Wild comebacks, big games and what’s on TV? Breaking down the Pac-12’s month to come

College football is a very passionate, confusing, unpredictable and entertaining sport. If you need an example of this, all you have to do is look at the Pac-12. Anything you might have thought was certain a month — heck, even a week ago — is indeed not.

If we’ve learned anything about the conference, it’s that the month of November is going to be pretty insane.

Utah vs. month of November

Halloween is Wednesday but Utah’s boogeyman is still around the corner.

Since becoming a member of the Pac-12, Utah’s record in the month of November is 13-15. Their path is as clear as any Power 5 school; you win out and you’re playing for a conference title at Levi’s Stadium on Nov. 30. So, what does the road look like for the Utes?

Nov. 3: At Arizona State

Nov. 10: Oregon

Nov. 17: At Colorado

Nothing is easy and this list doesn’t include the season’s final contest against BYU. If Utah and head coach Kyle Whittingham want to go from a good program to a great program, they’ve got to get it done in the month of November, anything less than three conference wins would be a disappointment.

My apology to Herm Edwards

When Herm Edwards was hired at Arizona State, plenty of people (me included) made fun of the hire. He’d never been the head coach of a college program and he’s not exactly the prototype of any modern coaches. Now, Edwards has got Arizona State sitting at 4-4 and 2-3 in a very wide open Pac-12 South.

Herm may not reach a conference title game and may be 6-6 or even 5-7 but it is clear he’s connected with these kids. I don’t know how he’s doing it but the players have bought in. Winning at USC can go a long way and they are far from out of the Pac-12 South race. A win this coming Saturday vs. No. 16 Utah makes things even more interesting.

My bad Herm, my bad.

Pac-12 Network doubleheader that like, seven people saw

We often joke about how the Pac-12 Network is rarely seen by anybody but Saturday’s doubleheader proved to be why people actually want to watch the conference network.

Oregon State came into their game at Colorado winless in the conference and by far the worst team in the league, so seeming them go down 31-3 is expected. What wasn’t expected is the comeback. Yes, Oregon State rallied to defeat a more than likely-bowl bound Colorado, 41-34 in overtime.

As that was wrapping up, Stanford was hosting Washington State in a big North division showdown and that got even bigger after Cal defeated Washington. So arguably the most important game of the day became even more important.

Some people, one of those whose name rhymes with Andrew Hammond, were forced to hit the internet and watch a stream of the game. Larry Scott’s conference could’ve really captured some eyeballs and ears if they didn’t treat their network like an afterthought.

How are we going to figure out the rest of the Pac-12

Two months in and both divisions are wide open. Multiple teams still with a chance to reaching the Pac-12 title game.

Here’s a list of games to look out for in the season’s final month.

Nov. 2-3

Arizona at Colorado: Elimination game in the Pac-12 South

Utah at Arizona State: Pac-12 South leaders hit the road

Stanford at Washington: Elimination game in the Pac-12 North

Cal at Washington State: Best hope for the Pac-12 in the playoff hunt is the Cougs.

Nov. 10

Utah at Oregon: South division leader on the road

Washington State at Colorado: North division leader on the road

Cal at USC: Clay Helton needs a win, badly.

Nov. 17

Arizona at Washington State: Cougs control their destiny in the Pac-12 North

Utah at Colorado: Utes can wrap up a 3-0 month of November and a Pac-12 title berth with a win in Boulder.

USC at UCLA: Clay Helton’s job may be on the line at this point, a win over UCLA is much needed.

Arizona State at Oregon: The Ducks still have small hopes of impacting the Pac-12 race.

Stanford at Cal: Its rare that the “Big Game” will have two teams with winning records in it.

Nov. 23-24

Washington at Washington State: The Pac-12 North may be on the line in the Apple Cup.

Arizona at Arizona State: One or both of these teams could be playing for a bowl bid.

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Wild comebacks, big games and what’s on TV? Breaking down the Pac-12’s month to come."