Pac-12: Oregon upsets No. 12 Utah; No. 10 Colorado turns back No. 22 Washington State

The goal for No. 12 Utah was clear this season — win the Pac-12 South Division. The Utes have trended upward since joining the league in 2011, but have yet to play in the championship game.

Their hopes of doing so this season ended Saturday.

Justin Herbert hit Darren Carrington for a 17-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left to give Oregon a 30-28 upset victory over the Utes.

“A chance to win the South, that’s the next step for our program,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We won nine games two years ago, 10 games last year. We’re winning games. We’ve won more games in the Pac-12 than any team in the Pac-12 over the last three years. But the next hurdle, the next step is to win a South title. That’s what we need to do.”

Herbert led the Ducks (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12), who have struggled all season and suffered several lopsided losses, on a 10-play, 75-yard drive in just over two minutes, capping it with the TD pass to Carrington. Carrington was initially called out of bounds but that call was reversed after a replay showed he got a foot down in bounds.

“Oh man!” Carrington said. “Big-time players make big-time plays and it was definitely time to make a big-time play so I just had to come through in the clutch for my boys. I just turned and saw the ball in the air and went and got it. I had no idea the ball was coming until it was up in the air.”

The Utes (8-3, 5-3) blitzed on the final play and left man-to-man coverage on the outside.

“Disappointing to say the least,” Whittingham said. “(Oregon) made the plays when they had to be made. We were not able to make those plays. Second half, couldn’t get a stop on defense when we needed to. Couldn’t put a dagger in their heart when we could have on offense.”

at No. 10 Colorado 38, No. 22 Washington State 24: Sefo Liufau threw for 345 yards, rushed for 108 more and scored three touchdowns to lead the Buffaloes to victory in a matchup of unlikely Pac-12 division leaders.

Phillip Lindsay added 144 yards rushing and two TDs for Colorado (9-2, 7-1), which can wrap up the South Division title if USC loses to UCLA later Saturday or by beating Utah next week.

Liufau briefly left in the fourth quarter only to return and pick up a crucial third-and-short gain that led to a game-sealing TD run by Lindsay.

Luke Falk threw for 325 yards and three scores for Washington State (8-3, 7-1, No. 22 CFP), which had won eight in a row. The Cougars can still win the North Division with a victory against No. 7 Washington next week.

The Colorado defense did its part, too, with Jimmie Gilbert forcing Falk to fumble with around 3 minutes remaining and Addison Gillam pouncing on it.

at No. 7 Washington 44, Arizona State 18: Jake Browning overcame a sluggish start to throw for 338 yards and two touchdowns as the Huskies won easily at home to stay in the College Football Playoff mix.

Washington (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) will likely to move up in the CFP ranking after snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Sun Devils. But the Huskies appeared to let last week’s loss to USC linger early before a 21-point second quarter put Washington fully in control.

Browning completed 27 of 44 passes with 12 of those going to John Ross for 95 yards. Myles Gaskin ran for 127 yards and a 45-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Washington’s victory sets up one of the biggest Apple Cup’s ever Friday in Pullman against Washington State with the winner claiming the Pac-12 North title and a spot in the conference title game. The two are tied on top of the North Division standings after Washington State’s 38-24 loss at Colorado on Saturday.

Washington’s defense dominated from the outset, holding Arizona State (5-6, 2-6) to 48 yards in the first half and just 84 through three quarters before reserves took over. Arizona State’s Manny Wilkins was 20 of 32 passing for 227 yards but was sacked six times. N’Keal Harry had six catches for 114 yards, but the Sun Devils managed only 15 yards rushing.

No. 24 Stanford 45, at California 31: Christian McCaffrey’s 90-yard touchdown run highlighted a record-setting 284-yard rushing performance that led the Cardinal to their seventh straight Big Game win.

McCaffrey broke his own single-game rushing record at Stanford of 243 yards and the Big Game record of 226 yards set by Cal’s Joe Igber in 2002 to help the Cardinal keep the coveted Axe.

Davis Webb threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns and Tre Watson ran for two scores for the Golden Bears, who are assured of a fifth losing season in six years.

at Oregon State 47, Arizona 17: Marcus McMaryion threw for 265 yards and five touchdowns as the Oregon State Beavers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 42-17 victory over Arizona on Saturday night.

Ryan Nall ran for 124 yards and another score while Jordan Villamin caught six passes for 124 yards in just the second conference win for the Beavers (3-8, 2-6-Pac-12).

It was the eighth straight loss for the Wildcats (2-9, 0-8), who have been overwhelmed by injuries this season. Anu Solomon made his first start at quarterback since the opener but was injured in the first quarter and replaced by Brandon Dawkins, who threw for 106 yards and a touchdown while running for 88 yards on 15 carries.