The Pac-12 has more legit Playoff contenders than any other conference, and it's not even close. Take a look:
Rank Team Conf Rec %Odds This weekend • Line 5. Southern Cal P12 4-0 31.3 @Colorado -21.5 6. Washington P12 4-0 30.6 @Arizona -18.0 9. Oregon P12 4-0 28.2 Stanford -27.0 11. Utah P12 4-0 12.2 @#13 Oregon St +3.5 13. Oregon St P12 3-1 9.5 #11 Utah -3.5 20. Washington St P12 4-0 3.7 idle 24. UCLA P12 3-1 1.5 idle
USC, Washington, and Oregon are all legit candidates for best team in the nation, and Utah might not be far behind if they get Cam Rising back. Meanwhile Oregon State remains a Playoff contender despite their loss to upstart Washington State, and UCLA can't be counted out either.
With all these teams in contention,will Week Five help us sort things out? Unfortunately, the answer is mostly no.
USC, Washington, and Oregon are all huge favorites. So unless a crazy upset happens—Colorado beating USC, anyone?—nothing's going to move here.
Meanwhile the longer shots, Washington State and UCLA, are idle so the needle won't move on them.
That leaves one game that will give us some answers: Utah at Oregon State.
It's a big one, though. It either damages Utah greatly before they can reach their full potential with Cam Rising, or it eliminates Oregon State from the discussion. Two losses in a league with so many contenders is a death blow at this stage.
Oregon State is a slight favorite. If the Beavers win it revives their hopes a bit, but mainly crushes the Utes' hopes.
What can we learn from the other games?
A bit.
Is Oregon the #1 team in the nation? Or is it Washington? Our early power ratings (All-Division and FBS-only) put those two at #1, respectively. We won't be able to make any definitive declarations seeing them against Stanford and Arizona, but it's more evidence, especially if one or the other struggles.
Does Washington have the #1 offense in college football? Or does USC earn that distinction? Or maybe Oregon? They're 1-2-3 in Adjusted Offense so far. Maybe we'll get some separation.
How bad is USC's defense? It ranks in the 90s early on, how accurate is that? They can prove a lot vs. Colorado's strong offense—like Oregon did—or get into a shootout that proves they haven't made progress from last year.
Will Oregon have a letdown after last week's high-emotion win? Stanford is a solid rival but it's hard to imagine their coach giving the kind of pep talk before the game against the Cardinal.
Will Washington thrive in their first* road game (*against an opponent who isn't in shambles from losing their coach a la Michigan State) ?
The Pac-12 has proven itself against the rest of the country already, but now its time to sort things out internally. We won't learn much this week without some upsets, but it will at least get the ball rolling.
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