Saturday Night Five: Oregon escapes on a wild day as USC and Washington whiff in big games, Arizona stumbles

Instant reaction to Week developments An epic Saturday The the majority anticipated Saturday of the season was better than the hype with marquee games across all broadcast windows decided near the wire at the wire or beyond the wire The drama indeed began Friday night with back-to-back-to-back thrillers Virginia upset No Florida State in double overtime Arizona State beat TCU with a field goal in the final minutes and Houston edged Oregon State in overtime Then came a scintillating Saturday in which nine games involving ranked teams were decided by a touchdown or less from the a m kickoff USC-Illinois and through the p m matchup BYU-Colorado No Penn State No LSU and No Georgia all lost No Oregon won in overtime So did No Tennessee And No Georgia Tech The two longest home winning streaks in the country Georgia and Washington were broken It will take days to unravel the connective tissue and sort through changes to the conference races and the College Football Playoff chase But the riveting action offered a heaping dose of clarity to one section of the larger puzzle courtesy of the Big Ten s western wing Oregon stands alone Five weeks into their second season in the Big Ten the West Coast foursome is exactly what we thought it was back in August when the Hotline described the group as Oregon and everyone else You can image how that conclusion was received in Seattle and Los Angeles The Ducks proved they are good enough to repeat as Big Ten champions and contend for the national title with a - double-overtime win at Penn State It was the the majority impressive performance of the Dan Lanning era The Ducks controlled the tournament for three quarters let a two-touchdown lead slip away then made one big play after another in the two overtime sessions all of it unfolding in one of the majority of intimidating raucous environments in sports a White Out meeting at Beaver Stadium Oregon s defense answered the challenge holding the Nittany Lions to yards a mere months after they blasted the Ducks for in the Big Ten title tournament Sophomore quarterback Dante Moore was equally impressive completing -of- passes for three touchdowns and never appearing rattled by the noise or Penn State s defense The Ducks - have a favorable schedule ahead They don t play Ohio State or Michigan they get USC and Indiana at home and they have plenty of cushion Oregon can afford two losses without jeopardizing a spot in the CFP whether the Ducks win the conference or not L A gloom The outlook isn t nearly as bright for Washington USC and UCLA We knew that about the Bruins - who lost at Northwestern on Saturday and in scenario there was any doubt solidified their status as the worst squad in the conference Yes worse than Purdue But it s equally clear that USC - isn t ready to seriously compete for a top-tier finish A meager days after coach Lincoln Riley bemoaned the a m kickoff at Illinois an excuse planted in advance the Trojans did what the Trojans do in a - loss They were beaten at the line of scrimmage allowed more than yards failed to run the ball when they should have run the ball blew another fourth-quarter lead and couldn t close out a contest in which the Illini cost themselves points with two fumbles on the goal-line We proved a lot of fight coming back to take the lead but the reality is we squandered too multiple opportunities on both sides of the ball Riley declared It was classic USC at least the Big Ten version of USC Put another way The Trojans weren t good enough to beat an opponent that lost by points to Indiana a week earlier If Indiana Oregon and Ohio State constitute the top tier of the conference Penn State and Michigan might have suggests to that territory as well the Trojans are clearly a level below Shut down in Seattle Then again the Trojans have company on the conference s second tier Washington entered its showdown with Ohio State as a trendy pick to upset the defending national champions just as the Huskies toppled the champs Michigan last October in Husky Stadium But those Wolverines won t be confused with these Buckeyes who were in command throughout the second half on Saturday afternoon as they powered to a - supremacy Washington - struggled to defend Ohio State s short passing meeting and lost receiver Jeremiah Smith at exactly the wrong time with the Buckeyes in the Red Zone late in the first half But Ohio State s complete containment of UW s high-powered offense was the majority surprising advance The Huskies were -of- on third down gained a paltry yards and were inept in the Red Zone Their offensive line struggled to protect Demond Williams Jr and big-play receiver Denzel Boston had just three catches for just yards Specific situational football that we ve been good at we struggled in this one UW coach Jedd Fisch explained At no point did Ohio State look threatened or uncomfortable At no point did Washington have the upper hand And at no point did the ingredients needed for an upset present themselves across the three-hour affair Yes the Buckeyes started slowly on offense but that was intentional a conservative game-plan that allowed inexperienced quarterback Julian Sayin to find his footing And yes they benefited from an atrocious roughing-the-passer penalty on UW Without that call would the battle have turned out differently Not in our view Related Articles Why the Big Ten can t adopt SEC model with permanent opponents Blue chip recruit will be on hand when Washington faces Ohio State Washington s Jedd Fisch uses NFL models to determine roster revenue sharing College football picks Georgia Penn State Washington USC cover Why Kenny Dillingham s contract is a bargain for Arizona State If the Buckeyes represent the standard in the Big Ten the Huskies aren t particularly close to being ready to contend especially on the lines of scrimmage It was a mismatch Outclassed in Ames Clarity came in the Big as well We can state definitively that Arizona isn t ready to compete for the conference title The Wildcats appeared vastly improved as they sprinted to a - start in a critical season for coach Brent Brennan But reality arrived Saturday evening in a - loss at Iowa State Arizona trailed by two touchdowns early in the second quarter and never recovered The Wildcats weren t good enough on the line of scrimmage or at the skill positions They weren t tough enough efficient enough or resourceful enough And that s okay because the bar for Arizona this season isn t the Big title It s showing substantive year-over-year progress It s being competitive more often than not It s qualifying for a bowl berth Those goals remain entirely attainable despite the beat down in Ames The Wildcats have loads of winnable games remaining but they can t let one bad performance become a string of bad performances What happened in Ames must stay in Ames That declared the Big schedule offers a sterling opportunity to regain momentum Oklahoma State visits Tucson next weekend with an interim coach and three-game losing streak The first Saturday in October is typically a tad early for must-win games But that s precisely the scenario for the Wildcats Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - 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