This Week in Pac-12 Football - Week 9

10/28/2026 3:39:00 PM

By: Pac-12 Conference

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WEEK 9 SCHEDULE (all times PT)
Saturday, October 31
Colorado State at Utah State 12:30pm USA Network
Ted Robinson, Darius Walker, Dalen Cuff

Washington State at San Diego State 4pm CBS Sports Net
Rich Waltz, Adam Breneman, Jordan Giorgio

Texas State at #20 Boise State 7pm The CW
Rick Allen, Will Blackmon, Michael Bumpus

Oregon State at Fresno State 8pm USA Network
Nate Gatter, Ryan Leaf, Lauren Green

AROUND THE PAC-12
WEEK 5 OF CONFERENCE PLAY: All 8 schools are in action on Halloween with the conference race entering spooky season.

Long-time rivals Colorado State and Utah State meet for the 81st time on Saturday. In the last meeting, the Rams snapped the Aggies 5-game win streak in the series with a 42-37 win in Fort Collins in 2024 as CSU overcame a 30-13 deficit to start the 4th quarter as QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi scored 4 touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush) in the 4th quarter to score 29 straight points. Utah State has won the last 3 meetings in Logan and 5 of the last 6 with CSU’s only road win in the last 15 seasons coming in 2017.
Saturday will be just the 5th time that Washington State and San Diego State will face off but this is the 3rd straight season they’ll meet. The Cougars hold a 3-1 advantage in the series including wins the last 2 years. Last year in Pullman, Jaxon Potter threw 3 touchdown passes in a 36-13 victory while the year before it was John Mateer with 4 touchdowns (2 pass, 2 rush) including the game-winner with 5:03 as WSU overcame a 26-14 4th quarter deficit by scoring the final 15 points. The Aztecs lone win in the series came in 2011 in San Diego when Ronnie Hillman had 191 rush yards and 4 TD in a 42-24 SDSU victory.
Texas State will get their 1st taste of The Blue when they visit #20 Boise State. It's the first ever meeting between these 2 schools and the Bobcats seeking their first ever Pac-12 road win. Texas State is also 0-12 all-time against AP Top 25 opponents.
The Halloween nightcap pits Oregon State and Fresno State for some #Pac12AfterDark action. The Bulldogs hold a 9-6 advantage in this series all-time including a 6-1 advantage in Valley Children’s Stadium, most notably a 44-24 win over #10 Oregon State in 2001 when David Carr threw 4 touchdowns. Fresno State won 36-27 last year in Corvallis in a game that featured some wild special teams plays and 16 total points in the game’s final 80 seconds with the Bulldogs scoring the final 10 points in the last 29 seconds.

POLL WATCHING: Boise State moved up one spot to a season-high #20 in this week’s AP Top 25, their 5th straight week in the poll, while riding steady at #22 to be the only school from a non-autonomous conference ranked in either poll while Oregon State did receive votes in both polls. The Athletic’s 138 had Boise State (#22) and Oregon State (#26) as the 2 highest ranked teams from non-autonomous conferences. The CBS 138 has the Broncos as the highest team from a non-autonomous league at #25 with the #29 Beavs as the 3rd highest.

HIGH FIVE: Through 8 weeks of the regular season, the Pac-12 continues to prove it being one of the Top 5 conferences in college football. Taking a look inside the analytics….

