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          Pac-12 Blog

          Pac-12 morning links

          • Kevin Gemmell, ESPN Staff WriterSep 23, 2014, 08:00 AM ET
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            • Pac-12 reporter
            • Joined ESPN.com in 2011
            • Graduate of the Santa Clara University
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          Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?

          Leading off

          The Eliminator is a cruel mistress. And this past weekend she claimed another victim. Add the California Bears to the "Better Luck Next Year" category after Arizona's dramatic come-from-behind victory on Saturday in Tucson.

          Here's what Mark Schlabach had to say about the Bears:

          If Clemson blowing a late lead is "Clemsoning," what in the world do you call what the Bears did at Arizona on Saturday night? Cal blew a 31-13 lead in the fourth quarter, giving up 19 points in the final 3:30. The Bears surrendered a 47-yard Hail Mary on the final play of a 49-45 loss.

          Obviously, the playoff hopes of the Pac-12 didn't rest on Cal. While the Pac-12 blog likes what it sees from the Bears, let's get to a bowl game first before we start talking playoffs. That leaves the league with five teams under the "still in contention" category: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and UCLA. Oregon State, Stanford, USC, Utah and Washington are all "on the fence."

          Speaking of playoffs, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports weighed in with his weekly four-team projection and still has the Ducks as one of the top four teams.

          What's on tap?

          Athlon Sports projects the top five college football games this week, and two of their five are in the Pac-12. UCLA's trip to Arizona State -- rife with QB injury intrigue -- tops their list. And with good reason. The winner of the UCLA-ASU game has gone on to win the South Division the last two years.

          They are also eyeballing the Stanford-Washington showdown. Here's why:

          One of these teams has to start looking like a Pac-12 North contender, right? Stanford has been inept in the red zone, and Washington is letting bad teams hang around.

          This should be an interesting matchup because both teams have struggled with consistency. Normally Stanford is the master of clean, efficient play. And when another team plays inconsistently, the Cardinal pounce. But neither team has really played up to its potential yet. The Pac-12 blog is confident they've both just been saving it for this game.

          News/notes/team reports

          • Cal's blunders were Arizona's gain.

          • The Sun Devils are expecting to see Brett Hundley.

          • Some grades for Cal's game against Arizona.

          • Slowly but surely, the Buffs are making progress on offense.

          • Devon Allen emerging as a big-play threat for Oregon.

          • When Victor Bolden went down, other OSU receivers stepped up.

          • "Grades" for Stanford's bye week.

          • Tough break for the Bruins, who lose Randall Goforth for the season.

          • Adoree' Jackson narrows his focus during the bye.

          • Some new faces have been big contributors for Utah.

          • The roundup from Chris Petersen's Monday meeting with the media.

          • Some grades from WSU's game against Oregon.

          Just for fun

          Not necessarily fun, just gnarly.

          So far, I'd say so: