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Every week, it's something new in the Pac-12. This week, two teams make quarterback driven charges even further into the national spotlight, and two backups shine in tough situations for their teams. Read on to find if your favorite quarterback made the cut!
1. Luke Falk, Washington State
What can you even say about a game like this in a quarterback’s first road game, second overall? To some degree, any quarterback is going to get numbers in Leach’s offense. But Falk looked calm and collected in picking up a road win at a feisty Oregon State. 471 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions… losing Connor Halliday has to hurt Washington State fans, but it would appear that their future at quarterback is secure.
2. Marcus Mariota, Oregon
We’re beginning to approach the point where it’s hard to imagine any way Marcus Mariota doesn’t clean up the relevant national awards. 17-29 for 239 and 3 touchdowns, plus 114 on the ground and another touchdown was one of his less impressive stat-lines so far this year. He made up for one of his least prolific passing days with a fantastic day on the ground, as his Oregon team blew Utah away in the 4th quarter.
3. Brett Hundley, UCLA
Officially the record holder for touchdown passes in UCLA history, Hundley is keeping the Bruins clinging to life in the Pac-12 south. All they need is one little slip-up from the Sun Devils, and suddenly they’re playing for everything. 29-36 for 302 and 3 touchdowns will do it, now they just need some help.
4. Taylor Kelly, Arizona State
Kelley appears to have shaken off the post-injury struggles, with some help from a Notre Dame offense that was mostly interested in gifting the ASU offense reps. 17-28 for 224 yards isn’t eye-popping, but three touchdowns passing and another on the ground were more than enough to do the Irish in. The Sun Devils control their national title destiny, who thought we’d be saying that at this time of the year?
5. Travis Wilson, Utah
What could have been if Kaelin Clay doesn’t drop that ball? Utah was rolling, ready to go up 14-0 and completely shake up the national scene. Travis Wilson did his very best to keep Utah in that game against all odds, and the final score can make it easy to forget that it was a field-goal game early in the 4th quarter. 297 yards and two touchdowns weren’t quite enough to pull off the upset, but that the Utes hung around is a testament to Wilson’s ability at quarterback.
Another week starts tomorrow, one that will go a long way to determining which teams will win their division and potentially set up a de-facto College Football Playoff "elite eight" game at Levi's Stadium. Can Arizona State pull it out, or will the Bruins make a late charge for the conference title? Only time will tell.