NCAA Football

Pac-12 power rankings: The conference is a hot mess right now

We’re only five weeks into the college football season and the Pac-12 is doing what it does best, eating its own.

No. 5 Washington annihilated No. 15 Stanford 44-6 under the lights on ESPN. While the Trojans jumped all over Arizona State in an 41-20 rout at the Coliseum in Los Angeles to bring an end to the Sun Devils’ hopes for an undefeated season. And on top of that, Cal upended No. 24 Utah on a surprising goal line stand in Berkeley, Calif. For the night cap, Washington State ran over the Ducks in route to its second straight victory over the Ducks.

The Pac-12 is already destroying itself, and we’re only in week five.

1) Washington Huskies: Yup this is a thing, no I do not like it.

2) UCLA Bruins: The Bruins were in control of the game from opening kick and they never really let Arizona into it. Quarterback Josh Rosen completed 20 of 37 passes for 350 yards (9.5 yards per pass) and three touchdowns; it was a dominating performance for the sophomore and one that many fans have expected from him since he arrived in West Wood.

3) Utah Utes: Utah ran seven plays from inside the Cal 10 yard line with two minutes left and were unable to punch it in…that’s not good (in case you were wondering). The Utes are hanging round the top three because Stanford and ASU didn’t look very good in their losses during the last week.

4) Stanford Cardinal: On a national stage the Cardinal’s vaunted offensive line was unable to keep Washington out of the backfield. As a result, the Huskies were able to constantly disrupt Stanford’s offensive rhythm and cause all sorts of chaos for senior quarterback Ryan Burns.

5) Colorado Buffaloes:  The Buffaloes throttled Oregon State 47-6 on Saturday. In the win, Colorado rolled up 563 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers. Colorado is now ranked No. 21 in the country and are 4-1 on the young season.

6) California Golden Bears: Cal was unable to get its rushing attack working against a stout Utah front seven — the Golden Bears finished the night with 56 rushing yards on 14 carries — and were held to an uncharacteristically low 49 plays. Despite being taken out of their comfort zone, Cal was able to win a nail biter at home.

7) Arizona State Sun Devils: ASU went to the Coliseum and played like crap. The Sun Devils were only able to gain 303 total yards against a Trojan defense that had looked awful earlier in the season. It was an awful performance for a team that had been looking to start the season 5-0.

8) USC Trojans: With their 41-20 romp over ASU, the Trojans are still (technically) in the hunt for the Southern Division crown. But it’s going to take a few more upset wins if USC is going to pick-up its second straight division crown.

9) Washington State Cougars: The Air Raid produced 280 rushing yards on 40 carries and six touchdowns. Jamal Morrow, James Williams, and Gerard Wicks all finished the game with two rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Luke Falk only tossed one touchdown, but cut through the Ducks like a knife — 371 passing yards while he completed 36 of 48 passes.

10) Arizona Wildcats: The Wildcats were never really in their game against UCLA, and that’s embarrassing five years into Rich Rodriguez’s tenure.

11) Oregon Ducks: The return of Royce Freeman wasn’t enough to help the Ducks offense overcome the struggles of Dakota Prukop’s in the passing game. Oregon is now 2-3 (0-2) and face No. 5 Washington next week, the Ducks path to a bowl game is narrowing.

12) Oregon State Beavers: Another conference game, another blow out loss. It looks like it’s going to be another long season in Corvallis.

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Photo Credit: Ryan Kang AP Photo