Around the Pac-12: Survival Week

--Oregon Ducks are best team in conference

--USC’s defense is embarrassing

-- Deion Sanders era at Colorado ‘just the beginning’

It was the kind of Saturday that, in the past, would have seen the Pac-12 Conference sabotage its hopes of landing a College Football Playoff berth.
The Oregon Ducks would have floundered on The Farm… the Washington Huskies would have wilted in the desert… or the USC Trojans’ defense would have blown their entire lead against the inferior Colorado Buffaloes.
But not in 2023. This year, it was Survival Saturday for the Pac-12.
The Huskies avoided calamity in Tucson, Arizona. The Trojans scored just enough to outlast a Colorado comeback. And the Ducks, after sleepwalking through a quarter-and-a-half, steamrolled Stanford.
One of the problems with the Pac-12′s depth and talent is that there might be too much depth and talent. The conference features six teams in the Associated Press Top 25, including three in the top nine, and it’s going to be ridiculously tough for a team to escape the schedule unscathed. Many pundits are predicting that the Pac-12 will eat itself out of the College Football Playoff picture.
That’s why Saturday was so important.
If things break right, the Ducks can, perhaps, survive a loss at Washington. Or a tumble against the Trojans. But an off day at lowly Stanford would be catastrophic for their playoff hopes. The same goes for Washington and USC and even the Washington State Cougars. (One could argue that Oregon State still has dark horse playoff chances despite its loss in Pullman, Washington because if the Beavers win out, their resume would be impressive enough. But we can address that unlikely scenario down the road if necessary.)
The point is, the Pac-12 is good enough this season to send a one-loss conference champion to the playoffs. But if the conference’s best stub their toe against the worst – well, a one-loss season quickly turns into a two- or three-loss season.
No one remembers the close calls in December. When the Georgia Bulldogs trounced TCU last season to win their second consecutive title, were you thinking about their Oct. 1 scare at Missouri, when they overcame a 22-12 fourth-quarter deficit with a pair of late touchdowns? No, no you weren’t. And if Washington or USC rebounds from Saturday’s near-misses with a flawless finish, you won’t remember those either.
Things are about to get real for the Pac-12 juggernauts. The seventh-ranked Huskies host the eighth-ranked Ducks on Oct. 14. A week later, the No. 13 Cougars visit the Ducks. On Nov. 4, Washington plays at the ninth-ranked Trojans. And on Nov. 11, the Trojans make a visit to Autzen Stadium. It goes on and on.
The schedule is tough enough without a slip-up against the bottom feeders. If the Pac-12 is to avoid eating its own, it needs more Survival Saturdays and less flops on The Farm.
Now, let’s take a spin Around the Pac-12:
• The Ducks are the Pac-12′s best team ... for now, according to Bill Connelly. “Oregon appears to be the most balanced of the three teams -- translation: it’s the most likely to play a little bit of defense -- and has trended beautifully since the trip to Lubbock, Texas. The Ducks might have moved into the favorite’s seat ahead of what is just going to be an incredible round robin in the coming weeks. Oct. 14: Oregon at Washington; Nov. 4: Washington at USC; Nov. 11: USC at Oregon.”
• Is the Pac-12 the best conference in the country? The “Big Noon” crew answers the question.
• USC and Lincoln Riley top USA Today’s Misery Index because they can’t be taken seriously.
• ESPN takes a look at how each of each of the Power Five conferences could miss the playoffs the season. “Let’s be clear,” the story begins, “nothing would be more surprising than to see the SEC left out of the College Football Playoff.” It goes on to describe how. And then it does so for all five conferences, including the Pac-12: “The Pac-12 could miss the playoff if: The conference has another Friday night flop in its championship game, where its highest-ranked team loses to an opponent outside of the committee’s top-four range. Or ... the league produces a two-loss conference champion when the other Power 5 champs either have one loss or are undefeated.”
• The Pac-12 (rightly) is garnering loads of attention for its talented offenses. But what about the other side of the ball? The Athletic offers a few key stats for each of the conference’s defenses.
• Colorado is the team of the month, Caleb Williams is the player of the month and the Pac-12 is the conference of the month in Sports Illustrated’s College Football Superlatives for the first month of the season.
• It’s a little too early to talk about the 2024 NFL draft — OK, it’s A LOT too early — but ESPN can’t help itself. Mel Kiper’s Big Board is littered with Pac-12 players, including three of the top six and six of the top 25 prospects. As for the conference’s talented crop of quarterbacks, well, five are considered among the top 14 prospects in the draft class.
• The Deion Sanders era is just beginning at Colorado, according to Sports Illustrated. “The September of Deion in college football has come to an end. And man, it was fun. But don’t think this was just a cute fluke that exposed a hype-inflated program that quickly will recede. The Era of Deion is not over. It’s just starting. ... Oh, there are haters out there. They had a second successive Saturday in which to sack dance over a Buffaloes’ loss. For the people who have found this program too brash, too flashy, too loud, too something—they’ve had their moments against Oregon and USC. But if the haters are telling the truth, they had to come away from this result a little unsettled. This great football experiment is working. This defeat was tinged with hope and optimism.”
• Among its Week 5 takeaways, ESPN says Utah quarterback Cam Rising can’t return fast enough.
• After losing to USC, Colorado is searching for its identity, USA Today writes.
• On the brink of extinction, the Pac-12 is enjoying its best season ever, according to The Seattle Times.
• Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is the Prince of Prime with the talent to match, writes The Athletic.
• The USC-Colorado game was a victory for Williams and Sanders, writes Andscape.
• The four-team College Football Playoff is perfect for this parity-filled season, according to The Athletic.
• Stewart Mandel’s final thoughts from the weekend include notes detailing that USC’s defense will keep it from a playoff berth, the attention surrounding the Buffaloes won’t disappear entirely just because they have two losses and Utah desperately needs Rising to return.
• In its Week 5 superlatives, The Athletic says Williams is the offensive player of the week, Colorado true freshman wide receiver Omarion Miller had the best breakout performance and Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith gave the “best signal” for his, ahem, milking the clock gesture.
• The Pac-12 has three players on ESPN’s updated Heisman Five.
• The Huskies must play at a higher standard during their high-profile clash with Oregon, according to The Seattle Times. That said, they should thank the Arizona Wildcats.
• Jim Mora calls claims he knew the identity of Tupac Shakur’s killer ‘a complete fabrication,’ writes the Los Angeles Times. Wait... what?
• Columnist Bill Plaschke says it’s time to hand Williams the Heisman already ... he once again showed he’s the best.
• The Trojans’ ‘embarrassing’ defense is threatening to derail their championship aspirations, according to the Los Angeles Times.
• Family has fueled Solomon Byrd’s breakthrough at USC, writes the Los Angeles Times. “The redshirt senior has grown into the man he prayed to be. He is a husband. He is a father. He is a college football player taking the field in front of his hometown crowd on one of the best teams in the country.”
• A look at what went right and what went wrong in the Utes’ loss to the Beavers on Friday, courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune.