Staff Roundtable: Is Oregon Better Than USC?

In this week’s roundtable, we debate if Oregon should be ranked ahead of Southern California after week one, how concerned Stanford should be after a nail-biter against San Jose State, what we learned from the Nevada vs. California game, and if we’re overreacting to how good Alabama is and how much Oklahoma struggled.

1) Would you put Oregon ahead of USC in your poll?

Ricky: I would keep them the same way. The reason being that they both played very easy opponents. This is going to be a question that will be asked every week and if they both keep winning the answer will not matter until USC and Oregon play this season.

Mike: Given the opponents I don’t think you can take too much from either based on what occurred in the second half. Both Oregon and SC put on a show in the first half, so I say leave it the same this week.

2) How concerned are you about Stanford after their opener?

Ray: I’m not concerned at all with Stanford’s performance.  You really don’t know what kind of team you have for the opener and that tends to be a game where an upset can happen.  You could look at close games all over the country this past weekend.  The most important part is that Stanford got the win.

Brian: The only reason I’m a bit concerned about the Cardinal is due to their schedule. This is a team that obviously needs more time to gel. I don’t believe Duke will be a pushover, then they have to open Pac-12 play with USC and Washington.

3) What did you take from the Nevada victory over California?

Ricky: I think this game just shows how big conference teams look a Nevada. They think it is going to be easy then BOOM! Nevada upsets them. Cal will be fine, but they are not going to be the Pac-12 champ.

Ray: The Bears are in for a long season.  I expected California to win this game at home and to lose it with a new coaching staff does not bode well for the rest of the season.

4) Is Alabama that good, should we be concerned about Oklahoma, or are these overreactions from opening week?

Mike: Alabama is good but Michigan I felt was a smoke and mirrors team who was just outclassed. El Paso is a tough place to plan and I don’t think OU expected it to be. UTEP had chances to take the lead missing three FG’s in the game, like Stanford if the Sooners struggle against Florida A&M next weekend in Norman I’m concerned.

Brian: Michigan was not a top 10 team, and they were highly overrated considering their quarterback has never been an accurate passer. The blowout didn’t surprise me, but Oklahoma coming out of the gate slowly did. Perhaps it was the late start, or opening on the road, but calling the Sooners overrated may be an overreaction at this point.

Each week, the staff at Autzen Zoo will react on the previous day’s games in Pac-12 football and other news that happens in the conference, along with a question from the college football landscape overall. Our current staff includes lead editor Brian Spaen, along with staff writers Mike Vamosi, Raymond Mencke, Jr., and Ricky Widmer.