At the start of the season it appeared as though USC senior Matt Barkley would be the face of the Pac-12’s quarterbacks this year. But an emerging crop of youngsters is stealing some of the attention in a league famous for its QBs.

The group is led by redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota, who has taken over No. 2 Oregon this season and leads an explosive offense that is averaging 53 points and 571 yards a game.

There’s also Sean Mannion, a sophomore from Pleasanton who was thrown into the fire last season but emerged to lead No. 18 Oregon State to consecutive victories over ranked opponents this year.

UCLA redshirt freshman Brett Hundley became the Bruins’ quarterback after outperforming two former starters, Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut, in training camp before going on to score on his first-ever collegiate snap.

Arizona State sophomore Taylor Kelly has won over skeptics by guiding the Sun Devils to a 3-1 start. And finally there’s Washington State sophomore Connor Halliday, who has been starting in place of injured senior Jeff Tuel and has averaged 285 yards passing in three games.

Kelly, Mariota, Hundley and Mannion rank atop the Pac-12, in that order, in pass efficiency. Barkley is fifth.

“It really is interesting, isn’t it?” Beavers coach Mike Riley said about the league’s young guns. “It bodes well for a lot of good football down the years here with these guys playing.”

BYU 47, Hawaii 0: Freshman quarterback Taysom Hill ran for 143 yards and a touchdown and passed for two more scores in his first start and Brigham Young cruised past Hawaii, spoiling former Cougars assistant coach Norm Chow’s return to Provo, Utah.

Freshman running back Jamaal Williams added 155 yards and two scores for BYU (3-2). He replaced starting running back Michael Alisa, who broke his right forearm in the first quarter.

Hawaii dropped to 1-3.

The game was delayed about half an hour as two Hawaii defensive tackles had to be loaded on backboards and carted off the field after apparent helmet-to-helmet collisions on back-to-back series during the first quarter.

Backup Geardon Hanohano and starter Siasau Matagiese were taken to a Provo hospital in separate ambulances. Team officials said initial X-rays to the neck area were negative and both had movement in their limbs.

Oregon vs. Washington State: For all the mistakes second-ranked Oregon made a week ago at home almost giving points away, the result was still an impressive shutout by the Ducks. While the flash of Oregon’s offense continues to get attention — and rightfully so — the Ducks defense is now also proving headline worthy.

The test for Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) was familiar last week, trying to slow down the spread offense of Arizona. Saturday night’s challenge is different and will put pressure on the Ducks secondary: facing Mike Leach and Washington State’s pass-happy offense in Seattle.

The Ducks should have no problem scoring on a struggling Cougars defense that collapsed in the fourth quarter last week versus Colorado. But this will be the first true test of an Oregon pass defense that so far is giving up only 210 yards per game through the air.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” Oregon cornerback Terrence Mitchell said. “(WSU receiver Marquess Wilson) is an NFL prospect, and a lot of us have those kind of dreams, so it’s a great opportunity to go show what we can do.”

Oklahoma: Offensive tackle Matt Beyer from Reagan High-San Antonio said he was told by Oklahoma offensive tackles coach Bruce Kittle that his scholarship offer to Oklahoma will not be honored, according to a story on ESPN.com.

Beyer, a four-star (out of five) recruit who committed to the Sooners on July 2, has been forced to give up football because he was diagnosed with the spinal-cord condition cervical stenosis about three weeks ago. He said he was born with the condition and that doctors told him there was a chance for permanent quadriplegia had he continued playing.

Because of NCAA rules, OU is not allowed to comment about the situation involving an unsigned recruit.