Powerful Ducks in command out North

The Pac-12 North race isn’t over ... But it could be by next weekend.

The combination of 1) Oregon’s wipeout of Colorado on Friday night and 2) its head-to-head wins over Stanford and Cal plus 3) losses by Oregon State and Washington State means ...

The Ducks have at least a two-game over everyone in the division (H2H = Oregon headto-head win).

Oregon: 3-0 Stanford: 2-2 (Oregon H2H) Washington: 2-2

Cal: 1-2 (Oregon H2H) Oregon State: 1-2 Washington State: 0-3

The Ducks and their ferocious defense visit Washington on Saturday.

Win there, and they would have total command of the division.

Admittedly, we could be a half-step ahead of ourselves:

Let’s not read too much into the 45-3 win over Colorado. Impressive as the Ducks looked, they were facing one of the worst defenses in the conference and were the home team on a Friday night (typically a huge advantage).

But it sure feels like they’re a

level better than their division competition.

They could be three games clear of everyone by Nov. 1.

THE SOUTH IS PURE CHAOS >> Before the season, we expected Utah to control the division, while allowing for the possibility that USC could align the stars and push the Utes deep into November.

But the Arizona schools are lurking, hovering, waiting to pounce.

The current standings: Arizona: 2-1 Arizona State: 2-1 USC: 2-1

Utah: 2-1 Colorado: 1-2 UCLA: 1-2

All of which means the second half of the season should be riveting, thanks to the load of intra-division games remaining:

Utah plays the Arizona schools.

USC plays the Arizona schools.

ASU plays Utah, USC and Arizona.

The Wildcats have Utah, USC and ASU.

Then again, we’re not sold on Arizona as a fullseason contender:

The Wildcats were on top of the division, in large part, because of the schedule — they had played UCLA and Colorado, arguably the worst teams in the conference.

They looked like a second-class citizen against the Huskies.

But the Sun Devils, because they rarely beat themselves — just 13 turnovers in 19 games under Herm Edwards — should be in the race into November.

Eating your own (in all the wrong ways) >> The Pac-12 typically recommends that its head coaches delay communicating with conference HQ on officiating matters until Sunday afternoon, to give

vice president/officiating David Coleman a chance to get caught up on all the games and issues that unfolded over the course of Saturday afternoon and night.

Clay Helton will be tempted with dial up Coleman at the crack of dawn.

The Trojans were on the wrong end of a bad call that led to the decisive points for Notre Dame.

And Pac-12 officials were responsible.

If you missed it ... The Trojans were trailing 20-13 late in the third quarter but had momentum.

On third-and-six near midfield, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book threw an incomplete pass.

It should have been fourth down/punt/USC ball.

But the officials called Trojans linebacker Palaie Gaoteote for roughing the passer.

The first down led to an Irish field goal.

Those three points became the difference in Notre Dame’s 30-27 win.

But the play showed Gaoteote wasn’t guilty of roughing the passer:

The contact wasn’t unreasonably late; the force of the contact was to Book’s side, not head or chest; and the process of taking Book to the field wasn’t punishing.

In other words: Gaoteote didn’t drive Book into the ground.

Terry McAulay, the former NFL official who serves as NBC’s rules expert, was clear in his dislike for the call — not once but twice: On the initial review and then again a few minutes later.

Helton understandably blew a gasket.

Although the play ultimately impacted the outcome of the game, it might not qualify for public comment under the criteria set by the conference:

• Game-ending call or no-call impacting the result of the game

• Call involving a significant error in officiating mechanics

• Call involving an error in rules interpretation

• Other extraordinary circumstances SHIFTING BALANCE OF POWER >> After years of thriving internally and carrying the conference flag externally, the North is no longer the Pac-12’s dominant division.

Oregon could very well be the best team in the conference, but the South arguably has more quality depth. The Utes, Trojans and Sun Devils compare favorably with any group of three in the North, especially with Cal hampered by Chase Garber’s injury.

The South is 6-4 in cross-division games:

The shift might not last long, but it’s clear and indisputable.