This Week in Pac-12 Football - Week Five
Dec 2, 2020
QUICK HITS:
BOWL UPDATES: Today, Dec. 2, ESPN Events announced that the 2020 Las Vegas Bowl will not be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Sun Bowl Association announced the 2020 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will not be played, also due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Following the news, the Pac-12’s current bowl lineup, as of Dec. 2, includes: Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal), Valero Alamo Bowl, LA Bowl and Independence Bowl.
- Pac-12 teams this season are required to be .500-or-better to be considered bowl eligible.
RESTED OPPONENTS: When USC faces WASHINGTON STATE on Sunday, Dec. 6, it will be the Cougs first game since Nov. 14 (and Trojans first game since Nov. 21).
- Every opponent for USC this season, including this week’s, did not play the prior week (ARIZONA STATE on Nov. 7, ARIZONA on Nov. 14 and UTAH on Nov. 21).
JUST FIGHT ON: USC has allowed opponents to covert just 2-of-15 third downs in the second half this year (1-of-10 in the fourth quarter).
DAVEY O’BRIEN AWARD: On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced the 35 quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2020, with each member of the group now an official candidate to win the 2020 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. Pac-12 candidates include OREGON’s Tyler Shough and USC’s Kedon Slovis.
- Kedon Slovis this season has thrown for over 260 yards in all three of USC’s games. His 70.7 completion percentage leads the Pac-12 and ranks ninth best in the country. His 31.3 completions per game lead the nation, while his 323.3 pass YPG rank seventh in FBS and lead the Pac-12.
- Tyler Shough has now thrown multiple TDs in each of his last three games, with nine total over that span. He is the third Oregon QB since 1962 with multiple total TDs in each of his first four starts (also, Darron Thomas & A.J. Feeley).
THIS MAN IS LANDING ON LISTS: COLORADO’s Nate Landman had a career-high three sacks in the Buffs win over San Diego State last week.
- He is now the third CU player since 2010 with three sacks in a game, the first to do so since Mustafa Johnson had three in 2019 vs. Nebraska.
- Landman’s performance earned him honors with being named a Butkus Award semifinalist on Monday, Nov. 30 as well as the Football Writers Association of America’s Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
- Also named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, presented by Nextiva, his second weekly honor of the season (also, week two).
MORE ON THE BUFFS: COLORADO’s Jarek Broussard is the first Buffs RB since Eric Bienemy in 1988 to rush for 100+ yards in a season’s first three games.
- Broussard is also the second player in COLORADO history to have 100+ rush yards in the first three games of his career (Charlie Davis in 1971).
- COLORADO quarterback Sam Noyer has recorded a rush TD and pass TD in all three games this season.
THE DAWG POUND: WASHINGTON’s Zion Tupuola-Fetui has 7.0 sacks this season, the most by any FBS player since 2012 in a team’s first three games.
- WASHINGTON ranks 12th in the country in today defense allowing just 314.0 yards per game and third in passing yards allowed with 162.7.
- Huskies have now shut out their opponents in at least one half of every game this season (OREGON STATE & ARIZONA in first half, UTAH in second half).
CALL IT A COMEBACK: Last weekend WASHINGTON overcame a 21-0 halftime deficit, which was the largest halftime deficit the Huskies have overtime to win since 1988.
- It was also the forth time since 1996 a Pac-12 school has come back from a deficit of 21 or more points.
YOUNG DUCK: OREGON’s Noah Sewell is one of three FBS freshmen with 10 tackles and two stops for loss in a single game this season.
RUN IT: OREGON STATE’s Jermar Jefferson ranks second in FBS with 168.8 rush yards per game and COLORADO’s Jarek Broussard ranks fourth with 144.0 yards per game.