Last Week

Just like the Pac-12, my life was in shambles last week. But I am back and better than ever. Unfortunately, the Pac-12 may not recover as well as I did after being bent over by mid-terms. Mike Leach’s Washington State squad got dismantled at Berkley against the Golden Bears, USC barely squeaked by the Utes, and the most surprising upset of the week, Washington lost on the road to the Sun Devils.

This previous weekend showed how mediocre this conference is, and how up for grabs the Pac-12 really is. I really did not even think twice about Washington coming down to the desert and giving ASU an orientation on how to play football. Washington State was annihilated on the road by Cal, USC barely escaped at home against Utah, and UCLA lost to a very average Arizona Wildcat team.

Next In Line?

At this point, Stanford looks like they may be the most consistent team in the conference. With that being said, USC has the best chance to win this conference, and potentially snag a spot in the CFP. With the amount of one loss teams right now, and USC’s remaining schedule, they would be at the top of the one-loss teams based on strength of schedule. They have Notre Dame this weekend and finish with UCLA as the only notable games left on their schedule.

If Sam Darnold and the Trojans march into South Bend and come out victorious, they will leap easily into the top seven, and at that point, it is waiting for teams to fall in front of you. The same goes for Notre Dame if they win. They will be in an interesting spot as well, with a very tough remaining schedule of NC State, The U, and Stanford still coming down the road.

I think that USC has the most upside, but I think they may be one of the teams to fall to an unexpected opponent late in the year. Stanford may end up winning this conference, and it would only help Bryce Love’s Heisman campaign.

Bottom Line

This conference is tremendously average, and we should expect nothing less leading up to the conclusion of the year. We will see upsets this week, next week, and so on. Hold on to your horses, because the team that I didn’t talk about is Washington State.

Washington State beat that USC team and still has Stanford, Utah and Washington. This team could potentially win the Pac-12 North and face the Trojans again for a chance to sneak into the CFP. Mike Leach and the Older Ladies, or “Cougars”, could just sneak into the Playoff if the cookie crumbles correctly.