Winners and losers: Is UCLA the team to beat in the Pac-12 South?
Congratulations UCLA, you’ve established yourself as the favorite in the Pac-12 South.
The Bruins used an incredibly strong first half at Arizona to jump out to a 42-14 lead en route to a 56-30 win over the Wildcats. Not only was the win an important inter-division road win, it came as the Bruins entered the game without three defensive starters – including star LB Myles Jack – who are out for the year with season-ending injuries.
Entering the season you could make a legitimate case for four teams as Pac-12 South champions. UCLA was one of them, and now the Bruins have made the case as the top option so far.
The biggest question about UCLA entering the season was at the quarterback position. Freshman and former five-star recruit Josh Rosen was named the starter at the beginning of the season and played well through the first three games of the year. He continued the trend Saturday night, going 19 for 28 for 284 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Arizona opened the scoring in the first quarter when Anu Solomon hit Nate Phillips for a 34-yard score. The next four touchdowns were all UCLA’s and were bookended by Rosen’s touchdown passes. After Arizona made the score 28-14, UCLA scored 14 more points before halftime to put the game out of reach for the final 30 minutes.
It didn’t help Arizona’s cause that the team lost Solomon to an injury. He suffered what was an apparent head injury in the second quarter and didn’t return.
And while UCLA is establishing itself as possibly the best team in the Pac-12 South, we’re cognizant of the Bruins’ final two games of 2015.
And we’re not forgetting Utah. The Utes throttled Oregon on Saturday night. If we’re saying UCLA is the favorite in the Pac-12 South, the Utes aren’t far behind.
We’re also not forgetting that UCLA visits Utah in the second-to-last week of the regular season. And following that game, the Bruins go to USC, who was the proverbial favorite in the South until a loss to Stanford in Week 3. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if UCLA lost either or both of those games.
But it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bruins won them either. Coach Jim Mora has been stockpiling talent in Los Angeles through the past few recruiting classes and it was on display Saturday night despite the absences of a few key contributors. While the Bruins’ defense may not be as good as it could be, the offense looks like it can help pick up the slack. And for Utah, well, maybe Oregon isn’t as good as we thought it was. But damn, that was impressive.
Here are the rest of Week 4’s Winners and Losers:
WINNERS
Amara Darboh, Michigan: Darboh, whose family fled civil war in Sierra Leone when he was a toddler, and who was later taken in by a family in Iowa after his parents were killed, became a U.S. citizen this week. He celebrated by having himself a game against BYU en route to a 31-0 Michigan win. He caught four balls for 57 yards, hauled in a touchdown, and pulled the nifty grab below out of his backpocket. It was a good week.
Josh Doctson, TCU: TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin completed 34 passes in a thrilling 55-52 win over Texas Tech, and more than half of them were to senior wideout Josh Doctson. The 6-foot-3 Doctson hauled in a whopping 18 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Doctson’s three touchdowns – all in the first half – went for nine, 52, and five yards. Doctson also played a key role on TCU’s game-winning touchdown by tipping Boykin’s pass in the air and into the arms of Aaron Green.
Bowling Green: The Falcons are off to a 2-2 start, but with two wins over Power 5 schools, both in the Big Ten, no less. Granted, Saturday’s win was a 35-28 nail-biter over Purdue, and the previous was a 48-27 win over Maryland, but those are resume builders Bowling Green will take. Furthermore, the Falcons have more wins against Big Ten teams in 2015 than Purdue has managed in the last three seasons. Perhaps more relevant is how close Bowling Green was to clipping Memphis in a 44-41 loss last week. It’s shaping up to be a nice season.
Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky: Western Kentucky’s Brandon Doughty threw for more than 400 yards for his third consecutive game, this time totaling 457 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-14 beatdown of Miami (Ohio). Doughty was a big reason WKU jumped out to a huge 49-7 halftime lead. In the first two quarters, the senior threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns, allowing the team to cruise to a win. Through four games, Doughty now has 1,591 yards and 11 touchdowns for the 3-1 Hilltoppers.
Anthony Zettel, Penn State: Penn State’s Anthony Zettel played with a heavy heart on Saturday. Zettel’s father died Friday night after a 19-month bout with cancer. He was 46. With his father on his mind, Zettel, a senior defensive tackle, had a big day for the Nittany Lions, racking up seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in Penn State’s 37-21 win over San Diego State. PSU coach James Franklin said it was Zettel’s decision to play on Saturday.
“That was up to him,” Franklin said. “I felt like that’s what his family – his dad – would’ve wanted him to do.”
LOSERS
UCF: How did it get to this? We’ve featured the Knights in our Losers section before, so UCF’s inclusion shouldn’t be a surprise. But man, it’s ugly. The Knights took an early lead on South Carolina before losing on Saturday. UCF is now 0-4. Normally losing to South Carolina is no big deal, but this South Carolina team isn’t nearly as good as previous iterations. Unfortunately for UCF fans, the same can be said for the Knights. The AAC isn’t incredibly tough, but with games against Temple, Cincinnati, Houston and others, six wins for bowl eligibility seems impossible to accomplish at the moment.
Georgia Tech: Oh boy, what happened to the Yellow Jackets? Duke is a good team, but if Georgia Tech was a legitimate contender for another berth in the ACC Championship Game, the Yellow Jackets should have taken care of business. Now, after two straight losses, it’s reasonable to think that Georgia Tech isn’t even a contender for the ACC Coastal let alone for a second-straight New Year’s Six Bowl. Given the way that Georgia’s seasons have gone under Mark Richt, however, we won’t be surprised if Georgia Tech gets the win to spoil Georgia’s season.
BYU’s offense: We totally understand if BYU was gassed after the first three weeks. Games against Nebraska, Boise State and UCLA are tough for any team. But man, Saturday against Michigan got ugly. The Cougars barely got more than 100 yards of total offense. Quarterback Tanner Mangum, who looked like a potential star through the first three games, averaged two yards per pass attempt on Saturday. No, that’s not a typo. The Cougars’ schedule gets easier from here on out and don’t be surprised to see them in the top 25 in the next few weeks as other teams lose. But Saturday wasn’t pretty.
Auburn: The Auburn quarterback change from Jeremy Johnson to Sean White worked wonders, didn’t it? The Tigers lost to Mississippi State 17-9, though it’s not as simple as pinning the loss on poor quarterback play. White finished the game 20-of-28 passing for 188 yards and an interception. He wasn’t the rushing threat that Johnson is, however, as he had 11 carries for 29 yards. After sneaking out wins against Louisville and Jacksonville State, Auburn is now 2-2. Are the Tigers fighting for the middle of the pack in the SEC West or simply trying to stay out of last? We’re about to find out.
Matt Johns, Virginia: Matt Johns found out early on what kind of game he would have Friday night against Boise State. Johns was intercepted by Justin Taimatuia – a 300-pound defensive tackle – on Virginia’s first play from scrimmage. Taimatuia brought the interception back 21 yards for a touchdown. It was the first of three interceptions in the game and one of two pick-sixes in a miserable night for Johns and the Cavaliers, who lost 56-14 at home to drop to 1-3 on the year. Johns finished the night completing 12-of-25 for 199 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also had an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