Average SP+ of 79.9 - 5th best among FBS leagues
- only non-autonomous conference with 4 in Top 65
Average FPI of 79.4 - 5th best among FBS leagues
- only non-autonomous conference with 2 schools in Top 50
Average Strength of Record (ESPN) of 84.3 - 5th best among FBS leagues
- Have 2 schools in Top 50 and 4 schools in Top 85
Average Strength of Schedule (ESPN) of 74.9 - 5th best among FBS leagues
- 2 schools in Top 60 and all 8 schools in the Top 93 (only SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 also have 100% of schools in Top 93)
Average Game Control ranking of 77.0 - 5th best among FBS leagues
- 2 schools in Top 25, 2 highest rated schools from non-autonomous conferences
According to SportSource Analytics, have 5th best SOS among conferences (71,8)
- 2 of the 3 schools from non-autonomous conferences in Top 50
According to SportSource Analytics, have 5th best average Team Strength Ranking (78.8)
- 2 teams in Top 32, 3 in Top 65
9-4 against FBS teams from outside the autonomous conferences, the highest win% (.692) by a non-autonomous conference against other non-autonomous conferences
- The Pac-12 went 3-0 against the Mountain West, 3-2 against the American, 2-1 against the MAC and 1-1 against the Sun Belt during non-conference play
- Have wins over the Top 2 teams from the American in FPI (#56 North Texas & #60 Memphis)

MAX-IMUM IMPACT: Oregon State may have been on their bye week last week but that did not stop their 2 biggest stars from getting recognition this week. QB Braden Atkinson and WR Jesse Legree were both added to the watch list for the Maxwell Award as college football’s top player. Atkinson leads the country in pass yards (2,604), pass YPG (372.0) and pass TD (24), while the true freshman Legree tops FBS in receiving yards (1,040), receiving YPG (148.6) and receiving TD (14). They join 4 Pac-12 stars from the preseason list in Boise State QB Maddux Madsen, Boise State RB Dylan Riley, San Diego State RB Lucky Sutton and Texas State QB Brad Jackson.

WELCOME BACK HAUSS: After missing the last month due to a hamstring injury, Colorado State QB Hauss Hejny returned with a vengeance, responsible for 5 touchdowns (3 pass, 2 rush) with a career-best 333 pass yards to lead the Rams to 56-49 win over San Diego State and claim Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week of the season. It was just the 10th time in FBS this season and 3rd time in at least the last 30 seasons a Colorado State player has had at least 3 pass TD and 2 rush TD in the same game. Bradlee Van Pelt did it twice for the Rams, once in 2002 (also against SDSU) and again in the next season against Colorado. The Rams are 3-0 in games where Hejny has been healthy the entire game and has 13 pass TD and 3 rush TD in the 3+ games he’s played.

MOORE AWARDS FOR RAMS: Just like in Week 1 when Hejny won Offensive Player of the Week for the first time, the Rams also secured Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week with safety Tre’Shawn Moore (teammate Oumar Diomande won in Week 1). Moore had 6 tackles and recorded his 1st interception in a CSU uniform, returning it 38 yards for a score. It was Colorado State’s first defensive touchdown of the season and 1st Pick 6 since Ayden Hector’s 21-yard interception return at Nevada in 2022. Moore is the 6th different Ram to have an interception this season and their 9 picks as a team lead the Pac-12 and are tied for 10th in FBS.

A “FRESH” START: With 7-time Freshman of the Week Oregon State WR Jesse Legree on a bye, Boise State WR Rasean Jones took full advantage with a big game in the Broncos 31-10 win over Washington State. Jones, who missed the previous game with a concussion, had 6 catches for 78 yards and another 13 yards on the ground. The Baker City, Oregon native ranks in the Top 6 among FBS freshmen in both receptions (29) and receiving yards (437).

CENTURY CLUB: For the 2nd time this season, a 100-yard kickoff return has turned into a Pac-12 Special Team Player of the Week Award. Texas State’s Jaylen Jenkins raced his way to the award this week after his 2nd career 100-yard return in the 20-17 win over Utah State. Jenkins became the first player in school history with multiple 100-yard returns and it was the 6th 100-yard return in Texas State history. He is the 2nd player in Bobcat FBS history with multiple career kickoff return touchdowns with Brandon Smith having 3 from 2013-15 including 2 in one game. Jenkins joins San Diego State’s Jaylon Hawkins who had a 100-yard touchdown in the season opener, 1 of 3 touchdown returns for Hawkins this season, and It’s the first time since 2021 that 2 Pac-12 players have had 100-yard returns in the same season. This is not Jenkins’ first Pac-12 weekly award however, having earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in 2022 while playing for Washington State when he had 184 total yards (130 rush, 54 rec) against #6 USC.

