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PAC-12 Report Cards at the Halfway Mark

Writer's picture: Ryan MeltonRyan Melton
Oct 19, 20184 min read

We’re already halfway through the 2018 college football regular season. There has been upsets aplenty and quite a few surprises along the way. Some teams have met expectations, while others have been better than advertised. I listed the teams in alphabetical order for easier navigation. (You’re welcome.)

Arizona Wildcats

  • Current Record: 3-4 (2-2)

  • Prediction: 4-3 (2-2)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 0-0

  • Grade: D (I didn’t want to fault the Wildcats as bad as I am, but they didn’t even look all that competitive in their first two losses to non-power five teams. Their best win is against Cal, who had just played Oregon a week earlier, and they still got a bit lucky.)

Arizona State Sun Devils

  • Current Record: 3-4 (1-3)

  • Prediction: 4-3 (2-2)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 1-2

  • Grade: C (Reasoning: The Sun Devils looked excellent after the first two weeks of the season. After their big upset win against Michigan State, the Sun Devils are 1-4, with their only win coming against bottom-feeder, Oregon State.)

California Golden Bears

  • Current Record: 3-3 (0-3)

  • Prediction: 4-2 (1-2)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 0-1

  • Grade: C- (Reasoning: They haven’t won a single game over the past month. I give them a slight pass for the Oregon and Arizona games. The ball (literally) didn’t bounce their way against the Wildcats and beating Oregon was a tough task. However, the 30-point loss to UCLA is unacceptable.)

Colorado Buffaloes

  • Current Record: 5-1 (2-1)

  • Prediction: 3-3 (1-2)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 0-0

  • Grade: B (They’re the most surprising team for me out of any team in the PAC. But their wins are against teams with a combined record of 8-24. They deserve credit for doing a lot better than expected, but they haven’t quite proven anything just yet.)

Oregon Ducks

  • Current Record: 5-1 (2-1)

  • Prediction: 5-1 (2-1)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 2-1

  • Grade: A (The Ducks should be undefeated right now. They smacked then ranked #7 Stanford around for the majority of their heart-breaking loss. Then they went on to win back-to-back against ranked opponents in California and preseason favorite Washington. They’re a fumble away receiving an A+.)

Oregon State Beavers

  • Current Record: 1-5 (0-3)

  • Prediction: 1-5 (0-3)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 0-1

  • Grade: F (Reasoning: I’ll keep this one short and (maybe not so) sweet. This team’s only win isn’t even against an FBS school. The Beavers are easily one of the worst teams in all of college football.)

Stanford Cardinal

  • Current Record: 5-2 (3-1)

  • Prediction: 5-2 (3-1)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 2-1

  • Grade: B- (Reasoning: As mentioned previously, they got away with one in Eugene, Oregon. They got beat down beat down by Notre Dame and Utah in back-to-back weeks, by an average score of 19-39. However, if RB Bryce Love were 100%, things could’ve been different.)

UCLA Bruins

  • Current Record: 1-5 (1-2)

  • Prediction: 1-5 (0-3)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 0-2

  • Grade: D (Reasoning: The Bruins entered this season with arguably THE toughest schedule in the country, with a brand new HC in Chip Kelly, while having to replace a first round QB in Josh Rosen. They’ve looked much better in previous weeks, only losing to now ranked #15 Washington, 24-31, and walloped California on the road, 37-7.)

USC Trojans

  • Current Record: 4-2 (3-1)

  • Prediction: 4-2 (3-1)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 1-1

  • Grade: B (Reasoning: USC is right where I thought they’d be. The losses to Texas and Stanford weren’t as close as I was expecting, and half of their wins are by a combined seven points. The win against a ranked Colorado team is nice, but I don’t think they’re as good as their record suggested.)

Utah Utes

  • Current Record: 4-2 (2-2)

  • Prediction: 4-2 (2-2)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 1-1

  • Grade: B+ (Reasoning: The win against Northern Illinois wasn’t great… They never really got anything going against Washington. They had Washington State right where they wanted them, but just let it slip. I had this team winning the PAC-12 South. If they can keep up the type of play we’ve seen over the past few weeks, we’ll be seeing them in the title game.)

Washington Huskies

  • Current Record: 5-2 (3-1)

  • Prediction: 6-1 (4-0)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 2-1

  • Grade: A- (Reasoning: The Huskies had a chance to win each of the games that they lost. An argument could be made that they should be undefeated. What if QB Jake Browning doesn’t fumble inside of Auburn’s five? And if their kicker wouldn’t have gotten “iced”, they would’ve won that game. They’re under what I expected, but very well could be higher.)

Washington State Cougars

  • Current Record: 5-1 (2-1)

  • Prediction: 4-2 (1-2)

  • Record vs. Top 25: 0-0

  • Grade: B+ (Reasoning: The Cougars, although being one of the least experienced teams in the conference, look like they could have a shot at competing for a PAC-12 title. That being said, they haven’t a ranked team yet. I’m still not quite sure if they’re for real. Tomorrow’s game against the Ducks will be telling as to whether the Cougars are contenders or pretenders.)

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