Pac-12 football rankings through Week 6 — the top two are ready for battle
The art of ranking football teams every week is based on evaluating resumes and seeing if there are meaningful differences between the two. However, the practice of carrying out rankings throughout a season is profoundly substantive only when we arrive at the final few games, and it becomes necessary to establish if one or more teams have a true College Football Playoff portfolio. We’re not at that point yet, midway through the season.
If fans get caught up in rankings in September or early October, they shouldn’t. Why? It’s simple: Rankings generally sort themselves out within conferences. National (cross-conference) comparisons are difficult, but internal comparisons aren’t that hard since teams within a conference usually play each other.
We have that precise scenario this coming weekend when Oregon faces Washington. The Pac-12 football rankings will look different after Week 7, so we don’t need to spend too much time worrying about Week 6. Nevertheless, here are the Week 6 Pac-12 rankings, based solely on results and not at all on future projections or betting odds:
STANFORD
Stanford’s one-point loss to Arizona looks a lot better now, but the Cardinal still have that loss to Sacramento State.
ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State is playing hard for coach Kenny Dillingham, but injuries have been constant and abundant, limiting what the Sun Devils can do.
CAL
Cal put up a good fight against Oregon State but lost. The Bears are 3-3 and have a lot of work to do in order to make a bowl game.
ARIZONA
Arizona lost to Washington by only seven and to USC by only two. If this is the team which shows up for the rest of the season, the Wildcats will be in a bowl game. Noah Fifita is unquestionably a quarterback upgrade over Jayden de Laura. That’s the big news to come out of the USC game.
COLORADO
Colorado is on track to make a bowl game. If it beats Stanford (which it should), it would need just one other win on its schedule to clinch a bowl bid.
UCLA
UCLA came up with a big win over Washington State. Why is UCLA ranked so low? The North Carolina Central game is FCS dead weight, for one thing. UCLA’s nonconference schedule was soft. More than that, however, is the fact that UCLA lost to Utah whereas Oregon State beat Utah.
OREGON STATE
Oregon State lost to Washington State while UCLA beat Washington State — why is OSU ahead of UCLA? The Utah tiebreaker is the main reason, but also, Coastal Carolina — a UCLA opponent — has not been good this season.
The larger reality of these rankings: The four one-loss Pac-12 teams all have a head-to-head loss against another member of the group: UCLA lost to Utah which lost to Oregon State which lost to Washington State which lost to UCLA. Someone has to be ranked lower. UCLA’s soft nonconference slate puts Oregon State ahead of the Bruins.
WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State’s win over Wisconsin elevates it above Oregon State and UCLA. Neither the Beavers nor the Bruins have a noncon win as good as that one. UCLA beat Wazzu, but in a four-way tie, one specific head to head doesn’t carry exclusive or primary weight. If UCLA and Wazzu were the only two one-loss teams in the conference, then the head to head result would carry.
UTAH
The Florida and Baylor wins, coupled with a UCLA win, give Utah the best resume of the four one-loss Pac-12 teams. Yes, Utah lost to Oregon State, but in a four-way tie, head to head matters less. Utah’s noncon slate is dramatically better.
USC
Being unbeaten puts USC in the top three, but the Trojans have by far the weakest profile of the three Pac-12 teams which are still undefeated.
OREGON
The Ducks have a better resume than USC. Their win at Texas Tech is a decent one. They beat Colorado by a lot more than USC did. Those details offset Oregon having an FCS team on its resume.
WASHINGTON
Washington’s close win over Arizona looks better after Arizona nearly beat USC. The Huskies don’t have any FCS wins, unlike Oregon. Their resume is the best in the Pac-12 through six games.
