BYE week. Last week I was torn between UW and Oregon and the 1/2 spot. But this weekend, that will be decided. A monumental game that could decide a Pac12 title, and possibly a CFP berth. One for the ages.

The Ducks are coming off a BYE looking strong against Stanford. All eyes are going to be on this matchup in Seattle for one of the biggest games in the history of this rivalry.

Oregon State exploded on Cal in a good road win Saturday. DJ had an excellent performance, and the run game complemented that effort well. A little disappointed in the defensive effort, but Cal has been showing there is some grit on that side of the ball despite what people might say. A win is a win, and I'm a firm believer the Beavers being in the hunt for a Pac12 title.

USC is playing like shit on defense. Plain and simple. We know this. But there is some serious issues with execution and decision making that are going to hurt this team. A horrible sequence to end the game in regulation against Arizona perfectly captures Lincoln Riley's stupid desire to stat-pad for Caleb Williams instead of win the game. If Arizona doesn't shoot itself in the foot with constant mistakes like they've done all season, USC loses that game, at home, with a major talent advantage. And with the meat of their schedule coming - well, I believe they are fucked.

UCLA has jumped up in my rankings, deservedly. I was sleeping on them a bit because I hadn't watched many games. But they did well on Saturday - holding an explosive Wazzu team to 17 points and dominating on the offensive end. Completely shutting down the run game. The Bruins might be trending upwards. A tough game on the road in Corvallis will show what kind of character this team has.

The Cougars have been brought down to Earth. I had them winning handedly in LA this week, but the Bruins proved otherwise. And it certainly seems like Wazzu was caught a bit off guard coming out of the BYE as well. But hope isn't lost. WSU has one of the easier schedules in the conference remaining, and if they rally around Ward and find a way to round out the offense (maybe the defense is a bit too much to ask), they can still make a run at a conference title.

Utah was on a BYE this week, but that doesn't mean it protected their ranking. Unfortunately, I saw some other teams improve this week, or at least show they could maintain their position. Utah is going to have a challenge against a Cal team who will certainly be coming for them. And I wouldn't rely on defense to save them either - after all, they just scored 40 on Oregon State, who isn't too bad on that end of the ball.

I've been high on Cal since the beginning of the season, but they continue to show me that they deserve respect. A really tough conference is what's holding them back this season. Sure, they aren't a perfect team. But they deserve a lot of credit for some of their effort in recent weeks. And I will stand by my position that anyone in this conference should take them very seriously, or risk coming away from that matchup with broken hearts.

Man, what a brutal way to lose in what turned out to be a late night thriller in the Colosseum. Maybe a bit of refball, but mistakes certainly hurt like they have all season. And a cowardly decision to kick the extra point in 1OT instead of going for 2. Unfortunate, but Arizona has got to clean things up in order to win these type of games.

A close win at ASU doesn't get you a lot of points in my book. Maybe a bit hypocritcal after feeling a bit excited about Cal earlier, but I just don't think Colorado is that good. Poor pass protection, Shadeur doesn't know when to throw the ball away. The hype train certainly didn't help early. I think the Buffaloes faithful from before Deion can feel happy about the turnaround. But they just aren't in the top echelon of the conference.

Sorry ASU. I hate to see you losing close games like this, I really do. I wish we got to see what a healthy roster looked like for you this season. Keep on fighting. I'm sure some wins will come this season - maybe against a ranked opponent that comes into the game with their pants down (just not the Ducks, okay?)

Stanford sucks. The end.