— Once a rising star, Utah’s sophomore quarterback Travis Wilson doesn’t look the same these days.

— A strong column from the Arizona Daily Star’s Greg Hansen, on the Wildcats’ loss to UCLA.

— After a stint at Louisiana-Monroe, Arizona State defensive back Robert Nelson is living the dream in Tempe.

— Does the Pac-12 need an injury report? Seattle Times columnist Bud Withers says yes, citing the status of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

— Oregon will need bigger, stronger players to get over the hump and win a national title.

— Oregon State opened its basketball season with an awful, awful home loss to Coppin State. The Eagles hail from the MEAC, a league that was 1-89 against power conferences over the last two seasons.

— Stanford basketball fell 112-103 at home to BYU, which got 26 points from former UCLA transfer Matt Carlino. It was the Cougars’ highest-scoring game in 20 years.

— A trio of Washington players are exploring their Polynesian roots with an independent-study class at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

— Washington State receiver River Cracraft has caught nine passes for 143 yards in his last two games, but the bigger news here is that River Cracraft is someone’s actual name.

— Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour could have hired now-Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre out of San Jose State. Instead, Sonny Dykes will lead the Bears against the Buffs this Saturday in what is likely their only shot at a conference win.

The San Jose Mercury News’ Jon Wilner writes: “The last thing she needs is her hand-picked football coach to lose to the man many (myself included) thought she should have hired in the first place.”

It won’t help that the team has lost yet another defensive starter.

— USC is trying to make sure it doesn’t lose all its draft-eligible players.