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Pac-12 Football Power Rankings, Week 5: Playoff contenders dwindling down

By Kyle Grondin

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 31: Justin Herbert #10 of the Oregon Ducks looks for an open receiver against the Auburn Tigers in the first quarter during the Advocare Classic at AT&T Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 31: Justin Herbert #10 of the Oregon Ducks looks for an open receiver against the Auburn Tigers in the first quarter during the Advocare Classic at AT&T Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Quarterback Matt Fink #19 of the USC Trojans throws a pass against the Utah Utes at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Quarterback Matt Fink #19 of the USC Trojans throws a pass against the Utah Utes at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /

I’m back on the Buffs’ bandwagon. I hopped off one week, but here I am, back for more.

Colorado is one of the most entertaining teams in college football, and I think they’ve become must-watch TV every week. A dynamic offense, led by Steven Montez, Alex Fontenot and Laviska Shenault Jr., this team is just a joy watch move the ball.

Not to mention, a defense that bleeds points, it’s guaranteed to make every game a shootout, and down to whoever gets the ball last. If you’re a gambling person, Colorado overs is a line worth looking into the rest of the season.

Consecutive games against Arizona, Oregon and Washington State will prove just how many points this team can score.

You Coug’d it. Simple as that. No excuse for a team to lose when winning by 32 points in the second half. No excuse for a team to lose when your quarterback throws nine touchdowns.

It was tough go-round for the Mike Leach believers, as his aggressive play-calling probably backfired in this one, and turnovers let the Bruins back in it.

I still think this team is very good, but I think they’ll look back and kick themselves on this loss.

If you told me last week that USC was going to beat Utah with its third string quarterback coming in, I would’ve said, “Who’s the third-stringer?” followed by “no way.”

But here we are, the team that looked the class of the conference, down at the bottom of the Pac 12 North standings.

This team will definitely rebound, but this is not the spot they want to be in to start the campaign, and losing Zack Moss and potentially Tyler Huntley could prevail what was an otherwise promising campaign.

They need both healthy to beat a high-powered Washington State attack.

Unlike the rankings, I value head-to-head matchups in the early season. I think that Utah will be better going forward, but USC got the win, and that means something for now.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Trojans thus far, with Washington and Notre Dame next, with Slovis likely out with a concussion in the former game, against another good defense.

It will be a miracle if the Trojans can get out of these two games with a win, especially with a third string quarterback. They’re at a huge advantage starting 2-0 in the conference, that they can still compete for a conference title. The tiebreaker over the Utes will also be huge down the road.

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