After a disastrous start to the college football season in the PAC-12, where Washington lost the biggest out of conference game of the season, Arizona stumbled against a previously 4-9 BYU team, and UCLA fell in Chip Kelly’s debut in Pasadena, the conference rebounded remarkably in week 2.
Outside of a few blemishes, UCLA getting crushed by Oklahoma, and Arizona getting dominated by Houston, the PAC-12 showed very well on the national level.
The highest profile win was also the latest, with Arizona State shocking 15th ranked Michigan State in true PAC-12 After Dark fashion. ASU scored 13 fourth quarter points, and blanked the Spartans to move to 2-0 on the season. ASU will likely be an AP Top 25 team come Monday, and they’ve earned it.
Similarly, Colorado spoiled Scott Frost’s Nebraska debut with a come from behind victory in Lincoln. When teamed with ASU, the Sun Devils and Buffaloes appear to be true contenders in the South Division.
While Stanford and USC playing each other this early in the season is less than ideal for the conference, the outcome was ideal for conference fans. Stanford beat USC convincingly enough to prove that they are an upper-echelon team, It was an important game for Utes fans, as they are now a game up on USC in conference. If the Utes can knock off USC at Rice Eccles, they might be able to win the south, even if they rack up a few losses along the way.
Oregon and Washington will remain in the top 25 with convincing wins over far inferior opponents, while Cal and Utah got underrated wins on the road against tough teams in BYU and Northern Illinois. Utah could potentially climb into the top 25 with Florida, South Carolina, USC, and Michigan State losing.
