Roundup: UCLA projected to make College Football Playoff

After beating UNLV 37-3 and cracking the AP top 10, UCLA is projected to make the College Football Playoff by ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura. In other news, UCLA freshman tight end Chris Clark has left the team, according to Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times (linked here through Sports Illustrated).

Good news for Utes fans – quarterback Travis Wilson is expected to be back for the Oregon game in two weeks and might even play at Fresno State, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Also, two Utah football players were shot in the torso at a party late Saturday evening – tight end Lo Falemaka and running back Marcel Brooks-Brown. Luckily, the two were in stable condition as of Sunday morning.

So Saturday night was tough, Oregon fan, but hey, I’m sure you were on Cloud 9 watching Marcus Mariota go to town on Tampa Bay’s secondary. For the Win’s Chris Chase gives us 11 “titanic” facts about Mariota’s NFL debut, like throwing four first-half touchdown passes. Also, Jarrett Bell of USA Today writes that Mariota was perfect on Sunday (literally, he had a perfect passer rating of 158.3). And, despite the loss to Michigan State, Oregon can still make the College Football Playoff, opines Ted Miller.

Here are five things we learned from USC’s 59-9 beat-down of Idaho, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times’ Gary Klein. Cody Kessler amassed a career-high 410 passing yards in the win, and the Trojans moved up to No. 6 in the AP poll.

The Cal defense was impressive in the win over San Diego State, writes me. The Golden Bears held the Aztecs to just 3.7 yards per play and zero points after the opening drive in a 35-7 win.  Additionally, Cal wide receiver Erik Brown left the team for personal reasons, reports Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Probably the most thrilling game of the weekend Pac-12-wise went down in New Jersey, where Luke Falk saved the day for Washington State in leading the Cougs to a thrilling 37-34 win at Rutgers. Dude had two huge TD passes in the fourth quarter, including one with 13 seconds left to win it.

Daniel Berk notes that quarterback Anu Solomon and running back Nick Wilson are becoming a formidable force for Arizona. The two sophomores have already combined for 54 touchdowns and more than 6,300 yards of total offense in their careers. The two helped pave the way to a 44-20 Arizona victory at Nevada on Saturday.

Colorado wide receiver Nelson Spruce is savoring his record-breaking day after the Buffs’ 48-14 triumph over UMass. Spruce now holds the school record for most career catches with 219. Brian Howell has the story.

After an impressive start in the Big House, a botched snap on a punt and second-half miscues doomed Oregon State in its 35-7 loss at Michigan, writes Gina Mizell.

Doug Haller breaks down Arizona State’s 35-21 win over Cal Poly, a game that was tied in the fourth quarter. And here’s a video detailing the sights and sounds from Arizona State’s win over Cal Poly, provided to us by Arizona Republic multimedia journalist and diehard Arizona State fan Sarah Kezele.

Jon Wilner notes that Stanford football was “back to normal” in its 31-7 win over UCF Saturday night. While there’s plenty of room for improvement, the Card gained almost 500 yards of offense against the Knights.

With a 49-0 win over Sacramento State in the rear view, the Huskies expect a tough test from Utah State in its last nonconference game, notes Adam Jude.