College Football Conference Power Rankings: Week 11

4. Pac-12

It’s looked like Washington and everybody else in the Pac-12 over the past few weeks. While the Huskies are still clearly the class of the conference and the only playoff threat, the conference is narrowing the gap to the top three with a few other strong teams emerging.

After being ranked a spot behind Texas A&M by the committee, Washington was out for style points in a Pac-12 After Dark showdown with California. Jake Browning piled up six touchdowns in a 66-27 rout, as the Huskies continue to look like one of the most complete teams in the nation.

Washington’s biggest challenge for the rest of the regular season is going to come in Pullman on August 26, as Washington State is rolling through conference play. The No. 23 Cougars moved to 6-0 in the Pac-12 with a 69-7 destruction of Arizona that could have been a lot worse.

Colorado got a favorable ranking from the committee at No. 15 last week and will likely move up again after taking down UCLA on Thursday. USC has also won five in a row ahead of its trip to Seattle, setting up an exciting finish down the stretch in the South between the Trojans, Buffaloes and Utah.

While the four ranked teams plus USC is a strong group at the top, the depth just isn’t there for the Pac-12 this year. With contenders like Oregon, Stanford and UCLA all way down after starting the season ranked, there’s still a gap to the top three conferences in the nation.

That puts a lot of pressure on Washington, which could have a hard time making the playoff as a one-loss Pac-12 champion.