Pac-12 Football 2018: Mid-season grades for every team – Washington, Colorado get A’s

Pac-12 South

Colorado (5-0): A

Say what you will about Colorado’s early-season schedule, and it was certainly not that intimidating or formidable in the least, but they took care of business in games they were supposed to win. It’s hard to fault a team when they’re undefeated after five games. The biggest reason for the record? The Buffs have the No. 3 scoring offense and the No. 3 scoring defense in the Pac-12. That’s balance. Quarterback Steven Montez and receiver represent one of the best passing duos in the nation, and easily one of the best in the Pac-12.

USC (3-2): C-

The Trojans have rebounded to a degree with back-to-back wins after a 1-2 start that saw them lose to Stanford and Texas in consecutive weeks. I say to a degree because three-point wins vs Washington State and a four-point win at Arizona, in one of the ugliest games of the year, isn’t going to instill USC fans with much confidence. Even worse, the offense has been dreadful as only winless UCLA is averaging fewer points than USC’s 24.6 per game. The defense hasn’t been all that much better, ranking ninth in total defense and seventh in points allowed. All that said, Clay Helton’s team can take control of the South with a win at Colorado on Saturday night.

Utah (3-2): C+

After back-to-back losses to the Washington schools, Utah got a much-needed win last weekend after upsetting Stanford, 40-21. This was the second-best offensive output for the Utes since scoring 41 in the opener to Weber State. The offense has been an issue all year, but they’ve been boosted by the Pac-12’s best total defense and second to Washington in points allowed. Coupled with their always-exceptional specialists and Utah should be looking at a six or seven-win team.

Arizona (3-3): D

I don’t know if Kevin Sumlin is going to see the end of his five-year contract he signed this offseason after he was fired from Texas A&M. He’s totally broken quarterback Khalil Tate who only has 109 rushing yards for a 2.8 ypc clip after running for 1,411 for a 9.2 average in 11 games last year. For perspective, Michael Vick ran for 1,299 in his two years at Virginia Tech. That’s how bad Sumlin is overseeing this offense. With a broken offense and the No. 10 defense in the Pac-12, the Wildcats are looking at a rough second half of the season.

Arizona State (3-3): C

Herm Edwards has equipped himself well in Tempe after his hire was ridiculed by pretty much every college football expert and fan alike for months. He’s led his team to an upset win over then-No. 15 Michigan State and played tough in seven-point road losses at San Diego State, Washington and Colorado who have a combined 14-2 record. The defense ranks fourth in the Pac-12, allowing an average of 21.2 points per game and that should complement a veteran offense in the second half that should see the Sun Devils gain bowl eligibility.

UCLA (0-5): F-

Expectations were high for the Bruins after hiring Chip Kelly but UCLA is still looking for their first win under the former Oregon coach who lost seven total games in four years in Eugene. UCLA might eclipse that before November. The most troubling sign for Kelly’s Bruins is that they rank 125 out of 130 FBS teams in scoring offense. If not for Oregon State, they’d also have the worst defense in the league too. I wouldn’t give up on Kelly, but it’s time to lower expectations for this year, and possibly next year too, as this could be a longer rebuild than Kelly or any UCLA fan would have envisioned.