College football is back and Oregon State and Stanford got their seasons under way in Week 0. But how will those performances impact this week's Pac-12 Power Rankings?
The Beavers were drilled on the road by Colorado State and the Cardinal steamrolled Rice (half-pun intended), as expected, in Australia.
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12. California
Until new head coach Justin Wilcox gets things rolling a bit, they'll be at or near the bottom. But this is a soft ranking right now, as Arizona shows the kind of downside that could unseat Cal at No. 12.[divider]
11. Arizona
Arizona's chances to stave off the cellar of the Pac-12 are, surprise, surprised, mostly about the quarterback situation. But that defense allowed 470 yards per game last season and whether or not they're markedly better in 2017 obviously remains to be seen.[divider]
10. Oregon State
The Beavers, at times, looked solid Saturday at Colorado State, but two things became clear in that game — a 58-27 loss; the defense still needs a lot of work and the offensive line either did not perform well or they're simply not that good.
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9. Colorado
The Buffaloes lost defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt to Oregon and three star defensive backs to the NFL. They also lost their starting QB. This is a great test for Mike McCartney. If Colorado wins 9-plus games again, he's the real deal.[divider]
8. Arizona State
The Sun Devils are going with Manny Wikins at QB over Alabama transfer Blake Barnett, but Todd Graham's job security lies on the shoulders of the worst defense in the conference last year. Opponents averaged more than seven yards per play against ASU in 2016. [divider]
7. UCLA
The Bruins have as much or more talent than the two teams ranked ahead of them, but QB Josh Rosen was hurt last season and frankly Jim Mora has been outcoached. A lot.[divider]
6. Utah
The Utes lost some talent to the NFL but return key defenders and Kyle Whittingham has himself a new starting quarterback in sophomore Tyler Huntley.
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5. Washington State
An argument can be made for Wazzu to be ranked a spot higher — they were better a year ago — but they did lose their two best wide receivers and safety Shalom Luani (3rd-round pick, Raiders).
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4. Oregon
Oregon's defense was awful in 2016 but Leavitt and head coach Willie Taggart have some talent with which to work and the offense is in good hands with athletic QB Justin Herbert, RB Royce Freeman and speed on the outside.[divider]
3. Stanford
Stanford's 62-7 win over Rice told us nothing but how bad Rice is as a football program. Oh, and that it's cool in Australia in August. Keller Chryst will be tested at USC September 9.[divider]
2. USC
The Trojans were very good once Sam Darnold took over at QB last season and are one of three teams that could represent the Pac-12 in the College Football Playoff.
If there are questions it's on defense where the loss of Adoree' Jackson and Leon McQuay III put some pressure on the USC depth chart right away.
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1. Washington
Yes, USC beat Washington in Seattle last season but the Huskies are loaded and a number of neutral observers believe the chance the Dawgs are better this season than last is very real.
Almost the entire offense returns, including Jake Browning and both running backs, and two freshman — RB Salvon Ahmed and TE Hunter Bryant — are expected to make an immediate impact.
