Saturday Night Five: Drama in Washington, blowouts elsewhere, ‘Pac-2’ trouble ahead, Cal’s rookie QB and more

Instant reaction to weekend developments on the field …

1. Late starts, lopsided games

A stacked lineup of night games along the West Coast on the first fully-loaded Saturday was devoid of drama, except in the Pacific Northwest.

Washington State needed a late field goal to secure a 13-10 victory over Idaho and avoid what would have been a sour start to coach Jimmy Rogers’ tenure.

Across the state, Washington used a dominant fourth quarter to put away Colorado State 38-21 and (partially) justify the optimism accompanying Jedd Fisch’s second season on Montlake.

A quick check of the numbers suggests the game should not have been close after halftime: The Huskies essentially doubled CSU’s yardage total, converted 8-of-14 third downs and averaged 5.5 yards per rush; but the margin was only 10 midway through the fourth quarter. Then tailback Jonah Coleman barreled into the end zone — he had 177 yards in total — and the Huskies were able to exhale.

All in all, the evening unfolded ideally for UW: A somewhat ugly victory over the Mountain West in Week 1 does far more to accelerate improvement than a blowout win over an FCS team.

And there were several of those, folks:

— Oregon, USC and Brigham Young offered a triple-whammy of wipeouts, defeating Montana State, Missouri State and Portland State by a combined score of 201-26.

— Arizona and Arizona State won by multiple touchdowns at home over Hawaii and NAU, respectively.

The former aired on TNT, which has joined the Big 12’s broadcast lineup this season. The latter was shown on ESPN+, at least for part of the game. The feed crashed in the second half, forcing ASU athletic director Graham Rossini to issue an apology on social media.

— Utah and Cal won by multiple touchdowns on the road in Pac-12 legacy games over UCLA and Oregon State, respectively.

The Utes were sharp with a new offense and new quarterback and the same old punishing play at the line of scrimmage. The Bears led throughout in Corvallis, thanks to a rookie quarterback.

We’ll have more on Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in a moment. First, let’s address the Beavers.

2. Problems for the ‘Pac-2’

Actually, let’s address the Beavers and the Cougars, because it could very well be a long slog for the Pac-12 holdovers in their final year before the conference reforms.

Washington State managed just 211 yards against Idaho and failed to meet our low expectations for the start of the Jimmy Rogers era.

So much is stacked against the Cougars this season after they lost Jake Dickert and John Mateer. But the refresh clearly is more comprehensive than even we imagined. The Cougars rushed for three yards against an FCS opponent — on 22 attempts, no less — that itself has a new coaching staff.

Meanwhile, the Beavers were completely outclassed in the first game of Trent Bray’s second season. (A few more performances like that, and we’re not sure there will be a Year 3 for Bray.)

Oregon State trailed 14-0 midway through the first quarter, Bray looked angry and frustrated all game and new quarterback Maalik Murphy, the source of so much hope in Corvallis, was no better than any of his immediate predecessors.

It was a deeply disappointing performance compared to what was expected. If Oregon State doesn’t make major strides quickly, the door into the postseason will slam shut before October arrives.

3. Hot Seat status check

Bray isn’t the only second-year coach in charge of his alma mater with plenty to prove this season: UCLA’s DeShaun Foster is riding shotgun. And the Bruins looked as bad as the Beavers did in their 43-10 loss to Utah in the Rose Bowl.

The Hotline has seen nothing from Bray or Foster through two off-seasons and 13 games to suggest either is capable of changing the current trajectory. Frankly, they look overmatched.

On the other hand, three coaches who entered the 2025 season under elevated pressure delivered impressive performances.

Lincoln Riley and USC walloped Missouri State 73-13, the highest-scoring game for the Trojans since 1930.

Justin Wilcox and Cal thumped Oregon State 34-15, a huge victory for the Bears to make their bowl math work.

Brent Brennan and Arizona drubbed Hawaii 40-6, a score more impressive than it appears.

While it was the first game of Brennan’s second season, the Rainbow Warriors beat Stanford in Week 0 and had, in theory, worked through all the glitches that accompany season openers.

But Arizona was far more efficient Saturday night, forcing five turnovers and committing none.

The lopsided victories guarantee nothing for Brennan, Wilcox or Riley as they navigate critical seasons. But if you’re envisioning scenarios in which each coach secures his job for 2026, the paths imagined probably match the performances that played out Saturday.

4. QB watch

The Hotline watched all or parts of 18 games over the course of 14 hours Saturday, with our attention focused on the new quarterbacks across the land, from Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Texas’ Arch Manning to Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. and WSU’s Jaxon Potter.

The most impressive new quarterback (relative to our expectations)? Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the freshman who signed with Oregon last winter, was on the Ducks’ Rose Bowl roster, then transferred to Cal in early January.

Sagapolutele is a 6-foot-3 lefty who completed 20-of-30 passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions and looked like a future star. He delivered the ball on time and on target, in tight windows where only Cal’s receivers could reach it. He displayed touch when touch was required and threw with juice when juice was needed.

We knew Sagapolutele was talented and the most important recruit of the Wilcox era. But he was better than expected — far better than expected — and just might be the missing piece that pushes Cal into the eight- or nine-win realm.

5. Conference hierarchy

The biggest winner from a stellar series of matchups across the country? Nobody.

We’ll call the Power Four quest for supremacy a tentative draw through Week 1, pending the outcome of intriguing games Sunday and Monday.

Here are the records of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC against each other:

ACC: 2-2, with Florida State’s win over Alabama as the headliner.

Big 12: 1-3, with Utah’s blowout at UCLA as the lone victory.

Big Ten: 2-1, with Ohio State’s takedown of Texas atop the list.

SEC: 3-2, with LSU’s win at Clemson somewhat offsetting the losses by Texas and Alabama.

We’ll take a deeper dive into the power conference pecking order after the holiday weekend schedule is complete and then each week through the first month of the season.

Success in the inter-conference duels isn’t merely about bragging rights on social media. It will impact the College Football Playoff selection process.