Pac-12 Football: The Good, The Bad & The Unknown - Weekend Three

What looked like one of the best Pac-12 slates in a long time somewhat disappointed in close games on Saturday, but not on intrigue, as another week of Pac-12 finals pushed along a number of harrowing storylines that are going to burn all throughout the Pac-12 season. While a lot was learn, it's still early in the season and a lot is complete mystery, making it a perfect week for The Good, The Bad and The Unknown of weekend three for Pac-12 football.

The Good

Pac-12 > Big Ten: It was a big, unofficial Pac-12 vs. Big Ten weekend and the Pac-12 came away 3-1, though I guess with an asterix due to the Wisconsin/Arizona State madness. The Big Ten's only win came from their far and away best team winning a game over a Cal team, that might be the worst team in the Pac-12 North right now, in which they gave up 34 points.

UCLA - It took the Bruin pass defense a while to wake up, but once they did, it was lights out. Nebraska hasn't looked great thus far this season, but a dominating road win in Lincoln confirms that there won't be a sophomore slump under Jim Mora.

Oregon - I flipped away from the a tight Oregon/Tennessee game for a few minutes to check out Alabama/Texas A&M, and suddenly the Ducks were by 30 plus when I clicked back. The Volunteers were a flawed team, but the way Oregon eviscerated them so quickly that it was stunning. The Ducks look like the best team in the conference thus far.

The Bad

Pac-12 referees - Did we really all see what happened in Tempe Saturday night? That was real, right? Pac-12 refs seem to be trying to dig their way out from the hole they are in through the bottom.

Oregon State and Utah's defenses - These teams don't even have a couple of the conference's best offense, so imagine what is going to happen when these defenses start facing off with the cream of the crop. High-scoring shootouts are fun, but simply watching defenses that can't stop anyone is overrated.

Cal's defense - The Bears might have a worse unit than the Beavers and Utes. Their offense is starting to get seriously scary, but they are going to need to be if they hope to win games, as the Bear defense is likely going to be giving up a lot of points on a weekly basis.

The Unknown

USC - The Trojans not only blew out Boston College, they primarily did it through the air with Cody Kessler. Did the Trojans actually make some progress in their passing game, or is Boston College just that bad?

Stanford - The Cardinal simply can't blow teams out, as they only beat Army by 14 points on Saturday, and in this day and age of college football, that is not a good thing. Will the Cardinal turn on their dominance in Pac-12 play, or are they headed to another season of nailbitters against lesser opponents?

Arizona - After three good, but not overwhelming blowouts of patsies, do we really know any more about the Wildcats than we did before the season?