Ducks Digest

Reubenking's Roundup: Recapping the Four-Game Pac-12 Slate in Week 6

The conference of champions didn't make as much noise as last week, but there were still some interesting results in Week 6.

Dylan Reubenking

What have we here? A somewhat normal week in the Pac-12? It certainly is a rare sight compared to this season that has seen a number of upsets making national headlines, but it was a relatively quiet week with only eight teams in action.

Read up on this weekend's games in the latest edition of Reubenking's Roundup!

#22 Arizona State Stomps Stanford 28-10

Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs for a touchdown against Stanford.
Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs for a touchdown against Stanford :: © Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK

Arizona State's offense ran away with this game early, and the defense did the rest. On the Sun Devils' first three drives (22 plays), they recorded 242 yards and three touchdowns. 148 rushing yards and 94 passing.

They only picked up 188 yards on the ensuing eight possessions (including the kneel-down at the end of the first half) and never found the end zone again. But the defense did.

Stanford's defense had forced a turnover on downs and gave the ball back to the offense with a chance to cut into the 21-10 lead in the third quarter. Jack Jones stepped in front of a Tanner McKee pass intended for John Humphreys and intercepted it, and while Humphreys was tackling him, Jones pitched it to DeAndre Pierce who took it to the house.

This was one of McKee's three interceptions thrown on Friday. It's tough to say that a quarterback that threw three interceptions played well, but he continues to prove that he is an NFL-caliber quarterback, throwing for 356 yards and a touchdown. He made numerous excellent throws sandwiched by the three poor ones. 

The Cardinal were without one of their biggest targets in Brycen Tremayne, who was injured last week in the win over Oregon, but they found success when throwing to Benjamin Yurosek and Elijah Higgins, who combined to catch 13 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown.

Arizona State didn't need a dazzling passing performance from Jayden Daniels to win this game. He passed for 175 yards, but the Devils ran for 255 and three scores to carry them to a third-straight Pac-12 victory. 

Next Up:

Stanford - At Washington State at 4:30 p.m. PST on ESPNU

Arizona State - At Utah at 7:00 p.m. PST on ESPN

de Laura Carries Washington State to a 31-24 Win Over Oregon State

Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura (4) throws a pass against the Oregon State Beavers.
Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura (4) throws a pass against the Oregon State Beavers / © James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Jayden de Laura put any question regarding the Cougars' starting quarterback position to rest with his best performance of his career against the hottest team in the Pac-12 entering Week 6.

It was a very slow start for both teams in the first half, with Oregon State getting on the board first thanks to a Jack Colletto two-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The Beavs led Washington State 10-3 at the half, with the Cougars missing several opportunities to score. They punted on their first two drives, then settled for a field goal, turned it over on downs, and turned it over on a de Laura interception in the red zone to close out the half.

It looked to be a long day for the Cougs, but it seemed like a fire was lit under their behinds at halftime, since they came out scorching in the second half. The momentum seemed to swing in WSU's favor when Oregon State failed a fake punt attempt and the Cougars took over at midfield.

The Cougars scored touchdowns on four straight possessions in the second half, including two in the third quarter to take their first lead 17-10 — the second of which was a 95-yard drive.

Oregon State answered right back with a B.J. Baylor 50-yard carry followed by Deshaun Fenwick's 15-yard touchdown to tie the game in 44 seconds. And back and forth they went.

de Laura responded with a three-for-three, 75 yard-drive capped off by a TD to Lincoln Victor to put the Cougars back in front 24-17. 

But the elite duo of Baylor and Fenwick could not be stopped, as they propelled the Beavers down the field to tie it once again at 24. Baylor ran for 145 yards and Fenwick put up 127 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

A 12-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by three third-down conversions put the Cougars in front for good 31-24. de Laura threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Deon McIntosh.

The Cougars' defense closed the door just like a closer in baseball earning a save. As the Beavers marched down the field into WSU territory, the Cougars used a sack and a tackle for loss to force the Beavers to convert a fourth-and-19 to stay alive, and Trey Lowe came up just short.

Oregon State remains on top of the Pac-12 North despite the loss, but if de Laura can string together performances like this, the race for the North could get wacky.

Next Up:

Oregon State - BYE

Washington State - Home vs. Stanford at 4:30 p.m. PST on ESPNU

Cameron Rising Shines in Utah's Road Thumping Of USC 42-26

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising (7) dives into the end zone to score a third quarter touchdown.
Utah quarterback Cameron Rising (7) dives into the end zone to score a third quarter touchdown / © Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

When Charlie Brewer left the program a few weeks ago, the state of the Utah football program was in question. The Utes were coming off of back-to-back road losses that saw Brewer play poorly, and the fate of the season was handed down to sophomore quarterback Cameron Rising.

So far, so good.

The Rising era has seen two straight wins for the Utes, including their first win against USC in Los Angeles in nearly 105 years. 

USC's offense seemed to be striding down the field with ease early on, resulting in a field goal, a touchdown and a missed field goal. At one point the Trojans led 10-7, but it was all Utes after that.

The Utes put two touchdowns on the board before halftime, and they got the ball to start the second half as well. Rising had two touchdown tosses in the first half, including a beautiful deep ball to Devaughn Vele to take a 21-10 lead.

Tavion Thomas blew the game open with a 43-yard score to go up 28-10, and Rising ran it in on a grown-man touchdown to capitalize on a Kedon Slovis interception on fourth down.

After USC's touchdown drive with just over six minutes left in the first half, the following five drives resulted in: punt, end of half, interception, punt, punt.

Utah's drives? Touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. The Utes gave up a couple of garbage time scores, but Utah was as dominant as ever in the 42-26 drubbing in the Coliseum. 

USC has lost three home conference games for the first time since 2000. 

Next Up:

Utah - Home vs. No. 18 Arizona State at 7:00 p.m. PST on ESPN

USC - BYE

UCLA Glides Past Arizona 34-16

UCLA running back Brittain Brown (28) carries the ball.
UCLA running back Brittain Brown (28) carries the ball / UCLA Athletics (@UCLAFootball on Twitter)

This game didn't bring a lot of "Pac-12 After Dark" vibes, but UCLA took care of business in the desert.

Jordan McCloud started for Arizona once again, and the Wildcats' offense was moving down the field in the first half. They found the end zone just once on four drives and had to settle for a pair of field goals, but they hung around and trailed by just a point 14-13.

The teams traded field goals at the start of the second half, and then it was all UCLA. The Bruins rattled off 17 unanswered points and held the Wildcats to 117 yards of offense in the second half while forcing two turnovers.

UCLA ran all over Arizona's defense, primarily with Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown. The two transfer running backs have found a home with UCLA as they combined for 263 rushing yards and a touchdown. Dorian Thompson-Robinson was not very effective as a passer, completing just eight of his 19 throws for 82 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but he ran for two scores.

UCLA ran away with the win to improve to 4-2 and hand Arizona its 17th straight loss.

Next Up:

UCLA - At Washington at 5:30 p.m. PST on FOX

Arizona - At Colorado at 12:30 p.m. PST on Pac-12 Network

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Dylan Reubenking
DYLAN REUBENKING

Dylan Reubenking is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. He was a sports reporter for Duck TV Sports and a broadcaster for KWVA Sports 88.1 FM. He has dabbled in news and sports reporting, copyediting, graphic design, video production, podcasting, layout design, and more. Dylan is also the co-founder and publisher of The Transfer Portal CFB, a multimedia college football platform that launched in August 2021.

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