Pac-12 Football Notebook: Week Eleven

Amidst a time of growth and optimism in the future Pac-12 Conference, this weekly series explores compelling stories & quotes from each Pac-12 member school.

Boise State

Boise State fans have suffered through a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. It started Saturday with their football team’s eye-opening upset loss to Fresno State. Misfortune continued to befall Bronco faithful Sunday when a season-opening stunner saw their men’s basketball team fall to NCAA D2 Hawaii Pacific. Back on the gridiron, a prized defensive back recruit decommitted, and one of Boise’s running backs decided to enter the transfer portal.

Despite the torment of the past five days, there is a silver lining: if the season ended today, Boise State would play in the Mountain West Conference championship game versus San Diego State. Coincidentally, that’s who they’ll play after wrapping up their final bye week. 

Colorado State

Fresh off a bye, the new look Rams are aiming for the win column. One key factor towards their success or failure will be scoring efficiency: when Colorado State reaches the red zone this season, they’ve scored touchdowns 75% of the time, but they’ve only managed 20 red zone trips through 8 games (130th in D1 FBS).

The Rams battle UNLV Saturday at 6:30 PM (PST) on Fox Sports 1.

Fresno State

Oh, what a difference a week makes. Seven days after being blanked by San Diego State, the Bulldogs tore through Boise State in a massive upset. Now, their destiny in the hands of that same Boise side: if Fresno State wins out, and the Broncos lose another Mountain West regular season game, Matt Entz’ team will play in the conference championship game. 

Their final three opponents are Wyoming (2-3 MWC, 4-5 overall), Utah State (2-2 MWC, 4-4 overall), and San Jose State (2-2 MWC, 3-5 overall). Before beginning that decisive stretch, the Bulldogs must first complete their bye week.

Oregon State

It’s all sunshine & rainbows in the Beaver State right now, as previously winless Oregon State rattled off two consecutive victories. 

They’ll have a good chance at a third win in a row Saturday night - winless Sam Houston comes to Reser Stadium - and a win might drum up support for interim head coach Robb Akey. Even if he doesn’t earn the full-time job, he’s already proven to be one of the game’s best interviews. 

Oregon State’s matchup with Sam Houston starts Saturday at 7 PM (PST) on The CW. 

San Diego State

After Boise’s big loss, the Aztecs are all alone atop the Mountain West Conference standings. With four games left until the conference championship game, San Diego State fans are beginning to ponder their first Mountain West Conference championship game appearance since 2021. 

First, the Aztecs must face one of their toughest opponents: the tarmac. After a long flight to The Big Island, the league leaders will face Hawaii’s Rainbow Warriors.Hawaii are always tough at home, and this season is no exception: their only home hiccup this season was a 23-21 slugest versus Fresno State in September. 

San Diego State and Hawaii square off Saturday night at 8 PM (PST) on the Mountain West app.

Texas State

The good news for Texas State fans is that they’re just four Saturdays away from a fiery bright future in a brand new conference. The bad news for Texas State fans is their underwhelming 2025 football season - with just one FBS win since the start of September - still has four weeks remaining.

One of those final four Sun Belt games pits Texas State at Louisiana. Coverage starts Saturday at 2 PM (PST) on ESPN+.

Utah State

All in all, it’s been a solid opening season for first year Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall. His Aggies likely won’t reach a conference title (2-2 MWC, 4-4 overall) but they’re two wins away from a bowl game. 

If fans want to dream bigger, there’s this: bragging rights over hated rivals Nevada, UNLV, Fresno State, and Boise State. A win over any of those teams would reverberate in Logan for the next nine months, and carry positive momentum into the Aggies’ Pac-12 future.

Utah State welcomes Nevada at 4:30 PM (PST) Saturday on CBS Sports Network.

Washington State

Our sister-publication Washington State Cougars onSI is calling for a shakeup on the Palouse, and for good reason: the Cougars offense disappeared in last week’s 10-7 upset loss to Oregon State. 

Over the bye, they’ll need to rediscover their scoring form, or their final three opponents - Louisiana Tech (5-3 overall), James Madison (7-1 overall), and Oregon State again (2-7, but they’ve already beaten the Cougs) - will make Wazzu faithful question coach Jimmy Rogers’ future in Pullman.