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Pac-12 Football Power Rankings, Week 1: Can Utah be stopped?

By Kyle Grondin

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: Solomon Enis #21 of the Utah Utes catches a pass against the Brigham Young Cougars in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 24: Solomon Enis #21 of the Utah Utes catches a pass against the Brigham Young Cougars in a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /
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TEMPE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 29: Quarterback Jayden Daniels #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils throws a pass during the first half of the NCAAF game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Sun Devil Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 29: Quarterback Jayden Daniels #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils throws a pass during the first half of the NCAAF game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Sun Devil Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Arizona State got off to a really slow start against Kent State, only up 10-0 at halftime. But true freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels really came alive in the second half, amassing 297 total yards and three total touchdowns. He and running back Eno Benjamin will make a nice duo this season. Patience will be the key for Sun Devils fans, but Daniels does look like a future star.

If USC played the entire game like the first three drives, the Trojans be in the top three of these power rankings. The offense came out firing on all cylinders, and the defense recovered an early fumble to get a 14-0 lead. Then, the Trojans really struggled at times, and lost starting quarterback JT Daniels to injury. They’ll look to find some consistency in the battle of backup quarterbacks against Stanford in Week 2.

Speaking of Stanford, the Cardinal beat Northwestern in a very Cardinal-esque performance, winning 17-7 after a fumble recovery in the end zone in the last seconds. They were able to hold Northwestern to 210 total yards of offense, and the defense was solid overall. Losing star quarterback KJ Costello to injury is rough, as he’s questionable for next week, but the offense was uninspiring even with him under center. David Shaw has some work to do.

One of my favorite teams to watch over the weekend, Colorado has the makings of a sleeper from the Pac-12. Steven Montez only threw 20 passes, but spread the ball around effectively and is a very good quarterback. He and running back Alex Fontenot, who ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday, make for one of the best duos in the conference. They may not win the conference, but the Buffaloes be a fun team to watch over the season, and will upset a few teams. I think they pull of the upset in week two against an unconvincing Nebraska team.

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