Pac-12 North
1. Stanford — A week-two bye for Stanford sets it up this week with a date against USC. This is the first of many tough games for Stanford, so it has to beat USC convincingly to put itself in a good position.
2. Oregon — Royce Freeman rolled over Virginia last week on his way to 207 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-26 win. Oregon might be flying under the radar this season, so watch out for the Ducks. Oregon’s schedule is also easier than Stanford’s, so the Duck’s have a puncher’s chance at the Pac-12 Conference.
3. Washington — Not only did the Huskies win last week, but their rival Washington Statem lost. On top of that, Washington lost to head coach Chris Petersen’s former team Boise State, so that was like two wins for Petersen.
4. Cal — Look on the bright side, Cal. Yes, you lost a heartbreaker to San Diego State. But you do get Texas next week. Wait, maybe Golden Bears fans should be pessimistic about this season. It is very reasonable for Cal to end its season on a six-game losing streak, so it will now be faced with the task of an upset.
5. Washington State — Ten wins seemed reasonable for the Cougars before the season, but now they are struggling just to get one win. Washington State is now playing catch-up in the division, but it should not be counted out just yet.
6. Oregon State — Just like Stanford, Oregon State had a bye this week. Chalk that up as a win for the Beavers.
Pac-12 South
1.USC — JuJu Smith-Schuster added to his list of victims as he de-cleated a poor Utah State defender. It does not matter if you are an opponent or a teammate—JuJu will hurt you.
2.UCLA — BYU caps off its Pac-12 South troika this week as it hosts UCLA. Josh Rosen should be able to take advantage of BYU’s secondary and pull out the win in Provo, Utah.
3.Utah — After BYU beat Arizona last week, Utah took it upon themselves to avenge the Pac-12 by beating its rival. The Utes avoid Stanford and Oregon this season, so nine wins could be well within reach.
4. Arizona State — Kalen Ballage had a barrage of touchdowns—eight, to be exact—scored against Texas Tech, tied for the NCAA record for touchdowns in a game. He has now temporarily leapfrogged over Christian McCaffrey, Royce Freeman and Myles Gaskin as the top running back out West.
5. Colorado — The Buffaloes are 2-0 on the season and now they get to travel to the Big House to take on Michigan. The Wolverines are currently 20-point favorites and if Colorado covers, that should count as a win. The Buffaloes are finally out of the cellar for the first time in years, so they should enjoy this while they can.
6. Arizona — The Wildcats did get the win, but it required the other team’s starting quarterback getting hurt mid-game. If he stayed healthy, Arizona may have lost to an FCS team by double-digits. As a result, the Wildcats are in the Pac-12 South cellar this week, as Colorado leapfrogged Arizona.
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