The Pac-12 standings already have a couple of early front-runners, and both of them put on a show Saturday.
Oregon State set the tone first, turning Reser Stadium into a blowout from the opening stretch and rolling past San Diego State 66-14. The Beavers finished with 651 yards of total offense, owned the first-down count 35-6 and left the Aztecs buried under a lopsided afternoon that featured big plays everywhere.
Braden Atkinson was electric for Oregon State, finishing 29 of 38 for 409 yards with five touchdowns and no turnovers. Jesse Legree matched the moment with 10 catches for 191 yards and three scores, giving the Beavers exactly the kind of one-two punch that can wreck a defense in a hurry.
“Our O-line did a great job giving our quarterback time and security back there so that he could deliver the ball over and over again,” Oregon State head coach JaMarcus Shephard said. “Our offense tends to get a lot of the TV time.
But our defense, they don’t get a lot of TV time because they were getting three-and-outs today. They were getting off the field.”
No. 23 Boise State followed with a different kind of statement, surviving the road and outlasting Fresno State 38-31. The Broncos piled up 512 yards of offense in a rivalry game they needed to grind through, and they did it despite Fresno State having won the previous three meetings.
“Just proud of our entire staff, players, going out and executing and finding a way to get a tough road win against a really good opponent,” Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson said.
Dylan Riley gave Boise State a huge lift with 19 carries for 150 yards, four receptions for 64 yards and two total touchdowns. Sire Gaines added 20 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown, while Maddux Madsen threw for 238 yards and two scores.
After those results, Boise State and Oregon State sit on top of the Pac-12 standings through two weeks of conference play.
Friday night brought a sharp reversal for Washington State, which let a 16-3 halftime lead slip away in a 17-16 loss at Utah State. The Aggies took advantage of two Cougars fumbles and turned both into second-half touchdowns.
“Players took over at halftime,” Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Assistant coaches took over.
They were taking accountability. Players, peer-to-peer, correcting players.
And they just had enough of some of the antics.”
Washington State looked more organized early with Kirby Moore calling the offensive plays for the first time this season, but the second half was a different story. The Cougars managed only 64 yards of offense after the break.
Caden Pinnick’s season line against FBS opponents has been rough, and the numbers show it: in five games, he is 93 of 156 passing for 756 yards, with one touchdown and seven turnovers.
Colorado State and Texas State were off this week after both teams entered at 2-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.