2019 Pac-12 Football Recreation: Week 6 preview

Week 5’s stormy weekend worth of action did enough to tell us one thing: these are not teams who can play in the driving rain like that.

Week 6 is shaping up to be much nicer and should tell us even more about the Pac-12 in our recreated 2019 season.

UCLA Bruins (2-1, 0-0) @ Utah Utes (1-3, 0-1)

Talk about two teams who need a victory. UCLA has struggled as of late in their last outing while Utah has struggled, just plain struggled. They’re both entering off a bye and have a date on Thursday night.

UCLA Stat Leaders:
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB: 32-62, 438 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Joshua Kelley, RB: 39 attempts, 232 yards, 2 TD
Demetric Felton, WR/RB: 11 receptions, 155 yards, 0 TD
Tackles: J. Woods (11); INTs: E. Gates (2); Sacks: A. Mafi (2)

Utah Stat Leaders:
Tyler Huntley, QB: 56-120, 613 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
Zack Moss, RB: 74 attempts, 427 yards, 1 TD
Britain Covey, WR: 18 receptions, 247 yards, 1 TD
Tackles: M. Tafua (13); INTs: J. Blackmon (1); Sacks: T. Carlson (1)

No. 6 Oregon Ducks (4-0, 1-0) @ Colorado Buffaloes (2-2, 0-1)

The Ducks are our No. 1 team entering Week 6 and for good reason. CJ Verdell is dominant and Justin Herbert is having what is shaping up to be a career year. Their defense stymies every opponent and Colorado has a loss to Fresno State. Give us Oregon, but watch out for ‘good’ Steven Montez, who certainly will be needed if the Buffs want a chance.

Oregon Stat Leaders:
Justin Herbert, QB: 78-118, 976 yards, 11 TD, 1 INT
CJ Verdell, RB: 95 attempts, 511 yards, 5 TD
Juwan Johnson, WR: 26 receptions, 361 yards, 3 TD
Tackles: L. Winston Jr. (12); INTs: L. Winston Jr. (1); Sacks: J. Scott (1)

Colorado Stat Leaders:
Steven Montez, QB: 63-132, 847 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT
Alex Fontenot, RB: 68 attempts, 374 yards, 1 TD
Laviska Shenault Jr., WR: 25 receptions, 369 yards, 3 TD
Tackles: N. Landman (17); INTs: D. Taylor (1); Sacks: T. Lang (3)

No. 8 Washington Huskies (4-0, 1-0) @ Stanford Cardinal (2-2, 0-2)

The Huskies all-around defensive efforts have won them their games this year but the Cardinal have perhaps the most underrated defense in the conference after holding Washington State to just seven points last week. Either way, the Cardinal offense better get some answers quickly because the Washington offense can score.

Washington Stat Leaders:
Jacob Eason, QB: 63-119, 936 yards, 8 TD, 6 INT
Salvon Ahmed, RB: 97 attempts, 534 yards, 7 TD
Hunter Bryant, TE: 17 receptions, 294 yards, 4 TD
Tackles: J. Tryon (16); INTs: E. Molden (2); Sacks: J. Tryon (5)

Stanford Stat Leaders:
K.J. Costello, QB: 49-87, 714 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
Cameron Scarlett, RB: 86 attempts, 492 yards, 4 TD
Connor Wedington, WR: 18 receptions, 269 yards, 0 TD
Tackles: T. Booker (16); INTs: M. Antoine (1); Sacks: T. Booker (3)

No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils (4-0, 2-0) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-4)

The Sun Devils travel to South Bend and meet up with a disappointing Fighting Irish team this year who have fallen off the rails as of late. The Sun Devils can run with anyone and should be able to show the nation some Pac-12 speed on NBC’s national broadcast.

Arizona State Stat Leaders:
Jayden Daniels, QB: 52-118, 784 yards, 9 TD, 4 INT
Eno Benjamin, RB: 62 attempts, 374 yards, 0 TD
Brandon Aiyuk, WR: 14 receptions, 210 yards, 2 TD
Tackles: K. Kearse-Thomas (16); INTs: C. Lucas (1); Sacks: G. Lea (3)

No. 18 Washington State Cougars (4-1, 1-1) @ California Golden Bears (2-2, 0-1)

You can bet the Cougars are going to want to show that their 7-point outing last week was a fluke and the Cal defense has been suspect, at best this year. Knowing Mike Leach, you can bet he won’t step on the brakes at all. This one should be gas pedal to the floor for the entire game. And Cal better be ready.

Washington State Stat Leaders:
Anthony Gordon, QB: 124-224, 1619 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT
Max Borghi, RB: 41 attempts, 191 yards, 2 TD
Dezmon Patmon, WR: 39 receptions, 552 yards, 6 TD
Tackles: J. Rogers (14); INTs: M. Strong (2); Sacks: N. Oguayo (4)

Cal Stat Leaders:
Chase Garbers, QB: 57-135, 701 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT
Christopher Brown Jr., RB: 70 attempts, 430 yards, 3 TD
Nikko Remigio, WR: 12 receptions, 226 yards, 2 TD
Tackles: C. Goode (17); INTs: C. Goode (1); Sacks: Z. Johnson (3)

Herbstreit’s Picks:

UCLA @ Utah — Utah
Oregon @ Colorado — Oregon
Washington @ Stanford — Washington
Arizona State @ Notre Dame — Arizona State
Washington State @ Cal — Washington State

Herbstreit’s overall picks after Week 5: 34-8

Week 1: 8-2,
Week 2: 7-2
Week 3: 8-3
Week 4: 6-1
Week 5: 5-0

Pac-12 On a Bye: Arizona, Oregon State

Reminder, this is a fictional take on our recreation of the 2019 NCAA football season using last year’s updated rosters and playing the games in NCAA Football 14 on a Playstation3. For more information, check out our intro story.