North
1. Stanford- The Cardinal narrowly escaped UCLA on the road and now face No. 10 Washington in Seattle. Christian McCaffrey has touched the ball at least 29 times every game this season, and that could reach 40 in a game with heavy post-season implications. If Stanford wins this game, the Cardinal might want to consider lowering his touches to not overwork the Heisman candidate.
2. Washington- A gutsy overtime victory over Arizona sets the Huskies up with a game against Stanford that could decide the division. Their running game had 352 yards and three touchdowns last week, so they should rely on the run again this week.
3. Wazzu- may be 1-2 on the season, but its lack of any conference games so far keeps the Cougars alive in the division. A win coupled with a Stanford loss means they can keep pace with the division leader, so the Cougars may want to cheer for Washington this week.
4. Oregon- With last week’s lost to Colorado, Oregon’s chances at winning the conference may be over. Last season, Oregon had a slow start before ruining Stanford and going on a tear, but this seems unlikely to happen this season. Mark Helfrich may be in over his head as head coach and Oregon may need to start over in Eugene.
5. Cal- The Golden Bears embarked on a shootout with ASU before ultimately falling short in a thriller. Cal may have lost the game, but #PacAfterDark is undefeated and underappreciated by our country.
6. Oregon State- The Beavers may have fallen to Boise State 38-24, but it was still a non-conference game. They have yet to kick off their Pac-12 schedule, so technically, they have not hurt themselves yet in the division hunt.
South
1. Utah- The only ranked team in the Pac-12 South is coming off a thrilling last-second win over USC. Utah gets the Golden Bears this week, so it could move into the top 15 with a victory over the underachieving bottom feeders of the Pac-12 North.
2. ASU- Don’t look now, but ASU is undefeated and trending upward in the conference. The Sun Devils are likely one win away from cracking the top 25. The Sun Devils are sizzling in Tempe.
3. Colorado- After beating Oregon on the road, the Buffaloes deserve much more respect to their name. They get Oregon State this week, so look out for Colorado as the Buffaloes are feeling it right now.
4. UCLA- The Bruins were close to pulling off the upset against Stanford, but ultimately fell short. Josh Rosen does get the Wildcats at home, so they might have a bounce-back game this week.
5. Arizona- The Wildcats were so close to pulling off the upset against Washington but ultimately couldn’t finish the job. A few plays here and there and Arizona is 4-0, but they came up short against Washington and BYU and those loses will cost them in the long run.
6. USC- After leading Alabama 3-0 in their season opener, it has been pretty much downhill for the Trojans. How a team can underachieve with their talented recruiting classes is a phenomenon. within itself.
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