Is There Really a Contender in the Pac-12?
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What a roller-coaster week five of college football has been! From upsets to the emergence of several contending teams. The Pac-12 joined in on the fun and created a flurry of exciting games.
Beginning with the primetime match between #3 Oregon at Stanford. Oregon became a surprising yet top team in college football with significant wins over Fresno State and Ohio State. Oregon coming as a popular team played an unranked Stanford that recently lost to UCLA. Having said that in the end, Stanford in a competitive overtime thriller upset the Ducks dropping them to the eighth spot in the AP Poll and 1-1 in the Pac-12 North standings. As Stanford, they increased their record to 2-1 in the Pac-12 North.
Arizona State vs #24 UCLA
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After starting their season upsetting former powerhouse LSU, the UCLA Bruins have been trending towards the decline and living up to the narrative of an average team that won’t compete in either the Pac-12 or College Football. After a close upset loss versus Fresno State at home, the Bruins week five hosted the 3-1 Arizona State Sun Devils. Coming in as a betting favorite, the Bruins were expected to come off a loss and bounce back and gain a win against an in-conference rival. Sun Devils thought otherwise and sealed a dominant 42-23 win at the Rose Bowl Stadium. Adjusting their conference records to 2-0 for ASU and 1-1 for UCLA knocking them out of the college football rankings.
Best of the Rest
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USC (Away) vs Colorado (Home)
Score: 37-14
Takeaways: USC rebounded from a blowout loss versus Oregon State and easily defeated Colorado to balance their Pac-12 South record at 2-2. USC can be competitive with a win over Utah next week but as a team overall I would expect USC to be in the middle of the pack.
Washington (Away) vs Oregon State (Home)
Score: 24-27
Takeaways: Oregon State although 2-0 in the Pac-12 North appears to be an underdog and a sneaky team to win the Pac-12 considering they have two conference wins and a 4-1 record early on. That is not to say Stanford or Oregon won’t have a say in their division but Oregon State record-wise is very much a team to watch for moving forward.
Washington State (Away) vs California (Home)
Score: 21-6
Takeaways: I wouldn’t look much into this game as both teams don’t have the best conference or overall record. Washington State is 1-2 in the Pac-12 North and 2-3 overall. California is 0-2 in the Pac-12 North and 1-4 overall.
So as the Pac-12 begins to shape and we are beginning to see upsets left and right. Does the Pac-12 truly have a contender? Sure, Oregon is ranked eighth nationally but does their rank truly reflect how good a team they are? I know it’s early but with the no real team standing out in the Pac-12 besides 2-0 Oregon State and Arizona State as well as Oregon with their win against Ohio State. The Pac-12 looks to be up for grabs.
