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VIVA LAS VEGAS: UTAH’s win on Saturday over OREGON clinched their spot in the 2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76®, as the South Division Champions. It’s Utah’s 3rd appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game in the last 4 years. The North’s representative will be determined in the final weekend.
- IF Oregon wins, they will win the North Division outright
- IF Oregon State wins AND Washington beats Washington State, then Oregon State will win the tiebreaker in 2-team tie with Oregon because of their head-to-head victory.
- IF Washington State wins AND Oregon State defeats Oregon, then Washington State will represent the North having the advantage in a 3-team tie with a then 4-1 record against North Division opponents.
For tickets to the 2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76®, visit pac-12.com/tickets.
CFP RANKINGS: Thanks to their big win on Saturday, UTAH moved up four spots this week in the College Football Playoff rankings to #19. It's the highest the Utes have been ranked in the CFP since they were #11 in the final rankings of 2019. OREGON, who had been in the Top 4 the previous 3 weeks, dropped 8 spots to #11.
BREAKING BARRIERS: For the 2nd straight season and for the first time at the Apple Cup, the Pac-12 will have an all-Black officiating crew including the officials, position supervisor and game evaluator. Last year, the conference made history with the Stanford at UCLA game with its first ever all-Black officiating crew.
AWARD TOUR: UTAH’s Devin Lloyd was named a finalist for the Butkus Award as the top LB in the country for the 2nd straight year. OREGON had 2 players named finalists this week with DE Kayvon Thibodeaux a finalist for the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defense player and S Verone McKinley III a finalist for the Thorpe Award for the top defensive back. Finally, the Joe Moore Award for the nation’s top OL group named their semifinalists this week with both Oregon and Oregon Stat making the cut.
On the weekly side, UTAH Head Coach Kyle Whittingham was honored as the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week with the Utes also collectively selected as the Cheez-It Bowl National Team of the Week.
AROUND THE PAC-12
COLORADO (4-7, 3-5) at #19 UTAH (8-3, 7-1)
Fri., Nov. 26 • 2:00 pm MT • FOX
COLORADO: Looking for first win over the Utes since 2016 and their first in Salt Lake City since 2011. Beat Washington last week despite being held to 183 total yards, their first win with less than 200 yards since 2004. The Buffs scored 17 points off 4 turnovers in that game. Have won 2 of the last 3 weeks with both wins coming at home. QB Brendon Lewis has thrown 108 consecutive passes without an INT, the most ever by a Colorado freshman.
UTAH: 8-2 against Colorado since joining the Pac-12 including the last 4, which were all by at least 17 points. Head Coach Kyle Whittingham became Utah’s all-time wins leader last week with his 142nd win. Looking to finish 8-1 in Pac-12 play for the second time (2019). Have won 18 of their last 19 home games, looking to go undefeated at home for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. After missing the previous game, RB Tavion Thomas had 94 rushing yards and 3 TD against Oregon to give him 11 rush TD in his last 3 games (17 for the season). 7-1 since Cameron Rising became the starting QB.
WASHINGTON STATE (6-5, 5-3) at WASHINGTON (4-7, 3-5)
Fri., Nov. 26 • 5:00 pm PT • FS1
WASHINGTON STATE: Looking for their first Apple Cup win since 2012 (in OT) and first in Seattle since 2007. Last year’s game was canceled due to COVID, the first time they had not played since 1943 & 1944 due to World War II. Bowl eligible for the 6th straight full season (excluding the shortened 2020 season). QB Jayden de Laura had a career-high 4 pass TD last week against Arizona and has multiple TD passes in 8 of the 10 games this season. RB Max Borghi ran for a career-high 139 yards against Arizona with 2 rush TD. Borghi needs 3 more rush TD to tie Steve Broussard for the school’s career record (33)
WASHINGTON: Have won the last 7 Apple Cups, all by at least 10 points. Lost at Colorado last week despite outgaining the Buffs 426-183. 8th time in 11 games they’ve held their opponent under 400 yards. QB Dylan Morris career-high 387 passing yards, his 2nd career 300-yard game. Have 8 straight games decided by 10 points or less. 105 of the 123 players on their roster are either freshmen or sophom*ores.
