With Pac-12 Conference Up For Grabs, Who Will Contend For The Title?
By Steve Olson
The Pac-12 continues to eat their own in conference play. Utah was the latest victim being downed by USC 42-24, after being ranked third in the nation and most likely ending their bid to make the College Playoffs. However they did not drop to far, they are ranked 13th. They are one of three teams ranked from the Pac-12, the other two are Stanford at 8th and UCLA at 24th. Cal was knocked out after their blowout loss to UCLA.
More from Autzen Zoo
- Oregon football: Ducks and Coach Prime playing it cordial leading up to Saturday
- Oregon Basketball: Non-conference slate features Michigan coming to Eugene
- Oregon football: Ducks find complete game effort in win vs Hawaii
- Oregon Ducks must get run game going against Hawaii
- 8 Pac-12 teams represented in Associated Press Top 25 after Week 2
Oregon was in a similar predicament last year, after losing to Arizona. They bounced back however, playing in the Pac-12 title game, avenging their loss to the Wildcats and making the college playoffs. So Utah can still make it, but it is quite a long shot for them, Stanford now looks like the overall favorite in the Pac-12.
After weeks of having clear favorites in the Pac-12 North and South, things appear to be closer then ever. It will be interesting to see how much Utah lets this loss effect them, as UCLA is only one game behind in Pac-12 play and overall record. So any slip up will have the Bruins leading the Pac-12 South. Everyone should take notice that USC is not out of it either, as they are tied with Arizona State and UCLA at second in the Pac-12 South.
Stanford looks like they have righted ship after opening the season with a sloppy loss to Northwestern. They haven’t lost a game since, sitting atop the Pac-12 North with 5-0 record in Pac-12 play. They are led by Christian Mccaffrey at running back who is having a great season, and has caught attention of Heisman voters. A Utah versus Stanford Pac-12 title game is a very real possibility.
More from Autzen Zoo
- Oregon football: Ducks and Coach Prime playing it cordial leading up to Saturday
- Oregon Basketball: Non-conference slate features Michigan coming to Eugene
- Oregon football: Ducks find complete game effort in win vs Hawaii
- Oregon Ducks must get run game going against Hawaii
- 8 Pac-12 teams represented in Associated Press Top 25 after Week 2
Sitting at second is a surprisingly good Washington State team. No one saw Washington State contending for the Pac-12 North title this season, after losing to Portland State, they only one game back with an overall record of 5-2. The Cougars have been beating quality teams all season first it was Oregon, and last week was Arizona. They face their most important test of the season this saturday, when they host #8 Stanford, game starts at 7:3o on ESPN. Mike Leach’s air raid attack seems to be finally working, as he has a great quarteback in Luke Falk to lead it.
The longshots to win the Pac-12 North are Oregon and Cal. After losing to Utah by only six points, Cal is coming off their worst loss of the season to UCLA 40-24. Cal’s only two losses come from conference play, their season only gets harder, so expect them to drop. Vernon Adams returned to Oregon after his injury, he is the best option at quarterback the Ducks have. Oregon has to win out to even contend, that will extremely hard, but Adams is their best chance to get them there. The Ducks play host Sun Devils this thursday at 7:30pm on ESPN. This is a must win for Oregon, if they loss this it will end their hopes to chase the Pac-12 North title.
Every year this seems to be a recurring theme in conference play, as each team knocks off contenders from the list. Teams will look to rebound from tough losses, and teams with big wins will try to carry momentum to the end of the season. Right now it looks like a Stanford and Utah Pac-12 title game. One shouldn’t be so sure as things can change really fast in the Pac-12.