Colorado dominated their in state rival Colorado State 44-7 on Saturday to open up the 2016 season. It was an impressive performance for a team that has struggled to be competitive since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.

Colorado beat Colorado State with ease on Saturday. (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The scoring started off when quarterback Sefo Liufau fumbled the ball on a quarterback keeper, but it was scooped up by Alex Kelley in the end zone. Colorado would score 30 more points before the Rams would get on the board. It was an impressive offensive performance that benefited from the Buffs ability to keep CSU’s offense off of the field.

It wasn’t just Colorado’s offense that impressed, the defense did a fantastic job of shutting down Colorado States offense. The Rams two starting quarterbacks averaged 2.2 yards per pass, on 29 attempts, while holding their running backs to just 4.6 yards per carry. There was very little that CSU was able to do offensively on Saturday, and that was a major reason for the Buffaloes blow out victory.

A competent Colorado squad is a good thing for the Pac-12. And they looked like a competent squad in week one. It will be interesting to see if they can pick up a couple of Pac-12 wins during the regular season.

1) Stanford Cardinal: The Cardinal are breaking in a new quarterback, and several new starters on the offensive line, so it wasn’t a surprise that their offense struggled against Kansas State. Stanford’s defense held the Wildcats to 13 points, while the offense scored 26, and the Cardinal opened up the season with a win.

2) Oregon Ducks: A slow start against UC Davis turned into a blow out by the second quarter. Oregon’s newest transfer quarter back completed 21 of 30 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns in his debut.

3) Washington Huskies: Washington’s offense didn’t take very long to get going against an over matched Rutgers squad. The Huskies rolled up 380 yards of offense, while the defense kept the Scarlet Knights out of the endzone until the game was already over.

4) Utah Utes: Utah’s defense shut out Southern Utah, and the offense managed to score 24 points in a controlled victory over the Thunderbirds. The Utes are breaking in a new quarterback this season and it will be interesting to see if they can get back to a bowl game.

5)Arizona State Sun Devils: ASU beat up on its FCS opponent to open up the season. The offense scored 44 points, while the defense held NAU out of the endzone until the back-ups were in the game.

6) California Golden Bears: Senior quarterback Davis Webb looked pretty good against Hawai’i in Australia on August 27th. Webb tossed four touchdowns in the 51-31 whipping of the Rainbow Warriors, and he looked like keep the offense moving despite the loss of first round draft pick Jared Goff; the Golden Bears defense is still a concern though as they gave up 482 yards of offense (and 31 points) to not very good football team.

7) UCLA Bruins: Josh Rosen made a couple of bad decisions, and the Bruins lost a close game against Texas A&M as a result. The Bruins annual implosion occurred during the first week of the season, which means that the schadenfreude at Bruins Nation started early this year.

8) Arizona Wildcats: Arizona’s fourth quarter come back came up just short, as a true freshmen kicker hit a game winning field goal for BYU as time expired. The Wildcats were out of the game until the scored a pair of touchdowns, to take the lead, in the fourth quarter.

9) USC Trojans: Getting annihilated by Alabama is not a great way to open up the season, especially if you’re looking to get back into the playoff discussion. The 52-6 beat down was the worst loss for the program  in 50 years.

10) Colorado Buffaloes: While the Buffaloes demolition of CSU was impressive, it’s hard to move them too high in the power rankings until they play power five opponents.

11) Oregon State Beavers: OSU went on the road and stayed in the game against a tough Minnesota squad. The offense started to look potent as they rolled up 317 yards and scored 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to walk out of Minneapolis with the win.

12) Washington State Cougars: For the second straight season, the Cougs opened up the season with a loss to a FCS team. It was a gut wrenching loss that is infuriating…but it’s an all too familiar feeling.

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