PAC PRIMERS
Boise State

The Broncos have won 6 straight since their opening week loss and have scored 30+ points in all 6 of those wins, the first time they’ve scored 30+ points in 6 straight wins since a 7-game streak in 2014. Boise State is 3-0 to start conference play for the 3rd straight year under Spencer Danielson, who picked up his 30th win as head coach last week at Washington State. The Broncos are now bowl eligible for the 29th straight year.
The nation’s leading rusher Dylan Riley got off to a relatively slow start before exploding for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns (33, 72) in the 4th quarter of their win over Washington State, finishing the game with 128 yards on 13 carries. Not only has Riley topped 100 yards in 5 of the last 6 games but has 5 separate halves this season where he’s had 100+ yards. Riley has an FBS leading 4 runs of 70+ yards this season, with no other player having more than 2. Ashton Jeanty had 5 runs of 70+ in his 2024 Heisman runner-up season. In fact, Riley & Jeanty are 2 of the 3 FBS players since 2020 to have 4+ runs of 70+ yards in a single-season
QB Maddux Madsen continued his efficient season in the win, completing 14-of-23 for 149 yards and touchdown with 0 interceptions. Madsen has attempted 189 passes this season without an interception, the most in FBS this season and is the only FBS QB this season with 10+ pass TD (14) and 0 INT. He’s the only Boise State QB in their FBS era to start 7 straight games without throwing an interception.

Colorado State

The Rams put up 56 points and 549 total yards in their win over San Diego St. It was the 4th time this season they’ve scored 35+ points (after doing it 4 times the previous 2 seasons combined) and are 12th in FBS in scoring offense (38.6 PPG). It was the 3rd time this season that Jim Mora’s squad has put up 500+ total yards, after reaching 500 yards just once the 3 seasons before, and are 16th in FBS in total offense (460.1 YPG). Rams QBs have been sacked only 3 times this season, tied for the 2nd fewest in FBS.
RB Durrell Robinson had one of his best games as a Ram with 86 yards rushing with 2 scores on the ground plus a 28-yard receiving touchdown, the first of his career. The career-high 3 touchdowns made Robinson the 2nd CSU player with 3 touchdowns in a game this season (RJ Vick 3 rec TD in season-opener against Wyoming) and 1st Ram RB to have 3 TD in a game since Dee Hart had 6 (5 rush, 1 rec) in 2014 vs. New Mexico.
WR Tommy Maher also had his best game against the Aztecs, setting new career highs with 6 catches for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was the first multi-TD game of Maher’s career and first touchdown period since November 2024 against Wyoming. Maher topped 100 yards receiving for the first time in his career and the 108 yards are most by a CSU receiver this season while the 6 catches are tied for the most. He’s the first Colorado State player with 100+ rec yards and 2+ rec TD in the same game since Tory Horton had 10 catches for 227 yards and 3 scores against Utah Tech in 2023.

Fresno State

The Bulldogs have never lost at home on Halloween, going 5-0-1 on October 31st at home but have not played on Halloween since 2009 when they beat Utah State 31-27. Matt Entz's squad should have a good audience on Saturday as their 40,762 per game attendance at Valley Children’s Stadium this season is the best among schools from non-autonomous conferences and ahead of 13 schools from autonomous conferences (6 ACC, 4 Big 12, 1 Big Ten and 1 SEC).
QB Jayden Mandal has now gone 6 straight games without an interception with 180 pass attempts since his only INT this season at USC in the season opener. Mandal has also been much more comfortable at Valley Children’s this season completing 68.8% of his passes with 7 pass TD and 744 yards in 3 home games, compared to 57.8% with 1 pass TD and 649 pass yards in the Bulldogs 4 road games.
LB K’Vion Thunderbird ranks 3rd in the Pac-12 with 8.71 tackles per game and has 9+ tackles in 5 of the 7 games including reaching double digits twice. His 13 tackles against Boise State were the most by a Bulldog since Jadon Pearson had 16 last season at Oregon State

