TEMPE, Ariz. -- Larry Scott ushered in the Pac-12 title game, the Pac-12 Networks and $21 million in additional TV revenue for each Pac-12 member school. The only decision the conference commissioner may be questioning this weekend is the addition of Colorado and Utah.
The Pac-12’s two newest members got the South Division off to such a horrid start this weekend -- with losses to Utah State and Sacramento State -- that it looked like a downgrade was in order for the entire southern six-pack.
But then prime time dawned and the South’s stock started soaring.
First, UCLA stunned No. 16 Nebraska 36-30 behind 217 rushing yards from Johnathan Franklin and 305 passing yards and four touchdown passes from Brett Hundley.
Then Arizona State shredded an Illinois defense that boasted eight returning starters from a 2011 unit that ranked among the nation’s top 10 in several categories. The Sun Devils amassed 510 yards of offense in a 45-14 rout in Tempe.
But the biggest story of the night came in Tucson, where Arizona capped the conference’s marketing bonanza with a 59-38 whipping of No. 18 Oklahoma State, the program that took down Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl last season.
“There's no question our league is better than a whole lot of people think,” Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Everyone talks about the SEC, and rightfully so because they've won so many championships, but top to bottom, our league is really good.''
All current analysis must be tempered by the knowledge that we’re only two weeks into the season. A lot can still happen. But new coaches are expected to struggle in their inaugural seasons, particularly when they take over downtrodden programs like these three.
UCLA’s Jim Mora, ASU’s Todd Graham and Rodriguez never got that memo. They’re a combined 6-0.
"We just have a different mentality this year," Hundley said of UCLA. "We come out and learn from our mistakes, and we play our game. Coach Mora has done an amazing job with this team."
So how are the Bruins, Sun Devils and Wildcats doing it? Offense, offense and more offense.
UCLA amassed 653 yards of offense against Nebraska on Saturday, one week after rolling up 646 in a win over Rice. ASU is averaging is 532 yards and 54 points in two games. Arizona is averaging 562.5 yards and 41.5 points.
The scary part?
“We’re a long way away,” Graham said of his offense. “It’s closer now than it was a week ago ... but it’s only just beginning.”
All three offenses sport quarterbacks who did not play last season -- Hundley, ASU’s Taylor Kelly and Arizona’s Matt Scott. All three offenses are as new as their coaching staffs, and all three offenses sport multiple changes in personnel.
Yet all three are functioning efficiently and productively, even if their participants aren’t yet satisfied.
“We left a lot of plays out there due to turnovers or mental errors,” Kelly said of an ASU offense that turned the ball over twice in the red zone and tossed six incompletions in 29 attempts. “We’ve got to continue to gradually improve every week.”
If they can, the Pac-12 could prove far more interesting than previously expected, especially when you factor in Oregon State’s upset of No. 13 Wisconsin. But that’s a dream for another day. There are plenty of challenges ahead -- like ASU’s game next week at Missouri.
“One of the hardest things in this business is handling success. It is hard as heck to handle adversity, but I think it’s harder to handle success,” Graham said. “We’re in this thing to win a championship, not to win two games.”
FOXSportsArizona.com's Steve Rivera contributed to this report
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