Pac-12 football power rankings after Week 5
Remember: Rankings should be based on results, not future projections or betting odds. Not everyone thinks this way, but it is exactly how college football rankings should be handled.
Ohio State should be ranked higher than Michigan because it won at Notre Dame. Florida State should be ranked higher than Georgia because of its victories over LSU and Clemson. Rankings should not be based on reputation, or what happened last season, or who is projected to win the national championship in a few months. This should be a results-driven process with no consideration for the future, only the past five weeks of actual scores against specific opponents.
With this in mind, let’s give you the Pac-12 football rankings after Week 5:
STANFORD
The loss to Sacramento State keeps the Cardinal in last place.
ARIZONA STATE
Losing to Cal will keep ASU near the bottom for at least a few weeks if not more.
CAL
Cal barely beat Arizona State at home. That’s good enough for 10th place and avoiding a fall to 11, but there’s no real upside for this team.
ARIZONA
Arizona put up a good fight against Washington, but a loss keeps the U of A in the lower half of the conference.
COLORADO
Colorado is the best two-loss team in the Pac-12. Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete CU coverage.
UCLA
UCLA prepares for a big one on October 7 against Washington State.
UTAH
Utah falls behind Oregon State due to its loss in Corvallis on Friday.
OREGON STATE
The Beavers move ahead of Utah after beating the Utes. USC and the other top teams in the Pac-12 love the fact that OSU and Utah both picked up losses in the conference before October began.
USC
USC’s resume is still not very good, but if the Trojans beat Notre Dame and Utah, their portfolio will look a lot better heading into November. Winning will take care of everything. The question is if Alex Grinch’s defense can avoid a bad loss.
OREGON
Beating lowly Stanford won’t improve Oregon’s resume.
WASHINGTON
Beating Arizona won’t improve UW’s resume all that much.
WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State didn’t play in Week 5 but remains No. 1. Why? How?
It’s not complicated: WSU’s win over Oregon State looks better after OSU beat Utah. Washington, Oregon and USC did not beat elite opponents. The Cougars have the best body of work through five weeks, and it’s clear.
