Pac-12 nearly perfect on Saturday
COUGARS
FROM SEATTLE -- If not for USC's loss at Georgia yesterday, the Pac-12 would have run the table on a day full of games. Not a bad way to head into Christmas. Read on.
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Sure, the competition wasn't all that great. But it's not like the Pac-12 has cleaned up against non-BCS schools this season, so the conference will take a 7-win day, no matter how it comes. ... Not much WSU news out there today, although we do want to point you to this interesting story about Michael Crabtree, in which Mike Leach is quoted quite extensively. Most interesting to me were his comments about how Crabtree was unfairly deemed a difficult personality because of his shyness with the media. Hard not to draw a comparison there to Marquess Wilson, who would do just about anything to avoid speaking in front of a television camera. ... CougCenter's Jeff Nusser has some thoughts on the caliber of opponent WSU has been bringing in for its annual game in Seattle.
In Pac-12 basketball news ... As we mentioned earlier, there are a bunch of wins to recap. We'll start with Arizona State's convincing 77-62 win at Texas Tech, the second win there for a Pac-12 team from Arizona this season. ... Arizona cruised to a 73-53 win over East Tennessee State. The Wildcats play against Miami tonight (8:30 p.m., ESPN2) in the second round of the Diamond Head Classic. ... Washington held off Northern Illinois, 67-57, in Seattle. ... UCLA's freshmen led the Bruins to a 91-78 win over Fresno State. ... California crushed Prairie View A&M, 85-53. ... Oregon routed Houston Baptist, 91-50. ... Oregon State held off San Diego, 86-79, in Las Vegas. ... USC spoiled the party by falling, 64-56, at Georgia, the Trojans' 13th consecutive road loss. ... Colorado's early schedule has been a challenge.
In Pac-12 football news ... Washington capped its season with another last-minute loss, this one 28-26 to Boise State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas something or other. Washington's quarterback situation could be in flux this offseason. ... Arizona State lost a receiver this week for personal reasons. ... Arizona's offense raised the bar this season by smashing some records. ... Matt Barkley isn't complaining about the less-than-ideal conclusion to his USC career. ... Cody Vaz will start at quarterback for Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple