It hit me midway through the fourth quarter of the Arizona vs. USC game that this would be one of the last times I’d be able to experience this. A top-ranked, national title-aspiring Pac-12 team in a battle with an unranked but fierce lower Pac-12 team is something I and many others have seen time and again in the deep hours of many nights. I was sad for a moment, but then decided to rejoice that I had those memories and could add this one to the bank before the Pac-12 is gone for good. 

No. 15 Oregon State 52, California 40

In a high-scoring affair, No. 15 Oregon State pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 52-40. It was only a 35-32 game after three quarters, but then the Beavers came alive,  including this beautiful big man reception: 

Looking over the entire game, Aidan Chiles came in for a series and completed both of his pass attempts, including a touchdown pass that was just a little extra on top of an efficient day from D.J. Uiagalelei. He finished 19-of-25 for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, the team combined to rush for 203 yards with another touchdown by Damien Martinez, who led the way with 89 yards on the ground. Despite the loss to Washington State, Oregon State is still very much in control of its destiny in the Pac-12. If the Beavers can win out until the last two games of the season, back-to-back matchups against Washington and Oregon could decide the fate of several teams. 

The difference in the loss for California was the Beavers being able to break out the turnover chainsaw two times and also get a fourth down stop that directly led to 17 points. 

California’s backfield of Jaydn Ott and Isaiah Ifanse combined for 171 yards and two touchdowns, both by Ifanse. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza was no slouch himself as he threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns, but his lone interception at the beginning of the fourth quarter basically sealed the win as the Beavers chewed up over nine minutes of the clock before a field goal. For the 3-3 Golden Bears, a bowl game is probably out of reach as they have to play Utah, USC, Oregon, Washington State and UCLA. But at the very least their offense will be annoying enough to frustrate these top teams as the season goes along. 

No. 9 USC 43, Arizona 41 (3OT)

Arizona started backup Noah Fifita for the second week in a row due to injuries to Jayden de Laura. It was the second overall start for the redshirt freshman and it came in Los Angeles against the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Despite that, the Trojans’ defense was awful again and the Wildcats led 17-14 at half. Arizona had a 219-to-92 passing yardage advantage at the break, displaying once again that this Alex Grinch coaching tenure has to be fixed and should have been fixed a long time ago. Thankfully, Grinch and USC have Caleb Williams on the team, and he literally put the Trojans on his back early in the fourth quarter to gain an eight-point advantage.

Of course, the Wildcats ended up driving 75 yards in 10 plays with Fifita connecting with Jacob Cowing on fourth-and-goal for a touchdown, then running nearly the exact same play to tie on the two-point conversion. On their ensuing drive, they ran down the field with ease, but then decided to dial up a long pass (which fell incomplete), a run was stopped, then a screen pass to set up a long field goal that sailed wide left. 

With a final drive, Williams diced up a gassed Wildcats defense all the way down inside the 10-yard line. An incomplete pass followed by a fumble recovered by Williams led to a messy final moment, but with four seconds left, the Trojans lined up for a 25-yard field goal. But a mismanaged snap and hold led to a blocked kick and the game went into overtime. 

On the first possession of overtime, the Trojans got the ball first. On third down, Williams kept the rock himself on a read option for an 18-yard touchdown run. The short kick was good this time and USC took a 35-28 lead. On Arizona’s possession, Fifita immediately hit Cowing for a 25-yard touchdown to pull within one. However, the Wildcats decided against the two-point conversion with the USC defense reeling, and the extra point sent the game into a second overtime period. 

In a shocking turn of events, the USC defense stayed disciplined and thwarted an Arizona attempted wide receiver pass to force a third down, only for a fumbled option pitch resulting in an Arizona first down. A few plays later, Fifita found Cowing again from eight yards out. The mandatory two-point conversion was no good as a floated pass to a wide open receiver was broken up by Calen Bullock, who displayed dynamic closing speed to knock the pass away. 

Given one more chance, Williams would not be denied. A holding penalty set USC back on first down, then a false start on second down pushed the Trojans back further. But Mario Williams found a soft spot in the zone and gained 23 yards for a first down. The Trojans went hurry-up, and on the next play Austin Jones waltzed into the end zone to tie it up. On the two-point conversion, Williams avoided a sack and nearly completed a sidearm pass but it fell incomplete. 

The ballgame continued into the two-point conversion shootout. USC lined up in a weird formation and it looked like it was just a rollout for Williams. In a one-on-one with a defender, he shook the Wildcat and just got the ball inside the pylon. Arizona’s last gasp was a whimper, as the toss play that had worked so well finally failed as USC got into the backfield.  

It is a heartbreaking loss for Arizona, but the silver lining is that in back-to-back weeks the Wildcats have taken two top Pac-12 teams in Washington and USC to the wire. However, the coaching decisions by Jedd Fisch with the mindset of playing not to lose instead of to win cost his team and is inexcusable. At 3-3, there is a chance this team still surprises the top of the conference. There is also a really good chance poor coaching leaves the Wildcats scratching on the outside looking in come bowl season. 

As for USC, the Trojans simply cannot keep playing like this on defense if they want to even think about getting to the Pac-12 title game, let alone the College Football Playoff. However, so long as Williams is the quarterback of USC, the Trojans will always have life. With his 260 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns along with the two-point try in triple overtime, he already has his Heisman moment and reaffirmed once again his standing as the best quarterback in the country.