Stanford Rises, Washington and Arizona State Fall in Week 5 Pac 12 Power Rankings
Saturday Blitz Pac 12 Power Rankings Week 5
9. California Golden Bears, 3-1 (1-1), Defeated Colorado Buffaloes 59-56 in Overtime Last Saturday
In two weeks, California has lost in one of the worst ways possible and won in one of the most elating ways possible. This team could easily be 4-0 or 2-2 right now, so 3-1 makes perfect sense. Clearly, though, this is a decent Pac 12 team that can play with almost anybody.
The Golden Bears have dramatically improved this year, especially on offense with Jared Goff leading a passing game that has carried the offense to a 47.5 points per game average. That’s also helped by a pretty good rushing attack as well. The defense obviously has some serious issues, which is keeping it low in our power rankings, but at least the offense knows how to put up points and stay in games that way. However, improving the defense could make them a sure bet to be at least a 9-win team this year, which would be a dramatic upgrade.
With Washington State up next, the Golden Bears have a chance to get to 4 wins, but getting to 6 wins will still be difficult in this loaded conference. They could easily fall to 3-9 or have an 8-4 record with the way their season’s going.