No. 14 Utah goes on the road, tries to keep up success against Lincoln Riley, No. 18 Southern Cal

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This article was published 19/10/2023 (1080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Things to watch in the Pac-12 Conference this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 14 Utah (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) at No. 18 Southern California (6-1, 4-0).

Trojans coach Lincoln Riley doesn’t lose often to the same school twice. When he was at Oklahoma, the only teams that beat him more than once were Iowa State and Kansas State. Now at USC, the only team to knock off his squad more than once is Utah. The Utes beat the Trojans in the regular season a year ago and again in the Pac-12 championship game. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the Trojans will certainly be seeing red after a 48-20 loss at Notre Dame. Williams had a rare three-interception night. The Utes sure would like to have quarterback Cam Rising, who’s been out all season as he recovers from a knee injury. He threw for 725 yards in the two wins over the Trojans last season. Utah has dropped its last three road games to teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, according to Pac-12 research.

BEST MATCHUP

Washington State (4-2, 1-2) at No. 9 Oregon (5-1, 2-1). This is a rebound game for both teams. The Cougars lost 44-6 at home to Arizona and were shutout after their first drive. The Ducks need to shake off a 36-33 loss at Washington. Oregon went 0 for 3 on fourth-down attempts and missed a 43-yard field goal as time expired. Cam Ward is looking to ramp back up the Cougars offense. They averaged 45.8 points in going 4-0 but just 11.5 points in losing their last two. Oregon has won 32 straight at Autzen Stadium against unranked teams, according to the league.

LONG SHOT

Arizona State (1-5, 0-3) at No. 5 Washington Huskies (6-0, 3-0). The Huskies are favored by 27 1/2 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies are coming off an emotional win over Oregon so maybe — heavy emphasis on maybe — there’s a letdown? No Pac-12 team has had a greater degree of success against the Huskies than the Sun Devils since 2000 (13-4). Here’s the big caveat: The Sun Devils have lost six in a row in Seattle when Washington is ranked, according to league research.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Stanford receiver Elic Ayomanor is coming off an historic performance at Colorado when he had 13 catches for 294 yards and three touchdowns. All his yardage came after halftime. He broke the school record for yards receiving in a game (278) that was set by Troy Walters in 1999. Ashton Daniels’ 97-yard TD pass to Ayomanor was the longest by a Stanford quarterback since 1999. Ayomanor and the Cardinal host No. 25 UCLA on Saturday.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Washington State has lost six road games in a row against ranked Pac-12 teams. Its last win was Oct. 27, 2018, at No. 24 Stanford. … The Trojans are 11-0 at home under Riley. … No. 25 UCLA (4-2, 1-2) travels to Stanford (2-4, 1-3), where the Cardinal are 10-3 against the Bruins in the Pac-12 era. … No. 12 Oregon State, Colorado, Arizona and California have bye weeks. The Beavers (6-1, 3-1) are bowl eligible for a third season in a row.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll