's brutally effective teams but I won't miss being on the receiving end of it.

Christopher_h - Luke Bottari completed 6 passes as Utah ran the ball down Colorado's throat. Colorado freshman QB Ryan Staub looked decent, but it definitely helps having Travis Hunter on the receiving end of all your throws. How Utah still limped to 8-4 (with all 4 losses to ranked teams: #3 UW, #5 Oregon, #15 Arizona, and #20 Oregon St) despite all their injuries is amazing. I expect them to immediately compete for the Big 12 title next year.

18 Notre Dame @ Stanford (Stanford loses 23-56)

Mpete91 - *inhales deeply* LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

TD_24 - Tristian Sinclair surely would've made a difference had his suspension been upheld.

Bk97 - Surrendering 42 consecutive points is not an optimal strategy for trying to win a football game.

Christopher_h - Haven't watched this one yet, but the most surprising thing about this one is that Stanford scored 23 points. The fact that their front seven were completely ineffectual against the run? Less surprising.

Any other thoughts?

Mpete91 - RIP to the Pac12. A wonderful, stupid, beautiful, idiotic conference.

TD_24 - I hate you Larry Scott, ESPN, and Fox for taking this stupid, loving, ever-maddening conference away from me.

Rob Hwang - Goodnight sweet prince.

Bk97 - How perfect was it that the final Pac-12 After Dark featured 6 turnovers, a kickoff return TD, and a 73-yard punt, and culminated in the utter demoralization of a fanbase responsible for the demise of the Pac-12?

Christopher_h - I've never experienced so much schadenfreude in one place before my trip last week to the Rose Bowl. To the dismay of UCLA fans, UCLA has decided to retain Chip Kelly, as he is back to 0.500 despite the easiest possible schedules year after year (they had a bottom 3 strength of schedule last year, this year they missed UW/Oregon in the Pac-12 this year, constant OOC cupcakes, etc). Chip Kelly is something like 7-28 against winning teams at UCLA, with 5 total wins against P5 teams with winning records in 6 years. It's a level of mediocrity completely befitting UCLA. And yet somehow, UCLA fans think they should be competing for Rose Bowls. The level of dissonance between what UCLA is and what UCLA thinks it is... *chef's kiss*.