OREGON STATE (7-4, 5-3) at #11 OREGON (9-2, 6-2)
Sat., Nov. 27 • 12:30 pm PT • ESPN
OREGON STATE: Won last year’s meeting in Corvallis on a TD run by Chance Nolan on his first career snap with 33 seconds left, outscoring Oregon 22-7 in 4th quarter to win 41-38. Looking to win back-to-back years against the Ducks for the first time since 2006 and 2007. Finished 6-0 at home for just the 2nd time in program history (2000). RB B.J. Baylor had 150 rushing yards last week against Arizona State, his 6th 100-yard game this season. Defense has allowed 24 total points last 2 games after not allowing less than 24 in any of the previous 6 games.
OREGON: Have won 11 of the last 13 meetings overall and 6 straight meetings in Eugene. With a win will become the first school to make 3 straight trips to the Pac-12 Championship Game and become the first school to reach the game 5 times overall. 18 straight wins at home, the 3rd longest active streak in FBS, and are looking for their 3rd straight undefeated season at Autzen Stadium. RB Travis Dye needs 63 yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career and his 8th in Oregon history with 2,777 career rushing yards.
ARIZONA (1-10, 1-7) at ARIZONA STATE (7-4, 5-3)
Sat., Nov. 27 • 2:00 pm MT • PAC-12 NETWORK
ARIZONA: Looking for their first win over the Sun Devils since 2016 and their first win in Tempe since 2009. Defense allows 199.5 pass YPG this season, 25th best in the country. Have held 3 opponents under 100 yards passing this season, the first time holding multiple opponents under 100 yards in game since 1996. WR Stanley Berryhill III is 2nd in the Pac-12 with 74 receptions and is looking to become the 6th player in school history with 80 receptions in a season.
ARIZONA STATE: Have won the last 4 meetings in this series, their longest streak over Arizona since they won 5 straight from 1982-86. Won last year’s matchup 70-7, the most points scored by a team and largest margin of victory in the history of this rivalry. 5-1 at home this season, with all 5 wins by at least 15 points. RB Rachaad White has 5 games this season with multiple rush TD and needs 5 to tie the ASU single-season record of 19. LB Kyle Soelle career-high 15 tackles last week.
#6 NOTRE DAME (10-1) at STANFORD (3-8, 2-7)
Sat., Nov. 27 • 5:00 pm PT • FOX
STANFORD: Had a 5-game home win streak over Notre Dame before dropping their last meeting in 2019. Stanford’s 12th game against a Power 5 school this season, the only school playing 12 during the regular season. Looking for their 2nd win over a Top 10 team this season, would be the first time since 2017. Have been held to 14 points or less in 5 of last 6 games since beating Oregon. QB Isaiah Sanders named 1 of the 3 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy.
NOTRE DAME: Have won their last 2 meetings with Stanford but they did not play last year. 5 straight wins against Pac-12 opponents. Fourth straight season with 10+ wins. Have outscored their opponents 117-9 over the last 3 games. RB Kyren Williams needs 72 yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
#13 BYU (9-2) at USC (4-6, 3-5)
Sat., Nov. 27 • 7:30 pm PT • ESPN
USC: 2-1 all-time against BYU with both wins coming in Los Angeles. Must win their final 2 games to become bowl eligible. RB Keaontay Ingram had 96 rushing yards last week and needs 107 yards this week for his first career 1,000 yard season. RB Vavae Malepeai first Trojan since 2013 to have 3 rush TD in a game on 10 carries or less. Safety Xavion Alford has 3 INT in the last 2 games.
BYU: Won the last matchup with USC in 2019, 30-27 in OT. 4-0 against Pac-12 teams this season and 5-1 against Power 5 teams. 53.0 PPG and 600.3 YPG over the last 3 games. Bowl eligible for 5th time in 6 seasons under Kalani Sitake.
CALIFORNIA (4-6, 3-4) at UCLA (7-4, 5-3)
Sat., Nov. 27 • 7:30 pm PT • FS1
CAL: Third straight year playing at UCLA, split the previous 2 games. Must win their final 2 games to become bowl eligible. 636 total yards last week at Stanford with 352 of them coming on the ground, both the most in the Justin Wilcox era. WR Trevon Clark had 3 receptions for 135 yards including an 84-yard touchdown.
UCLA: Have won 6 of the last 8 meetings with Cal. Have rushed for 200+ yards in all 7 wins. Looking for 6 conference wins for the first time since 2014. UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson had 349 pass yards and 6 total TD (4 pass, 2 rush) to win the Rose Bowl Game Pac-12 Player of the Week while his teammate DB Quentin Lake was named the Reese’s Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week.
