The Pac-12 was considered one of the deepest conferences in college football heading in to the 2015 season but it didn’t take long for that opinion to change dramatically. There were certainly some high points for the conference, including wins for the UCLA Bruins, Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans and Arizona Wildcats, but they weren’t enough to offset the low points, which included tough losses for Stanford, Colorado, Arizona State, Washington and Washington State. It’s certainly not the start many expected from the Pac-12 and there is no doubt the conference’s reputation took a hit in Week 1.
Stanford Slips Up
Anybody that considered Stanford to be a playoff team heading in to this season has probably changed their mind following a tough 16-6 loss at Northwestern in which David Shaw’s team was simply beaten up. The Cardinal have used the same recipe for success since Shaw took over: be stout along the lines of scrimmages, run the ball and play hard-nosed defense.
However, their rushing attack didn’t look good in their opener, they were whipped on the line of scrimmage and they were repeatedly torched on the ground and through the air by the Wildcats offense. The combination of playing an afternoon game on the east coast with the fact that Northwestern might be a little better than most expect played a huge role in Stanford’s loss but it’s still no excuse. The defense looked lost at times and senior quarterback Kevin Hogan is still battling consistency issues. While some have been quick to write it off as just one game in which the cross-country trip/early kickoff time really hurt them, the reality is the Cardinal didn’t look anywhere close to being a team that could contend in the Pac-12.
Washington State Loses Outright As A 31-Point Favorite
Washington’s loss to Boise State wasn’t a major surprise – at least according to the odds – but few expected Washington State to lose to an FCS opponent. They ended up losing at home to Portland State as a 31-point favorite. Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty. The Cougars jumped out to an early 10-0 lead that they took in to the half. It looked like everything was under control but things unraveled quickly from there with the Vikings scoring 17 unanswered points en route to a 24-17 win. According to ESPN’s FPI Predicted Win Percentage, it was the second biggest upset in the last decade of college football behind Stanford’s 2007 win over USC. That is testament to how devastating of a loss it was for Washington State and the Pac-12.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNLKTuCe4cI
Arizona State Gets Rolled By Texas A&M
The Sun Devils weren’t expected to upset Texas A&M but they also weren’t expected to get blown away either. The latter is what happened as they lost 38-17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Mike Bercovici scored a 19-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 17-14 heading into the fourth quarterback but Arizona State was outscored 21-3 the rest of the way. By the time it was over, they had lost by three touchdowns. The Sun Devils certainly appeared to be a team with the potential to make some noise in the Pac-12 heading in to this year but after their lopsided loss in Week 1, it’s clear that experts will have to rethink those projections.
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Arizona Looks Sluggish
Arizona actually won in Week 1 but a 42-32 victory over Texas San Antonio wasn’t impressive by any means. Making matters worse was the fact that they nearly lost star linebacker Scooby Wright to a season-ending knee injury. Wright left in the first quarter of the win and went for an MRI and the early prediction is that he will be out for a month with the injury. The Wildcats will face a much tougher test in Week 2 against Nevada and it will be very interesting to see if Rich Rodriguez’s team will be up to the test.