Oregon State

The Beavers have won 5 in a row under JaMarcus Shephard, their longest since a 7-game span that spanned the 2022 & 2023 seasons and longest in a single season since a 6-game streak in 2013. The Beavers have outscored their opponents by 32.2 PPG in that stretch (255-94) and scored 48+ points in 4 of those games after putting up 48+ points only 4 times in the previous 6 seasons combined.
Last Friday, WR Jesse Legree announced in a press conference that he would be returning to Oregon State for the 2027 season. The true freshman who won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in each of the first 7 weeks of the season and needs just 2 more touchdowns to tie the Oregon State single-season record (14) held by Brandin Cooks (2013). Legree has at least 100 yards and a score in every game this season.
The nation’s leading passer, QB Braden Atkinson has thrown for 300+ yards in all 7 games, matching the school record of consecutive 300-yard games set by Sean Mannion in 2013. 21 of Atkinson’s FBS leading 24 pass TD have come during the 5-game win streak. In the past 4 seasons, only 2 FBS QBs have had 3 games in a season with 5+ pass TD; Atkinson and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza in his 2025 Heisman season. The Beavers QB was added to the Manning Award Watch List for the nation’s top quarterback late last week, joining Texas State’s Brad Jackson who made the preseason list.

San Diego State

Despite the loss to Colorado State, the Aztecs put up a season-high 565 total yards and 49 points. It was the 2nd most points they’ve scored this season and most against an FBS team since 2017 when they dropped 52 on San Jose State. The total yards were the most that SDSSU has amassed against any opponent since 2020 when they gained 570 yards at Utah State. The 369 pass yards is the first time in the Sean Lewis era they’ve topped 260 and their most in any game since the 2011 New Orleans bowl against Louisiana (413 yds).
In his 1st career start, redshirt freshman QB Stone Saunders went 23-of-33 for 369 yards with 2 pass TD, 2 INT and 11.18 yard per attempt. It’s the most pass yards by an Aztec in their starting debut since Kevin McKechnie had 371 against Navy in 1997 and the 4th most ever by a SDSU freshman. Saunders had 4 completions of 40+ yards in the game after the team had just 4 in the first 7 games this season. The Kentucky transfer entered the game with just 8 career completions on 15 attempts for 81 yards.
Jaylon Hawkins has been a star on kickoffs this year, running away with 3 Pac-12 Special Team Player of the Week awards thanks to 3 kickoff returns for touchdowns. Against Colorado State, Hawkins had his best game as a receiver, matching his career-high with 6 catches for a new career-high 164 yards and his 3rd receiving TD of the season. It was Hawkins first career-game with 100+ receiving yards and the first SDSU receiver to top 85 yards this season. It's the most receiving yards in a game by an Aztec since Jesse Matthews had 175 (on 11 catches) against UTSA in the 2021 Frisco Bowl. Hawkins has a touchdown (receiving or returning) in 5 straight games.

Texas State

Texas State improved to 2-0 at home in Pac-12 play last week with their 20-17 victory over Utah State, their 4th win in the last 5 games overall. The Bobcats are 17-7 at home in 3+ seasons under GJ Kinne with 4 straight wins and 6 of their last 7. The defense held Utah State to 285 total yards, their 2nd time in the last 3 games holding their opponent under 300 yards.
CB Trez Moore was named to the PFF College National Team of the Week, after a season-high 85.4 grade against the Aggies. PFF gave Moore credit for 7 tackles with a hurry and a PBU while allowing just 4 receptions on the 10 times his receiver was targeted.
Star WRs Chris Dawn Jr. and Beau Sparks are closing in on elite territory in Texas State history. Dawn Jr. needs just 93 yards receiving to become the 4th player in program history with 2,000 career receiving yards while Sparks is 190 yards away. Dawn Jr. is also just 13 receptions away from tying the school career record of 160 by Johnny Parker (1969-71) and 7 from the Bobcats’ record as a FBS program of 154, held by Da’Marcus Griggs (2007-10).

