Pac-12 rewind: Close calls, bad calls, big wins and a Hot Seat highlight Week 13 action

The teams atop the standings kept winning; the teams at the bottom kept losing

The best, worst, and everything in between from Week 13 in the Pac-12…

This week’s theme is “Taking Care of Business.”

The top three teams handled their assignments well, with Oregon and Arizona winning easily and Washington surviving another close game. The results set up the championship matchup that we predicted weeks ago, with the Huskies and Ducks rematching their October epic. Meanwhile, Arizona finished with a six-game winning streak and now sits alone in third place, two games ahead of the rest of the pack.

Washington 24, Washington State 21

Husky Stadium has been the site of several nail-biters, including the Apple Cup: For long stretches, the visitors played with A-level intensity and controlled the line of scrimmage. WSU took advantage of a Huskies special teams penalty to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter, but UW made just enough plays — and received a huge assist from the officials (more on that later) — to score the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Cal’s team for the week

After a 63-19 loss at Oregon in early November, the Bears appeared doomed. However, they rallied with three straight wins down the stretch to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2019 — before COVID set the program back several years. Cal’s rout of UCLA on Saturday night was by far the most complete game of the season. Jaydn Ott’s 100-yard kickoff return was the game-changer.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning is this week’s coach of the week.

We expect Arizona’s Jedd Fisch or Washington’s Kalen DeBoer to be named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, rather than Lanning. But Lanning has done outstanding work in terms of motivation, keeping the Ducks operating at an elite level every weekend. There has been no sign of a letdown. The 31-7 thrashing of Oregon State on Friday night was the latest in a string of outstanding performances.

Chip Kelly of UCLA is this week’s hot seat.

Kelly’s job security appeared to be in jeopardy following a dreadful home performance against Arizona State two weeks ago, but it appeared to be stabilized with the victory at USC. However, the Bruins were a no-show in their 33-7 loss to Cal, finishing with a 4-5 league record. We’re left to wonder if the administration will use the move to the Big Ten to force a change. And, if he is fired, will Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith reconsider his own decision? He is, after all, a native of Pasadena.

Oregon State University has an open seat this week.

Speaking of Smith, he accepted Michigan State’s offer early Saturday morning, leaving his alma mater after a stellar two-year run in which the Beavers were regionally and nationally relevant. Given OSU’s uncertain future, the Hotline understands Smith’s reasoning, but believes it is the wrong move — that Michigan State is the wrong job. In many ways, it’s similar to Oregon State, but with more pressure and fewer benefits.

Kalen DeBoer of Washington made the call of the week.

Across the conference, we’ve seen a slew of bad fourth-down decisions and a few good ones. But, with one minute remaining in a tie game, UW’s call on fourth-and-1 from its 29-yard line was one of the best the Hotline has ever seen. The Huskies faked a punt, then called timeout and returned the offense to the field. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. faked a handoff before passing to receiver Rome Odunze, who was running an orbit motion behind Penix. The play perplexed both WSU and the television cameras, but it produced a 23-yard gain to keep the winning drive alive.

Pac-12 officials make a bad call this week.

What happened next in Husky Stadium was a “BS call,” according to Washington State coach Jake Dickert, and we couldn’t agree more. The officials slapped Cougars edge rusher Ron Stone Jr. with a roughing-the-passer penalty that should never have been called, putting the Huskies in position for the game-winning field goal. It ruined an otherwise thrilling conclusion.

Mark Jones of ESPN made a bad call this week.

The Territorial Cup’s play-by-play announcer actually said, “ASU athletic director Ray Anderson, recently leaving his post, did a fantastic job while here.” Perhaps Jones was defending a friend. Perhaps he is (somehow) unaware of the backstory. In any case, he came across as clueless.

Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan was named offensive player of the week.

In the Wildcats’ rout, the sophomore averaged 24 yards per catch on 11 receptions and scored two touchdowns. His 266 receiving yards were a Territorial Cup record. We thought about Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, who threw for a school-record 527 yards, but McMillan’s playmaking was exceptional.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix was named offensive player of the year.

Another outstanding performance (33-of-40 for 367 yards) solidified Nix as the clear Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and co-favorite for the Heisman Trophy, alongside LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. His season efficiency is simply out of this world: 37 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 78.6 completion percentage.

Cal LB is the week’s defensive player of the week. Mr. David Reese

As the Bears dominated UCLA on Saturday night, the Florida transfer had plenty of company. With three sacks and a forced fumble that set up the game-winning touchdown just before halftime, Reese’s presence was felt the most.

UCLA’s Laiatu Latu was named defensive player of the year.

Although he was relatively quiet in the regular season finale, Latu had a greater week-to-week impact than any other defensive player in the conference, fueling UCLA’s defensive improvement. He has the most sacks among Power Five players and the most tackles for loss among FBS players.

Utah’s Luke Bottari is the best fifth-string quarterback this week.

In a fitting end to an injury-plagued season, the Utes turned to Bottari in the final game. Never mind the fact that he had no FBS experience. Or that he’s a walk-on who briefly tried out for the team earlier this year. Or that he only had 61 yards passing on Saturday. The fact that Bottari led the Utes to a 23-17 victory over Colorado is all that matters.

Arizona Stat of the Week I

On Saturday, the Wildcats scored 59 points against Arizona State, the most in a Territorial Cup game since 1946, when they defeated the Sun Devils 67-0.

Stanford Stat of the Week II

The Cardinal went 0-7 at home this season, their first losing season in Stanford Stadium since 2006, when Jim Harbaugh took over and rebuilt the program.

Colorado was the state of the time.

The Buffaloes finished dead last in the standings for the ninth time in their 13 seasons in the conference, either in the South division or the entire conference.

Next week’s game: Washington vs. Oregon

The Pacific Northwest heavyweights will clash in the final Pac-12 title game, the most anticipated in the event’s brief history, on Friday. With a win, the undefeated Huskies will be in the playoffs, while the one-loss Ducks will be in the CFP if they win the trophy. Let’s hope the game is half as exciting as Washington’s 36-33 victory in October. Oregon was a 7.5-point favorite at the start.