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College football conference power rankings: Week 4 – Pac-12 plummets

By Nathaniel Reeves

LOUISVILLE, KY - SEPTEMBER 16: Clemson Tigers players celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clemson won 47-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - SEPTEMBER 16: Clemson Tigers players celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. Clemson won 47-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Pac-12
SAN DIEGO, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach David Shaw of Stanford Cardinal looks on during the first half of a game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium on September 16, 2017, in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

5. Pac-12

Another shaky performance from USC, a second straight loss by Stanford, and a disappointing upset for UCLA has the Pac-12 well behind the rest of the country with conference play starting to ramp up.

The Trojans kept the national championship hopes alive with the last-minute drive and subsequent double overtime win to beat Texas but didn’t play well against a team they should have dominated for the second time this season. Western Michigan played USC tough well into the fourth quarter and its blowout win over Stanford doesn’t look that great anymore, so Clay Helton well need more from his team to avoid getting tripped up in Pac-12 play.

Even so, USC might not have any legitimate threats in the Pac-12 South after UCLA’s defense folded in a 48-45 road loss to Memphis. Arizona State is also sputtering along at 1-2 following a loss to Texas Tech, although Colorado and No. 23 Utah at least look solid at 3-0 so far.

After looking like a serious contender two weeks ago, Stanford fell out of the AP Poll with a 20-17 road loss to San Diego State, as quarterback Keller Chryst really struggled. Things are looking better further up north, with both Washington schools rolling to blowout wins and appear to be the two best teams in the conference outside of USC.

Washington and USC are still elite teams and there are some other intriguing groups like No. 24 Oregon here, but the Pac-12 looks like the most likely conference to be left out of the College Football Playoff. USC’s trip to Cal and Washington’s first real test on the road against Colorado highlight the week four slate.

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