North
1. Washington — The Huskies narrowly avoided an upset by Arizona a week ago, and then they curb stomped Stanford. They should be favored in every game remaining this season, so here is the Pac-12’s best chance at a playoff team. They should win out, but a random upset by USC or Oregon would turn the whole conference upside down.
2. Stanford — After looking like the Pac-12’s pick for the College Football Playoff, the Cardinal were destroyed by Washington. At least Arizona could keep the game close, that without having a Heisman candidate at its disposal.
3. California — With their victory over Utah last week, the Golden Bears are a dark-horse contender in the Pac-12 North. They could also miss bowl season entirely, so they must sweep the Oregon schools and defeat Washington State to stay relevant.
4. Washington State — Wazzu’s win over Oregon was huge, but its 0-2 start might be too much to overcome. Now, the Cougars might struggle to make a bowl with Stanford next week and UCLA, Washington, and other tough opponents looming ahead.
5. Oregon — The hipster pick to win the Pac-12 looks to be imploding in front of our very eyes. The Ducks started slow before upsetting Stanford and going on a tear, but don’t count on a similar result this year. Just two years ago, Oregon was in the National Championship, and now things are looking bleak in Eugene.
6. Oregon State — Even with its rival Oregon looking bad, Oregon State still looks worse. On November 19, the Beavers face the Arizona Wildcats in what will be the opposite of the Pac-12 Championship.
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South
1. Utah — The Utes ruined their perfect season by failing to score from the 1-yard line against Cal. Arizona has had Utah’s number lately, so the Utes will either blow the Wildcats out of the water, or lose a heartbreaker.
2. Colorado — Do not look now, but Colorado is the only team undefeated in conference play in the Pac-12 South. A win over USC would show the rest of the Pac the Buffaloes are contenders and not pretenders.
3. ASU — Both Arizona teams traveled to face Los Angeles schools and both were dismantled. A win might have put the Sun Devils in the top 25, but they were destroyed with a chance to make a statement.
4. UCLA — After a slow start to his sophomore campaign, Josh Rosen regained his swagger against the putrid Arizona defense. The Bruins are in a three-way tie for No. 2 in the division, so these next few weeks will get interesting.
5. USC — After it looked dead in the water, USC destroyed ASU at home to ruin the Sun Devils’ perfect season. Just when you think USC is drowned, the Trojans pull you back in with wins like this. What are the odds that USC beats Colorado then fires Clay Helton just weeks later?
6. Arizona — Of all of the Pac-12 South rankings, this one was by far the easiest. Rich Rod’s disdain for the state of California might only be matched by the Notorious B.I.G. during the East Coast-West Coast feud. The Wildcats also have as many injured quarterbacks as wins, so there is that.
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