Stanford Football 2017: 3 Takeaways from loss to Washington State in Week 10

3. The middle tier of the Pac-12 is extremely mediocre

At one point in this season each of these teams spent some time ranked inside the top 15 teams in the nation. Given a bit more time each of these teams picked up a few losses and now look to be closer to fringe Top 25 programs. Both of these squads have some talented offensive pieces (Stanford has Love; Washington State has Falk) but neither has been able to take the next step.

That’s a problem for the Pac-12 whose College Football Playoff hopes have continued to narrow as the season marches on. Washington fell on the road to Arizona State and those hopes began to fade.

Other than the Huskies, who else in the Pac-12 really feels like they belong among the nation’s best teams? Washington was the No. 12 team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. USC (No. 17), Arizona (No. 22), Stanford and Washington State were the only other Pac-12 teams ranked at all.

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On Saturday, on the Fox Business Network, both of these teams looked rather lethargic and unexciting. When compared to the other big games on the Week 10 docket it was decidedly lacking. Whether it be either of these teams, USC, Arizona or someone else the excited that was on display in other conferences (see Bedlam or Iowa-Ohio State) put the Pac-12 to shame on Saturday.