Kevin Gemmell, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Pac-12 morning links

I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.

Leading off

Welcome to Week 2. By now, you probably already know what happened in Week 1. But we'll use this space each Monday to give you a quick reference to every game that happened in the Pac-12.

  • Arizona

  • Arizona State

  • California

  • Colorado

  • Oregon

  • Oregon State

  • Stanford

  • UCLA

  • USC

  • Utah

  • Washington 

  • Washington State

National reactions

Here's a look at what some folks around the nation are saying about the Pac-12 and its teams.

John Taylor of NBC Sports hit on a couple of Pac-12 teams in his Week 1 rewind. USC coach Steve Sarkisian is getting a lot of praise for keeping things together after a tumultuous week leading up to the Trojans' first game.

In the first game of the Steve Sarkisian era Saturday night, the Trojans took out all of their lingering frustrations on an overmatched Fresno State squad by the score of 52-13.  Quarterback Cody Kessler passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns ... in the first half alone. The offense ultimately rolled up 704 yards of offense on 104 plays, the latter of which set a Pac-12 record.

Anne Petersen of the Associated Press gets to the heart of what everyone is thinking in Eugene ... we can finally start looking ahead to Week 2 and Oregon vs. Michigan State.

While Oregon is known for their hyper-drive offense, Michigan State's success last season -- the Spartans went undefeated in conference play -- came in large part because of their bruising defense. The Spartans lost standouts Max Bullough and Darqueze Dennard from that defense, but they still have lineman Shilique Calhoun, considered one of the top players in his league, and linebacker Taiwan Jones, who looked promising in the opener with Bullough gone.

UCLA offensive line coach Adrian Klemm is catching a little heat from Pete Roussel for the way his linemen performed in the win over Virginia. The Bruins were without starting center Jake Brendel. And that obviously hurt. But there were bigger line issues at play. Not to mention more than a few wide receiver drops.

The resume of a coach is his tape. And right now, Adrian Klemm has his hands full. He knows it, too. That "super assistant" label from the media doesn’t look so fitting right now.

Nationally honored

UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks was named the Walter Camp national defensive player of the week for his performance in UCLA's win over Virginia. Kendricks posted 16 tackles, forced a fumble that led to a UCLA defensive touchdown and also returned an interception for a touchdown. Say what you want about the offense (and there is plenty to say), but Kendricks had a monster game.

News/notes/team reports

  • A snapshot of Arizona's wide receiver play.

  • Upon further review (of film) Todd Graham was pleased with his team's effort.

  • Some next-day reactions to Cal's win at Northwestern.

  • The loss to Colorado State put a dent on Colorado's potential bowl plans.

  • The early returns are positive on Royce Freeman.

  • Some lingering thoughts from Oregon State's performance.

  • Easy day for the Cardinal, which looked as prepared as they could be for USC in Week 2.

  • Some thoughts on UCLA's lackluster first game.

  • Some USC notes ... including the fast start from the Trojans' youngsters.

  • Utah is excited about its arsenal of offensive weapons heading into the Fresno State game.

  • Danny Shelton stood tall for the Huskies.

  • Some WSU notes and quotes from defensive coordinator Mike Breske.

Just for fun

Saw this Saturday night and had to tweet it out, because it's equal parts awesome and adorable.

 

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