Pac-12 Football: Five things learned in Week 2

Sep 12, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) falls forward for a first down against the Oregon Ducks during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

After another exciting week of Pac-12 football, here’s what we learned from the conference and what it means for the teams moving forward.

Week two brought some exciting games to the west coast, and more than one team had a chance at redemption. Some of the programs in the Pac-12 blossomed, and some collapsed under the pressure of high expectations.

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There was only one match-up between top-25 teams in week 2, and that showed in the record. The conference went 10-2, with some impressive performances. The big game did not go the Pac-12’s way, but the overall momentum of the conference is looking good.

In-state rivalries, big time non-conference opponents, east coast road trips, and the trampling of a few FCS schools. Week Two was smorgasborg of football and fans everywhere other than the Pacific Northwest must have enjoyed it. But what did the games this week teach us about what to expect the of the 2015 season?

Some of the games taught us very little. The Washington Huskies stomping all over Sacramento State does not really mean anything. Sure, it was nice bounce-back victory after losing a close one in Boise, but ultimately that contest meant nothing.

Colorado hosting UMass and stampeding all over the Minutemen is another game that showed little we did not already know. UMass is a decent program on the upswing, but their talent level is still not close to that of a power-five conference like the Pac-12. It was good to see a downtrodden program like the Buffaloes to get an easy win, but ultimately the game did little more than pad the stats of future NFL draftee Nelson Spruce.

That is but a couple of matches, however, and there were plenty of games that taught us all about some of the Pac-12 programs, and without further preamble, here are five things we learned about the conference this week.

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