Pac-12 football power rankings, Week 2: USC, Arizona shine in openers

12. Colorado Buffaloes (0-1)

Someone needs to talk to Colorado athletic director Rick George about non-conference scheduling. The Buffaloes play Air Force and Minnesota before they begin their conference schedule. Colorado need wins to build confidence and to help recruit players.

The offense looked stagnant, and the defense was porous in their 38-13 loss to TCU. What’s worse, they took the loss at home. An easier non-conference would help the Buffaloes settle into the season.

11. Oregon Ducks (0-1)

Oregon’s first game against the Georgia Bulldogs was ugly early and often. The Ducks got bad Bo Nix against the ‘Dawgs in the Mercedes Benz Dome. What was most surprising about the game was how badly Oregon was dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Also, Stetson Bennett threw the ball all over the field against the Ducks. Georgia’s offense is much better than we thought or Oregon is not as good.

10. California Golden Bears (1-0)

There is not much to take away from California’s 34-13 against UC Davis, but head coach Justin Wilcox has to like how well Purdue transfer quarterback Jack Plummer looked in the game. Plummer threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bears get another winnable game against an improved UNLV team before traveling to South Bend to play Notre Dame.

9. Stanford Cardinal (1-0)

There are some concerning numbers from Stanford’s 41-10 route of Colgate. Take away E.J. Smith’s 87-yard run; the Cardinal had just 82 rushing yards on 27 carries against a mid-tier FCS team. The big plays are good, especially against a bad team, but there is some concern about how efficient the Cardinal was on a down-to-down basis.

The Cardinal will get tested next week when they play No. 10 USC on the Farm.