Utah State

The Aggie defense held Texas State’s high powered offense to 20 points and 250 total yards, the week after the Bobcats had exploded for 66 points and a school record 716 total yards (503 rush, 213 pass). It was the 2nd straight game and 3rd time this season they’ve held their opponent under 260 total yards.
Bronco Mendenhall’s defense also had a season-high 4 sacks, with 7 of their 13 sacks on the season coming in the last 2 games. Utah State had 3 games last season with 4+ sacks. Texas State had only given up 6 sacks in the previous 6 games this season.
WR Anthony Garcia had his best game of the season with a career-high 8 receptions for a season-high 87 yards. Garcia entered the game with 7 catches and 46 receiving yards this season. The former quarterback also threw a touchdown pass on a trick play, his 1st pass attempt of the season. Garcia had 4 pass TD last season on just 7 attempts and became the first Utah State player since 1976 to have a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown in the same season.

Washington State

For the 2nd straight season, Washington State will open up 2027 with the Apple Cup as the Cougars and Huskies agreed this week to move the matchup at Gesa Field from Sept. 18 to August 28. After playing this year’s game on September 6th in Seattle, it will be the 2nd straight year that the historic rivalry game will be played on the earliest date in the history of the rivalry.
QB Owen Eshelman, in his 2nd career start, had 23 rushing attempts for 33 yards. Eshelman tied Timm Rosenbach (1987 vs Oregon) for the 4th most rushing attempts in a game by a Washington State QB. The only 3 games with more attempts all occurred in 1979 or earlier. Eshelman also completed 21-of-40 attempts for 191 yards. He’s the first FBS QB to have 23+ rush attempts and 40+ pass attempts in the same game since 2021.
The Cougars were tied with then #22 Boise State 10-10 at the start of the 4th quarter last week before falling 31-10. It was the 4th of their 7 losses where the team has been within a touchdown in the 4th quarter.

PAC-12 IN THE WEEKLY NATIONAL RANKINGS

(AP, Coaches, CFP- starting Nov. 3)

	Boise St	Colorado St	Fresno St	Oregon St	San Diego St	Texas St	Utah St	Wash St
Pre	RV/RV	-	-	-	- /RV	-	-	-
Sept. 8	RV/RV	-	-	-	- /RV	-	-	-
Sept. 13	RV/RV	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sept. 20	RV/RV	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sept. 27	22/RV	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Oct. 5	23/RV	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Oct. 12	23/24	-	-	RV/RV	-	-	-	-
Oct. 19	21/22	-	-	RV/RV	-	-	-	-
Oct. 26	20/22	-	-	RV/RV	-	-	-	-

(S&P+, The Athletic, CBS Sports 138)

	Boise St	Colorado St	Fresno St	Oregon St	San Diego St	Texas St	Utah St	Wash St
Pre	49/21/43	107/115/101	73/57/75	89/116/94	65/43/71	77/82/85	96/104/97	86/83/88
Sept. 8	51/21/31	98/101/79	100/81/95	90/111/94	58/44/65	101/83/96	108/137/102	79/77/82
Sept. 13	48/23/27	95/101/77	75/82/76	84/85/71	72/47/54	90/87/88	99/133/96	97/83/99
Sept. 20	47/22/26	96/102/76	71/77/95	79/66/59	78/78/56	91/69/79	106/133/94	89/83/98
Sept. 27	47/17/28	87/103/77	70/74/95	65/62/59	100/99/69	76/69/79	105/118/94	106/83/98
Oct. 5	40/19/25	103/106/76	60/66/95	58/55/50	100/84/65	73/85/78	107/119/94	108/98/98
Oct. 12	42/18/31	103/107/115	58/69/50	51/30/37	109/102/109	70/84/91	105/117/119	111/120/123
Oct. 19	37/22/27	111/107/118	59/86/61	39/30/33	104/83/97	62/84/77	108/117/121	117/120/124
Oct. 26	30/22/25	103/94/120	61/91/59	50/26/29	104/95/101	65/84/74	105/121/123	121/129/126