Pac-12 Football 

Vilardo: Week 4 Pac-12 Football Notes and Milestones

, 4 min read
Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee looks to pass against Vanderbilt| Mark Zaleski/AP

Posted on September 24, 2021


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports

The Pac-12 enters into a full slate conference play with six contests in Week Four. Of those six, four are interdivisional.

So far, the interdivisional record sits at 1-1, with USC splitting with two North opponents with a loss to Stanford and win at Washington State.

Drake London | Young Kwak / Associated Press

Last year, the South held a 6-4 mark against teams from the North. In 2019, the South owned a 13-11 mark over the North. In 2018, it was the North with a 15-9 edge in the crossover games.

Those 15 wins equaled the most by one division in a single season, equalled by the South in 2014 and by the North in 2011 and 2012.

Overall, including the two games played this season the North is 120-108 in games vs the South. The yearly breakdown in crossover games is shown in the chart below.

YearWinning DivisionRecord
2021Tied1-1
2020South6-4
2019South13-11
2018North15-9
2017South13-11
2016North13-11
2015North14-10
2014South15-9
2013Tied12-12
2012North15-9
2011North15-9
TotalNorth120-108

Oregon has the best win percentage in regular season crossover games at .703, and Stanford has the most wins with 27, including their win over USC to open conference play this season.

The Trojans are the most successful team from the South; their victory over Washington State last week was their 25th over a team from the north.  

TeamRecordWin %
Oregon26-11.703
Stanford27-12.692
USC25-14.641
Washington24-14.632
ASU19-18.514
Utah20-19.513
WSU20-19.513
UCLA18-21.462
Arizona14-23.378
OSU14-24.368
Colorado12-25.324
Cal9-28.243

The Conference still has four nonconference games pending, with Stanford and USC meeting Notre Dame, and Washington State and USC facing BYU later in the season.

So far, the Pac-12 has gone 16-16 against other conferences, including a 3-6 record against Power 5 conference opponents. In 2019 the Pac-12 was 24-11 in nonconference regular season games and 6-5 against Power 5 opponents.

Should the conference win out in those last four nonconference games, it would give it a 20-16 mark—the fewest non-conference regular season wins in the Pac-12 Era.

The prior low mark was 2011 when the conference owned a 23-12 mark in non-conference regular season games. 

A Look at a Few Pac-12 Players among the National Leaders

• USC’s Drake London is currently second in the nation with 9.7 receptions per game, while Stanley Berryhill III is third with 9.3 for Arizona. 

• London’s 125.0 receiving yards per game are the sixth most nationally. His 13 receptions last week were the second-most by any player in the nation in a game this season, trailing only the 14 that Jalen Cropper recorded for Fresno State against UCLA. 

Lloyd

• Devin Lloyd is second in the nation with 12.7 tackles per game on the season.

• Kyu Blu Kelly leads the Pac-12 and is tied for fourth nationally with 2.0 passes defended per game. 

• Trevon Clark has had three receptions this season of 50-yards or more, the third most of any player in the nation.

• Rachaad White is averaging 5.0 receptions per game, the fourth-most of any RB in the nation

• BJ Baylor has scored seven touchdowns this season, giving the Beaver the third-most in the nation on the season. 

• Oregon ranks fourth in the country with a turnover margin of 2.33 per game; the Ducks are +7 in the turnover category for the season, the third-highest total margin on the season. 

Washington football pac-12• Washington is tied for fifth in the country with five interceptions on the season, and the Huskies are fourth nationally in passing defense, allowing just 123.0 yards through the air per game. 

• Arizona and Utah are having a tough time converting third downs this season. The Wildcats are last in the nation (130th) with a third down conversion rate of .200. The Utes are 124th at .282

• California is having difficulties getting opposing offenses off the field on third-down, allowing a conversion rate of .481, 114th in the nation.

• Southern Cal and Washington are two of 19 teams in the nation that are still perfect in the Red Zone this season. The Trojans have converted on 12 of their attempts this season, while the Huskies have gotten points on all seven of their trips inside the opposing 20.

• Stanford is one of 26 teams that have yielded points every time an opponent has entered the Red Zone

Follow Stephen on Twitter @StephenVilardo and his organization @SERCenter.

Visit his website at sercstats.com.



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