Week 13 Rewind

The best game of the Pac 12 weekend came from an unlikely matchup as Colorado went to Utah and stunned the Utes. The Buffaloes ended their 24-game out of state losing streak as they dominated Utah from the start and outgaining the Utes 373-274. Utah missed a game-tying field goal with three second left.

California built a 13-point second quarter lead but had to come from behind to take out the Sun Devils in a wire-to-wire cover. The Golden Bears won the yardage battle 484-477 and used a 4-1 turnover edge to move to 7-5 on the season and extend the late season collapse for Arizona St. which dropped its final four games of the season.

The Civil War was close for a while as the game was knotted at 7-7 midway in the second quarter until Oregon ran off 35 consecutive points to pull away. The Ducks outgained the Beavers 670-315 and they held Oregon St. to 16 yards rushing on 21 carries (0.8 ypc). Oregon St. scored with 2:46 left to get the push.

Arizona had to rally twice to take out the Cajuns as it scored 21 unanswered points between the second and third quarters to pull away. The Wildcats outgained Lafayette 494-408 and also returned an interception for a touchdown. The Cajuns scored a touchdown with 5:05 left to secure the backdoor cover.

Washington jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the Apple Cup before the Cougars rallied to tie the game at 14-14. The Huskies scored a touchdown right before halftime and never gave the lead up. Washington scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to secure the cover. Washington St. was held to 38 yards rushing on 29 carries (1.3 ypc).

Stanford jumped all over Notre Dame early as it took a 21-0 lead thanks to three Andrew Luck touchdown passes. The Irish got no closer than 14 points as the Cardinal held their offense to just 309 total yards including 57 yards rushing on 31 carries (1.8 ypc). Another quarterback controversy is brewing in South Bend heading into the Champs Bowl.

UCLA secured a spot in the Pac 12 Championship on Friday so it decided not to show up against rival USC as it was pounded 50-0. The Trojans outgained the Bruins 572-385 thanks another outstanding performance from Matt Barkley who threw for 423 yards and six touchdowns as he made a strong case for Heisman consideration.

And The First Casualty Is…

While we thought the first coach to be fired would be UCLA's Rick Neuheisel, he got an extra week reprieve because his Bruins backed into the Pac 12 Championship game. Instead, the first casualty was Dennis Erickson of Arizona St.

The Sun Devils had the South pretty much locked up at the start of the month but they lost their final four games to finish 4-5 in the conference and 6-6 overall. No official word has been announced as of early Monday and rumor has it that he may be allowed to retire as opposed to getting fired.

He will likely be on the sidelines for Arizona St.'s bowl game.

Neuheisel is expected to be fired at the end of the season while Washington St. head coach Paul Wulff could be next to go after a 1-7 finish that included five blowout losses.

Heisman Race Tightens

While Trent Richardson of Alabama and Stanford's Andrew Luck are the frontrunners in the Heisman Trophy race, USC Quarterback Matt Barkley did his best to get his name in the running.

Comparing his numbers to Luck, he arguably had the better year. He threw for more yards (3,528 to 3,170), threw more touchdowns (39 to 35) and had fewer interceptions (7 to 9). Luck had a slightly better completion percentage (69.97 to 69.06), better ypa (9.38 to 8.74) and better passer rating (167.5 to 161.2).

The fact that Barkley played on a team that was unable to participate in the championship game or any bowl game definitely hurt him. At least early on. His name was left off many lists because of something that was out of his control and that is unfortunate.

"I probably shouldn't say this, but unless he just decides to be a real special Trojan, he ain't coming back," coach Lane Kiffin said. "He's going to be a top-five pick."

Game of the Week

It is the game of the week just because it is the only game in town.

Oregon hosts UCLA in the inaugural Pac 12 Championship on Friday night and it probably won't be pretty. The Ducks and Bruins avoided each other this regular season which was good for UCLA. The Bruins limp in following a 50-point blowout loss to USC and they had two other losses of 36 and 25 points this season.

Oregon looks to have a pretty easy road to the Rose Bowl as it is listed as 31.5-point favorites. The Ducks were favored by 26.5-points in the meeting last season and won by 47 points so a similar outcome would be far from shocking.

Get all of Matt Fargo's College football picks at Vegas Experts.