LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caleb Williams passed for 360 yards and threw two of his four touchdown passes to Michael Jackson III as No. 9 Southern California beat California 41-35. Tahj Washington caught seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown for the Trojans, whose defense faltered in the second half of a third straight subpar performance. But Williams went 26 for 41 without a turnover and led a clinching scoring drive in the fourth quarter of a second straight outstanding performance without his top two receivers. Jack Plummer passed for 406 yards and threw three TD passes but Cal has lost five straight and six of seven.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Dorian Thompson-Robinson hurdled a defender on a 33-yard touchdown run, one of his two rushing scores, and also passed for two TDs as No. 10 UCLA held off Arizona State 50-36. Thompson-Robinson threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage, and the Sun Devils turned it into a field goal. But then he led drives of 75, 77, 91 and 90 yards to give UCLA a 28-10 halftime lead that grew to 35-10 on his 4-yard run in the third quarter. Arizona State quarterback Trenton Bourguet threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns, and the Sun Devils scored 18 straight points to close to 42-36 with 6:24 left. UCLA put it away on its next possession on Colson Yankoff’s 1-yard touchdown run with 2:30 remaining.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Bo Nix and the Oregon offense found creative ways to score, including an offensive lineman catching a touchdown pass and a linebacker scoring from short, as the eighth-ranked Ducks cruised to a 49-10 win over Colorado. In windy conditions, the Ducks breezed to their eighth straight win. The Ducks dialed up one gadget play after another, with offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. catching a 4-yard TD pass and linebacker Noah Sewell scoring on a 1-yard plunge. Even Nix got into the trick-play act by catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from tailback Bucky Irving. Nix also threw two touchdown passes and ran for two.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Cameron Ward threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third, Nakia Watson rushed for 166 yards and a score and Washington State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 52-14 victory against Stanford. The Cougars scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and then put the game away with two more TDs in the final 2:09 of the first half. Tanner McKee threw for 236 yards and backup QB Ashton Daniels ran for two scores but Stanford kept giving the ball away and lost for the sixth straight time to the Cougars.
SEATTLE (AP) — Peyton Henry made a 22-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to cap a 92-yard scoring driving, and Washington held off No. 24 Oregon State 24-21 to preserve its hopes in the Pac-12 championship game race. The Huskies took over at their own 3 with 4:33 left. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. led a march downfield against the Beavers’ stingy defense. Penix was 9 of 13 for 66 yards on the drive. Washington won its third straight and kept alive its slim hopes of finding a spot in Las Vegas in the conference title game. Oregon State was playing its first game ranked in The AP Top 25 since the 2013 season opener.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan Stadium is one of the few places left in American sports where the home and visiting teams use the same tunnel to enter and exit the field. It's a design popular in venues built in the early 20th century. It is rare now. Separate tunnels lead to and from the locker rooms in most newer stadiums. That all but eliminates the possibility of an ugly scene unfolding like the one minutes after Michigan State lost at Michigan. Older stadiums with single tunnels include Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers and Stanford, the Los Angeles Coliseum and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 24 Oregon State returns to the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2013. But the Beavers are a 4 1/2-point underdog at Washington on Friday night. Last season against Washington, Everett Hayes hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired and Oregon State won 27-24 to snap a nine-game skid against the Huskies. This one should be entertaining, with all the other top teams in the conference heavy favorites this weekend. No. 8 Oregon is a 31 1/2-point favorite at Colorado, No. 9 USC a 21 1/2-point favorite hosting Cal and No. 9 UCLA a 10 1/2-point favorite at Arizona State.
UNDATED (AP) — NBA teams are looking ahead to the upcoming draft with much anticipation. But hat doesn’t necessarily mean the incoming freshman class of college basketball players is any better than usual. The fact of the matter is that the top 2023 draft prospects aren’t playing college basketball. There still are many exciting freshmen are ready to make an impact this season. Duke coach Jon Scheyer is beginning his career with the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports.
