SALT LAKE CITY — The North is going to be a battle.

Oregon, Stanford, Washington and Washington State all have records of 4-1 and will clash against each other to help decide the division leader. The Cardinal and Huskies sit on top of the leaderboard with 2-0 conference records.

Here’s a look at how the Pac-12 performed in Week 5.

Arizona (2-3, 1-1 Pac-12) vs USC (3-2, 2-1)

Score: USC 24, Arizona 20

Game recap: USC built a 24-point lead in the third quarter, but two fumbles in the fourth gave Arizona a chance to get back in the game. The Wildcats scored on a 1-yard run, but they missed the extra point and the Trojans recovered the onside kick to win with a sigh of relief.

Key stat: USC had 18 penalties for 169 yards.

Conference implication: USC has plenty to clean up during their bye week. The Trojans played well in the first half but stalled in the second.

Arizona needs to get in the rhythm of playing when the clock starts. The Wildcats took too long to get going and had to come back from a double-digit deficit.

Next opponent: USC enter its bye week before hosting Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 13. Arizona travels to California on Saturday.

Arizona State (3-2, 1-1) vs Oregon State (1-4, 0-2)

Score: Arizona State 52, Oregon State 24

Game recap: Things appeared to be settled early when Arizona State jumped to a 17-0 lead, but at halftime Oregon State cut the Sun Devils’ lead 31-17. In the second half, the Beavers had the ball fourth-and-goal at the 1, but a false start penalty pushed them back and the pass fell incomplete. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils kept adding to their score to get the win.

Key stat: Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin rushed for a program record 312 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries.

Conference implication: Arizona State got its first conference win of the season. There’s still work to do, such a avoiding missed tackles, but the run game looked absolutely electric.

Oregon State has now lost 22-straight games on the road. The run defense really didn’t exist. It looks like it’s going to be a long season for the Beavers.

Next opponent: Arizona State travels to Colorado on Saturday. Oregon State hosts Washington State on Saturday.

Score: Oregon 42, California 24

Game recap: After an exploding 21-point second quarter, Oregon entered halftime with a 28-10 lead. The Bears later trailed 35-10 but scored twice to get within 35-24. The Ducks sealed the win by intercepting California with 3:02 left for a 32-yard touchdown.

Key stat: The Ducks owned the turnover battle with five takeaways.

Conference implication: Oregon’s defense was stellar and quarterback Justin Herbert played well as usual. The Ducks’ matchup against Washington in a couple of weeks will be intriguing for the North.

California gave up too many big plays and both quarterbacks weren’t accurate and struggled.

Next opponent: Oregon enters its bye week before hosting Washington on Saturday, Oct. 13. California travels to Arizona on Saturday.

Colorado (4-0, 1-0) vs UCLA (0-4, 0-1)

Score: Colorado 38, UCLA 16

Game recap: UCLA had a 16-14 lead early in the third, but Colorado attacked with its ground game to score 24 unanswered points. Big plays led the Buffs to the end zone, including quarterback Steven Montez finding receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. for 57 yards to set up a score. Montez also scored his own touchdown as he ran untouched for 35 yards to the end zone.

Key stat: Montez finished 22-of-26 passing for 237 and rushed 81 yards. He has completed 75.8 percent of his passes through the first four games.

Conference implication: The last time the Buffs started 4-0 was in 1998. While they finished the game strong, they struggled at the beginning with penalties on both sides of the ball. This season is starting as a successful one for the Buffs. They checked off their first conference win; now it’s time for a bigger test when the Buffs take on the Sun Devils.

Oh, the Bruins have lost 12-straight road games, 11 being conference matchups. Their last conference win on the road, believe it or not, was in 2015 at Utah.

Next opponent: Colorado hosts Arizona State on Saturday. UCLA hosts Washington on Saturday.

Score: Notre Dame 38, Stanford 17

Game recap: Stanford and Notre Dame traded touchdowns until the Fighting Irish jumped ahead 21-14 at halftime. The two teams would score a field goal each to start the second half, but Notre Dame was able to find the end zone twice in 14 seconds in the fourth thanks to Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello throwing an interception.

Key stat: Costello threw for only 174 yards.

Conference implication: The Cardinal’s offensive line needs to improve tackling. Costello was hurried and running back Bryce Love had a hard time on the ground.

Next opponent: Stanford hosts Utah on Saturday.

Utah (2-2, 0-2) at Washington State (4-1, 1-1)

Score: Washington State 28, Utah 24

Game recap: The score was tied at 21 at halftime, then the defenses got to work in the second half. Utah would only score on a 41-yard field goal in the latter half to go up 24-21. Washington State tried to even the score again, but their field goal attempt was blocked. Quarterback Gardner Minshew struck the ball 89 yards for a touchdown that would eventually give the Cougars the win.

Key stat: It was a game of opposites with Utah rushing 204 yards and Washington State finished with 0.

Conference implication: The Cougars are on a roll. They’ve won 10-straight home games, their longest streak since winning nine in a row in the 1940s.

Penalties hurt Utah. They called back a touchdown and kept pushing the Utes farther away from the end zone in a must-score drive with less than a minute left in the game. The offense finally woke up with the run game working, so now it’s time for Utah to clean up its play.

Next opponent: Washington State travels to Oregon State on Saturday. Utah travels to Stanford on Saturday.

Score: Washington 35, BYU 7

Game recap: Washington dominated on both sides of the ball. By halftime, the Huskies led 21-0. They were on their way to their first shutout of a ranked opponent since 1990, but a muffed punt led to a 1-yard touchdown with 41 seconds left in the game.

Key stat: Washington allowed just 7 first downs.

Conference implication: The Huskies are playing well on all sides of the ball. Quarterback Jake Browning is shining as is the run game. It’s going to be a battle for the North.

Next opponent: Washington travels to UCLA on Saturday.

Related topics